General Electric Co. (GE) is in talks to sell its security systems unit, most likely to United Technologies Corp. (UTX), for more than $1.5 billion in an effort to reshuffle its extensive portfolio and raise capital for strategic acquisitions.

United Technologies Corp. is a diversified company whose products include Carrier heating and air conditioning, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters, UTC Fire & Security systems and UTC Power fuel cells. The company has been lately looking to expand its security business.

GE’s move to sell its fire alarms and security division comes as it is finalizing a bigger deal to hive off its NBC Universal television and movie unit into a joint venture controlled by the cable operator Comcast.  Strategically, GE wants to raise funds to expand its core businesses – which include infrastructure, oil and gas equipment,

...

Utilizing the Zacks Most Active Options filter, today's column focuses on San Francisco-based software concern salesforce.com, inc. (CRM), which was a popular item in the options pits on Thursday.

< ?DART(15);?> Before we begin, let's explain the contrarian stance that makes Schaeffer's so unique. When searching for a bullish pick, we like to see heavy skepticism toward an outperforming stock, as this leaves ample room for upgrades or other positive catalysts to fuel the stock higher. When searching for a bearish pick, on the other hand, contrarians are looking for significant bullish sentiment toward an underperforming stock, as we believe an excess of optimism is a sign that everyone has already bought into the stock and sideline money is virtually tapped out.

However, keep in mind that some optimism and pessimism is genuinely warranted and isn't always a contrarian indicator - like an outperforming

...

3 Roadsigns popped up today from 3 different people whose opinion and calls on the market activity I respect.divbr //divdivThese people aren't market timers - if anything they're probably early with their calls, but when I hear or read people I respect offering these types of market forecasts, I pay attention and start to pull up previous strategies I think might be appropriate - in this case Bearish./divdivbr //divdivHere's the evidence:/divdivdiva href="http://twitter.com/steenbab/status/5176586766"/a/divblockquotediva href="http://twitter.com/steenbab/status/5176586766"@steenbab/a 11:25 AM CT - Midday briefing shows significant selling pressure in the wake of USD strength: http://rurl.org/223v/divdivabout 6 hours ago from web/div/blockquotediv/divdivblockquotediva href="http://twitter.com/AnneMarie2006/status/5179835022"@AnnMaries2006/a So many failed breakouts...sure sign of resolution to the downside for now $$/divdivabout 3 hours ago from Seesmic/div/blockquotediv/divdivblockquotediva href="http://twitter.com/TradeIdeas1/status/5179797762"@TradeIdeas1/a a href="http://chart.ly/2ang29"http://chart.ly/2ang29/a $SPX - One of the ways that helps me know which way I should be trading is illustrated in this picture/divdivabout 3 hours ago from Chart.ly/div/blockquotediv/divdivbr //divdivSignposts can come from anywhere. The reason ...

U.S. stocks jumped on Monday as more merger and acquisition activity in the last days of the third quarter encouraged investors following three sessions of losses.

Xerox Corp will buy Affiliated Computer Services Inc for $6.4 billion in a cash-and-stock deal that expands the copier company into technology outsourcing and data management.

Xerox shares fell 13.4 percent to $7.77 while ACS shot up 16.7 percent to $55.06.

Abbott Laboratories said it would buy the drugs unit of Solvay in a $6.6 billion deal, giving Abbott full control of its Belgian development partner’s cholesterol treatments and exposure to emerging markets.

Abbott stock rose 3.7 percent to $49.11.

“Deal announcements are helping the market off to a good start, especially as we had a bit of selling off last week,” said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

“People were waiting for a time to get in, and now, they have it.”

With Monday’s gains, the Dow Jones

...

In last week's edition of Trading Tools, alternative energy issue First Solar (FSLR) was analyzed, as it appeared on the Zacks Put/Call Ratio Above 1.0 (bullish) filter. Utilizing the Zacks Unusually High Option Volume screener for today's column, the sudden surge in call activity surrounding Constellation Brands, Inc. (STZ) caught my eye.

< ?DART(15);?> Before we begin, let's explain the contrarian stance that makes Schaeffer's so unique. When searching for a bullish pick, we like to see heavy skepticism toward an outperforming stock, as this leaves ample room for upgrades or other positive catalysts to fuel the stock higher. When searching for a bearish pick, on the other hand, contrarians are looking for significant bullish sentiment toward an underperforming stock, as we believe an excess of optimism is a sign that everyone has already bought into the stock and sideline money is

...

The market continues to whipsaw traders out of positions as volatility rises. I have put together a few charts to show you where each of our commodities are trading along with the SPX (SP500 index). My Gold Stock Breakout Model – Monthly Chart I use this chart to keep my big picture trades on the right side [...]

This post is a guest contribution by Dian Chu*, market analyst, trader and author of the Economic Forecasts and Opinions blog.

The S&P has skyrocketed 58% since its bottom in early March, while the Dow is up 50% and the Nasdaq has surged 68% during that time. Meanwhile, bond prices led a rally as rates on the benchmark 10-year note have declined some 40 basis points since early August. This is good news for business: higher bond prices make it easier to refinance debt and stay in business.

Meanwhile, across the country, Main Street investors are weighing whether they should jump back into the market. However, the price correlation between equities and bonds of late has some argue that typically, if equities are trending higher, then bonds would head lower, and yield would be higher, due to concerns of higher inflation. This essentially describes “the

...

U.S. stocks fell on Monday as a resurgent U.S. dollar took a toll on commodity prices and investors paused to gauge if the outlook for corporate profits justified the market’s recent run to 11-month highs.

Caterpillar Inc , down 2.5 percent, was among the top drags after the maker of bulldozers, excavators and other products said worldwide August sales of machinery to dealerships fell.

Crude oil futures shed 3.5 percent to $69.48 a barrel and spot gold prices dropped below $1,000 an ounce. The S&P materials <.GSPM> index fell nearly 2 percent.

Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp declined 1 percent to $69.26, while gold miner Newmont Mining Corp shed 3.1 percent to $43.55.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> lost 55.85 points, or 0.57 percent, to 9,764.35. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX> declined 6.64 points, or 0.62 percent, to 1,061.66. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> dipped 6.77 points, or 0.32 percent, to 2,126.09.

The Nasdaq’s losses were curbed

...

In this week's edition of Trading Tools, the Zacks Put/Call Ratio Above 1.0 (bullish) filter has piqued our curiosity in alternative energy concern First Solar, Inc. (FSLR).

Before we begin, let's explain the contrarian stance that makes Schaeffer's so unique. When searching for a bullish pick, we like to see heavy skepticism toward an outperforming stock, as this leaves ample room for upgrades or other positive catalysts to fuel the stock higher. When searching for a bearish pick, on the other hand, contrarians are looking for significant bullish sentiment toward an underperforming stock, as we believe an excess of optimism is a sign that everyone has already bought into the stock and sideline money is virtually tapped out.

However, keep in mind that some optimism and pessimism is genuinely warranted and isn't always a contrarian indicator - like an outperforming stock with many "buy" ratings or

...

GLOBAL MARKETS-, dollar gains

(Refiles to fix typo in headline)

* U.S. stocks slump as fear of more bank failures grows

* Dollar rises versus yen after strong U.S. factory data

* Oil slips below $69 a barrel on equities, strong dollar

U.S. stocks fell sharply on Tuesday as growing concerns about the U.S. banking system and over whether a recent rally in equity markets is warranted drove investors to the relative safety of bonds and the dollar.

Oil prices fell as the economic concerns outweighed surprisingly bullish U.S. data: the manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months, while pending home sales hits a two-year high in July.

Government bond prices on both sides of the Atlantic rose as falling stocks enhanced the allure of lower-risk safe-haven debt despite the fresh evidence supporting the view of a global economic recovery.

There are “new concerns about the health of the banking system, the number

...