BANGALORE, INDIA--September 8, 2008--Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Punj Lloyd Limited (BOM:532693) (New Delhi), an Indian engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) major, has teamed up with Saipem SpA (BIT:SPM) (Milan, Italy) to compete against three other groups of international majors in the bidding process for Singapore's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project. The project is estimated to cost $725 million and is scheduled to be commissioned by 2011. The proposed LNG terminal will have a capacity of 3 million tons per year. Other companies involved in the bidding process include KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR) (Houston, Texas), and Technip (OTC:TKPPY) (Paris, France).

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PetroChina apparently will be the first producer into post-invasion Iraq.

Weyerhaeuser (NYSE: WY) opened at $53.69. So far today, the stock has hit a low of $53.51 and a high of $56.78. WY is now trading at $56.37, up $3.09 (5.80%). The stock hit its 52-Week high of $78.00 in December and set its 52-Week low of $46.19 in July. Weyerhaeuser shares have been soaring on news that the company signed a reconstruction contract with a ...(Click the story link or go to http://www.marketintelligencecenter.com for the full story)

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Filed under: Earnings reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Technical Analysis, Stocks to Buy

URS Corporation (NYSE: URS) provides engineering, construction and technical services to public agencies and private sector companies around the world. The firm offers a full range of program management; planning, design and engineering; systems engineering and technical assistance; construction and construction management; operations and maintenance; and decommissioning and closure services. Most clients are involved with infrastructure, power, heavy industry and federal programs. URS employs about 50,000, in over 30 countries. Fluor Corporation (NYSE: FLR) and KBR (NYSE: KBR) are major competitors.

The company pleased investors earlier in the month, when it reported Q2 EPS of 72 cents and revenues of $2.53 billion. Analysts had been looking for 60 cents and $2.45 billion. In discussing the solid quarter, the CEO pointed to the firm's success in building capabilities across such growth areas as power and government work. Management also guided FY08 EPS to $2.36-$2.48 ($2.42) and FY08 revenues to $9.8 billion ($9.75B consensus). Morgan Joseph subsequently reiterated its "buy" rating on the shares and boosted its price target to $54.

Continue reading URS Corporation (URS): Share price defines bullish 'pennant'

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WITH RESPECT TO THE US’ GDP GROWTH, THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH SEES A SIGNIFICANT DECLINE IN ECONOMIC ACTITIVY SPREAD ACROSS THE ECONOMY, WHICH WILL LAST MORE THAN A FEW MONTHS - WSJ - According to Robert Hall, economist at Stanford University, US economic data that has been reported provide (...) [More...]

In a stagnant economy, an oil star shines in Texas. [More...]

Filed under: Earnings reports, Avon Products (AVP), Centex Corp (CTX), CIGNA Corp (CI), MasterCard Inc'A' (MA), Countrywide Financial (CFC), Office Depot (ODP)

Here are some highlights from this past week's earnings coverage from BloggingStocks:

• Allegiant Travel Co. (NASDAQ: ALGT) beat estimates with soaring Q1 revenues, bucking the airline trend.
• Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) Q1 profits doubled but fell short of expectations.
• Avon Products Inc. (NYSE: AVP) posted solid Q1 results despite negative operational cash flow.
• Centex Corp. (NYSE: CTX) posted a Q4 loss well below analyst estimates.
• Cigna Corp. (NYSE: CI) profits plunged in the first quarter on litigation charges.
• Countrywide Financial Corp. (NYSE: CFC) posted another big loss, way off estimates of a small profit.
• Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) posted its first quarterly loss since 2003 on write-downs.
• Gardner Denver Inc. (NYSE: GDI) beat Q1 expectations and raised its outlook for the year.
• International Paper Co. (NYSE: IP) fell short of Wall Street's Q1 earnings estimates.
• Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (NYSE: JEC) beat Q1 estimates and offered fully-year guidance.
• KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR) Q1 profit more than doubled on arbitration benefit.
• MasterCard Inc. (NYSE: MA) topped analysts' expectations as Q1 profits more than doubled.
• Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) Q1 profits tumbled 55% but still beat analysts' estimates.

Continue reading Earnings highlights: Countrywide, Visa, MasterCard, KBR, Office Depot and others

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Filed under: International markets, Earnings reports, Good news

KBR Inc. (NYSE: KBR), an engineering and construction company that was once a unit of Halliburton Co. (NYSE: HAL), reported this morning that profit more than doubled for its first-quarter as the company benefited from a arbitration award gain.

KBR posted earnings for the quarter of 58 cents per share, which was much higher than the 34 cents per share that analysts predicted. The income figures were definitely something to cheer about. During its first quarter last year, the company had a profit of $28 million. That number surged this quarter to $98 million.

Analysts had been expecting revenue of $2.30 billion, but KBR surprised everyone by posting $2.52 billion in sales, a 24.3% increase, during the quarter. This is a nice rebound from the same period last year when the military contractor's sales were $2.03 billion.

Continue reading KBR reports surprising first-quarter earnings on arbitration award

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Companies featured in this segment: National Semiconductor Corporation (NYSE:NSM), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), Motorola Incorporated (NYSE:MOT), Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK), Technip (OTC:TKPPY), Foster Wheeler Limited (NASDAQ:FWLT), Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TYO:6841), INPEX Holdings Incorporated (TYO:1605), Total SA (NYSE:TOT), Punj Lloyd Limited (BOM:532693), KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR)

Companies featured in this segment: Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan (NSYE: POT), VeraSun Energy Corporation (NYSE:VSE), Cytec Industries Incorporated (NYSE:CYT), Repsol YPF (NYSE:REP), KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR), Foster Wheeler (NASDAQ:FWLT), BGR Energy (BOM:532930), Petrobras, (NYSE:PBR)

Companies featured in this segment: NOVA Chemicals (NYSE:NCX), KBR Incorporated (NYSE:KBR), Repsol YPF's (NYSE:REP), Suez S.A. (OTC:SZEZY), United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX), General Electric (NYSE:GE), PetroChina Company Limited (NYSE:PTR)

This week Mr. Gaskins features analysis of six IPOs. Provided are his grade and ranking for each.

First is Aecom Technology (ACM) a firm providing consulting to government and commercial clients. with a grade and rank of B- and 8. Biodel (BIOD) is a biopharma company coming in with C and 6.

JMP Group (JMP) a boutique investment bank debuts as C+ and 7. Pinnacle Gas Res (PINN) offers natural gas exploration services C+ and 7. Solera Holdings (SLH) is a software and services company serving auto claims sector C+ and 8. Lastly there is TomoTherapy (TTPY) who develops cancer radiation systems C+ and 8.

Also mentioned in this cast are: (FLR) (IBKR) (JEC) (KBR) (SLH) (URS)

Beth Gaston Moon takes a look at news currently driving the market.