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Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: April 6, 2006Posted by securities on: 2006-04-07 09:31:39
Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: April 6, 2006 Louis Victor Article: It's Thursday April 6, 2006, as the clowns rang the closing bell on the Nasdaq the rally had to take a break, at least for Wednesday as there may be follow through in today's trading session. The Senate Republicans reached an agreement late Wednesday on a compromise immigration measure that would clear the way for legal status and eventual citizenship for many of the estimated 11 million men, women and children living in the United States illegally. These are some highlights of the bill, those that have been in the country more than five years can stay in the U.S. and work on gaining legal status but they would have to pay a $2,000 fine, pay back taxes, learn English, remain working for 11 years and go through a criminal background check. Now for those that have only been in the U.S. for 2 to 5 years would have to go to one of 16 ports of entry such as El Paso, Texas and apply for a low-skilled or un-skilled temporary work visa. Now those that have been here less than two years are required to leave the country and get in line with others that are looking for citizenship. The White House has not reacted to this new proposal as of yet. All that I can say is that I'm glad to be an American NYSE The NYSE Group (NYSE: NYX) has completed the first phase of the NYSE Hybrid Market with the addition of 2,703 NYSE listed issues in a matter of two days, this is a phase that commenced back on December 15, 2005. Features of the Phase I included e-Quotes, c-Quotes, s-Quotes, g-Quotes, reserves and layering of quotes among other functionality. Phase II implementation will begin shortly and will give specialist the ability to narrow spreads and provide price movement electronically for the first time. This will change the scope of trading on the floor as we know it. Advancers/Decliners St. Jude Medical (NYSE: STJ) topped the decliners as the stock was punished by traders after St Jude lowered its quarterly sales expectations to $784 million from between $799 million and $839 million, the stock closed at $36.25 down $5.05 on over 51 million shares traded. Apple Computers (NASDAQ: AAPL) topped the gainers as they opened the door to allow Apple users to run the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows operating system with a simple patch from Apple called Boot Camp. This really doesn't present a big surprise as Apple is now using the Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) Chip but it still presented the WOW factor that Apple would work with Microsoft in some way. This pushed the stock into record territory as it traded as high as $67.21, which is where it closed, up $6.04 on over 79 million shares traded. Citigroup Lets talk about banks, recently William Rutledge, EVP of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York informed Citigroup's Charles Prince that they have lifted the ban on Citigroup (NYSE: C) making major acquisitions. If you recall this is how the company made tremendous growth since the early nineties when the stock was trading in the low single digits. So now they have the green light to make large acquisitions again, so here are four possible targets that investors may want to look at. They are Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC), Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), Washington Mutual (NYSE:WM) and Commerce Bancorp (NYSE: CBH). Wells Fargo and Washington Mutual give Citi a west cost presence, which they lack right now while Countrywide increases their mortgage business by a large margin and Commerce Bancorp was thrown in because of their rapid growth along the east cost. So keep those stocks in your scope as Citi may begin to ramp up the acquisitions sooner than later. Life Time Fitness Summer time is on the way and the one thing that beings to inspire people is that they cannot hide behind the big coats and sweaters for much longer. A company that you may want to look at is Life Time Fitness (NYSE: LTM), they currently own and operate over 46 facilities in the Arizona, Virginia, Minnesota, Texas, and Illinois areas. This isn't your average health club, they are upper scale centers and some of the locations feature rock climbing, summer and holiday camps, kids club, racquetball, indoor and outdoor pools and spas. Now that is just part of what the company does, they also have their own supplement line and magazine. Now the stock is trading near its 52 week high of $47.45 at $46.07 and the stock has been steadily climbing since July 0f 2004. We are looking for the stock to break through the 52 week high and create a new base for further growth as a spurt of new memberships and increased consumption of their product line should jump during the spring and early summer months. So this is a company to look at if an investor is interested in the fitness industry. Glenayre Technologies The following company has been in our scopes for a few months now , they are a Entertainment Distribution Company based in Atlanta, Georgia by the name of Glenayre Technologies (NASDAQ: GEMS). They are involved in the business of manufacturing and distributing CD and DVD's for the entertainment industry. One of their main clients is Universal Music Group. Now that is not the meat of the growth for the company as the entertainment industry is leaning towards digital downloads of both music and video products. The company is also involved in the messaging business; they are a global supplier of next-generation messaging solutions and enhanced services for wireless and fixed line carriers and cable companies. Their applications are based on their Versera ICE platform, which allows carriers to quickly, easily and cost effectively deploy new services to their customers. From interactive messaging to maximizing the potential of a 3G network, this company is an undiscovered "GEM" in the mobile communications industry. The company offers its messaging services through direct sales force and regional offices in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; South Africa; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; London, England; Brazil; Vienna, Austria; India; Singapore; and Hong Kong. So they are truly global. The stock is close to its 52 week high of $5.60 trading at $5.40 and the last time that the stock climbed this high is when it hit $4.42 on July 11, 2005. On March 8, 2006 an analyst from Morgan Joseph initiated coverage of the company with a buy rating. The stock has the potential to move much higher with more people becoming mobile and here's food for thought a slew of elementary school students will be entering high school in September and this is a generation that is dead center in the mobile revolution. We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, it's only for your protection. NAMC Newswire Note Go to the NAMC Newswire for updates at www.namcnewswire.com and you can listen to the NAMC Radio for the audio version of "Wall Street to Main Street" at www.namcnewswire.com/namcradio To register to receive the Wall Street to Main Street Free Daily Newsletter Click Here or go to our site and click on the Newsletter section. www.namcnewswire.com/newsletter CEO's that want to contact us can do so by going to www.namcnewswire.com or call us at 888-463-9237. Louis Victor NAMC Newswire 888-463-9237 Disclaimer: None of the information contained on the NAMC Newswire constitutes a recommendation by the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, nor its parent company that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific investors or person. Each individual investor must make their own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio Any past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The NAMC Newswire, its journalist nor its parent company does not guarantee any specific outcome or profit, and all investors should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments featured on the NAMC Newswire or the NAMC Radio. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and investors may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information featured on the NAMC Newswire website or the NAMC Radio segment, investors should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from their own financial or investment adviser. Investors are also urged to do their own due diligence before investing in any security. All opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio are based upon information that is considered to be reliable, but neither the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, its parent company, affiliates nor assigns warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. The statements and opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire by its journalist are based on their outlook at the time of the statement or opinion, and are subject to change without notice. NAMC may at times hold a position in the companies that it features, in these cases appropriate disclosure is made. |
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