Is gold in a perfect (bullish) storm?
Commentary: Alarming economic news combines with Chinese import demand

By Peter Brimelow, MarketWatch
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — A good week for gold — especially because China finally seems to be chiming in.

On Friday, gold for February delivery Gold 100 Oz (Comex) Commodities Exchange Centre /quotes/comstock/21e!f:gc\g11 (GCG11 1,415, +8.90, +0.63%) finished at $1,406.20, only $3.10 below the November 9th record close, having risen $42.20 or 2.94% on the week. The gold shares responded with enthusiasm, with ARCA GOLD BUGS /quotes/comstock/10t!hui.x (HUI 581.56, +17.03, +3.02%) leaping nearly 8%. In recent years, gold shares have not always conformed bullion’s action. When it happens, it’s generally regarded as bullish.

Significantly, this was not just a move in U.S. dollars. In fact, gold in sterling, euros, and yen hit record highs during the week.

Of course, the week also saw plenty of alarming economic and financial news from both Europe and America, all tending to cast doubt on the commitment of the European Central Bank and the Fed to the integrity of their respective currencies.

Australia’s usually very sober webzine The Privateer was even moved to make a joke:

“On Sunday, December 5, the venerable CBS ‘current affairs’ program 60 Minutes will be airing an interview with Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke. We suggest a suitable intro would be the helicopter scene in ‘Apocalypse Now’ - complete with the full sound track.”

That’s a reference to Bernanke’s famous graphic endorsement of inflationary policies. Read more on Bernanke's remarks on additional easing.

However, the news that most excited the gold bugs came not from the Atlantic basin but from China, and may not yet have been fully appreciated by the market. The head of the Shanghai Gold Exchange told a conference there that Chinese imports of gold for 2010 through October were 209.7 tonnes, compared to 45 tonnes for the whole of 2009.

This is a bombshell — and not just because China has never disclosed its gold imports before. One of the correspondents on Bill Murphy’s LeMetropoleCafe website said that he had “always been skeptical of the Chinese demand story in world gold-price formation, on the grounds that Chinese production growth has kept pace with reported consumption — and a 45-tonne import number for 2009 vindicates this stance…

“But 209 tonnes in 10 months is a horse of a different color…It means China might actually be capable of getting into India’s league as an importer.”

(India, of course, has long been the world’s largest importer of gold by a wide margin.)

Veteran gold observer Jeff Christian of CPM Group told the Wall Street Journal:

“Everybody in the gold market knew there was a surge in investment demand, but they didn’t know it was China.”

Standard Bank offered some calculations on Friday concluding that investment demand for gold in China “may be as high as 180 tonnes in 2010 — a rise of 70% year over year.”

What’s happening? The Shanghai official attributed the surge to inflation fears amongst the Chinese public. These are not going to be assuaged anytime soon. ( See Dec. 2 column.)

Not to be upstaged, according to LeMetropoleCafé, an official of the Bombay Bullion Association on Friday suggested Indian imports this year might be 700 tonnes, 46% above last year. A strong rupee this week apparently enabled the Indians to keep buying from overseas — UBS reported on Thursday above-average sales to India.

The bugs argue that because of this Chinese and Indian news, gold is in a radically different posture than it was around the end of 2008. Then, western buying motivated by the financial crisis was met by heavy selling from traditional importing markets. Now, in contrast, the importers are buying.

As a LeMetropoleCafé correspondent remarked on Friday, gold seems to have met a Perfect (bullish) Storm

Updates, advisories and surprises

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/updates-advisories-and-surprises-2010-09-01

By MarketWatch
H.J. Heinz quarterly profit climbs to $240 million

(8:36 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- H.J. Heinz Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!hnz/quotes/nls/hnz (HNZ 46.43, +0.19, +0.41%) said Wednesday its fiscal first-quarter earnings rose to $240.4 million, or 75 cents a share, from $212.6 million, or 67 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales rose to $2.48 billon from $2.44 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 73 cents a share, on average, with sales of $2.53 billion. For the fiscal year, Heinz sees earnings-per-share growth of 7% to 10%, on a constant currency basis. Shares of Heinz closed Tuesday at $46.24, up a fraction.

Brown-Forman net income drops 8%

(8:00 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Brown-Forman /quotes/comstock/13*!bf.a (BF.A 60.84, -0.24, -0.39%) , [a: bf.b] on Wednesday said its first-quarter earnings fell 8% to $111.4 million, or 76 cents a share, from $121.4 million, or 81 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 1% to $745 million. Wall Street analysts expected the company to earn 83 cents a share, on revenue of $723.4 million, according to a survey by FactSet Research. Brown-Forman said it continues to expect 2011 earnings of $2.98 a share to $3.38 a share. "We expect net sales to continue to grow in line with trends of the prior two quarters, operating expenses to moderate later in the year, and underlying operating income to grow in the mid-single digits for the full fiscal year," the company said.

Joy Global lifts outlook as profit slips 4.7%

(6:23 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mining equipment manufacturer Joy Global Inc. /quotes/comstock/15*!joyg/quotes/nls/joyg (JOYG 57.93, +1.21, +2.13%) on Wednesday lifted its earnings outlook as it said fiscal third-quarter net profit fell 4.7% to $118.5 million, or $1.13 a share, from $124.3 million, or $1.21 a share, a year earlier. Revenue for the quarter ended July 30 fell 11% to $850 million. Analysts polled by FactSet research had been expecting earnings of $1.02 a share on sales of $879 million. The group said the decline in revenue was due to lower sales of underground mining equipment. It added, however, that new orders in the latest quarter jumped 51% to $973 million, with original equipment orders more than doubling and after-market orders rising 20%. The company lifted its earnings forecast for fiscal 2010 to a range of $4.10 to $4.15 a share, from its previous target range of $3.85 to $4 a share. Analysts had been expecting earnings of $4 a share for the year.

Bombardier's second-quarter net profit drops

(6:16 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Bombardier Inc. /quotes/comstock/11t!e:bbd.a (CA:BBD.A 4.44, 0.00, 0.00%) /quotes/comstock/11t!e:bbd.b (CA:BBD.B 4.44, 0.00, 0.00%) said its fiscal second-quarter net profit fell to $144 million, or 8 cents a share, from $198 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Revenue dropped to $4.08 billion from $4.95 billion. "The uncertain economic environment continues to be reflected in Aerospace's financial results," said Pierre Beaudoin, chief executive of Bombardier. "However, the group is starting to see signs of recovery as shown by the significant reduction in business aircraft order cancellations."

Hargreaves Lansdown profit up 18%

(2:38 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. financial services group Hargreaves Lansdown /quotes/comstock/23s!e:hl. (UK:HL. 390.00, +0.90, +0.23%) said Wednesday that its net profit for the fiscal year ended June 30 rose 18% to a record 61.3 million pounds ($94 million) as revenue grew 20% to 159 million pounds. The brokerage and asset management group said total net business inflows during the year jumped 65% to 3.3 billion pounds and total assets under administration were up 47% at 17.5 billion pounds. "Even though we continue to face economic uncertainty, I believe that the company is extremely well placed to build on the momentum that has been generated so far," said CEO Peter Hargreaves.

Vivendi net down; adjusted profit beats estimates

(2:21 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Vivendi SA, /quotes/comstock/11i!vivdy (VIVDY 23.15, +0.31, +1.36%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:viv (FR:VIV 19.14, +0.73, +3.97%) the Paris entertainment giant, reported second-quarter net income slipped 3.5% on 6.2% higher revenue. Earnings fell to 669 million euros, or 0.54 euro a share, from 695 million euros, or 0.58, in the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted earnings fell 3.4% to 790 million euros, or 0.64 euro a share. Revenue reached 7.06 billion euros from 6.65 billion. A survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires produced consensus estimates of adjusted profit of 719.2 million euros on revenue of 6.86 billion euros. In a Thursday statement, Chief Executive Jean-Bernard Levy attributed the results to "excellent" results at Vivendi's recent acquisitions: GVT, Activision Blizzard and SFR broadband and fixed. And he said Vivendi lifted the earnings estimates for the three firms.

Updates, advisories and surprises

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/updates-advisories-and-surprises-2010-08-26

By MarketWatch
ICBC 1st-half profit up 27% to $12.44 billion

(5:04 AM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:1398 (HK:1398 5.58, -0.01, -0.18%) /quotes/comstock/28c!e:601398 (CN:601398 4.12, +0.04, +0.98%) on Thursday reported a first-half net income of 84.60 billion yuan ($12.44 billion), up 27% from the 66.42 billion yuan a year earlier. The result beat expectations for net income of 81.83 billion yuan, according to a poll by Dow Jones Newswires. The bank, the world's biggest by market capitalization, said its net interest margin for the period totaled 143.31 billion yuan, widening from 116.04 billion yuan a year earlier. ICBC said in a statement its net interest margin increased 11 basis points from a year earlier because of "the rebound in yield on loans, stabilization of return on bond investments and continuous decline in deposit interest rate[s] in the first half." ICBC said its yuan-denominated loan book totaled 534.07 billion yuan, representing a rise of 9.9% during the six-month period.

Premier Oil swings to 1st-half net; output up 17%

(3:02 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Premier Oil PLC, /quotes/comstock/23s!e:pmo (UK:PMO 1,464, -16.00, -1.08%) the London oil producer, swung to first-half profit from a year-earlier loss on 71% higher revenue. Earnings were $62 million, or 51 cents a share, against a loss of $27.3 million, or 27 cents, in the year-earlier period. Revenue reached $366.8 million from $213.9 million. Average production in the first half was 46,600 barrels of oil equivalent a day, up 17% from a year earlier. In a Thursday statement, the company affirmed its expectation that it will produce an average 44,000 barrels during 2010. And in the first six months, Premier made "good progress" toward its plan to produce 75,000 barrels a day during 2012, Chief Executive Simon Lockett said.

Amec upbeat on outlook as profit rises 36%

(2:49 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. engineering and services group Amec /quotes/comstock/23s!a:amec (UK:AMEC 867.00, +18.50, +2.18%) on Thursday reported a 36% jump in net profit to 88.5 million pounds ($136.5 million) and said it is confident of beating its margin target for the year after recording first-half improvements in all of its divisions. The firm said revenue grew 13% to 1.43 billion pounds and was up 6% excluding the impact of exchange rate fluctuations and acquisitions. "We expect this momentum to continue, building on our strong customer relationships. New contract wins and improvements in the order book signal a further strengthening in our strategic position across core sectors," the company said as it lifted its interim dividend by 20%.

Accor posts first-half loss; revenue up 6%

(2:49 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- French hotel group Accor SA /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ac (FR:AC 24.63, +1.13, +4.81%) said Thursday it posted a first-half net loss of 64 million euros ($81 million) compared to a loss of 236 million euros in the same period a year ago. The loss was mainly due to non-recurring demerger costs, the firm said. Revenue rose 6% to 2.85 billion euros. Earnings before interest and taxes (Ebit) more than doubled to 154 million euros from 69 million euros, buoyed by the business's strong recovery and cost cuts. "In most countries and particularly in Europe, first-half good performances reflected an upturn in business and a favorable basis of comparison," Accor said. "Second-half visibility remains limited, due to the still uncertain economic environment." Accor said it has set its target for full-year Ebit at between 370 million euros and 390 million euros, up from 236 million euros in 2009.

Kazakhmys 1st-half net up 11%, revenue up 36%

(2:41 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Kazakhmys PLC /quotes/comstock/23s!e:kaz (UK:KAZ 1,107, +34.00, +3.17%) , the London copper miner, reported first-half net income rose 11% on 36% higher revenue. Earnings reached $574 million, or $1.07 a share, from $516 million, or 96 cents, in the year-earlier period. Underlying profit per share more than doubled to $1.30 from 50 cents. Profit from continuing operations fell 7% to $503 million. Revenue moved up to $1.52 billion from $1.12 billion. The first half was "solid ... with good production and cost control ... assisted by" stronger pricing, Chief Executive Oleg Novachuk said in a Thursday statement. The company declared an interim dividend of 6 cents a share.

William Hill profit up 9.9% as online arm grows

(2:34 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. bookmaker William Hill /quotes/comstock/23s!a:wmh (UK:WMH 166.20, -0.70, -0.42%) said Thursday that its first-half net profit rose 9.9% to 64.5 million pounds ($99.5 million) as revenue grew 2.8% to 529.9 million pounds. The firm said growth from its online sportsbook and other Web-based gambling more than offset a slight dip in revenue from its stores, where its gross-win margin slipped from a year earlier. "We are on track to deliver against the board's expectations for the full year but we remain cautious moving into 2011 given the ongoing consumer uncertainty," said CEO Ralph Topping.

G4S expects further growth as profit rises 11%

(2:26 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Security firm G4S /quotes/comstock/23s!e:gfs (UK:GFS 249.00, +1.90, +0.77%) said Thursday that its first-half net profit rose 11% to 94.2 million pounds ($145.3 million) as revenue grew 4.4% to 3.63 billion pounds. The firm, which is the largest employer quoted on the London Stock Exchange, said the market continues to be challenging as a result of the slow pace of the global economic recovery, but added that it still expects organic growth to improve in the second half of the year.

Diageo lifts dividend as profit rises 1.5%

(2:20 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Drinks giant Diageo /quotes/comstock/23s!a:dge (UK:DGE 1,055, -11.00, -1.03%) said Thursday that that its net profit for the fiscal year ended June 30 rose 1.5% to 1.63 billion pounds as a stronger second half helped the group modestly beat the previous year's performance. Sales excluding excise duties rose 5% to 9.78 billion pounds. Diageo said its cost cutting program helped offset a 14% organic increase in marketing spending in the second half of the year as its board also recommended a 6% increase in the final dividend to 23.5 pence a share. "Our performance in the developing markets drove overall growth while markets in North America and Europe remained weak," said CEO Paul Walsh.

Credit Agricole SA net up, cost of risk down

(2:11 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Credit Agricole /quotes/comstock/11i!crary (CRARY 6.25, -0.03, -0.48%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:aca (FR:ACA 10.26, +0.36, +3.64%) , the Paris banking and financial-services provider, reported that second-quarter group net income rose 35% from the year-earlier period to 897 million euros ($1.13 billion). At Credit Agricole S.A. specifically, profit rose 89% to 379 million euros. Net banking income rose 20% to 5.47 billion euros from 4.56 billion euros. And Credit Agricole S.A. cut its cost of risk in the quarter by 13% to 980 million euros. The bank's tier 1 capital ratio widened to 9.7% from 9.2% a year earlier; core tier 1 capital amounted to 9.1% versus 8.6%.

Ahold net up 3.1% on 11% higher sales

(1:48 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Royal Ahold /quotes/comstock/11i!ahony (AHONY 12.18, -0.11, -0.90%) /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ah (NL:AH 9.63, -0.04, -0.43%) , the Amsterdam supermarket operator, reported second-quarter net income rose 3.1% on 11% higher sales. Earnings reached 202 million euros ($256.4 million) from 196 million in the year-earlier period. Sales rose to 7.13 billion euros from 6.43 billion. A survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires produced consensus estimates of 219 million euros of profit on 7.02 billion euros of sales. At constant foreign-exchange rates, sales climbed 4.4%. Operating-profit margin widened to 5.3% from 4.8%; on an underlying basis, the margin was 5.2% versus 4.9%. "Market conditions remained challenging, with high levels of competitive promotional activity," Chief Executive John Rishton said in a Thursday statement.

Updates, advisories and surprises

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/updates-advisories-and-surprises-2010-08-25

By MarketWatch
Somaxon jumps on Procter & Gamble pact

(8:00 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Somaxon Pharmaceuticals Inc. [S: somx] shares jumped $1.13, or 34%, in pre-market trades on Wednesday after the San Diego company said it inked a pact with Procter & Gamble /quotes/comstock/13*!pg/quotes/nls/pg (PG 59.66, -0.37, -0.62%) to market its insomnia drug, Silenor (doxepin). As part of the deal, Somaxon granted Procter & Gamble a right of first negotiation to develop and market Silenor as an over-the-counter medication in the U.S.

Toll Brothers swings to profit; revenue up

(5:26 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Toll Brothers Inc., /quotes/comstock/13*!tol/quotes/nls/tol (TOL 16.19, -0.01, -0.06%) the Horsham, Pa., luxury-home builder, swung to fiscal third-quarter profit from a year-earlier loss on 1.6% lower revenue. For the quarter ended July 31, Toll Brothers earned $27.3 million, or 16 cents a share, compared with a loss of $472.3 million, or $2.93, in the year-earlier period. Revenue was $454.2 million against $461.4 million. A survey of analysts by FactSet produced consensus estimates of a loss of 14 cents a share on revenue of $392.9 million. In the quarter, Toll delivered 803 homes, up 1%. Net signed contracts fell 11% in dollars and 16% in number of homes. But on a comparative basis, net signed contracts rose to 3.69 units per community that Toll operates from 3.56 in the year-earlier quarter. At July 31, the backlog in both dollar terms and number of homes was up 1% versus a year earlier.

Admiral profit up 20% as customers numbers grow

(2:51 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- U.K. car insurer Admiral /quotes/comstock/23s!e:adm (UK:ADM 1,521, +48.00, +3.26%) said Wednesday that its first-half net profit rose 20% to 90.3 million pounds ($139.4 million) as net revenue grew 22% to 296.4 million pounds. The group said it increased premium rates by around 14% in the first half of the year and also increased customer numbers by 23% compared to a year earlier. Admiral lifted its interim dividend by 18% to 32.6 pence a share and said it will pay a 1,500 pound bonus in stock to each of its 4,000 employees.

Aggreko lifts dividend as profit grows 22%

(2:45 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Aggreko /quotes/comstock/23s!a:agk (UK:AGK 1,390, -39.00, -2.73%) , a supplier of temporary power and temperature control equipment, said Wednesday that its first-half net profit rose 22% to 87.4 million pounds ($134.9 million) as revenue grew 17% to 583.6 million pounds. The group said its performance was underpinned by major contracts for the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the FIFA World Cup. Aggreko also said it would increase both its interim and final dividend by 50%. "We believe that we will make further good progress in the second half and that the outcome for the year as a whole will be slightly better than our previous expectations," said Chairman Philip Rogerson.

BHP Billiton 2010 profit $12.72 billion

(2:38 AM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- BHP Billiton /quotes/comstock/13*!bhp/quotes/nls/bhp (BHP 64.94, -0.48, -0.73%) /quotes/comstock/22x!e:bhp (AU:BHP 37.44, -0.10, -0.27%) said Wednesday its net profit for the 2010 fiscal year totaled $12.72 billion, more than double the year-earlier figure of $5.88 billion, bolstered by record sales volumes of iron ore, metallurgical coal and petroleum. Revenue for the year ended in June was $52.8 billion, a 5.2% rise from the previous year's $50.21 billion. BHP said it "remains cautious on the short-term outlook for the global economy," citing policy tightening in China and uncertainty over fiscal policies around the world. The board also declared a final dividend of 45 U.S. cents, bringing the dividend payout for the full year to 87 U.S. cents, a 6.1% rise from a year ago.

Ageas profit down 49%, inflows rise

(2:37 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Belgian insurance group Ageas /quotes/comstock/24s!e:ags (BE:AGS 2.01, +0.06, +3.08%) , the former insurance arm of Fortis, said Wednesday that its first-half net profit fell 49% to 455 million euros ($576 million). Net profit from its insurance operations, which excludes gains and losses from a call option it holds on BNP Paribas /quotes/comstock/24s!e:bnp (FR:BNP 49.52, -1.05, -2.08%) shares and other one-off items, fell 31% to 180.5 million euros. The result was partly due to a one-off tax benefit in its Belgian operations a year earlier, as well as lower profit in the U.K., which was offset by a stronger result from its Asian operations. The group said inflows in the first half were 22% higher than a year earlier at 9.6 billion euros.

Tullow Oil profit more than doubles

(2:25 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Tullow Oil /quotes/comstock/23s!e:tlw (UK:TLW 1,212, -85.00, -6.55%) said Wednesday that its first half net profit more than doubled to $81.7 million from $31.6 million a year earlier as revenue grew 11% to $485.9 million. The group said production fell 6% in the period to 55,800 barrels of oil equivalent per day and sales volumes were down 17%, however the average realized price per barrel jumped 45% to $77. "Tullow has continued to make strong progress in the first half of 2010. Our exploration and development programmes are delivering excellent results with significant new oil discoveries being made in both Ghana and Uganda and first oil from Jubilee expected before year-end," said CEO Aidan Heavey. The firm is expecting production for the year to be between 57,000 and 58,000 barrels a day.

Heineken's first-half profit rises 42%

(2:05 AM ET) FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) -- Beer giant Heineken N.V. /quotes/comstock/24s!e:heia (NL:HEIA 34.95, +0.19, +0.53%) said Wednesday its first-half net profit rose 42% to 695 million euros ($881 million) from 489 million euros in the same period a year ago, buoyed by positive exceptional items. Revenue increased 5.2% to 7.52 billion euros. Group beer volume fell 2.3% organically hurt by the weak economic environment and the effect of excise duty increases; those effects were partly offset by strong growth in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Trading conditions remained challenging in Europe and the U.S., Heineken said. "For the near term, Heineken remains cautious on the development of beer consumption in Europe and the USA due to continued weak consumer spending and planned austerity measures across many countries," the firm said. "Volume in Latin America, Africa and Asia is expected to continue to grow."

Updates, advisories and surprises

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/updates-advisories-and-surprises-2010-08-18

By MarketWatch
Eaton Vance quarterly earnings rise 34%

(8:59 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Eaton Vance Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!ev/quotes/nls/ev (EV 29.61, +0.62, +2.14%) said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit rose to $41.8 million, or 34 cents a share, from $31.2 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Total revenue rose to $273.1 million from $228.4 million. Excluding one-time items, the Boston financial advisor said it would have earned 35 cents a share, while analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of 38 cents a share, on average. Shares of Eaton Vance closed Tuesday at $29.61, up 2%.

Chicos doubles its quarterly profit

(7:49 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chico's FAS Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!chs/quotes/nls/chs (CHS 9.55, +1.14, +13.56%) said Wednesday its second-quarter profit rose to $30.5 million, or 17 cents a share, from $14.9 million, or 8 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The Fort Myers, Fla., retailer said sales grew 10.8% to $465 million from $419.9 million. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had expected earnings of 16 cents a share, on average, with sales of $465.8 million. Chico's recently announced a stock buyback program of up to $200 million. Shares of Chico's rose about 1% premarket to $8.50.

Target posts higher quarterly profit

(7:44 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Target Corp. /quotes/comstock/13*!tgt/quotes/nls/tgt (TGT 49.18, -1.75, -3.44%) said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter earnings rose to $679 million, or 92 cents a share, from $594 million, or 79 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected the retailer to earn 92 cents a share, on average. Quarterly revenue rose 3.1% to $15.5 billion, thanks to a 3.8% rise in retail segment sales, but weighed down by credit-card revenue. Same-store sales for the period rose 1.7%. "Growth in guest traffic and apparel sales remained robust, and teams across the company continued to exercise thoughtful control of expenses," said Chief Executive Gregg Steinhafel in a statement.

Deere posts higher quarterly profit

(7:14 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Farm-machinery manufacturer Deere Co. /quotes/comstock/13*!de/quotes/nls/de (DE 67.15, -0.08, -0.12%) said Wednesday its fiscal third-quarter profit rose to $617 million, or $1.44 a share, from $420 million, or 99 cents a share, in the year ago period. Total net sales rose 16% to $6.84 billion from $5.89 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were looking for earnings of $1.20 a share, on average, with sales of $6.52 billion. For the fourth quarter, Deere forecast net income of about $375 million, versus the Wall Street consensus of $388.9 million. Shares of Deere fell nearly 2% premarket to $66.

BJ's Wholesale profit up, lowers outlook

(7:14 AM ET) NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- BJ's Wholesale Club Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!bj/quotes/nls/bj (BJ 41.25, -2.06, -4.76%) said Wednesday its fiscal second-quarter net income rose to $35.8 million, or 67 cents a share, from $35.1 million, or 64 cents a share in the year-ago period. Sales for the three months ended July 31 grew 8.6% to $2.7 billion. Analysts, on average, expected the warehouse club retailer to earn 73 cents a share, according to FactSet Research. Same-store sales for the quarter rose 4.4%, including gasoline. The company lowered its earnings outlook to a range of $2.40 to $2.50 a share, compared to earlier projections of $2.58 to $2.68 a share. It also now expects net sales to increase 8% to 10% for the full fiscal year, as opposed to the 9.2% to 11.2% sales growth previously provided.

Citic Pacific first-half profit doubles

(6:32 AM ET) HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Citic Pacific Ltd. /quotes/comstock/22h!e:267 (HK:267 16.92, +0.68, +4.19%) said Wednesday its first-half net profit nearly doubled to HK$4.88 billion ($626 million) from HK$2.47 billion a year earlier, or HK$1.34 per share, up from 68 Hong Kong cents a year earlier, lifted by disposals of stakes in a power plant, telecom and an air cargo operator. The conglomerate reported revenue for the period rose 76% to HK$31.87 billion from HK$18.10 billion. Citic Pacific reported massive losses in 2008 on derivative contracts linked primarily to bets on the Australian dollar.

Vestas Wind Systems swings to loss, cuts outlook

(2:51 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Vestas Wind Systems /quotes/comstock/23k!bvws (DE:VWS 33.78, -7.54, -18.24%) said Wednesday that it swung to a second-quarter net loss of 119 million euros ($153 million) from a profit of 43 million euros as the company also cut its outlook for 2010. The wind turbine producer said revenue fell 17% to 1.01 billion euros due to low capacity utilization. The group said it's now expecting a 2010 Ebit margin of 5% to 6% on revenue of 6 billion euros, compared to its previous forecast of a 10% to 11% margin on revenue of 7 billion euros. It said the downgrade to its outlook is because certain order for delivery to the U.S., Spain and Germany will take place so late in 2010 that they won't be recognized as income for the year. Vestas also, however, said its order intake in the second quarter was 3,031 megawatts, which is the highest quarterly level ever recorded.

Swiss Life reaffirms outlook as profit rises 89%

(2:36 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Swiss Life Holding /quotes/comstock/06p!slhn (CH:SLHN 108.80, +6.80, +6.67%) said Wednesday that its first-half net profit rose 89% to 268 million Swiss francs ($257 million) from 142 million francs a year earlier. The company said gross written premiums grew 18% to 12.24 billion francs, as a fall in operating expenses helped offset higher insurance benefits and claims. "Our first-half performance shows that we are on track with our 2012 targets," said CEO Bruno Pfister. "Although we face great challenges because of the low interest rate environment and tougher competition, we are confident that we will achieve our goals for 2010," he added.

ENRC sees volatile outlook as profit rises 63%

(2:25 AM ET) LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Mining group Eurasian Natural Resources Corp.said Wednesday that its first half net profit rose 63% to $902 million as revenue grew 80% to $3.05 billion due to a mixture of acquisitions, higher commodity prices and improved sales volumes. Underlying earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization more than doubled to $1.44 billion and were slightly ahead of the $1.4 billion consensus of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires. The company said its performance was driven by a recovery in its traditional markets and the continued strength of the Chinese economy. "There is a risk of commodity market volatility in the near term and the management of costs remains a challenge," it added.

Telekom Austria net off 17%, revenue down 1.9%

(2:03 AM ET) TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) -- Telekom Austria, /quotes/comstock/11i!tkagy (TKAGY 24.90, +0.50, +2.05%) the Vienna telecom-services provider, reported that second-quarter net income fell 17% on 1.9% lower revenue. Earnings were 68.7 million euros, or €0.16 a share, compared with €82.3 million, or €0.19, in the year-earlier quarter. Revenue was €1.17 billion against €1.19 billion. A survey of analysts by Dow Jones Newswires produced consensus estimates of €80 million of profit on €1.14 billion of revenue.

Graph of the Day for July 8, 2010

Randall Hoven

"On Tuesday the U.S. Postal Service announced it wants to raise the price of your stamps by another two cents, bringing the price to 46 cents. The hike would also be applied to other postal services; the cost for mailing small packages would increase by roughly 7 percent... The increase would bring in roughly $2.5 billion, not even half of what the postal service expects to lose this year." ABC World News, July 6, 2010.


"USPS's business model is not viable due to USPS's inability to reduce costs sufficiently in response to continuing mail volume decline and revenue declines... Given its financial problems and outlook, USPS cannot support its current level of service and operation." The Government Accountability Office, April, 2010.



Source: Dr. Mark Perry, Carpe Diem.



Hoven's Index for July 8, 2010



30-year (Jan 1981 to Jan 2011) increase in CPI: 154%


30-year increase in cost of gasoline : 115%


30-year increase in cost of postage stamps (given new 46 cent price): 207%


US Postal Service (USPS) decline in mail volume 2007-09: 36 billion pieces (17%)


USPS losses, 2007-2009: $12 billion


USPS unfunded pensions and retiree health obligations and other liabilities: $90 billion


Employee compensation and benefits as percentage of USPS costs: 80%


Sources: Links for CPI, gasoline costs and stamp prices provided at Carpe Diem. USPS statistics from the Government Accountability Office. (Also see previous Graph of the Day.)



Graph of the Day Archive.

http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2010/07/graph_of_the_day_for_july_8_20.html

i think you are right...up 21% this morning

Hi guys, I think this ETLS run is going to be a lot more fun and profitable than the last one, we have it pretty much locked up!

right again...i hope everybody is listening this one will be out of the 2's today and it's still a bargain in the 3's and 4's. The team is not planning on selling before multiple pennyland

DANG.. UP 20% so far I knew today the was time

i know it's really starting to take off

ETLS. very thin there, gotta love those air shares!

tiny little buys and it goes up...everybody should look into this one. The team is solid and IMO this is going to go up big. Nobody on the team is selling

ETLS is a great sub penny with a great team behind it, just needs volume to climb. check it out

AIG to sell Alico to MetLife for $15.5 billion

By Chris Oliver 8%6%4%2%0%-2%10a11a12p1p2p3pAIG MET HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- American International Group Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!aig/quotes/nls/aig (AIG 28.08, +1.37, +5.13%) will announce early Monday an agreement to sell American Life Insurance Co., also known as Alico, to MetLife Inc. /quotes/comstock/13*!met/quotes/nls/met (MET 38.92, +0.81, +2.13%) for $6.8 billion in cash and $8.7 billion in stock, including common stock and convertible preferred securities, according to a report Sunday. The deal, totaling $15.5 billion, involves a complicated structure that will leave U.S. government-controlled AIG owning roughly one-fifth of MetLife, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. AIG and MetLife were putting the final touches on the agreement Sunday, the report said.


http://www.marketwatch.com/story/aig-to-sell-alico-to-metlife-for-155-billion-2010-03-07

Just keeping you in touch:

http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=47257530

ROFLMAO..I am sure it did...

I did ~~~ my screen BLEW UP !!!!

LOL I can certainly understand that...google it and you will understand better..

OT: Geez.....no wonder I have not been able to remember it --- I was leaving ONE letter out!!!

Woo Hoo..Now we kick their arse...LOL

It's 2:51 pm...

...and OU STILL sux!

;)

Cleaning house...and getting ready for the Texas game in 20 minutes on ESPN...playing OU....say what time is it??

Going shipping and getting ready for the game tomorrow! And you?

Hey Ally....what you up to??

Who Dat??

O.M.G.......DEAR..Unbelievable...........nevermind the other two....<vbg>

BOFL DEAR - TONE

Whoooooooosh...near HOD at 1.06...

how about that concrete today babeeeee!

Ok...will do! Take Care and stay warm! Dropin and see us sometime soon

? email me and explain k .. xooxo

ditto GA hugs

Getting email every now and then from our ole dear friend~~


Ruff times...

Hey tweety! Many NY (((hugs)))

hi stuffie nice to see you too .

LOL! Howdy dear~nice to see ya

Absolutely...not much stronger than that...it will be here for a LONG time...

nothing like a firm concrete foundation doll ... wouldn't you agree?

.

that's great... so happy! still working must have liked the fairy dust.

Thanks..it must be working..

Perfect...I am back from my calls now..and will watch the close..

btw sprinkling little fairy dust on the one you been babysitting for good luck ;)..

still thinking about building a bear ;) xoxoxoxo
BBW bottoms still r o c k ;)

Excellent idea if I do say so my self..nod nod..

lets continue to build on a nice concrete foundation wink wink

Thanks Merci...Happy New Year to you as well...<cheers>..here is hoping 2010 is much better than 2009..

Happy New Year to All

Just got the power back on a little bit ago...Merry Christmas Merci...hope you have a wonderful day..