| Three Bullish Second-Quarter Plays
Analysts are ratcheting down estimates for quarterly profit growth in response to the housing slowdown and subprime crisis. But there's one place where reduced earnings aren't showing up right now: The interface between one quarter and the next usually triggers waves of warnings as internal company mathematics fail to match external expectations. That hasn't happened yet, at least from an anecdotal point of view. But it might be too early to declare victory, with the market holiday skewing last week's news flow. So let's wait another week and keep our fingers crossed. In the meantime, a little planning for a better-than-expected earnings season is in order. An upbeat period for earnings and positive commentary from the majority of publicly held companies would help improve market sentiment and shake off the jitters that have afflicted world markets since late February.
LSE continues winning streak
LAHORE: The bullish trend on the Lahore stock market continued for the fourth straight trading day on Tuesday as the LSE 25-share index moved up by 34 points to close at 4,438.
The market recorded gains despite the fact that investors resorted to profit-taking in the last hour of trade.
Experts pointed out investors had been following the same trading pattern on all the four days the market moved upward. The bourse rises on its strength in the morning session, but weak-holders try to make small profits instead of holding on to their stocks.
This is a prudent way to avoid losses, an expert said, adding small investors should look for small gains only if they did not have the holding power.
The experts said current trading pattern demanded that either the stocks should be retained for a longer term or they should be liquidated on a day-to-day basis as long as there was some profit in bargain.
Orange juice prices up as shoppers pass
After a dismal orange crop forced orange juice makers to raise prices this winter, consumers are starting to say enough is enough. Juice makers like Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Co., which makes Minute Maid orange juice, and PepsiCo Inc. of Purchase, N.Y., the maker of Tropicana orange juice, were forced to raise prices to offset the cost of oranges -- a cost that has gone up at the same time crop yields have gone down. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expecting a Florida crop of about 132 million boxes of oranges for the 2006-2007 season, down from 147.7 million boxes last year. Florida is where most of the juice makers get their oranges. The state has suffered in recent years from hurricanes and disease, reducing acreage in the Sunshine State. Before the hurricane seasons in 2004 and 2005, the state averaged about 220 million boxes.
Holding Pattern Persists
[BRIEFING.COM] Stocks continue to trade sideways around the unchanged mark as investors anxiously wait to get a better look at the earnings picture. It's no secret that slower economic growth and tougher comparisons after several strong years of earnings are likely to snap 14 straight quarters of double-digit profit growth for the S&P 500. However, the possibility that guidance may be extremely cautious is also stalling momentum ahead of Alcoa's (AA 35.08 +0.21) report tonight. It is worth noting that if it weren't for a 1.6% advance in fellow Dow component Citigroup (C 52.41 +0.83), which currently accounts for more than six Dow points, the price-weighted index would still be in negative territory and in jeopardy of seeing a seven-day winning streak come to an end. Citigroup is trading higher amid reports of a possible major restructuring announcement.
City airport ready to fly
St. Thomas Municipal Airport could take off as an economic driver for St. Thomas and Elgin county with a new terminal building. According to two reports by Jocelyn Purcell of Inside Canadian Airports, the airport generates roughly $12 million worth of revenue and employs the equivalent of 65.8 full-time jobs a year. To assess what the airport can do, a terminal feasibility study is in the works. As its name suggests, the report would look at what a new terminal building could mean for the airport. Airport Superintendent Dale Arndt said the envisioned terminal building would combine business, corporate and charter services, be able to accommodate larger aircraft and provide office and administrative space, said Arndt. .
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