Filed under: Bad News, Eastern Europe

It has become a European tradition that the government owned airlines and phone companies are often “bossed” around by the politicians who have kept anything but an arm’s length relationship when it comes to decision making. Many European countries hold ownership shares in the industries’ major players, and it is very common for these governments — including sometimes even their heads of state — to meddle and interfere in their business affairs. Then, when there’s even a whiff of economic endangerment, they run for the hills.

Now, here is an interesting story for you: Enter the Poles, the Danes, and the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy.

What does the beleaguered president of France have to do with a two decade-long feud between two telecommunications companies in Poland and Denmark? As it turns out – everything!

Continue reading The Phone is off the Hook in Europe

The Phone is off the Hook in Europe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 23 Dec 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BloggingStocks

Filed under: Motorola (MOT), BP p.l.c. ADS (BP)

The markets looked like they were set for a bad day this morning, after the solid jobs data that was expected turned into a weakening jobs data. TrimTabs actually disputed that data and stocks rallied. The deficit panel also failed to win a super-majority vote. Amazingly, the markets rallied at the end of the day. That, and the rally of the two prior days, made this the best week in a month.

Here were the unofficial closing bell levels:

Dow Jones 11,382.09 +19.68 (0.17%)
S&P 500 1,224.71 +3.18 (0.26%)
Nasdaq 2,591.46 +12.11 (0.47%)

Continue reading Closing Bell: Bulls Say ‘Who Cares!’ on Europe and Jobs (BP, NBG, BRCD, TEVA, DRYS, MOT)

Closing Bell: Bulls Say ‘Who Cares!’ on Europe and Jobs (BP, NBG, BRCD, TEVA, DRYS, MOT) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 03 Dec 2010 16:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BloggingStocks

Filed under: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), IAC/InterActiveCorp (IACI), Kroger Co (KR), Toll Brothers (TOL)

Europe is suddenly almost an afterthought after two strong days in a row. A weaker jobs number was trumped by a higher market and commodities forecast from Goldman Sachs. Even a huge Madoff suit did not wreck the markets today. Here are today’s unofficial closing bell levels:
DJIA: 11,362.41
NASDAQ: 2,579.35
S&P 500: 1,221.53

Top Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades

Aeropostale (ARO) had a disappointing same store sales figure reaction today and shares were down almost 14% at .07 right before the closing bell.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) was sued by the Madoff trustee for .5 billion on the accusation that it should have known Madoff fraud was there and that it therefore aided in the crime. Shares reacted hardly at all after a sector upgrade from Goldman Sachs. JPMorgan shares were up 2.9% at .26 before the close.

Kroger (KR) met earnings expectations but some narrower guidance took a bite out of its food investment bias. Shares were down 9.4% at .61 right before the close.

Nicor, Inc. (GAS) was higher on word that the company is up for sale. Shares were up 7.6% at .85 shortly before the close.

IAC/Interactive (IACI) announced that Barry Diller would step down as CEO but remain chairman and it bought out Liberty Media (LINTA) stake as part of the deal. IAC shares were up 2.3% at .41 and Liberty shares were up 1.1% at .90.

Toll Brothers (TOL) rose today after reporting a profit, despite that profit being from tax gains and despite a large drop in orders. Shares were up 2.1% at .85 on the day.

JON C. OGG

Closing Bell: Forgetting All About Europe (ARO, JPM, KR, GAS, IACI, LINTA, TOL) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 02 Dec 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BloggingStocks

Filed under: General Motors (GM), Nokia Corp. (NOK)

Today was yet another day where the close was not certain until the very end of the day. Markets opened lower this morning before turning around slowly to post a slight gain in late afternoon trading. Continuing worries on Ireland’s banks and US and Chinese monetary policy pointed the market toward a small loss for the week.

Traders appear to have overcome worries about the effect of China’s latest monetary tightening moves, choosing to believe that Chinese growth would remain strong. Discussions in Europe related to Ireland’s banks and more debate about the possible inflationary effect of QE2, which also served to cool the market.

Here are the numbers for late afternoon trading today:

Dow Jones 11,181.34 +0.11 (0.00%)
S&P 500 1,197.17 +0.48 (0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,514.57 +0.17 (0.01%)

Top Analyst Calls

Continue reading Closing Bell: Choppy Markets After Europe (GM, MELA, CPWM, LNG, NOK)

Closing Bell: Choppy Markets After Europe (GM, MELA, CPWM, LNG, NOK) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BloggingStocks

Filed under: Products and Services, Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) announced Monday that it is recalling 1-Day Acuvue contact lenses sold mainly in Japan and other countries in Asia and Europe. None of the recalled contact lenses were sold in the U.S. or in Canada.

The company said that it received a “limited number” of complaints from Japanese customers of unusual stinging or pain when inserting the Acuvue lenses. The recall started on August 18 and was not immediately announced in the U.S.

Continue reading Johnson & Johnson Recalling Contact Lenses in Asia and Europe

Johnson & Johnson Recalling Contact Lenses in Asia and Europe originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 24 Aug 2010 10:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Johnson & Johnson – Asia – Acuvue – United States – Canada
BloggingStocks

Temperatures across Europe for the coming three months set to be above average

A tourist holds an umbrella in front of St. Stephens cathedral on a sunny day in Vienna. Austria has been hit by a heat wave with temperatures in Vienna rising to 34°Celsius (93°Fahrenheit). Reuters

LONDON, July 19 (Reuters) – Temperatures across Europe for the coming three months are set to be above average especially in the eastern mainland, Weather Services International said on Monday.

"We expect the recent warm, dry weather across the eastern and southern mainland to continue into August, while the U.K. and Scandinavian temperatures run slightly above to slightly below normal," chief meteorologist Todd Crawford said.

"By September, the mainland heat will abate a bit, while Scandinavia experiences increasingly warmer temperatures, relative to normal," he said.

By October, he said, the combination of a very warm Atlantic Ocean and an emerging La Nina event in the tropical Pacific will result in very mild conditions across Scandinavia and the eastern mainland, with below-normal temperatures confined to Iberia.

The organization specializes in long-term weather forecasting for the energy sector and correctly predicted last October that Europe would suffer a very cold start to 2010.

Western Europe has not had a prolonged heat wave since 2006, when high temperatures caused cooling problems for some power plants as use of air conditioners surged.

But market participants said the strong rise of solar and photovoltaic electricity panels in recent years would likely be able to offset a possible drop in nuclear and fossil fuel power generation.

Weather Services International predicts regional temperature anomalies as follows:

AUGUST

Scandinavia – Cooler than normal

U.K. – Warmer than normal

North Mainland – Warmer than normal

South Mainland – Warmer than normal

SEPTEMBER

Scandinavia – Warmer than normal

U.K. – Warmer than normal

North Mainland – Warmer than normal

South Mainland – Warmer than normal, except for Southeast

OCTOBER

Scandinavia – Warmer than normal

U.K. – Warmer than normal

North Mainland – Warmer than normal

South Mainland – Warmer than normal, except for Iberia

Science News

Vestas will install 126 MW worth of wind turbines in Sweden, Germany and Italy

Vestas is already an established player in the German wind industry, with over 5,700 wind turbines installed in the country as of 2009.

Vestas Wind Systems A/S will install 126 megawatts worth of wind turbines in Sweden, Germany and Italy, in a bid to strengthen its foothold in the European wind industry.

Vestas will supply 21 units of its V90-3.0 MW wind turbines to the 63-MW Gotland Repowering project in Näsudden on Gotland Island, southeast of Sweden. The wind project is a joint enterprise between Swedish companies Näsudden Väst Invest, Slitevind A.B. and Stugyl A.B.

The Danish wind turbine manufacturer will also provide a VestasOnline business supervisory control and data acquisition system, as well as a 15-year service contract, for the project.

Delivery and installation of the wind turbines is scheduled to be completed in late 2011.

Meanwhile, Germany-based UKA Group ordered 40 MW worth of Vestas’ V90-2.0 MW wind turbines for several wind projects in Eastern Germany. Vestas is expected to deliver all wind turbines by the end of the year.

Based in Saxony, East Germany, UKA is one of the leading wind energy developers in the growing Eastern German market. The company has developed wind farms with a combined generation capacity of approximately 165 MW.

Vestas is already an established player in the German wind power industry, with over 5,700 wind turbines installed in the country as of 2009. The turbines can generate a total of 7.1 gigawatts of clean, renewable electricity.

Vestas also won an order for 13 units of its V90-1.8 MW wind turbine from Volturino Wind and CO-VER Industrial. The turbines will be installed on the 23.4-MW Volturino wind farm in Apulia, Italy.

The wind farm can produce 78,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually, which is enough to power 32,500 Italian households. Furthermore, it will offset 30,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

Vestas (OMX:{yootooltip mode=[cursor] title=[ VWS] width=[556] display=[inline]}

{/yootooltip}[VWSA:FF]) will begin shipping the wind turbines in the first half of 2011, and the project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

Volturino Wind is a project company of BKW Italia, a company under BKW FMP Energy, a leading Swiss utility and one of the country’s main providers in electricity production, transmission and distribution. The utility has over 2,000 MW in generation capacity through a mix of hydroelectric, nuclear, wind and biogas power.

CO-VER Industrial is the result of a merger of several CO-VER Group companies that specialize in industrial and service sectors.

Large Wind

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Live Stock Trading News | Equities, Forex, Gold, Silver and Oil Trading » News & Events

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