Morning News: July 3, 2013
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 3rd, 2013 at 7:04 am

European Stocks Drop on Portugal Concerns as Oil Surges

Portugal’s Austerity Government Feels the Pinch

Australian Banks: Not So Overstretched

The UK Just Turned In An Amazing Number For Its Services Sector

WTI Rises Above $100 on Drop in U.S. Stockpiles, Egypt Unrest

Federal Reserve Board Approves Rules Requiring Banks to Set Aside More Capital

Obama Administration Delays Health Care Law Employer Penalty Until 2015

Barclays, Credit Suisse Ratings Cut by S&P

Auto Sales Showed Powerful Gains Across the Board in June

Nokia Siemens Wins MTS Order for Advanced Russian Network

Toyota Motor Sales Paces Ahead Of The Industry In June

HSBC Wins OK of Record $1.92 Billion Money-laundering Settlement

Michael Dell Is Said to Be Encouraged by Board to Raise Offer

Rosenberg: 5 Signs of QE’s Diminishing Returns

Joshua Brown: 361 Capital Weekly Research Briefing

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Ford Sales Rose 13% Last Month
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 2nd, 2013 at 12:07 pm

The cars sales numbers for June are in:

Detroit’s Big 3 automakers reported strong sales gains in June, compared to the same month a year ago.

Ford reported a 13% driven by a 24% jump for the profitable F-150 pickups, Chrysler Group said sales were up 8% (its 39th consecutive monthly sales gain) and GM rose 6%.

Ford said that the sales pace was so strong that if it were extended over the entire year, adjusting seasonally, the industry would crack the critical 16-million sales barrier for the first time since 2007.

Meanwhile, Kelly Blue Book estimates that June car and truck buyers overall spent more for their new vehicles, too — up 1% to an average out-the-door transaction price of $31,663 — with Ford a big gainer.

Ford ($F) has been as high as $16.08 per share which is one penny below the 52-week high which was made in early June.

The S&P 500 Is Testing its 50-DMA
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 2nd, 2013 at 10:59 am

The S&P 500 is once again testing its 50-day moving average. The current 50-DMA is 1,624.11. We were above it yesterday but couldn’t hold on. I won’t feel confident about stocks in the short-term until we strongly break above the 50-DMA.

Morning News: July 2, 2013
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 2nd, 2013 at 6:47 am

The EU’s Odd Antitrust Case Against the Banks

Spanish Jobless Claims Fall in June as Rajoy Bets on Recovery

Vatican Monsignor Arrested In $26 Million Smuggling Plot

Loan Practices of China’s Banks Raising Concern

Citigroup Pays Fannie Mae $968 Million To Resolve Mortgage Claims

EU Clears GE Acquisition of Italy’s Avio

Here’s What We Know About The Brewing Bidding War For Onyx Pharmaceuticals

How the Internet Drives Cable Companies’ Consolidation

Icahn Says He Has Lined Up Money For His Dell Deal

Beware the Risks of the Bitcoin: Winklevii Outline the Downside

Best Buy Shares at 2-year High on Credit Suisse Upgrade

Thoma Bravo to Acquire Intuit’s Financial Services Business

Kohlberg to Acquire Steinway Musical Instruments

Jeff Carter: Can There Be a Medical Hub in Chicago?

Credit Writedowns: Banks Benefiting From “Taper” On Both Sides Of The Balance Sheet

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Moog Jumps on Possible Medical Devices Sale
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 1st, 2013 at 12:06 pm

In our last CWS Market Review, I raised the Buy Below on Moog ($MOG-A) to $55 per share. Good timing. Moog is up to $53.48 at noon on the news that it’s considering selling off its medical devices division.

Moog Inc. said it will work with RBC Capital Markets LLC to evaluate options for its medical devices division including a possible sale. The shares advanced.

Moog also completed the sale of its Ethox Medical business to Dempsey Ventures for an undisclosed sum, according to a statement today. The divestiture will result in an after-tax non-cash loss of about $5 million, or 11 cents a share, in the quarter ended June 29, East Aurora, New York-based Moog said.

Revenue at Moog’s medical device segment last year fell 1.7 percent to $140 million, the equivalent of 5.7 percent of the company’s $2.5 billion in total sales. Moog’s biggest unit, which manufactures aircraft controls, had $963.4 million in sales last year.

The shares rose 2.7 percent to $52.91 at 10:21 a.m. in New York, after reaching $53.30, the highest intraday price since at least 1988.

S&P 500 Dividends Grew 15.49% in Q2
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 1st, 2013 at 11:39 am

S&P reported that dividends for the S&P 500 grew by 15.49% in the second quarter. This was the tenth-straight quarter in which dividends have risen by more than 12%.

This is especially impressive because it comes after the dividend surge from Q4 when dividends rose by 22.77% in an effort to beat higher taxes.

For Q2, the S&P 500 paid out index adjusted dividends of $8.61. Think of it this way: The S&P 500 is currently about 1,625. Every month, it pays out about three points’ worth of dividends. For all of 2013, the dividends paid out will be roughly double what was paid out ten years ago.

In the short term, dividends are very boring. But they do add up, and they also tend to be pretty consistent.

Here’s a look at quarterly dividend growth:

Here’s trailing four-quarter dividends:

June ISM = 50.9
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 1st, 2013 at 10:33 am

The third quarter is underway! The U.S. economic recovery is officially four years old. So far, the S&P 500 is up 18 points this morning to 1,624. The good news this morning was that the June ISM came in at 50.9.

To add some context, the ISM had a great run of coming in at 49.9 or better for 46 months in a row. Then the number for May fell to 49.0. Any number above 50 indicates an expanding economy, and below it signifies a contracting economy.

While 50.9 isn’t a great number, there doesn’t seem to be any trend that’s heading lower.

Morning News: July 1, 2013
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on July 1st, 2013 at 6:47 am

The Second Half Of The Year Has Begun, And Markets Are Rallying

China June Official PMI Slips to 50.1, Adds To Growth Worries

Japanese Manufacturers Optimistic for First Time in Two Years

Eurozone Crisis: Unemployment Rate Hits Another Record High

Obama Promises Africa a New Partnership; Obama Offers Africa Deeper Engagement

Crude Higher; Holds in Range After Weak China Data

‘Unprecedented’ $80 Billion Pulled From Bond Funds

Simons Strategy to Shield Profit From Taxes Draws IRS Ire

Paid Via Card, Workers Feel Sting of Fees

Nokia To Buy Out Siemens Equipment Venture; Shares Surge

Onyx Rejects Amgen’s Takeover Bid, Then Places Itself on the Market

Publishers Random House, Penguin Complete Merger

Apple Applies to Register ‘iWatch’ Trademark in Japan

Roger Nusbaum: Norway’s SWF Lives By the 4% Rule!

Jeff Miller: Weighing the Week Ahead: What Do Higher Interest Rates Mean for Stocks?

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Strange NICK Trades on Friday
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on June 30th, 2013 at 10:31 pm

Just a quick note on some bizarre trading activity for Nicholas Financial ($NICK) on Friday morning. Apparently, a few trades on very light volume went off over $16 per share. The high was $16.96.

There was no news on the stock, and I hope nobody got too excited. These were probably some bad trades that slipped through. Once trading volume returned, the stock went back to its previous territory in the low $15 range. The stock did 101,000 in volume on Friday.

My apologies for the excessive volatility — and this is yet another reason why I stay far away from day-trading. But make no mistake, NICK is a very good stock.

First-Half Buy List Summary
Posted by Eddy Elfenbein on June 28th, 2013 at 7:25 pm

The first half of the year is on the books. Let’s look at how well our Buy List has done.

Not including dividends, the Crossing Wall Street Buy List is up 15.33% to the S&P 500’s 12.63%.

Including dividends, our Buy List is up 16.25% to the S&P 500’s 13.82%. The Buy List’s annualized return from dividends is tracking at 1.60% compared with 2.14% for the S&P 500.

The “beta” of the Buy List is 0.9819.

Eighteen of our 20 stocks are up for the year. CA Technologies ($CA) is the #1 winner with a 30.21% gain (32.75% with dividends). Microsoft ($MSFT) is just behind at #2 with a 29.33% gain.

The only two losers are Oracle ($ORCL) which is down at -7.83%, and Cognizant Technology Solutions ($CTSH) which is down at -15.21%.

The combined seven-and-a-half year gain for the Buy List is 88.68% to the S&P 500’s 50.97%. Note that that would include rebalancing each year.