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Halftime Report 7.16.2012

Citi kicked off the day with stronger-than-expected earnings of $1, analysts expected 89 cents. C reported a 12% fall in net income to $2.9 billion. Revenue for the quarter was $18.6 billion, down from $18.8 last year.

S&P 500 futures were down 2.5 points at 1349.25, NASDAQ futures traded flat at 2577.00, and Dow Jones Industrial Average futures fell 34 points to 12678.00.

EUR/USD futures started the day making lows of $1.2184 to then trade up to the current $1.2274.

Gold futures were nearly flat with a gain of 80 cents to $1592.80 and WTI crude futures gained 65 cents to $87.75.

MasterCard Inc. rose over 3% after reaching a settlement with several large banks over an antitrust lawsuit on credit card processing fees.

Arch Coal fell 7.82% after BMO analysts cut their recommendation for the stock due to weak balance sheets.


David Cornes holds a degree in economics from the University of Montana.

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Movers and Shakers – PRX – 7.16.2012

Private equity group TPG agreed to buy out the pharma company for a premium of 37% over Friday’s closing price,  deal valued at about $1.9 billion. PRX is a specialty pharmaceutical company that develops, manufactures and markets drugs that typically have a high barrier of entry. TPG, a private equity group with $51.5 billion in assets is known for its investments in the healthcare sector.

David Cornes holds a degree in economics from the University of Montana.

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Chris Cruises the Globe 7.16.2012

European shares begin the week mostly flat as the FTSEurofirst currently shows gains of .1% weighed down by profit warnings. Minor Rio Tinto dropped 1.7% after having their price targets downgraded by UBS and Nomura. Recently unstable Nokia lost 3.3% today with news that it has slashed prices of its
smartphone Lumia 900 in half in the US due to competition from rivals such as Apple. Investors remain skeptical and are patiently waiting US June retail sales numbers due out at 12:30 GMT.

Eurozone trade balance for May came in at 6.9B vs 4B expected and 3.7B from the prior month. The CPI for June came in plus 2.4% unchanged from May.

CLSA downgraded both Tyson foods and Smithfield foods today to underperform from buy and cut prices targets on the two food giants. Tyson is down in pre-trade while Smithfield is currently up.

Tata Motors, currently up 1.61%, is in talks with the Brazilian government to expand manufacturing capabilities to build Jaguar Land Rover Freelanders.

Commodities begin the week with a bleak outlook showing crude, natural gas, gold and silver all down at the moment.

Contributer Chris Rygh is currently pursuing his MBA in Wisconsin and has a passion for the Market. Comments can be directed to ryghcw19@uww.edu