February 7, 2011
Good morning. The biggest show on television, Super Bowl XLV, survived the Texas ice storm, and the Steelers and new World Champion Packers put on a great show. I thought the commercials were a complete disappointment, and that Christina Aguilera’s performance was epic, right up to the point where she skipped a line. The half-time show was fabulous.
Equities are getting a bid to open the week after Ford announced plans to add an additional shift to meet increasing demand for new autos. Morgan Stanley upgraded Proctor & Gamble this morning, citing upcoming easy comps after 2+ years of negative growth. Oil is backing off slightly this morning as tensions in Egypt and emerging market growth both appear to be easing. The US bond market continues to fade as the 10 year approaches 3.7%, the highest level since April.
More US companies are exceeding sales forecasts than at any time in the past four years. Over 70% of companies have exceeded sales estimates this quarter, exceeding by an average of 2.2%. Earnings have exceeded estimates for the past seven quarters, but sales have trailed over the past three years. Street estimates are expect revenues for the S&P 500 to increase by 7.5%, the best since 2007 after a 13% decline from Nov ’08 to Oct ’09.
Bloomberg is reporting that last month was the worst January for precious metal prices in over 20 years. Despite that pull back, bullish bets on gold via ETF products still exceed 2.1 metric tons, worth $88 billion, a reduction of 4.1% since the beginning of the year.
Nasdaq OMX acknowledged that their system had been breached by hackers, but insist that no trades were impacted. Both the FBI and the Justice Department are investigating the breach.
AOL announced plans to buy Huffington Post for $300 million in an effort to stimulate their moribund online presence.
Showing an incredible lack of tact in criticizing those who saved the company, Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Chrysler and Fiat should eventually be combined, but “I want to pack back the shyster loans first.” Wow!
APAC markets were mixed last night, with the Nikkei rising 0.5% but the Hang Seng falling 1.5%. Markets in China, Taiwan and Vietnam are still closed for the Lunar New Year. European markets are up today.
Have a great day
Ned
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The Author
- Ned Brines
- Ned presently manages money for Andell Inc, the family office of one of North America’s dynastic families. He also is the founder and CIO of Montelena Asset Management, a California based RIA. Prior to founding MAM, Ned was the manager of the Provident Investment Counsel Small Cap fund. He began his money management career in 1994 at Roger Engemann & Associates where he managed the Aggressive Growth Fund, Focus Growth Fund, and Private Client business. Before entering money management, Ned spent six years as an investment banker, focusing on mergers and acquisitions and corporate restructuring. He has an MBA from the University of Southern California, a BS in Physiology from San Diego State University, and has achieved the Chartered Financial Analyst designation. He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a national honor society, and Beta Theta Pi. He is a frequent speaker and lecturer in the financial community, serves on numerous non-profit boards, and has extensive media experience in television, print and radio. He presently lives in California with his wife and three children.
Recent Speaking Engagment
I will be speaking at the Crossroads Lecture Series March 11, 2011 in Orcas Island, WA. Click here to view a link to the lecture series: http://orcascrossroads.org/
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