Month: December 2015

On Dec 11, 2015, we issued an updated research report on Loews Corporation L . Loews remains on track to strengthen its hotel business by taking the property count to 30 and tripling its net income by 2015. Loews Hotels currently operates a chain of 23 hotels (22 in the United States and one in Canada).With capital at its disposal to acquire and develop properties, the company eyes similar opportunities in Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., New York City, Dallas, Toronto and Seattle […]

BP plc BP announced that it has concluded the purchase of 22.75% in the North Alexandria Concession and 2.75% in the West Mediterranean Deep Water Concession of the West Nile Delta project from Hamburg-based DEA Deutsche Erdoel AG. With the completion of this transaction, which was inked in Mar 2015, BP’s working interest in the West Nile Delta project concessions has reached 82.75%. The scope of the West Nile Delta project agreement includes the development of 5 trillion cubic feet of gas resources and 55 million barrels of condensates. […]

Volkswagen AG ’s VLKAY global sales dropped 2.2% year over year to 833,700 vehicles in Nov 2015 from 852,900 vehicles delivered in Nov 2014. This was owing to a significant decline in sales in the U.S., partially offset by improved performance in Western Europe and China. […]

General Dynamics Corporation ’s GD subsidiary, Land Systems, won a contract worth $92.2 million from the U.S. Army for 6 system-enhanced program of the Abrams M1A2 tanks. The contracting activity is Army Contracting Command, Warren, MI. […]

Isis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ISIS announced that its partner Biogen Inc. BIIB has started a phase I/II study on ISIS-SOD1Rx (previously known as ISIS-BIIB3Rx) in patients suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) […]

Horizon Pharma plc HZNP announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Crealta Holdings LLC in a cash deal valued at $510 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter 2016. […]

Apollo Education Group, Inc. ’s APOL , international division, Apollo Global, Inc., acquired Germany-based education provider, Career Partner GmbH (CPG) on Dec 10 for about $105 million. Career Partner is a provider of human resource development and private higher education. […]

Yet another Wall Street bank – Morgan Stanley MS – has settled a lawsuit pertaining to sale of mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”). The company will pay $225 million to the credit union regulator, the National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”), for resolving allegations related to the sale of faulty MBS to five corporate credit unions. Also, as part of the settlement deal, the NCUA has agreed to dismiss the pending cases against Morgan Stanley in federal district courts of New York and Kansas […]

The U.S. Energy Department's weekly inventory release showed a larger-than-expected decrease in natural gas supplies. […]

Chevron Corporation CVX announced the commencement of production from the Moho Bilondo Phase 1b project, located off the coast of the Republic of Congo at a water depth of 2,400 to 4,000 feet. Most importantly, the project is part of the Moho Nord joint development – the all-time biggest oil and gas project undertaken in the Republic of Congo. The Moho Bilondo Phase 1b development comprises 11 wells, each of which is tied to a floating production platform. […]

Calgon Carbon Corporation ’s CCC fully-owned subsidiary, Calgon Carbon Japan (CCJ) announced that it has inked a contract with Mitsui & Co. Plant Systems, Ltd. […]

The stock of American Express Co. AXP has struggled throughout 2015 due to a challenging economy, stiff competition and a stringent regulatory environment. […]

Alphabet Inc. GOOGL announced that its Google division has developed a way that allows users to send money to friends, family and other acquaintances in their contact list by simply using a phone number. The announcement was made through a Google Commerce blog […]

Last week, NXP NXPI closed its acquisition of Freescale, Facebook FB open sourced its AI hardware, Microsoft MSFT announced Cortana for iOS, Android and Cyanogen and the Yahoo YHOO saga continued. Digging into the details: NXP Closes Freescale Acquisition NXP Semiconductors’ $11.86 billion acquisition of Freescale Semiconductor closed last week. Including the debt taken over, the purchase price is around $16.7 billion. […]

We issued an updated research report on Gibraltar Industries Inc. ROCK on Dec 11, 2015. […]

Zacks Investment Research downgraded Valhi, Inc. VHI to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) on Dec 11, 2015. Going by the Zacks model, companies holding a Zacks Rank #5 have strong chances of underperforming the broader market in the near term […]

Eaton Vance Corp. EV will reportedly roll out its ambitious NextShares funds in Feb 2016. Notably, the Boston-based investment manager has received final nod from the U.S […]