The Midday Market

Here are some quick items I wanted to pass along.

The government reported that April producer prices were up 0.6% compared with a 0.5% rise in March. The CPI report comes out tomorrow. I want to make sure I don’t overstate this, but it appears that some modest increase in inflation is headed our way. It’s not much, and the evidence is thin, but it’s real. Overall, I’d like to see a little higher inflation.

I’m not a fan of price targets but I’ll note two of our Buy List stocks had their price targets raised. UBS raised their price target on McDonald’s ($MCD) from $107 to $120, and Deutsche Bank raised their price target on Qualcomm ($QCOM) from $86 to $90 per share.

Also, two of our Buy List stocks reiterated their full-year earnings guidance. I like to see this happen. eBay ($EBAY) reiterated their full-year guidance of $2.95 to $3 per share. Express Scripts ($ESRX) reiterated theirs which is $4.82 to $4.94 per share. Too many investors dismiss these announcements as not being news, but it’s nice to hear that a business plan is still working.

IBM ($IBM) reiterated their forecast of 2015 earnings of at least $20 per share. The Street seems pretty skeptical. The current consensus is at $19.71 per share.

Ford ($F) reported a 6.6% rise in April sales in Europe. This is the fifth-straight month that Ford has increased its market share.

Here’s a good article: Why AT&T Wants to Acquire DirecTV.

The 10-year yield looks to be making a run at 2.5%. It’s at its lowest yield in more than six months.

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Posted by on May 14th, 2014 at 12:02 pm


The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment. I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog, please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer.