Financial Tides -- A Stock Market Investing Newsletter by Jim Van Meerten: 2012-08-26

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Today I sorted the Barchart New High list to find the 3 with the most frequent new highs and found Adcare Health Systems (ADK), Linktone (LTON) and Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI)

Adcare Health Systems (ADK)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
19 new highs and up 30.56% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 77.15%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 4.39
Recently traded at 4.70 with a 50 day moving average of 3.89

Linktone (LTON)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
18 new highs and up 62.67% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 87.96%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 2.32
Recently traded at 2.44 with a 50 day moving average of 1.66

Altair Nanotechnologies (ALTI)

Barchart technical indicators:

72% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
17 new highs and up 68.09% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 81.13%
Barchart computes a technical support level at .67
Recently traded at .79 with a 50 day moving average at .51

Gartner - IT - Barchart Chart of the Day

Barchart.coms Chart of the Day - Gartner (IT)

Barchart Research Team - BC - Wed Aug 29, 4:43PM CDT

The "Chart of the Day" is Gartner (IT), which showed up on Wednesday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. Gartner on Wednesday posted a new all-time high of $49.97 and closed up +0.44%. TrendSpotter has been long since Aug 3 at $46.84. In recent news on the stock, Piper Jaffray on Aug 6 reiterated its Overweight rating and raised its target to $55 from $50. Piper Jaffray said that Gartner continues to be one of its favorite mid-cap growth stories following Gartner's Q2 results. Gartner on Aug 3 reported Q2 EPS of 45 cents, above the consensus of 41 cents. The company said it expects to continue to deliver double-digit growth in the second half of 2013. Gartner, with a market cap of $4.5 billion, is a research and advisory firm that helps clients understand technology and drive business growth.

it_700_02

How we found the Chart of the Day:
We found the "Chart of the Day" by scanning the Barchart "All Time High" list. In order to get to that list, we first clicked on the Stocks menu item on the Barchart home page, then on the "All Time Highs" menu item on the left menu bar. We then sorted the list by percentage gainers by clicking on the "Percent" column title. A stock that has posted a new All-Time high is typically showing strong upside momentum.
The status of Barchart's Opinion trading systems are listed below. Please note that the Barchart Opinion indicators are updated live during the session every 10 minutes and can therefore change during the day as the market fluctuates. The indicator numbers shown below therefore may not match what you see live on the Barchart.com web site when you read this report.

TrendSpotter: Buy
Short-Term Indicators: 80% Buy
Medium-Term Indicators: 100% Buy
Long-Term Indicators: 100% Buy
Overall Average 96% Buy

Barchart links for further information:

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Income Statement-Quarterly
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Wednesday, August 29, 2012

3 NASDAQ 100 Nuggets

This morning I used Barchart to screen the NASDAQ 100 Stock Index to find 3 with great technicals and found Whole Foods Market (WFM), Express Scripts (ESRX) and Directv (DTV)

Whole Foods Market (WFM)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50m and 100 day moving average
8 new highs and up 4.58% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 59.21%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 95.68
Recently traded at 96.79 with a 50 day moving average of 93.75

Express Scripts (ESRX)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
3 new highs and up 6.85% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 65.05%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 61.03
Recently traded at 61.92 with a 50 day moving average of 57.42

Directv (DTV)

Barchart technical indicators:

96% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving average
8 new highs and up 64.86% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 64.86%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 52.03
Recently traded at 52.31 with a 50 day moving average of 49.40

Barchart Morning Call 8/29

Barchart Morning Call

BC - 47 mins ago

Overnight Developments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading unchanged today, shaking off a 0.53% sell-off in European stocks. Commodity prices are mildly higher by +0.15% on average with Oct crude oil down -0.69%, gold down -0.26%, copper down -0.79%, but with grains and softs trading higher. Sep 10-year T-notes are down 1 tick. The dollar index is slightly higher by +0.06% while EUR/USD is down -0.08%. The markets are generally quiet, awaiting Fed Chairman Bernanke's Jackson Hole speech on Friday.
Asian stocks today closed mostly lower: Japan +0.40%, Hong Kong -0.12%, China -1.05%, Taiwan +0.40%, Australia -0.07%, Singapore +0.05%, South Korea +0.65%, India -0.80%, Turkey +0.14%.
Hurricane Isaac is slowly making its way onshore and is currently 60 miles south-southwest of New Orleans. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 80 mpg and is a Category 1 hurricane. The storm has caused heavy rains and an 11 foot storm surge. The storm has shut down 93% of U.S. oil production in the Gulf of Mexico and 67% of natural gas production. The storm has caused six refineries to close and three to run at reduced operation rates, idling 6.7% of U.S. refining capacity.
Italian Prime Minister Monti meets today in Berlin with German Chancellor Merkel to discuss the European debt crisis and the plan to give Spain and Italy the option of participating in a plan where the ECB buys bonds in the secondary market and the Eurozone's bailout facilities buy bonds in the primary market. Neither Spain nor Italy has yet formally requested to participate in the program. Italy today successfully sold 9 billion euros of 6-month bills today at a yield of 1.585%, down sharply from 2.454% at the last sale in July. Italy tomorrow intends to sell up to 7.5 billion of 5 and 10-year bonds.

ECB President Draghi wrote in a commentary carried today in the German newspaper Die Zeit that the ECB "will always act within the limits of its mandate. Yet it should be understood that fulfilling our mandate sometimes requires us to go beyond standard monetary tools." Mr. Draghi's comments provide a direct rebuttal to the recent opposition by Bundesbank President and ECB Council member Weidmann to the ECB's bond buying plan.
Market Comments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading unchanged, awaiting Fed Chairman Bernanke's speech on Friday at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference. The U.S. stock market on Tuesday closed slightly lower on balance: S&P 500 -0.08%, Dow Jones -0.17%, Nasdaq 100 +0.01%. Bearish factors included Japan's downgrade of its economy and the sharp 5.3 point drop to 60.6 in the Aug U.S. consumer confidence index from the Conference Board, which was much weaker than market expectations for a 0.1 point increase to 66.0. The 8 point rise in the Richmond Fed index was roughly in line with market expectations. The June Case-Shiller Composite-20 home price index rose +0.9%, which was stronger than market expectations of +0.5%.
Sep 10-year T-notes this morning are down 1 tick. Sep 10-year T-note futures prices on Tuesday closed mildly higher: TYU2 +4.5, FVU2 +1.25. T-note prices closed higher on the weak U.S. consumer confidence report, which increased the chances for QE3.
The dollar index this morning is slightly higher by +0.05 (+0.06%), while EUR/USD is down -0.0010 (-0.08%). USD/JPY is up +0.07 (+0.09%). EUR/USD received underlying support today from the successful Italian bill auction and ECB President Draghi's defense of the ECB's bond buying plans. The dollar index on Tuesday closed moderately lower: Dollar index -0.29 (-0.35%), EUR/USD +0.0066 (+0.53%), USD/JPY -0.23 (-0.29%). The dollar index fell on the sharp decline in the U.S. consumer confidence index, which boosted the chances for a dollar-bearish QE3 program since the U.S. economy is sure to stall unless consumer spending can recover on a sustained basis after weakness in April through June.
Oct WTI crude oil prices this morning are down -0.66 (-0.69%) and Oct gasoline is down -0.0375 (-1.28%) as the market drains some of the storm premium out of crude oil and gasoline prices now that the impact of Hurricane Isaac is now largely known. Oct crude oil and gasoline prices on Tuesday closed mixed: CLV2 +0.86 (+0.90%), RBU2 -0.0167 (-0.57%). The market continues to adjust to the anticipated disruptions from Hurricane Isaac, which has shut down the majority of oil and gas production in the Gulf of Mexico and has also forced the closure of some U.S. refineries. The market consensus for today's weekly DOE report are for a 2 million barrel decline in oil inventories, a 1.4 million barrel decline in gasoline inventories, a 400,000 barrel climb in distillate inventories, and a 0.3 point drop to 90.9% in the refinery utilization rate.

For the complete subscription version of this daily report (plus a 13-page big-picture weekly report), along with the earliest possible delivery in the morning, please visit http://www.barchart.com/register/crbfms_usmc.php
Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (ranked by market cap): HNZ-Heinz (Consensus $0.81), BF/B-Brown-Forman (0.63), JOY-Joy Global (1.89), TFM-Fresh Market (0.27), GEF-Greif (0.71), GCO-Genesco (0.26), P-Pandora Media (-0.03).
Global Financial Calendar

Wednesday 8/29/12
United States
0700 ET	Weekly MBA mortgage applications, previous -7.4 with purchase sub-index +0.9% and refi sub-index -9.2%.
0830 ET	Revised Q2 US GDP expected +1.7% q/q annualized, preliminary +1.5%. Q2 personal consumption expected +1.6%. preliminary +1.5%. Q2 GDP price index expected unrevised from preliminary +1.6%. Q2 core PCE expected unrevised from preliminary +1.8%.
1000 ET	July pending home sales expected +1.0% m/m and +9.9% y/y, June -1.4% m/m and +8.4% y/y.
1030 ET	DOE Weekly Petroleum Status Report.
1300 ET	Treasury auctions $35 billion 5-year T-notes.
1400 ET	Fed's Beige Book report.
Germany
0800 ET	German Aug CPI EU-harmonized expected +0.2% m/m and +2.1% y/y, July +0.4% m/m and +1.9% y/y.
Japan
1950 ET	Japan July retail trade expected -0.5% m/m and -0.1% y/y, June -1.2% m/m and +0.2% y/y. Japan July large retailer sales expected -3.2% y/y, June -2.6% y/y.

Barchart.com provides Financial Quotes, Charts and Technical Analysis for Stock and Commodity Traders.

ANSYS - ANSS - Barchart Chart of the Day

Barchart.coms Chart of the Day - ANSYS (ANSS)

Barchart Research Team - BC - Tue Aug 28, 5:46PM CDT

The "Chart of the Day" is ANSYS (ANSS), which showed up on Tuesday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. ANSYS on Tuesday posted a new all-time high of $69.66 and closed +2.27%. TrendSpotter has been long since Aug 3 at $67.71. In recent news on the stock, RW Baird on Aug 3 upgraded ANSYS to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $76 from $64, citing solid Q2 results. ANSYS on Aug 2 reported Q2 adjusted EPS of 72 cents, above the consensus of 66 cents. ANSYS (ANSS), with a market cap of $6 billion, develops and sells engineering simulation software and technologies widely used by engineers and designers across a broad spectrum of industries.

anss_700_01

TrendSpotter: Buy
Short-Term Indicators: 80% Buy
Medium-Term Indicators: 75% Buy
Long-Term Indicators: 33% Buy
Overall Average 72% Buy

Chart of the Day Archive
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Tuesday, August 28, 2012

3 Small Cap Wonders

I used Barchart to screen the S&P 600 Small Cap Index to find 3 with great technical indicators and found United Natural Foods (UNFI), Pennsylvania Real Estate Investments (PEI) and The Hain Celestial Group (HAIN):

United Natural Foods (UNFI)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving average
7 new highs and up 2.91% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 62.00%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 54.58
Recently traded at 56.34 with a 50 day moving average of 54.11

Pennsylvania Real Estate Investments (PEI)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
17 new highs and up 10.40% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 68.01%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 15.36
Recently traded at 15.82 with a 50 day moving average of 14.77

The Hain Celestial Group (HAIN)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
3 new highs and up 22.02% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 81.44%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 68.19
Recently traded at 70.14 with a 50 day moving average of 56.03

Barchart Morning Call 8/28

Barchart Morning Call

BC - 2 hrs 28 mins ago

Overnight Developments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading unchanged while commodity prices are trading mildly lower on balance. The main bearish factor overnight was Japan's downgrade of its economy while the main bullish factor was successful Spanish and Italian bill and bond auctions. European stocks are down -0.49%. Isaac is moving slowly and has yet to turn into a hurricane. Oct crude oil prices this morning are up +0.49% while Oct gasoline is down -0.34%. Sep 10-year T-note prices are up 3 ticks. The dollar index is down -0.20% while EUR/USD is up +0.34%.
Asian stocks today closed mixed: Japan -0.57%, Hong Kong +0.07%, China +0.46%, Taiwan -1.42%, Australia +0.36%, Singapore -0.15%, South Korea -0.08%, India -0.27%, Turkey +0.80%.
Spain today conducted a successful bill auction, selling 3.6 billion euros of bills that was above its target amount of 3.5 billion euros. The yield on the 3-month bills of 946% was far below the 2.434% that Spain was forced to pay just a month ago. The yield of 2.026% on the 6-month bills was down sharply from 3.691% at last month's auction. Meanwhile, Italy today sold 3.75 billion euros of zero-coupon and inflation-linked bonds. The 3.064% yield on the zero-coupon bonds was down sharply by almost 2 percentage points from the last auction a month ago. Looking ahead, Italy will sell 9 billion euros of 6-month bills on Wednesday and 7.5 billion euros worth of bonds on Thursday including a 10-year bond.
Tropical Storm Isaac is expected to reach hurricane force later today and make landfall south of New Orleans early tomorrow morning as a Category 1 hurricane, less than previous expectations of a Category 2 hurricane. The storm has halted 78% of oil production and 48% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico, according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. In addition, four refineries in Louisiana have so far closed, representing 4.8% of total U.S. refining capacity or 832,700 barrels per day.
ECB President Draghi canceled his trip to the Fed's Jackson Hole conference due to a heavy work load over the next week. Mr. Draghi had been scheduled to be on a panel on Saturday at the Jackson Hole conference. The ECB meets next Thursday on Sep 6 and is expected to announce its bond-buying program.
Firefighters are battling fires for a fourth day at Venezuela's largest refinery. The temporary shut-down of the Amuay refinery will further tighten up U.S. product supplies since that refinery exports refined products to the U.S.

Japan's Cabinet Office in its monthly report downgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in 10 months. The Cabinet Office said that risks include "further slowing down of overseas economies and sharp fluctuations in the financial and capital markets." The report said, "The Japanese economy is on the way to recovery at a moderate pace, partly due to reconstruction demand, while some weak movements are seen recently."
Market Comments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading unchanged. The U.S. stock market continues to tread water ahead of this week's full slate of economic reports and Friday's Bernanke speece at Jackson Hole. The U.S. stock market on Monday closed mixed: S&P 500 -0.05%, Dow Jones -0.25%, Nasdaq 100 +0.16%. The Nasdaq 100 index closed higher with help from the 1.9% rally in Apple on its $1 billion patent victory over Samsung and its improved competitive position with the victory relative to Google and other players in the technology space. The S&P 500 index and the Dow were weighed down by the weak Chinese July industrial profit report of -5.4% y/y, the weaker-than-expected German August IFO business climate index of -1.0 point to a 2-1/2 year low of 102.3, and continued worries about global economic growth. Supportive factors for stocks included Chicago Fed President Evans' call for an open-ended QE3 program that buys bonds until unemployment falls for two or three quarters, and the call by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for additional growth measures to underpin the Chinese economy in Q3.
Sep 10-year T-notes this morning are up 3 ticks as the market continues to hope for Bernanke hints on QE3 on Friday. Sep 10-year T-note futures prices on Monday closed mildly higher: TYU2 +7.5, FVU2 +3.0. Bullish factors included general worries about global economic growth, continued hopes that Fed Chairman Bernanke at his Jackson Hole speech on Friday may provide additional hints about QE3, and worries about the European debt crisis as crunch time is coming in September and October.
The dollar index this morning is mildly lower by -0.16 (-0.20%). EUR/USD is up +0.0042 (+0.34%) on the successful Spanish bill and Italian bond auctions today. USD/JPY is down -0.09 (-0.11%) this morning. The dollar index on Monday closed slightly higher: Dollar index +0.09 (+0.11%), EUR/USD -0.0013 (-0.10%), USD/JPY +0.07 (+0.09%). EUR/USD was undercut on Monday by Bundesbank President and ECB Council member Jens Weidmann's comments in a weekend Der Spiegel interview in which he continued to express opposition to the ECB's bond buying plans. EUR/USD was also undercut by the weaker than expected German Aug IFO business climate index, which fell 1.0 point to a new 2-1/2 year low.
Oct WTI crude oil prices this morning are up +0.47 (+0.49%) while Oct gasoline is down -0.0100 (-0.34%) as the market continues to adjust to anticipated impacts from Isaac. Oct crude oil and gasoline prices on Monday closed mixed: CLV2 -0.68 (-0.71%), RBU2 +0.0395 (+1.36%). Crude oil closed lower on expectations that Isaac is not large enough to cause any significant long-term damage to oil rig and transportation infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico. However, gasoline prices rallied on the continued effects of explosion and fire at Venezuela's largest refinergy and on expectations that Isaac will cause a significant refinery shut-downs in the U.S. and likely cause U.S. gasoline inventory conditions to tighten. There is plenty of slack for oil inventories, which are still excessive at 6.3% above the 5-year seasonal average. Product inventories, on the other hand, were already tight going into Tropical Storm Isaac with gasoline inventories 2.5% below the 5-year average and distillate inventories at 17.0% below average. The market consensus for Wednesday's weekly DOE report are for a 2 million barrel decline in oil inventories, a 1.4 million barrel decline in gasoline inventories, a 400,000 barrel climb in distillate inventories, and a 0.3 point drop to 90.9% in the refinery utilization rate.

For the complete subscription version of this daily report (plus a 13-page big-picture weekly report), along with the earliest possible delivery in the morning, please visit http://www.barchart.com/register/crbfms_usmc.php
Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (ranked by market cap): SFL-Ship Finance (Consensus $0.42), CYBX-Cybernoics (0.36), SAFM-Sanderson Farms (1.07).
Global Financial Calendar

Tuesday 8/28/12
United States
0745 ET	ICSC (Int'l Council of Shopping Centers) weekly retailer sales.
0855 ET	Redbook weekly retailer sales.
0900 ET	S&P/Case-Shiller June Compose 20 home price index expected +0.3% m/m and -0.2% y/y, May +0.91% m/m and -0.66% y/y. Case-Shiller Q2 home price index, Q1 -1.92% y/y.
1000 ET	U.S. Aug consumer confidence (Conference Board) expected +0.1 to 66.0, July +3.2 to 65.9.
1000 ET	Richmond Aug Fed manufacturing index expected +6 to -11, July -16 to -17.
1130 ET	Weekly 4-week T-bill auction.
1300 ET	Treasury auctions $35 billion 2-year T-notes.
1630 ET	API weekly U.S. oil statistics.
Japan
0100 ET	Japan Aug small business confidence, July 46.6.
Germany
0200 ET	German Sep GfK consumer confidence survey expected -0.1 to 5.8, Aug 5.9.
Euro-Zone
0400 ET	Eurozone July M3 expected+3.1% 3-mo avg and +3.2% y/y, Jun +3.0% 3-mo avg and +3.2% y/y.
0700 ET	EU President Herman Van Rompuy meets Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Madrid.

Barchart.com provides Financial Quotes, Charts and Technical Analysis for Stock and Commodity Traders.

Rayonier REIT - RYN - Barchart Chart of the Day

Barchart.com's Chart of the Day - Rayonier REIT (RYN)

Barchart Research Team - BC - Mon Aug 27, 5:08PM CDT

The "Chart of the Day" is Rayonier REIT (RYN), which showed up on Monday's Barchart "All-Time High" list. Rayonier on Monday posted a new all-time high of $48.77 and closed +0.50%. TrendSpotter has been long since June 29 at $44.90. In recent news on the stock, Rayonier on July 26 reported Q2 EPS of 54 cents that was above the consensus of 48 cents. Rayonier on June 23 raised its quarterly dividend by 10% to 44 cents per share, which was the company's eighth dividend increase in the last ten years. Rayonier REIT, with a market cap of $6 billion, is a leading international forest products company primarily engaged in the trading, merchandising and manufacturing of logs, timber and wood products, and in the production and sale of high-value-added specialty pulps.

ryn_700_03

TrendSpotter: Buy
Short-Term Indicators: 100% Buy
Medium-Term Indicators: 100% Buy
Long-Term Indicators: 100% Buy
Overall Average 100% Buy

Chart of the Day Archive
View Past Chart of the Day Reports

Monday, August 27, 2012

3 Mid Cap Gems

Today I used Barchart to screen the S&P 400 Mid Cap stocks to find the 3 with the best technicals and found Synopsys (SNPS), Regency Centers (REG) and Chico's (CHS)

Synopsys (SNPS)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
5 new highs and up 7.19% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 77.87%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 32.55
Recently traded at 33.37 with a 50 day moving average of 30.26

Regency Centers (REG)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
6 new highs and up 4.99% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 65.20%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 48.31
Recently traded at 49.67 with a 50 day moving average of 47.66

Chico's (CHS)

Barchart technical indicators:

100% Barchart technical buy signal
Trend Spotter buy signal
Above its 20, 50 and 100 day moving averages
9 new highs and up 22.16% in the last month
Relative Strength Index 79.12%
Barchart computes a technical support level at 17.79
Recently traded ta 18.58 with a 50 day moving average of 16.41

Barchart Morning Call 8/27

Barchart Morning Call

BC - 1 hr 45 mins ago

Overnight Developments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are trading mildly higher by +0.25%, supported by the small +0.18% rally in European stocks and by the continued press by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao for more growth measures. E-mini S&Ps have been able to shake off the disappointing German confidence report and the poor Chinese industrial profits report. Commodity prices this morning are trading up by an average +0.37% with Oct crude oil up +0.90%, Oct gasoline up +3.00%, Dec gold up +0.03%, Sep copper up +0.09%, and agricultural prices trading mixed. The dollar index is trading slightly lower by -0.04% and EUR/USD is up +0.10%. Sep 10-year T-notes are up +0.5 tick. The UK markets are closed today for a summer bank holiday.
Asian stocks closed mostly lower on worries about weaker Asian economic growth and profits: Japan +0.16%, Hong Kong -0.41%, China -2.09%, Taiwan -0.12%, Australia -0.12%, Singapore -0.20%, South Korea -0.38%, India -0.59%, Turkey -0.19%.
Apple won a $1 billion patent infringement court case against Samsung last Friday in a federal court in California. Apple is trading 2% higher in European trading and Samsung's stock is down 7.5% today. Nokia is up 11% since the U.S. may ban some Samsung handsets, thus boosting demand for competitive Nokia phones.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans said today at a speech in Hong Kong that the Fed should begin an open ended QE3 program and continue buying securities until unemployment steadily declines for two or three quarters. Mr. Evans said, "At the moment economic growth is not much above stall speed. Another negative shock could send the economy into recession. And if a recessionary dynamic takes hold, it would be especially difficult to regain momentum." Mr. Evans is not a voting FOMC this year, but he will be next year.
Bundesbank President and ECB Council member Jens Weidmann in a Der Spiegel interview published over the weekend continued to voice his opposition to the ECB's bond buying plans. Mr. Weidmann said that ECB financing of budgets can "become addictive like a drug." Mr. Weidmann said that such decisions on government financing should be taken by "parliaments rather than central banks." French Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici meets today with German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.
Tropical Storm Isaac has passed the Florida keys and is now gathering strength in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The storm is expected to strengthen into a category 2 hurricane today or tomorrow and is expected to make landfall near Biloxi, Mississippi early Wednesday morning with winds of about 105 mph.
Germany's August IFO business climate index fell 1.0 point to a 2-1/2 year low of 102.3 from 103.3 in July, which was the fourth consecutive monthly decline and was weaker than market expectations for a 0.6 point decline to 102.7.
Year-to-date profits for China's industrial companies in July fell -2.7% y/y, gathering downside momentum after the -2.2% decline seen in June. July profits were down -5.4% y/y, worse than the -1.7% decline in June and -5.3% in May.

China's Premier Wen Jiabao said that "Stabilizing economic growth is the key task for second-half economic work." Wen toured Guangdong as he sought to give a confidence boost to China's exporters.
Market Comments

Sep E-mini S&Ps this morning are up 3.50 points (+0.25%) on the mildly higher +0.18% trade in the Euro Stoxx 50 and on support from Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's push for additional growth measures. In addition, Chicago Fed President Evans in a speech today in Hong Kong called even more strongly for QE3 than he has before. Bearish factors for S&Ps this morning include the weaker-than-expected German IFO business confidence report, further opposition by Bundesbank President Weidmann to the ECB's bond buying plans, and a poor Chinese industrial profits report. The stock market on Friday rebounded from early losses and finished higher after Fed Chairman Bernanke said he saw "scope for further action," on additional Fed stimulus: S&P 500 +0.65%, Dow Jones +0.77%, Nasdaq 100 +0.58%. Stocks had opened lower after July durable goods orders ex-transportation unexpectedly fell -0.4% m/m, weaker than expectations of +0.5%, along with concern the European debt crisis will persist after unnamed ECB officials said the ECB may wait until after a Sep 12 German court ruling on the legality of Europe's permanent bailout fund before it implements a bond purchase program.
Sep 10-year T-notes this morning are up +0.5 tick as the market hopes for further hints from Fed Chairman Bernanke in his speech on Friday at the Fed's Jackson Hole conference. T-note prices on Friday erased early gains and closed lower after a rally in stocks reduced the safe-haven demand for Treasuries: TYU2 -3.5, FVU2 -2.0.
The dollar index this morning is slightly lower by -0.04 points (-0.04%) with EUR/USD up +0.0013 (+0.10%). USD/JPY is slightly higher by +0.02 points (+0.03%). The dollar index on Friday closed higher, although well off its best levels, after Fed Chairman Bernanke hinted at additional Fed stimulus: Dollar index +.234 (+0.29%), EUR/USD -0.00444 (-0.35%), USD/JPY +0.132 (+0.17%). The dollar had rallied Friday after a report said the ECB would put off its bond buying program until a German court rules on Europe's permanent bailout fund next month. However, dollar gains were limited on speculation the Fed may implement QE3 at next month's FOMC meeting.
Oct WTI crude oil prices this morning are up +0.87 (+0.90%) and Oct gasoline is up +0.0872 (+3.00%). Bullish factors include (1) news that Venezuela's Amuay refinery, the nation's largest, was forced to shut down after an explosion and fire on Saturday, and (2) Tropical Storm Isaac, which is now expected to take a more westerly direction than previously thought and cause even more disruption in the Gulf of Mexico. The storm has so far caused the shut-down of 24% of U.S. oil production and 8% of natural gas production in the Gulf of Mexico due to rig evacuations. Oct crude oil prices on Friday fluctuated on both sides of unchanged and finally settled lower after July durable goods orders ex-transportation unexpectedly declined and offset concern Tropical Storm Isaac may curtail oil production operations in the Gulf of Mexico: CLV2 -0.12 (-0.12%), RBU2 -0.0379 (-1.29%). Crude oil prices also gained as stock prices rose on increased speculation the Fed will provide additional stimulus to boost economic growth.

For the complete subscription version of this daily report (plus a 13-page big-picture weekly report), along with the earliest possible delivery in the morning, please visit http://www.barchart.com/register/crbfms_usmc.php
Today's U.S. Earnings Reports Earnings reports (ranked by market cap): TIF-Tiffany & Co. (Consensus $0.73), PVH-PVH Corp. (1.21), DCI-Donaldson (0.47), GAME-Shanda Games Ltd. (0.18), PWRD-Perfect World Co. Ltd. (0.56).
Global Financial Calendar

Monday 8/27/12
United States
0600 ET	Chicago Fed President Evans speaks at an MNI Seminar in Hong Kong.
1030 ET	Dallas Fed Aug manufacturing index expected -8.0, July -13.2.
1100 ET	USDA weekly grain export inspections.
1130 ET	Weekly 3-mo and 6-mo T-bill auctions.
1215 ET	Cleveland Fed President Pianalto speaks on the economic outlook and monetary policy in Newark, OH.
1600 ET	USDA Crop Progress
Japan
0200 ET	Japan July machine tool orders, June -6.8% y/y.
Germany
0200 ET	German July import price index expected +0.9% m/m and +1.4% y/y, Jun -1.5% m/m and +1.3% y/y.
0400 ET	German Aug IFO business climate index expected -0.6 to 1-2.7, July 103.3. Aug IFO current assessment index expected -0.8 to 110.6, July 111.6. Aug FIO expectations index expected -0.6 to 95.0, July 95.6.
United Kingdom
n/a	U.K. markets and government offices closed for Summer Bank Holiday.

Barchart.com provides Financial Quotes, Charts and Technical Analysis for Stock and Commodity Traders.

Activision Blizzard - ATVI

Should you invest in Gaming?

http://www.thestreet.com/story/11675116/1/play-activision-blizzard-only-if-youre-a-gamer-opinion.html

Sunday, August 26, 2012

My favorite stocks for the week

Sym	Name	Last	Today's Opinion	20-Day Rel Str	20-Day His Vol	20-Day Avg Vol	52-Wk Low	52-Wk High
FCFS	First Cash Financial	44.47	100% Buy	66.72%	25.53%	127,020	33.27	52.18
CHS	Chico's Fas	18.52	100% Buy	74.92%	33.26%	2,972,695	9.57	18.58
URBN	Urban Outfitters	36.94	96% Buy	75.80%	60.58%	3,247,585	21.47	37.68
SEIC	Sei Investments Comp	22.01	96% Buy	62.51%	16.35%	685,680	13.73	22.44
ROST	Ross Stores	69.89	96% Buy	61.30%	14.49%	1,912,445	35.21	70.82
RMD	Resmed Inc.	37.23	96% Buy	69.44%	40.14%	946,560	23.37	37.81
PETM	Petsmart Inc	70.99	96% Buy	62.30%	21.53%	936,215	39.16	72.50
JWN	Nordstrom	57.95	96% Buy	66.10%	17.15%	2,330,190	39.56	58.18
ESRX	Express Scripts	61.76	96% Buy	62.93%	33.11%	5,122,155	34.47	62.80
EBAY	Ebay Inc.	47.10	96% Buy	61.61%	24.55%	10,332,085	27.41	48.08
AAPL	Apple Inc.	663.22	96% Buy	67.49%	17.25%	13,536,455	354.24	674.88
TSCO	Tractor Supply Compa	96.15	88% Buy	62.19%	20.60%	556,740	56.03	101.20
GIL	Gildan Activewear	31.94	88% Buy	66.38%	22.32%	527,155	16.32	32.44
WFM	Whole Foods Market	97.03	80% Buy	58.25%	15.58%	1,235,130	57.42	98.00
VLO	Valero Energy Corp.	29.24	80% Buy	66.02%	25.39%	9,644,735	16.40	30.34
GG	Goldcorp Inc.	40.41	80% Buy	64.18%	23.72%	4,534,685	31.54	56.31
ESV	Ensco Plc	56.75	80% Buy	61.58%	24.49%	5,590,395	37.39	59.90
ARLP	Alliance Resource	64.81	80% Buy	58.86%	24.22%	90,205	50.42	83.80
Sym	Name	Last	Today's Opinion	20-Day Rel Str	20-Day His Vol	20-Day Avg Vol	52-Wk Low	52-Wk High
WPI	Watson Pharmaceutica	83.32	100% Buy	68.47%	23.47%	1,038,090	55.00	83.83
PKG	Packaging Corporatio	32.10	96% Buy	66.88%	13.42%	929,870	21.75	32.63
DTV	Directv	52.63	96% Buy	65.44%	19.51%	4,373,915	39.82	52.76
AMGN	Amgen Inc.	84.59	96% Buy	66.27%	13.01%	3,709,255	52.50	84.65
RBC	Regal-Beloit Corp.	69.08	88% Buy	61.26%	18.36%	198,750	41.65	70.99
PDLI	Pdl Biopharma	7.30	88% Buy	64.76%	18.86%	2,164,465	5.15	7.50
DISH	Dish Network Corp.	32.27	88% Buy	63.04%	20.40%	1,742,770	21.15	35.64
CTB	Cooper Tire & Rubber	19.87	88% Buy	68.09%	23.06%	994,835	9.64	20.60
CBM	Cambrex Corp.	12.40	88% Buy	71.89%	77.85%	325,795	4.37	12.96
ASH	Ashland Inc.	73.49	88% Buy	60.49%	17.50%	725,355	41.11	74.94
PNK	Pinnacle Entertainme	11.58	80% Buy	66.78%	22.81%	480,625	8.06	13.96
NP	Neenah Paper	28.28	80% Buy	56.76%	26.57%	62,360	12.92	31.66
M	Macy's Inc	39.75	80% Buy	64.18%	23.47%	5,552,870	23.82	42.17
ANN	Ann Inc	34.99	80% Buy	79.83%	66.28%	1,359,855	21.05	35.42
Sym	Name	Last	Today's Opinion	20-Day Rel Str	20-Day His Vol	20-Day Avg Vol	52-Wk Low	52-Wk High
MHO	M/I Homes	19.33	100% Buy	62.36%	40.90%	135,080	5.08	19.45
FFBH	First Federal Bancsh	9.35	100% Buy	65.57%	24.31%	6,395	4.30	9.97
STRM	Streamline Health	4.89	96% Buy	66.69%	81.93%	61,925	1.35	5.01
RPRX	Repros Therapeutics	10.77	96% Buy	62.90%	72.52%	175,550	3.34	11.54
REED	Reeds	6.33	96% Buy	70.40%	83.10%	198,875	1.10	7.20
LPS	Lender Processing	27.70	96% Buy	67.06%	22.36%	1,043,600	12.91	28.11
GPX	Gp Strategies Corp.	19.90	96% Buy	61.59%	43.67%	99,010	9.16	20.30
FBRC	Fbr & Co	3.07	96% Buy	56.70%	36.62%	69,310	1.87	3.20
SUNH	Sun Healthcare Group	8.49	88% Buy	71.63%	3.15%	411,730	2.06	8.50
OKSB	Southwest Bancorp	11.07	88% Buy	66.45%	39.80%	76,275	3.75	11.41
NSPH	Nanosphere	3.39	88% Buy	60.36%	68.36%	1,096,140	0.89	3.73
CPSS	Consumer Portfolio	2.65	88% Buy	66.30%	65.19%	30,395	0.86	2.94
ASTI	Ascent Solar Technol	1.80	88% Buy	68.11%	98.13%	1,460,825	0.36	2.31
WSBF	Waterstone Financial	4.60	80% Buy	62.47%	54.92%	19,545	1.72	4.85
CAP	Cai International	20.62	80% Buy	53.46%	30.27%	28,815	10.64	21.99
AFFY	Affymax	17.12	80% Buy	59.64%	38.23%	938,485	4.14	17.88
ACAD	Acadia Pharmaceutica	1.80	80% Buy	60.27%	50.28%	358,345	0.90	2.30

Financial Tides -- A Stock Market Investing Newsletter by Jim Van Meerten

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Buy Wal-Mart

3 stocks you can't ignore

Gartner - IT - Barchart Chart of the Day

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

3 NASDAQ 100 Nuggets

Barchart Morning Call 8/29

ANSYS - ANSS - Barchart Chart of the Day

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

3 Small Cap Wonders

Barchart Morning Call 8/28

Rayonier REIT - RYN - Barchart Chart of the Day

Monday, August 27, 2012

3 Mid Cap Gems

Barchart Morning Call 8/27

Activision Blizzard - ATVI

Sunday, August 26, 2012

My favorite stocks for the week