Month: May 2011

Given the flurry of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the exchange industry, NASDAQ OMX Inc. ( NDAQ ) and NYSE Euronext Inc. […]

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. ( GT ) recently completed the earlier-announced redemption of senior notes worth $350 million due 2016. The redemption will reduce the company’s annualized interest expense, thereby adding approximately $40 million to savings, out of which about $23 million is expected to be realized in 2011 […]

We are downgrading our long-term recommendation on Spanish telecom giant Telefonica ( TEF ) to Neutral from Outperform due to difficulties emerging from the depressed domestic market. For the short term (1–3 months), the stock retains a Sell rating with the Zacks #4 Rank. The weak Spanish market has ended up with customers switching to cheaper offers from Telefonica’s competitors […]

Chevron Corporation ( CVX ) won an exploration license from the Bulgarian government, against a payment of approximately $43 million or €30 million. Chevron out bid Canadian BNK Petroleum to receive the tender. Per the terms of the tender, Chevron would look for natural gas in a shale gas field near Novi Pazar in northeastern Bulgaria. […]

Yesterday, Citigroup Inc. ( C ) and Bank of Baghdad (BoB), a subsidiary of Kuwait's Burgan Bank, entered into a strategic alliance. The partnership will provide cash management requirements and other related banking services to corporate clients with major business in Iraq. […]

We reiterate our Neutral recommendation on Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. ( DO ) following the first quarter 2011 earnings beat. […]

On Thursday, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) imposed fines on units of Bank of America Corporation ( BAC ) and Credit Suisse Group ( CS ). The cumulative fine totaled $7.5 million. FINRA alleged that both the companies had misrepresented delinquency data and had insufficient supervision on residential subprime mortgage securitizations (RMBS) sold to investors. […]

We maintain our ‘Neutral’ rating on a long-term basis (6-12 months) on the defense behemoth Lockheed Martin Corporation ( LMT ). Looking ahead, Lockheed expects its fiscal 2011 earnings to come in at $6.95 – $7.25 with revenues in the range of $45.8 billion-$47.3 billion. […]

We maintain our ‘Neutral’ recommendation on L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. ( LLL ) reflecting our concerns regarding the loss of key contracts, a backlog skewed toward fixed price contracts and possibilities of cuts in future defense budgets. L-3 Communications also holds a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold rating, and correlates with our long-term recommendation […]

Ford Motor Co. ( F ) raised prices of its vehicles by an average of $124 or 0.4% per unit on the back of higher commodity costs. […]