Month: August 2011

Despite rising fuel prices, renewed uncertainties in the U.S. economy as well as debt concerns in Europe, air carriers’ traffic improved in July on high fares and capacity cuts. Airline traffic is measured in billions of revenue passenger miles (RPM), which implies one mile flown by one passenger. […]

The Trade Deficit rose in June to $53.07 billion from $50.83 billion in May. The rise in the trade deficit is bad news for the economy, and the level is very dangerous. […]

Natural gas producer Ultra Petroleum Corp. ( UPL ) has reported stellar second quarter 2011 results, buoyed by higher output from Wyoming and Pennsylvania regions along with reduced transportation charges and lower general and administrative costs. Earnings per share, excluding special items, came in at 66 cents, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. […]

Harping on its strategy of “Go Global”, earlier during the week, CIGNA Corp. ( CI ) announced its entry into Turkey in a bid to broaden its international footprint. CIGNA will operate as a fully-licensed insurer in the region and conduct business via Hayat Sigorta S.A., which will be based in Istanbul. […]

As per the data released by RealtyTrac, the leading online marketplace of foreclosure properties, foreclosure filings in July dropped to the lowest level since November 2007. A total of 212,764 properties were issued notices of default, auction or repossession during the month of July, reflecting a decline of 4% from the prior month and 35% from the prior-year period. According to the source, a total of 10 states – California, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, Ohio and Wisconsin – accounted for more than 70% of the overall foreclosure activity in July. […]

We are upgrading our recommendation on The Travelers Companies Inc . ( TRV ) to Neutral from Underperform based on a high retention rate, pricing gains, favorable renewal rate changes, favorable prior year reserve development, prudent underwriting practice and a strong capital position. […]

Effective immediately, AK Steel Holding Corporation ( AKS ) increased the current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by $60 per ton. Recently, AK Steel posted its second-quarter 2011 results, delivering an EPS of 30 cents compared with 24 cents during the year-ago quarter. However, the EPS was below the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 50 cents per share […]

Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance fell by 7,000 last week to 395,000. This was better than the expected level of 409,000. However, last week’s numbers were revised upwards by 2,000, so one could see it as a decrease of 5,000. […]