Comprehensive Business News Summary

Stocks are opening higher on a day full of economic data both from home and overseas. The major indexes are likely assured by positive long-term outlooks from the ECB, BOE and BOJ, though the important European Bank revised its economic projections for the current year lower. Still, news in the states showed weekly jobless claims improved to an important historical point, though monthly layoffs were up on mostly Wall Street cuts. Retailers are reporting monthly sales data today, but a slew of them stopped reporting this month, and so the monthly retail sales report will rise in its impact to markets as a result. I expect stocks to hold steady, with a lean to the upside on no serious question posed today. I published an important company specific report this morning on Annaly Capital (NYSE: NLY) at Seeking Alpha, which you should review.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Business News

The day’s data is led by two key employment reports. Weekly Initial Jobless Claims, reported at 8:30 AM ET, showed a 7,000 decrease in new filers last week, to a level of 340K. The four-week moving average also decreased by 7K, to a mark of 348,750, the lowest since March of 2008.

Challenger Gray & Christmas reported on Monthly Job Cuts for February this morning. The report showed a sharp spike in layoffs in February. Job-cuts increased by 37%, to 55,356, which is a rather high level. Planned layoffs were just 7% higher than last year’s period though, which may indicate some seasonal consequence. On the year so far, layoffs are down 9%. Challenger said the financial sector drove the decline, with J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) announcing the most planned layoffs in the period (19K over 2 years).

It was a big morning for international central banks, with the European Central Bank (ECB), Bank of England (BOE) and the Bank of Japan (BOJ) each reporting. The ECB kept its key rates unchanged, but the big news was that it revised its economic projections lower. The Bank of England kept its rates unchanged as well and also unaltered its asset purchase program. The BOJ also kept rates unchanged, and said its economy has stopped weakening.

International Trade data was reported for January this morning. The trade deficit expanded to $44.4 billion in the month, versus economists’ expectations for an increase to $43 billion. In December, the deficit ran at $38.1 billion. Exports declined in January while imports rose.

The BLS revised its fourth quarter Productivity and Costs data this morning. Productivity declined 1.9%, against expectations for a 1.6% decline. The drop matched against the prior quarter’s 3.1% increase. Unit labor costs increased 4.6% in the quarter, after decreasing by 1.9% in the prior quarter.

Catch the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index at 9:45 AM ET. This is the most regular measure of consumer sentiment, published on a weekly basis. Last week’s report showed an improvement in consumer comfort to the highest level this year (-32.8). Earlier this year, when consumer sentiment measures were indicating a poor state of affairs, I indicated things would improve once the political pushing and pulling was over in Washington D.C. Voila, yet another reason to follow our column!

Individual retailers will be reporting on their monthly Chain Store Sales starting today (for most). The nation’s most important retailer, Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), however, does not supply regular data. Macy’s (NYSE: M), Target (NYSE: TGT) and Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) joined Wal-Mart in keeping their monthly numbers secret this month. Look for sales calls from some of the major retailers still sharing, like The Limited (NYSE: LTD).

Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell gives testimony before the Senate Banking Committee on the subject of money laundering and bank secrecy. This will have the attention of certain island nations and territories in the Caribbean, Atlantic and Mediterranean, plus UBS (NYSE: UBS), Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS) and others.

The Census Bureau is set to release the Quarterly Services Survey for the fourth quarter of 2012 today at 10:00 AM ET.

The EIA reports on Natural Gas Storage at 10:30 AM ET today. Last week’s report covering the period ending February 22 showed a net decline of 171 Bcf, taking supply in storage to 2,229 Bcf. Stocks were 307 Bcf less than last year at this time but 308 Bcf above the five-year average. This is still supportive of low natural gas pricing, and given the still shaky economic outlook and exploration and production activities in North America, I would expect more of the same (barring external event). That’s an important notation… Natural gas futures have been increasing this year, but have steadied of late.

The latest Consumer Credit data will be released at 3:00 PM ET. The data for the month of January is expected by economists to show a monthly expansion of $15 billion, which would match against December’s increase of $14.6 billion. The forecast range extends from $12 billion to $18 billion. Increases have been driven by non-revolving credit of late, which is positive for the auto industry and illustrative of student loan lending growth.

In corporate news, the J.P. Morgan (NYSE: JPM) Gaming, Lodging, Restaurant and Leisure Management Access Forum highlights a presentation by International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT). The Wedbush Technology, Media, Telecommunications Management Access Conference highlights presentation by NVIDIA (Nasdaq: NVDA). Look for investor and analyst meetings at Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) and Xerox (NYSE: XRX). An FDA panel studies a lung treatment of GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). Pinnacle Airlines (OTC: PNCLQ.PK) is seeking approval from a bankruptcy court to let creditors vote on an exit strategy that would transfer ownership to Delta (NYSE: DAL). Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD) and others are hosting monthly sales calls today. Look for earnings results from Kroger (NYSE: KR), Buckle (NYSE: BKE), Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ), H&R Block (NYSE: HRB), Bitauto (Nasdaq: BITA), Blackrock Kelso Capital (Nasdaq: BKCC), Blount Int’l (NYSE: BLT) and Chembio Diagnostics (Nasdaq: CEMI). Also find reports from Advocat (Nasdaq: AVCA), Ambarella (Nasdaq: AMBA), Arabian American Development (Nasdaq: ARSD), Cadence Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: CADX), Cambium Learning (Nasdaq: ABCD), Cantel Medical (NYSE: CMN), CAS Medical Systems (Nasdaq: CASM), CECO Environmental (Nasdaq: CECE), Chesapeake Utilities (NYSE: CPK), Ciena (Nasdaq: CIEN), Coleman Cable (Nasdaq: CCIX), Comtech Telecommunications (Nasdaq: CMTL), Consolidated Communications (Nasdaq: CNSL), Cooper Companies (NYSE: COO), Cytori Therapeutics (Nasdaq: CYTX), Daegis (Nasdaq: DAEG), E Commerce China Dangdang (Nasdaq: DANG), EDAC Technologies (Nasdaq: EDAC), Emergent Biosolutions (NYSE: EBS), Entertainment Gaming Asia (NYSE: EGT), EPL Oil & Gas (NYSE: EPL), Ferrellgas Partners (NYSE: FGP), Fidus Investment (Nasdaq: FDUS), Finisar (Nasdaq: FNSR), FLY Leasing (NYSE: FLY), FXCM (Nasdaq: FXCM), Global Power Equipment (Nasdaq: GLPW), Glowpoint (Nasdaq: GLOW), Hi-Tech Pharmacal (Nasdaq: HITK), Identive Group (Nasdaq: INVE), IDT (NYSE: IDT), IFM Investment (NYSE: CTC), Information Services (NYSE: III), James River Coal (Nasdaq: JRCC), Journal Communications (NYSE: JRN), LRR Energy (NYSE: LRE), Mac-Gray (NYSE: TUC), Main Street Capital (Nasdaq: MAIN), Medifast (NYSE: MED), MeetMe (Nasdaq: MEET), ModusLink Global (Nasdaq: MLNK), Nationstar Mortgage (NYSE: NSM), Neutral Tandem (Nasdaq: IQNT), Nexstar Broadcasting (Nasdaq: NXST), NGP Capital (Nasdaq: NGPC), OncoGenex Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: OGXI), Pacira Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PCRX), Pandora Media (NYSE: P), Perficient (Nasdaq: PRFT), Pokertek (Nasdaq: PTEK), PowerSecure Int’l (Nasdaq: POWR), Primoris (Nasdaq: PRIM), QAD (Nasdaq: QADB), Quanex Building Products (NYSE: NX), Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK), Reis (Nasdaq: REIS), Repligen (Nasdaq: RGEN), Resolute Energy (NYSE: REN), RigNet (Nasdaq: RNET), Safeguard Scientific (NYSE: SFE), Sarepta Therapeutics (Nasdaq: SRPT), Saul Centers (NYSE: BFS), Schawk (NYSE: SGK), Sequenom (Nasdaq: SQNM), Simcere Pharmaceutical (NYSE: SCR), Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD), Spark Networks (NYSE: LOV), Standard Parking (Nasdaq: STAN), Superconductor Technologies (Nasdaq: SCON), Tecumseh Products (OTC: TECUA.PK), Trans World Entertainment (Nasdaq: TWMC), U.S. Physical Therapy (Nasdaq: USPH), US Concrete (Nasdaq: USCR), Verso Paper (NYSE: VRS), Workday (Nasdaq: WDAY), Wuxi Pharmatech (NYSE: WX) and more.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Stocks Gained on Data Tuesday but Questions Remain

Stocks enjoyed lift Tuesday, reportedly on positive news about emerging market manufacturing, with the Dow rising 1.5% on the first trading day of 2012. Chinese and Indian Purchasing Managers Indexes improved in December. I have to raise concern here, though, because the improvement in the Chinese measure was minimal and data out of Europe proved less than enthusing.

Questions Remain for Stocks

A European manufacturing gauge surveying purchasing managers across the 17 member euro area improved in December to 46.9, from 46.4, but continued to show economic contraction while sitting below the 50 mark. The Chinese PMI measure only improved to 50.3 from 49. An Indian PMI measure added support though, as it indicated Indian activity was more significantly improved; the Indian PMI Index rose to 54.2, from 51 in November.

The international news was enough for the market to rise into the American manufacturing data release at 10:00 AM. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reported its Manufacturing Index for the month of December gained to 53.9, ahead of the consensus view for a reading of 53.2, according to Bloomberg’s survey. The figure also showed an improved state over November’s index reading of 52.7. I’m still not enthused though, as I look for things to get worse here in 2012, with Europe closing somewhat to U.S. exports. Still, American industrials shares were higher on the day, with the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLI) up over 2%, and major manufacturers General Electric (NYSE: GE) up 2.5% and Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) up 3.7%.

Construction Spending data only offered further support for the rally, as it was reported 1.2% higher in November, exceeding economists’ expectations for a 0.5% increase. However, this figure benefited from a revision to the prior month from an increase of 0.8% initially reported to a decrease of 0.2%. There has been an increase in multi-family home construction, which could be the main driver of activity in my view. I do not necessarily see this as a good thing, as home ownership goes by the way side. The shares of builders Hovnanian (NYSE: HOV) and PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM) were up 6.9% and 3.3%, respectively.

The business wire also offered the release of the Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting minutes for its December 13 meeting. Financial shares reacted well on the day and held high after the 2 PM release, with Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) up 4.3%, Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) up 3.2% and J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) higher by 5.2%.

The post holiday corporate earnings wire had a handful of names reporting. Landec (Nasdaq: LNDC) posted at the close of trading and was up 6.9% through the day, and is up more than 4% after hours. Progress Software (Nasdaq: PRGS) also posted at the close, and while it was higher by 2.3% during the day, it dropped more than 8% after hours. Team Inc. (Nasdaq: TISI) posted after hours and was up fractionally during the day and 3.5% after hours.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Wall Street Day 11-22-11

The Wall Street day is being dictated by several factors, with European political indecision sending shares tied to the region lower. In the States, we've seen the failure of the congressional super committee cost stocks to start the day, along with a miss in the GDP revision, but deep into afternoon trade, Wall Street is higher.

Wall Street Greek founder, Markos Kaminis, earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Wall Street

The Congressional Deficit Reduction Committee, which we affectionately labeled the stupercommittee, looks near certain now to fail to drive budget cutting legislation. However, given the President’s commitment to veto any congressional effort to remove the default budget cuts that would come to play as a result of super committee failure, U.S. markets should theoretically be unaffected. They have performed better than their European brethren today, with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 each up fractionally into the afternoon Tuesday.

That’s because with debt cuts coming anyway, a credit downgrade of the U.S. is effectively stopped. And this morning, all three rating agencies affirmed their positions on American sovereign debt. S&P (NYSE: MHP) stated that the default cuts mitigated risk if enforced, though Moody’s (NYSE: MCO) and Fitch said the legislative stalemate was worth noting. Of course, the last two mentioned still have top ratings on the U.S.

The key economic data of the day came from the first revision to third quarter GDP. Gross domestic product was cut to growth of 2.0%, down from the 2.5% rate initially reported and short of the 2.4% consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The range of economists’ views spanned from 2.0% to 2.9%. GDP was up 1.3% in Q2, so the improvement is still noted, yet the slower pace also takes some steam out of stocks as it raises the economic alert again looking forward.

The other big report Tuesday was the 2:00 PM ET release of the Federal Open Market Committee Meeting Minutes, which cover the Fed meeting of November 2.

ICSC/Reuters Weekly Same-Store Sales fell 0.9% through the period ending November 19 while marking 2.8% year-to-year growth. That’s not impressive when factoring in the rate of inflation. With this data immediately preceding the start of the holiday shopping season, it seems futile to read into. Shoppers are anxiously awaiting the start of Black Friday deals now, and so putting off consumption in the current period.

MF Global’s (OTC: MFGLQ.PK) post bankruptcy trustee requested New York bankruptcy court approval to speed the claims process today. The court is also reviewing the details regarding the missing funds at MF Global, and has revised the total to $1.2 billion, which is twice the initial estimate.

IPO lockup curbs expired on Solazyme (Nasdaq: SZYM) today. Jacobs Engineering (NYSE: JEC) has an analyst meeting scheduled. The earnings schedule highlights news from Medtronic (NYSE: MDT), Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB), Hormel Foods (NYSE: HRL), Canadian Solar (Nasdaq: CSIQ), Chicos FAS (NYSE: CHS), China Digital TV (NYSE: STV), Patterson Companies (Nasdaq: PDCO), Acorn Int’l (NYSE: ATV), American Woodmark (Nasdaq: AMWD), Astro Med (Nasdaq: ALOT), Books a Million (Nasdaq: BAMM), China Real Estate Info (Nasdaq: CRIC), China Xiniya Fashion (NYSE: XNY), Citi Trends (Nasdaq: CTRN), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (Nasdaq: CBRL), Daktronics (Nasdaq: DAKT), dELi’s (Nasdaq: DLIA), Diana Containerships (Nasdaq: DCIX), DSW (NYSE: DSW), Eaton Vance (NYSE: EV), E-House (China) Holdings (NYSE: EJ), Fred’s (Nasdaq: FRED), Genesco (NYSE: GCO), Gymboree (Nasdaq: GYMB), Hanwha Solarone (Nasdaq: HSOL), JA Solar (Nasdaq: JASO), Le Gaga (Nasdaq: GAGA), LTX-Credence (Nasdaq: LTXC), Nuance Communications (Nasdaq: NUAN), Pandora Media (NYSE: P), QAD Inc. (Nasdaq: QADB), Raven Industries (Nasdaq: RAVN), School Specialty (Nasdaq: SCHS), Signet Jewelers (NYSE: SIG), Suntech Power (NYSE: STP), Symbion (Nasdaq: SMBI), TiVo (Nasdaq: TIVO), Tri-Valley (AMEX: TIV) and Valspar (NYSE: VAL).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Monday's Market - All Eyes on Italy

All eyes will be on Italy Monday morning as a post-Berlusconi era welcomes in new austerity. Wait a second, is that really good news to be celebrated on the streets of Italy by the Italian masses, or is it a disguised surprise pinned to the exiting Prime Minister, leaving his replacement clear of blame? Or it is more likely that the technocrats now leading Italy and Greece aren’t so interested in political futures, and are willing or ignorant to their new status as economic sacrificial lambs.

Italy will now move forward with an issuance of about 1.5 to 3.0 billion euros worth of five-year bonds, supposedly and hopefully to a receptive marketplace Monday. I suppose short-sighted markets will rally on this “change,” but keep an eye on the Italian bond yields, as they must come down from the 7% range reached last week for this to have a chance. Greece too awakens to a new leader this week, so a new day dawns for Europe. Here’s hoping it won’t rain fire as usual.

Keeping with international news, the Quartet of Middle East peace mediators, excluding Dennis Ross, will meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian officials as the region boils over. Iran is still at the forefront of the geopolitical wire, with the latest Republican presidential debate keying on the issue. Interestingly enough, the fellas with the hardest game plans for Iran, Romney and Gingrich, scored best.

There’s no major economic data set for release in the U.S. Monday. However, the Financial Executives Conference convenes, with accounting officials keying on financial reporting issues. Meanwhile, at some point this week we’ll hear more with regard to the imperfect reporting at Olympus (OCPNY.PK), as its lenders confront the company.

Look out, LinkedIn’s (Nasdaq: LNKD) IPO lockup curbs expire, so more pressure could drive against the shares this week. Look for investor and/or analyst meetings at Bank of New York Mellon (NYSE: BK), Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI), Denbury Resources (NYSE: DNR) and QEP Resources (NYSE: QEP).

Some of the noteworthy earnings reports for Monday include Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN), J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP), Lowe's (NYSE:LOW), American Midstream Partners (Nasdaq: AMID), Assured Guaranty (NYSE: AGO), Limited Brands (NYSE: LTD), Varian Semiconductor (Frankfurt: VSE.F), Avatar Holdings (Nasdaq: AVTR), Banks.com (AMEX:BNX), China Auto Logistics (Nasdaq: CALI), China Ceramics (Nasdaq:CCCL), China Natural Gas (Nasdaq: CHNG), China Shengda Packaging (Nasdaq: CPGI), Chinanet Online (Nasdaq: CNET), Craft Brewers Alliance (Nasdaq: HOOK), Dynegy (NYSE: DYN), eDiets.com (Nasdaq: DIET), Michael Foods (Nasdaq: MIKL), Motricity (Nasdaq: MOTR), SORL Auto Parts (Nasdaq: SORL), Towerstream (Nasdaq: TWER), Uranium Resources (Nasdaq: URRE), VisionChina Media (Nasdaq: VISN) and several others.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

BIG NEWS - 11-08-11

Small Business Index, Chain Store Sales, Fed Speak and EPS News

Despite all the action in Europe, which of course has dictated global trade, this report covers the important U.S. domestic economic data and corporate information that reached the wire on Tuesday. Covered within, find summaries of the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index, ICSC Weekly Chain Store Sales, Fed speak from members of the Federal Reserve and a slew of corporate earnings releases.

BIG NEWS

Small Business Confidence
The NFIB’s November Small Business Optimism Index was reported yesterday. The small business sentiment measure improved 1.3 points, to a mark of 90.2, but remained in territory reflecting misery. The NFIB attributed the improvement to “less bad news” in November, and commented on the weakness of this driver.

Closer inspection of the report shows much of the gain came in a component that measures how many businessmen “Expect the Economy to Improve.” That component, however, only signified that fewer people expected the economy to deteriorate, where the majority of opinions lie. The reading for November still compares poorly to recent times, as the year-to-date average for the figure is 91.1. Marking back to the average since January of 2009 (89.1), this latest result is only marginally better.

Chain Store Sales
Weekly same-store sales, as measured by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), gained another 1.0% in the week ending November 5, 2011. This followed its recovery of 0.7% over the prior week, which offset the preceding decline of 0.8%. On an annual basis, sales rose 2.7% last week, following the 3.0% gain the week before. Thus, taking inflation and population growth into account, you have very little growth in consumer spending indicated.

Fed Speak
A couple of Fed speakers addressed groups Tuesday. Narayana Kocherlakota gave a speech entitled, “Looking Back at Four Years of Federal Reserve Actions.” Charles Plosser discussed, “Strengthening Our Monetary Policy Framework Through Commitment, Credibility and Communication.”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held a round table on uncertainty in financial statements. Meanwhile, the New York Society of Security Analysts held a commodities forum.

The corporate wire had the CEO of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), Larry Ellison, testifying about the alleged software theft by SAP (NYSE: SAP). There were analyst meetings by Safeguard Scientifics (NYSE: SFE) and Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE).

The EPS schedule included news from International Game Technology (NYSE: IGT), Rockwell Automation (NYSE: ROK), International Flavors & Fragrances (NYSE: IFF), 1st Century Bancshares (Nasdaq: FCTY), AAON (Nasdaq: AAON), Aastrom Biosciences (Nasdaq: ASTM), Accuray (Nasdaq: ARAY), Acelrx Pharma (Nasdaq: ACRX), Achillion Pharma (Nasdaq: ACHN), Actions Semiconductor (Nasdaq: ACTS), AerCap (NYSE: AER), Alexander & Baldwin (Nasdaq: ALEX), Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), AeroCentury (AMEX: ACY), Aircastle (NYSE: AYR), Alaska Communications (Nasdaq: ALSK), Albany Molecular (Nasdaq: AMRI), Alliance Healthcare (NYSE: AIQ), Allied Healthcare Products (Nasdaq: AHPI), Amarin (Nasdaq: AMRN), Ambient (Nasdaq: AMBT), AMCON Dist. (AMEX: DIT), American Assets Trust (NYSE: AAT), American Electric Tech (Nasdaq: AETI), Amerigas Partners (NYSE: APU), Amdocs (NYSE: DOX), Amerigon (Nasdaq: ARGN), Andersons (Nasdaq: ANDE), Antares Pharma (AMEX: AIS), Blue Nile (Nasdaq: NILE), Caribou Coffee (Nasdaq: CBOU), Central Vermont Public Service (NYSE: CV), China Automotive (Nasdaq: CAAS), China Biologic (Nasdaq: CBPO), China Grentech (Nasdaq: GRRF), China Info Technology (Nasdaq: CNIT), Chindex (Nasdaq: CHDX), Clean Energy Fuels (Nasdaq: CLNE), Cobra Electronics (Nasdaq: COBR), Coca Cola Bottling (Nasdaq: COKE), Compugen (Nasdaq: CGEN), E.W. Scripps (NYSE: SSP), Exide (Nasdaq: XIDE), Fossil (Nasdaq: FOSL), Fuel Tech (Nasdaq: FTEK), Global Cash Access (NYSE: GCA), Globecomm (Nasdaq: GCOM), Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), Liberty Interactive (Nasdaq: LINTA), Lifetime Brands (Nasdaq: LCUT), Middleby (Nasdaq: MIDD), Miller Industries (NYSE: MLR), Natural Gas Services (NYSE: NGS), Neenah Paper (NYSE: NP), PC Mall (Nasdaq: MALL), Penson Worldwide (Nasdaq: PNSN), Pokertek (Nasdaq: PTEK), Satcon Technology (Nasdaq: SATC), Scotts Miracle Grow (NYSE: SMG), SINA (Nasdaq: SINA), Supreme Industries (NYSE: STS), Take Two Interactive (Nasdaq: TTWO), Universal Panel (Nasdaq: PANL), Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW), Zebra Technologies (Nasdaq: ZEBR) and many more.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Greek Default Speculation Drives Global Banking and Stock Exodus

A tough day for global traders has been especially intense in the banking sector Monday. A bad brew of news and rumors has the group giving back significant ground this morning. It started last week, when rumors surfaced that seemed to be positioning Germany for exit on Greece. Speculation has built around a Greek default idea, and investors likening it to a Lehman event (and some) have stocks sinking today, with the dollar muscling up and commodities mostly lower as a result.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Greek Default Speculation Drives Global Banking and Stock Exodus

GLOBAL MARKETS		COMMODITY FUTURES & USD
Dow	-0.9%	Dollar Index	+0.9%
S&P 500	-0.8%	WTI Crude	+1.6%
NASDAQ	-0.2%	Gasoline RBOB	-0.2%
Euro Stoxx 50	-3.8%	Natural Gas	-0.3%
FTSE 100	-1.6%	Gold	-1.9%
DAX	-2.3%	Silver	-2.2%
NIKKEI	-2.3%	Wheat	-0.8%
Hang Seng	-4.2%	Corn	-0.1%
S&P / ASX 200	-3.7%	Lumber	-3.7%
Prices measured at 12:10 PM ET

Overseas activity is dictating the tone of trading today. Greek Prime Minister Papandreou’s Saturday address included more promises that other Europeans and investors seem to think will prove useless. His latest flail against the will of his people is a plan to raise real estate taxes to help with debt payments to the IMF and EU. Papandreou ensures the collection of this new tax by attaching them to utility payment collections. So, unless Greeks are willing to live without water and electricity, they will pay them. However, Greeks don’t have to like it.

The global community is paying more attention to the Greek people today, who protested en masse again Saturday. The Greek government is not secure, and losing its grip further with each new austerity measure. At the same time, the rest of Europe is losing its will under amassing domestic political pressures. Germany is now openly thought to be preparing its banks for a Greek default. This is a scenario that raises speculation about European Union and euro zone unraveling. It’s a Lehman-like plot that investors are worrying about today, and so European banks are in trouble as a result.

BNP Paribas (OTC: BNPQY.PK)	-11%
Deutsche Bank (NYSE: DB)	-6.5%
Societe Generale (OTC: SCGLY.PK)	-6.3%
Credit Agricole (OTC: CRARY.PK)	-8.9%
Banco Santander (NYSE: STD)	-8.6%
National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG)	-7%
Bank of Ireland (NYSE: IRE)	-2.6%
Allied Irish PLC (OTC: AIBYY.PK)	-6%
Lloyd’s (NYSE: LYG)	-2.6%
Barclays (NYSE: BCS)	-1.9%
UBS (NYSE: UBS)	-1.4%
Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS)	-2.1%
RBS (NYSE: RBS)	-3%
Prices measured at 12:30 PM ET

United Kingdom banking regulators levied expensive reforms against the Kingdom’s largest institutions in order to protect taxpayers from future failures and financial bailouts. The reforms are expected to cost U.K. banks $11.12 billion annually.

U.S. banks with global exposures have not been left out of the day’s demise, with Citigroup (NYSE: C) illustrating that down 1.5%, Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) down 1.7% and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) off 2.8% at 12:37 PM ET. Adding to the pile, Citigroup cut its forecasts for U.S. bank earnings by an average of 45% on European driven impact to global equity and credit markets.

President Obama Introduces Jobs Bill

The President followed through on his jobs speech by today presenting his bill to Congress. He spoke with teachers and construction workers by his side, putting a non-political face to his message. His hope is that the American people will force his political opponents to act in favor of economic stimulus. The long-term American unemployed and the currently threatened were urged to write their Congressmen. But, Nobel Economic Laureate, Paul Krugman, says the chances of the President finding political support are zero now. He says the Republican Party would even vote down a bill to honor motherhood today if the President proposed it. Krugman ominously compared the current period to the period of austerity that led to The Great Depression.

The National Association for Business Economics (NABE) is holding its annual meeting, and Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher will discuss monetary policy in a global context in a 5:00 PM address.

Republican candidates for president will debate again this evening, this time in Tampa, Florida. This Tea Party themed debate kicks off at 8:00 PM ET.

Corporate Wire

In concert with CEO Brian Moynihan’s presentation at the Barclays Capital Global Financial Services Conference in New York, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) issued a press release on its reorganization, stating that it would eliminate about 30K jobs while saving $5 billion per year by 2014. BofA had been moving counter to the market trend, but is down 0.4% at 1:00 PM ET. Also at the Barclay’s (NYSE: BCS) conference, look for presentations by NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) and Unum Group (NYSE: UNM).

McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MHP) said it would split into two companies with segments focused on global markets and textbook publishing. The company had come under pressure from shareholder activist Jana Partners LLC to do so. The transaction would likely be completed in 2012 and come about via a tax-free spin-off of the education unit.

Broadcom (Nasdaq: BRCM) agreed to buy NetLogic Microsystems (Nasdaq: NETL) for $3.7 billion in cash. NETL shareholders got a nice surprise today, as the $50 effective price is 57% higher than the close of trading on September 9.

The rest of the corporate news has shareholder and/or analyst days at Juniper Networks (Nasdaq: JNPR), Coca-Cola Enterprises (NYSE: CCE) and W.W. Grainger (NYSE: GWW). Look for EPS reports from Brady Corp. (NYSE: BRC), Electromed (Nasdaq: ELMD), Napco Security Technologies (Nasdaq: NSSC), Optical Cable (Nasdaq: OCC), Pharmacyclics (Nasdaq: PCYC), pSivida (Nasdaq: PSDV), Streamline Health Solutions (Nasdaq: STRM), ThermoGenesis (Nasdaq: KOOL) and a few more.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

The Greek's Take on Friday's Market Upheaval and the Day's Business

Very little on the preset market schedule seemed to actually impact stocks today, save perhaps President Obama’s jobs address. Rather, the day’s global trading was hinged on European unraveling and a terrorism threat to the U.S. We cover these events, plus July’s Wholesale Trade Report and the day’s leading corporate stories herein.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Relative tickers: NYSE: BAC, NYSE: MCD, NYSE: KR, Nasdaq: LULU, NYSE: NVS, NYSE: MRK, NYSE: WPO, Nasdaq: AUXL, NYSE: NFG, Nasdaq: SPNC, Nasdaq: ACET, Nasdaq: DUCK, NYSE: KR, Nasdaq: LMNR, Nasdaq: OPTT, Nasdaq: PPHM, NYSE: PNY, NYSE: DIA, NYSE: SPY, NYSE: QLD, NYSE: DOG, NYSE: SDS, Nasdaq: QQQQ.

The Greek’s Take on Friday’s Market Upheaval and the Day’s Business

The Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Indexes all closed roughly 2.5% lower today. Overseas, the Euro Stoxx 50 Index fell 4.15%%, while the NIKKEI dropped 0.6%; the Hang Seng fell 0.23%; and the S&P ASX 200 rose 0.16%. The Dollar Index Spot rose 1.2% Friday, thanks to the upheaval in Europe. Commodities were generally lower today on the dollar’s strength. Near term WTI Crude Futures fell 2.1%, to $87.20. Gold was unchanged at $1856.90.

The President’s Speech

He said it sternly and he said it loudly, as President Obama presented an economic stimulus plan that had been well-vetted before economists before its release. The President noted the details of his initiative to stimulate jobs and to keep those facing imminent layoff in their jobs; plus schemes to induce new hiring and inspire business investment; not to mention, to put more money in the peoples’ hands via the extension of payroll tax cuts (avoiding an effective tax hike). I listened to it, and I found nothing I could object with. The program was even paid for, but that’s exactly where his opponents will find issue. Some of the areas in which the President wants to cut back spending to pay for his plan are areas often defended by his opponents. At the same time, though, he conceded to a need to reform social security for the future of those currently paying into it, not for retired seniors. In any event, the plan itself offered little reason to sell off stocks Friday, in my view, and even presented hope as some sort of negotiated final product should be helpful.

European Upheaval

Rather, what started stocks lower globally Friday was European upheaval supported by an ominous terrorism threat in the United States. Tensions have been intensifying between the Germans and its friends in the European Union. Earlier this week, a German constitutional court ruled that the German government’s issuances of capital into packages for the aid of Greece and the eurozone were legal, but it also recommended that future payments be more scrutinized by the full government. This slows a process that might delay the issuance of often quickly demanded capital (by antsy markets). Thus, a wall is building in strength against future bailout aid for the nation’s European brothers.

Thursday, European Central Bank (ECB) Chief Jean-Claude Trichet raised his voice in response to a testy question from a German reporter. Trichet defended the ECB’s record of strong support for German economic health. However, this morning, Germany’s leading representative at the ECB resigned from his post, in what many are assuming was a gesture of dissatisfaction with the bank’s recent interventions in the eurozone’s debt markets (like our Fed). The German representative, Jurgen Stark, formally attributed his resignation to “personal reasons.”

Meanwhile, today IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde went on record warning that the global economy was entering a dangerous new phase. She spoke in London, ahead of the G7 summit scheduled to take place in Marseilles, France. Lagarde, who replaced Dominque Strauss-Kahn, said, “The world is collectively suffering from a crisis of confidence, in the face of a deteriorating economic outlook and rising concerns about the health of sovereigns and banks.” Interestingly, rumors also warmed today regarding German planning for the protection of its domestic banks in the scenario of a Greek default. On Saturday, George Papandreou, Greece’s Prime Minister delivers a speech on the state of the Greek economy. However, today, the Greek Finance Minister put down rumors of a near-term Greek default. The euro pared some of the day’s losses against the dollar following the Greek statement. Meanwhile Greece prepares for massive protests in its second largest city of Thessaloniki Saturday.

Wholesale Trade Data

The one bit of preset data on the calendar for Friday was the Wholesale Trade Report for July. It was pretty much overwhelmed by the bombardment of other issues on the market. July’s wholesale inventories increased by 0.8% in July, however, wholesalers sales were flat through the month. Inventory growth is healthy when empty stores are being rebuilt or when sales are increasing alongside them. Neither was the case in July, and so the inventory-to-sales ratio deteriorated to 1.17, from 1.16 in June. Economists expected wholesale inventories to increase by 0.8%, versus the 0.6% increase in June. While naïve traders may view the in-line result as a neutral factor, we would argue it is not.

The Corporate Wire

Four companies really keyed the corporate wire Friday, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC), McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD), Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Lululemon (Nasdaq: LULU). The Wall Street Journal Reports that BofA officials have discussed the possibility of eliminating 40K positions during a first wave of restructuring, which its CEO is scheduled to discuss at the Barclays Capital 2011 Global Financial Services Conference on Monday (NYSE: BCS). A job cut figure may not meet the light yet though, due to the forum.

McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) shares were down about 5% in late afternoon trading Friday, after the fast food giant reported August same-store sales short of analysts’ views. MCD’s same-store sales increased 3.5%, but were reportedly short of expectations due to European weakness. August still marked the company’s 100th consecutive month of global same-store sales growth.

Kroger (NYSE: KR) shares are off 6% near 3:00 PM EDT, as EPS before tax adjustments reached $0.41 a share, short of the analysts’ consensus for $0.43. Revenues exceeded expectations, but Kroger talked about cost pressures and the use of incentive programs, along with pressures on consumers, driving lower margin sales.

lululemon is off 6% Friday, despite beating analysts’ expectations. The company earned $0.26, versus the analysts’ consensus for 22 cents, based on Factset data. What hurt LULU was a conservative revenue outlook and its guidance for EPS of $0.22 to $0.24 for the third quarter, versus analyst expectations at the high end of the range, based on Thomson Reuters data. LULU did, however, raise its full year EPS guidance.

Merck (NYSE: MRK) and Novartis (NYSE: NVS) are down today, as an FDA panel reviewed several osteoporosis drugs, including medicine from the two. FDA advisors are concerned that long-term use of the drugs may lead to unusual fractures. Thus, the FDA may advise for a time limit in the use of osteoporosis drugs.

There were analysts and shareholder meetings Friday at The Washington Post (NYSE: WPO), Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: AUXL) and National Fuel Gas (NYSE: NFG). Spectranetics (Nasdaq: SPNC) presented at the Stifel Nicolaus & Co. Healthcare Conference. The EPS schedule had news from Aceto (Nasdaq: ACET), Duckwall-ALCO Stores (Nasdaq: DUCK), Kroger (NYSE: KR), Limoneira (Nasdaq: LMNR), Ocean Power Technologies (Nasdaq: OPTT), Peregrine Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: PPHM), Piedmont Natural Gas (NYSE: PNY) and a few others.

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Everything You Need to Know About Thursday's Business

With the President’s speech to reign supreme among market moving data, Thursday’s other reports were nonetheless worth review. Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke addressed the economic outlook in Minnesota today, and Jean-Claude Trichet got testy during his post monetary policy press conference. It’s that kind of environment I suppose, and with the Teamsters facing up against the Tea Party now, it could start getting ugly on Main Street.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Everything You Need to Know About Thursday's Business

The Dow fell 1.0%, the Nasdaq dropped 0.8% and the S&P 500 declined 1.1%.

Catch President Obama’s highly anticipated jobs and debt discussion before a joint session of Congress tonight at 7:00 PM ET. This is a rarity, usually only occurring at times of war, perhaps eight times in total throughout our nation’s history. Here’s to hoping the levity of the matter is not as significant as it seems.

The Bank of England (BOE) today determined to keep its official bank rate paid on commercial bank reserves at 0.5%, and to keep its asset purchases at 200 billion pounds. The European Central Bank (ECB) also kept rates steady today via its monetary policy meeting. Jean-Claude Trichet, the ECB chief, got testy when tested by German reporters, responding with this tirade, “I would very much like to hear congratulations for an institution which has delivered price stability in Germany over almost 13 years at 1.55 per cent approximately… which is better than has been obtained in this country over the last 50 years.” European stocks took a dive in late trading before recovering to close in the green.

The OECD published its interim economic forecast today, and stated that economic recovery appears to have come to a halt in industrialized nations. The group said that growth remained strong in most emerging economies, though at a moderated pace.

The International Trade Report for July showed a dramatic and unexpected narrowing of the trade deficit. The deficit was squeezed to $44.8 billion, down from $51.6 billion in June. The good news was that it occurred due to a pick-up in exports and not lighter demand for imports. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg expected the trade deficit to narrow much less, to $51.9 billion.

Weekly Initial Jobless Claims rose by 2,000 in the week ending September 3, to 414K, versus the revised higher previous period mark of 412K (up from 409K). The four-week moving average increased 3,750, reaching 414,750.

Bloomberg’s Consumer Comfort Index for the week ending September 4 fell to its second lowest mark of the year. The consumer confidence measure reached negative 49.3, down from the prior week’s minus 49.1.

The Quarterly Services Survey, which takes a look at the information and technology industry, offered a bit of good news Thursday. The survey showed a 2.0% quarter-over-quarter increase in information revenue. That was markedly better than the 0.2% revised rise from the first quarter. However, it is the third quarter we’re worried about, and there are signs of information technology spending softness, as we noted in our Factory Orders article.

Consumer Credit data showed a second consecutive strong increase in consumer capital access. July credit expanded by $12 billion, which followed a revised $11.3 billion June increase. Economists were looking for an expansion in credit of just $6.0 billion for July. Both June and July gains were driven by an expansion in non-revolving credit on motor vehicle sales strength.

Commercial crude oil inventory fell by 4 million barrels in the week ending September 2, but remained above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Total motor gasoline inventory increased by 0.2 million barrels, and remained within the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Natural Gas inventory increased by 64 Bcf, though stores remained 60 Bcf below the five-year average.

On the corporate wire, Yahoo (Nasdaq: YHOO) saw Third Point LLC take a 5.15% stake and call for changes in the company’s business strategy. AOL (NYSE: AOL) let Michael Arrington go. Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) bought the well known restaurant rater, Zagat, for an undisclosed amount. It looks as though Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN) may get a break from the state of California, after negotiating and offering to hire a good number of the state’s citizens if the tax were put off. It’s not exactly known what happened, but Amazon’s Cali customers look to have another year of current taxation rules to shop by. FBI agents raided the headquarters of California solar panel maker Solyndra, after it declared bankruptcy just after receiving $500 million in federal loan guarantees. Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) is launching its lay-away program early this year (October), in hopes of squeezing as much juice from a dry consumer as possible. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) dropped today after an FDA panel said its stroke-prevention drug should not get expanded use.

The Barclays Capital Back to School Consumer Conference (NYSE: BCS) lined up presenters Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Coca Cola (NYSE: KO). There were analysts and/or shareholder meetings at General Dynamics (NYSE: GD), Ariba (Nasdaq: ARBA), Ecolab (NYSE: ECL), Covidien (NYSE: COV) and Photronics (Nasdaq: PLAB). EPS reports arrived from ABM Industries (NYSE: ABM), Cherokee (Nasdaq: CHKE), Ditech Networks (Nasdaq: DITC), Globecomm Systems (Nasdaq: GCOM), Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY), Lakeland Industries (Nasdaq: LAKE), LightPath Technologies (Nasdaq: LPTH), Myrexis (Nasdaq: MYRX), Smithfield Foods (NYSE: SFD), Titan Machinery (Nasdaq: TITN), TRC Cos. (NYSE: TRR), Ulta Salon (Nasdaq: ULTA), United Natural Foods (Nasdaq: UNFI), Verint Systems (Nasdaq: VRNT) and ZBB Energy (AMEX: ZBB).

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.

Business Review 08-30-11

A lousy start to the day, the result of plummeting consumer confidence, was rescued by reported apparent interest at the Federal Reserve to stimulate the economy. The Dow closed up fractionally, as the market was enthused by some FOMC board member interest in new economic stimulus. Gold was up $49 or 2.8% through late afternoon trade, to $1838, as nascent economic hope seems sure to deteriorate toward reality. WTE Crude oil futures were up 1.6%, to $88.70. The Dollar Index was up fractionally to $73.98. Find our full business review below.

Our founder earned clients a 23% average annual return over five years as a stock analyst on Wall Street. "The Greek" has written for institutional newsletters, Businessweek, Real Money, Seeking Alpha and others, while also appearing across TV and radio. While writing for Wall Street Greek, Mr. Kaminis presciently warned of the financial crisis.

Business Review

Tuesday’s major news driver was an abysmal bit of data from the Conference Board. Consumer Confidence dropped into oblivion, as it marked lows not seen since the darkest days of the financial crisis. The Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 44.5 in August, down from 59.2 in July. Economists were looking for a reading of 52.5 this month. It was deflating, since it followed Monday’s strong consumer spending data, where Personal Outlays were measured higher by 0.8% in July.

The latest same-store sales data produced by the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) showed sales rose 0.1% in the week ending August 27. The prior week’s report showed sales fell by 1.0% week-to-week. Sales improved by 3.0% year-to-year through each of the last two weeks, but on a real basis, taking inflation into account, we’re looking at a pathetic state of consumer activity nonetheless. Redbook reported the year-to-year sales pace at 4.0% this week, better than the 3.6% seen last week. We are entering the height of back-to-school shopping season, so this latest consumer data is especially disheartening, however, actual spending does not always reflect the consumer mood.

The S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index showed another month of home price strengthening. Measuring the month of June this time, S&P Case Shiller reports its 10-City Index rose 1.1% on an unadjusted basis. Seasonally adjusted, prices were flat month-to-month. On a year-to-year basis, home prices fell 3.9% in June. However, because this data is so old, it fails to reflect the reality we’re seeing in other data points, where prices are marking gains against year-to-year comparable periods.

It was just a week ago that the FHFA offered another month of home price rise on a month-to-month basis (+0.9%). As the bar has lowered, home prices have found stable ground, but with the economy on the skids, uncertainty holds for housing.

State Street (NYSE: STT) reported a sharp drop-off in investor confidence in August. The bank’s metric, its Investor Confidence Index, fell 12.9 points to a mark of 89.6, the result of our nation’s fiscal fumbling and the negligent downgrade of our sovereign credit by Standard & Poor’s. As a result, the North American index dropped 13.9 points, as the European measure fell 4.6 and Asia slipped fractionally.

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued the minutes of its August 9 meeting.

The EPS schedule highlighted reports from 1-800-Flowers.com (Nasdaq: FLWS), Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), China Finance Online (Nasdaq: JRJC), Concurrent Computer (Nasdaq: CCUR), Daegis (Nasdaq: DAEG), Dollar General (NYSE: DG), DryShips (Nasdaq: DRYS), DSW (NYSE: DSW), Edap TMS (Nasdaq: EDAP), Gordman’s Stores (Nasdaq: GMAN), Jeffersonville Bancorp (Nasdaq: JFBC), Lantronix (Nasdaq: LTRX), Noah Education (NYSE: NED), Overland Storage (Nasdaq: OVRL), Pittsburgh and West Virginia Rail (AMEX: PW), PVH Corp. (NYSE: PVH), Rada Electronic Industries (Nasdaq: RADA), First Marblehead (NYSE: FMD), Unilife (Nasdaq: UNIS), Vera Bradley (Nasdaq: VRA) and more.

The Day’s Most Active Stocks Included:

WINNERS	LOSERS
CoreLogic (Nasdaq: CLGX)	NuPathe (Nasdaq: PATH)
Seanergy Maritime (Nasdaq: SHIP)	Atlantic Coast Federal (Nasdaq: ACFC)
Sinovac Biotech (Nasdaq: SVA)	National Bank of Greece (NYSE: NBG)
Primo Water (Nasdaq: PRMW)	B+H Ocean Carriers (AMEX: BHO)
BTU Int’l (Nasdaq: BTUI)	NTS Realty (AMEX: NLP)
Monster Worldwide (NYSE: MWW)	CNinsure (Nasdaq: CISG)
Corinthian Colleges (Nasdaq: COCO)	Central European Distribution (Nasdaq: CEDC)
New Energy Systems (Nasdaq: NEWN)	Carolina Trust (Nasdaq: CART)
Novavax (Nasdaq: NVAX)	Granite City Food & Brew (Nasdaq: GCFB)
Richmont Mines (AMEX: RIC)	Peoples Education Holdings (Nasdaq: PEDH)
Imperial Sugar (Nasdaq: IPSU)	DAQQ New Energy (NYSE: DQ)
FelCor Lodging (NYSE: FCH)	China Auto Logistics (Nasdaq: CALI)
Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS)	Gulf Resources (Nasdaq: GURE)
Frontline (NYSE: FRO)	Lizhan Environmental (Nasdaq: LZEN)
The KEYW Holding (Nasdaq: KEYW)	Donegal Group (Nasdaq: DGICB)
Beazer Homes (NYSE: BZH)	Media General (NYSE: MEG)
SatCon Technology (Nasdaq: SATC)	MoSys (Nasdaq: MOSY)
Excel Maritime (NYSE: EXM)	Retractable Technologies (AMEX: RVP)
BioLineRx (Nasdaq: BLRX)	T3 Motion (Nasdaq: TTTM)
Global Geophysical (NYSE: GGS)	Sterling Financial (Nasdaq: STSA)
GMX Resources (Nasdaq: GMXR)	Trunkbow Int’l (Nasdaq: TBOW)
Sequans Communications (Nasdaq: SQNS)	VASCO Data Security (Nasdaq: VDSI)
Delcath Systems (Nasdaq: DCTH)	EMCORE (Nasdaq: EMKR)
SMF Energy (Nasdaq: FUEL)	Vision Sciences (Nasdaq: VSCI)
Celsion (Nasdaq: CLSN)	Stratus Properties (Nasdaq: STRS)
QuinStreet (Nasdaq: QNST)	Life Partners (Nasdaq: LPHI)
Dehaier Medical (Nasdaq: DHRM)	Penson Worldwide (Nasdaq: PNSN)

Please see our disclosures at the Wall Street Greek website and author bio pages found there. This article and website in no way offers or represents financial or investment advice. Information is provided for entertainment purposes only.