Friday, July 11, 2008

Opening View: Could Washington Take Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?

The not-so-dynamic duo of Freddie Mac (FRE: View sentiment for FREsentiment, chart, options) and Fannie Mae (FNM: View sentiment for FNMsentiment, chart, options) are dominating sentiment in the financial sector this morning, after The New York Times reported that the U.S. government is weighing a plan to take control the ailing lenders. The plan being floated is designed to place FRE and FNM in a conservatorship if problems worsen. Such a move would mean that the shares of Fannie and Freddie would be worth little or nothing, the report said. In electronic trading, shares of FRE and FNM have plunged, dropping about 27% and 23%, respectively.

In other financial news, Citigroup (C: View sentiment for Csentiment, chart, options) announced that it has agreed to sell its German retail banking operations to France's Credit Mutuel for 4.9 billion euros ($7.7 billion) in cash plus earnings accrued in 2008 through the closing of the deal. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter, pending regulatory approval. Citigroup expects the deal to result in an after-tax gain of around $4 billion. The company reportedly decided to sell the unit following a global strategic review by CEO Vikram Pandit.

In earnings news, General Electric (GE: View sentiment for GEsentiment, chart, options) reported a second-quarter net profit of $5.07 billion, or 51 cents per share. Earnings from continuing operations were $5.39 billion, down from $5.61 billion, but came in flat at 54 cents per share. Quarterly revenue rose 11%, reaching $46.89 billion from the prior year's $42.38 billion. Analysts were looking for a profit of 54 cents per share.

Looking forward, GE was a bit cautious, placing third-quarter earnings from continuing operations at 50 cents to 54 cents per share, a growth rate flat to 8% higher than last year. The company also reiterated its full-year profit target of $2.20 to $2.30 per share. Analysts are expecting a third-quarter profit of 55 cents per share and full-year earnings of $2.22 per share.

Finally, Wynn Resorts (WYNN: View sentiment for WYNNsentiment, chart, options) said it sees second-quarter operating income in Macau doubling and Las Vegas operating income dropping by more than 50%. The company also announced an increase to its share buyback program. Specifically, operating income for Las Vegas will be in the $18 million to $22 million range, compared with $63.4 million last year. In Macau, operating income is expected to be in the range of $100 million to $106 million, compared with $53.2 million in the year-ago period.



Opening View: Could Washington Take Control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac?


NYSE Arca Morning Update

Stocks trading on NYSE Arca at a price more than 15% away from the previous trade day's consolidated close price. (As of 08:30:00 ET)

Stock
Wednesday's Close Current Price Pct Chng Current NYSE Arca Vol
ROH

$44.83

$74.37

66%

734,655

PCU

$99.14

$33.96

( 66%)

1,100

MEND

$14.43

$17.01

18%

1,200

FCSX

$29.91

$24.65

( 18%)

2,417

10 Most Active stocks on NYSE Arca as of 08:30:00 ET

Based on Dollar Volume: Based on Share Volume:
Stock
Dollar Volume
SPY
$236,582,742
QQQQ
$55,448,554
ROH
$54,654,196
CHK
$40,021,662
USO
$25,614,460
IWM
$22,270,762
WMT
$12,830,783
XLF
$12,253,824
AAPL
$9,403,582
FXI
$8,732,707
Stock
Share Volume
SPY
1,887,136
QQQQ
1,228,909
ROH
734,655
CHK
698,056
XLF
627,382
WB
389,285
IWM
333,600
USO
233,120
WMT
218,052
HUN
164,599


Pre-Market Trading Most Active Stocks - NASDAQ


NASDAQ - Pre-Market Ten Most Advanced

Active Share Volume Declined

Symbol

Company Name

Market
Close
Last Sale (Pre-Market) % Change
(Pre-Market)
Share
Volume

(Pre-Market)

Wynn Resorts, Limited
$69.94 $78.05 11.60% 111,895

Royale Energy, Inc.
$8.70 $9.19 5.63% 13,750

Rambus, Inc.
$17.12 $17.60 2.80% 4,050

Randgold Resources Limited
$47.05 $47.88 1.76% 6,700

National Coal Corp.
$6.33 $6.40 1.11% 6,080

Cogo Group, Inc.
$4.28 $4.30 0.47% 6,000

Century Aluminum Company
$62.55 $62.60 0.08% 14,400

As of 7/11/2008 8:24:50 AM

NASDAQ - Pre-Market Ten Most Declined

Active Share Volume Advanced

Symbol

Company Name

Market
Close
Last Sale (Pre-Market) % Change
(Pre-Market)
Share
Volume

(Pre-Market)

UAL Corporation
$4.17 $3.85 7.67% 14,600

Acergy S.A.
$18.32 $17.03 7.04% 6,842

Infosys Technologies Limited
$43.99 $41.22 6.30% 14,808

Lawson Software, Inc.
$7.17 $6.77 5.58% 100,600

E*TRADE Financial Corporation
$2.87 $2.73 4.88% 41,227

Ryanair Holdings plc
$27.56 $26.25 4.75% 5,000

Canadian Solar Inc.
$32.77 $31.31 4.46% 4,847

Logitech International S.A.
$25.34 $24.43 3.59% 3,700

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Limited
$45 $43.40 3.56% 348,100

Applied Materials, Inc.
$18.34 $17.75 3.22% 16,250

As of 7/11/2008 8:24:20 AM



Pre-Market Most Active Stocks - NASDAQ Premarket



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