U.S. stocks headed for a higher open on Monday as solid results from major European banks and expectations of a sales rebound for Ford Motor Co reinforced hopes that the recession is moderating.

Shares of Ford were up 7 percent at $8.58 before the bell after senior company executives said the automaker was on track to post its first monthly sales increase in two years.

In banking news, Barclays PLC reported an 8 percent rise in half-year profit, while HSBC Holdings PLC said its first-half profit halved from a year ago, but the results were better than the analyst consensus forecast.

“The greatest difficulty has been in financials, so the gains in HSBC and Barclays (are) adding to optimism and (suggest) that the worst may be over,” said Andre Bakhos, president of Princeton Financial Group, in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

“It’s comforting to see that we are in a global rebound in earnings.”

The Select Sector SPDR Financial

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PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

PennyOmega.com Hot Stock News & Alerts!

 

Monday August 3, 2009

PennyOmega.com Stock Report!

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COMFORCE Corporation (NYSE Amex: CFS), a leading provider of outsourced staffing management services, specialty staffing and consulting services, today announced that it will report its second quarter 2009 results on Wednesday, August 5, 2009 prior to market opening.

i2 Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ITWO) today announced that Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, or AmBev (NSE:ABV), is live with i2 transportation solutions to help it reduce logistics costs, improve service levels and extend its mission of increased environmental responsibility.

Williams Controls, Inc. (NASDAQ: WMCO) today announced financial results for its third quarter ended June 30, 2009. Net sales for the quarter

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Two Big Reasons to Dump your Oil Refinery

Tony Daltorio, The Investment U Research Team

Quite simply, this is not a good time to be in the business of refining oil in the United States.

The obvious reason for this is the continuing recession which has led to lower demand for gasoline and other refined products. With the summer driving season past the halfway point, having the word ’staycation’ become commonplace is not good news for the refiners.

But that’s not all. And it goes well beyond simple economic downturn.

There are other factors at work. And unfortunately, many have escaped the notice of many investors and much of Wall Street.

While everyone was focused on the sharp rise recently of the price of WTI crude oil, other things have been conspiring against domestic refiners of all sorts. Here’s what you need

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Mike Englund says an uptick in global trade will be the key to reviving U.S. growth. He tells you which sectors will benefit most.

 

Mike Englund is chief economist at Action Economics LLC. He is a specialist in Federal Reserve policies and the U.S. economy. Before joining the Boulder, Colo.-based research firm, Englund was the chief economist for MMS International. His background also includes serving as Standard & Poor's chief market economist.

On Monday, IndexUniverse.com's Murray Coleman caught up with Englund as he was assessing the latest U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve moves to buy so-called "toxic" assets and strengthen credit flows in U.S. markets.

 

IndexUniverse.com (IU): Is the current stock market rally sustainable?

Mike Englund, chief economic, Action Economics LLC (Englund): In the past two months, we've seen evidence that the rate of collapse in the U.S. economy seems to be slowing. Essentially, it's coming primarily [from an uptick] on

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If you’ve been following this column over the last month, you’ve likely made some money by shorting the Dow Jones Industrial Average. 

On February 2, I said:

If the VIX is rising, that means the Dow Jones should be falling, possibly breaking under 8,000 sometime in the next few weeks and head towards 7,000.

The play should be obvious. But I’m going to point it out anyways because I’m feeling saucy.

If the Dow Jones drops under 8,000 as the VIX spikes, buy a put on the Diamonds ETF (NYSE:DIA), which is an ETF that tracks the value of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

As I write, the Dow is trading at 7,140. So if you sold puts on DIA, you’d have made 11% in about 40 days time.

Now is the time to get out of this trade (if you haven’t already).

Why?

On Feb 24, I talked about how “big round

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After U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers meet today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday), most experts expect a half a percentage point cut in the benchmark Federal Funds Rate – which is already 1.0%.

That doesn’t leave members of the central bank’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) much room to maneuver. Still, the policymakers may have more ammunition in their arsenal and the statement that accompanies the rate decision at the end of the two-day session could shed some insight on the “creative” actions the Fed could consider in addition to rate cuts (For instance, the central bank could extend the new investment firm discount window, offer additional loan guarantees, or utilize any number of other tools).

And the Fed may well have to use those other tools. As Japan’s “Lost Decade” demonstrated, “zero” interest rates won’t necessarily jump-start an economy – especially when interest

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After U.S. Federal Reserve policymakers meet today (Monday) and tomorrow (Tuesday), most experts expect a half a percentage point cut in the benchmark Federal Funds Rate – which is already 1.0%. That doesn’t leave members of the central bank’s policymaking Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) much room to maneuver. Still, the policymakers may have more ammunition in their arsenal and the statement that accompanies the rate decision at the end of the two-day session could shed some insight on the “creative” actions the Fed could consider in addition to rate cuts (For instance, the central bank could extend the new investment firm discount window, offer additional loan guarantees, or utilize any number of other tools). And the Fed may well have to use those other tools. As Japan’s “Lost Decade” demonstrated, “zero” interest rates won’t necessarily jump-start an ...

Don't look now, but the financial sector is slipping quickly towards new multi-year lows.

The Select Sector SPDR - Financials (NYSEArca: XLF) closed today at $13.80/share, just 62 cents above its all-time low of $13.18/share, set on October 27. It's now down 16% in the past four trading sessions, and is trading right about where it stood on October 7, when the U.S. House refused to pass the initial bailout package and many Americans (including me) thought another Great Depression was on its way.

Meanwhile, the news from the sector is unremittingly bleak.  The Feds have had to nearly double the size of the AIG bailout, from $84 billion to $153 billion. If you're doing the math, that is $500 for every man, woman and child in the U.S. I say we just give them $1 trillion and be done with it.

Of course, it's not just AIG. Fannie Mae reported a loss

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U.S. stocks soared yesterday (Tuesday) - with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 485 points in posting its third-biggest point gain ever - as investors surged back into stocks just one day after the surprise rejection of a $700 billion bailout plan touched off a record sell-off.

The U.S. House has passed a $25 billion loan to automakers. It is not a bailout, but a loan that will be financed at the cost of funds of the Treasury. The funds must be used for:

1-A US manufacturing facility where the loan financed is at least 30% of the cost of a plant that produces vehicles that get at least 125% of the average MPG of American cars.

2-To support a facility that is at least 20 years old in the U.S. Most European and Asian facilities in the U.S. are less than 20 years old, so this would essentially go to the Big 3.

Automakers are trying to include auto asset-backed securities (ABS) in the bailout package along with mortgage-backed ABS. Auto ABS spreads have widened by 40% since this crisis, which has made getting an auto loan difficult for anyone with a 720 credit score and below.

Sales have fallen

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