m
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
looking for an entry point
this is an old video interview by Patrick Moore, CEO of packaging company Smurfit-Stone, discusses the health of his business and the economy.
http://video.msn.com/?mkt=en-us&brand=money&vid=a4d6bdd1-b595-418c-a9de-397ef09e23c5&playlist=videoByTag:tag:money_top_investing:ns:MSNmoney_Gallery:mk:us:vs:1&from=MSNmoney_ticker&tab=s216
It changed last week sometime, haven't called my broker yet but when I do I'll let everyone know
Pre market trading .075
Nice find, that makes sense why would they make that payment if they were going to file BK, the only thing that worries me is they paid their executives in cash, though the article explained why, but you think they would wanted as many shares as possible, hope to see .16 today
mine just changed today, I use Scottrade
good reading on corporate bankruptcy
http://www.sec.gov/investor/pubs/bankrupt.htm
I am showing this symbol for my restricted shares
GRNRS
This is going to be ugly
L2 DROPPING LIKE A ROCK
B .11
A .119
I also fired off a email to IR, asking how a company that has people laid off and looking into Bankruptcy can pay bonuses
mmullin@smurfit.com
and yet they can pay bonuses
http://biz.yahoo.com/e/090114/sscc8-k.html
MIP Awards for 2008
Based on the percentage achievement of MIP performance objectives for fiscal 2008, and in the exercise of the Committee's discretion to adjust awards, the Committee determined the amount of MIP bonus awards to be paid to the Company's named executive officers for the year ended December 31, 2008, as follows:
Named Executive Officer Target Value of Award
Patrick J. Moore, 100% $553,500 (50% of salary)
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Steven J. Klinger, 100% $397,500 (50% of salary)
President and Chief Operating Officer
Charles A. Hinrichs, 60% $130,000 (31.1% of salary)
Senior Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer
Mack C. Jackson, 60% $131,000 (31.0% of salary)
Senior Vice President and General Manager
-
Containerboard Mill and Forest Resources
Division
Craig A. Hunt 60% $204,250 (50% of salary)
Senior Vice President, Secretary and
General Counsel
This is interesting Citigroup Morgan Stanley Combo
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley discuss brokerage combo January 11, 2009 4:24 AM ET
A deal to combine the brokerages of Citigroup and Morgan Stanley — which would give Citi more cash, and Morgan Stanley more manpower — appears just days away.
Morgan Stanley is likely to pay Citigroup between $2 billion and $3 billion for a 51 percent stake in the brokerage Smith Barney, a person close to the negotiations said.
Morgan Stanley would then have the option to buy Smith Barney over the next three to five years, the person said. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the ongoing talks.
If negotiations proceed through the weekend as they have been, an announcement could come as early as Monday, the person said.
Word of the negotiations came as investors digested news Friday that Robert Rubin, a senior adviser to Citi who has drawn heavy criticism, would resign and would not seek another term on the board.
A combination of the brokerage units would help Citigroup get more much-needed cash and cut costs, said Aite Group analyst Alois Pirker. The benefit for Morgan Stanley, Pirker said, would be a bigger staff to compete with other growing brokerages — particularly Merrill Lynch, which recently was acquired by Bank of America Corp.
The deal may also lead to a full-fledged merger between the two banks, he speculated.
"The ultimate goal could be to merge the two entities fully," Pirker said. "Morgan Stanley needs deposits, there's no doubt about that. They won't get that by telling brokers to get deposits from their clients."
Morgan Stanley applied to become a bank holding company last fall to get loans from the government and collect deposits — one of the few reliable sources of funding these days with the credit markets still squeezed.
The government is not driving the negotiations between Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, people with knowledge of the situation said. They also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak about the matter.
There were no talks scheduled for this weekend between the Treasury Department and Citigroup officials.
The potential deal is another sign of the U.S. banking industry's consolidation into a few huge power players — ones that are still heavily reliant on the government for backing as the economy deteriorates.
"It's a bit of a worrying sign, I think," Pirker said. "It seems like the firms are too big as they are, from the brokerage perspective. They are racing to get bigger than the next one. One wonders if they'll have to shrink back again."
Morgan Stanley is one of the few remaining Wall Street firms after the credit crisis last year sent Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. into bankruptcy and Merrill to Bank of America.
Citigroup's CEO Vikram Pandit spent decades working at Morgan Stanley before starting his own hedge fund, and has appointed many former colleagues to top-level management positions at Citigroup.
Private analysts said Citi's interest in raising revenue with a Smith Barney deal was likely aimed at demonstrating to the government and Wall Street investors that it was working to bolster Citi's finances.
The company has reported four straight quarters of losses totaling $20.2 billion through September 2008 and is expected to post yet another loss when it releases fourth-quarter results on Jan. 22. Thomson Reuters said analysts it surveyed expect Citi to report a loss, on average, of $1.14 a share for the October-December period.
Citigroup has received $45 billion in support from the government's $700 billion financial rescue fund, an amount that is almost double what has been provided to any other major bank.
Some analysts said that they expected Citi to make further efforts beyond Smith Barney to sell assets to raise cash including selling some of their foreign operations.
"The bottom line is that Citigroup has to shrink its size and sell off assets to bring in cash to shore up their capital base and be in a better position to eventually pay back the government," said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at the Smith School of Business at California State University.
"Even during the boom times, Citi was in too many businesses," Sohn said. "I think Citigroup is going back to what it used to be, a much smaller organization with significantly reduced costs."
Citigroup was hit particularly hard by the housing market downturn because the bank was heavily invested in mortgages and other loans. The company has reported four straight quarters of losses, and is expected to post yet another loss when it releases fourth-quarter results later this month.
If Morgan Stanley ends up buying Smith Barney, it "sounds like the beginning of a liquidation," said Christopher Whalen, managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics.
I am not say its NASM is better, because VIAP has a lower float and I own it VIAP, but NASM is also a stock to watch
here is another one with an extremely low float NASM
Shares Outstanding5: 19.11M
Float: 7.07M
% Held by Insiders1: 66.22%
% Held by Institutions1: 15.20%
This one has some potential
GAIT down.14 close @ .53
buying back shares and possible sale of Company
let me know what you all think
Key Developments
http://moneycentral.msn.com/news/ticker/sigdev.aspx?Symbol=GAIT
This is why I love these Biotechnology stocks , its just catching them before they go up
ANDS
up $2.19 close @ $4.10
Total Shares Outstanding 28.8 Mil
http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/charts/chartdl.aspx?Symbol=ANDS
still waiting
I have an order in @.42, waiting to be filled
This one popped up on my radar NASM I love these, I'll be looking for an entry point up 70% closed @.39
Ownership
http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Symbol=NASM
Co web site
http://www.nasmedical.com/
Family Dollar
FDO on the rise missed it
Reuters
Family Dollar posts higher profit, raises forecast
Wednesday January 7, 8:46 am ET
By Jessica Wohl
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Family Dollar Stores Inc (NYSE:FDO - News) reported a 14 percent jump in quarterly profit and raised its fiscal-year forecast on Wednesday as shoppers headed to its discount stores, sending its shares up more than 10 percent.
Family Dollar caters to lower-income shoppers, many of whom make less than $30,000 a year and have been hit hard by the yearlong U.S. recession. The company said more customers were coming into its stores for food and other necessities, and spending more when they visited.
Family Dollar saw growth in December, while retailers in general are expected to post a decline of 1 percent in sales at stores open at least a year, according to the latest Thomson Reuters data.
Family Dollar's sales rose about 8 percent in the five weeks ended on January 3, with same-store sales up about 6 percent, driven by items such as food and toys.
To appeal to cash-strapped shoppers, the discount retailer has been stocking more basic items like food and household cleaners, while reducing its exposure to more discretionary merchandise, like clothes and home goods.
Family Dollar, which prices most of its merchandise below $10, said profit for the first quarter ended November 29 rose to $59.3 million, or 42 cents per share, from $51.9 million, or 37 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts on average had been expecting earnings of 40 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates, while the retailer had forecast 38 cents to 42 cents.
STRONG FOOD SALES
As the company said in December, first-quarter sales rose more than 4 percent to $1.75 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.1 percent. Demand was strongest in the consumables category, driven by food sales.
Seasonal markdowns and freight expenses were lower during the quarter, while insurance expense and occupancy costs were higher, Family Dollar said. Total inventories declined 2.7 percent from a year earlier to $1.09 billion. Excluding inventory in transit, inventory per store fell about 4.5 percent.
Family Dollar expects to earn $1.63 to $1.81 per share in the fiscal year ending on August 29, up from a prior view of $1.58 to $1.78. Analysts had forecast $1.68.
The company expects full-year sales to rise 4 percent to 6 percent, up from a prior outlook of 3 percent to 5 percent. On a same-store basis, it forecast a sales gain of 2 percent to 4 percent; it previously called for a rise of 1 percent to 3 percent.
In trading before the market opened, Family Dollar shares rose 10.4 percent to $26.87 from their close of $24.33 on Tuesday.
The stock had risen nearly 36 percent during 2008, outpacing the overall market's decline and even an 18 percent rise in shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc (NYSE:WMT - News), the world's largest retailer.
(Reporting by Jessica Wohl; Editing by Derek Caney and Lisa Von Ahn)
This one is going to ROCKET today ICOG
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN0633503320090106?rpc=44
Court backs $631 mln judgment against Boeing
Tue Jan 6, 2009 5:18pm EST
NEW YORK, Jan 6 (Reuters) - A California court has approved a jury verdict against Boeing Co (BA.N), which means the plane maker and defense contractor must pay former customer ICO Global Communications (Holdings) Ltd (ICOG.O) $631 million in damages, according to ICO on Tuesday.
In the latest move of a long-running legal dispute over a satellite contract, the Los Angeles Superior Court backed a jury's decision in October to award ICO compensatory damages of $371 million, punitive damages of $236 million, plus prejudgment interest.
If it does not pay immediately, Boeing must also pay ICO 10 percent of the total each year, worth about $63 million, ICO said.
Boeing did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the judgment. The company said at the time of the verdict that it would seek an appeal that could take several years to run its course, and that it believed it did not break the law or breach any contract.
The dispute dates back to a $2 billion contract initially awarded in 1995 by ICO to Hughes Electronics, which was acquired by Boeing in 2000.
ICO's plan was to build and launch a dozen satellites that would form the basis of a new global communications network, but according to arguments presented in the case, only one satellite was ever launched into space, another exploded on launch, and 10 more are incomplete and in storage.
ICO, a satellite communications company based in Reston, Virginia, was taken over by wireless pioneer Craig McCaw in 2000.
Chicago-based Boeing initially sued ICO in 2004 after ICO terminated its contract for the satellites. ICO countersued, accusing Boeing of breach of contract and fraud, and sought $2 billion in damages.
Boeing has denied any wrongdoing and said ICO's problems stemmed from a bad business decision betting on the future of satellite phones. (Reporting by Bill Rigby; editing by Richard Chang)
Put in Bay, I live in Cleveland area been their many times, especially for Christmas in July parties
I found this interesting
America's Cheapest Family
How to Live on $44k Per Year (Almost) Debt Free
Check out this piece on a family who lives (almost) debt free on $44,000 a year. A few highlights:
The family’s total Christmas shopping bill this year was $90 for 27 gifts.
Breaking down their budget to 19 categories, they paid off their first house in nine years on an average income of $33,000 a year. Their second home, which they estimate to be worth more than $700,000, was purchased for more than $200,000 and is almost paid off.
They plan every meal before going to the grocery store, building their menu around specials and coupons. The monthly bill to feed a family of seven is $350.
also a link to their blog
http://acfblog.homeeconomiser.com/
Budgeting to quickly pay off mortgageQuestion: I am impressed that you paid off your mortgage in just nine years. Could you share how you did it? We have been in our home for 11 years, but due to refinancing and taking cash out of it, our balance is the same as when we moved in. I now see the error of my ways and want to reverse course. Can you help?
Answer: Using your home an ATM is a dangerous habit. Paying off a home is not as difficult as you might think — it just takes a plan and discipline. But reducing the principal balance in your home should only come after you’ve eliminated your consumer debt — credit cards, car and student loans, most of which usually charge higher interest than a home loan. Deciding to live debt-free and to control our spending by using a budget were the first two steps we took to pay off our home.
We have always worked to keep our overhead low — if we wanted to buy anything from a car to a remodeled kitchen, we saved the cash before we spent, and never financed it. Financing raises your monthly overhead and costs you more in interest. Because we were debt-free except for our home, we started by paying $2 extra each month. As our income increased, so did the principal amount we paid on the house. By using a budget, we were able to control our other expenses and free up more money to pay off the house. We always asked our lender to provide us with an annual loan history to be sure they properly applied our extra principal payments.
This doesn’t mean that it was always easy. There are times when we would have loved to take a few hundred dollars and buy some new furniture, but we realized we could buy high quality used stuff for a fraction of the price and still reach our goal of paying off the house. As we watched the principal balance plummet, our enthusiasm and determination to pay it off soared.
I know this was posted before but I feel this is significant for the future of EPIX also March 1, 2009 when they take control over global rights from Bayer for Vasovist. I believe trading will be mixed until 3/01/2009 than things will move quicker, I myself will be buying at all levels until than. This is a link to all the Mutual Funds that own EPIX
http://moneycentral.msn.com/ownership?Holding=Mutual+Fund+Ownership&symbol=EPIX
EPIX Pharmaceuticals Makes a Significant Altzheimer's Discovery
by: Aaron Katsman December 23, 2007 |
EPIX Pharmaceuticals (EPIX) is a bio-pharmaceutical company that is focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics through the use of its proprietary and highly efficient silico drug discovery platform. Last week, the company made a huge breakthrough relating to Alzheimer’s. As we all know some of the greatest inventions were stumbled upon accidentally. We all know about Ben Franklin, and what happened when chocolate met peanut butter - the rest is history.
It is just possible that what EPIX stumbled upon is extremely important to humanity.
The company initiated a phase 2A study of its Alzheimer’s disease drug, PRX-03140, to get safety and tolerability information. What happened? The company actually found that the drug had a profound impact on the Alzheimer’s Disease Assessment Scale cognitive subscale. While it usually takes drugs between 12 and 24 weeks to show an improvement, after only 2 weeks with PRX-03140, sufferers showed a marked improvement.
Even the CEO was surprised by the findings. Epix Chief Executive Officer Michael Kauffman said the company was surprised by the compound’s swift effectiveness.
“No drug has been shown to work this quickly, as far as we are aware,” said Kauffman, adding that other Alzheimer’s drugs generally must be taken for at least 12 weeks before any significant improvement can be observed.
With 5 million Americans Alzheimer’s the opportunity for EPIX is huge. It is also important to consider that with an aging population this could be absolutely huge for the little Biotech company with a market-cap of only $141 million.
After seeing the stock surge more than 50% on the news, it has fallen way back. With this potential revolutionary, blockbuster drug, this is a stock that should be trading much higher than the $4 range. For investors looking to take a swing at an up and coming drug company, EPIX is worth the look.
Disclosure: The author’s fund holds no position in any stock mentioned as of December 21, 2007.
EPIX
This is a Pharmaceuticals Co currenyly trading @1.40 its peaked out at 1.87 than retracted, the only down side is they don't own the Global marketing rights to Vasovist they are held by Bayer Schering Pharma until March 1, 2009
Epix Pharmaceuticals sustains climb
Tuesday December 23, 3:42 pm ET
Epix Pharmaceuticals near three-month highs in first full day after Vasovist US approval
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. continued to climb in heavy trading Tuesday, a day after regulators approved the company's first drug, the vascular imaging agent Vasovist.
Epix shares nearly quadrupled in value in the last hour of Monday trading, after the company said Vasovist had received marketing approval in the U.S. In Tuesday afternoon trading, shares rose 17 cents, or 14 percent, to $1.37. The stock peaked at $1.87, its highest price since the end of August.
About 9.6 million Epix shares changed hands by Tuesday afternoon. Trading volume over the past 100 days was about 214,000 shares.
Natixis Bleichroeder analyst Jon LeCroy described the positive Food and Drug Administration ruling as "a huge win for Epix" that should provide most of the funding the company needs in 2009. He believes Epix will find a marketing partner for Vasovist in the first quarter of 2009, after a marketing agreement with Bayer Schering Pharma expires.
He estimated Vasovist is worth $26 million, and said Epix needs about $40 million to fund its operations into 2010.
Vasovist received approval for use in magnetic resonance angiography blood vessel imaging. It will be used to test for narrowing or blockage of the pelvic arteries in patients with peripheral vascular disease. Regulators in 34 countries, including the European Union, have already approved Vasovist.
LeCroy also predicted success for Epix's Alzheimer's disease drug candidate PRX-03140, which the Lexington, Mass., company is developing with GlaxoSmithKline PLC. He thinks the drug will be launched in 2012, and will reach $1 billion in peak sales.
PRX-03140 is currently in mid-stage clinical testing, and LeCroy expects the first results to be available by the end of 2009.
What dropped DVAX down was this
UPDATE 1-Dynavax ends deal with Merck for Hepatitis B vaccine
Fri Dec 19, 2008 7:44am EST
Drug developer Dynavax Technologies Corp (DVAX.O) said it ended a global license and development deal with Merck & Co Inc (MRK.N) for its experimental hepatitis B vaccine, Heplisav.
Dynavax said it will continue to evaluate regulatory options for the development of the vaccine, indicated for adults outside of the United States and for the global end-stage renal disease markets.
In March, Heplisav trial was placed on hold after a patient receiving the vaccine was preliminarily diagnosed with Wegener's granulomatosis, a disease in which blood vessels get inflamed.
The company expects to accelerate the recognition of about $31 million of non-cash revenue previously reported as deferred revenue, due to the termination of the Merck partnership.
Under the November 2007 deal, Merck was to get worldwide rights to Heplisav and fund future vaccine development.
Dynavax would have got an initial payment of $31.5 million and up to $105 million in development and sales milestone payment plus royalties.
Dynavax said its current cash position and strong pharmaceutical partnerships would help it continue development of other products.
Shares of Dynavax closed at $1.54 while Merck shares closed at $27.74 Thursday on Nasdaq. (Reporting by Anuradha Ramanathan in Bangalore; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier)
THANKS
My pick Cincinnati
THANKS
S4J
My pick Tennessee
Thanks S4J
New Orleans my pick
thanks S4J
my pick is Philadelphia
thanks S4J
My pick is New England
thanks S4J
My pick is Green Bay
thanks S4J
S4J
I'LL TAKE San Diego
THANKS
stocks put me in for Baltimore
thanks
Detroit is my pick
Thanks for the reminder S4J
I am looking for an easy, free DVD converter, I recently downloaded all my video camera movies to my external hard drive and would like to burn them to a disc
Thanks