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Sterne Agee notes AAPL getting hit because of the headlines from Consumer

 


SMF has already been short the name and have already worked out the numbers that can take it much lower moving forward 

Sterne Agee notes AAPL getting hit because of the headlines from Consumer      
Reports that the iPhone4 signal issues are hardware related. Also market       
concerns that AAPL might now have to do a product recall on the iPhone4. Firm  
believes total one time replacement costs for AAPL: <$100 mln on a          
quarterly revenue run rate of $13-15 bln. 

Key for AAPL is it needs to get  fixed, ahead of the peak BTS and holiday season. It could create a near-term hiccup in the supply chain if it is really a hardware issue and needs redesign: for component suppliers SNDK, CEVA, SWKS and CRUS. But any major pullback should be viewed as a buying opportunity.                             
                                                      
Posted: 7/13/2010 12:30:01 PM by Global Administrator | with 0 comments


WSJ reports the SEC is expected to ban flash orders on stock exchanges. But the fate of giving market participants a sneak peek at options trades is fuzzy.

The options market is much more dependent on flash trading than stock markets, which have received most of the scrutiny from lawmakers and regulators worried that some traders are getting an unfair advantage over other investors.

The SEC proposed a rule amendment in September that would eliminate flash orders, and the agency's staff is likely to make recommendations to the full commission early next year, an agency spokesman said. While flash orders are a relatively new and small part of stock markets, they are a major cog in options trading known as "step-up" orders.

An outright ban could trigger upheaval in the options markets, according to market participants. Some are urging the SEC to continue allowing step-up orders, claiming they save investors money.

In addition to potentially redirecting the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars in Wall Street profits, the outcome could shift power in the options markets, which give investors the right to buy or sell a stock at a given price within a set time frame. (Stocks mentioned: AMTD, NYX)
Posted: 12/4/2009 7:23:21 AM by StockMarketFunding | with 0 comments


 


Learn to trade Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) with a $50,000 Account at No Risk To You
 
 

 

SMF Pro Traders were told to buy Goldman Sachs in 2008 when GS was trading at $55. We talked about how Goldman would work to get their stock price over $100 for an additional public offering to repay TARP funds.

Now we are seeing tons of analysis upgrades and positive comments as Goldman has run up 214% off it's 52 week lows, this of course is all on the same day it was announced that Goldman execs dumped $700 million in stock.

Our SMF Pro Trading Students are bidding out on options contracts for this expiration and the wholesales price while retail options traders continue to pay up and get punished. 
 

 

NEW YORK (AP) -- Goldman Sachs is emerging as the king of post-meltdown Wall Street. The New York-based banking giant took advantage of improving markets to widen the gap between itself and its competitors, earning more than $2.7 billion during the second quarter.

The result is a remarkably speedy recovery from last fall, when Goldman lost $3.29 billion in four months during the worst of the financial crisis. Goldman, which was already the strongest financial institution heading into the financial crisis, has now staked its claim as the undisputed powerhouse on Wall Street with the ability to take on more risk than its struggling competitors.

"Goldman really is in a class by themselves," said Phillip Silitschanu, a senior analyst with Aite Group. "They've always been the golden child of the market." That has been even more amplified during the recent credit crisis and ensuing recovery as credit and debt markets have started to open up.

While other banks have been trying to preserve cash to protect against further losses, Goldman has been getting back to its core businesses that made it so profitable in the past. Profits at Goldman, the first bank to report second-quarter earnings, came from strength in underwriting stock and debt offers, and higher-risk trading.

Goldman's peers, meanwhile, have been stung by greater loan losses because of their focus in retail banking, and thus have had to stick with a more conservative approach to business. "Some competitors reined in risk-taking activity," said Cubillas Ding, a senior analyst with consulting and research firm Celent.

Goldman's historically strong and disciplined risk management allowed it to enter trading where its competitors might have been more hesitant, Ding added. Also during the second quarter, Goldman freed itself of restrictions tied to the government's Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Last fall, as the credit crunch worsened and Goldman's competitor Lehman Brothers collapsed, the U.S. Treasury Department launched a program to provide $700 billion in funds to the financial sector. Though it had adequate capital to handle the downturn, Goldman was compelled to participate in the program, receiving $10 billion.

As part of the program, the government placed certain restrictions on banks, such as additional oversight and executive compensation caps. Goldman, relying on its healthy capital base, paid back those funds in June, freeing itself of the added restrictions. Not all other banks have been able to repay their government debt yet.

Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. have been among the hardest hit by the downturn and each received $45 billion from the government. The government is now in the midst of converting part of its loan to Citigroup for about a one-third stake in the company. Both Bank of America and Citigroup are expected to report second-quarter results later in the week.

Goldman's profit would have been even larger during the second quarter had it not recorded a one-time charge to repay the $10 billion to the government. The charge reduced earnings by 78 cents per share.

While Goldman was preparing to repay the government, it was also taking advantage of the thawing credit markets and a rallying equity market. With its own balance sheet intact, Goldman became a primary source for other companies looking for an underwriter to help them tap the reopened markets.

"When times are bad, the thinking goes, go with the best of the best," Aite Group's Silitschanu said. Goldman's equity underwriting division generated record revenue from the surging business. Trading revenue also soared, jumping more than 51 percent from the previous quarter and nearly doubled from the comparable period last year.

Goldman was able to cash in on fixed-income, currency and commodities trading during the April through June period. Goldman earned $2.72 billion, or $4.93 per share, after paying preferred dividends, for the quarter ended June 26. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of $3.54 per share for the quarter.

Profit also exceeded last year's fiscal second-quarter results. For that period, which ended May 30, Goldman earned $2.05 billion, or $4.58 per share. Despite Goldman's strong earnings, its shares fell 39 cents to $149.05 in afternoon trading.

Investors and analysts were widely expecting a big profit, and pushed shares higher by more than 5 percent Monday ahead of the earnings report.  



 

Prepare yourself for the "New Economy"


 
Posted: 7/14/2009 1:20:59 PM by StockMarketFunding | with 0 comments


 

 

 

Reuters.com reports the top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said on Wednesday that the Federal Reserve sought to hide its extensive involvement in Bank of America Corp's (BAC) acquisition of Merrill Lynch as Merrill's financial condition worsened.

"The committee has already learned that Ben Bernanke and the Federal Reserve made inappropriate threats to fire Bank of America management unless they went ahead with the 'shotgun wedding' that was the Merrill Lynch acquisition.

The Federal Reserve also engaged in a cover-up and deliberately hid concerns and pertinent details regarding the merger from other federal regulatory agencies," Representative Darrell Issa said in a statement released to Reuters.

The committee has obtained a number of emails and documents from the Fed about its behind-the-scenes role in the merger, which was quickly brokered late in 2008, according to sources familiar with documents. The Fed, which was wrapping up a two-day meeting on Wednesday, had no immediate comment.  



 

Prepare yourself for the "New Economy"


 
Posted: 6/24/2009 2:31:30 PM by StockMarketFunding | with 0 comments


 

 

 

WSJ reports in an apparent crackdown on Internet gambling, federal authorities in New York have frozen or seized bank accounts worth $34 million belonging to 27,000 online poker players, according to representatives for the players and account holders.

In an operation that began last week, the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York froze or issued seizure orders for bank accounts in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Arizona held at Wells Fargo, Citibank, Goldwater Bank and Alliance Bank of Arizona.

The accounts are managed by Allied Systems Inc., and Account Services, which handle cash for popular online poker sites, including Full Tilt Poker, Poker Stars, Ultimate Bet and Absolute Poker.

Though the money belongs to the poker players, it is held for them in accounts managed by the two service companies.  



 

Prepare yourself for the "New Economy"


 
Posted: 6/10/2009 7:35:35 AM by StockMarketFunding | with 0 comments