Joe Raedle/Getty Images DETROIT -- The government shutdown dampened -- but didn't stall -- Americans' demand for new cars and trucks. The 16-day shutdown slowed U.S. auto sales in the first two weeks of October, but they picked up speed in the last two weeks. Sales rose 11 percent to 1.2 million. General Motors (GM), Ford (F), Nissan and Chrysler all recorded double-digit sales gains, while Toyota (TM), Honda (HMC) and Hyundai saw smaller increases. Of major automakers, only Volkswagen's sales fell. Stable fuel prices, low interest rates and the increased availability of credit pushed people to buy regardless of the political wrangling, said Kurt McNeil, GM's vice president of U.S. sales. "All those things that have been driving the economy? They're still there," he said. Pickup trucks sold well as business improved for contractors and other workers. Sales of the Chevrolet Silverado, GM's top selling vehicle, jumped 10 percent to nearly 43,000, and Chrysler's Ram truck was up 18 percent. Sales of Ford's F-Series pickups rose 13 percent and topped 60,000 for the sixth month in a row. SUV sales were also strong. Sales of Nissan's Pathfinder, which was recently redesigned, nearly doubled from last October. Sales of the Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban large SUVs both jumped more than 50 percent. The weak spot was small cars and hybrids, which have been struggling to win buyers as gas prices fall. Gas prices averaged $3.27 a gallon at the end of October, the lowest level of the year. The national average has dropped 31 cents since Labor Day, according to AAA. Toyota Prius hybrid sales fell 7 percent while the Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid was down 32 percent. The tiny Fiat 500 fell 36 percent. Sales of Ford's Focus small car were down 17 percent, while its C-Max small hybrid fell 20 percent. Ford recently announced plans to idle the Michigan factory where those vehicles are made for two weeks this fall because of weak demand. U.S. consumers have started to gradually shift from smaller, more fuel-efficient cars to larger vehicles, said Jesse Toprak, an analyst with the TrueCar.com auto pricing web site. Stable gas prices aren't the only reason, he said. Cheap financing and sweet lease deals have made larger vehicles more affordable, cutting the monthly payments so people can afford them even if gas prices go up. "History has shown us that consumers in the U.S. would rather buy a larger vehicle given the choice," Toprak said.
Top 5 Sliver Stocks To Own Right Now: Partner Communications Company Ltd.(PTNR)
Partner Communications Company Ltd. provides various telecommunications services in Israel. It offers cellular telephony services on GSM/GPRS and UMTS/HSDPA networks. The company also provides basic services, including domestic mobile calls, international dialing, roaming, voice mail, short message services, intelligent network services, content based on its cellular portal, data and fax transmission, and other services. In addition, it offers Internet services provider services that provides access to the Internet, as well as home WiFi networks; value added services, such as anti-virus and anti-spam filtering; and transmission services; and Web video on demand services, music tracks, and games. Further, the company provides voice over broadband and primary rate interface fixed-line telephone services; and data capacity services. Additionally, it offers content services comprising voice mail, text, and multimedia messaging, as well as downloadable wireless data application s, including ring tones, music, games, and other informational content; and sells handsets, phones, routers, and related equipment. The company markets its products through its sales centers, business sales representatives, traditional networks of specialized dealers, and non-traditional networks of retail chains and stores under the Orange brand name. Partner Communications Company Ltd. was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Rosh Ha-ayin, Israel.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Garrett Cook]
Telecommunications services shares jumped around 1.19 percent in today’s trading. Top gainers in the sector included NQ Mobile (NYSE: NQ), China Unicom (Hong Kong) (NYSE: CHU), and Partner Communications Company (NASDAQ: PTNR).
Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Popular Inc.(BPOP)
Popular, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides a range of retail and commercial banking products and services primarily to corporate clients, small and middle size businesses, and retail clients in Puerto Rico and Mainland United States. It offers deposit products; commercial, consumer, and mortgage loans, as well as lease finance; and finance and advisory services. The company also offers trust and asset management, brokerage and investment banking, and insurance and reinsurance services. As of December 31, 2010, it owned and occupied approximately 94 branch premises and other facilities in Puerto Rico; and 119 offices, including 20 owned and 99 leased in New York, Illinois, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Popular, Inc. was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Maria Armental var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); popups.forEach]
Popular Inc.(BPOP), Puerto Rico’s largest bank, said Wednesday that regulators approved its plan to repay the $935 million rescue package it received during the financial crisis. Popular was the U.S. government’s largest remaining crisis-era bailout after auto-lender Ally Financial Inc.(ALLY), which has paid back more than the $17.2 billion bailout it received during the financial crisis as a result of going public in April.
- [By Paul Ausick]
Among multinationals, Sterne Agee recommends three banks. The first is Puerto Rico�� Popular Inc. (NASDAQ: BPOP). The mid-cap bank�� stock closed at $28.21 on Friday in a 52-week range of $20.31 to $34.34. Based on Sterne Agee�� 2014 price target of $40.00, Popular has an upside potential of nearly 42% and a 2014 EPS estimate of $2.90. The investment firm�� forward multiple is just 9.6, below the Thomson Reuters consensus multiple of 10.3. Popular received TARP funds in 2009 and could repay the loan in the first quarter of next year, which will give the stock a shot in the arm as well.
- [By Jake L'Ecuyer]
Popular (NASDAQ: BPOP) shares tumbled 5.54 percent to $27.48 after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock from Equal-weight to Underweight.
Pacific Coast Oil Trust (NYSE: ROYT) down, falling 7.13 percent to $16.70 after the company priced a public offering by Pacific Coast Energy Company LP and other selling unitholders of 13,500,000 trust units at a price of $17.10 per unit.
- [By John Udovich]
For investors looking for exposure to the US commonwealth of Puerto Rico, banking stocks Doral Financial Corp (NYSE: DRL), First Bancorp (NYSE: FBP), OFG Bancorp (NYSE: OFG) and Popular Inc (NASDAQ: BPOP) offer the best bet as these Puerto Rico stocks trade on major US exchanges rather than the OTC. However, it should be mentioned that there has been a slowdown in Puerto Rico�� economy which has also shrunk in five of the past seven fiscal years. Then last�February, Puerto Rico�� debt was cut to speculative grade by the three largest credit-rating companies while�Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla has proposed a series of budget cuts to help tackle the island�� mounting debt load -including the freezing public workers��salaries and the closing about 100 schools.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Progress Software Corporation(PRGS)
Progress Software Corporation operates as an enterprise software company worldwide. Its products include Progress OpenEdge platform, which offers development tools, application servers, application management tools, and an embedded database; Progress Orbix to address enterprise integration problems with standards-based solutions; and Progress ObjectStore, an object data management system to store data faster than relational database management system or file-based storage system. The company?s products also comprise Progress Responsiveness Process Management suite for business users; Progress Control Tower, an interactive business control panel; Progress Sonic, which comprises an enterprise messaging system and the enterprise service buses; Progress Actional that provides operational and business visibility, root cause analysis, and policy-based security and control of services; Progress Apama, which offers tools for creating, testing, and deploying strategies for applicat ions, including algorithmic trading, market aggregation, smart order routing, market surveillance and monitoring, and risk management; Progress Savvion BusinessManager, a business process management software; and Fuse products that provide customers with access to professional open source integration and messaging software. In addition, it offers Progress DataDirect Connect products, which provide data connectivity components; Progress DataDirect Shadow to provide foundation architecture for standards-based mainframe integration; and Progress Data Services product set that offers data integration for distributed applications. Further, the company provides maintenance, consulting, training, and customer support services. Progress Software Corporation sells its products to independent software vendors, original equipment manufacturers, and system integrators through direct sales force and independent distributors. The company was founded in 1981 and is based in Bedford, Massac husetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Rich Duprey]
Believing it should have a single, cohesive platform for the development of�cloud and mobile application development technologies, Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS ) announced this morning it was selling its�Apama�complex event processing solution to Software AG for an undisclosed sum.
- [By Garrett Cook]
In trading on Friday, technology shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.15 percent. Top gainers in the sector included Aware (NASDAQ: AWRE), up 15.9 percent, and Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS), up 10.5 percent.
- [By Rick Munarriz]
Progress Software (NASDAQ: PRGS ) moved higher after posting better-than-expected quarterly results this week. The provider of developer tools software saw revenue rise by a better-than-expected 10%, and its adjusted net income of $0.27 a share blew past the $0.22 a share that the market was forecasting.�
- [By John Kell and Lauren Pollock var popups = dojo.query(".socialByline .popC"); ]
Progress Software Corp.(PRGS) trimmed its expectations for the fiscal first quarter, as the business-software provider said results were hurt by lower license sales. Shares dropped 12% to $22.27 premarket.
Hot Cheap Stocks To Buy Right Now: Compass Minerals Intl Inc(CMP)
Compass Minerals International, Inc., through its subsidiaries, produces and markets inorganic mineral products primarily in North America and the United Kingdom. The company operates in two segments, Salt and Specialty Fertilizer. The Salt segment produces salt and magnesium chloride for use in road deicing and dust control, food processing, water softeners, pool salt, and agricultural and industrial applications. This segment also purchases potassium chloride and sells as a finished product. The Specialty Fertilizer segment produces and markets sulphate of potash crop nutrients and industrial grade sulfate of potash for use in the production of specialty fertilizers for vegetables, fruits, potatoes, nuts, tobacco, and turf grass. The company also produces and markets consumer deicing and water conditioning products, ingredients used in consumer and commercial food preparation, and other mineral-based products for consumer, agricultural, and industrial applications. In ad dition, Compass Minerals provides records management services to businesses located in the U.K. The company operates rock salt mines in Goderich, Ontario, Canada; and Winsford, Chesire, the United Kingdom. It primarily serves producers of intermediate chemical products used in the production of vinyls and other chemicals, and pulp and paper, as well as water treatment and other industrial uses. The company markets its products through direct sales personnel, contract personnel, and a network of brokers or manufacturers? representatives. Compass Minerals International, Inc., formerly known as Salt Holdings Corporation, was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Brendan Mathews]
Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP ) is a sleepy producer of a boring product: rock salt. But it has a strong competitive advantage. It owns the world's largest rock salt mine, which luckily is conveniently located near the major deicing markets of the Great Lakes region. This combination of a great mining resource and ideal location provide the company with a wide, crocodile-filled competitive moat.
- [By Roberto Pedone]
Compass Minerals (CMP) is a producer of minerals, including salt, sulfate of potash specialty fertilizer and magnesium chloride. This stock closed up 3.4% at $75.60 in Wednesday's trading session.
Wednesday's Volume: 913,000
Three-Month Average Volume: 212,481
Volume % Change: 315%From a technical perspective, CMP gapped higher here off its recent low of $64.24 with heavy upside volume. This stock recently gapped down sharply from around $90 to $64.24 with heavy downside volume. That move pushed shares of CMP into extremely oversold territory, since the stock's current relative strength index reading is 25.78. Oversold can always get more oversold, but it's also an area where a stock can experience a powerful bounce higher from. Shares of CMP are now starting to move within range of triggering a near-term breakout trade. That trade will hit if CMP manages to take out its gap down day high of $78.20 and then once it clears its 200-day moving average at $79.14 with high volume.
Traders should now look for long-biased trades in CMP as long as it's trending above Wednesday's low of $73.07 or $72.50 and then once it sustains a move or close above those breakout levels with volume that's near or above 212,481 shares. If that breakout hits soon, then CMP will set up to re-fill some of its previous gap down zone that started near $90.
- [By Alex Planes]
PotashCorp's difficulty sustaining its pricing power is underscored by recent reports from sulfate of potash (SOP) producer Compass Minerals (NYSE: CMP ) , which charged a hefty premium of almost $300 per ton against Potash Corp's prices for muriate of potash. Efforts to move away from SOP sales seem to be the right choice -- PotashCorp peer Intrepid Potash's�SOP sales fell by 37%, while the average price received has slumped nearly 14% in the last quarter. Even ore miner BHP Billiton�has recently jumped into the fertilizer industry with a $2.6 billion build-out of a potash mine in Canada, which is all but certain to produce further downward pressure on potash prices.
No comments:
Post a Comment