Thirty minutes into trading, and Bank of America (NYSE: BAC ) �was already up 0.96%. Following on the heels of yesterday's gain of 0.47%, does this mean last week's Fed-induced market rout is over? And is there something else at work boosting the superbank's performance?
When in doubt, panic
To quickly recap, one week ago today Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the central bank may dial back its program of monthly bond purchases later this year if economic data continues to be encouraging. He made a point of emphasizing the "may" and "if" parts of the plan, but markets around the world freaked out anyway.
Add to this news out of China that its banks were experiencing a credit crunch, potentially in the style of America's own 2008 financial crisis, and investors didn't know what to do, so they panicked.
Foolish bottom line
Yet here we are at what looks to be the start of day three of a general market rally. Along with B of A, all of the Big Four banks are trading in the green today, and all three of the market's major indices are in positive territory, as well. All of these good tidings despite the fact that the Commerce Department just revised first-quarter economic growth down to 1.8%, from the original estimate of 2.4%.�
Hot Dow Dividend Companies To Buy Right Now: Hologic Inc.(HOLX)
Hologic Inc. develops, manufactures, and supplies diagnostic, medical imaging systems, and surgical products for the healthcare needs of women. The company operates in four segments: Breast Health, Diagnostics, GYN Surgical, and Skeletal Health. The Breast Health segment offers breast imaging products, such as Selenia full field digital mammography system, breast tomosynthesis, healthcome mammography products, screen-film mammography systems, SecurView workstation, CAD systems, stereotactic breast biopsy systems, breast biopsy products, breast brachytherapy products, MammoPad breast cushions, and photoconductor coatings, as well as Sentinelle medical MRI breast coils and workstations. This segment also develops a breast imaging platform, Dimensions, which utilizes a tomosynthesis technology to produce 3D images. The Diagnostics segment provides ThinPrep system, a solution for cervical cancer screening; rapid fetal fibronectin test for pre-term birth risk assessment; and hu man papillomavirus offering and InVitro diagnostics for cervical cancer tests. The GYN Surgical segment offers NovaSure system, a minimally-invasive procedure that allows physicians to treat women suffering from excessive menstrual bleeding; MyoSure system for the hysteroscopic removal of fibroids; and Adiana system, a form of permanent female contraception intended as an alternative to tubal ligation. The Skeletal Health segment provides QDR X-Ray bone densitometers that assess the bone density of fracture sites; Sahara clinical bone sonometers, which assess the bone density of heels; and Mini C-Arm imaging systems that are used to perform minimally invasive surgical procedures on a patient?s extremities. Hologic Inc. sells its products through a combination of direct sales and service forces, a network of independent distributors, and sales representatives primarily in the United States, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific. The company was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Bedford, Massachusetts.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Ben Levisohn]
Intuitive Surgical has fallen 4.4% to $381.39 today, but doesn’t seem to be having much of an impact on comparable companies. Hologic (HOLX) has ticked up 0.2% to $22.06, Danaher (DHR) has fallen -.4% to $72.05 and Varian Medical Systems (VAR) has gained 0.2% to $78.70.
5 Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Canadian Pacific Railway Limited(CP)
Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, through its subsidiaries, operates as a transcontinental railway providing freight transportation services, logistics solutions, and supply chain expertise in Canada and the United States. It transports bulk commodities, including grain, coal, sulphur, and fertilizers; merchandise freight; finished vehicles and automotive parts; forest products, which include wood pulp, paper, paperboard, newsprint, lumber, panel, and oriented strand board; and industrial and consumer products comprising chemicals, energy, and plastics, as well as mine, metals, and aggregates. The company provides rail and intermodal transportation services over a network of approximately 14,700 miles serving the principal business centers of Canada, from Montreal to Vancouver, British Columbia; and the Midwest and Northeast regions of the United States. Canadian Pacific Railway Limited was founded in 1881 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Vanina Egea]
Conditions for railroad operations in the U.S. do not look as good as on the other side of the Great Lakes. While Canadian National (CNI) and Canadian Pacific (CP) have wrestled with a greater demand and adverse environmental conditions ���onditions that have sparked a heated debate at Congress ���.S. railroad operators lack the necessary demand to be noticed by the market.
- [By Marshall Hargrave]
Has the market lost faith in Ackman that quickly? Granted, the media has had a field day over the J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP) debacle, not to mention the virtual implosion of his Herbalife (NYSE: HLF) short. However, Ackman is coming off one of his biggest wins with Canadian Pacific Railway (NYSE: CP), which also happens to be in the industrials sector. His Pershing Square hedge fund managed to make 2.5 times its money in just around two years at Canadian Pacific.
- [By Holly LaFon]
Another area that is intriguing to us is the North American energy sector which looks to have a number of interesting catalysts currently. While the energy sector is at present only a modest overweight in the portfolios, we have been encouraged by several trends taking place for a number of years. These positive developments are also having an impact that goes far beyond the energy sector itself. Many believe that the U.S. will become energy independent and possibly a net exporter of natural gas and oil (currently restricted by law) in the next decade. This opinion is based primarily on the development of new drilling techniques (i.e. horizontal drilling, and high pressure fracking) that have enabled companies to access oil and natural gas reserves in shale formations that were previously not economically viable. The ability to tap into this acreage is a game-changer in our view and is already having a tremendous impact on the economy. Employment rates in these mostly rural areas surrounding the shale basins are very high and companies thus find hiring extremely competitive. Strong labor markets tend to create strong local economies. Oil States International (OIS) has been able to capitalize on this trend by providing housing and other services to oil service workers that are in demand in the area. CST Brands (CST) operates gas stations in Texas, but it is increasingly looking to broaden its product offering beyond fuel. Rail companies like Union Pacific (UNP), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU) and Genesee and Wyoming (GWR) have also benefited substantially. Given that shale areas are rural and often lacking infrastructure, substantial investment must be made to support drilling and production activities. Without pipelines in place, railroads have been the primary takeaway mechanism for moving production to the various clusters of refining capacity around the United States. In order to serve this demand, massive investment in railcars has been nee
5 Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Lam Research Corporation(LRCX)
Lam Research Corporation designs, manufactures, markets, refurbishes, and services semiconductor processing equipments used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company offers etch products that remove portions of various films from the wafer in the creation of semiconductor devices. Its etch products include dielectric etch, conductor etch, three-dimensional integrated circuit etch, MEMS devices, CMOS image sensors, and power devices for etching process. Lam Research Corporation also provides wafer cleaning steps that comprise post-etch and post-strip cleans, and pre-diffusion and pre-deposition cleans; and single-wafer wet clean and plasma-based bevel clean systems. The company offers its products to semiconductor manufacturers. It operates in the United States, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, Japan, and the Asia Pacific. Lam Research Corporation was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Fremont, California.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Sue Chang and Saumya Vaishampayan]
$KLAC: KLA-Tencor Corp. (KLAC) �shares rose 1.9%. Analysts at J.P. Morgan on Monday initiated coverage of KLA-Tencor and Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) �at overweight.
5 Best Stocks To Watch Right Now: Hawkins Inc. (HWKN)
Hawkins, Inc. distributes bulk chemicals, as well as blends, manufactures, and distributes specialty chemicals. The company operates through two segments, Industrial and Water Treatment. The Industrial segment provides industrial chemicals, products, and services primarily to the agriculture, energy, electronics, food, chemical processing, pulp and paper, pharmaceutical, medical device, and plating industries. This segment primarily offers acids, alkalis, and industrial and food-grade salts; and receives, stores, and distributes various chemicals, including liquid caustic soda, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, phosphoric acid, potassium hydroxide, and aqua ammonia. In addition, it manufactures sodium hypochlorite, agricultural products, and certain food-grade products comprising Cheese-Phos liquid phosphate, lactates, and other blended products; repackages water treatment and bulk industrial chemicals; and performs custom blending of certain chemicals, and contract and pr ivate label packaging for household chemicals. This segment primarily conducts its operations through distribution centers and terminal operations. The Water Treatment segment provides chemicals, equipment, and solutions for potable water, municipal and industrial wastewater, industrial process water, and non-residential swimming pool water. Hawkins, Inc. was founded in 1938 and is based in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Advisors' Opinion:- [By Seth Jayson]
Hawkins (Nasdaq: HWKN ) reported earnings on May 29. Here are the numbers you need to know.
The 10-second takeaway
For the quarter ended March 31 (Q4), Hawkins met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.
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