| Railroaded by Burlington Northern Santa Fe Markos Kaminis (Wall St. Greek) submits: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines “railroad” as “to convict with undue haste and by means of false charges or insufficient evidence.” The definition seems to fit snugly around what happened on Wall Street Friday, while also offering an interesting play on words. Based on popular press reports, investors convicted the market on the earnings data and forecast warnings of a couple key railroad companies. Specifically speaking, Friday’s downturn was placed squarely on the engine car of Burlington Northern Sante Fe (BNI). Railroad companies and other shippers of goods, including truckers like J.B. Hunt Transport Services (JBHT) and shipping companies like DryShips Inc. (DRYS), are considered barometers of the economic lifecycle. After all, if manufacturers and distributors are moving product, it is going to be visible in the results of the shippers.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Grid-Enabled Vehicles Are Not Ready for Prime Time John Petersen submits:By John PetersenOn December 14th the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences issued a new report sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy titled "Transitions to Alternative Transportation Technologies – Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles." The press release headline announcing the report proclaims, "Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle Costs Likely to Remain High, Benefits Modest for Decades."Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
ArvinMeritor: Facing a Range-Bound Trade optionMONSTER submits: By David RussellArvinMeritor (ARM) is up more than 1,000% in the last year, and now one investor thinks it's at the end of the road. optionMONSTER's tracking systems detected the sale of about 7,500 May 15 puts for about $1.80 and a similar number of May 15 calls for $0.70, resulting in a credit of about $2.50. Volume was more than 18 times open interest in both strikes.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Moody’s Upgrades Global Auto Industry to Positive From Stable on Higher Sales Forecast Research Recap submits: Moody’s Investors Service has raised its outlook for the global automotive industry to positive from stable. Today’s change in the industry-wide outlook was prompted by Moody’s view that trends in volumes, demand and prices in the auto industry have recovered faster than the rating agency had anticipated earlier in the year. “Indeed, volumes in China and Brazil in particular have improved, and western Europe is holding up better than expected so far,” says Falk Frey, Senior Vice President in Moody’s Corporate Finance Group. “Moreover, the US is on track toward recovery and Japan continues to benefit from incentives,” Mr. Frey adds.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Bombardier: Q2 Profits Drop on Lower Deliveries of Business Aircraft The world`s third largest commercial plane maker Bombardier (BDRAF.PK) [TSX: BBD.A, TSX: BBD.B] saw a 27% decline in its second quarter fiscal 2011 profits, as it reported net income of $148 million, compared with $ 202 million for the same period last year, largely due to poor performance of its aerospace segment.The company`s other financial results suffered as well, as consolidated revenues dropped to $4.1 billion for the quarter versus $ 4.9 billion last year, while EBITDA fell by 24% to $331 million. Diluted earnings per share were also $0.08, compared to $0.11 a year earlier.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |