Month: May 2013

On May 25, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. ( MTU ) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). […]

After winning several consulting deals from different government departments, Accenture plc ( ACN ) has now won a deal from the National Health Services (NHS) of the United Kingdom. The department has selected Accenture to deploy a cloud-based Radiology Information System (RIS) for five hospitals and 23 facilities under the NHS in Southwest England. […]

Amazon.com Inc. ( AMZN ) has recently announced the launch of its Appstore in nearly 200 countries, giving million of customers access to Amazon’s broad selection of Android mobile applications (apps). […]

Raytheon UK, an affiliate of Raytheon Company ( RTN ), received an award from the Royal Netherlands Air Force (“RNLAF”) to upgrade four additional Airport Surveillance Radar sites. This latest award − the value of which was not disclosed − follows Raytheon's successful implementation of the first Wind Farm Mitigation upgrade at Dutch Air Force's Woensdrecht Air Base. […]

North American Cable MSOs (multi-service operator) Comcast Corporation ( CMCSA ) and Shaw Communications Inc. ( SJR ) are expanding their Wi-Fi hotspot deployments in order to compete better with telecom carriers who are intruding into their video market. Comcast has begun deploying hotspots in Chicago and Atlanta while Shaw has announced a deal with Edmonton City Council to expand its Wi-Fi network across the city. […]

On May 25, Zacks Investment Research upgraded Newpark Resources Inc. ( NR ) to a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). Why the Upgrade? […]

Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) recently announced top-line data on Victoza (liraglutide) from a double-blind phase IIIa study which was conducted to evaluate the potential of Victoza to induce and maintain weight loss in people without diabetes who are obese or overweight with comorbidities such as prediabetes, hypertension and dyslipidaemia. The study was conducted on 3,731 obese patients. The patients were randomized 2:1 on Victoza 3 mg or placebo. […]

In an effort to expand its global presence, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. ’s ( HOT ) mid-market brand, Four Points by Sheraton, is on the verge of launching 25 new properties worldwide by 2014. Following these openings, Starwood will increase its Four Points brand’s portfolio to reach nearly 200 properties. […]

General Dynamics Bath Iron Works, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corporation ( GD ), performed the keel laying ceremony of DDG 1001, the second ship amongst the planned three-ship Zumwalt class of guided-missile destroyers. The laying of the keel implies the ceremonial beginning of the construction of a vessel. […]

Microsemi Corporation ( MSCC ), an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of a broad range of high-reliability and analog/mixed signal integrated circuits has announced the shipment of its SmartFusion2 SoC field programmable gate array (FPGA). Additionally, the company announced the availability of the SmartFusion2 development kit, which features SmartFusion2 M2S050T-FGG896 SoC FPGA with 56K logic element, 256Kbit eNVM, 1.5Mbit SRAM and additional distributed SRAM in the FPGA fabric; IEEE 1588 and Synchronous Ethernet packet clock network synchronizer; PD70201 PoE; up to 47.7W of power; precision ADC; 512 MB of DDR3 memory on-board, 256 MB for ECC, 16MB of SDRAM; eMMC and 4GB NAND flash memory; SPI flash and 8MB modules. FPGAs are semiconductor devices that allow programming/reprogramming even after the device has been installed […]

On May 26, we maintained our Neutral recommendation on Johnson Controls Inc. ( JCI ) based on its leading position in the automotive interiors market together with better opportunities from restructuring initiatives and improvements in European and South American Automotive Experience businesses. However, we are concerned about the decline in earnings and revenues in the second quarter of fiscal 2013. […]

A.M. Best Co. […]

Oncology and X-Ray products company Varian Medical Systems, Inc. ( VAR ) recently revealed that it got 510(k) clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its X-Ray image processor workstation. The Nexus DRF Digital X-Ray Imaging System combines digital radiography and radio frequency expertise within one set-up […]

We have retained our Neutral recommendation on ACE Limited ( ACE ). The low interest rate environment, rising operating expenses and weather related losses will likely offset the positive impact of the acquisitions and dividend hike made by ACE. […]

We are upgrading our recommendation on the shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc . ( BRK.A ) ( BRK.B ) to Outperform from Neutral following solid first quarter earnings, which included a 52.3% positive earnings surprise. […]

The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a smaller-than-expected rise in natural gas supplies on account of the fuel’s brisk use for power generation. About the Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report The Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report – brought out by the Energy Information Administration (EIA) every Thursday since 2002 – includes updates on natural gas market prices, the latest storage level estimates, recent weather data and other market activities or events. […]

As announced in January, retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. ( WMT ) has planned to hire more than 100,000 veterans over the next five years. In order to implement its plan, Walmart has launched the ‘Veterans Welcome Home Commitment’, wherein Walmart will provide jobs to veterans who had been honorably discharged from service in the first 12 months off active duty. […]