World stocks slid on Wednesday after a mixed report on U.S. durable goods orders reignited doubts about economic recovery while oil prices fell on news of rising U.S. crude stockpiles.

The U.S. dollar gained, retracing the week’s losses, as the durables goods report for July eroded risk appetite and prompted investors to seek shelter in the safe-haven greenback.

Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods registered the biggest advance since July 2007, but excluding transportation goods, orders for durables were slightly below expectations.

Slippage among global stocks that climbed to 10-month highs this week boosted money flows into less risky assets, such as European government bonds, which also gained from some modest month-end buying, traders said.

Economic data in Europe showed further signs of recovery, as did a report showing U.S. new home sales jumped in July to their fastest pace in 10 months.

But a key measure of U.S. business demand — nondefense capital goods, excluding

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Electronic Arts (NASDAQ :ERTS) is set to report earnings after the close and if they have anything good to say, you can bet Take-Two Interactive Software (NASDAQ:TTWO) shares will move seeing how they just hit $6.70 yesterday.  Since Sept 08, shares of TTWO are ...

December 10, 2008 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Cowen amp; Companyrsquo;s Robert Stone weighed in this morning on several solar companies including Hoku Scientific (Nasdaq:HOKU), Evergreen Solar (Nasdaq:ESLR) and Ascent Solar Technologies (Nasdaq:ASTI), downgrading each of the stocks to NEUTRAL. Here are his takeaways: Hoku (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Prepayment delays and potential difficulty obtaining additional financing in 2009 may slow startup of poly plant; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Cut FY09, FY10 and FY11 revenue and earnings estimates based on slower ramp, lower ASPs and reduced GMs; Evergreen Solar (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Uncertainty in the PV market increases Evergreenrsquo;s execution risk in its capacity ramps; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Concerns about increased expenses in the current environment which Evergreen will need to launch its string-ribbon technology; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Further capitalization in 2009 is going to be tough; middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Cut FY09 modeling lower ASPs and reduced GMs; Ascent Solar (reduced from OUTPERFORM to NEUTRAL) middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Weaker Euro ...

November 24, 2008 ndash; A-Power (Nasdaq:APWR) reported Q3 results last week, posting a 120% Y/Y increase in revenue, a 124% Y/Y increase in net income, affirming earnings guidance of $35 million for 2008 and $70 million for 2009. Management reported a strong balance sheet of $59 million with no debt. Meanwhile, the stock closed at $3.45 on Friday, posting a $112 million market cap, and is trading below book value. What gives? The Bad News The stockrsquo;s decline to $3.45 from $20 at the beginning of September is a consequence of several factors, in our opinion, none of which include failure to execute. First, the broader markets have pulled back over the same period considerably. The Nasdaq has traded down about 1,100 points, or 45% over this period. Second, rumors have been widespread that a major holder of APWR, a fund, has been liquidating stock. Whether or not this is true ...

November 7, 2008 – Analyst Notes – This morning Cowen & Company’s Rob Stone noted on Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER) that he expects Q1:09 EPS to meet or beat estimates, and sees 60%+ upside versus the market in 12 months, reiterating his outperform on the stock. Other notes: ·         ENER’s BIPV laminate is a differentiated application ·         ENER has consistently executed vs. conservative guidance ·         The balance of FY09 is covered by fixed price, take-or-pay contracts all in USD Stone’s conclusion is that he thinks ENER is one of the PV stocks investors should focus on in the current market, offering a unique product, with specialized channel partners that provides a lower installed cost, higher energy yield, better integration with roofing material and higher subsidies. He also expects margin expansion on higher scale and lower material costs and that capacity expansion is fully funded through FY2010. Other analysts have made the following ...

October 30, 2008 – First Solar (Nasdaq:FSLR) yesterday after the market, reported Q3 revenues of $348.7 million, up from $267 million in the prior quarter, and $159 million for the same period last year. Net income was $99.3 million, or $1.20 per share (fully diluted), compared with $69.7 million, or $0.85 per share in the prior quarter and $46 million, or $0.58 per share last year. The stock closed at $115.75 in yesterday’s session, at a P/S ratio of 9.39 times trailing twelve-months revenue and a P/E ratio of 33 times trailing twelve month earnings. Here are some updates and our take: First Solar remains a thoroughbred in a fast field. Management raised its 2008 sales forecast to a range of $1.22 billion to $1.24 billion and it expects sales of $2 to $2.1 billion in 2009. Its total backlog is $6.3 billion.   They also announced yesterday that they are now ...

October 28, 2008 –Energy Conversion Devices (Nasdaq:ENER) has been one of the best performers, year-to-date amongst all of the solar companies. Even at yesterday’s $28.05 closing price, which puts it down 17% year-to-date, it still is. But the stock has pulled back remarkably from the $70 level which it was trading at in September, and the question is whether the stock is oversold, or if there is still more room to the downside.  ENER is a leading manufacturer of thin-film solar laminates that are flexible and durable, targeted at the commercial rooftop and building integrated PV (“BIPV”) markets. The business is in the process of expansion of production capacity to 1GW by 2012, from 118MW nameplate capacity at present. Highlights from most recent financial report   ·         Reported Q4 revenues of $82.4 million, up 18% sequentially from $70 million, and 129% Y/Y. Solar product revenues were $77 million, up 19% sequentially and 161% ...

Several game publishers and video console manufacturers experienced gains today as investors anticipated favorable numbers in researcher NPD Group’s monthly retail sales report for the sector. The report is due out on Thursday. Michael Pachter, an analyst for Wedbush Morgan conveyed his expectation of $600 million in reported video game sales for the month of August. This would reflect a gain of over twenty percent compared to August, 2007.

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GameStop (GME) – GameStop is the world’s largest video game retailer, operating more than 4,800 stores worldwide. It acquired its largest competitor Electronic Boutique back in 2005 and since then has had virtually no competition in the space.