Notes of interest 6/26

Lehman initiated coverage of CMG this morning with a market perform rating. The report is full of respect for the brand and growth of the company, but is cautious of valuation, upcoming comps, cost pressures and a challenging consumer environment. See my updated notes here.

ICE was weak yesterday apparently in conjunction with new proposed regulatory changes that might put more restrictions on who can trade its products and to what extent these participants will be governed.

I have taken a short position in MCO and it has worked well since I put it on early in the day yesterday. My post on MCO states I have no position in the stock which was true at the time of writing. Due to time constraints I do not plan on updating all posts when my position in the name changes.

I think FIG is trading much in step with BX. Since Blackstone is now back to the level it priced the IPO at, I expect both stocks to stabilize here as the underwriters will have a vested interest in supporting prices so their chances of bringing KKR and others public will remain strong.

I'm heading to the beach with the family this afternoon for our annual getaway. I anticipate spending some morning time researching and posting, but will be goofing off the rest of the day. I'll still try to reply to any comments or emails but may be a bit more delayed than normal.

Notes of interest 6/22

Resmed is down 2% this morning on a report by William Blair & Co. They are reducing Q4 estimates but say long-term fundamentals remain "robust"

Fortress Investment Group is down as the Blackstone IPO prices. This doesn't appear to be too much of a concern since it is still holding up above its primary support areas.

Overall weakness in the market is affecting UA, CBG, and COH.

Finally, KMX is pulling back from its gap up but this looks more like a consolidation than anything. I'm working on slowly scaling back my short position but still have some exposure there.

Have a great weekend! Check back here Saturday or Sunday for some links to readings I found interesting.

Notes of interest 6/20

FC Stone continues its streak of positive days as investors continue to expect strong results due to continuing volatility in commodities markets.

Carmax the used car superstore is up sharply after announcing earnings. I listened to the conference call and am not extremely impressed. Expect a full update on ZachStocks soon.

Our favorite casino short is trading down this morning approaching the $75 level that has been support. I'm not taking profits yet as this area could be breached which would likely cause a quick selloff a few points lower.

I'm not too concerned with the higher trade in Under Armour yet as it is still below the 50 day and volume doesn't appear to be very strong but I will watch it closely at this level.

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Notes of interest 6/19

Intercontinental has signed an agreement with Russell Investment company to offer futures on the Russell 1,000 2,000 and 3,000 indexes. This is likely bad news for the CME which trades most of the volume on these indexes and may be an important point for the Chicago Board of Trade to consider as they prepare to vote on the proposed mergers with ICE or CME.

Carmax may be challenging its previous low today. The company reports tomorrow before the market opens and has its conference call at 9:00 EST. For anyone who wants to dial into the call, the number is 888-298-3261 and the password is 9749170.

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Notes of interest 6/18

FC Stone is up 5% with no news out at this point. It appears to be riding the momentum as it broke out of its first major base last week.

BOT is higher as the rumor wheel keeps turning. The speculation is that CME will increase their bid and that has CME down 4 bucks (still less than 1%) today

ICE getting a bit of pressure as investors still price in the possibility that the company would respond to a higher CME bid possibly paying too much for BOT.

Other than that its a fairly quiet day.

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Notes of interest 6/15

Las Vegas Sands is up a few bucks this morning with no news out. It may be more of a function of the rising market and a bounce off a pretty well defined support area.

The NYMEX has announced they are putting the company up for sale which has ICE trading higher as takeover speculation continues to circle the sector.

Focus Media has hit a new high and it will be key for the stock to hold this level and truly break free of the consolidation from the last 2 weeks.

It's options expiration today so watch for things to settle down into the close. Enjoy the weekend and happy Fathers Day to all you dads out there

Notes of interest 6/14

Resmed is down this morning while the sleep conference in Minneapolis numbers come in. Wachovia is out with a positive comment but it is not having much of an effect on the stock. Watch for it to try to fight back as the overall market is strong.

CBOT Holdings and Intercontinental are up while CME trades mixed early. CME revised their bid for the BOT to include more cash and a compensation package for members who have CBOE rights that closely matches what ICE offered. It will be interesting to see if ICE now bows out of the bidding process.

FC Stone is following through on its breakout from yesterday. The commodities consultant has seen strong demand for its products as markets have become more volatile.

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