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 

World Markets Up on China, the Fed and U.S. Budget Deal

World Markets Up on China, the Fed and U.S. Budget Deal. World markets are higher this morning boosted by better than expected trade data from China.  China's exports rose +10.6% in January well beyond economists estimates of only a +2% increase. Fed Chairman Jenet Yellen in testimony yesterday said that the Fed would continue with its easy money policy easing fears that the Fed would start tightening amid recent poor economic reports. Additionally, the Republican led House has agreed to suspend the U.S. debt ceiling borrowing authority until March 16, 2015.  

Upgrades:

AB InBev (BUD): Goldman Sachs raised their rating from Sell to Buy.

Downgrades:

Amazon.com (AMZN): UBS lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral and lowered their target price from $450.00 to $375.00.

American Railcar (ARII): Longbow lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Dean Foods (DF): Stifel lowered their rating from Buy to Hold.

Green Mountain Coffee (GMCR): Longbow lowered their rating from Buy to Neutral.

Intuit (INTU): Evercore lowered their rating from Equal Weight to Underweight and lowered their target price from $72.00 to $62.00.

Coverage Initiated:

Allstate (ALL): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $53.00.

Chubb (CB): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Sell rating and target price of $76.00.

Progressive (PGR): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $24.00.

Traveler’s (TRV): Citigroup initiated coverage with a Sell rating and target price of $71.00.

Earning Reports:

Deere (DE): Reported EPS of $1.81 beating estimates by +0.28.

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): Reported EPS of $0.97 beating estimates by +0.13.

Owens Corning (OC): Reported EPS of $0.44 beating estimates by +0.16.

Vonage (VG): Reported EPS of $0.05 beating estimates by +0.01.

Markets: 
Futures at 6:20: Dow +0.2%. S&P +0.2%. Nasdaq +0.3%. Crude +0.6% to $100.53. Gold -0.2% to $1287. U.S. 10 Year +2/32 to 2.75%

Europe: London +0.2%. Paris +0.5%. Frankfurt +0.9%. 

Asia: Japan +0.6% to 14800. Hong Kong +1.5% to 22286. China +0.3% to 2110. India +0.4% to 20448. 

#RLPaler #TopWealthManager #AnalystsRatings #EarningReports #WallStreet #WealthManagement #PreMarket #FinancialPlanner        

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Walgreen’s drops Medical Coverage for Employees. Walgreen (WAG) is expected to announce today that they will no longer offer health care insurance for employees and their families. Instead the company is expected to give employees cash so they can buy their own insurance on an exchange. The company is expected to site the Obamacare law for the change. Several companies have already announced that they will be dropping health insurance for their employees or spouses. They include IBM and Time Warner, Trader Joes, UPS, and Xerox. Additionally, McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts are looking to get waivers from the law.

Upgrades:

Comstock (CRK): Global Hunter Securities raised their rating from Accumulate to Buy.

Downgrades:

Caterpillar (CAT): Robert W. Baird lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and maintained their target price of $90.00. Pre-market: 86.41 -0.66 (-0.76%)

Exelon (EXC): RBC Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Sector Perform.

Intuit (INTU): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Equal Weight to Underweight and placed a target price of $62.00 on the company.

James River Coal (JRCC): BB&T lowered their rating from Hold to Underweight.

Joy Global (JOY): Robert W. Baird lowered their rating from Outperform to Neutral and lowered their target price from $57.00 to $55.00. Pre-market: 52.38 -0.58 (-1.10%)

Coverage Initiated:

Allstate (ALL): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $63.00.

Marsh & McLennan (MMC): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Buy rating and target price of $51.00.

Symantec (SYMC): Nomura initiated coverage with a Neutral rating.

Travelers Cos. (TRV): Guggenheim initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $87.00.

United States Steel (X): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $19.00.

Earning Reports:

Adobe Systems (ADBE): Reported EPS of $0.32 missing estimates by -$0.02. Pre-market: 51.20 +3.06 (6.36%)

Cracker Barrel (CBRL): Reported EPS of $1.43 beating estimates by +$0.08. Pre-market: 103.00 -4.00 (-3.74%)

FedEx (FDX): Reported EPS of $1.53 beating estimates by +$0.03. Pre-market: 113.80 +3.12 (2.82%)

General Mills (GIS): Reported EPS of $0.70 in-line with estimates. Pre-market: 50.02 +0.24 (0.48%)

Markets: 
Futures at 8:57: Dow -0.03%. S&P -0.01%. Nasdaq +0.27%. Crude +0.43% to $105.90. Gold -0.50% to $1302.90. U.S. 10 Year -3/32 2.867%.

Europe: London -0.04%. Paris +0.37%. Frankfurt +0.28%. 

Asia: Japan +1.35% to 14505. Hong Kong -0.27% to 23117. China +0.29% to 2192. India +0.80% to 19962. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Record Outflows from Bond Funds. According to TrimTabs a record $79.8B was pulled from exchange-traded and mutual funds in June. The amount of outflow from bonds was almost double the $41B withdrawn during the financial crisis in October 2008. Mutual funds saw a mass exodus of $70.8B and ETFs saw $9B withdrawn in June. Some on Wall Street believe the exodus could continue once investors receive their latest quarterly statements.

Upgrades:

Apple (AAPL): Raymond James raised their rating from Outperform to Strong Buy and maintained a target price of $600.00. Pre-market: 402.81 +6.28 (1.58%)

Big Lots (BIG): MKM Partners raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $38.00 on the company.

Covance (CVD): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Strong Buy.

Intuit (INTU): Raymond James raised their rating from Market Perform to Strong Buy. Pre-market: 61.89 +0.85 (1.39%)

LG Display Co (LPL): Topeka raised their rating from Sell to Hold.

MGM Resorts (MGM): Janney Capital raised their rating from Neutral to Buy. Pre-market: 15.03 +0.25 (1.69%)

Tyco Intl (TYC): Morgan Stanley raised their rating from Equal Weight to Overweight and placed a target price of $39.00 on the company. Pre-market: 33.50 +0.55 (1.67%)

Downgrades:

3M (MMM): Morgan Stanley lowered their rating from Overweight to Equal Weight and placed a target price of $112.00 on the company. Pre-market: 108.28 -1.07 (-0.98%)

Coverage Initiated:

Express Scripts (ESRX): Monness Crespi initiated coverage with a Buy rating.

Kennametal (KMT): Goldman Sachs initiated coverage with a Neutral rating and target price of $43.00.

21^st Century Fox (FOXA): Evercore initiated coverage with an Overweight rating and target price of $34.00.

21^st Century Fox (FOXA): Wedbush initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $31.00.

21^st Century Fox (FOXA): Credit Suisse initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $34.00.

Markets: 
Futures at 8:27: Dow +0.55%. S&P +0.45%. Nasdaq +0.71%. Crude +1.00% to $97.54. Gold +2.12% to $1237.50. U.S. 10 yr -10/32 2.528%

Europe: London +0.86%. Paris +0.56%. Frankfurt +0.23%. 

Asia: Japan +1.28% to 13852.5. Hong Kong +1.78% to 20803. China +0.81% to 1995. India +0.94% to 19593. 

Morning Coffee Pre-Market Wall Street News

Microsoft Unveils Xbox One. Yesterday Microsoft (MSFT) unveiled the highly anticipated Xbox One calling it "the ultimate all-in-one entertainment system." The device allows usurers to instantly switch between games, live TV, movies, Skype and the internet using voice recognition and hand jesters. Xbox One also allows multi tasking such as watching TV and browsing the internet or taking a Skype call at the same time. The design is similar to set-top box and has an improved controller, improved Xbox Live UI, improved app and game loading. Switching times have been dramatically improved as you move to different application and the device has new voice and gesture controls.  Pre-market: 34.91 +0.06 (0.17%)

Upgrades

Bristol-Meyers Squibb (BMY): Citigroup raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and raised their target price from $33.00 to $55.00. Pre-market: 44.70 +0.64 (1.45%)

Cree (CREE): Sterne Agee raised their rating from Neutral to Buy and placed a target price of $72.00 on the company. Pre-market: 61.90 +2.05 (3.43%)

Volvo (VOLVY): HSBC Securities raised their rating from Underweight to Neutral.

Downgrades

Comerica (CMA): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Perform to Underperform and placed a target price of $22.00 on the company. Pre-market: 39.00 -0.65 (-1.64%)

Dick’s Sporting Goods (DKS): BMO Capital lowered their rating from Outperform to Market Perform and placed a target price of $57.00 on the company. Pre-market: 52.34 -0.41 (-0.78%)

Research In Motion (BBRY): BNP Paribas lowered their rating from Neutral to Underperform. Pre-market: 14.59 -0.18 (-1.22%)

Soda Stream (SODA): JPMorgan lowered their rating from Overweight to Neutral. Pre-market: 63.30 -1.53 (-2.36%)

SunTrust Banks (STI): Oppenheimer lowered their rating from Outperform to Perform and placed a target price of $32.00 on the company. Pre-market: 32.15 0.00 (0.00%)

Coverage Initiated

Coca-Cola (KO): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $45.00. Pre-market: 42.54 +0.20 (0.47%)

Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS): BMO Capital initiated coverage with a Market Perform rating and target price of $48.00.

Monster Beverage (MNST): BMO Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $65.00.

PepsiCo (PEP): BMO Capital initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and target price of $92.00. Pre-market: 82.64 +0.01 (0.01%)

Earning Reports

American Eagle (AEO): Reported EPS of $0.18 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 19.96 -0.35 (-1.72%)

Analog Devices (ADI): Reported EPS of $0.52 in-line with estimates.

Compuware (CPWR): Reported EPS of -$0.30 missing estimates by -$0.35.

Dycom (DY): Reported EPS of $0.21 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 23.89 +3.48 (17.05%)

Intuit (INTU): Reported EPS of $2.97 beating estimates by +$0.04. Pre-market: 58.64 +0.75 (1.30%)

Lowe's (LOW): Reported EPS of $0.49 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 41.85 -0.60 (-1.41%)

NetApp (NTAP): Reported EPS of $0.69 beating estimates by +$0.01. Pre-market: 38.85 +2.22 (6.06%)

Staples (SPLS): Reported EPS of $0.26 missing estimates by -$0.01. Pre-market: 14.36 -0.39 (-2.64%)

Target (TGT): Reported EPS of $0.77 missing estimates by -$0.10. Pre-market: 69.69 -1.57 (-2.20%)

Markets: 
Futures at 7:00: Dow +0.12%. S&P +0.17%. Nasdaq +0.17%. Crude -0.93% to $95.81. Gold +0.62% to $1386.00.

Europe: London -0.16%. Paris -0.43%. Frankfurt -0.18%. 

Asia: Japan +1.60% to 15627. Hong Kong -0.45% to 23261. China -0.12% to 2302. India -0.25% to 20062.