MORNING COFFEE

Global Food Prices Rise To Record High.  Global food prices rose to a record high in February and gain prices are expected to rise further according to The United Nations.  An index made up of 55 food commodities rose 2.2% to 236 from 230.7 in January.  This was the eighth consecutive gain.  Wheat has risen 58% on the Chicago Board of Trade in the past 12 months, corn rose 87% and rice rose 6.5%.

 

Bernanke Says Deficit Reduction Important. In testimony before Congress Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke acknowledged the need for budget cuts and said “What I have been trying to focus on is, we have got to keep our eye on deficit reduction, but we need to think about it in a long-term framework."   Bernanke said budget cuts proposed by Republican lawmakers could lead to the loss of 200,000 jobs over two years, which is far less than the 700,000 loss Democrats have been warning about.

Downgrades

McCormick & Schmick's (MSSR): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Outperform to Perform.

Coverage Reiterated/Price Target Changed

Apollo Group (APOL): FBR Capital reiterated their Market Perform rating and raised their target price from $42.00 to $44.00.

Costco (COST): McAdams Wright Ragen reiterated their Hold rating and raised their target price from $71.00 to $73.00.

Earning Reports

Big Lots (BIG): Reported Q4 EPS of $1.46 beating estimates by +$0.08 on revenue of $1.52 billion, in-line with estimates.

HJ Heinz (HNZ): Reported EPS of $0.84 beating estimates by +$0.02.

Foot Locker (FL): Reported Q4 EPS of $0.39 beating estimates by +$0.03 on revenue of $1.4 billion, in-line with estimates.

·         Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.8%. S&P +1.0%. Nasdaq +0.9%. Crude -0.4% to $101.83. Gold -0.7% to $1427.70.

·         Europe: London +1.3%. Paris +1.4%. Frankfurt +1.5%.

·         Asia: Japan +0.9% to 10586. Hong Kong +0.3% to 23122. China -0.3% to 2904. India +0.2% to 18490.