Latest News In Stock Markets Investment Research – Jan 09, 2009

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UBS closing offshore accounts of U.S. customers: report

9 Jan 2009 at 5:44am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swiss banking group UBS is closing the offshore accounts of U.S. customers and offering to transfer the assets to other banks or another division within UBS, potentially creating a paper-trail for prosecutors who are investigating alleged tax evasion, the New York Times reported Friday. The bank is closing around 19,000 accounts that prosecutors suspect may not have been declared to tax authorities in the U.S., the newspaper reported. Prosecutors involved in the long-running probe believe U.S. customers may have hidden around $18 billion in undeclared UBS accounts, the report added.

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Agco cut to neutral by J.P. Morgan on South America risks

9 Jan 2009 at 5:35am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — J.P. Morgan cut Agco to neutral from overweight, as part of a broader note on the sector in which it expects agricultural machinery equipment sales to drop about 5% in 2009. The downgrade on Agco is on mounting risks in South America.

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J.P. Morgan ups Chevron, cuts Marathon in oil note

9 Jan 2009 at 5:32am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Chevron was upgraded to overweight from neutral while Marathon Oil was cut to neutral from overweight as J.P. Morgan said integrated oil firms’ 2009 outlook hinges on oil price and cash management. The broker sees better relative value in Chevron, given higher returns, stronger balance sheet, lower capital intensity, lower downstream exposure and propensity for more positive news flow. “Cyclically speaking, we think this is a good time to be buying integrateds and therefore reiterate our positive view on the group; however, we caution against chasing momentum and urge investors to be disciplined about entry points with respect to both stock selection and price levels,” the broker said.

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Toyota heir Akio Toyoda reportedly to take top job in June

9 Jan 2009 at 5:29am

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Toyota Motor Corp. plans to promote the great-grandson of the auto giant’s founder to lead the company in June, according to various Japanese media reports Friday, citing people close to the matter. The long-rumored move to make Akio Toyoda president of one of the world’s largest corporations would mark the first time in 14 years that a Toyoda family member has run Toyota. Current President Katsuaki Watanabe will become vice chairman and Chairman Fujio Cho will retain his post, with the reshuffle to be formalized after a shareholders’ meeting in June, Kyodo News reported. The 52-year-old Toyoda — an executive vice president with the company since 2005 — is a great-grandson of Sakichi Toyoda, who founded the Toyota in 1937.

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Goldman keeps attractive rating on defense stocks

9 Jan 2009 at 5:02am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Goldman Sachs said it’s maintaining an attractive view of the defense sector, saying President-elect Obama’s national security and budget appointments indicate he may take a more centrist approach than the broker had initially expected, Senate Democrats didn’t achieve a filibuster-proof majority and unemployment has risen, making it unlikely the new administration will cut programs and jobs. It’s upgrading Raytheon to buy from neutral on the view investors should be positioned purely in defense while cutting General Dynamics to neutral from buy on aerospace exposure.

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Becton Dickinson upped to overweight by Morgan Stanley

9 Jan 2009 at 4:56am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Becton Dickinson was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight by Morgan Stanley, with the broker citing stable end-user markets, significant profit and loss leverage and above-average earnings growth, continued return of cash to shareholders and lack of exposure to potential changes in healthcare legislation.

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R.R. Donnelley lowers FY2008 adjusted earnings view

9 Jan 2009 at 4:44am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — R.R. Donnnelley & Sons Co. , a provider of print products and services, cut its 2008 adjusted earnings guidance to the range of $2.80 to $2.90 a share, compared to an earlier forecast of $3.08 to $3.11 a share. The new guidance is based in expected revenue for the year of $11.5 billion. R.R. Donnelley sees fourth-quarter adjusted earnings at 51 cents to 61 cents a share and revenue of roughly $2.7 billion. The company said it plans to continue to pay the present quarterly dividend of 26 cents a share. It also cautioned investors that because of the uncertainty in the global economic climate, it doesn’t plan to provide earnings guidance for 2009 at its Feb. 25 conference call.

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Greenbrier Cos. swing to $3.3 mln. first-quarter loss

9 Jan 2009 at 4:35am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Rail transportation equipment maker The Greenbrier Cos. on Friday said it swung to a first-quarter net loss of $3.3 million, or 20 cents a share, compared to net earnings of $2.6 million, or 16 cents a share, in the same period of the previous year. First-quarter results included a 4-cent, non-cash charge for “interest and foreign-exchange expense.” Consensus expectations were for earnings of 15 cents a share, according to a survey of seven analysts by FactSet Research. The company said first-quarter revenues were $256 million, down $30 million from the first quarter of the previous year. Greenbrier CFO Mark Rittenbaum said the company has sufficient liquidity to meet business needs and little exposure to near-term debt rollovers. The Lake Oswego, Ore.-based company also said it would pay a quarterly cash dividend of 4 cents a share.

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Home Inns sees quarterly revenue at low end of guidance

9 Jan 2009 at 4:32am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Chinese hotel chain Home Inns & Hotels Management Inc. on Friday warned that the global economic downturn had led to reduced business travel activities in China and a contraction in revenue per available room in the fourth quarter. RevPar fell 9% in that quarter and comparable RevPar dropped 0.9% compared to the same period a year earlier. As a result, the company now expects fourth-quarter revenue at the lower end of its previously forecast range of 535 million yuan ($78 million) to 555 million yuan.

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Dell: Cannon to get $10 million severance

9 Jan 2009 at 4:28am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Dell Inc. said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that Michael Cannon, who will leave as president of global operations at the end of the month, will receive a $10 million cash severance payment, with $5 million paid on or before Feb. 20. In addition, Cannon will receive a $1.5 million consulting fee. Mark Jarvis, who’s leaving his role as chief marketing officer, will receive 12 months base salary and a target bonus.

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Integra Lifesciences warns on dollar rise, hospital spending

9 Jan 2009 at 4:23am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Integra LifeSciences said 2008 and 2009 earnings and revenue will be below previous guidance. Revenue in 2008 is seen between $654 million and $655 million, or 1% below prior guidance. Earnings per share and adjusted earnings per share will be lower than previous guidance, which the company blamed on a rapid strengthening of the U.S. dollar and a contraction in hospital capital spending. It now seens 2009 revenue between $720 million and $740 million, against a prior view of $735 million to $755 million. Adjusted earnings per share are seen between $2.20 and $2.40 a share, compared to $2.35 to $2.55 it previously saw.

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Icon cuts revenue forecast due to currency moves

9 Jan 2009 at 4:19am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Pharmaceutical services group Icon said that it’s expecting 2008 revenue in a range of $862 million to $865 million. The forecast is lower than previous guidance due to currency changes, the firm said. Analysts had been expecting average revenue of $870.75 million, according to data compiled by FactSet. For 2009, net revenue is expected in a range of $930 million to $980 million. Analysts had been expecting average revenue of $1.0 billion. Net income for 2008 is expected in a range of $1.27 to $1.29. Analysts had been expecting on average earnings of $1.28 a share. For 2009, net income per share is expected in a range of $1.40 to $1.52. Analysts had been expecting average earnings of $1.58 for the year according to FactSet.

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LSE: Average traded value slumped 49% in December

9 Jan 2009 at 4:16am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The London Stock Exchange Group , which runs both the LSE and Borsa Italiana, said the average daily value traded dropped 49% in December to 5.6 billion pounds, while the average daily number of trades dropped 10%. During 2008, the average daily number of trades grew 24%, though value traded fell 11% to 2.9 trillion pounds.

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Colfax unveils 2009 guidance and preliminary 2008 figures

9 Jan 2009 at 4:15am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Colfax Corp. , a provider of engineered fluid handling products and systems, said it expects fiscal 2009 earnings to be in the range of 80 cents to 87 cents a share and adjusted net earnings of between $1.10 and $1.17 a share, excluding the impact of asbestos-related items. The company sees organic sales growth excluding the impact of exchange-rate fluctuations and acquisitions, in the range of 1% to 3%. Colfax sees 2008 sales at roughly $605 million, up 19%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Gazprom says will allow multilateral group to monitor gas

9 Jan 2009 at 4:12am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — The chief executive officer of Russian gas giant Gazprom, Alexey Miller, on Friday said the company will allow observers to monitor natural gas transit through Ukraine, if a multilateral commission is set up. “In case the multi-lateral commission is set up to monitor natural gas transit through Ukraine, Gazprom will certainly let the Commission observers be operational at the gas metering stations located in Russia along the border with Ukraine,” Miller said in a statement on the company’s website. Late Thursday, following talks in Brussels, Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed to monitoring gas shipments. The Associated Press reported Friday that Ukraine will now allow Russian experts, a sticking point that was holding up the flow of gas. European monitors were reportedly arriving in Kiev to tour gas pumping stations together with Russian experts.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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January 09 2009 05:02 am | Stock Market News

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