Its Wednesday May 10, 2006, and the metals mania continues as worry over the weakening dollar grows. Gold hit a level that it has not been in over 26 years, it reached the $700 mark and moving upward on the road to $800 an ounce. Now do not discount the other metals as Silver is working its way to the $20 mark as it is closing in on the $15 number. Other metals making historic movement include Copper, Aluminum, Zinc, Platinum, Palladium and the rest of the spectrum. Some analyst feel that since crude oil is making its way to the $80 a barrel mark that Gold is just catching up and could reach the $1,000 mark or better. Now its anyones guess if it would go that high but with China looking to ramp up their gold bullion reserves to the tune of double or triple, $1,000 or better may not be such a stretch. Now for those of you that didnt get wind of the raid in Spain and the collapse of Escala Group (NASDAQ: ESCL) lets just give you an update, the stock crumbled yesterday when word got out that the government raided the offices of Escala due to stamp investing fraud. The stock closed down $19.77 to close at $12.23 and falling, the only thing that saved it from going into the single digits was the closing bell, but there is always an opening bell. I bet that the powers that be at Escala wished that this happened on a Friday instead of a Tuesday. Keep in mind that the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke will be speaking today and they may announce one more hike to the 5% mark, actually its expected that this will happen. So keep a close on banks stocks such as Citigroup (NYSE: C), J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) for opportunities if the stocks should pull back after the announcement today as we explained on Wall Street to Main Street yesterday. The NAMC Newswires Wall Street to Main Street segment in its entirety is only available to subscribers. Dont miss out and Keep in mind that all subscriptions are free and will remain that way. All that you need to do is go to www.namcnewswire.com and add your email address to receive the full segments. We value your privacy and all email addresses are only used for NAMC related items and not shared with any third parties. We want to hear from our readers/listeners, so drop us a line, maybe you have a question about a certain company or perhaps you want to introduce us to a company that we should know about.. All that you need to do is either shoot us out an email using our contact form on our website at www.namcnewswire.com or give us a call toll free at 888-463-9237 between the hours of 6:30pm and 12am EST weekdays. Your question could be a part of the Wall Street to Main Street radio show that is syndicated daily. Remember that you can always listen to the NAMC Radio on Streetiq.com, the leader in financial podcast. www.streetiq.com and is also available on iTunes. For a listing of our Furious Five picks go to www.namcnewswire.com. To get them sent to you daily ahead of the Wall Street to Main Street radio show just signup at our website, its fast and its FREE. Political Front Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his national address yesterday but he did not touch on the comments made by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney, but this comes as no surprise as Putin traditionally only speaks about domestic issues but make no mistake he has not forgotten the comments. This may cost Cheneys little Halliburton (NYSE: HAL) potential business in the region as Russia is looking to build several pipelines in the near future. An unlikely nation has stepped up to try and ease tensions in Iran, Indonesias President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said that they would mediate in International talks to ease the tension over Irans nuclear aspirations. U.S. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld said that he supports the nomination of a military general as the head of the CIA but some critics see this as the pentagon extending their reach. After the big delay that former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Burlesconi caused following the elections in Italy finally the incoming Prime Minister Romano Prodi can get to work. He said that his centre-left coalition aimed to elect Italy's first former communist as president and be asked to form a government next week. Movers and Shakers Some major movers in yesterdays trading session included OM Group (NYSE: OMG) which traded up $4.30 to close at $33.90, RTI International Metals (NYSE: RTI) which traded up $8.82 to close at $70.42, Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE: CMG) which traded up $7.78 to close at $67.05, they posted great numbers and though we initially had our doubts about the company no one can dispute their recent success, FMC Technologies (NYSE: FTI) which traded up $7.23 to close at $66.92, BlackBoard (NASDAQ: BBBB) which closed up $5.34 to close at $33.42. Hansen Natural Corp (NASDAQ: HANS) which surged up $24.59 to close at $176.24, just one year ago the stock was trading under $30 a share and well be featuring the next Hansen in a special Investors Corner segment later today, General Motors (NYSE: GM) which traded up $2.25 to close at $25.80 on its way to $30 a the companys restructuring plan includes them reviving the American Icon and bringing back to its former glory, Empire Resources (AMEX: ERS) traded up $6.72 to close at $41.74, and the last for today is Arena Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARNA) which traded up $1.96 to close at $15.18. Analyst Upgrades/Downgrades Recent Analyst upgrades include Equity Lifestyle Properties (NYSE: ELS) which was upgraded to a Buy from a Hold by A.G. Edwards, SanDisk Corp (NASDAQ: SNDK) was upgraded to a Buy from a Hold by WR Hambrecht, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) was upgraded to an Outperfrom from a Neutral by Cowen & Co, Westlake Chemicals (NYSE: WLK) was upgraded to an Outperfrom from a Neutral by Credit Suisse and Advanc Auto Parts (NYSE: AAP) was upgraded to an Outperform from a Neutral by Credit Suisse. Recent Analyst downgrades include BlackBaud (NASDAQ: BLKB) was downgraded to a Hold from a Buy by WR Hambrecht, Golden West Financial (NYSE: GDW) was downgraded to a Neutral from a Buy by FTN Midwest Research, Usi Holdings (NASDAQ: USIH) was downgraded to a Neutral from a Buy by SunTrust, Robinson, Humphrey, IndyMac Bancrop (NYSE: NDE) was downgraded to a Sell from a Neutral by Banc of America Securities, and Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) receives a downgrade from Robert W. Baird to a Neutral from an Outperform. Analyst Coverage Initiations include The Interpublic Group of Companies (NYSE: IPG) was initiated with a Buy rating and price target of $12 by Banc of America Securities, sticking to the advertising industry Banc of America Securities also initiated Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) with a Buy rating and a price target of $98, Somanetics (NASDAQ: SMTS) was initiated with a Hold rating and a $23 price target by Citigroup Investment Research and China Grentech Corp (NASDAQ: GRRF) was initiated with an Outperfom and a price target of $19.80 by Bear Stearns. Tid Bits After the NYSE (NYSE: NYX) went public no one anticipated that this would create a trend but it looks like the sidekick to the American Stock Exchange, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange is looking to go public and they actually forecast that the Philadelphia Exchange Floor itself will not exist in the next two years. At this years E3 Sony (NYSE: SNE) made some strong statements saying that the next generation of video games do not start until they say so while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) stated they that are ahead of Sony in releases their Xbox consoles and will gain additional market share with the help of Japanese video game makers prior to the launch of the PS3. But the price of the PS3 could top $400 and Microsoft says that is an advantage for the Xbox, but both companies need to keep an eye out for Nintendo as they intend on releasing a comparable model at a cheaper price, so this would force for lower numbers on the PS3 and Xbox, possibly. Verizon (NYSE: VZ) may be shopping around their telephone line business as Voip is taking market share away from traditional phone companies. This may fetch over $8 billion that Verizon could use to get ahead of Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA). Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO) is looking to take advantage of the growing Hispanic market as they are close to merging the Spanish language Yahoo site with Telemundos web site. This could be a strategic move for Yahoo to gain market share in that area, there may be similar deals like this made in the future in other languages. Altera (NASDAQ: ALTR) makes a move to avoid them joining the Power Integrations (NASDAQ: POWI), United Healthj (NYSE:UNH), Vitesse (NASDAQ: VTSS) and Comverse Technology (NASDAQ: CMVT) club just yet. The board of Altera has demanded an independent probe into historical stock options practices by the company. So well see if this proactive move pays off for Altera. In the Spotlight In the spotlight today is a company that has felt the pain for some time, so let us give you out take on Elan (NYSE: ELN). For our outlook, and other vital information on the companies that we feature on "In The Spotlight" on Wall Street to Main Street just subscribe for FREE at www.namcnewswire.com FURIOUS FIVE This is the Second of our Furious Five companies that we see excelling in their industry in 2006. The second addition to this weeks Furious Five is Radyne Corp (NASDAQ: RADN) it trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol RADN. For our outlook, and other vital information on the companies that we feature as the "FURIOUS FIVE" on Wall Street to Main Street just subscribe for FREE at www.namcnewswire.com We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, its only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up. NAMC Newswire Note Go to the NAMC Newswire for updates at www.namcnewswire.com and you can listen to the NAMC Radio for the audio version of Wall Street to Main Street at www.namcnewswire.com/namcradio To register to receive the Wall Street to Main Street Free Daily Newsletter Click Here or go to our site and click on the Newsletter section. www.namcnewswire.com/newsletter CEOs that want to contact us can do so by going to www.namcnewswire.com or call us at 888-463-9237. Louis Victor
NAMC Newswire
888-463-9237 Disclaimer: None of the information contained on the NAMC Newswire constitutes a recommendation by the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, nor its parent company that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific investors or person. Each individual investor must make their own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio Any past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The NAMC Newswire, its journalist nor its parent company does not guarantee any specific outcome or profit, and all investors should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments featured on the NAMC Newswire or the NAMC Radio. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and investors may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information featured on the NAMC Newswire website or the NAMC Radio segment, investors should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from their own financial or investment adviser. Investors are also urged to do their own due diligence before investing in any security. All opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio are based upon information that is considered to be reliable, but neither the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, its parent company, affiliates nor assigns warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. The statements and opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire by its journalist are based on their outlook at the time of the statement or opinion, and are subject to change without notice. NAMC may at times hold a position in the companies that it features, in these cases appropriate disclosure is made. |
