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Report: Huntington Bancshares to buy Macquarie unit
Looking to bolster its equipment leasing business, Huntington Bancshares (NASDAQ:HBAN) has agreed to acquire Macquarie Group's (OTC:MCQEF) equipment finance unit for around $380M, Reuters reports, saying a deal could be announced as early as this week.
Macquarie bought the unit, then named CIT Systems Leasing, from CIT Group in 2008. At the time of the acquisition, the business had $700M of assets.
HBAN +0.8% premarket
Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) announces it will offer a new senior note issue.
The company plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes which could include buybacks and acquisitions.
The amount of the new issue hasn't been disclosed yet.
Priceline to float new senior notes
Priceline (NASDAQ:PCLN) announces it will offer a new senior note issue.
The company plans to use the funds for general corporate purposes which could include buybacks and acquisitions.
The amount of the new issue hasn't been disclosed yet.
Sanderson Farms misses by $0.12, beats on revenue
Sanderson Farms (NASDAQ:SAFM): FQ1 EPS of $2.87 misses by $0.12.
Revenue of $667.36M (+14.1% Y/Y) beats by $14.92M.
Carrizo Oil & Gas beats by $0.02, misses on revenue
Carrizo Oil & Gas (NASDAQ:CRZO): Q4 EPS of $0.32 beats by $0.02.
Revenue of $175.25M (+32.8% Y/Y) misses by $1.46M.
Pacira Pharmaceuticals beats by $0.08, misses on revenue
Pacira Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:PCRX): Q4 EPS of $0.35 beats by $0.08.
Revenue of $61.8M (+84.1% Y/Y) misses by $0.3M.
RCS Capital (NYSE:RCAP): Q4 EPS of $0.14 misses by $0.04.
Revenue of $504.03M (-26.6% Y/Y) misses by $100.83M.
RCS Capital misses by $0.04, misses on revenue
RCS Capital (NYSE:RCAP): Q4 EPS of $0.14 misses by $0.04.
Revenue of $504.03M (-26.6% Y/Y) misses by $100.83M.
Westlake Chemical misses on revenue
Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLKP): Q4 Net Income of $8.56M.
Revenue of $273.54M misses by $23.43M.
ExlService beats by $0.05, beats on revenue
ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS): Q4 EPS of $0.48 beats by $0.05.
Revenue of $135.3M (+9.0% Y/Y) beats by $0.52M.
ExlService beats by $0.05, beats on revenue
ExlService (NASDAQ:EXLS): Q4 EPS of $0.48 beats by $0.05.
Revenue of $135.3M (+9.0% Y/Y) beats by $0.52M.
Vitamin Shoppe EPS in-line, misses on revenue
Vitamin Shoppe (NYSE:VSI): Q4 EPS of $0.41 in-line.
Revenue of $291.1M (+13.5% Y/Y) misses by $3.67M.
INC Research (NASDAQ:INCR): Q4 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.05.
Revenue of $213.73M (+22.6% Y/Y) beats by $5.85M.
INC Research misses by $0.05, beats on revenue
INC Research (NASDAQ:INCR): Q4 EPS of $0.26 misses by $0.05.
Revenue of $213.73M (+22.6% Y/Y) beats by $5.85M.
Home Depot (NYSE:HD): Q4 EPS of $1.00 beats by $0.11.
Revenue of $19.16B (+8.2% Y/Y) beats by $460M.
Westlake Chemical beats by $0.02, misses on revenue
Westlake Chemical (NYSE:WLK): Q4 EPS of $1.40 beats by $0.02.
Revenue of $1.14B (+19.8% Y/Y) misses by $40M.
Good morning cap, larry, stuffie & all!
Morning everyone !
Good morning busy bee !
Enjoy your evening everyone ...
Have a nice evening everyone ...
Supervising the night shift tonight. In the office by 2:00am, boss said !
Financial Bloggers Are Bullish. Does It Matter?
Every week, Birinyi Associates tracks nearly 30 financial bloggers and classifies their views as being either bullish on the market, bearish or neutral. The results are published on Mondays at their Ticker Sense website.
This week, bloggers are extremely bullish to an extent not seen in more than a year. Is this a contrarian signal to be cautious? The short answer is no.
Below, similar levels of bullishness over the past 3 years are marked with a vertical line: a price chart of SPY is in the top panel with the views of bloggers shown in the lower panel. It's a small sample but in the seven previous times bloggers were roughly this bullish, SPY continued higher six times. Bullish bloggers were an excellent contrarian signal just once, in September 2012.
While this is not very encouraging, the good news is that financial bloggers are an excellent contrarian tell when they are bearish. Below is the same chart except we have highlighted extremes in bearish sentiment (using low bullish sentiment). The last ten times bloggers were as bearish as they were in January, SPY went higher the next week nine times. In one instance (May 2012), SPY was very close to a low but continued lower another 3 weeks.
The upshot for now is this: there may be reasons for caution but extreme bullishness among financial bloggers is not one of them.
Posted by Urban Carmel@ The Fat Pitch on Monday, February 23, 2015
Financial Bloggers Are Bullish. Does It Matter?
Every week, Birinyi Associates tracks nearly 30 financial bloggers and classifies their views as being either bullish on the market, bearish or neutral. The results are published on Mondays at their Ticker Sense website.
This week, bloggers are extremely bullish to an extent not seen in more than a year. Is this a contrarian signal to be cautious? The short answer is no.
Below, similar levels of bullishness over the past 3 years are marked with a vertical line: a price chart of SPY is in the top panel with the views of bloggers shown in the lower panel. It's a small sample but in the seven previous times bloggers were roughly this bullish, SPY continued higher six times. Bullish bloggers were an excellent contrarian signal just once, in September 2012.
While this is not very encouraging, the good news is that financial bloggers are an excellent contrarian tell when they are bearish. Below is the same chart except we have highlighted extremes in bearish sentiment (using low bullish sentiment). The last ten times bloggers were as bearish as they were in January, SPY went higher the next week nine times. In one instance (May 2012), SPY was very close to a low but continued lower another 3 weeks.
The upshot for now is this: there may be reasons for caution but extreme bullishness among financial bloggers is not one of them.
Posted by Urban Carmel@ The Fat Pitch on Monday, February 23, 2015
Missed this ... Comcast, Al Sharpton Hit With $20 Billion Racial Discrimination Lawsuit
Even though the FCC hasn't yet ruled on the proposed merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, one group has already filed a lawsuit claiming at least $20 billion in damages from the way the two giants allegedly discriminate against black-owned media.
The complaint, filed in California on Friday, comes from the National Association of African-American Owned Media, which also filed a similar suit against AT&T and DirecTV in December.
This time, the plaintiff is not only targeting both Comcast and TWC — on the eve of the two companies merging to become what would be the largest pay television distributor in the United States — but also various African-American advocacy groups and MSNBC host Al Sharpton for allegedly facilitating discrimination.
Comcast is one of the biggest companies to employ a chief diversity officer, and its practices have been lauded by many including Black Enterprise magazine, which recently named it as one of the 40 best companies for diversity. The lawsuit figures to face many hurdles, from the sufficiency of its allegations to possibly the First Amendment, but for now it presents a larger portrait of a media company that isn't carrying many fully owned black channels and the dangers of allowing it to grow bigger.
"We do not generally comment on pending litigation, but this complaint represents nothing more than a string of inflammatory, inaccurate, and unsupported allegations," responds Comcast in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Sharpton tells us that he "welcomes the opportunity to answer the frivolous allegations" and says he will be bringing counterclaims for defamation.
According to the lawsuit, Comcast and TWC "collectively spend approximately $25 billion annually for the licensing of pay-television channels and advertising of their products and services, yet 100% African American–owned media receives less than $3 million per year."
At the time of Comcast's 2010 acquisition of NBCUniversal, Comcast entered into memoranda of understanding with the NAACP, the National Urban League and the National Action Network, but the lawsuit says the voluntary diversity agreements are "a sham, undertaken to whitewash Comcast's discriminatory business practices."
The plaintiff objects that the only fully black-owned channel picked up by Comcast is the Africa Channel, and that entity is owned by former Comcast/NBCU exec Paula Madison, who "was directly involved in putting together the sham MOUs and obtaining government approval for the Comcast acquisition of NBC Universal, thus creating a serious conflict of interest."
Other black channels are said to be "window dressing," with black celebrities as "fronts" when they are "white-owned businesses" that are run by friends or family of Comcast executives.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Comcast made large cash "donations" to obtain support for its acquisition. The money includes $3.8 million to Sharpton and his National Action Network. The money, it's charged, was meant to pay Sharpton to endorse the NBCU deal and divert attention away from discrimination. As for Sharpton's MSNBC gig, the complaint says, "Despite the notoriously low ratings that Sharpton's show generates, Comcast has allowed Sharpton to maintain his hosting position for more than three years in exchange for Sharpton's continued public support for Comcast on issues of diversity."
Sharpton objects that the budget for National Action Network is not even $4 million, and as for his MSNBC show, he believes he has the most successful show in the 6 p.m. hour at MSNBC, that "the numbers speak for themselves." The lawsuit seems to count Sharpton's reported $750,000 annual salary at MSNBC as part of the $3.8 million and leverages past criticism of the noted civil rights leader that's rooted in him allegedly turning an eye and forgoing boycotts and protests on corporations upon receiving monetary contributions to the National Action Network.
As for support to the theory of discrimination in contracting, the lawsuit says Comcast has a "Jim Crow" process with respect to licensing black-owned channels, and that one Comcast exec stated, "We're not trying to create any more Bob Johnsons," referring to the founder of Black Entertainment Television.
The NAAAOM is suing along with Entertainment Studios Networks, which was founded by Byron Allen and now has a television operation with stations like Justice Central that reach 7.5 million consumers through deals with smaller pay TV distributors.
Representing the plaintiffs are Louis "Skip" Miller at Miller Barondess. The attorney has been a mainstay for many years on The Hollywood Reporter's list of the 100 most powerful lawyers in the entertainment industry. Besides representing clients including Rod Stewart, Steven Tyler, Elton John and Bob Dylan, he also defended the city of Los Angeles in the Rodney King civil rights case.
A Comcast spokesperson responds, "We are proud of our outstanding record supporting and fostering diverse programming, including programming from African-American–owned and –controlled cable channels. We currently carry more than 100 networks geared toward diverse audiences, including multiple networks owned or controlled by minorities."
She adds, "Comcast has engaged in good-faith negotiations with this programmer for many years. It is disappointing that they have decided to file a frivolous lawsuit. We will defend vigorously against the scurrilous allegations in this complaint and fully expect that the court will dismiss them."
The National Action Network also responds.
"National Action Network has not been served with any papers and considers this claim frivolous," says a spokesperson. "If in fact we were to be served, we would gladly defend our relationship with any company as well as to state on the record why we found these discriminatory accusations made by said party to be less than credible and beneath the standards that we engage in."
The group adds, "As for Rev. Sharpton's TV show ratings the numbers are clear. Rev. Sharpton's show has the highest ratings of any 6 p.m. show in the history of the network."
Email: Eriq.Gardner@THR.com
Twitter: @eriqgardner
OK ... Quebec News - from my neck of the woods !
With our current economy, people are tying to save some money, like getting rid of their 2nd car by moving closer to public transit sites.
You know what .... ?
Robert Poëti wants new tax for homes near public transit
Transport Minister says revenue would help fund projects like Train de l'Ouest or Champlain LRT
The Quebec government wants to give cities in the province the power to tax those who live in newly-built residences close to current or future public transit sites.
Transport Minister Robert Poëti told Radio-Canada the new revenue would be used to finance projects such the Train de l'Ouest, light-rail transit on the new Champlain Bridge or a new metro station.
Poëti said the new tax bill for residents would be more than offset by the savings enjoyed by the access to public transit.
"You know, when people decide to buy a condo near a subway or a transit line, they can give up the second car," he said.
"These are significant savings."
Poëti said a similar funding model has been used "throughout the world, in other places, and it has worked," citing in particular the example of Barcelona, Spain.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said he was open to the idea, but added government would need to make sure it's clear the tax revenue is going straight into the transit project.
>> We will never win ... lol
If I had more time, i'd do more ... Work just crazy lately !
Have a good one D !
Looking at DA's chart right now ... wouldn't be surprised we hit 100ma with these news sooner than later !
Like it ...
You're a riot lee ... LOL
Break ... back later !
Have a nice evening everyone !
Break time ... wifey's in & doesn't look like she's in a good mood !
Guessing i'll be cooking again ... lol j/k !
Quad/Graphics (NYSE:QUAD): Q4 EPS of $0.96 beats by $0.07.
Revenue of $1.43B (+5.9% Y/Y) beats by $50M.
Atrion reports Q4 results
Atrion (NASDAQ:ATRI): Q4 EPS of $3.08
Revenue of $32.7M (+2.5% Y/Y)
Shares +2.7% AH.
Sun Hydraulics beats by $0.01, misses on revenue
Sun Hydraulics (NASDAQ:SNHY): Q4 EPS of $0.39 beats by $0.01.
Revenue of $54.8M (+11.7% Y/Y) misses by $0.27M.
Quad/Graphics beats by $0.07, beats on revenue
Quad/Graphics (NYSE:QUAD): Q4 EPS of $0.96 beats by $0.07.
Revenue of $1.43B (+5.9% Y/Y) beats by $50M.
All mentioned ... lol
Computer Sciences +2.5%; activist ups stake to 5.9%
Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners has upped its Computer Sciences (NYSE:CSC) stake to 5.9% (8.37M shares) from a prior 2%. Jana adds it "has had and may continue to have discussions" with CSC's board about "potential strategic alternatives" and capital allocation. (13D filing)
Shares have risen to $73.55 AH. They rose 7.2% in regular trading after dealReporter stated CSC is in talks to do a 2-part sale.
Computer Sciences +2.5%; activist ups stake to 5.9%
Barry Rosenstein's Jana Partners has upped its Computer Sciences (NYSE:CSC) stake to 5.9% (8.37M shares) from a prior 2%. Jana adds it "has had and may continue to have discussions" with CSC's board about "potential strategic alternatives" and capital allocation. (13D filing)
Shares have risen to $73.55 AH. They rose 7.2% in regular trading after dealReporter stated CSC is in talks to do a 2-part sale.