Sorry I have been M-I-A since getting back from the break that I was waiting for such a long time (get away from the stifle of not having my own place, the continuity of things from god-knows when), but  then B decided that he needed to get his room re-done. New shelves and all, so it’s been quite a heap of dust, late-night hammering and building, cleaning and countless numbers of trips to Ikea.

Nonetheless, HK was great fun – excellent food, kick-ass shopping (i bought tooo many new shoes – almost did buy YSL tributes for a superbly good price but B said that they were too chunky and he did not like them) and the company of (in my mind) one of the best traveling companions (besides her good friends of course) that a girl could possibly have.

Thanks b:) for always being a sport and doing things that you do not normally do- including braving the crowd with me at the Jimmy Choo & H&M launch. (and yes, that includes having to wait an entire hour to have cheap and steaming glutinous rice)

Since coming back, my weekends have been filled with sun and baseball. watching B play. watching the team play. watching kids play by the green. It has been a good distraction from the hum-drum of school and exams, being at home, being in Singapore. Baseball is goood. Cheering is good. Winning is good. Being able to witness great camaraderie is good. Being able to be happy is good tooo.

Then I have been always fortunate to enjoy great dinners with the BEST FRIEND who is now ENGAGED!

But then, ahha. It has been this way for sometime now )

So from all this good, I have also been preparing myself mentally for work (and I must say that I am starting ONLY because my boss requested me to do so and therefore, cannot be considered as acquiescence to the demands of M who seems to think I have already gotten more breaks that I need).

Nonetheless, I am rather excited by the prospect of starting work. Finally, after all this time.

Work longer hours, be at home less. Suffer significantly lesser.

” All that I am after is a life full of laughter,
As long as I am laughin’ with you
I’m thinkin’ all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we’ve been through
Cause I know there’s no life after you
- Life After You, Daughtry

Blackstone is a huge Private Equity fund.

Private Equity… or PIRATE EQUITY?

They manage more than $ 90 Billion. Hopefully they manage that sum well. The company earns managements fees even if the value of assets they manage gos down. Forward P/E ratio is a reasonable 15. Main reasons why I buy BX is the fact the middlemen usually gain even if things go badly, the fact that if things go well they gain even more. Last but not least:

• Huge dividend yield: 8%
• Grrowing dividend yield: last year was just 6%

Growing dividends in a sinking economy looks nice. I bet that Blackstone’s managing fees will go up if the Economy continues it current recovery.

Blackstone is also quite active: they completed a major acquisition, buying Birds Eye Foods, US largest frozen food company, for $1.3 billion.

I like Blackstone also because their private equity owns Hilton hotel chain.

Main drawback in my choice is the fact that Blackstone has a major downswing risk: during the worst time of the crisis stock price had gone as low as $5. It is $15 now, so am afraid that I may lose 66% of my invested $1000 if the economy goes goes badly again.

Updated throughout the day.

Update 12.50 PM EST:  Boeing (NYSE:BA) could lose a $7.5 billion order for fighter planes to Brazil if the US Senate does not confirm Obama’s nominee to be ambassador to the South American country  (Bloomberg)

Update 11.08 AM EST:  TDAmeritrade (NASDAQ:AMTD) may be buying E*Trade  (NASDAQ:ETFC)  (Omaha World Herald)

Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has lost a large number of its most talented people to hedge funds. (Bloomberg)

The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) tablet PC launch date has been delayed until late 2010.  (Digitimes)

Monster.com (NASDAQ:MWW) may be taken over by News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA) or Google (NASDAQ:GOOG)  (WSJ)

Blackstone’s (NYSE:BX) Pinnacle Brands may buy Birds Eye  (CNBC)

Sony (NYSE:SNE), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Nintendo are working on ways to keep market share as smart phones come after their market share.  (BusinessWeek)

Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) AOL is seeking to buy-out 2,500 employees as it is spun off by its parent. (various)

Citigroup (NYSE:C) may sell its auto lending group.  (NYPost)

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

For more information on Citi, Microsoft, Sony, and Google check the 24/7 Wall St 500.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   Senate Democrats unveiled their healthcare plan.

Reuters:   Hedge fund manage Griffin has rebounded from losses.

Reuters:   GM must pay its debt and become profitable before an IPO.

Reuters:   Kraft (NYSE:KFT) is still considered the front-runner to buy Cadbury.

Reuters:   GE (NYSE:GE) expects slow growth in its huge technology infrastructure group in 2010.

Reuters:   A member of the Fed said the agency should not tackle energy price issues.

Reuters:   The World Gold Council said gold demand fell 34% in Q3.

Reuters:   Private bankers are expected to help the wealthiest Chinese invest $7.6 trillion by 2013.

WSJ:   Blackstone (NYSE:BX) will buy Birds Eye.

WSJ:   Merit increases should make a comeback in 2010.

WSJ:   Bond yields are turning against life insurance companies.

WSJ:   Sony (NYSE:SNE) expects to be back to normal profit levels in 2012.

WSJ:   Conde Nast is preparing content for a new e-reader.

WSJ:   Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) is still playing catch-up with HP (NYSE:HPQ).

WSJ:   A fight is emerging over a new jobs bill.

WSJ:   California still faces a $21 billion budget gap over the next year-and-a-half.

WSJ:   California is legislating for more energy-efficient TVs.

WSJ:   American Express (NYSE:AXP) bought an online payment firm for $300 million.

WSJ:   Ambac (NYSE:ABK) announced a capital surplus increase.

WSJ:   The government will find it hard to bail out the commercial real estate business.

WSJ:   The House Financial Services Committee passed a measure to allow banks to issue government-back debt during tough financial periods.

WSJ:   Delta (NYSE:DAL) said it would put over $1 billion into Japan Air.

WSJ:   AMD (NYSE:AMD) will cut its debt with cash from a settlement with Intel (NASDAQ:INTC).

NYT:   Luxury stores are raising the prices of many items.

NYT:   Banks engaged in risky behavior before the credit crisis even though regulators were aware of their actions.

NYT:   The rising price of drugs is causing House leaders to call for a review.

NYT:   Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) will buy $1.4 billion in auction rate securities.

NYT:   The European ombudsman said that the EC made some mistakes in its Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) antitrust probe.

NYT:   Nearly one million people will see jobless benefits end in January if Congress does not act.

FT:   Obama said the US debt could cause double dip recession.

FT:   There are renewed fears of a China property bubble.

FT:   Vivendi may seek more cash from GE (NYSE:GE) for its piece of NBCU.

You can join our open email distribution list to hear more news on key analyst calls, top day trader alerts, mergers and acquisitions, Buffett and other investment gurus, IPOs, secondary offerings, private equity, and more.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   Two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were acquited.

Reuters:   Zucker, NBCU’s current CEO, will head the company when Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) buys a majority of the company from GE (NYSE:GE).

Reuters:  Dodd’s super-bank regulator fights a uphil battle in Congress.

Reuters:   Fed officials see an uneven recovery.

Reuters:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is working to increase share in China as market leader Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) faces troubles.

Reuters:   UPS (NYSE:UPS) is seeing good holiday demand.

Reuters:   The Swiss will regulate banker’s pay to curb risk.

Reuters:   Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) will fight hard to keep the MySQL software that comes with Sun (NASDAQ:JAVA) even though EC regulators object

Reuters:   Consumer confidence continues to move up.

Reuters:   GM’s chairman asked for a change in pay caps.

Reuters:   Ambac (NYSE:ABK) shares fell on a possible bankruptcy.

WSJ:   AIG’s (NYSE:AIG) CEO Robert Benmosche may leave because of heavy government regulation.

WSJ:   The Justice Department claims that hackers from Russia accessed hundreds of ATMs.

WSJ:   GM’s chairman is starting to clash with its CEO.

WSJ:   The USDA raised its price forecast for corn.

WSJ:   China’s economic recovery is firming up.

WSJ:   Fedex (NYSE:FDX) predicted an 8% rise in traffic on its busiest days.

WSJ:   Muscle cars are selling well.

WSJ:   Private equity firm TPG could invest in Japan Air to back JAL’s closer relationship to American (NYSE:AMR).

WSJ:   The UK was given a warning on its credit rating.

WSJ:   Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) will go after the Nintendo DS handheld game device.

WSJ:   The EU stance of the Oracle deal for Sun may open a rift with US antitrust authorities.

WSJ:   Lenders are working fast to restructure commercial loans under new provisions that give more favorable regulatory treatment.

WSJ:   The head of BlackRock (NYSE:BX) says there in no bubble in the market and that the economy is stable.

WSJ:   The head of Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) defended his company’s pay practices.

WSJ:   Companies will sell as much as $20 billion in bonds this week.

WSJ:   The cost of insuring Japanese government debt is rising.

WSJ:   China car company Geely plans to sell Volvos in Europe if it buys the company.

WSJ:   Thomson Reuters faces an antitrust probe of codes in its data.

WSJ:   The Administration is speeding up $7 billion in grants for faster broadband.

NYT:   The Fed chief is working political ties as his agency comes under fire.

NYT:   Dodd’s plan would expand regulation of risky lending.

NYT:   Video is becoming a bigger part of website home pages to draw advertisers.

NYT:   The chairman of GM says the company can repay the government.

NYT:  Retail sales and industrial output rose in China.

NYT:   Logitech bought a video conferencing company.

NYT:   Government mortgage aid is reaching more people.

FT:   Dodd will seek power to strip the Fed of authority.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Classic video from Big Pun & Terror Squad for What’cha Gon’ Do, featuring Fat Joe & Cuban Link taking on New York native NBA stars of the time Kenny Anderson & Stephon Marbury in a game of 2 on 2.  This hilarious video features Cuban Link tying Kenny Anderson’s shoes together as well as Fat Joe dunking.  What’cha Gon Do? was produced by Juju from the Beatnuts and features Big Pun doing what he was famous for, absolutely murdering the beat.  Christopher Rios would’ve been 38 today, he was probably the G.O.A.T. and should at least be included in your top 5.Whatcha Gon Do? – Big Pun

These are this Monday’s top ten analyst calls with upgrades, downgrades, and initiations in Wall Street research calls:

Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Ariad Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: ARIA) Raised to Overweight at JP Morgan.
Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
Charles River Labs (CRL) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Gap Inc. (GPS) Cut to Equal Weight at Barclays.
Red Hat (NYSE: RHT) Cut to Neutral at Goldman Sachs.
Capstead Mortgage (NYSE: CMO) Raised to Outperform at KBW.
RadioShack (NYSE: RSH) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
Veeco Instruments Inc. (NASDAQ: VECO) Started as Overweight at Piper Jaffray.
VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) Cut to Sell at Goldman Sachs.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Jon C. Ogg
November 9, 2009

Oasis by D.I.T.C. representatives AG & OC  produced by Statik Selektah is the title song to their new album due out November 24th on Nature Sounds.  Production on the album will be handled primarily by Lord Finesse, Show & E Blaze.The Oasis – AG & OC

‘t Zingt al jaren rond in de bibliotheekwereld: alleen door ons te spiegelen aan de Amazoogles van deze wereld zal de bibliotheek weten te overleven. En dat wordt dan vertaald in: één zoekbalkje op de bibliotheekwebsite dat toegang biedt tot alle informatie en veel ‘klanten-die-dit-produkt-bestelden, kochten ook dit produkt’-diensten.

Ex Libris, de leverancier waarvan we inmiddels niet alleen MetaLib en SFX maar ook Aleph afnemen, heeft sinds kort zo’n ‘aanbevelingen’- (0f recommender) dienst: bX. Inmiddels al in gebruik genomen bij onze Leidse collega’s en wij gaan er nu, na alle Aleph-perikelen, de komende maand ook mee experimenteren. Met bX krijgen gebruikers bij hun zoekresultaten via het inmiddels welbekende SFX-menu ook aanbevelingen in de trant van: klanten die dit artikel raadpleegden, vonden ook deze artikelen interessant. bX maakt daarbij gebruik van de gebruiksgegevens van SFX-bibliotheken wereldwijd. Want dat vormt natuurlijk de basis onder elk aanbevelingensysteem: er moet voldoende kritische massa zijn om dergelijke aanbevelingen echt waardevol te laten zijn. Dat is ook de kracht van de aanbevelingen van Amazon.

Werkt zoiets nu ook in een academische omgeving? Ik weet het (nog) niet. Ten eerste natuurlijk omdat ik nog niet met bX heb gewerkt. Maar ook omdat je je af kunt vragen of dat is waar wetenschappers naar zoeken. Willen die ook lezen wat anderen gelezen hebben of juist wat anderen misschien gemist hebben? Zit er niet een zichzelf bevestigend element in het aanbevelen van artikelen die anderen ook hebben gelezen? De keuze voor dergelijke artikelen zal alleen maar leiden tot een nog krachtiger aanbeveling bij een volgende zoekactie. Dreigen daardoor artikelen in minder gangbare tjdschriften niet helemaal in de marge gedrukt te worden? Voor een online boekenwinkel gericht op commercieel gewin zie ik het voordeel van dergelijke aanbevelingen meteen. Voor een wetenschapper op zoek naar informatie over een specifiek onderwerp heb ik mijn twijfel. Vormt juist ook de zoektocht naar relevante informatie en het maken van eigen keuzes daarin (in plaats van blijkbaar al gebaande wegen te volgen) niet een van de essenties van wetenschappelijk onderzoek?

Ik stel het allemaal maar een beetje vragenderwijs, omdat ik ook nog geen kant en klaar antwoord heb. Ben in ieder geval benieuwd naar m’n ervaringen tijdens de proef. En tot die tijd blijft ‘bX’ voor mij toch vooral de Citroën BX Cannes, mijn derde auto, ongeëvenaard wat betreft rijcomfort door de hydraulische vering.

Reuters:   Investors in the banking sector were disturbed by the CIT (NYSE:CIT) bankruptcy.

Reuters:   Summers will lead a high level meeting on the economy.

Reuters:   US companies are holding more cash.

Reuters:   The Fed is likely to keep interest rates flat due to economic uncertainty.

Reuters:   Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is close to gaining control of NBC Universal from GE (NYSE:GE).

Reuters:   Bank of American (NYSE:BAC) is trying to get the head of BNY Mellon (NYSE:BK) to take CEO job.

Reuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is close to buying Fannie Mae (NYSE:FNM) tax credits.

Reuters:   Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) announced a second round of toy cost cuts.

Reuters:   October retail sales could be a disappointment.

WSJ:   The US and GMAC are fighting about capital levels at the lending company.

WSJ:   The head of BNY Mellon told Bank of America that he is not interested in the CEO job.

WSJ:   Danbury Resources (NYSE:DNR) will buy Encore Acquisition  (NYSE:EAC) for $3.25 billion .

WSJ:   The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone got a luke warm reception in China.

WSJ:   Editorial content at The Detroit Free Press is being influenced by advertisers.

WSJ:   EBay (NASDAQ:EBAY) will begin an ad campaign.

WSJ:   Companies hold more assets in cash that at any time in four decades.

WSJ:   The Fed is looking at raising interest rates.

WSJ:   More college presidents are earning over $1 million a year.

WSJ:   The Institute for Supply Management numbers for last month should be up a bit.

WSJ:   Blackstone (NYSE:BX) will broaden its business in China.

WSJ:   Investors in banks should look at loss buffers.

WSJ:   Ford (NYSE:F) may change the locations of where it builds some cars after losing a UAW vote.

NYT:   Human Genome Sciences (NASDAQ:HGSI) has a promising lupus drug.

FT:   The US Senate will introduce a draft financial bill.

FT:   Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is looking at urban expansion in the US.

FT:   Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) says it back US health reform.

Bloomberg:   Citigroup (NYSE:C) and JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) are hoarding cash as if another crisis is coming which will hurt returns.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   The US economy is stable but risks remain according to Geithner.

Reuters:   JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) raised concerns about Galleon in 2001.

Reuters:   As many as five million Americans have been infected with H1N1.

Reuters:   Sony (NYSE:SNE) posted a fourth straight quarterly loss.

Reuters:   CIT (NYSE:CIT) is seen filing for bankrupcy soon.

Reuters:   A House committee has approved a consumer advocacy agency.

WSJ:   Consumer spending is unlikely to keep the pace of Q3.

WSJ:   Samsung’s profit more than tripled.

WSJ:   The House healthcare bill will be tough on drugmakers’ financials.

WSJ:   A book price war including Amazon (NYSE:AMZN) and Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) has caused the companies to limit the copies they sell to keep small booksellers from taking advantage of the prices.

WSJ:   The government is looking at increasing its ability to shrink large banks that may face financial problems.

WSJ:   Citadel is allowing investors to pull out funds.

WSJ:   Blackstone (NYSE:BX) launched a Shanghai investment unit.

WSJ:   Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) sees an improvement in business spending.

WSJ:   The stimulus fueled much of the Q3 expansion.

WSJ:   Swiss banks are losing their richest European clients.

WSJ:   Chinese-made turbines will power a large US wind farm.

WSJ:   Investors are worried about Nintendo’s next move as Wii sales drop.

WSJ:   The Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone will carry a very high price in China.

NYT:   The head of the FDIC criticized plans by the White House to unwind large banks.

NYT:   The IMF raised its forecast for growth in Asia.

NYT:   Time, Inc (NYSE:TWX) is expected to make large layoffs to cut $100 million in costs.

FT:   China and the US are working to cut tensions over trade.

Bloomberg:   Bankers expect rising bonus pay to hit an annual record.

Bloomberg:   Alcatel-Lucent’s (NYSE:ALU) loss rose.

Douglas A. McIntyre

我的宝贝给我个拥抱

恋爱的力量即将引爆

足以震撼世界

你就是我要追求的目标

我的宝贝你真的很好

让我不禁甜蜜的微笑

有了你的生活

让我脱逃寂寞的绑票

- 我的宝贝, 蔡旻佑

We have two initial public offerings today.  We have a poor pricing from Addus HomeCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ADUS) and a solid pricing from a Blackstone interest in the Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (NYSE: VSI) IPO.

Addus HomeCare Corporation (NASDAQ: ADUS) is joining the realm of disappointing initial public offerings.  The home-based medical and social service company, which would seem to be a big growth segment ahead, priced its 5 million share IPO at $10.00 per share.  This is below the $11.00 to $12.00 range. Robert W. Baird and Oppenheimer & Co. were joint book-running managers, and Stephens Inc. was listed as the co-manager.

Vitamin Shoppe Inc. (NYSE: VSI) actually looks like it broke the poor IPO trend.  This company, which sells vitamins and supplements priced its 9.096 million share IPO at $17.00.  This one is ABOVE the $14.00 to $16.00 per share range in an IPO being brought public by J.P. Morgan, BofA Merrill Lynch, and Barclays.  The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) is a holder of this company.

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG

Reuters:   The Nielsen survey shows consumer confidence up in the US for the first time since 2007.

Reuters:   Obama’s financial reforms are advancing in Congress.

Reuters:   The pay czar said his authority should not be expanded.

Reuters:   Obama’s “too big to fail” bill would curb bailouts.

Reuters:   The ex-CEO of AMD (NYSE:AMD) may have given tips to a Galleon information source.

Reuters:   Treasury may have to provide more money for GMAC.

Reuters:   FedEx (NYSE:FDX) and UPS (NYSE:UPS) clashed over a bill on labor rules.

Reuters:   Visa’s (NYSE:V) earnings beat forecasts.

WSJ:   The pay czar increased base salaries at many firms.

WSJ:   Hilton’s debt is becoming a problem for Blackstone (NYSE:BX).

WSJ:   A new poll shows Americans are more pessimistic about the economy.

WSJ:   The UAW is fighting some concessions to Ford (NYSE:F).

WSJ:   The search for a CEO for Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) is facing hurdles.

WSJ:   Broadcast TV owners are pressing cable firms to pay for carrying their channels.

WSJ:   The SEC is questioning Apollo on revenue recognition policies.

WSJ:   IAC (NASDAQ:IACI) is open to selling its search business.

WSJ:   IBM (NYSE:IBM) extended its share buyback.

WSJ:   Motorola (NYSE:MOT), Palm (NASDAQ:PALM) and HTC are having trouble getting their smartphones to stand out.

WSJ:   Large financial firms may have to pay some costs of a collapse of a competitor.

WSJ:   The dollar is the currency of choice in black markets.

WSJ:   S&P put the mortgage insurance divisions of seven companies on watch.

WSJ:   The SEC wants more power over asset-backed securities.

WSJ:   Franklin Resource (NYSE:BEN) had a good quarter.

WSJ:   Cost cutting will only get BP (NYSE:BP) so far.

WSJ:   Online retailers are pushing better service to pick up market share.

WSJ:   More car companies are looking at the design of Chinese autos which are selling outside it home market.

WSJ:   Nokia (NYSE:NOK) released a new smartphone for China.

WSJ:   The FCC may take some TV airwaves and auction them off for wireless internet.

WSJ:   The FTC is monitoring tech competition issues.

WSJ:   McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) is gaining market share in the fast food sector.

NYT:   Reva, which makes electric cars, may have a strong future in that sector.

FT:   A new law may force some financial firms to sell risky businesses.

FT:  The CEO of  UAL (NASDAQ:UAUA) say that there is still too much capacity in the industry.

Bloomberg;  SAP (NYSE:SAP) cut its full-year sales forecasts.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Wall St. likes financial statements that give it deep insights into a company’s operations, especially its liabilities. It likes boards that make sure shareholders get as complete a picture as possible of a firm’s balance sheet and details of its P&L, cash-flow, and other critical financial measurements.

24/7 Wall St. asked Audit Integrity to put together a list of companies traded on US exchanges with market caps of more than $3 billion that do particularly poorly in the areas  of corporate governance, detailed disclosure of high-risk events including M&A and restructurings, revenue and expense recognition, and asset and liability valuation.

Based on the Audit Integrity model, 24/7 created a list of the twenty companies that Wall St. can trust the least.  Among the companies that the analysis flagged are Altria (NYSE:MO), Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS), GE (NYSE:GE), Blackstone (NYSE:BX), Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT),  Wells Fargo (NYSE:WMT), and Dow Chemical (NYSE:DOW)

The list:

Methodology:  The Audit Integrity Accounting and Governance Risk (AGR®) rating is a forensic measurement of the transparency and reliability of a corporation’s financial reporting and governance practices. The focus of AGR analysis is on identifying the measures associated with fraud, and quantifying those risks for interested stakeholders to company stock prices, securities litigation, and major restatement probabilities.

Audit Integrity applies over 100 accounting and governance metrics to a company’s publicly-filed information. The resulting calculation produces the AGR, a percentile score ranging from 0 to 100, with corresponding ratings from Very Aggressive to Conservative.

Companies rated Very Aggressive or Aggressive have proven to be much more likely to face class action litigation and financial restatements, and to suffer severe equity loss. Conversely, those companies that have been consistently rated Conservative are considered the most trustworthy.

AGR significantly improves the predibility of traditional risk models.

The AGR and its underlying metrics are used by regulators, auditors, insurance companies, investment managers, and corporations, and are often incorporated in reporting by major financial media.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Updated throughout the day.

Updated 10.53 AM EST  Activision-Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI) “Guitar Hero 5″ is selling poorly.  (Barron’s)

Update 9.47 AM EST:  BP’s (NYSE:BP) new chairman will make significant changes to the oil company’s board.  (Time of London)

Debt levels at US banks are above those of The Great Depression. (FTAlphaville).

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) may be planning an IPO of its European theme-park operator Merlin Entertainments next year.  (The Deal)

Hollywood studios may push for a bigger share of Netflix revenue (NASDAQ:NFLX) (CNET).

The terms of Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) payback of federal funds may set bank values for the market (TheStreet).

OPEC will raise output if oil hits $100  (CNBC).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Updated throughout the day        

Updated  3.34 PM EST:  Consensus figures for Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) earnings may be significantly too high (Barron’s)

Updated 1.14 PM EST:  The whisper number for Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) is $1.47 EPS compared to the Wall St. consensus of $1.42  (WhisperNumber)

 Update  11.34 AM EST:  Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is substantially increasing the amount of original content it will run on its websites. (CNET)

Update 11.37 AM EST:   GE (NYSE:GE) and Vivendi are $500 million apart on their valuation of Vivendi’s 20% of NBCU (WSJ)

Kraft (NYSE:KFT) will increase its bid for Cadbury from 745 pence to 850 to 900 pence per share before a UK government deadline on November 3  (Reuters)

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) is having trouble raising money for its new $20 billion fund (NYPost).

US authorities are close to filing a number of other insider trading charges against hedge funds  (NYTimes).

The CME (NYSE:CME) may buy the CBOE  of $5 billion. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

PC makers may have over-built based on higher anticipated sales from Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows 7  (Barron’s)

Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) says that tens of millions of US PCs have scam security software  (Reuters)

Potash (NYSE:POT) could benefit from rising corn prices. (BusinessWeek)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone sales may disappoint investors when the company reports earnings (Fortune)

China’s GDP growth rate will be above 8% this year.  (Forbes)

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   US corporations are concerned about the weakness of the dollar.

Reuters:   Bernanke says that global imbalances in trade and cash flows must be addressed.

Reuters:   Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) is attacking new markets with huge price cuts.

Reuters:   Obama Administration officials say big Wall St. bonuses are “obscene”

Reuters:   Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) said millions of computers have fake security software.

Reuters:   The government is getting ready to file a number of insider trading charges.

Reuters:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is taking its Apps business global and claims to have two million customers.

Reuters:   UBS (NYSE:UBS) sent a registered letter to clients about tax issues.

Reuters:   Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) Kindle should easily hold its e-reader market lead through the holidays.

Reuters:   CME is in informal talks to take over CBOE.

Reuters:   Blackstone (NYSE:BX) will begin to invest in theme parks.

Reuters:   Germany says EU concerns will not hurt Opel deal.

WSJ:   Drug companies should benefit from expanded healthcare by getting more insured customer. Insurance companies should be hurt by more competition.

WSJ:   Vivendi and GE (NYSE:GE) are about $500 million apart in a deal for the European firm to sell its stake in NBCU.

WSJ:   Employer-subsidized retirement benefits and employer-paid health care are both being undermined by the recession.

WSJ:   Money managers are facing smaller bonuses.

WSJ:   GM’s support for the Opel deal is being tested.

WSJ:   The Administration is pushing Arab states to export more to China so the Asian nations will not do business with Iran.

WSJ:   CIT (NYSE:CIT) is sweetening its offer to bondholders.

WSJ:   Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Sony Ericsson (NYSE:SNE)(NASDAQ:ERIC) are focusing more on margins.

WSJ:   Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is being burdened by quickly rising expectations.

WSJ:   The US dollar may have further to fall.

WSJ:   Junk bond investors think the market may be peaking.

NYT:   The arrest of Raj Rajaratnam has rattled the hedge fund industry.

NYT:   Some  businesses are profiting from the fall of the US dollar.

NYT:   Nokia’s market share in the US is falling quickly.

FT:   Citigroup (NYSE:C) may have to sell Banamex because of Mexican legal rulings.

FT:   Russia is trying to raise $18 billion in the international bond markets.

FT:   Barclays CEO warned on regulation of banks and bonuses.

Bloomberg:   Gold may move toward $2,000.

Douglas A. McIntyre

It was just in August that practically every single initial public offering was trading above its IPO price.  The market had rallied significantly, and still rallied after that to just this week have a 10,000 handle on the DJIA.  Investors started warming to more risk-based capital, and investment bankers were finally able to get deals done.  Even waves and waves of secondary offerings were able to be absorbed merely by brokers being able to tell clients they could buy stock at an implied discount to the average price over the few days before.  But suddenly, the IPO market has turned out some real dogs with fleas.

Mistra Group (NYSE: MG) priced its offering at $12.50 on October 7.  While it traded as low as $12.17, it has escaped the hangman’s file of ‘busted deals’ as it is now a $13.51 stock.  The one thing that may have helped was that it priced under an initial range of $14 to $16 per share.  Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: TLCR) also went into the busted category temporarily after hitting a low of $18.01 after a $19.00 pricing.  Fortunately, it is up at $19.97 so is also now out of the hangman’s eyes.  Still, an 8% gain and a 5% gain in this market might leave some investors feeling lonely.  Banco Santander Brasil S.A. (NYSE: BSBR) was a very large IPO of over 500 million shares at an implied $13.40, and this one got out of the “busted IPO” dungeon on Thursday and closed at $13.51 on Friday.  Before Thursday it had spent its 6 prior trading sessions as a busted IPO.

Emdeon Inc. (NYSE: EM) had traded above $18.00 briefly after its IPO priced at $15.50 in August. But now the healthcare revenue and payment cycle management solutions provider, which is supposed to be a healthcare winner ahead, closed down at $15.35 on Friday  and had been slightly lower during the week.  This was effectively a re-IPO as Emdeon had been public before after General Atlantic Partners acquired it and it also received an investment from Hellman & Friedman. It also has ties to James Clark, the Netscape founder and was part of Healtheon.

Colony Financial Inc. (NASDAQ: CLNY) came public late in September at $20.00 per share, and it closed down at $19.69 Friday and has traded as low as $19.25.  Interestingly enough, Friday’s $19.68 close looks to be the highest price since the IPO date.   Colony is a newly formed real estate finance company (mortgage REIT) that will focus primarily on acquiring, originating and managing commercial mortgage loans, which may be performing, sub-performing or non-performing loans, other commercial real estate-related debt investments, CMBS, REO properties and other real estate-related assets.

RailAmerica Inc. (NYSE: RA) has been a busted deal after this was brought public in a re-IPO by Fortress Investment Group LLC (NYSE: FIG) after going private in February 2007.  This short line and regional freight railroad operator came public at $15.00 per share on October 12, so it hardly has much trading behind it.  But its absolute highest print this last week was $14.78 and it closed on Friday at $14.26 for a 5% loser.

Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (NYSE: ARI) came public at $20.00 on September 24.  This comes out of Apollo Global Management, LLC and it intends to originate and acquire senior performing commercial real estate mortgage loans, commercial real estate corporate debt and loans and to purchase legacy and newly originated investment grade CMBS, and other performing real estate debt investments.  The highest price this one has seen since the IPO was $19.20, and it closed down at $18.57 on Friday to make the tally come to a 7% loser.

Then comes Vitacost.com Inc. (NASDAQ: VITC), which operates as an online retailer of various nutritional supplements, and health and wellness products.  Its September 24 IPO priced at $12.00 yet has been very volatile in not so much of a good way.  It has traded above the $12.00 mark at $12.25 during the first week, but then shares went as low as $9.34 and closed on Friday at $10.75 for still more than a 10% discount to its IPO price.

There are other 10% and higher losers as well.  Echo Global Logistics, Inc. (NASDAQ: ECHO), which provides business process outsourcing serving the transportation and logistics needs, came public at $14.00 on October 2, and while it did briefly hit $14.23 it closed down at $12.50 on Friday for a loss of 10.7%.

Chemspec International Limited (NYSE: CPC) was brought public in June at $9.00.  This Chinese chemical compounds company has traded as high as $10.50 and as low as $6.63.  Its closing price of $7.79 on Friday gives it a loss of over 13%.

Shanda Games Limited (NASDAQ: GAME) has all the earmarks of a forced copy-cat IPO.  Since it is out of China and a copy-cat strategy, we’ll even call it a knock-off IPO.  This was a Shanda Interactive Entertainment Ltd. (NASDAQ: SNDA) ’spin-off’ that is technically still under control of the parent and by the IPO prospectus will remain that way.  The inspiration for this was this the successful Changyou.com  (NASDAQ: CYOU) spin-off IPO from Sohu.com (NASDAQ: SOHU), which had effectively doubled when Shanda decided a knock-off strategy.  Shanda Games came public at $12.50 on September 25 and briefly hit $13.00.  Yet it also went under $10.00 and closed Friday at $10.32 to come to a 17.4% loser.

Cumberland Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPIX) came public at $17.00 per share and its $75.2 million was to be used for potential acquisitions, the pending launch of the Company’s Caldolor(®) product for pain and fever, expansion of the Company’s hospital sales force, product development, debt repayment and general corporate purposes.  It also markets Acetadote(®) for the treatment of acetaminophen poisoning and Kristalose(®), a prescription strength laxative.  It turns out that IPO investors felt like they got too much of that powerful laxative.  This did go as high as $17.75, but then the blow-holes opened up despite 3 broker as issuing buy ratings.  Shares have gone under $13 and closed Friday at $13.40 for a loser by over 21%.  This one has some revenues and has been profitable.

Lastly, there is Omeros Corporation (NASDAQ: OMER).  This is a biotech play as a clinical-stage company committed to discovering, developing and commercializing products focused on inflammation and disorders of the central nervous system.  It came public at $10.00, already at the bottom of the $10 to $12 per share range, and its shares closed at $6.88 Friday to account for a whopping 31.2% loss for IPO buyers.  No one who bought this has made money as its highest post-IPO price looks to be $9.49.

The Blackstone Group (NYSE: BX) is weighing as many as eight IPOs or target-acquisition exits in the coming months according to multiple reports.  If it wants a smooth exit, it better consider making the deals as good for new IPO buyers as it is for Blackstone.  KKR wants to bring back the giant Dollar General as a public company despite the thought that the dollar-store investment play may have already seen its best days during the recession.

As Gordon Gecko would say, there are many dogs with fleas.  Some will do well in the future, but investors were just too shell-shocked from late 2008 into the first quarter of 2009 to buy up other peoples’ mess.  Investors feel little need to support a private equity-backed IPO where all the proceeds are going straight back to the private equity firms.  Companies that are unprofitable also have less appeal to investors.  And complicated structures also offer conservative investors much comfort.

You can join our open email distribution list to get daily updates on top analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s, secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

JON C. OGG
OCTOBER 17, 2009

50 Cent issued a statement that contained Fat Joe’s album sales for the week, which totaled 8,343 copies.
“A bad man kicks you while you’re down,” 50 Cent said in a statement. “Well I’m the worst, I’ma kick Fat Joe in the head.”
Prior to Fat Joe releasing his 9th solo album, 50 issued a number of viral videos poking fun at the album was released, while Fat Joe replied in kind with messages via his Twitter page.
“Tell 50 to get off my D*CK already,“ Fat Joe said. “He was sick that my album is SO HOT that real music not that wack sh*t him and his clowns are making.”
Fat Joe also appeared on Hot 97’s Cipha Sounds and Peter Rosenberg radio show in New York, where he thanked 50 Cent for the “free promotion” for J.O.S.E. 2.

Source”All Hip-Hop”

First off, Im usually the first to tell cats to go to the damn store a buy some music, but this project is just plain terrible……. Its not selling because it sucks.  Period… It’s not the marketing, the label, the radio or any other reason Joe might have you believe…. The album has a song called “Cupcake” and another one song called “Ice Cream”….. Come on Son……Stay away form this shit…. There is alot of good east coast music in stores right now to keep your hunger for raw street hip-hop under control…..

L.B. Da Writer

Reuters:   Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) posted strong results.

Reuters:   Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) Lewis will skip 2009 pay.

Reuters:   Japan Airlines says bankruptcy is an option to solving its problems.

Reuters:   Soros says US economy will drag on world growth.

Reuters:   A Congressional committee approved rules for over-the-counter derivatives.

Reuters:   Wasserstein’s death will result in a $186 million payment for restricted stock.

Reuters:   Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) will devote a smaller part of revenue to compensation to help quiet critics.

Reuters:   The Fed’s Fisher said rates would stay low and inflation is not a risk.

WSJ:   Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) will push Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) book initiative by offering $10 online deals.

WSJ:   The US is resisting a merger between Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) and TicketMaster (NASDAQ:TKTM)

WSJ:   The loss widened at Sony Ericsson (NYSE:SNE) (NASDAQ:ERIC)

WSJ:   Construction may rebound in 2010.

WSJ:   The Consumer Product Safety Commission will ask China to pay for some of the repairs to home using drywall made in the country.

WSJ:   AMD (NYSE:AMD) posted a small-than-expected loss and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) results were hit by write-offs.

WSJ:   China will probably not support sanctions on Iran.

WSJ:   AIG (NYSE:AIG) will post a loss on the sale of its Taiwan unit.

WSJ:   Profits at Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) fell.

WSJ:   Profit margin that measures interest income on a bank’s assets was bad at Citigroup (NYSE:C).

WSJ:   Gap (NYSE:GPS) will open a store in China.

NYT:   Airlines are increasing fares for holiday travel.

NYT:   Some analysts do not see the improvement in earnings at IBM and Google as a sign of a tech turnaround.

NYT:   Federal jobs programs are missing many states that need them most.

NYT:   Ad revenue at McClatchy (NYSE:MNI) declined.

FT:   The Treasury stopped short of saying China manipulates its currency

Bloomberg:   LBOs are making a comeback cutting financing costs for Blackstone (NYSE:BX).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Reuters:   Aggressive trading in gold in China may be pushing the price of the metal up.

Reuters:   Blackstone’s (NYSE:BX) CEO says the worst of the crisis is over.

Reuters:   The House has begun to create a financial regulation bill.

Reuters:   Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) beat Street estimates.

Reuters:   Crude oil hit new highs for 2009.

Reuters:   New investors are moving into the battered US housing market.

Reuters:   The US pay czar say that AIG (NYSE:AIG) should lower compensation meant to retain employees.

Reuters:   Pepsi (NYSE:PEP) and Anheuser-Busch Inbev (BB: BBI) will jointly buy some supplies.

WSJ:   Wall St. is on track to have record compensation for employees at its major firms–about $140 billion.

WSJ:   E-mails from a Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) director pointed out the actions by the government were making the firm hurt shareholders.

WSJ:   The Bank of Japan kept rates unchanged.

WSJ:   Bloomberg will buy BusinessWeek from McGraw-Hill (NYSE:MHP)

WSJ:   Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) will by Starent for $2.9 billion.

WSJ:   The Fed’s Kohn sees a tamed inflation risk.

WSJ:   The head of CIT (NYSE:CIT) will leave.

WSJ:   Samsung is trying to match the success of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone.

WSJ:   The FCC is seeking broad open internet rules.

WSJ:   Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) is looking to Europe to sell more Kindles.

WSJ:   Natural gas futures were hurt when UNG said it may move some money out of the market

WSJ:   Intel’s earnings raised hope for PC companies Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) and HP (NYSE:HPQ).

WSJ:   Ford (NYSE:F) made a large recall of some of its older cars.

NYT:   Pay cuts are occurring more that at any other time since The Great Depression.

NYT:   China used the recession to increase its hold on global trade.

NYT:   Saudi officials reiterated a call for oil-producing countries to be compensated if rich nations reduce their consumption.

NYT:   RIM (NASDAQ:RIMM) is upgrading the Blackberry to give it broader appeal.

NYT:   The UAW and Ford reached a tentative agreement.

FT:   A decline in China’s trade showed sharply.

FT:   RBS may sell 300 branches.

FT:   Deep job cuts are giving US companies and edge in profits over EU firms.

Bloomberg:   Some Geithner advisors made million from fees paid by Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Citigroup (NYSE:C), and Blackstone (NYSE:BX).

You can join our open email distribution list to get updates each morning on analyst upgrades and downgrades, top day trader alerts, IPO’s and secondary offerings, Warren Buffett and other guru activity, M&A and more.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Raised a few eyebrows when I declared I was shorting BX this morning after they popped yesterday on news they’re going to unload some of their excess baggage.  I understand that and it’s because they’re watching it as an ascending triangle which would be bullish on an upside breakout [which it had Monday].  I, however, took a further step back.  On the Weekly it’s definitely a Bearish rising wedge.  Checking on the Daily at the overall movement off the March lows, I continue to view it as a rising wedge.  Each time it popped, it was faded.  Every single time.  ROC, Accum/dist and MACD all reflect divergence and it’s my belief if it weren’t for those three pops, this stock would still be back at $12 or lower.  The way I look at it; financials are a little shakey here with 3Q earnings being released and BX is not exempt.  If the funds have no desire to accumulate BX, neither will I.  I’m therefore following its previous behavior and fading the pop