Apache (APA) was assigned a new outperform rating today by Credit Suisse (CS) with a $120 price target, as recent acquisition moves should lead to accelerated growth. Shares are higher by about 2.1 percent.
Friday Sector Leaders: General Contractors & Builders, Home Furnishings & Improvement Stocks
In trading on Friday, general contractors & builders shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 4%. Leading the group were shares of M D C Holdings (MDC), up about 6.2% and shares of Lennar (LEN.
Coming to America? No Longer…
The Woodward Report: There’s No Business Like…Football!
In Forbes magazine’s rankings of the 50 most valuable sports clubs in the world, a majority are NFL clubs. But how can a sport with limited worldwide appeal outperform clubs that play the other kind of football (soccer), which marketing experts say has at least 10 times as many fans worldwide?
One answer lies in the very business model of NFL clubs, which requires all clubs to share revenue and accept competitive regulation. It is a profitable form of socialism, and one that European football clubs may be heading towards. Beginning with the 2012 season, UEFA will implement the Financial Fair Play Rules in hopes of balancing both team budgets and league competition.
Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes, Mike Davis and Richard Alm of SMU and Brett Daniels of the Dallas Cowboys talk about why this form of “socialism” is so profitable and whether it could ever work in the context of European football.
Producer/host:
Brian Woodward
Additional reporting:
Lasse Engelbrecht Jensen
Carina Møller Jensen
Facebook Salaries Revealed
With Facebook’s IPO, their S1 filing revealed a lot of interesting,never before known information that has been now been made public. Andthat includes the nitty gritty of just how much Facebook’s topexecutives were paid In 2011. Its no surprise, CEO and cofounder MarkZuckerberg sat at the top of the salary pyramid in 2011. But you maybe surprised, its a lot more than what he’s going to get in 2012.This year, Zuckerberg’s annual salary will decrease to $1.That would be $483,332 dollars LESS than what he made last year, notto mention his $220,500 bonus.And last year he also received an additional $783,529 for personalcosts includingthe use of chartered aircrafts for friends and family, which isconsidered part of his security plan.But don’t feel too bad for the CEO with a $1 salary – after all, heowns 28.4% of Facebook which equates to roughly $25 billion dollars.
Earnings Wrap: EL, AON
Estee Lauder (EL) announced that quarterly profit increased to $396.7 million, or $1.00 per share, up from $343.9 million, or 86 cents per share, in the same period last year. Sales increased by ten percent to $2.74 billion.
Apple Exploring TV Components
Piper Jaffray (NYSE:PJC) continues to believe Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is arranging to launch a television after speaking to a major TV component supplier who was contacted by Apple regarding various capabilities of their television display components.The firm said it is confident that Apple will enter the connected TV market, but notes the timing remains uncertain. The firm thinks a television launch target is likely in late 2012 and keeps an Overweight rating on Apple shares.Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has potential upside of 24.9% based on a current price of $458.41 and an average consensus analyst price target of $572.5.
USD Rallies Following Non-Farm Payrolls
Source: ForexYard
The USD posted gains across the board on Friday, following the release of a better than expected US Non-Farm Payrolls figure. The US added 243K jobs in January, a significantly better number than the forecasted 150K. The positive jobs report resulted in the US Unemployment Rate dropping 0.2% to 8.3%, its lowest level in three years.
Following the release of the employment figure, the dollar rallied against virtually all of its currency rivals, including the euro and Japanese yen. The EUR/USD dropped as low as 1.3065, before staging an upward correction. The USD/JPY shot up over 50 pips, reaching as high as 76.72. The bullish dollar temporarily eased fears that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) would soon intervene to limit yen growth.
Whether or not the dollar is able to maintain its bullish momentum next week, is largely dependant on euro-zone news. Specifically, investors will be closely watching Greece to see if that country can successfully come to a debt swap agreement with its investors. Additionally, rumors that Portugal could be on its way to defaulting on its debt have weighed down on the common currency. Should any positive euro-zone announcements be released next week, investors may shift their assets toward riskier currencies and give the euro a boost.
Forex Market Analysis provided by ForexYard.
© 2006 by FxYard Ltd
Disclaimer: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.
Investing in Alternative Assets
Rarely have Americans faced a more challenging investment landscape.
Bonds yield next to nothing. Money markets pay literally nothing. Residential real estate is swamped in a flood of short sales and foreclosures. Gold – after climbing six-fold over the last 12 years – may have topped out. And stocks are gyrating madly.
Given all this, where does the prudent investor put his money to work?
That’s what I asked Rick Pfeifer, an Oxford Club Pillar One Advisor and Senior Portfolio Manager with Fund Advisors of America, a Maitland, Florida-based money management firm, in a recent interview:
Q: Rick, the typical investor is disgusted with the yields on bonds and cash and scared to death of the stock market. What are you saying to clients?
A: I’m telling them that now is an excellent time to take a portion of their portfolio and diversify into alternative assets: convertible bonds, preferred shares, foreign currencies, hedge positions, ultra-cheap commodities and so on.
Q: Okay, let’s take these one at a time. What are you buying now and why?
A: We recently launched a managed account for individual investors that we call The Global Hedge Portfolio. The idea is not to replace your traditional stock and bond portfolio, but to offer a complement to it. We’re seeking profits in investments that don’t move in lockstep with either the S&P 500 or Lehman’s Treasury Index.
Q: Give me a couple of “for-instances.”
A: Take the situation in the Eurozone, for example. We see European leaders and the European Central bank doing a whole lot of talking, but we don’t see genuine, concrete steps toward solving the huge fiscal problems in Southern Europe. Some might even argue that the reason they haven’t yet taken serious corrective steps is because their options are so limited. Italy, for example, is simply too big an economy to bail out, in my view. My co-strategist Greg Galloway and I forecast that the euro will fall to parity with the dollar within 12 months. So we are short the euro in our Global Hedge Portfolio.
Q: Can’t fault your thinking there. I’ve been saying much the same thing for months now. What else are you doing?
A: We’re investing in overlooked asset classes with plenty of upside potential. Take timber, for example. Over the long run, investments in timber have beaten stocks by about 4% annually – and with considerably less volatility. Plus, timber is uncorrelated to stocks, making it an excellent way to balance your portfolio. One timber trust we own is seeing revenue grow 23% annually. Operating margins top 24%. And we’re getting a 3.5% dividend yield, too.
Q: What else are you buying?
A: We’re finding bargains in certain international markets, particularly Asia and Latin America. Because domestic demand there is growing, these areas are largely immune to problems here at home and in the Eurozone. For example, we’re buying an Asian auto manufacturer that’s selling for just half of annual sales. It’s trading at a substantial discount to book and should easily triple its earnings this year. We’re also picking up undervalued oil assets in Brazil, high-yielding energy trusts in Canada, a high-quality wine maker in Chile and the world’s leading food company, denominated in Swiss francs.
Q: How about metals?
A: We’re not buying commodities directly. Instead, we’re buying metal producers that appear undervalued and have big dividends attached.
Q: What about gold?
A: I don’t know what gold is going to do and I don’t think anyone else knows, either. But some gold producers are selling at mouth-watering prices right now, even if gold goes nowhere. One of our favorites yields 10% right now. If gold takes off, great. But if it moves sideways for a while, a 10% yield makes it a comfortable wait.
Q: What if gold moves south?
A: We run trailing stops on our investment positions. That gives us unlimited upside potential with strictly limited downside risk.
Q: Anything else you really like?
A: Quite a few things, really. I’ll mention one. Residential real estate is a mess, not only in the United States but in many overseas markets, as well. But we’re finding real bargains in commercial real estate in select overseas markets. Of course, we’re not buying the buildings themselves. Our investments are totally liquid. And, in addition to potential share price appreciation here, some of the assets are currently yielding more than 7%.
Q: Good to know, Rick. And an excellent reminder that for investors who are willing to invest worldwide, there are always opportunities available somewhere. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us today, Rick.
A: Any time. It’s my pleasure.
Good Investing,
Alexander Green
Article by Investment U
An Hour a day is all you need to successfully trade
An hour a day is all you need to successfully trade –
With the advances in technology and easily accessible information, the forex market has seen a surge in the number of participants in recent times. A laptop or desktop PC with an internet connection is all that’s required to trade the markets. More and more brokers are offering traders the option to trade on Smartphone’s or Tablets meaning trading can take place almost anywhere with relative ease.
Contrary to popular belief, trading need not be a time consuming activity. An hour or two a day is all that’s required to successfully trade the FX market. Many trades make the elementary mistake of over analyzing and over complicating their approach to the markets.
Its true the Forex market is a constantly changing environment, however, attempting to react to every change the market makes is unwise and near impossible. Reacting to price changes and patterns on higher timeframes has proven to be a lot more time efficient and can produce better results in the long run. With the market being open 24hours a day 5 days a week many trades fall into the trap of thinking they need to be trading and analyzing the markets all the time.
The market has 3 main trading sessions: Asian, European and U.S. Obviously with traders being located all over the world, trading all three sessions can prove to be a difficult task for an individual trader. Each session varies in volatility and activity. The Asian sessions tends to be quieter with the main action usually occurring in the European and U.S. sessions.
The best and most reliable market analysis should be taken from a higher timeframe (Daily/Weekly). With each trading day starting at the open of the Asian session and finishing at the close of the U.S. session, traders can set a specific time of day to analyze the markets meaning they do not need to sit in front of their screens all day waiting for something to happen.
Analysis of the daily charts is best done at the end of the U.S. session at the open of the new trading day in Asia. A trader can analyze yesterday’s market action using the daily chart and determine what trades, if any they plan to take today.
How to analyze the markets using a daily chart –
View the markets once a day at the end of the U.S. session and open of the new trading day in Asia.
Analyze each pair you actively trade separately preventing you from letting another pair influence your analysis.
Identify specific support and resistance areas and note any new swing highs or lows the market made during yesterdays trading.
Evaluate yesterday’s price action. Make a note of yesterdays daily chart pattern. For example, did yesterday’s price close the day with a pin bar, Hikkake etc…? Or did it simply do nothing?
Decide what, if any, trades are going to be taken today.
If your analysis suggests you will take a trade, place the trade after determining your entry, stop and target, not forgetting your money management and Risk: Reward ratios.
Leave the market alone. Step away from your screen as your market analysis has now finished.
Come back at a later time in the day or at the end of the day to check on your trade and decide how you wish to manage the trade from here.
Do the same again the next day remembering not to spend to long over analyzing and over complicating.
As you can see, daily market analysis need not be a time consuming activity and should only take one or two hours a day. It’s wise to keep a note pad or diary with you while analyzing the markets remembering to jot down specific details your analysis suggests. Keeping a diary or note pad of this sort is not only a good habit to keep, but will give you a better understanding of the movements the markets makes each day providing easier and enhanced analysis as time progresses.
Once a trader becomes proficient in trading higher timeframes such as the daily charts mentioned above, they can move to a lower TF such as the 4hr chart. The same analysis can be taken on the 4hr chart as the daily, however this time the trader should analyze the markets at each close of a 4hour candle.
Proper market analysis is crucial to the success and longevity of a trader’s career. Market analysis should not take more than an hour or two a day and should be kept as simple as possible. It’s wise to remember when trading to, K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid….!) Once a trader has become proficient in proper market analysis trading becomes second nature, resulting in better performance and profitability.
