Author: FX_Trdr

American Eagle (AEO) was upgraded by Wells Fargo (WFC) to outperform from market perform as the business is being turned around by the new management team. Shares are higher by about 1.25 percent.

In trading on Thursday, metals & mining shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 1.7%. Leading the group were shares of Prospect Global Resources (PGRX), up about 9.9% and shares of James River Coal (JRCC) up about 8.9% on the day.

Verizon Communications (VZ) announced that quarterly profit increased by 16 percent, due to higher revenue from its data business and iPhone sales. The company said it was on track to meet 2012 goals.

The Natuashish Innu band has been struggling to pay its employees since August, but financial audits obtained by CBC News show that spending began spiralling out of control three years ago

US stocks showed some strength in the last hour of today’s session on news that housing starts jumped to a four-year high. But a disappointing outlook from Intel (INTC) and lower than expected earnings from IBM (IBM) dampened hopes for a major rally.

Xerox (XRX) had its estimates and price target increased by BMO (BMO) as the company has been buying back stock and controlling expenses. A market perform rating was issued.

The Commerce Department announced on Wednesday that housing starts increased by 15 percent during September to a seasonally adjusted 872,000 units, beating analyst estimates. The new numbers represent the fastest pace of groundbreaking since the summer of 2008.

Intel (INTC) announced that it expects fourth-quarter revenue of $13.6 billion, plus or minus $500 million, below forecasts of $13.74 billion. The company also expects fourth-quarter gross margins of 57 percent to 58 percent on a non-GAAP basis, below average expected gross margins of about 62 percent.

Dun & Bradstreet Corporation (DNB) maintained its quarterly dividend of 38 cents per share. This quarterly cash dividend is payable on December 13, 2012, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 28, 2012.

ADT (ADT) was rated a new outperform by Credit Suisse (CS) with a price target of $45, as the company offers long term value with a very low cost of capital. Shares are higher by about 1.6 percent.