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Boardmarked. Great board, looks good for venting, lol.
Poopy Stocks...lmao, too funny.
LEND - Accredited Home Rises On Liquidity Moves
8:50 AM ET - Dow Jones News
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. (LEND) rose 14% to $9.65 after the company said it closed a loan with Farallon Capital Management and disclosed other moves to raise its available financing capacity. Accredited Home said it had $350 million cash on hand after closing a $230 million financing transaction with Farallon and other moves. After the sale of $2.7 billion of loans and the Farallon deal, Accredited Home said it had originated $1.8 billion in loans this past quarter and repaid most of its warehouse facilities.
In a statement late Monday, the company also said it obtained a new $500 million warehouse facility from a "large commercial bank," renewed an existing facility with an investment banking firm for $600 million and is in talks with another investment bank regarding the possible renewal of an existing $650 million warehouse facility.
Accredited Home has been hit along with its peers as liquidity shortages have forced more than two dozen mortgage lenders to shutter operations over the past two months. The contraction is making it harder for consumers to get loans and has caused investors to pummel the stocks of companies with exposure to the sector. Accredited itself has cut back on some riskier loans, including those allowing borrowers to finance up to 100% of the value of their homes.
Separately, Grant Thornton LLP said it quit as auditor to Fremont General Corp. (FMT) and Accredited Home. Both companies said they have begun the process of seeking a new auditor.
Shares of Fremont General were trading 5.2% lower at $6.18 in pre-open electronic trading.
Cell Genesys Rises On Positive Phase II Data
Cell Genesys Inc. (CEGE) rose 17% to $5.03 after the company said survival rates for patients in two Phase II studies of its GVAX immunotherapy treatment for prostate cancer compared favorably with survival rates among those receiving the standard treatment.
The median survival length was 35 months for 22 patients with the specific type of prostate cancer who received the company's GVAX immunotherapy at doses similar to an ongoing Phase III trial, according to the final results of the second Phase II clinical trial.
Shares of Dendreon Corp. (DNDN), whose similar prostate cancer immunotherapy was recently favorably reviewed by an FDA panel, were trading 2% higher at $14.59.
Napster Rises As Company Ups Revenue Outlook
Napster Inc. (NAPS) rose 7.2% to $4.45 after the company raised its fiscal fourth-quarter revenue estimate to more than $28 million and said it ended the last quarter with more than 830,000 paid subscribers.
On Feb. 8, the online music retailer expected fourth-quarter revenue to exceed $26 million. A year earlier, Napster generated revenue of $26.8 million.
The Los Angeles company said Tuesday it added 40,000 net paid subscribers during the latest quarter ended March 31.
Stock Futures Rise As Oil Prices Fall
U.S. stock futures rose Tuesday, as some easing of tensions in the Middle East prompted a slide in oil prices to below $65 a barrel.
S&P 500 futures rose 6.70 points to 1440, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 46 points to 12495, and Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 10 points to 1800.
U.S. stocks edged higher on Monday, helped by a flurry of takeover activity, including the $29 billion acquisition of First Data Corp. (FDC) by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts. The Dow Jones industrials rose nearly 28 points, the Nasdaq Composite edged up six-tenths of a point and the S&P 500 added 3.7 points.
(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires
04-03-07 0833ET
Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
TSO breaking $102 resistance.
A 3.83X gain, and you get hate mail. Are some people not happy with les than a 4X gain? The run to the 0.002's was great, and I know I made some bank off of it.
Only amatures sell stocks in a panic.. or chase a run.
I wonder how things in Iran will affect the refiners overall in the near term...
TSO strong last half hour after Ben's inflation remark about it being "uncomfortably high" bumped things down.
I agree the chart sure looks toppy, but I've thought that with this one and it keeps getting buyers, just something to radar.
AYR - Aircastle Ltd - Something to radar. Currently ~ $34.99
I've been in it for a while, it doesn't trade much volume, but the relatively recent IPO is more than half owned by FIG. Average volume is 342920, and somoene just hit the ask for 100000 shares ($4M) at the 13 day MA.
http://www.aircastle.com
market Cap: 1.8B
Float: Unknown, O/S: 51.51M
Insider transactions:
Company Background
Aircastle Limited (Aircastle) is a global company that acquires and leases high-utility commercial jet aircraft to passenger and cargo airlines throughout the world. As of September 30, 2006, Aircastle's aircraft portfolio consisted of 65 aircraft that were leased to 32 lessees located in 23 countries and managed through its offices in the United States, Ireland and Singapore. All of the Company's aircraft are subject to net operating leases whereby the lessee is generally responsible for maintaining the aircraft and paying operational and insurance costs. Aircastle also makes investments in other aviation assets, including debt securities secured by commercial jet aircraft. The Company operates through two business segments: Aircraft Leasing and Debt Investments. As of September 30, 2006, Aircastle acquired an additional five aircrafts.
Weather - Initial Hurricane Outlook Updated:
Tuesday, March 27, 2007 3:50 PMHurricane Threat Looms for US Energy Production and Gulf Coast in 2007
AccuWeather.com's Bastardi: "Last Year Was Just a Breather"
STATE COLLEGE, PA, March 27, 2007 - AccuWeather.com Hurricane Center Chief Forecaster Joe Bastardi warns that theUS Gulf Coast, which avoided the wrath of major storms and hurricanes in 2006, is at much higher risk of destructive tropical weather this year. This could have significant implications for the areas recovering from the devastation wrought by the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005 - which included Katrina - as well as for energy prices, because of the significant energy production that occurs in the Gulf of Mexico.
Bastardi, who in March of last year correctly forecasted that the region would get "minimal" attention by that season's hurricanes, said that this year, "the Gulf and Florida face a renewed threat, and we will see more powerful storms across the board. We will not get anywhere near the amount of storms that we did in 2005, but it is the intensity of the storms we do get that will be of major concern."
"We'll see storms on the prowl in the Gulf again. The entire region - including New Orleans and other areas that are still rebuilding after Katrina - is susceptible to landfalling storms. Of concern to consumers everywhere is that there is so much oil and natural gas drilling and refining occurring in the Gulf. This year's stronger storms are likely to cause the kind of disruption that will be felt in wallets and pocketbooks."
As for the Northeast, Bastardi's 2006 forecast still holds: the region is likely be the target of storm strikes over the next ten years. "Last year the Northeast may have dodged a bullet, but unfortunately you can only be lucky for so long. We are in a pattern similar to that of the late 1930s through the 1940s, when the Northeast was hit by two major storms."
Last year, Bastardi forecast that the East Coast would be far more likely than the eastern and central Gulf to see hurricane activity, and indeed, most of 2006's ten storms tracked farther east than in 2005 - including Ernesto, which caused a half-billion dollars in damages in the region from North Carolina to New Jersey.
Asked about the diminished number of tropical cyclones compared to 2005, AccuWeather.com Director of Forecast Operations Ken Reeves said, "Keep in mind that in 1992, a year with very few storms, we saw one of the most destructive in recorded history - Hurricane Andrew. This year is shaping up to be one that features some potentially very powerful storms, so whether or not the quantity is there, the danger certainly is."
The development of an El Niño last year has been frequently cited as a reason that the 2006 hurricane season resulted in few landfalling storms, and the development of a La Niña this year is already causing some forecasters to project a higher-than-average number of tropical cyclones in 2007. Bastardi and Reeves believe that the El Niño/La Niña connection is given too much emphasis when these events are weak.
"Last year's season wasn't truncated because of an El Niño," said Reeves. "After all, there was a much stronger El Niño in effect in 2004, and that was a significantly more active hurricane season than last year. Similarly, a La Niña won't be the main driver of this year's hurricane season." Among many factors that came into play, last year's storms were weakened by drier-than-normal air and higher-than-normal levels of dust in the atmosphere over the Atlantic.
Bastardi instead points to the pattern of Atlantic Ocean water temperatures as a leading factor in determining the power of a hurricane season, as well as the overall cyclical trend of more extreme weather across the US. Specifically, he points to the recent hot, dry summers in the West and Plains as a precursor to increased Atlantic Basin hurricane intensity, one of the patterns identified by his comparative research of previous seasons.
"We are living in a time of climatic hardship," said Bastardi. "We're in a cycle where weather extremes are more the norm and not the exception. One of the ways this manifests itself is in the intensity of hurricanes and tropical storms. Last year was just a breather, because the overall pattern shows no sign of reversing in the near term."
The full AccuWeather.com hurricane season forecast will be available in early May, released in conjunction with the Second Annual AccuWeather Hurricane Summit in Houston, Texas.
Weather - Oil inches up on storm forecast
By Associated Press | March 28, 2007
NEW YORK -- Oil prices edged higher yesterday, topping the 2007 settlement high reached a day earlier after a report predicted more destructive storms along the Gulf Coast this hurricane season. Natural gas prices also jumped on the news.
Sign up for: Globe Headlines e-mail | Breaking News Alerts Continued tensions between Iran and the West also kept a floor under oil prices, while the market looked to today's weekly inventory reports from the Energy Department.
Light, sweet crude for May delivery inched up 2 cents to settle at $62.93, the highest settlement this year, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose as high as $63.05.
Brent crude for May rose 19 cents to $64.60 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
AccuWeather.com said yesterday its chief hurricane forecaster expects this hurricane season to produce more powerful storms in the Gulf of Mexico, which could disrupt production of crude oil and natural gas in the area.
Natural gas leaped 24.9 cents to settle at $7.503 per 1,000 cubic feet.
"The market tried to go down all day, but it finally got a little boost from the hurricane forecast," said Phil Flynn, an energy analyst at Alaron Trading Corp.
© Copyright 2007 Globe Newspaper Company.
Blair May Step Up Diplomatic Pressure on Iran to Free Sailors
By Mark Deen
March 28 (Bloomberg) -- Prime Minister Tony Blair, having avoided arguing with Iran in public over its seizure of 15 British sailors and marines, may ratchet up pressure to end the six-day-old crisis by getting the U.K.'s allies involved.
Britain is seeking not to escalate the dispute into military confrontation. That means its next steps may include publishing satellite images showing its boats were not in Iranian waters and rallying other countries to condemn Iran at the United Nations, analysts and diplomats said. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett will make a statement in Parliament in London at 12:30 p.m. today.
Blair's stance is backed by opposition politicians and reflects his limited military options and the lessons learned from defusing previous disputes with Iran. President Jimmy Carter's effort to free 52 Americans held in Tehran in 1980 cost the lives of eight marines and failed to recover any hostages.
``Some people may think it's time to take the gloves off,'' said retired Rear Admiral Richard Cobbold, who is now director of the Royal United Services Institute in London. ``I'm all for being tougher if it produces the right results, but there's no indication that's what will happen. It could well end up being a mess with a lot of blood spilled.''
Beckett, who cut short a trip to Turkey to help manage the situation, spoke in ``very robust terms'' to Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki by telephone yesterday, the Foreign Office said. The conversation was made public after Blair told Iran that the crisis will ``enter a different phase'' if the soldiers are not released. His spokesman Tom Kelly ruled out military action.
`Low-Key Approach'
``While this type of incident can lead to conflict, the government is conscious that it must not let that happen,'' said Dana Allin, a research fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London. ``Success will come with a low-key approach.''
Iran's Foreign Ministry raised hopes yesterday that the crisis could be resolved peacefully. ``The issue will be solved in a calm atmosphere,'' said the ministry's spokesman, Moammad Ali Hossein. ``We cannot predict how long it will take.''
Blair's government has succeeded in freeing those held in similar situations in the past. In June 2004, Iran detained eight British servicemen for three days after capturing them in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which runs along the border between Iran and Iraq. Similarly, five members of staff at the British embassy in Ethiopia were released after 13 days on March 13 following diplomatic talks.
The cool, diplomatic approach reflects consensus among politicians, foreign-policy analysts and most of the British media. The Sun, Britain's best-selling tabloid newspaper, known for taking a hard line on defense matters, has avoided criticizing the government's handling of the matter.
`Quiet Diplomacy'
``We have to give a chance to quiet diplomacy to sort this out,'' William Hague, the opposition Conservative lawmaker responsible for foreign affairs, said yesterday on BBC News 24 television. ``I don't think threatening all kinds of consequences would be the best way to get our personnel out.''
Allies have also been keeping quiet. President George W. Bush has made no public statement on the seizure of the British sailors, and U.S. officials have avoided comment.
``I'm not going to comment on that situation; it won't help the resolution of it,'' U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in Washington on March 23. ``Let's let it take its course. They need to be released.''
Cobbold, the retired British admiral, pointed out that even in 1980, the American hostages were eventually released.
`Low Profile'
``Don't put their lives in jeopardy for the sake of a bit of time,'' he said. ``If keeping a reasonably low profile gets the right result, that's the way to go.''
Complicating the situation this time is a push by the U.S., Britain and other members of the UN Security Council to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. The council imposed new sanctions March 24, the day after Iran arrested the British personnel. The British government has sought to avoid linking the matters.
British and U.S. troops in neighboring Iraq and Afghanistan may be at risk if tensions mount.
``They need to keep this an isolated problem,'' said John Williams, a former official at the U.K. Foreign Office. ``All that matters is getting the people back.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Mark Deen in London at markdeen@bloomberg.net .
Exoskeletal puns!
I know I am crazy, lol. Not sure about the guy with the mutated claw, but pretty sure, yep, crazy as well!
Not to belabor the point, but I was just coming at it from a psychological standpoint. Let's say you are in stock XYZ, and you have 10 Million shares that just doubled in value. You sell off half to recoup your initial investment, because you sense the stock will probably go down and you want to protect your initial investment, but it has a chance to go up, so you let some "free shares" ride. You are putting these 5M shares at a higher risk than you are willing to put your original investment because you psychologically feel less attached to them, because they are perceived to be free or were easily gained. I am saying that the "free shares" should be viewed as having the same value as the original invesment and should be guarded from risk like the 5M you pulled out and sold to rescue them from the probable drop coming.
IMO, there's no such thing as "free shares." It is similar to a fallacy that gamblers call "playing with the house's money" in a casino when they are temporarily up. "Free shares" are shares you earned by taking on a high degree of risk, and the shares are by no means free, you earned them by spending units of risk. IMO, it is wise to defend and take profits from so called "free shares" with the same voracity you would defend the initial quantity of shares.
FYI - IRAN Naval warships
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iran/ships.htm
2005 numbers:
Submarines : 6
Frigates : 3
Corvettes : 2
Missile boats : 25
Coastal patrol : 3
Inshore patrol : 41
Mine layers : 2
Mine Countermeasures : 5
Amphibious : 19
Support : 25
IRAN - There is a Bloomberg article on that speculation. The official response: "totally unsubstantiated rumor."
#msg-18258654
Maybe my refinmers will pick up tomorrow, lol.
Crude Jumps on Speculation of Iran Conflict, Which U.S. Denies
By Gavin Evans and Mark Shenk
March 27 (Bloomberg) -- Crude oil in New York rose in electronic trading on speculation of a confrontation in the Persian Gulf between U.S. or British forces and Iran.
``The rumor is that the Brits went in for a rescue attempt on the Royal Marines and Navy guys,'' said Mark Waggoner, president of Excel Futures Inc. in Huntington Beach California, referring to 15 British military personnel seized by Iran on March 23. ``And we don't know if that's true.''
Prices erased most of their after-hours gain after the White House, State Department and the head of the U.S. command that oversees military operations in the Middle East, said they had no information about a naval incident between Iran and the U.S.
Crude oil traded at $64.12 a barrel at 6:24 p.m. in New York Mercantile Exchange electronic trading, up $1.19 from the day's settlement price of $62.93. The settlement price is set after the close of floor trading at 2:30 p.m. New York time. Transactions after 6 p.m. are considered part of the next-day's trading.
Five trades were done between $68 and $68.09 a barrel just before 5 p.m., for the highest intraday price since September.
``Right now the buyer of those barrels may not be very happy,'' said Andy Lipow, president of Lipow Oil Associates LLC, a consulting company based in Houston.
U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair said earlier that efforts to release the British personnel seized by Iran will enter a ``different phase'' if negotiations fail. The incident occurred as Iran fended off international pressure to suspend its nuclear program.
No Conflict
Jason Schenker, an economist with Wachovia Corp. in Charlotte, North Carolina, said that in addition to speculation that the British were staging a rescue effort for their personnel, there was concern that a U.S. ship might have been fired upon by Iran.
``There seem to have been some whisper rumors about some potential Iranian strike on a U.S. ship,'' said Schenker.
U.S. Navy Commander Kevin Aandahl, spokesman for the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain, said there is no U.S. military activity in the Gulf outside of previously scheduled exercises. ``I've seen this happen before where there's a totally unsubstantiated rumor'' that has an effect on world markets, he said.
The Pentagon announced today that the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis and its strike group entered the Persian Gulf to conduct the exercises with the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower carrier strike force.
In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said, ``We are aware of no incidents of any kind involving U.S. and Iranian forces.''
National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said he wasn't aware of any incident involving U.S. and Iranian forces.
`Nervous'
``The reaction shows that we're nervous and not prepared for a military confrontation with Iran,'' said Tim Evans, an energy analyst at Citigroup Global Markets Inc. in New York. ``We haven't priced in the risk of a war after all.''
Brent crude oil for May settlement rose 19 cents, or 0.3 percent, to close at $64.60 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures exchange, the highest close since Dec. 1.
Iran has the second-biggest proved oil reserves. Almost a quarter of the world's oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. The surrounding region, the Middle East, is responsible for almost a third of the world's oil output.
Iran's Foreign Ministry said the dispute over the detention of the British sailors and Marines by the Islamic republic will be solved in a ``calm'' manner, without specifying how long it may take.
``The issue will be solved in a calm atmosphere,'' said Mohammad Ali Hosseini, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, in a phone interview today from Tehran. ``We cannot predict how long it will take to resolve the case.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Gavin Evans in Wellington at gavinevans@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: March 27, 2007 18:54 EDT
Characteristics of a Cult Leader
http://www.anandainfo.com/cult_leaders.html
Gasoline Prices Soar on Refinery Trouble
© 2007 The Associated Press
NEW YORK — On a tear since mid-January, U.S. gasoline futures show no sign of slowing down, with refinery outages and low imports keeping supplies tight and traders gearing up for looming strong demand with the onset of the summer driving season.
Gasoline stockpiles have slipped in each of the past six U.S. government oil inventory reports, as refinery problems and seasonal maintenance hamper production at a time when imports are near two-year lows. That's pushed futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange up over 50 percent since Jan. 18, lending a layer of support under crude oil prices in the process.
The rally in futures has already helped push pump prices higher, though analysts say U.S. drivers won't see the kind of record retail prices seen in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. They expect about a further 10 percent run-up in futures prices, which should keep pump prices below $3 a gallon, before refineries start to churn out more gasoline in time for the summer.
Supply concerns are behind the rally, with some refineries around the country out of action due to technical or safety problems at a time when many are, in any case, undergoing seasonal maintenance. U.S. refinery utilization was at 86.3 percent of capacity as of March 16, the lowest for this time of the year since 2002, according to government data.
"At this time of the year, we should be in the low 90s. It looks like gasoline prices will run higher," said Edward Meir, an analyst with brokerage Man Financial in New York. "We're seeing draws in gasoline stockpiles week after week, and there are still refinery concerns _ every time one comes back on, another seems to go down."
The latest glitch in the seasonal ramp-up in gasoline production before the summer was a fire at BP PLC's giant oil refinery in Whiting, Ind., which is expected to shut key gasoline-producing units for between four and six weeks. The BP problems follow a mid-February fire at Valero Energy Corp.'s McKee refinery in Sunray, Texas, which put the 158,000 barrels-a-day refinery off line completely until April. The refinery will only be able to ramp up to about 70 percent capacity, where it will stay until the end of the year.
The two fires, along with a host of smaller unplanned outages have exacerbated a supply shortage expected amid the normal seasonal maintenance-related downturn in production.
Meir predicts futures for reformulated gasoline blendstock for oxygenate blending, or RBOB, to peak at between $2.20 and $2.25. Prices hit a seven-month closing high of $2.073 a gallon Tuesday.
Gasoline prices normally run up before the summer, but this year they started their rise about a month early, given an additional lift from rising crude oil prices, strong winter heating oil and gasoline demand and early refinery maintenance. Adding to pressure on inventory levels, U.S. gasoline imports have languished, despite higher prices. In the four weeks to March 16, imports averaged their lowest for a four week period for more than two years.
"I don't see any quick cap being placed on gasoline prices in the next few weeks," said Tim Evans, an oil analyst at Citigroup in New York. "You still have refinery throughput at relatively low levels and there are big questions in terms of imports."
Despite reports that European gasoline is being sent to the U.S. to chase higher prices, it is yet to show up in inventories in New York, where most imports arrive, partly because of strikes and seasonal maintenance. Europe, which is becoming decreasingly dependent on gasoline as a motor fuel, generally exports a large proportion of its production.
A French port-workers' strike has led some refiners to cut back on production and could affect seven refineries with a total of nearly 1 million barrels a day of refining capacity, or 7 percent of Europe's total. The strike comes at the start of Europe's refinery maintenance season, which is expected to cut more than 6 percent of total capacity between March and June, according to Hootan Yazhari, an analyst at Merrill Lynch.
"With much of this capacity being coastal (i.e. geared to export products from Europe to the U.S., Africa and the Middle East), the outages could provide support to product markets outside of Europe," Yazhari said in a research note.
Despite dwindling supplies, analysts expect the tightness to ease and most are forecasting U.S. gasoline futures will peak before June at around $2.30 a gallon, well-below RBOB's $2.505 peak in May 2006. At $2.30, average U.S. gasoline pump prices should stay below $3 a barrel, a level they crossed in each of the past two years.
"It's a charade we have every year: The market sees falling gasoline stocks and bids prices up" before refineries come out of maintenance, said Stephen Schork, publisher of the daily energy and shipping newsletter, The Schork Report. "They will then be making copious of amounts of gasoline for the summer driving season" and taking advantage of higher gasoline prices, which will in turn bring prices lower.
LOL.
I meant that things were ugly for a while, starting to turn around. Not overly bearish except on some sectors.
What an ugly morning, some of my stocks turning green finally, lol.
TSO - Tesoro Gets Antitrust OK To Buy Calif Sites From USA Pete
26 minutes ago - Dow Jones News
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Tesoro Corp. (TSO) has received antitrust clearance from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to buy 140 USA Petroleum retail sites located primarily in California, a terminal located in New Mexico and select sites in other states.
The FTC said Tuesday that it granted early termination on Monday of the waiting period required under the Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust law.
Tesoro said in a press release on Jan. 29 that the purchase price of the assets and the USA brand is $277 million, plus the value of inventory at the time of closing, which is currently estimated to be $10 million - $15 million. Of the 140 retail sites, 125 use the USA brand and 15 use other major brands.
The Hart-Scott-Rodino law requires under certain circumstances that prospective acquirers of voting securities or assets apply for clearance from regulators. Requests for early termination or clearance are granted when the FTC and the Justice Department's antitrust division have decided against taking enforcement action during the waiting period.
San Antonio-based Tesoro is an independent refiner and marketer of petroleum products. The company operates six refineries in the western U.S., with a combined crude oil throughput capacity of 560,000 barrels a day.
-Ingrid Pedrick Lehrfeld, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-1361
I'm sitting on May TSO calls, 20% profitable down to TSO=$90, going to ride out this volatility for a while, but definately have my eyes on it, thanks.
Gasoline - Gasoline outlook drives prices up
Average cost rises for eighth straight week, to $2.61 a gallon
NEW YORK — The national average price for gasoline climbed for the eighth straight week, according to a government report released Monday.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that drivers paid an average of $2.610 a gallon for regular gasoline in the week that ended Monday, up from $2.577 the prior week.
Retail gasoline prices are 11.2 cents higher than they were a year ago at this time.
The pump price rose most drastically in the Rocky Mountain region, where average prices jumped 5 cents from the prior week to $2.538 a gallon. However, drivers on the West Coast paid the highest average price of $3.016 a gallon, up from $2.977 a week earlier.
In Houston, drivers were paying an average of $2.425 a gallon, up from $2.370.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, gasoline for April delivery gained nearly 7 cents to settle at $2.0677 a gallon — futures prices not seen since last September.
The retail price of gasoline has followed the futures market sharply higher in recent weeks. The trek upward has been spurred by a drop in U.S. gasoline inventories ahead of the summer driving season, when gasoline demand spikes and prices typically hit their peak.
However, some analysts believe that the market enthusiasm may be premature.
"I think we're seeing the grand finale of the preseason rally. Traders are chasing it higher, but cooler heads will prevail," Tom Kloza of Oil Price Information Service said.
Kloza doesn't expect the same kind of rally the market saw last year, when gasoline prices rose at least a penny a day from the start of spring to May.
Crude oil futures prices settled Monday at their highest level so far this year on tensions between Iran and the West after Tehran's detention of British naval personnel. A barrel of crude oil for May delivery rose 63 cents to settle at $62.91 a barrel.
"The situation in Iran is keeping the market on guard, but the market is also keeping it in perspective," said Phil Flynn, an energy analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago. "There's not a lot of panic buying, just a lot of solid buying."
Iran is the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries' second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia.
Heating oil futures rose 6.5 cents to settle at $1.7761 a gallon, while natural gas prices slipped 1.5 cent to $7.254 per million British thermal units.
The Brent crude contract for May delivery gained $1.23 to settle at $64.41 a barrel in London
TINY - Harris & Harris Group Inc
Last: $13.01
Float: 19.54M
Company Background
Harris & Harris Group, Inc. is a venture capital company specializing in tiny technology that operates as a non-diversified business development company (BDC). The Company's investment focuses to achieve capital appreciation by making venture capital investments in early stage companies. As a venture capital company, the Company invests in and provides managerial assistance to its portfolio companies that have potential for growth. Harris & Harris Group makes initial venture capital investments exclusively in tiny technology, which it defines as microsystems, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology
CHK - Chesapeake Energy Corp
Last: $31.01
Float: 407.21M
Company Background
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake) is an independent producer of natural gas in the United States, and owns interests in approximately 34,600 producing oil and natural gas wells that are producing approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) per day, 92% of which is natural gas. The Company�s operations are located in the Mid-Continent region, which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, southwestern Kansas and the Texas Panhandle; the Forth Worth Basin in north-central Texas; the Appalachian Basin, principally in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, eastern Ohio and southern New York; the Permian and Delaware Basins of West Texas and eastern New Mexico; the Ark-La-Tex area of East Texas and northern Louisiana; and the South Texas and Texas Gulf Coast regions.
CHK TINY FCX TEX
(Insider Purchases 3/23/2007)
CHK - Chesapeake Energy Corp
Last: $31.01
Float: 407.21M
Company Background
Chesapeake Energy Corporation (Chesapeake) is an independent producer of natural gas in the United States, and owns interests in approximately 34,600 producing oil and natural gas wells that are producing approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet equivalent (bcfe) per day, 92% of which is natural gas. The Company�s operations are located in the Mid-Continent region, which includes Oklahoma, Arkansas, southwestern Kansas and the Texas Panhandle; the Forth Worth Basin in north-central Texas; the Appalachian Basin, principally in West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, eastern Ohio and southern New York; the Permian and Delaware Basins of West Texas and eastern New Mexico; the Ark-La-Tex area of East Texas and northern Louisiana; and the South Texas and Texas Gulf Coast regions.
TINY - Harris & Harris Group Inc
Last: $13.01
Float: 19.54M
Company Background
Harris & Harris Group, Inc. is a venture capital company specializing in tiny technology that operates as a non-diversified business development company (BDC). The Company's investment focuses to achieve capital appreciation by making venture capital investments in early stage companies. As a venture capital company, the Company invests in and provides managerial assistance to its portfolio companies that have potential for growth. Harris & Harris Group makes initial venture capital investments exclusively in tiny technology, which it defines as microsystems, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology
FCX - Freeport-mcmoran Copper & Gold Inc
Last: $64.70
Float: 193.65M
Company Overview
Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold Inc., through its majority-owned subsidiary, PT Freeport Indonesia, is engaged in copper, gold and silver mining and production operations. The Company owns approximately 90.64% of PT Freeport Indonesia, and the Government of Indonesia owns the remaining approximate 9.36%. PT Freeport Indonesia mines, processes and explores for ore containing copper, gold and silver. It operates in the remote highlands of the Sudirman Mountain Range in the province of Papua, Indonesia, which is on the western half of the island of New Guinea. The Company's principal asset is the Grasberg minerals district. During the year ended December 31, 2006, PT Freeport Indonesia�s share of proven and probable recoverable reserves totaled 38.8 billion pounds of copper and 41.1 million ounces of gold, all of which are located in Block A.
TEX - Terex Corp
Last: $72.20
Float: 98.72M
Company Background
Terex Corporation (Terex) is a global manufacturer of capital equipment focused on delivering, customer relevant solutions for the construction, infrastructure, quarrying, mining, shipping, transportation, refining and utility industries. The Company operates in five segments: Terex Aerial Work Platforms, Terex Construction, Terex Cranes, Terex Materials Processing & Mining and Terex Roadbuilding, Utility Products and Other. On January 24, 2006, Terex acquired Halco Holdings Limited and its affiliates (Halco). On March 9, 2006, Terex's Unit Rig mining truck business entered into a joint venture with North Hauler Joint Stock Company Limited to produce high-capacity surface mining trucks in China. On April 4, 2006, Terex acquired Power Legend International Limited (Power Legend) and its affiliates, including a 50% ownership interest in Sichuan Changjiang Engineering Crane Co., Ltd., which designs, manufactures, sells and repairs cranes and other construction equipment and components.
Yeah, that was some humerous FICTION alright.
Price- next 3 weeks over a dollar
Price- by September $5 plus
I stopped watching Comedy Central last year thanks to I-HUB.
LUTHW are the warrants. I never played them, too much downside.
RTK - Rentech Announces Results of Annual Meeting of Shareholders
Monday March 26, 4:05 pm ET
LOS ANGELES, March 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rentech, Inc. (Amex: RTK - News) announced today the results of its Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on March 22, 2007 in Denver, Colorado. At the annual meeting, the shareholders adopted resolutions approving the following matters:
1. The election to Rentech's Board of Directors of Michael R. Ray and
Edward M. Stern to serve a three year term;
2. The potential issuance of 20% or more of Rentech's outstanding common
stock at prices of up to 20% below market value;
3. The approval of the amendment to the 2006 Incentive Award Plan to
increase the number of shares reserved for issuance under such plan by
3,000,000; and,
4. The ratification of the selection of Ehrhardt Keefe Steiner & Hottman
P.C. as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm
for 2007.
The final tabulation of the votes will be included in the next quarterly report that the Company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
About Rentech, Inc.
Rentech, Inc., a Colorado corporation formed in 1981, offers energy independence solutions by utilizing American resources to economically produce ultra-clean fuels. To execute this strategy, it will utilize its patented and proprietary Fischer-Tropsch gas-to-liquids/coal-to-liquids process for conversion of synthesis gas made from natural gas, coal, petcoke, biomass and other solid or liquid carbon-bearing materials into clean burning, ultra-low- sulfur and ultra-low-aromatic synthetic fuels.
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 about matters such as the Company's plans to commercialize its Rentech process technology. These statements are based on management's current expectations, and actual results may differ materially as a result of various risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include those set forth in our prior press releases and our periodic public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available via Rentech's web site at www.rentechinc.com. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made as of March 23, 2007; and Rentech does not undertake to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except to the extent that it is required to do so under applicable law.
For more information please contact: Mark Koenig, Director of Investor Relations, Rentech, Inc. at 303-298-8008, extension 116, or by email at mkir@rentk.com, or see the Company's website at: www.rentechinc.com; Kevin Theiss, CEOcast, Inc. at 212-732-4300 or by email at ktheiss@ceocast.com.
Oil Climbs Amid Mideast Angst
By Chuck Marvin
TheStreet.com Staff Reporter
3/26/2007 5:24 PM EDT
Crude oil and other energy futures jumped Monday in the U.S. as geopolitical tensions involving Iran rattled investors.
The May contract for light sweet crude gained 63 cents to finish at $62.91 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Reformulated gasoline moved 68 cents higher to $2.07 a gallon. Heating oil edged 7 cents higher to $1.78 a gallon.
The near-term natural gas contract fell 4 cents in the session to $7.25 per million British thermal unit.
Mounting tensions between Iran and the West are generating crude oil supply concerns among energy traders. Last Friday, 15 British marines and sailors were detained by Iranian soldiers for allegedly entering Iranian territorial waters without permission.
Over the weekend, various press outlets reported that Iran is considering issuing charges against the seamen. The British and U.S. governments have both called on the Iranian government to release the soldiers immediately.
Energy traders are concerned that Iran may use this recent event as an opportunity to take control over busy shipping lanes in the Straight of Hormuz, according to Dennis Gartman, publisher of The Gartman Letter. Roughly 15 million barrels of oil travel through the straight every day, Gartman wrote in a report.
Relations between Iran and the West were already unsettled because of Iran's persistent defiance of a United Nations mandate to halt its uranium-enrichment program. On Saturday the UN Security Council voted unanimously to broaden economic sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. The new sanctions will target Iranian weapons exports and financial institutions.
Iran responded to the new sanctions by announcing on Sunday that it will reduce its cooperation with nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency. It also reiterated that it has no intention of suspending its atomic plans.
Also supporting energy prices were reports that various Australian oil and gas companies are temporarily shutting in crude oil production from oil fields in Western Australia ahead of the arrival of cyclone Kara. Roughly 160,000 barrels per day have been taken off line, according to analysts at Barclays Capital.
Energy stocks finished the trading session mostly higher on the back of the higher commodity prices. The CBOE Oil Index climbed 0.8% to 657.82.
ConocoPhillips (COP - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) advanced 0.5% to $69.56. Chevron (CVX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) gained 1% in the session to $74.40, and Exxon Mobil (XOM - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) finished 0.6% ahead at $75.45.
Elsewhere, energy-investment firm Tortoise Energy Infrastructure (TYG - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) was downgraded by Ferris Baker Watts to neutral from buy, and its shares fell 0.9% at $38.58.
Tesoro Petroleum (TSO - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr - Rating) was downgraded by Bear Stearns to peer perform from outperform, and by Deutsche Securities to sell from hold. Tesoro's stock was down 1.4% at $99.46.
So SL, when are you going to reverse merge Lobster Investments Inc, (LBSR.PK) into a shell (pun intended)? Surely you have the couple hundred grand needed to do it. If you ever have your soul devoured by demons, and decide to do it, I'd buy some LBSR.PK.
Here you go:
An older use of the adjective. "Resounding" must have just had such a nice ring to it when they used it the first time.
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=202209
Not only was the success "resounding" it was "overwhelming."
HA! Yeah, I am kicking myself for only buying a few tickets =)
Sector Snap: Refiners Shares Slip
Monday March 26, 12:38 pm ET
Tesoro, Sunoco Shares Take Hit From Analyst's Outlook for Weaker Refining Margins
NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of oil refiners Tesoro Corp. and Sunoco Inc. took a hit Monday from analyst forecasts for weaker refining margins in coming weeks.
On an expectation that refining margins are poised to fall, Deutsche Bank analyst Paul Sankey downgraded shares of Tesoro and Sunoco. Tesoro shares are now "fully valued," he said, following steep climb in the stock price in recent months. He cut the stock to "Sell," as shares have overshot his $85 price target.
For similar reasons, Sankey lowered shares of refiner Sunoco to "Hold" after the stock hit his $72 price target.
Sankey said he believes "the long term investment case for refining is poor, that the medium term is risky and that the stocks should be traded on a short-term basis."
"Huge" crack spreads -- the difference between the cost of crude and the price at which refined products are sold -- have boosted refiners' shares in recent months, he said.
Sankey expects refiners' crack spreads to narrow in coming weeks as refiners end seasonal maintenance and increase their output. Crack spreads on the West Coast, a key market for San Antonio-based Tesoro, have already slid about $10 a barrel after a recent $40-a-barrel peak.
"We believe margins will fall in the near term, before settling in at a historically high level," he wrote in a note to clients.
Bear Stearns analyst Nicole Decker cut her ratings on Tesoro to "Peer Perform" from "Outperform," or "Buy." The margin-boosting effects of refinery outages and maintenance shutdowns are expected to wind down in coming weeks, leading to slimmer margins.
Shares of Tesoro slipped $1.78 to $99.06 in midday trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock has surged 53 percent since the start of the year to close above $100 on Friday.
Sunoco, based in Philadelphia, saw its shares shed $1.26 to $69.91 on the Big Board.
Elsewhere in the sector, shares of Valero Energy Corp. gained 22 cents to $63.87, while shares of Frontier Oil Corp. fell 18 cents to $32.90. Holly Corp. shares slipped $1.10 to $60.27.
A decline in the broader market amid weak housing data also pulled shares of refiners and other energy companies lower.
Oil prices gained 70 cents Monday to $62.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier climbing above $63.
"Not guilty" isn't the same as "innocent", lol.