MARKET TALK: McGraw-(Down)Hill?
18 Jan 09:11
Edited by Thomas Granahan
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
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9:10 (Dow Jones) ABN-Amro's Mark Henderson starts coverage of McGraw-Hill
(MHP) with a hold rating. At issue, says the analyst, are a too-optimistic
outlook for school spending (McGraw is a big educational publisher) and
expected further weakness in the advertising environment (McGraw owns Business
Week magazine and a handful of TV stations). The bright spot is the company's
financial-services and information group, which includes Standard & Poor's. The
segment, says Henderson, "should continue to perform well." (BS)
9:03 (Dow Jones) Goldman Sachs economists say "there is strong circumstantial
evidence that the economy has returned to positive growth," but they add that
"there is nothing to contradict our view that the recovery will ultimately be
fairly sluggish." (JCC)
8:59 (Dow Jones) P. Schoenfeld Asset Management has hired Georgeson
Shareholder Communications to advise it on a proxy fight against Willamette
Industries (WLL). Willamette provided the information which reiterated
Schoenfeld's plan to nominate 3 directors at Willamette's next annual meeting
if Willamette - which recently rejected Weyerhaeuser's (WY) hostile bid -
enters into a transaction with Georgia-Pacific (GP). PSAM has indicated to
Willamette's board that they should immediately restart negotiations with
Weyerhaeuser on its bid, or at a minimum "remove all impediments to
Weyerhaeuser's offer and let Willamette's shareholders decide whether they
would like to accept it." (GL)
8:52 (Dow Jones) "We're not seeing a lot of strength out of the euro zone and
(the euro) is going to fall further in reaction to any more bullish sentiment
out of the U.S." said Jes Black, currency strategist at MG Financial in New
York. EUR/USD is $0.8807; USD/JPY is Y132.87; EUR/JPY is Y117.08. (JRH)
8:47 (Dow Jones) Advest analyst Rob Mains is raising his target on Oxford
Health (OHP), about a week after he raised his rating on the stock. Why the
delay? His rating change was predicated on enrollment growing at 2% in 2002, up
from original projections of a 1%-2% decline. Now, he says that 2% growth
figure is too conservative, after talking with the company. His target has gone
to $43 from $37. Shares closed Thursday at $36.63. (RJH)
8:41 (Dow Jones) Microsoft's (MSFT) worst enemy is...Microsoft? "Despite the
strength in the quarter, leave it to Microsoft to rain on its own parade," says
ABN-Amro analyst George Godfrey. Management's "very cautious" outlook will
overshadow the excellent financial performance. Keeps buy rating, conceding the
stock will be weak at open. (TG)
8:34 (Dow Jones) November trade deficit at $27.9B, smaller than expectations
of $28.5B. Tsys taking it in stride, 10-year yield unchanged, still flat on
session 4.94%. Stock futures haven't reacted, still soft - S&Ps down 5, DJIAs
off 65, and Nasdaq futures down 20. (JNP/TG)
8:30 (Dow Jones) Wall Street's back in a grumpy mood, no surprise given some
caution out of IBM and Microsoft (MSFT). But there were also some good
indications from each, and as the session progresses that message may find its
way to investors. 3M (MMM) tops views, Nortel (NT) met expectations. Loads of
Fed speeches on tap again, and consumer sentiment always one to watch closely.
Stocks look weak now, Treasurys flat. (TG)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 01-18-02
09:11 AM |
