Gold producing company Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) recorded a net income of 79 cents per share in the third quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 60 cents. Year on year, earnings grew by a robust 88% on strong gold and copper prices as well as lower costs. Revenues for the quarter climbed 50% to over $2 billion, driven by a 29% rise in gold sales to $1.6 billion and about a fivefold increase in copper revenues to $396 million. Newmont sold 1.7 billion ounces of gold in the quarter, up 15% year over year. The company sold 141 million pound of copper compared with 44 million pound in the same period of the previous year. On a regional basis, gold sales were slightly above expectations as higher-than-expected sales at Yanacocha in Peru, Batu Hijau in Indonesia ...

Xcellink International Inc. is a Las Vegas Company that has the potential to develop into a major player in the next generation of customer payment systems. In an industry that has the potential to be worth billions, Xcellink is becoming known for their state-of-the-art technology which is led by a patented system that has the potential and capabilities to replace all credit, debit, charge and smart cards.

Xcellink is poised for a global presence with the announcement that it will issue patents in Australia and New Zealand which will be entitled ‘Automated Electronic Funds Transfer System and Method’ and will cover the automated data interchange to achieve transactions between customers and merchants over local wired or wireless links.

These patents will provide Xcellink the opportunity to dominate in the 21st Century E-Commerce business structure and will give the young company uniform patent protection across the whole territory of Australasia.

A company spokesperson

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Bemis Company, Inc. (BMS) reported third quarter earnings of 48 cents per share, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 39 cents and year-ago EPS of 43 cents. Earnings growth in the quarter was primarily driven by strong operating performance in the Flexible Packaging business, helped by improved sales mix and successful cost controls by the company. Quarterly sales dropped 8.7% year over year to $898.9 million. The second quarter acquisition of the South American rigid packaging operations of Huhtamaki Oyj contributed 1.9% to the third quarter sales. This was more than offset by a negative currency translation effect of 3.6%. The remaining 7.0% decline in sales came from lower volumes and selling prices, partially offset by improved sales mix. Sales in the Flexible Packaging segment were down 7.5% compared to last year, as positive contribution from acquisition and improved sales mix were more than offset by ...

Yesterday, Amgen Inc (AMGN) announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) delayed the approval of its osteoporosis drug denosumab, with a proposed trade name of Prolia.  In response to the Biologic License Applications (BLA) filed by Amgen in Feb 2009 for Prolia, the Complete Response Letter (CRL) issued by the FDA requested several items, including further information on the design of Amgen's previously submitted post-marketing surveillance program. The FDA has asked the company to develop a strategy to evaluate the risks of Prolia. However, the agency did not ask for further clinical trials, which would have resulted in a longer delay.  Management believes that it can satisfy the queries of the FDA. The company intends to market Prolia for the treatment and prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMO) and bone loss in patients undergoing hormone ablation for either prostate or breast cancer.  Based on ...

While a lot has been made of the RBA raising Australia’s short term rates over the last week the fact is that most of the world is not doing quite as well.  Whereas Australia actually has some inflation the United States, Japan, and Europe are still not growing and rates are likely to stay around their current levels for at least a few more quarters.

Australia on the other hand was able to avoid a large part of the current global recession by supplying Asia, namely China, with commodities.  As you can see  in the chart below the short term rates have climbed but in spite of this the long term rates are still basically unchanged. (click on chart to enlarge)

Australia Interest Rates

Looking at the G-10 as a group we can see that

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Hospira Inc and Celltrion Healthcare Inc have signed a Business Cooperation Agreement which outlines the business terms of a future distribution agreement in countries like United States of America, Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand for eight biogeneric products that are currently under development stages by Celltrion, and five products which are incremental to Hospira’s pipeline. Hospira Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical and medication delivery company dedicated to Advancing Wellness. They are world leader in specialty generic injectable pharmaceuticals and they offer one of the broadest portfolios of generic acute-care and oncology injectables. On the other hand Celltrion Inc is a leading biopharmaceutical company in Korea that specializes in monoclonal antibody capabilities.

Under the distribution agreement between the two biopharmaceutical firms it has been decided that they will collaborate on manufacturing

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – October 8, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: CRA International (CRAI), FTI Consulting Inc. (FCN), Huron Consulting Group Inc. (HURN), LECG Corporation (XPRT) and Navigant Consulting Inc. (NCI).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:

CRAI’s Q3 Results Disappoint

CRA International’s (CRAI) third quarter results were disappointing. The company earned 31 cents per share, significantly down from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents.

Results were impacted by the ongoing uncertainty of the global recession as clients reduced

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CRA International’s (CRAI) third quarter results were disappointing. The company earned 31 cents per share, significantly down from the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 47 cents. Results were impacted by the ongoing uncertainty of the global recession as clients reduced their spending, while the company continued to experience stalled litigation cases and consulting project delays. Revenue for the quarter was $86.3 million, down from $111.2 million in the prior-year period. Gross margin was 32.9% compared to 33.8% in the year-ago period, reflecting a decrease in revenue. Selling general and administrative expenses were down to $20.0 million from $24.9 million in the year-ago quarter as a result of CRAI’s aggressive cost-control efforts. Operating income for the quarter was $6.2 million, down from $10.2 million the year-ago period. Operating margin declined 190 basis points to 7.2%. Utilization rate during the quarter was 69%, a decrease from ...

AngloGold Ashanti Ltd. (AU), the world’s third largest gold producer, plans to expand output through exploration. The company aims to produce up to 6 million ounces annually, up from 4.98 million ounces in 2008, largely by improving its mines and expanding through exploration. AngloGold expects the dollar price of gold to rise. The company has forecasted gold prices of $950 to $1,100 per ounce in 2010. It expects gold prices to rise beyond $1,100 if the downtrend in the US economy continues and investment demand for gold increases further. Although electricity costs and new wage settlements have put pressure on the company's bottom line, it has no plans to lay off workers to save costs. AngloGold is also planning to develop its La Colosa project in Colombia. In July this year, AngloGold had teamed up with African miner Randgold Resources to buy Moto Goldmines, which owns ...

Pandora’s Box of rate hikes is opened! Is the dollar being removed from oil trades? Deficits do matter, eh? Gold heads toward its all-time high…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! A Tuesday morning that is seeing a HUGE currency rally VS the dollar on the news that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) opted to go ahead and hike rates now, and not wait for November’s meeting,

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