Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities

Wealth Gap Widest in Large Affluent Cities.  A new report indicates the gap between the wealthy and the poor is most extreme in several of the U.S.’s largest cities. The largest disparities in wealth where found to be in the democratically lead cities of Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco and Washington D.C.  Some economists are pointing out that many of these cities have higher immigrant and illegal alien populations and higher high school dropout rates that they say add to the wealth gap. Of the nation’s 50 biggest cities, just 18 experienced greater income inequality since the recession. The report also found that not all the 50 largest cities saw large wealth gaps. Some Western and Sun Belt cities, such as Mesa, AZ and Arlington, TX that have smaller downtowns had a noticeably smaller wealth gap than the national average.

Upgrades:

Seagate Tech (STX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform. Pre-market: 51.10 +1.08 (2.16%)

Tim Hortons (THI): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform.

Total SA (TOT): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 62.36 +0.94 (1.53%)

Downgrades:

Columbia Sportswear (COLM): McAdams Wright lowered their rating from Hold to Sell.

Groupon (GRPN): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Sector Perform to Underperform and lowered their target price from $11.00 to $7.00. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Stifel lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and placed a target price of $83.00 on the company. Pre-market: 73.26 -0.26 (-0.35%)

Earning Reports:

Charter Comm (CHTR): Reported EPS of $0.35 beating estimates by +$0.06.

DISH Network (DISH): Reported EPS of $0.63 beating estimates by +$0.22.

Groupon (GRPN): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 9.00 -1.28 (-12.44%)

Hewlett-Packard (HPQ): Reported EPS of $0.90 beating estimates by +$0.06. Pre-market: 30.45 +0.26 (0.86%)

Intuit (INTU): Reported EPS of $0.02 in-line with estimates.

Priceline.com (PCLN): Reported EPS of $8.85 beating estimates by +$0.56. Pre-market: 1,315.93 +32.93 (2.57%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:02: Dow +0.18%. S&P +0.19%. Nasdaq +0.19%. Crude -0.27% to $102.46. Gold +0.38% to $3121.90. U.S. 10 Year -5/32 to 2.768%

Europe: London +0.09%. Paris +0.27%. Frankfurt +0.13%. 

Asia: Japan +2.88% to 14866. Hong Kong +0.78% to 22568. China -1.17% to 2114. India +0.80% to 20701. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WallStreet #FinancialPlaner 

Tesla Gives Mixed Quarterly Results

Tesla Gives Mixed Quarterly Results. Tesla Motors' (TSLA) reported that the electric car company’s losses narrowed to $16.3M in Q4 from $89.9M a year earlier. Revenue at the company rose 101% to $615.29M, but missed Wall Street estimates. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.33 beating estimates by $0.12. Tesla also gave an optimistic outlook for production and deliveries, especially overseas and China. Pre-market: 216.20 +22.56 (11.65%)

Upgrades:

Barrick Gold (ABX): RBC Capital raised their rating from Sector Perform to Outperform and raised their target price from $24.00 to $28.00.

Thermo Fisher (TMO): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $114.00 to $153.00.

Downgrades:

Adidas (ADDYY): HSBC lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral.

Facebook (FB): Pivotal Research lowered their rating from Buy to Hold.

Facebook (FB): Evercore lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight.

Fresh Market (TFM): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $48.00 to $34.00.

magicJack (CALL): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Outperform to Perform.

Tesla (TSLA): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $220.00 to $200.00. Pre-market: 216.20 +22.56 (11.65%)

Zale Corp (ZLC): Northcoast lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Coverage Initiated:

Boeing (BA): Drexel Hamilton initiated coverage with a Hold rating.

Caterpillar (CAT): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $122.00.

Deere (DE): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $110.00.

Joy Global (JOY): Deutsche Bank initiated coverage with a Hold rating and target price of $55.00.

Earning Reports:

Dana Holding (DAN): Reported EPS of $0.49 beating estimates by +$0.04.

DIRECTV (DTV): Reported EPS of $1.53 beating estimates by +$0.23. Pre-market: 74.25 +1.31 (1.80%)

Ensco (ESV): Reported EPS of $1.56 missing estimates by -$0.03. Pre-market: 51.00 -0.68 (-1.32%)

Federal-Mogul (FDML): Reported EPS of -$0.13 missing estimates by -$0.34.

Hormel Foods (HRL): Reported EPS of $0.57 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 45.20 -0.11 (-0.24%)

Patterson Companies (PDCO): Reported EPS of $0.57 in-line with estimates.

Tesla Motors (TSLA): Reported EPS of $0.33 beating estimates by +$0.12. Pre-market: 216.20 +22.56 (11.65%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Reported EPS of $1.60 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 72.90 -1.95 (-2.61%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:45: Dow -0.16%. S&P -0.18%. Nasdaq -0.27%. Crude -0.25% to $103.05. Gold -0.39% to $1315.60. U.S. 10 Year 0/32 to 2.739%.

Europe: London -0.36%. Paris -0.35%. Frankfurt -1.23%.

Asia: Japan -2.15% to 14449. Hong Kong -1.19% to 22394. China -0.18% to 2139. 

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WallStreet #FinancialPlaner 

Google Reports Mixed Results. Internet giant Google (GOOG) reported that their Q4 net profit climbed +17% to $3.38B and revenue grew +17% to $16.86B. Both numbers topped Wall Street’s estimates. EPS at the company came in at only $12.01 missing expectations. Google's paid click growth continued to accelerate in Q4 and was boosted by mobile searches and product listing ads. The company also announced a stock split that is scheduled to take place on April 2.  The split will create a new none voting “C” class of shares which will trade under a new symbol GOOGL. Shareholders as of March 27 will receive one share of “C” class shares for each share of voting Class A stock owned. Pre-market: 1,183.00 +47.61 (4.19%)

Upgrades:

Baker Hughes (BHI): Argus raised their rating from Hold to Buy.

Cracker Barrel (CRBL): Miller Tabak raised their rating from Hold to Buy and placed a target price of $114.00 on the company. Pre-market: 98.25 +0.47 (0.48%)

Hillshire Brands (HSH): Wells Fargo raised their rating from Underperform to Market Perform and raised their target range from $28.00-$30.00 to $33.00-$34.00.

Raytheon (RTN): Sterne Agee raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $114.00 on the company. Pre-market: 91.89 0.00 (0.00%)

Raytheon (RTN): Drexel Hamilton raised their rating from Hold to Buy. Pre-market: 91.89 0.00 (0.00%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform.

Downgrades:

Constellation Brands (STZ): HSBC lowered their rating from Neutral to Underweight. Pre-market: 76.50 -1.09 (-1.40%)

Earning Reports:

AbbVie (ABBV): Reported EPS of $0.82 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 49.85 +1.54 (3.19%)

Amazon.com (AMNZ): Reported EPS of $0.51 missing estimates by -$0.18. Pre-market: 368.20 -34.81 (-8.64%)

Broadcom (BRCM): Reported EPS of $0.60 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 29.25 +0.04 (0.14%)

Chevron (CVX): Reported EPS of $2.57 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 114.83 -1.62 (-1.39%)

Eastman Chemical (EMN): Reported EPS of $1.35 beating estimates by +$0.10. Pre-market: 76.55 +0.58 (0.76%)

Google (GOOG): Reported EPS of $12.01 missing estimates by -$0.28. Pre-market: 1,183.00 +47.61 (4.19%)

MasterCard (MA): Reported EPS of $0.57 missing estimates by -$0.03. Pre-market: 76.52 -3.24 (-4.06%)

Mattel (MAT): Reported EPS of $1.07 missing estimates by -$0.13. Pre-market: 76.57 -3.19 (-4.00%)

National Oilwell Varco (NOV): Reported EPS of $1.56 beating estimates by +$0.17. Pre-market: 75.10 +1.45 (1.97%)

Weyerhaeuser (WY): Reported EPS of $0.27 missing estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 29.23 -1.54 (-5.00%)

Wynn Resorts (WYNN): Reported EPS of $2.27 beating estimates by +$0.54. Pre-market: 206.99 +5.48 (2.72%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:19: Dow -1.07%. S&P -0.94%. Nasdaq -0.45%. Crude -1.06% to $97.18. Gold +0.52% to $1248.60. U.S. 10 Year +9/32 to 2.662%.

Europe: London -1.63%. Paris -1.67%. Frankfurt -1.84%. 

Asia: Japan -0.62% to 14915. Hong Kong -0.48% to 22035. China +0.56% to 2050. India +0.08% to 20514. 

#RLPaler #WealthManagement #EarningReports #AnalystsRatings #TopWealthManager #PreMarket

President Obama Will Act Alone

President Obama Will Act Alone. During last night’s State of the Union speech President Obama said that he would use his executive power to implement his economic and other policies, while highlighting the gap between the rich and poor that has widened during his administration. President Obama announced a dozen proposals including raising the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour for future federal contract workers that would affect about 560,000 people.  Additionally, some analysts believe he will also attempt to use his executive power to act on immigration reform and gun control, two hot buttons with American’s that many constitutional scholars say would be unconstitutional and illegal. During his speech the President also said he plans to create a government-coordinated retirement savings program that would provide a guaranteed return, but not additional specific are available at this time.

Upgrades:

CIT Group (CIT): Buckingham raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $54.00 on the company.

VMware (VMW): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and placed a target price of $109.00 on the company. Pre-market: 94.00 -0.94 (-0.99%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Credit Suisse raised their rating from Neutral to Outperform and raised their target price from $80.00 to $87.00. Pre-market: 74.81 +0.14 (0.19%)

Downgrades:

WellPoint (WLP): Monness Crespi lowered their rating from Neutral to Sell. Pre-market: 81.60 -2.70 (-3.20%)

Yahoo! (YHOO): Gabelli lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 35.90 -2.32 (-6.07%)

Earning Reports:

Amgen (AMGN): Reported EPS of $1.82 beating estimates by +0.14. Pre-market: 117.09 -3.61 (-2.99%)

AT&T (T): Reported EPS of $0.53 beating estimates by +0.03. Pre-market: 32.77 -0.93 (-2.76%)

Boeing (BA): Reported EPS of $1.88 beating estimates by +0.31. Pre-market: 131.75 -5.34 (-3.90%)

Cirrus Logic (CRUS): Reported EPS of $0.89 beating estimates by +0.12. Pre-market: 17.50 -1.24 (-6.62%)

Dow Chemical (DOW): Reported EPS of $0.65 beating estimates by +0.22.

EMC (EMC): Reported EPS of $0.60 beating estimates by +0.01. Pre-market: 25.50 +0.12 (0.47%)

Jetblue Airways (JBLU): Reported EPS of $0.14 beating estimates by +0.01. Pre-market: 8.74 0.00 (0.00%)

Novartis AG (NVS): Reported EPS of $1.20 beating estimates by +0.01. Pre-market: 78.94 -0.62 (-0.78%)

Phillips 66 (PSX): Reported EPS of $1.34 beating estimates by +0.24. Pre-market: 73.00 -2.08 (-2.77%)

VMware (VMW): Reported EPS of $1.01 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 94.00 -0.94 (-0.99%)

WellPoint (WLP): Reported EPS of $0.87 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 81.60 -2.70 (-3.20%)

Yahoo! (YHOO): Reported EPS of $0.46 beating estimates by +0.08. Pre-market: 35.90 -2.32 (-6.07%)

Markets:
Futures at 8:33: Dow -0.49%. S&P -0.45%. Nasdaq -0.46%. Crude -0.15% to $97.27. Gold +1.02% to $1263.70. U.S. 10 Year +10/32 to 2.724%.

Europe: London -0.51%. Paris -0.86%. Frankfurt -0.48%.

Asia: Japan +2.70% to 15384. Hong Kong +0.82% to 22142. China +0.56% to 2050. India -0.18% to 20647.

#TopWealthManager #RLPaler #WallStreet #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WealthManagement

Overseas Growth Slows. Overseas economic growth has unexpectedly slowed. Economic growth slowed in Japan during Q3. Capex growth rose just +0.2% for Q3, far below consensus estimates. Economic growth in the eurozone came in at just +0.1% for Q3 also missing economists estimates.  Germany’s economy expanded by 0.3% in Q3, which was in-line with economists’ estimates but must slower than the +0.7% growth posted in Q2. France’s economy turned negative as their economy contracted -0.1% in Q3. Finance Minister Pierre Moscovici said France should still report a modest expansion for the full year.

Upgrades:

Office Depot (ODP): BofA Merrill Lynch raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $6.50 on the company. Pre-market: 5.51 +0.13 (2.42%)

Downgrades:

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Wedbush lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and lowered their target price from $26.00 top $23.00. Pre-market: 5.51 +0.13 (2.42%)

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Conviction Buy to Buy and lowered their target price from $30.00 top $25.00. Pre-market: 5.51 +0.13 (2.42%)

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Deutsche Bank lowered their rating from Buy to Hold and lowered their target price from $28.00 top $25.00. Pre-market: 5.51 +0.13 (2.42%)

PNC Financial (PNC): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Outperform to Perform.

Coverage Initiated:

BP (BP): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with a Neutral rating.

Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating.

Total S.A. (TOT): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating.

Earning Reports:

Cisco Systems (CSCO): Reported EPS of $0.53 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 20.93 -3.07 (-12.77%)

Dillard's (DDS): Reported EPS of $1.13 beating estimates by +$0.07. Pre-market: 90.87 +1.32 (1.47%)

Kolh’s (KSS): Reported EPS of $0.81 missing estimates by -$0.05. Pre-market: 54.10 -4.16 (-7.14%)

Sally Beauty (SBH): Reported EPS of $0.38 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 27.50 -0.14 (-0.51%)

Tyco (TYC): Reported EPS of $0.52 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 37.00 +0.27 (0.74%)

Viacom (VIAB): Reported EPS of $1.55 beating estimates by +$0.11. Pre-market: 82.00 -1.13 (-1.36%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Reported EPS of $1.14 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 77.60 -1.30 (-1.65%)

Markets: 

Futures at 8:12: Dow +0.07%. S&P +0.17%. Nasdaq -0.12%. Crude -0.61% to $93.30. Gold +1.34% to $1285.30. U.S. 10 Year +1/32 2.720%.

Europe: London +0.32%. Paris +0.62%. Frankfurt +0.65%. 

Asia: Japan +2.12% to 14876. Hong Kong +0.82% to 22649. China +0.60% to 2100. India -0.43% to 20399. 

#RLPaler #WallStreet #PreMarket #WealthManagement#EarningReports #AnalystsRatings

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

World Markets Fall on Fed Comment. World markets are selling off after Ben Bernanke yesterday signaled that the Fed may soon stop trying to prop up the U.S. economy by printing money. Additionally, he said that the bond buying program could end by mid-2014. Some economists and traders have fear that the economy is not strong enough and needs the Fed’s stimulation to prevent another recession. They point to the weak GDP and job numbers as their evidence. U.S. futures are lower with government bond yields spiking, while gold had plunged -5.22% to $1302.40 hitting a 2 1/2 year low.

Upgrades: 

Alcatel-Lucent (ALU): UBS raised their rating from Sell to Neutral. Pre-market: 2.02 +0.09 (4.66%)

Hewlett-Packard (HQP): Wells Fargo raised Market Perform to Outperform and raised their target range from $23.00 - $25.00 to $30.00 - $32.00. Pre-market: 25.50 +0.07 (0.28%)

Plum Creek Timber (PCL): DA Davidson raised their rating from Underperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 45.15 -0.08 (-0.18%)

Wal-Mart (WMT): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $84.00 on the company. Pre-market: 74.65 +0.19 (0.26%)

Weyerhaeuser (WY): BMO Capital raised their rating from Market Perform to Outperform and placed a target price of $33.00 on the company. Pre-market: 27.31 0.00 (0.00%)

Downgrades:

FedEx (FDX): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral and lowered their target price from $116.00 to $108.00. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

FedEx (FDX): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight. Pre-market: 98.50 -2.04 (-2.03%)

Newmont Mining (NEM): Cowen lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral. Pre-market: 30.95 -0.95 (-2.98%)

Sprint Nextel (S): Argus lowered their rating from Buy to Hold. Pre-market: 6.97 -0.03 (-0.43%)

Walt Disney (DIS): Goldman Sachs lowered their rating from Conviction Buy to Neutral and placed a target price of $70.00 on the company. Pre-market: 63.29 -1.04 (-1.62%)

Coverage Initiated:

Owens Corning (OC): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $50.00.           

Earning Reports:

Jabil Circuit (JBL): Reported EPS of $0.56 beating estimates by +$0.02. Pre-market: 19.00 -0.82 (-4.14%)

Micron (MU): Reported EPS of $0.04 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 13.66 -0.31 (-2.22%)

Pier 1 (PIR): Reported EPS of $0.19 in-line with estimates. After Hours: 24.55 +0.56 (2.33%)

Red Hat (RHT): Reported EPS of $0.32 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 47.78 +1.56 (3.38%)

Rite Aid (RAD): Reported EPS of $0.09 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 3.05 -0.06 (-1.93%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:25: Dow -0.57%. S&P -0.78%. Nasdaq -0.84%. Crude -1.53% to $96.74. Gold -5.22% to $1302.40.

Europe: London -2.26%. Paris -2.51%. Frankfurt -2.49%. 

Asia: Japan -1.74% to 13015. Hong Kong -2.88% to 20383. China -2.77% to 2084. India -2.74% to 18719.