Agrium Inc. (AGU) reported adjusted net earnings of 29 cents per share in the third quarter of 2009, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 32 cents. Year over year, earnings declined a significant 87% on lower volumes and prices. Revenues were down 41% year over year to $1.9 billion on weak corn prices and lower consumption of crop protection products at retail level.  Retail segment: Retail segment revenues plunged 25% to $1.2 billion in the quarter on a 41% decline in crop nutrient sales to $345 million due to a significant decline in crop nutrient prices. Crop nutrient volumes in the quarter remained flat. Gross profit from the crop nutrients business almost halved to $31 million. Crop protection sales were $768 million in the quarter, down 12% from the same period last year. The decline was driven by lower volumes for fungicides and lower pricing for glyphosate products. ...

DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

Monday August 17, 2009

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Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), announced that on August 14, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the company’s request for a new trial and issued other favorable decisions in its patent dispute with Callaway Golf.

Petroleum Development Corporation (Nasdaq: PETD) announced today that it has closed its public offering of 4,312,500 shares of common stock, including 562,500 shares issued upon full exercise of underwriters’ over-allotment option, at a price to the public of $12.00 per share. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $48.6 million (after deducting underwriting discounts and

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Total inventories across all levels of business fell for the 10th straight month in June. The 1.1% decline was bigger than the 0.9% decline expected by the consensus of economists, and follows a downwardly revised 1.2% drop (was down 1.0%) in May. Inventories can be a big swing-factor in GDP growth, and the revision to May and the lower-than-expected number for June would seem to point to a downward adjustment to the second quarter GDP numbers when the next revision comes out. Overall, lower inventories is a good thing, since it points to the need to replenish them in the future and in the process boost economic growth. June also saw a 0.9% rise in overall sales from May, which is a very welcome sign and a reversal of a very nasty trend that has lowered sales by 18.0% over the last year. The combination of rising ...

MISSISSAUGA, ON — (Marketwire) — 07/02/09 — HearAtLast Holdings, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: HRAL), a leading provider of suitable affordable solutions to clients with hearing needs in the billion dollar hearing loss market, announced today it will be developing 25 new Hearing Store locations in various markets in the USA and Canada. These new locations will be by way of a joint venture agreement between certain Joint Venture Partners and HearAtLast Holdings, Inc.

This development is also part of the new licensing plan previously released on June 19, 2009 where HearAtLast announced that it would begin to license their HearAtLast Hearing Store brand throughout North America. HearAtLast will have a majority interest in the new Joint Venture locations and will be managed by HearAtLast under their HearAtLast License.

“We believe that this approach will empower our Company for rapid growth across the country as well as enabling us to penetrate the vast

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BrandPartners Group, Inc. today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2009. Revenues for the quarter totaled $11.5 million compared to $9.2 million during the same period a year earlier. Net Income also increased significantly, totaling $717,234, or $.02 per fully diluted share, versus net income of $546,446, or $.01 per fully diluted share, for the same period last year.

James F. Brooks, CEO of BrandPartners, stated, “We are pleased with our first quarter results, as we improved revenues, operating income and net income above the same period last year. Although the client base we service, retail financial services, continues to deal with ‘stress’ tests and other pressures, we believe that these institutions realize how important their retail networks are to their future success and will continue to invest to ensure that success.”

“Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, recently pointed out at a speech to community bankers in Washington that

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As technology advances and evolves, it is becoming apparent that it is starting to control the user instead of the user controlling it. The often talked about “Crackberry” may be a case in point. Developing a technology where the user can access it to make life more enjoyable and efficient, rather than addictive and ultimately limiting, is a solid way to find profit. Ideas that approach technology from this standpoint are increasingly finding favor and, if they can take hold in an ever changing consumer landscape, becoming incredibly profitable.

PNI Digital Media Inc., a transaction based digital media company, works to provide retailers and other commercial operations digital platforms to capture customer revenue through digital means. The company offers many digital options to its customers but is best known for its digital photo processing and ordering systems.

From a general point of view, the company sells retailers and other commercial operations a

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The short-term path of gold is still unclear says David Galland. But its a good sign that demand for physical gold soars when prices tip towards $750 an ounce. And this threshold is likely to creep upwards as the US dollar loses its worth, and foreign governments convert currency reserves for the precious metal.

This from Money Morning:

Of late, I have read a number of analysts, Jim Rogers even, who have expressed the view that gold could dip to the mid- to low $600 level.

It could happen, but I think not. Already, buyers of physical gold are finding anything near $700 to be cheap and are helping to build a floor under the monetary metal. On that topic, a friend sent this item along recently:

(Gulf News, Nov. 12) Riyadh: There has been an unprecedented demand for gold in the Saudi market recently, with over 13 billion Saudi riyals ($3.47

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By David Galland Editor, The Casey Report Of late, I have read a number of analysts, Jim Rogers even, who have expressed the view that gold could dip to the mid- to low $600 level. It could happen, but I think not. Already, buyers of physical gold are finding anything near $700 to be cheap and are helping to build a floor under the monetary metal. On that topic, a friend sent this item along recently: (Gulf News, Nov. 12) Riyadh: There has been an unprecedented demand for gold in the Saudi market recently, with over 13 billion Saudi riyals ($3.47 billion) being spent on the yellow metal during the prior two weeks. Demand is expected to rise still higher as more investors turn to gold as a safe haven in the midst of the global financial crisis, according to market sources. Sami Al Mohna, an ...

Of late, I have read a number of analysts, Jim Rogers even, who have expressed the view that gold could dip to the mid- to low $600 level.  Could happen, but I think not. Already, buyers of physical gold are finding anything near $700 to be cheap and so are helping to build a floor under the monetary metal.

On that topic, a friend sent this item along last week…

(Gulf News Nov 12) Riyadh: There has been an unprecedented demand for gold in the Saudi market recently, with over 13 billion Saudi riyals (Dh12.75 billion) being spent on the yellow metal during the last two weeks.Demand is expected to rise still higher as more investors turn to gold as a safe haven in the midst of the global financial crisis, according to market sources.

Sami Al Mohna, an expert on the gold market, said the trend had resulted in a

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There has been a great deal of articles lately on shortages and unavailability of gold at the retail level.

My thoughts on this, are that in time it may become increasingly difficult to acquire physical gold at the retail level. This is a repeat of history.

I have suspected for some time that this would happen, but didnt imagine it would happen so quickly.

For a time I have thought, at some point, the only way people will be able to get into gold in large quantities, not a coin here or a coin there, especially if we see a default at Comex, is through a firm with access to gold and silver at the refinery level, and not just any refinery, it will have to be the big ones.

I have reports coming in from all over the world of shortage, its not just the USA. our business partners in Canada, UK, Germany,

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