Canadian energy explorer Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) reported marginally better-than-expected third quarter results, helped by in-line production volumes. Earnings per share from continuing operations, excluding one-time items came in at 15 Canadian cents (14 cents), a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate. However, on a year-over-year basis, Talisman’s adjusted earnings per share slumped approximately 77%, while revenues declined 42.3% to C$1.5 billion, hurt by lower prices of oil and natural gas.   Volume Analysis   Production during the quarter was down approximately 9.5% from the year-ago level to 401 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), reflecting asset sales in Western Canada and maintenance downtime.   Oil & liquids production during the quarter was down 16.9% to 192.3 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d), or 48% of total volumes. Volumes in North America, the U.K., Scandinavia , and other international regions were down 23.4%, 31.2%, 4.4%, and 30.5% ...

Last week, AGCO Corp. (AGCO) reported third-quarter results. The company posted earnings of 13 cents per share, compared $1.01 per share in the prior-year quarter. The significant decline in quarterly earnings was driven by lower sales volumes, weaker product mix and the negative impact of currency translation. Net sales in the quarter were $1,403.7 million, down 32.7% compared to the third quarter of 2008. AGCO is experiencing soft demand conditions in most of its markets. Lower commodity prices, along with expectations of decreased farm income, are hampering investments in farm equipment around the world. AGCO is aggressively cutting production in order to reduce its own and dealer’s inventories. Sales in North America were down 31.9% on a constant currency basis due to weaker sales of low horsepower tractors and hay products, as well as reduction in dealer inventory. Unit retail sales of lower horsepower tractors were ...

Rahaxi, Inc., an international card payments processor and technology company, today told investors that its subsidiary Rahaxi Processing Oy and jeweller chain giant Kultajousi Oy have entered into an agreement to supply its OTI solution to over 60 different stores in 27 different cities in Finland. Kultajousi is owned by Golden Heights Group which has a notable presence in Sweden through its subsidiary Golden Heights AB Group.

Fionn Stakelum, MD of Rahaxi, Inc. stated, “To team up with the largest high end jewellers in Scandinavia is testament to the reputation of Rahaxi’s OTI solution in the marketplace. Enabling us to bring OTI to the Scandinavian market is the first of many steps we will take in launching OTI across Europe.”

Niko Aaltola, Sales Director of Rahaxi commented, “Kultajousi is a household name in Finland and we are delighted to be associated with them at this time.”

Kaj Wikstrom, MD of

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In order to meet the growing global demand for accessing digital terrestrial television services, STMicroelectronics NV (STM) recently introduced a single-chip DVB-T silicon tuner that enables manufacturers to simplify product assembly and supply-chain management.

As consumers switch from analog to digital television broadcasting, the demand for digital set-top boxes and integrated digital televisions (iDTVs) is on the rise. This transition has already taken place in nine countries, including the USA, parts of Europe and Scandinavia, and is underway in other nations.

With its STV4100, the company offers complete chipsets for digital-terrestrial receivers, including the tuner and a choice of demodulators, MPEG decoders and combined demodulator/decoder ICs.

Silicon tuners are replacing those supplied by third-party providers, which combine multiple discrete components in a metal enclosure and must be individually adjusted for optimum performance. STMicroelectronics’ new device saves up to 30 separate components, has a compact QFN 5 x 5mm

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Bond bubble remerges… details behind the gov’s latest debt struggle… The slow demise of snail mail… USPS forecasts record losses… Customized drugs: Patrick Cox on a breakthrough set to revolutionize health care… Bill Jenkins with another sign the euro is overvalued… his price targets below…

Just when you thought the bond bubble was being saved for another day…

The government managed to auction $39 billion worth of 5-year debt yesterday… barely. Wednesday’s debt sale drew a bid-to-cover ratio of 1.92, the lowest investor demand since September 2008. Low demand forced Uncle Sam to jack up interest rates at the last minute in two separate bond auctions this week — yesterday’s sale and Tuesday’s $42 billion auction of 2-year notes.

So what’s an indebted government to do? Manipulate the market, of course. Bond yields have given back yesterday’s spike partly thanks to the Federal Reserve, which bought $3

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AGCO Corp. (AGCO) reported second-quarter earnings of $0.64 per share, above market expectations of $0.55. EPS results were down 52.2% year over year due to deteriorating demand for agricultural equipment in all the major markets and increase in engineering expenses.   Net sales in the quarter were $1,579.0 million, down 34%, compared to the second quarter of 2008. AGCO is experiencing soft demand conditions in the most of its markets. Sales in North America were down 4.3% as weaker sales of lower horsepower tractors more than offset strong sales of high horsepower tractors, balers and implements.

Unit retail sales of lower horsepower tractors were down due to weakness in the landscaping, residential construction, and dairy sectors. This weakness is expected to continue for the remainder of the year.   In the EAME region, quarterly sales were down 28.0% due to lower volumes in Eastern and Central Europe, Russia, Scandinavia and

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Philip Morris International (PMI) entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of privately owned Colombian cigarette manufacturer Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, Protabaco Ltda. (Protabaco), for $452 million. Protabaco is the second largest tobacco company in Colombia, with an estimated volume of 6.1 billion cigarettes and an approximate market share of 31.8% in 2008, with leading brands such as Mustang, Premier and President. The acquisition is believed to be a strategic business fit, in order to build on the company’s business in Columbia. The deal is expected to be marginally accretive to PM’s earnings and is expected to close in the second half of 2009. However, final approvals are still pending. In 2005, the company had acquired another Columbian company, Compañía Colombiana de Tabaco S.A. (Coltabaco). In addition, with increasing regulation over tobacco, there has been a shift towards smoke free tobacco products ...

The markets closed at mixed positions today as the DJIA and S&P 500 ended down 0.09% to 8,497.18 and 0.14% to 910.71 respectively, while the NASDAQ  was up 0.66% to 1,808.06.  Commodities traded up as Gold inched up $3.80 to $936.00 on news of a financial overhaul.  Crude Oil bounced up to $71.03 and Natural Gas increased around 2.5% to $4.42/mmbtu.  Investors drove prices up and yields down on the 10-Year as yields decreased to 3.65%.

This afternoon, Obama released big news of a reconstruction of the financial regulatory system as the government plans to shift power and responsibility onto the Fed, hoping to stabilize the economy.  The Fed’s new power will allow a greater regulation in areas unseen before, such as hedge funds and credit default swaps.  The financial markets retracted today on news of this plan due to the massive uncertainty it brings to the table.

The Obama Administration

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KL Energy Corp., a leading producer of second-generation cellulose-based ethanol (CBE), Friday announced it has secured $4 million of additional capital, which will fuel its efforts to hold its competitive position in the alternative energy market.

Steve Corcoran, recently appointed CEO of KL Energy, said that even in such taxing economic times, the company’s operations and growth allowed it to attract investors who see the potential for its technology.

“In spite of the current economic environment we were able to secure additional capital to continue our growth initiatives. This capital infusion is verification that KL Energy Corp. is positioned to be at the forefront of commercializing second generation cellulosic ethanol production. While some are looking to build demonstration plants, we are on the way to building our next commercial facility. The investors also bring to KLE a substantial international network, and we are already benefiting from their relations as potential

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A Selective Investment in Scandinavia As evidence of commercial interest in developing an ETF for the Nordic region, Global X Management has recently filed for such a product, based on the FTSE Nordic 30 Index. The Global X filing specifies that, "The underlying index tracks the performance of the 30 largest and most liquid companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. The Adviser uses a passive or indexing approach to try to achieve the Fund’s investment objective." In contrast, the ETFI Nordic Region PerformIdex is a semi-active ETF proposal with quarterly rebalancing among all companies in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland with market caps over $1 billion USD. Currently, 92 companies qualify for the index with only the top 40 rated stock ...