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Strategies & Market Trends : Can you beat 50% per month? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10852)	5/10/2007 11:32:40 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19256

DJ US Stocks Lower Amid Bleak Retail Sales . By Nick Godt U.S. stocks fell firmly on Thursday, as retailers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., reported worse-than-expected declines in April sales, which were blamed on the weather and the timing of the Easter holiday. Yet, investors are likely to question whether the weaker sales reflect a slowing economy and falling consumer confidence amid a falling housing market and high energy prices. News that the trade deficit widened sharply in March, after improving over the past six months, also added to the pressure. The deficit could lead to a downward revision of first-quarter growth to below 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was recently down 63.55 points at 13299.32, led by declines in shares of Alcoa Inc. (AA), Dupont (DD) and Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM). Also among blue chips, Wal-Mart (WMT) fell 0.1%. The giant retailer earlier said April sales were down 3.5%. Analysts expected a 1.1% drop. Overall, Thomson Financial was forecasting that April same-store sales would rise 0.4% compared with 6.5% in the same period last year. The long list of other retailers that missed forecasts for April sales include Gap (GPS), J.C. Penney (JCP), Federated (FD), AnnTaylor Stores (ANN), Nordstrom (JWN), Pacific Sunwear (PSUN), New York & Co. (NWY), Limited Brands (LTD) and Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF). Among other Dow components, Merck (MRK) fell 1.2% after an editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine recommended a cautious approach toward Merck's cervical cancer vaccine, Gardasil. American International Group (AIG) dropped 0.4% ahead of reporting earnings after the close. The S&P 500 fell 7.89 points to 1504.69, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 14.07 points to 2562.27. Trading volume showed 454 million changing hands on the New York Stock Exchange and 610 million on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Declining issues outpaced gainers by 20 to 9 on the NYSE and by 19 to 8 on the Nasdaq. By sector, banks, gold and biotechnology led the declines, while airlines were among the few sectors rising. After being put on the backburner during the first-quarter earnings season, investors may again pay attention to signs of a slowing economy. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and referred to the slowing economy in its accompanying statement, even as it said inflation remained its number one concern. But news that the U.S. trade deficit widened sharply in March could revive economic concerns. The deficit could lead to a downward revision of the already low first-quarter gross domestic product to below 1%, according to Action Economics. The Bank of England increased interest rates for the fourth time since August, while the European Central Bank kept interest rates unchanged, while hinting at a June increase. The dollar rose against major rivals, even after the deficit numbers, following a drop in weekly U.S. jobless claims. Crude-oil futures rose 56 cents to $62.11 a barrel. Gold futures dropped $6.70 to $675.80 an ounce Gap (GPS) dropped 2.3% after reporting weaker-than-expected April sales. Whole Foods (WFMI) tumbled 8% after reporting a profit decline and slowing same-store sales growth. Rio Tinto (RTP) fell 5.4% after Wednesday's rally from hopes that BHP Billiton will buy it, as the stock cooled in London and Sydney trade on Thursday. -Nick Godt; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires May 10, 2007 11:21 ET (15:21 GMT) Copyright (c) 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.- - 11 21 AM EDT 05-10-07 Brought to you by Scottrader, a product of Scottrade Inc

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10852)	8/1/2007 11:09:56 AM
From: Smiling Bob	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 19256

WFMI - 39.7 in these @ 1.35 Have to work to redeploy now .FMQTH

To: Smiling Bob who wrote (10852)	5/14/2008 1:31:31 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 19256

Whole Foods stock gets battered after weak earnings report Wednesday May 14, 11:56 am ET Whole Foods stock roughed up a day after earnings report falls short of Wall Street's hopes DALLAS (AP) -- Shares of Whole Foods Market Inc. tumbled more than 12 percent Wednesday after the organic and natural foods retailer's first-quarter profit fell and missed Wall Street estimates. The company reported higher same-store sales, but growth wasn't as strong as recent years and continued to weaken through early May. Chief Executive John Mackey said he didn't know why sales growth slowed but it could be due to the weakening economy and tougher competition. Whole Foods shares fell $4.18, or 12.4 percent, to $29.46 in midday trading after sinking to a 52-week low of $28.96 earlier in the session. The Austin-based grocer said after the market closed Tuesday that its profit fell 13 percent to $40 million, or 29 cents per share, in the quarter ended April 13 from $46 million, or 32 cents, a year earlier. Revenue rose 28 percent to $1.87 billion as the chain added Wild Oats stores it bought last year. Analysts had expected the company to earn 30 cents per share on sales of $1.89 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Financial. Sales at stores open at least a year, a key measurement in retailing, rose 6.7 percent in the quarter. But Whole Foods investors are accustomed to even more robust growth -- from 2003 through 2007, the chain averaged 10.9 percent. And the sales pace slowed even more in the first four weeks of the new quarter, through May 11, to 5.7 percent. Whole Foods was once thought immune from an economic downturn, as its well-heeled customers weren't losing their jobs and didn't mind paying extra for perceived quality or unique items. That may be changing. Edward Aaron, an analyst with RBC Capital Markets, called the same-store numbers disappointing and said they seemed to weaken as the past quarter evolved. He said the results confirmed his belief that traffic in the stores has slowed due to the economy. Goldman Sachs analyst Simeon Gutman said it appeared to be the first time in recent memory that economic trends were hurting Whole Foods sales. He added that costs were rising for converting Wild Oats stores to the Whole Foods name. Whole Foods operates about 270 stores and has 89 in development, much larger on average than its existing ones.