I haven't smoked since I was a young kid in college and the last area of investing I would consider is tobacco stocks. Then the recession hit. City, state and the Feds will be looking t increase a falling tax income. So where to go? You guessed it. That is why I looked at VGR. If you smoke cheap is better.
Vector Group, Ltd., through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells cigarettes in the United States. It produces cigarettes in approximately 245 combinations of length, style, and packaging under LIGGETT SELECT, GRAND PRIX, EVE, PYRAMID, and USA names, as well as under various partner and private label brands. The company also develops and markets the low nicotine and nicotine-free QUEST cigarette products, as well as reduced risk cigarette products. Its customers primarily include candy and tobacco distributors, the military and large grocery chains, and drug and convenience store chains.
Let's not forget NYC and VGR investments there. In addition, Vector Group engages in the real estate business; offers residential brokerage services; and holds interests in various spas, resorts, and hotels. The company, formerly known as Brooke Group, Ltd., was founded in 1911 and is based in Miami, Florida.
VGR pays a nice 11% dividend at these prices and has options to play.
So as I light up "cough...cough...cough" VGR longs.
Are you looking for a stock that is recession proof, generates worldwide sales, and pays a high yield, you may be just looking for a cigarette stock. About 5.5 trillion cigarettes are produced annually and smoked by over one sixth of the world's population. Here are some cigarette companies that have dividends that are smokin'.
Vector Group Ltd. (VGR) is a Florida based company that has numerous brands of cigarettes of Liggett, Grand Prix, Eve, Pyramid, USA and nicotine-free Quest. The stock has a PE of 17.576 a PEG of 1.54 , and pays a yield of 9 %.
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) makes and markets cigarettes and other tobacco products including the Camel, Kool, Pall Mall, Doral, Winston, Salem, Misty, Capri, Dunhill, State Express 555, and Natural American Spirit brands. The stock has a PE of 10.901 a PEG of 1.99 , and pays a yield of 6.2 %.
Altria Group Inc. (MO) is a Virginia based company that makes and markets cigarettes, cigars, and beer. It is the largest cigarette company by market cap in the US. The stock has a PE of 4.969 a PEG of 1.33 , and pays a yield of 5.2 %.
British American Tobacco plc (BTI) is a London based company that markets cigarettes and cigars under the Dunhill, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Pall Mall, Rothmans, Vogue, Viceroy, and Peter Stuyvesant brands. It is one of the largest cigarette companies in the world by market cap. The stock has a PE of 17.287 a PEG of 1.31 , and pays a yield of 4.8 %.
Carolina Group (CG) is a New York based manufacturer and marketer of cigarettes under the Kent, Newport, Maverick, True, and Old Gold brand names The stock has a PE of 15.077 a PEG of 1.76 , and pays a yield of 2.5 %.
Our Wall Street week ahead article has been engineered to serve as a reference you can look back upon all week long to keep ahead of the economic and corporate news flow.
After last week's
geopolitical news flow domination, this week offers several individual themes for each specific day. The President's week, however, will be geared toward preparing the Middle East for the near-term therapy he likely has in mind for Iran. He'll be sure to mix that into the conversation with his Israeli counterpart in between the fireworks and the champagne, as Israel celebrates its 60 year anniversary. Five decades have passed, and not a peaceful day among them it seems.
A Choice This Time. But Which One is Really Correct?
Between John McCain and apparently Barak Obama, it looks like Americans might have a distinct choice to make about Middle Eastern policy. But, is there really a choice, because we suspect the scenario playing itself out will not allow much free play between potential presidential actions. Also, McCain's experience with war, and his wisdom, might actually lead him to make the better-advised decisions. Anyway, we expect GW and Israel to make the important Iranian decision
for the incoming president, so it's a non-factor.
Guess what,
The Greek, now an Independent with Republican leanings, is actually bending toward McCain, despite our concern that he may have war in his genes at this point. Obama may promise change, but we remain concerned with the risk related to
not dealing with Iran now. Change for a peaceful future is a great ideology, but
Iran is too far progressed for us to bank on its changing its present direction.
In an ironic twist, it turns out McCain is actually less ballistic than Hillary Clinton. Jest we may, but we completely agree with Hillary's position on Iran. The threat of annihilation is not taken seriously in Iran, and it plainly exists. So, if we would do it, we need them to know we would. That might just prevent the next 9/11, which could be a thousand times worse than the
wake up call of nearly seven years ago.
As the market continues to wrestle with whether the worst is really over, or the flow of financial reports with ongoing asset write-downs and continued share dilution signal a need to discount stocks further, let's take a look at the week ahead.
The Week Ahead
What happens to stocks this week will likely have as much to do with how
geopolitical issues develop as it will with economic data flow. However, there are three key economic reports that could still have an impact.
Monday - Theme-less
A dearth of economic data greets investors on Monday. Lending to the abyss of information, markets in Hong Kong, South Korea and parts of Europe, including France and Germany, will be closed due to religious holidays.
Tuesday's theme is certainly consumer spending, with a focus on retail. As usual, the International Council of Shopping Centers starts the day off with its weekly same-store sales report. Remember, last week surprised us with its further improvement that we speculated was likely weather related since the week-to-week change was far different than the year-over-year improvement. Looking back, year-over-year growth of 2.3% compared to a week-to-week
decline of 0.2%. Therefore, we would expect this week's year-to-year change to prove more cohesive with recent strife in the space.
Well, at 8:30 our speculation will no longer be necessary, as April's aggregate retail sales are reported. Bloomberg's consensus of economists forecasts a month-to-month decrease of 0.1%, and a 0.3% increase when excluding autos. In March, sales including autos increased 0.2%, rising 0.1% without.
Last week, individual retailers noted chain store sales, and
"the cheaper the better" theme played on. Discounters like Wal-Mart (
NYSE: WMT), Costco (
Nasdaq: COST) and TJX Cos. (
NYSE: TJX) continued to outperform department stores and mall-based retailers like JC Penney (
NYSE: JCP), Nordstrom (
NYSE: JWN), The Limited (
NYSE: LTD) and The Gap (
NYSE: GPS).
We hope you noted that
"The Greek" beat the much more famous and well-paid Bob Dole on The Gap call. When Bob recommended GPS recently on CNBC, we came out critical of the pick. Seems to us Bob's wife must be shopping at an extraordinary location atypical of GPS' overall game.
Import and Export Prices are set for 8:30 a.m. release, with consensus expectations looking for an April increase in import prices of 1.7%. Energy pricing always plays a big role here, and we see no exception this time around, or the next for that matter.
March Business Inventories are scheduled for 10:00, with expectations for a 0.5% increase. That's slightly less than in recent months, but remember, it's not inventories in isolation that matter, but inventories-to-sales. Wholesale inventories were reported last week, and they decreased 0.1%, which was good to see.
Presidential primaries run off in West Virginia and Nebraska. Finally, Fed men Ben Bernanke and Richard Fisher are scheduled to find microphone's on Tuesday, and that's always fun!
Wednesday's theme is "inflation" with important consumer price and oil information on tap. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of April is expected to show prices increased 0.3% on the headline, month-to-month, and 0.2% on Core CPI, or after subtracting out food and energy price change (delusional CPI might be more like it). This month's forecast perfectly matches last month's actual change, and I guess lack of deterioration is a good thing?.. Bernanke keeps telling us prices will moderate though.
EIA Petroleum Status is on tap for 10:30 release, and last week noted a build of 5.7 million barrels of oil inventory. What's more important this week is if Hezbollah backs off in Lebanon, if The Wall Street Journal report on Hugo Chavez's aid to Colombian rebels proves poorly researched, and if Iran decides to build wind farms instead of nuclear plants...
The Mortgage Bankers' Association is also on the slate as usual for Wednesday. Overseas, President Bush meets with his Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem, marking the 60th anniversary of the nation's founding.
Thursday's theme is as clear cut as the two days preceding it, the state of manufacturing. Three separate reports will offer plenty of insight into how the guys who make things are doing. Leading off, the New York Federal Reserve will post its Empire State Manufacturing Survey for May at 8:30. The take on New York area manufacturing looks to show a state of limbo, with Bloomberg's consensus seeing a measure of 0.0, versus +0.6 last month.
In what looks to be a real treat, Industrial Production and the Philly Fed will follow that report up all before you've had your second cup of coffee (I know some of you will be on the third!). Consensus expectations for Philly area manufacturing see a reading of -20.0, compared to last month's -24.9. It's kind of sad really, the clarity in the fact that these expectations are most dependent upon the prior month result, rather than any solid gauge. Of course, the past is often the best forecaster of the near-term future, but I'm very sure from experience, that human weakness is at play here as well, and that's disappointing.
April Industrial Production is set for 9:15 reporting. Production is forecast to decrease 0.3%, compared to an increase of 0.3% in March. Capacity utilization is seen deteriorating to 80.1%, from 80.5%. The direction makes sense, but the intensity might be off; or could international demand for U.S. goods be enough to offset domestic softness in both durables and nondurables. The gauntlet has been tossed.
The auto industry has not been shy about posting cutbacks in production and noting its relevance to current demand. We've seen such moves from General Motors (
NYSE: GM), and Ford (
NYSE: F) is rumored to be considering putting its old Mercury line to bed. We say, good riddance! Companies should not fall in love with product lines, just as investors should not fall in love with stocks.
Thursday proves to be a busy day, with the regular Initial Weekly Jobless Claims Report also set for the early AM. This one almost religiously sees forecasts matched with prior week results, and almost always proves significantly off that estimate. Economists are looking for new benefits claims to have numbered 370,000 this week; that compares to 365K last week.
Treasury International Capital is also due before the market open. Foreign demand for long-term U.S. securities increased last month to $72.5 billion. The EIA reports on Natural Gas storage at its usual 10:30 a.m. time, just a week after Goldman Sachs (
NYSE: GS) added it to its list of energy spikes to fear in the future. Finally, in the afternoon, the National Association of Home Builders will release its Housing Market Index. As you might imagine, this has not offered a party atmosphere of late, and measured 20 at last reading, and through most of this year. Chairman Bernanke will also appear in Chicago, to discuss banking and credit market turmoil. Have some wine with that buffet of information.
After taking a breath following a busy Thursday, Friday offers a couple key data points. Housing is the theme for Friday. Treasury Secretary Paulson is scheduled to talk to few Congressmen on the topic in Washington. Recall, there's a bill working its way through Congress that the president has threatened to veto. Meanwhile, economists expect housing starts moderated even further, to a pace of 940,000 in April, from 947K in March.
The University of Michigan will update its Consumer Sentiment Index for May, and economists are looking for a still drab 62.5 measure. April sentiment was a robust 63.2 (that's sarcasm, we do that here on occasion).
While President Bush closes out his Middle Eastern themed week, some 60 government leaders have a nice weekend planned in Peru. We're looking forward to a possible round 2 between the royals of Spain and Hugo Chavez, or perhaps, a steel cage match between Chavez and the head of Colombia. You know they make unique bow ties over there...
Friday's earnings include Abercrombie & Fitch (
NYSE: ANF), Fairpoint Communications (
NYSE: FRP), Multi-Color Corp. (
Nasdaq: LABL) and Pinnacle Gas Resources (
Nasdaq: PINN). Please find our market commentary all week long at the site.
Please see our disclosure at the Wall Street Greek website.
The Greek's Week Ahead has been engineered to prepare you for events that could impact your portfolio this week.
Last week's activity offered the epitome of volatility, with huge fluctuations in direction commonplace, especially within the first and last half hours of trading. The market seemed unsure as to which direction to take, moving on new bits of concerning news flow (
as we warned here that it could in last week's copy). Three bombs in particular barraged the market: the solvency warning from American Home Mortgage (
NYSE: AHM); Standard & Poor's revised "negative outlook" for the credit rating of Bear Stearns', and Bear's CFO's description of the credit environment as the worst he had seen in decades; and finally July's Employment Situation Report indicating a potentially softening labor climate. After that trio of bad
liquor, who knew what hangover Monday could bring. That's exactly what had the market jittery on Friday afternoon, when sellers came in with purpose. It's suddenly en vogue to exit holdings and risk on Fridays, when it use to be the day for buying on deal speculation frenzy.
Alas, undeniably, Monday brings a new
day, though also a week's worth of potential minefield, depending on your outlook. The pessimist will surely be looking for the next lender, builder or insurer failure. Speaking of insurers, did you see Barron's frightening piece on ACA Capital (
NYSE: ACA). We suspect our favorite journal's editorial staff spent as much time drumming up the scariest title possible, as they did editing the entire piece, labeling it "Subprime's Ultimate Time Bomb." That was quite pessimistic fellows.
Optimists, on the other hand, will be looking on with glossy eyes and hopeful smiles toward Tuesday's Federal Open Market Committee announcement. In times like these, Alan Greenspan’s Fed could usually be counted on to come to the rescue, but there's some debate as to how Mr. Bernanke's group will react. It seems certain they will address the critical topic of credit markets and liquidity. Many are hopeful that assertive commentary from the Fed and assurance that the overseer will be there if necessary, would be enough to settle shaky hands. After all, despite its focus on inflation and view that the subprime issue was contained, the group has indicated that economic growth, housing and credit issues would be closely watched for change. It's implied there that, "like a bridge over troubled waters, they will guide us through"; let's just hope that bridge was built recently and properly inspected. Implication aside, last week, two Fed governors contradicted each other with credit market related statements, but we'll take comfort in the fact that the last word was one of reassurance.
It's about time we take a closer look at the week ahead...
Monday is economic news light, so barring any early morning AHM type slam, and there's no guarantee of this, then the market should start to anticipate Tuesday's Fed statement. Again qualified by the absence of explosions in lending or anywhere else, we think the market will see inflows of capital in anticipation of good news from the Fed.
We're not sure this matters to anyone but Canadians, and we hope our fans in the great white north know we love them, but the Canadian markets are closed on Monday. In the States, Monday's earnings report schedule includes A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts (
NASDAQ:ACMR), American Science and Engineering (
NASDAQ: ASEI), Aqua America (
NYSE: WTR), Axis Capital Holdings (
NYSE: AXS), Blue Nile (
NASDAQ: NILE), Comstock Resources (
NYSE: CRK), Corrections Corp. of America (
NYSE: CXW), Dun & Bradstreet (
NYSE: DNB), Gladstone Capital (
NASDAQ: GLAD), HealthExtras (
NASDAQ: HLEX), Home Properties (
NYSE: HME), J2 Global Communications (
NASDAQ: JCOM), Mentor Corp. (
NYSE: MNT), New York Mortgage Trust (
NYSE: NTR), Novatel Wireless (
NASDAQ: NVTL), Plains All American Pipeline (
NYSE: PAA), Quality Systems (
NASDAQ: QSII), ResCare (
NASDAQ: RSCR), Sina Corp. (
NASDAQ: SINA), Spectra Energy (
NYSE: SE), Standard Motor (
NYSE: SMP), Sykes Enterprises (
NASDAQ: SYKE), U.S. Shipping Partners LP (
NYSE: USS), Vector Group (
NYSE: VGR), Washington Group International (
NYSE: WNG), Wynn Resorts (
NASDAQ: WYNN) and many others.
Tuesday brings the usual ICSC-UBS Weekly Same-Store Sales Report, and recent data indicates mall traffic is down. Last week's data showed a little bit of life though, as the group reported week-over-week growth of 1.1% and year-over-year growth of 3.2%. Internationally, South Korea is hosting a meeting of six nations to discuss energy aid for North Korea's nuclear compliance.
At 8:30 a.m. EDT, second quarter productivity is slated for report. In Q1, productivity rose 1.0%, while unit labor costs increased 1.8%, quarter-over-quarter. Barron's reported MFR's expectation for productivity to increase 2.0% this time around. At 2:15 p.m., the highly anticipated and likely week defining event occurs, the FOMC releases its policy statement. Most expect the group to keep the Fed-funds target rate at 5.25%. A cut would help to ease credit concerns, and a firm statement that the Fed remains ready to act if necessary may do the same. Continued hawkish inflationary commentary would, however, not be helpful at this point.
Later on Tuesday, June Consumer Credit is seen increasing by $5 billion, compared to $12.9 billion in May. There are a few ways to interpret consumer credit changes. An excessive or abnormal increase could be indicative of stretched consumers pushing it a bit more, while light growth could be construed as a result of tightening credit standards that could in turn impact consumer spending patterns. Or, if considered directly and simply, it would be an indicator of lower spending. For comparison purposes, the extremely cold month of April showed a consumer credit increase of just $2.6 billion.
We provide earnings report data because we know a good deal of you are traders seeking the next catalyst. Tuesday presents an extremely heavy earnings schedule including Affordable Residential Communities (
NYSE: HTH), Allied Healthcare (
NASDAQ: AHCI), Allos Therapeutics (
NASDAQ: ALTH), Atmos Energy (
NYSE: ATO), Avis Budget Group (
NYSE: CAR), Bayer AG (
NYSE: BAY), Bio-Rad Laboratories (
AMEX: BIO), Boston Beer Co. (
NYSE: SAM), BUCA, Inc. (
NASDAQ: BUCA), Charles River Laboratories (
NYSE: CRL), Church & Dwight (
NYSE: CHD), Churchill Downs (
NASDAQ: CHDN), Cisco Systems (
NASDAQ: CSCO), Cree (
NASDAQ: CREE), Dean Foods (
NYSE: DF), Duke Energy (
NYSE: DUK), El Paso (
NYSE: EP), EMC Insurance Group (
NASDAQ: EMCI), Emerson Electric (
NYSE: EMR), Equity One (
NYSE: EQY), Expeditors International (
NASDAQ: EXPD), Firstenergy (
NYSE: FE), Fluor Corp. (
NYSE: FLR), Golden Star Resources (
AMEX: GSS), Guitar Center (
NASDAQ: GTRC), Harrah's Entertainment (
NYSE: HET), Heely's Inc. (
NASDAQ: HLYS), Henry Schein (
NASDAQ: HSIC), HRPT Properties Trust (
NYSE: HRP), Integra LifeSciences (
NASDAQ: IART), International Securities Exchange (
NYSE: ISE), King Pharmaceuticals (
NYSE: KG), Leap Wireless (
NASDAQ: LEAP), Marsh & McLennan (
NYSE: MMC), Marvel Entertainment (
NYSE: MVL), McDermott International (
NYSE: MDR), Medicis (
NYSE: MRX), Middleby (
NASDAQ: MIDD), Molson Coors Brewing (
NYSE: TAP), Noven Pharmaceuticals (
NASDAQ: NOVN), Pacer International (
NASDAQ: PACR), Papa John's Int'l (
NASDAQ: PZZA), Performance Food Group (
NASDAQ: PFGC), PG&E (
NYSE: PCG), Pinnacle Entertainment (
NYSE: PNK), Pioneer Natural Resources (
NYSE: PXD), Playboy Enterprises (
NYSE: PLA), Priceline.com (
NASDAQ: PCLN), Ralcorp Holdings (
NYSE: RAH), ResMed (
NYSE: RMD), Spanish Broadcasting System (
NASDAQ: SBSA), Spectrum Brands (
NYSE: SPC), Steve Madden (
NASDAQ: SHOO), Techne (
NASDAQ: TECH), Tenet Healthcare (
NYSE: TNT), Tyco International (
NYSE: TYC), Universal Compression (
NYSE: UCO), Web.com (
NASDAQ: WWWW), WMS Industries (
NYSE: WMS), Yamana Gold (
NYSE: AUY) and many more.
The Mortgage Bankers Association reports its regular Purchase Index bright and early on
Wednesday morning. Even as treasury yields decline, mortgage rates appear sure to rise further in light of the worsening environment. While banks are lending more carefully, demand for homes also suffers due to concern that prices could drop further. June Wholesale Inventories are set for report at 10:00 a.m., with expectation for a 0.4% rise, according to Bloomberg's consensus. At 10:30, the EIA Petroleum Status Report is due. We plan to write a piece on the sector, discussing the recent divergence of share and commodity prices.
Overseas, the Bank of Australia is expected by many to raise rates Wednesday. Also, World Bank Head Robert Zoellick is set to meet with Asian ministers to discuss regional growth.
General Motors (
NYSE: GM) is scheduled to hold its annual event for analysts on Wednesday, and the earnings schedule includes 1-800-Flowers.com (
NASDAQ: FLWS), Advance Auto Parts (
NYSE: AAP), Allied Capital (
NYSE: ALD), American International Group (
NYSE: AIG), American Mortgage Acceptance (
AMEX: AMC), AmeriCredit (
NYSE: ACF), Autobytel.com (
NASDAQ: ABTL), Barr Pharmaceuticals (
NYSE: BRL), Biovail (
NYSE: BVF), Brightpoint (
NASDAQ: CELL), Capital Senior Living (
NYSE: CSU), Career Education (
NASDAQ: CECO), Coeur d'Alene Mines (
NYSE: CDE), Flowserve (
NYSE: FLS), Foster Wheeler (
NASDAQ: FWLT), Georgia Gulf (
NYSE: GGC), Hansen Natural (
NASDAQ: HANS), Hecla Mining (
NYSE: HL), Home Solutions of America (
NASDAQ: HSOA), Hospira (
NYSE: HSP), IdaCorp (
NYSE: IDA), Jack in the Box (
NYSE: JBX), MTS Medical Technologies (
AMEX: MPP), Neenah Paper (
NYSE: NP), NewStar Financial (
NASDAQ: NEWS), Pacific Ethanol (
NASDAQ: PEIX), Petrohawk Energy (
NYSE: HK), Polo Ralph Lauren (
NYSE: RL), Revlon (
NYSE: REV), Sotheby's (
NYSE: BID), Sprint Nextel (
NYSE: S), Station Casinos (
NYSE: STN), The Knot (
NASDAQ: KNOT), Toll Brothers (
NYSE: TOL), Turkcell (
NYSE: TKC), ViaSat (
NASDAQ: VSAT), Vital Signs (
NASDAQ: VITL), Westar Energy (
NYSE: WR), Xenos Group (
Toronto: XNS.TO), XOMA (
NASDAQ: XOMA) and others.
Thursday starts with the Weekly Initial Jobless Claims Report. The measure has hovered close to 300,000 lately, or just a bit higher. However, we continue to expect jobless claims to rise only after the monthly Employment Situation Report reflects meaningful weakness in the labor market. Before businesses start firing, they stop hiring, plain and simply. Therefore, Friday's report may have ominously forecast a coming change in the trend for the weekly new benefits filings. We think so. We expect housing construction to begin to better reflect the realities of the situation. We suspect the data has been fogged by the employment and firing of many
illegals by industry participants. We also expect more financial market, retail and consumer oriented businesses to increase layoffs in coming months.
Retailers report chain store sales on Thursday, and recent data indicates mall traffic is down. For the most part, the weekly sales data from the ICSC has not been positive either. Retailers might provide some bad news on Thursday that could sour the taste the Fed serves up. Also notable, Thursday marks the deadline for companies to file their 10Qs with the SEC, so problematic news not presented in corporations' preliminary press releases could surface as a result.
The EIA reports its weekly natural gas inventory on Thursday at 10:30. Markets in Singapore are closed, while Thursday's American earnings reports include 1-800 Contacts (
NASDAQ: CTAC), 4 Kids Entertainment (
NYSE: KDE), Air Methods (
NASDAQ: AIRM), American States Water (
NYSE: AWR), American Superconductor (
NASDAQ: AMSC), AXA ADS (
NYSE: AXA), BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (
NASDAQ: BCRX), Black Hills (
NYSE: BKH), Briggs & Stratton (
NYSE: BGG), Brinker International (
NYSE: EAT), Brooks Automation (
NASDAQ: BRKS), California Pizza Kitchen (
NASDAQ: CPKI), Cardinal Health (
NYSE: CAH), Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling (
NYSE: CCH), Consolidated Water (
NASDAQ: CWCO), Cosi Inc. (
NASDAQ: COSI), Deutsche Telekom (
NYSE: DT), Dionex (
NASDAQ: DNEX), Dot Hill Systems (
NASDAQ: HILL), Dynegy (
NYSE: DYN), First Marblehead (
NYSE: FMD), Goldcorp (
NYSE: GG), Healthsouth (
NYSE: HLS), Hillenbrand Industries (
NYSE: HB), Holly Corp. (
NYSE: HOC), Luminent Mortgage Capital (
NYSE: LUM), Magna Int'l (
NYSE: MGA), NorthStar Realty Finance (
NYSE: NRF), NVDIA (
NASDAQ: NVDA), Quixote (
NASDAQ: QUIX), Ready Mix (
AMEX: RMX), Speedway Motorsports (
NYSE: TRK), Steak 'n Shake (
NYSE: SNS), Superior Industries (
NYSE: SUP), Syntroleum (
NASDAQ: SYNM), TLC Vision (
NASDAQ: TLCV), Universal Display (
NASDAQ: PANL), Vonage (
NYSE: VG), Wild Oats Markets (
NASDAQ: OATS) and a few others.
Friday will likely factor this week, as three economic news bits come to the fore. July import prices are set for report at 8:30. According to Barron's, Lehman Brothers anticipates a 1.0% rise due to higher petroleum prices. Excluding the impact, Lehman sees prices flat. The RBC Cash Index is due at 9:00 a.m. This is important, as the index measures consumer attitudes and spending. It considers the consumers' view on the economy, personal finance, savings and investment confidence. The metric has been on a general declining trend, reaching bottom just last month when it measured 76.1. Finally, the Federal Budget for July is set for report at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Consensus sees a deficit of $35 billion, according to Bloomberg.
Friday's earnings reports include Aircastle LTD (
NYSE: AYR), Allianz SE (
NYSE: AZ), Carrols Restaurant Group (
NASDAQ: TAST), CryptoLogic (
NASDAQ: CRYP), Dominion Homes (
NASDAQ: DHOM), Hugoton Royalty Trust (
NYSE: HGT), Hydrogenics (
NASDAQ: HYGS), Maine & Maritimes (
AMEX: MAM), North Pointe Holdings (
NASDAQ: NPTE), Novavax (
NASDAQ: NVAX), Sunrise Senior Living (
NYSE: SRZ), United Industrial (
NYSE: UIC), York Water (
NASDAQ: YORW) and more. We hope this edition of our weekly market-moving event planner has proved useful to you.
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