Kinder Morgan, Dan Wheldon: Hot Trends

Popular searches include Kinder Morgan (KMI) on news the company will buy El Paso (EP) for $21.1 billion.

The agreement would create the largest natural-gas pipeline network in the United States, with 67,000 miles of gas lines.

Kinder Morgan shareholders will own about 68% of the company, while El Paso shareholders will own the rest. The combined company, which will keep Kinder Morgan's name, will become the biggest of North America's midstream energy companies.

The cash-and-stock deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2012 and needs regulatory approval.

"Dan Wheldon" is trending after the 33-year old race car driver died in a 15-car pile-up at the GoDaddy IndyCar Challenge in Las Vegas on Sunday.

The two-time Indianapolis 500 winner had been traveling more than 220 miles per hour into a turn when the car climbed the back of another vehicle and burst into flames. Wheldon had been the only driver to accept a challenge to compete for a $5 million bonus in the race and had promised to split the money with a randomly chosen fan.

He became the first driver to die on the race track since Paul Dana in 2006.

Wal-Mart (WMT) is another popular search. The retail giant said Ed Chan, the president of Wal-Mart China , is stepping down for personal reasons.

Chan had led the company since 2007. His departure comes after a Chinese government food safety case against several Wal-Mart stores led to two employee arrests, 13 stores being temporarily closed and the company fined on charges of passing off regular pork as higher-priced organic meat.

Chan's departure, Wal-Mart said, is unrelated to the case.

The chatter on Main Street (a.k.a. Google, Yahoo! and other search sites) is always of interest to investors on Wall Street. Thus, each day, Th! eStreet compiles the stories that are trending on the Web, and highlights the news that could make stocks move.

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Europe Optimism Prevails On Street

At Today's Close

• DJIA up 162 (+1.4%) to 11,869
• S&P 500 up 12 (+1%) to 1,242
• Nasdaq up 12.25 (+0.5%) to 2,650

Global Sentiment

• Nikkei down 0.2%
• Hang Seng up 0.5%.
• Shanghai Composite up 0.7%.
• FTSE-100 up 0.5%.
• DAX-30 down 0.5%.

Stock averages end in the upper portion of the day's range as optimism for a European debt fix prevails despite mixed news leaking from Wednesday's leadership summit. Mixed tech earnings limited the Nasdaq's upside.

Stock indexes wavered amid varying headlines out of Europe, with Bloomberg reporting European Union talks with banks on bondholder losses had stalled, despite what seemed to be a building consensus on a 50% write-down for Greece's lenders.

Another report, this one sending markets higher, said China will buy bonds issued by the EFSF (European Financial Stability Facility).

At the summit, leaders are expected to announce details on recapitalizing European banks, addressing Greece's debt burden and boosting the EFSF, according to news reports.

U.S. economic news was positive.

New home purchases increased by a greater amount than forecast in September, rising 5.7% to 313,000, according to Bloomberg, citing data from the U.S. Department of Commerce. Economists had expected a gain of 300,000, according to a poll by Bloomberg.

Orders for durable goods fell 0.8% in September, almost entirely because of lower demand for autos and commercial aircraft. Orders minus transportation rose 1.7% and orders for core capital goods, which omit the volatile defense and transportation sectors, climbed 2.4%.

Crude for December delivery declined $2.97 to settle at $90.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That snapped a three-day winning streak for oil futures.

Gold for December delivery finished up 1.4% to $1,723.50 an ounce. In other metal fu! tures, s ilver was up 0.9% to $33.35 a troy ounce while copper was up 2.54% to $3.50. The U.S. Dollar Index was down 0.01% to $76.22.

Also, the Energy Information Administration reported that crude supplies rose 4.7 million barrels compared with analysts' call for a modest 200,000-barrel increase, according to Platts, the Energy information arm of McGraw-Hill.

Gasoline inventories fell by 1.4 million barrels and distillate inventories fell by 4.3 million barrels. Analysts were looking for gasoline stockpiles to fall 1.25 million barrels, and distillates to fall 1.5 million, according to Platt's.

As for company news:

Biogen Idec (BIIB) firmed after the company said that its BG-12 pill to treat multiple sclerosis met its treatment goals in a study. The results help to clear a path toward regulatory filings, MarketWatch noted in a report.

Shares of IBM (IBM) lost their early upside after the company said late yesterday that it promoted Virginia M. Rometty as president and chief executive officer. Rometty is Big Blue's first female CEO. Also this morning, IBM said it completed the acquisition of Q1 Labs Inc., a privately-held company based in Waltham, Mass.

Shares of MetLife (MET) were down after regulators blocked the life insurance company from raising its dividend, several media outlets report. Shares are down 3.69%, or $1.24, to $31.59. The Federal Reserve had made the move citing the a more stringent stress test to be conducted in 2012, Reuters noted in a report on the matter.

ConocoPhillips (COP) shares were down after the U.S. oil major reported EPS excluding certain items of $2.52 compared to the Street view, usually ex items, of $2.18. While the profit beat forecast, charges from asset sale losses sunk profit 16% from a year ago, The Wall Street Journal noted.

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) FFIV continues evening gain that followed earnings, buyback news.

(+) BA beats with earnings, raises guidance.

(+) GL! W beats with earnings.

(+) FSLR rebounds slightly from Tuesday plunge; earnings, guidance miss.

(+) COP gains after earnings.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) NOK unveils first Windows Phone smart phones.

(-) AMZN warns on revenue.

(-) S issues mixed earnings, subscription numbers.

(-) F reports mostly positive results.

(-) MET downgraded.

(-) BRCM continues evening drop that followed earnings beat but revenue warning.

(-) HGSI downgraded.

(-) NOC sales miss, raises guidance.

(-) CHRW downgraded.

Trade Updates for Monday, October 10th: ANGO, AMCX, SNE

Tags: Best Stocks For 2012 In my last ,Top Stocks To Buy For 2012 ,'The Way Forward' Is Way Off

Penny stocks to watch: ANGO, AMCX, SNE

AngioDynamics Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGO) is up 3.81% to $14.44.?One?day after the medical device maker announced its first quarter results, the company cited costs related to its search for a new CEO and the closing of a UK facility as being the reason for fluctuation. (NASDAQ: ANGO), (ANGO)

AMC Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: AMCX)?is up 1.47% to $33.11. The stock?is moving upon news that it entered a licensing agreement with Netflix to stream its content. (NASDAQ: AMCX), (AMCX)

Sony Corp. (NYSE: SNE)?is up 4.10% to $19.00. Reuters reported that the electronics retailer is in talks to buy out Ericsson��s Stake in their mobile phone joint venture. (NYSE: SNE), (SNE)

 

Why Blaming ETFs Doesn't Make Sense

Tags: Best Stocks ,Hot Stocks For 2012 ,Top Stocks ,Earnings Preview - UBS to post Q3 results

I've really gotten a kick out of all attention ETFs have gotten in the last few days, but I wasn't sure exactly why -- and then it clicked: scapegoatism. We are having severe financial problems on an almost global scale (I say almost because there are plenty of countries that have just been dealing with cyclical downturns) and we need someone or something to blame it on.

The crisis came about from some combo (define it however you want) of a flawed regulatory backdrop and greed on the part of people (bankers, if you like, and people who lied on mortgage applications). We are now at a point where the newness of it is long over, but in the most affected countries there does not appear to be an end in sight.

This is slogging on with various market abnormalities (real and perceived) with no signs of returning to the way it used to be, so we need something to blame. Actually, we need more than one thing to blame, as blame for one thing exhausts, we need something new to blame.

Right now the blame directed toward ETFs is relatively intense. They are distorting the markets in several different ways, the non-plain vanillas pose serious risks to the unsuspecting investing public.

This is a manifestation of herd mentality that I think is similar to the need to explain things, along the lines of "the market was down today because..." We need to understand why even if that means blaming the wrong thing for the wrong reason or somehow just not being correct. As I've said a couple of times, the "blame ETFs" theme misses the mark in terms of understanding how much of the current m! alfuncti on is attributable to ETFs--far less is attributable than people think. Although I concede that they might contribute to distortions, they are a small and possibly insignificant part of the equation. It is even possible that it is something else that is distorting ETFs in such a way as to make it look like ETFs are at fault.

We did not understand what the financial crisis really was in real time (we probably don't fully understand it yet, several years after it started) and so I believe we are very unlikely to understand what is now distorting the market in real time.

Some traders will be able to trade this environment, and some won't. But how is that different than any other time in market history? Some investors will keep their heads and navigate through fairly successfully, and others will not. Again, that is the same as any other period in market history. Invariably that will draw comments telling me why this time is uniquely unfair or whatever, but it is not as different as many think.

Futures Rally Ahead of Eurozone Summit

Tags: AAPL ,MSFT ,SNE ,Remembering Steve Jobs 1955-2011

U.S. stock futures followed European stocks higher on Friday as pressure built for eurozone lawmakers to iron out their disagreements over how to stem the debt crisis.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average were up 108 points, or 95 points above fair value, at 11,485. Futures for the S&P 500 were up 13 points, or 11 points above fair value, at 1223 and Nasdaq futures were up 23 points, or 21 points above fair value, at 2326.

European leaders will meet later this afternoon in Brussels as well as over the weekend to discuss how to leverage the region's rescue fund. German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have pushed back their targeted date for agreeing on a plan from Sunday to Wednesday, saying that they aim for an "ambitious" plan. A summit on Oct. 26 was added to the original one slated for Sunday, Oct. 23.

The blue-chip Dow index has swung from positive to negative or vice versa for 10 straight sessions, according to Dow Jones. That's the longest such run since a similar stretch in May 2009 when the market was still digesting its bounce off the financial crisis lows set in March of that year.

The volatility was the result of several incremental developments in Europe, which overshadowed encouraging U.S. economic data and some bright spots in earnings. While lawmakers in Europe seem committed to reaching a resolution, they still disagree over how to leverage ! the euro zone rescue fund.

On Friday, U.S. futures are slightly higher following gains in European stocks. London's FTSE was gaining 1.2% while Germany's DAX was up 2.2%.

Asian stocks edged higher and copper rallied after five days of losses. Japan's Nikkei Average finished about flat and Hong Kong's Hang Seng edged up 0.24%.

Also tempering the sentiment Friday was a slew of U.S. earnings news. Three Dow components reported before the bell. General Electric(GE) earnings rose 57% to $3.22 billion but its earnings per share dropped to 22 cents from 28 cents when analysts had expected earnings per share of 31 cents. Shares were slipping 1.2% before the bell.

Verizon's third quarter profit edged past Wall Street consensus. The company targeted full year adjusted earnings per share growth of 5% to 8% and revenue growth of 4% to 8% from the previous the year. Shares were sliding 1.6% to $36.50.

Meanwhile, Dow component McDonald's(MCD) gained 3.5% after the fast-food chain beat profit expectations.

Chipotle Mexican Grill(CMG) gained 4% in pre market trading after reporting earnings of $1.90 a share, that beat Wall Street's estimate of $1.85 a share. The food chain also said expects up to 145 in store openings for 2011.

Aerospace products and services company Honeywell(HON) rose 1.8%, after raising its full-year sales outlook by about 13% to $36.70 billion from last year's sales and after beating profit estimates by 10 cents per share.

Shares of Microsoft(MSFT) were slipping 0.33% after the software maker largely met profit expectations on Thursday, reporting earnings of $5.74 billion for the fiscal first quarter, up from $5.4 billion a year ago.

Ahead of the bell, the dollar index, a measure of the dollar's value against a basket of currencies, was gaining 0.1%. The benchmark 10-year Treasury ! was last gaining 4/32, diluting the yield to 2.18%.

Gold for December delivery was gaining $11.40 to trade at $1624 an ounce. In other commodities, the December crude oil contract was edging up 15 cents to trade at $86.22 a barrel.

No U.S. economic releases are slated for Friday.

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Top 10 Popular Stocks Buzzing Our Trading Screens Today

Tags: Best Stocks ,Hot Stocks ,Top Stocks ,Profit from Rollover Interest in Forex

Wall St. Watchdog reveals information about 10 hot stocks that have hit our trading screens here at Wall St. Watchdog in the morning:

1. Cheniere Energy, Inc. (AMEX:LNG): Shares of Cheniere Energy, Inc. are trading higher over 56% today. Cheniere Energy, Inc., through subsidiaries, develops liquefied natural gas terminals, and explores for oil and natural gas. The Company explores for oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico.
2. Panera Bread Company (NASDAQ:PNRA): Shares of Panera Bread Company are trading higher 15% today. Panera Bread Company owns and franchises bakery cafes. The Company’s bakeries operate under the Panera Bread and Saint Louis Bread Co. names. Panera operates throughout the United States and offers free broadband Wi-Fi network.
3. Broadcom Corporation (NASDAQ:BRCM): Shares of Broadcom Corporation are trading lower over 2% today. Broadcom Corporation provides integrated silicon solutions that enable broadband digital data transmission of voice, data, and video content to the home and within the business enterprise. The Company designs, develops, and supplies integrated circuits for cable set-top boxes, cable modems, high-speed networking, direct satellite and digital broadcast, and digital subscriber line.
4. MF Global Holdings Ltd (NYSE:MF): Shares of MF Global Holdings Ltd are trading lower 24% today. MF Global Holdings Ltd. provides execution and clearing services for exchange-traded and OTC derivative products, non-derivative foreign exchange products and securities in the cash market.
5. Am! azon.com , Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN): Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. are trading lower over 11% today. Amazon.com, Inc. is an online retailer that offers a wide range of products. The Company’s products include books, music, videotapes, computers, electronics, home and garden, and numerous other products. Amazon offers personalized shopping services, Web-based credit card payment, and direct shipping to customers.
6. RadioShack Corporation (NYSE:RSH): Shares of RadioShack Corporation are trading lower over 12% today. RadioShack Corporation operates a chain of retail consumer electronics goods and services stores located throughout the United States and Mexico, along with wireless phone kiosks in the US, and dealer outlets worldwide. The Company offers consumers wireless phone and other electronic products and services from national brands and exclusive private brands and wireless carriers.
7. Valassis Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCI): Shares of Valassis Communications, Inc. are trading lower over 12% today. Valassis Communications, Inc. is a media and marketing services company serving a wide range of industries. The Company and its subsidiaries offer products and services to mass or targeted audiences by mail, in newspapers and stores, and online. Valassis also offers coupon redemption and management; promotion and sweepstakes security; and frequent shopper data collection and analysis.
8. WellPoint, Inc. (NYSE:WLP): Shares of WellPoint, Inc. are trading higher over 3% today. WellPoint Inc. is a health benefits company. The Company provides health benefits, dental and vision benefits, pharmacy benefits, life insurance, and life and disability insurance benefits. WellPoint operations include Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans.
9. Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP): Shares of Tupperware Brands Corporation are trading higher over 2% today! . Tupper ware Brands Corporation is a portfolio of global direct selling companies which sell products across multiple brands and categories through an independent sales force. The Company’s product brands and categories include food preparation, storage, and serving solutions for the kitchen and home. Tupperware Brands Corp also sells beauty and personal care products.
10. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO): Shares of Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. are trading lower over 9% today. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. manufactures scientific instruments, consumables, and chemicals. The Company offers analytical instruments, laboratory equipment, software, services, consumables, reagents, chemicals, and supplies to pharmaceutical and biotech companies, hospitals and clinical diagnostic labs, universities, research institutions, and government agencies.

RIM: ThinkEquity Sees Threat In Google-Samsung Event

Tags: Best Canadian Stocks To Invest In 2012 ,Canadian Stocks For 2012 ,LVS ,Las Vegas Sands Jumps After Beating 3Q EPS Expectations

ThinkEquity’s Mark McKechnie this morning offers up his thoughts on the product unveiling happening next week between Google (GOOG) and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF).

It’s been known the two will probably introduce a phone based on Google’s “Android” operating system, and McKechnie notes that Google’s chief executive, Larry Page, last night mentioned the event during the company’s Q3 conference call.

Page said simply, “We’re really looking forward to our announcements with Samsung next week, which I think will be very exciting.” But he also made reference to the “soon-to-be released new version of Android called Ice Cream Sandwich.” That update has been widely anticipated for many months now.

McKechnie offers that the device could be a “high-end compliment to their existing Galaxy S2 line of smartphones,” and maybe a “Google Experience” phone, referring to the models Google uses to showcase technology.

But he also thinks one of the devices will have a traditional hardware QWERTY keyboard, “similar to a Droid but more usable.”

That poses a possible direct challenge to Research in Motion (RIMM), he thinks.

“We would see such a product as most threatening to RIMM, particularly if it comes with improved messaging / security features. We also expect Samsung to focus on building its o! wn video /audio content “ecosystem” along with GOOG/Android to compete with Apple.”

McKechnie thinks the Google, Samsung unveiling, and today’s debut of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone 4S, are among developments happening over the next several weeks that could be hard for RIM, and for Nokia (NOK) as well.

“We believe the new iPhone and Samsung offerings, not to mention the upcoming [Amazon.com (AMZN)] Kindle Fire launch, could prove most challenging to RIMM and NOK’s Windows Phone7 plans as the battle of the smart phone ecosystems intensifies.”

RIM shares today are up 32 cents, or 1.4%, at $23.61 in early trading.

Canadian Dollar Tied To S&P 500, G-20 And US Growth Outlook In Focus

Tags: Best Stocks ,Best Stocks Investing ,Top Stock Picks For 2012 ,8 Takeover/LBO Targets With Strong Sources Of Profitability

By Ilya Spivak, Currency Strategist

Fundamental Forecastfor CanadianDollar: Neutral

• Canadian Dollar Maintains Strong Correlation to S&P 500
• Speculative Sentiment Hints Canadian Dollar Rally to Continue
• FX Options, Futures Hint Long-Term USDCAD Bias Bullish

The Canadian Dollar remains intimately tied to the trends in market-wide risk sentiment, with prices showing an iron-clad correlation to the S&P 500 benchmark stock index. Looking ahead, this puts the spotlight on the evolution of the EU debt crisis as well as economic data flow out of the US, with the health of the world’s top economy seen as a proxy for the state of the global recovery at large. On the former theme, the tone will be set by the outcome of the weekend’s G-20 finance ministers’ meeting. For the latter, a busy docket of scheduled releases on the economic and corporate earnings calendars awaits.

Hopes were running high ahead of the weekendG-20 summit amid rumors that policymakers will be discussing plans for anexpansion of the IMF! 217;s ro le in managing the EU crisis byusing it as a delivery vehicle for assistance from emerging economies including China andBrazil to help relive funding pressures indebt-strapped EU nations. The newswires suggested a final announcement on the scheme would wait until the G-20 heads of state meeting onNovember 3 to account for whatever EU officials produce at theirown sit-down on October 23, but traders were nonetheless hopeful thatsomething supportive would surface.

Presumably, such an outcome would numb the pain of preparing European banks for a sovereign default, the true cost of which remains murky. The Bank of International Settlements estimates European lenders hold close to $2.2 trillion in sovereign debt from the so-called “PIIGS” nations. Just asking the banks to mark those assets to current market prices to assess the degree of loss they could potentially take and gauge the cost of recapitalization threatens to set off panic, turning the much-feared ignition of another credit crisis into self-fulfilled prophecy. If emerging-market cash was used to create a large-enough funding cushion for sickly European nations such that immediate sovereign fears were alleviated, the banks may be spared having to take particularly painful steps to recapitalize immediately (like selling off assets en-masse or cutting off lending to the already sputtering economy), which may tip Europe into recession.

On the US economic growth side of the sentiment equation, the focus is likely to fall on the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book survey of regional economic conditions, with traders eager for further confirmation of the creeping improvement in the pulse of US dat! a releas es since June. Other business cycle-sensitive releases including Industrial Production, Housing Starts as well as business confidence and manufacturing growth metrics from the Philadelphia and New York Fed branches respectively are also on tap. Finally, the earnings season is moving into high gear, with over one-fifth of the S&P 500 due to report third-quarter results.

DailyFX is the forex news and research arm of FXCM, Inc (NYSE: FXCM), which provides currency trading and brokerage services and is an advertiser on TheStreet websites. Any opinions, news, research, analyses, prices, or other information is provided as general market commentary, and does not constitute investment advice. Dailyfx will not accept liability for any loss or damage, including without limitation to, any loss of profit, which may arise directly or indirectly from use of or reliance on such information. Currency trading involves significant risk of loss. Individual authors may hold positions in the currencies discussed in the article.

Original Article: http://www.dailyfx.com/forex/fundamental/forecast/weekly/cad/2011/10/15/Canadian_Dollar_Tied_to_SPX_500_G20_and_US_Growth_Outlook_in_Focus.html

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