As print media continues its prolonged death throes, The Washington Post Company (WPO) announced late Tuesday that it will shut down its U.S. bureaus in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Six journalists will be affected by the closures, and all will be offered jobs in Washington. Three news aides in the bureaus will be offered severance.

As a result of the move, the Post will no longer have any journalists on staff outside its home base of Washington, D.C. In a memo to staffers, Executive Editor Marcus Brauchli explained that the newspaper must focus its journalistic efforts on its own turf.

Continue reading Washington Post closes the last of its U.S. bureaus

Washington Post closes the last of its U.S. bureaus originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Halliburton (HAL - option chain) stock is trading lower after the company said Tuesday that reduced activity by major Mexican customer Petroleos Mexicanos will reduce HAL's Q4 EPS by 2 cents. Analysts previously had expected 0.28 EPS from HAL in the fourth quarter. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on HAL.

Wednesday, HAL opened at $29.95. In early trading, the stock hit a high of $30.05 and a low of $29.30. As of 11:10, HAL was trading at $29.76, down $0.70 (-2.3%). The chart for HAL looks neutral and S&P gives HAL a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Continue reading Halliburton (HAL) warns of weaker Q4 earnings

Halliburton (HAL) warns of weaker Q4 earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nuance Communications (NUAN) Q4 earnings beat estimates

Nuance Communications (NUAN) Q4 earnings beat estimates originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Valeant Pharma (VRX) falls on bearish Barron's coverage

Valeant Pharma (VRX) falls on bearish Barron's coverage originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading ADC Telecom (ADCT) drops sharply on Q4 loss, Q1 forecast

ADC Telecom (ADCT) drops sharply on Q4 loss, Q1 forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading CF Industries (CF) falls as takeover drama continues

CF Industries (CF) falls as takeover drama continues originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Nokia (NOK) lifted by US release of N900

Nokia (NOK) lifted by US release of N900 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Insider buying lifts Barnes & Noble (BKS)

Insider buying lifts Barnes & Noble (BKS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) tagged a new 52-week peak Tuesday morning in the wake of its latest earnings report. The solar company announced that it raked in a third-quarter profit of $25.3 million, or 69 cents per share, while revenue dipped 16% to $213.1 million. The results handily exceeded analysts' consensus expectations for a profit of 54 cents per share on $210.9 million in revenue.

Shipments for the recently concluded quarter more than doubled on a sequential basis, arriving at 102.6 megawatts (MW). For 2010, Canadian Solar said it expects shipments to range between 600 MW and 700 MW, compared to the current 2009 forecast for shipments of 295 MW to 305 MW.

Continue reading Canadian Solar soars to new annual high on earnings beat

Canadian Solar soars to new annual high on earnings beat originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

In other Sprint news this morning, Sprint shares were upped from "neutral" to "outperform" at Credit Suisse. Analyst Jonathan Chaplin set his price target at $6, asserting that the company will benefit from cost cutting, stronger sales of prepaid service, and improved customer retention trends. Sprint's stock settled Friday at $3.10, so Chaplin's price target implies expected upside of nearly 94%.

Continue reading Sprint Nextel scores upgrade, pays off $1B loan

Sprint Nextel scores upgrade, pays off $1B loan originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Illinois Tool Works (ITW) hits 52-week high on reaffirmed outlook

Illinois Tool Works (ITW) hits 52-week high on reaffirmed outlook originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Microsemi (MSCC) Q4 earnings beat estimates before charges

Microsemi (MSCC) Q4 earnings beat estimates before charges originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE) traded sharply higher Friday in the wake of its third-quarter results. The solar issue reported that its quarterly earnings contracted 18% to $17.7 million, or 12 cents per American depositary share (ADS). Excluding items, such as stock compensation, earnings weighed in at 18 cents per ADS. Revenue for the period edged 0.7% higher to arrive at $325.9 million.

Ahead of the report, analysts were looking for a profit of 16 cents per ADS on $331 million in revenue. Despite the revenue miss, YGE surged into the black right out of the gate. In addition to the stronger-than-expected profit number, traders were no doubt enthused by an 80% jump in shipments from second-quarter levels.

Continue reading Yingli Green Energy bounces higher on solid 3Q earnings

Yingli Green Energy bounces higher on solid 3Q earnings originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dow Chemical (DOW - option chain) shares rose Thursday after the company said it will sell its powder coatings business to Netherlands-based Akzo Nobel. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Dow said it will use the proceeds to reduce its debt. The move is part of Dow's plan to sell noncore assets in order to raise more than $3.5 billion. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on DOW.

DOW opened Thursday morning at $28.20. In morning trading the stock has hit a low of $27.90 and a high of $28.88. As of 12:00, DOW was trading at $28.37 up 1.66 (6.2%). The chart for DOW looks neutral and S&P gives DOW a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Continue reading Dow Chemical (DOW) will sell powder coating business to raise cash

Dow Chemical (DOW) will sell powder coating business to raise cash originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) soared to a new annual high Thursday morning after the chipmaker settled its antitrust case against rival Intel (INTC). Under the terms of the agreement, Intel will shell out $1.25 billion to AMD, and will abide by a new set of rules for conducting business. The pact also includes a renewed cross-license agreement between the two chip titans.

In prepared comments, AMD CEO Dirk Meyer called the settlement a game-changer. "We are optimistic that it will usher a new era for our industry," he said. "We recognize that it will take time for people to understand how the operating conditions in the processor business have changed. But make no mistake -- they have changed."

Continue reading Advanced Micro Devices rallies after settling Intel tiff

Advanced Micro Devices rallies after settling Intel tiff originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toll Brothers (TOL - option chain) shares are rising today after the company announced preliminary Q4 results last night. TOL said that its fourth-quarter homebuilding revenue dropped 30 percent but its fourth quarter net signed contracts rose 42 percent, well above analysts' forecasts. TOL is expected to report full Q4 earnings on December 3 before the market opens. If you think that the stock won't fall by too much in the coming months, then now could be a good time to look at a bullish hedged trade on TOL.

Continue reading Toll Brothers (TOL) announces positive preliminary Q4 results

Toll Brothers (TOL) announces positive preliminary Q4 results originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Late Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Las Vegas Sands (LVS) is preparing to relaunch its stalled construction projects in Macau, China's hot gambling region. Financial woes forced Las Vegas Sands to walk away from the two construction sites a year ago, but newly secured funding means that the casino company can resume work on the projects as soon as January.

Las Vegas Sands disclosed in a regulatory filing on Monday that it secured $1.45 billion in financing from banks, and the firm is looking to lock down an additional $300 million. The gaming issue is also attempting to raise as much as $3.83 billion by launching an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong of its Macau assets, about $500 million of which will be used to fund construction on the stalled sites.

Continue reading Las Vegas Sands to resume construction in Macau

Las Vegas Sands to resume construction in Macau originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) tumbles on Q3 loss

Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE) tumbles on Q3 loss originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Notorious insurance titan American International Group (AIG) is on the upswing today, after Moody's Investors Service reported late Monday that it expects AIG will be able to repay its government debt. The ratings agency observed that AIG has made progress with its restructuring plan, and the firm's latest quarterly earnings "show continued stabilization of the core insurance operations despite challenging market conditions."

The insurance issue has put many of its non-core assets up for sale during the past year to generate capital and pare its unwieldy size, but some of those plans have been iced by new CEO Robert Benmosche. Moody's likes the new chief's approach, with the firm observing, "We believe that the slower approach to restructuring could help AIG to generate more favorable values from its business portfolio than would be the case under rushed asset sales."

Continue reading American International Group rallies on Moody's report

American International Group rallies on Moody's report originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

(FUQI - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the Chinese jewelry company reported a third-quarter profit this morning that easily topped analysts' estimates. However, FUQI forecast fourth-quarter EPS of 55 to 60 cents and revenue of $182 to $191 million, compared to analysts' forecasts of 58 cents and $184 million, respectively. Revenues for Q3 about 2% below estimates, which is not a great sign. At this point in the economic cycle, traders are looking for optimistic indicators rather than weak or in-line ones. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on FUQI.

This morning, FUQI opened at $24.90. So far today the stock has hit a high of $25.74 and a low of $21.62. As of 12:00, FUQI is trading at $21.23, down $2.10 (-9.0%). The chart for FUQI looks bearish.

Continue reading Fuqi drops on weak Q3 revenue, in-line Q4 forecast

Fuqi drops on weak Q3 revenue, in-line Q4 forecast originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.