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Dividend Inc. submits:
Below are the Nasdaq 100 companies that are within 10% of the 52-week low. Although the stock price is low on a relative basis, we're still on the lookout for a retest of the March 2009 lows. This could mean that many of these stocks could have much further to go on the downside.Sym.NamePriceP/EEPSYieldP/B% to LowGILDGilead Sciences$31.9410.24$3.120.00%4.290.35%NVDANVIDIA$10.0520.85$0.480.00%2.141.52%XRAYDENTSPLY$29.2515.99$1.830.70%2.461.77%FISVFiserv, Inc.$45.6014.29$3.190.00%2.311.79%SPLSStaples, Inc.$19.3117.86$1.081.80%2.182.60%PAYXPaychex, Inc.$25.6719.46$1.324.70%6.833.13%AMGNAmgen Inc.$52.1711.07$4.710.00%2.293.68%VRTXVertex Pharma.$32.470-$3.500.00%6.893.90%ERTSElectronic Arts Inc.$14.790-$2.080.00%1.875.19%ADBEAdobe Systems$27.3938.47$0.710.00%2.865.31%FWLTFoster Wheeler$21.527.85$2.740.00%3.285.85%AMATApplied Materials$12.1938.09$0.322.20%2.296.18%HOLXHologic, Inc.$14.1225.67$0.550.00%1.356.49%CACA Inc.$19.0012.9$1.470.80%1.996.74%SHLDSears Holding$63.2332.69$1.930.00%0.876.79%SYMCSymantec$14.5916.73$0.870.00%2.627.44%YHOOYahoo! Inc.$14.9026.75$0.560.00%1.678.36%GOOGGoogle Inc.$459.6120.92$21.970.00%4.118.53%LOGILogitech Intl$14.330$0.000.00%08.81%MSFTMicrosoft$24.8912.9$1.932.00%4.899.50%KLACKLA-Tencor$29.2368.45$0.432.00%2.349.52%EBAYeBay Inc.$20.0910.87$1.850.00%1.959.72%APOLApollo Group$45.5711.68$3.900.00%4.779.94% Watch List NotesComplete Story »

Zacks.com submits:
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), one of the world’s largest private education providers, reported third quarter of fiscal 2010 earnings per share of $1.74, increasing at a growth rate of 34%. The result topped the year-ago earnings of $1.30 per share and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55.Quarterly ReviewComplete Story »

Scott Wachsler submits: Last fall, we were asked what we thought of for-profit university and trade school companies as investment vehicles. Our reply at the time was that we had not found one that was not extremely over priced. We cited an article we had written about Stayer Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: STRA) last year. In the article we noted that in our opinion, the stock was extremely over valued and that new investors saving for retirement, may simply be too late to the party to use this stock as a means to help them reach their retirement goals.Complete Story »

Zacks.com submits:
Apollo Group Inc. (APOL), one of the world’s largest private education providers, reported earnings growth of 34% year-over year at $1.74 in the third quarter of fiscal 2010. The result topped the year-ago earnings of $1.30 per share and also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.55. Apollo’s BPP operation contributed five cents towards earnings. On a reported basis, including one-time items, earnings came in at $1.18, compared with $1.26 in the prior-year quarter. The Phoenix-based company earned income of $264.6 million from continuing operations, an increase of $58.2 million from the year-ago quarter. Including a goodwill impairment charge of $8.7 million, a pre-tax charge of approximately $132.6 million related to a securities class action lawsuit and discontinued operations of $2.0 million, net income plummeted $21.8 million to $179.3 million.Complete Story »

Kapitall submits:The following is a list of companies that are undervalued, when comparing Wednesday's closing price to the average analyst target price (according to Zacks Investment Research). All of these stocks are part of the S&P 500 index. The list was compiled by using Kapitall's screener tool (free registration required). All discount values are based on the closing values of Wednesday, June 17. Other data provided by Finviz.Complete Story »

Market Folly submits:(This post is part of our series on tracking hedge fund portfolios. If you're unfamiliar with tracking investments they disclose via SEC filings, check out our series preface on hedge fund filings.) Next up is investment guru and legend Julian Robertso,n who founded one of the lauded hedge funds of the era, Tiger Management. He grew the fund from $8 million at inception to over $22 billion at its peak. Between 1980 and 2000, Tiger compounded a gross rate of 31.5%, but after losses of 4% in 1998 and 19% in 1999, Tiger shut down. For more information on Julian, check out Daniel Strackman's book entitled, Julian Robertson: A Tiger in the Land Of Bulls And Bears.Complete Story »

• Geely buys Volvo. China's Geely Holding Group agreed to buy Ford's (F) Volvo unit yesterday for $1.8B, completing 18 months of negotiations and marking the largest overseas acquisition by a Chinese automaker. It's also the first time a Chinese company is in charge of a major global car brand, a reflection of China's rise in the post-crisis world. The companies expect to complete the deal in the third quarter. F +1.3% premarket (7:00 ET).
• Rio employees sentenced to up to 14 years. The four Rio Tinto (RTP) employees that were on trial in China have been sentenced to seven to 14 years in jail for accepting bribes and stealing commercial secrets. The case has garnered broad international attention, reflecting foreign investors' concerns over China's legal system. The employees are considering an appeal of what Australia has called a "very tough sentence," while Rio Tinto has terminated the employment of the employees because of "deplorable" conduct that was "at odds" with Rio's ethical culture. RTP +2.7% premarket (7:00 ET).
• CIT Group may sell Aussie unit. CIT Group (CIT) confirmed it may sell its Australia and New Zealand vendor-finance unit to Bank of Queensland as part of the lender's reorganization. Bank of Queensland, an Australian regional bank, will begin conducting exclusive due diligence for a potential takeover of the unit.
• FDIC, JPMorgan face off on tax benefit. The FDIC has reversed its earlier support for a $1.4B tax break benefiting JPMorgan (JPM). The tax benefit is a result of JPMorgan's acquisition of Washington Mutual; the failed bank's parent company filed a bankruptcy plan on Friday that would allow JPMorgan to claim the sum from an FDIC receivership, and the FDIC's support for the plan was notable missing. It appears the FDIC first became concerned over the potential windfall after meeting with WaMu bondholders who oppose the deal, and after media reports appeared last week with details of JPMorgan's plan. Moreover, TARP specifically excludes companies such as JPMorgan that received government aid from being eligible to receive the tax benefit.
• Sinopec taps into upstream assets. Sinopec's (SNP) Hong Kong unit is buying a 55% stake in upstream assets in Angola from parent company China Petrochemical Corp. Sinopec said the $2.46B deal is meant to be the first of many, as more such deals could protect the company from the high oil prices that hurt margins in the fourth quarter. In addition to purchases of more upstream assets from China Petrochemical, analysts said Sinopec could also look for assets in North Africa, the Caspian Sea and Latin America. The transaction will raise Sinopec's proven reserves of crude oil by 3.6%, and will increase its daily crude oil production by 8.8%.
• Morgan Stanley to underwrite Citi sale. Morgan Stanley (MS) has reportedly been chosen from a strong competitive field to be the underwriter and adviser in the government's sale of its Citigroup (C) stake. The bank will oversee the "dribble out" sale of the government's 27% stake, a process that could take the rest of the year. Sales are likely to begin after Citigroup's quarterly earnings report on April 19.
• Taiwan Semi wants SMI stake. Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) formally submitted an application to Taiwan authorities to take a stake in Semiconductor Manufacturing International (SMI). Taiwan Semiconductor, the world’s largest custom-chip maker, is looking for up to a 10% stake.
• Bank tax efforts pick up steam. The U.S. and European governments are working to build consensus over plans to tax large banks in order to cover the costs of any future bailouts. Germany and Sweden want to use the money to create a "resolution authority," France wants to collect the fees after a crisis has already passed, and the U.S. is split, with Congress favoring a resolution authority and the White House leaning towards a post-crisis option. Despite the differing approaches, the concept of a bank tax has picked up so much momentum that officials expect it to be on the agenda at the G-20 meeting in June.
• Toyota supplies hybrid tech to Mazda. Toyota (TM) reached a deal to supply Mazda (MZDAF.PK) with hybrid technology. Mazda plans to launch a car using the hybrid system in Japan by 2013. Separately, Toyota said today that its global production jumped 83% in February from the year before. However, it will be virtually impossible to sustain this pace as the comparison was against a particularly weak February 2009 and Toyota is still reeling from the fallout of its recent recalls.
• Friday's failures. Four more bank failures on Friday brought this year's total to 41. The closures in Florida, Arizona and Georgia (I, II) will cost the FDIC's insurance fund an estimated $320.3M. However, the FDIC said it would cut the amount of losses it shares with buyers of failed banks, moving away from taking a 95% share of potential losses. An 80-20 split is expected to become the new norm for the entire loan portfolio.

Today's Markets

• In Asia, Nikkei -0.1% to 10986. Hang Seng +0.9% to 21237. Shanghai +2.1% to 3124. BSE +0.4% to 17711.
• In Europe at midday, London -0.3% to 5710. Paris +0.4% to 4004. Frankfurt +0.7% to 6162.
• Futures: Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.6%. Nasdaq +0.5%. Crude +0.9% to $80.69. Gold +0.6% to $1111.30.

Monday's Economic Calendar

• 8:30 Personal Income and Outlays 10:00 Treasury: 'Women in Finance Symposium' 10:30 Dallas Fed Manufacturing Outlook
• Notable earnings before Monday's open: APOL

Seeking Alpha editors Eli Hoffmann and Jason Aycock contributed to this post.Complete Story »

Hickey and Walters (Bespoke) submit:
The Russell 1,000 is up 71.12% since March 9th, 2009. The average stock in the index is up 128%. Of the 947 Russell 1,000 stocks that were around last year at this time, 928 are up since then, while a whopping 412 are up more than 100%. For the shock statistic of the day, there are 24 stocks in the index that are up more than 500% since 3/9/09, while just 19 are down! Below are the 42 stocks in the index that are up more than 400% over the last year. As shown, TRW Automotive (TRW) is up the most, rallying from $1.52 to $27.76 for a gain of 1,726.32%. Genworth Financial (GNW) comes in a close second with a gain of 1,713.19%. The other three Russell 1,000 stocks that are up more than 1,000% are Dendreon (DNDN), Office Depot (ODP), and Las Vegas Sands (LVS).Complete Story »

Brooks McFeely submits:4:04 PM, Jan 8, 2010 --

• DJIA up 11.33 (0.11%) to 10,618.19.
• S&P 500 gains 3.29 (0.29%) to 1,144.98.
• Nasdaq up 17.12 (0.74%) to 2,317.17.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT Complete Story »

• Genzyme seals pact with activist investor. Genzyme (GENZ) signed a deal that could put activist investor Relational Investors LLC on its board of directors later this year. Relational is a $6B investment fund that holds a 4% stake in Genzyme. The deal comes as the biotech firm tries to recover from several production setbacks, and seeks to fend off a possible proxy battle by Carl Icahn, who bought 1.5M Genzyme shares in Q3 and who is expected to increase his stake.
• Japan finmin backpedals on yen. Japan's new finance minister, Naoto Kan, clarified earlier comments on the yen, saying that while he has the ability to intervene in extreme circumstances, "currencies of course should be determined by markets." Kan had previously said he'd like to see the yen weaken a bit more, drawing criticism from government members who felt officials shouldn't comment on currencies.
• Goldman sued over bonus plan. Goldman Sachs (GS) is being sued by an Illinois pension fund trying to recover billions of dollars being paid out as bonuses and compensation in 2009. According to the pension fund's filing, Goldman had set aside nearly $17B for compensation as of the end of September, and may pay out as much as $22B for the past year. The suit claims this "highlights the complete breakdown" of corporate oversight and that Goldman's revenue for the year was artificially inflated by government bailouts.
• Google feels the energy. Google's (GOOG) energy subsidiary has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to become an electricity marketer, allowing the division to buy and sell bulk power at market prices the way large utilities do. Google says the application, which is unusual for a tech company, will help it better manage its own operations, but FERC approval could potentially allow Google to play a larger role in energy markets and even become a wholesaler of electricity to other big buyers. Separately, Google increased the price of its merger agreement with On2 Technologies (ONT) by $0.15/share in cash to account for share price fluctuations.
• RBS sells assets. The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) reached a deal to sell nearly half its asset management business to Aberdeen Asset Management for £84.7M ($135M). The divestiture is part of RBS' efforts to restructure around its core consumer franchises.
• Chinalco holds on to Rio. A senior executive at Chinalco flatly denied rumors that the company is considering selling its stake in Rio Tinto (RTP) to sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp.
• Intel edges AMD with new chips. Intel (INTC) unveiled its latest generation of semiconductor chips, more than a year ahead of rival AMD's (AMD) planned release. In a break from earlier releases, the chips, which are meant to improve laptop graphics and enable additional features on ATMs and other business, are targeted at the higher-volume but lower-priced segment of the market.
• F1 CEO bids for Saab. Saab's closure may not be a done deal yet. Formula One CEO Bernard Ecclestone and Luxembourg partner Genii Capital have made a last ditch bid for Saab to both edge out a rival offer from Spyker Cars and to keep General Motors from winding down the Saab brand. Ecclestone, who called Saab "a good brand that has probably been neglected by the current owners," declined to disclose financing details of the bid.
• Reliance sweetens Lyondell offer. Reliance Industries reportedly sweetened its offer to take a controlling stake in Dutch-based U.S. petrochemical giant LyondellBasell when it exits bankruptcy. Sources say the latest offer is worth around $13.5B, up from an initial $12B offer, but Lyondell appears unlikely to accept the new terms and instead will move forward with a deal to hand the company to senior creditors.
• Retail sales show strong improvements. December's same-store sales looked decidedly healthy, with 21 out of 27 stores reporting better than expected numbers. Overall, sales rose 2.9% compared to the previous year, marking the fourth consecutive month of year-on-year gains and the best monthly showing since April 2008. Stores that beat expectations by more than five percentage points included Aeropostale (ARO), Cato Corp. (CATO), Children's Place (PLCE), Saks (SKS), TJX (TJX), and Zumiez (ZUMZ). (Here's the full breakdown)
• Jobless claims inch up. Initial jobless claims rose 1K to 434K vs. 440K consensus. Continuing claims fell 179K to 4,802,000, the lowest level in around a year.

Earnings: Thursday After Close

• Apollo Group (APOL): FQ1 EPS of $1.47 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $1.3B (+31%) vs. $1.2B. (PR)
• Lawson Software (LWSN): FQ2 EPS of $0.09 in-line. Revenue of $184M (-11%) vs. $176M. Sees FQ3 EPS of $0.07-0.09 vs. $0.10. (PR)

Today's MarketsOverseas markets posted mostly modest gains Friday. Futures are slightly higher on light volume.Complete Story »