Tuesday, December 22, 2009

plus 4, Portfolio Managers From Davidson Recommend Stocks: 7% Free Cash Flow ... - Yahoo Finance

plus 4, Portfolio Managers From Davidson Recommend Stocks: 7% Free Cash Flow ... - Yahoo Finance

Portfolio Managers From Davidson Recommend Stocks: 7% Free Cash Flow ... - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:08 AM PST

67 WALL STREET, New York - December 22, 2009 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its GARP And Other Investing Strategies Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 59 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Broadly Diversified Asset Allocation Strategy - Emerging Markets in International Investing - Underlying Growth - Global Marco and CTA Space - Dispersion Between Individual Equities and Individual Credits - High-Quality International Equities - The Mexico Fund - Under-Followed Businesses - ETFs and ETNs - GARP Investing

Companies include: Grupo Televisa (TV); Texas Instruments (TXN); Abbott Labs (ABT); Amazon (AMZN); America Movil (AMX); Apple (AAPL); Banco Bradesco (BBD); Banco Compartamos (BMOSF.PINK); Bank of America (BAC); Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY); Bolsa (BOLSAA.MXK); British Petroleum (BP); Burlington Northern. (BNI); Campbell Soup Company (CPB); Cemex (CX); China Life, (LFC); China Mobile (CHL); Cisco (CSCO); Creditcorp (BAP); Cubist Pharmaceuticals (CBST); Deutsche Bank (DB); EOG Resources (EOG); Fuqi International (FUQI); Genomma Lab (LABB.MXK); Goldman Sachs (GS); Google (GOOG); Grupo Bimbo (BIMBO.MXK); Grupo Mexico (GMBXF.PINK); HDFC Bank (HDB); Hengan International Group (1044.HK); ICICI Bank (IBN); ITT Educational Services (ESI); Ingersoll-Rand (IR); Itau Unibanco (ITUB); JP Morgan (JPM); James River Coal (JRCC); Kohl's (KSS); Manulife (MFC); MetLife (MET); Nestle (NSRGY); Nordstrom (JWN); Novartis (NVS); Oriental Financial Group (OFG-A); Petrobras (PBR); Prudential (PRU); SYSCO (SYY); Shinhan Financial Group (SHG); Standard Chartered (LON:STAN); Tyco Electronics (TEL); Walmart de Mexico (WMMVY); WellPoint (WLP); Wells Fargo (WFC); Wimm-Bill-Dann (WBD).

In the following brief excerpt from the 59 page report, Jeffrey M. Bagley and Joseph J. Costigan discuss the outlook for the GARP investment management sector and for investors.

Jeffrey M. Bagley, CFA is a Senior Vice President and portfolio manager at Davidson Trust Company, an investment management firm in Devon, PA with approximately $850 million in assets under management. In addition to his portfolio management responsibilities, Jeff is a member of Davidson's investment strategy and equity research team. Before joining Davidson Trust Company, Jeff was a Senior Investment Analyst at The Vanguard Group, where he served as a primary investment expert for institutional clients, conducting economic, market and investment review

Joseph J. Costigan, CFA is a principal at Davidson Trust Company. In addition to his responsibilities as a portfolio manager, he is the firm's healthcare analyst and covers selected consumer and technology stocks. He is a member of the firm's investment strategy and equity research team. Prior to joining Davidson, Mr. Costigan was an Assistant Vice President at Wilmington Trust Company where he managed investment portfolios for affluent families. He is a member of the CFA Institute, as well as the CFA Society of Philadelphia.

TWST: What about the health care area? Have you found any opportunities in those segments of health care?

Mr. Bagley: Yes, there is a tremendous opportunity in health care right now, both on a top-line growth basis and on a valuation basis. The bigger theme here is the aging of America. As the Baby Boomers approach their prime health care spending years, that should be a boon for most of the health care companies out there. The thing that's been holding a lot of these stocks back is, of course, the pending health care legislation. We think that some form of legislation will pass eventually, and it remains to be seen exactly how things will fall out because of the legislative efforts. People do fear that there will be some price controls put into place, but that's only half the story. If this legislation goes through, it promises to increase health care utilization to an extent that few people realize. Spending on health care services will likely increase dramatically, and that will be quite the tailwind for the companies. So while the prospect of price controls is real and should not be discounted, I believe increased utilization will likely trump any controls put in place.

At this time, I believe overall valuations for the sector are extremely attractive. One stock that we own is Abbott Labs (ABT). Abbott Labs is a fairly staid and diversified company, but it also has some excellent growth prospects compared to the rest of the industry. One of their newest products, the drug-eluting XIENCE stent, is capturing a great deal of market share, and it is fast becoming the standard of care in the cardiovascular space. That's adding significantly to their bottom-line growth right now, and the other divisions are also performing fairly well. When we take a look at stocks, especially in the health care sector, we make sure that management is spending a great deal of money on research and development in order for them to maintain their competitive edge. Abbott Labs most certainly is; they spent close to $2.7 billion on research and development last year, and we expect that to continue. We also look at valuations on a free cash flow basis. That's how much cash is the company throwing off after adjusting for capital expenditures. Abbott Labs is trading at a free cash flow yield of 7%. When you look at that in the context of bond yields, and also considering that Abbott has excellent growth prospects, we believe the valuation is very, very attractive.

TWST: What about the financial sector? Do you see any light at the end of a tunnel or rather any areas of financial services where you find representation?

Mr. Bagley: We are very optimistic regarding the prospects for financials over the next two to three years. But of course, this positive view requires one to look over the economic valley to more "normal" times ahead. For the most part, the financials have come a long way, even in nine short months. They've been able to issue a great deal of equity in order to refinance and bolster their balance sheets, which was extremely important in the environment in which we found ourselves. Their access to capital has thus increased dramatically, and that's enabled the companies to work off a lot of the bad loans and investments that they've had on their balance sheets. So that side of the story - cleaning up after the real estate bubble - is progressing rather well.

Turning to the future, we believe it is important to envision what the industry will look like in the coming years. With the disappearance of a great number of companies over the last 18 months, we see relatively limited competition for the few companies that are still in existence. We want to take advantage of that by owning the survivors, like Goldman Sachs (GS) and JPMorgan (JPM). We also believe that fundamentals are improving for some of the bigger banks, such as Bank of America (BAC) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Keep in mind right now that these banks can borrow for next to no cost, and they can lend out at 4%, 5%, or more, depending on the type of loan. In summary, the lending spreads are very wide; the problem loans are getting much more manageable. And when you take a look at the true earnings power of these companies looking out two years, we think that they trade at very attractive multiples.

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 59 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online .

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673

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Executive Director Of UBS Sees Clear Winners In Beverage Space: 30 ... - Yahoo Finance

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 07:47 AM PST

67 WALL STREET, New York - December 22, 2009 - The Wall Street Transcript has just published its Food, Beverages And Tobacco Report offering a timely review of the sector to serious investors and industry executives. This 32 page feature contains expert industry commentary through in-depth interviews with public company CEOs, Equity Analysts and Money Managers. The full issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online.

Topics covered: Enhanced Value Proposition; Consumer Consumption Habits; Changing Bottling Trends; Weak On-Premise Consumption vs. At-Home; Consolidation of Mexican Brewers; Cadbury As Acquisition Target; Increased M&A Activity; Bottled Water Competitive Landscape; Diverse Tobacco Product Offerings

Companies include: Brown-Forman (BF-B); Cadbury (CBY); Callaway (ELY); Cheesecake Factory (CAKE); Chipotle (CMG); Coca-Cola (KO); Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE); Coca-Cola FEMSA (KOF); Coca-Cola Hellenic (CCH); Constellation Brands (STZ); Eldorado Artesian Springs, Inc. (ELDO.OB); FEMSA (FMX); Hansen Natural (HANS); Hershey (HSY); Jones Soda (JSDA); Kraft (KFT); Modelo's  (GPMCF.PK); Nestle (NSRGY.PK); PepsiAmericas (PAS); PepsiCo (PEP); PepsiCo - Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG); Reynolds American (RAI); SAB (SBMRY.PK); SABMiller (SBMYFY.PK); Uplift Nutrition (UPNT.OB).

In the following brief excerpt from the 32 page report, Kaumil Gajrawala discusses the outlook for the beverage sector and for investors.

Kaumil Gajrawala is an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank, where he covers U.S. beverage stocks, and coordinates the global food and beverage research effort. Mr. Gajrawala has been covering equities on the sell side for more than 10 years, although he began his career analyzing the satellite communications industry. After joining PaineWebber in 2000 as an analyst of eCommerce and cable industries, he moved to cover beverages in 2002. In 2008 he was ranked top "up-and-comer" beverage analyst by Institutional Investor magazine. Mr. Gajrawala holds a B.S. in finance from Rutgers University.

TWST: Which companies are doing a good job managing their different brands or executing successful product promotions?

Mr. Gajrawala: Portfolio-wise, PepsiCo has always been the master of brand management and the interaction between their brands, and it's driven by their Frito-Lay business. And what they're able to do is because Frito has a distribution advantage versus its competition, which is called direct-store delivery, DSD, they're able to better manage their product sets than most of the competition. When you have eight of the top 10 brands, and a technology and a distribution advantage, there is a lot more you can do versus someone with a closer competitor.

TWST: You have a sell rating on Brown-Forman. Tell us about the decision behind your rating and what it would take for you to upgrade the stock.

Mr. Gajrawala: I think what's important is in consumer staples, usually the stock gets impacted often on the short term. This holiday season is likely to be weak, particularly for Brown-Forman, and it's likely to impact the stock. But over the long term, the brand of Jack Daniel's is very strong. It's not going to go away because of one holiday season and one period of promotional activity. It's still going to be very strong, and we could end up in one of those scenarios where you see a lot of short-term weakness in the stock, which could be a great opportunity if you're looking further out. And so the brand remains very strong. It's where the stock is versus what the next six to 12 months are going to be like.

TWST: PepsiCo is your top-rated stock right now, and you wrote in your research note that this is the best buying opportunity in seven years. Tell us why you like this company and why it's the right time to buy.

Mr. Gajrawala: In consumer staples there are rarely opportunities to get global franchises at a significant discount when that can help justify a 30%-type of return, because these are the types of returns you get in other industries but rarely in staples. And even when it exists in staples, it's very rarely with the big guys like the Coke's and the Pepsi's. You need something external to happen in order to create that opportunity. And right now, I think there are a variety of factors that have led to the underperformance of Pepsi versus its peers and versus the market. And what they are is, one, you've got a bottler deal pending, which means you have pressure on the stock until that deal closes. That's why it has underperformed the staples group. The other thing is staples, as a group this year, has been about higher beta and discretionary, not about defensives. And so the stock is trading significantly below on a relative basis versus the S&P, where it historically trades despite the fact that over the next couple of years, they have more earnings power than they have had over the last couple of years. And if you look at the company, and you were to stack it all up, you have two-thirds of the $1.2 billion productivity plan, you have declining commodity costs, you have the synergies from the bottler deal, you have the return of a share buyback, and you have the benefit of currency, which gives them a huge amount of flexibility in terms of what they can report over the next couple of years.

The Wall Street Transcript is a unique service for investors and industry researchers - providing fresh commentary and insight through verbatim interviews with CEOs and research analysts. This 32 page special issue is available by calling (212) 952-7433 or via The Wall Street Transcript Online .

The Wall Street Transcript does not endorse the views of any interviewees nor does it make stock recommendations.

For Information on subscribing to The Wall Street Transcript, please call 800/246-7673

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Report: FBI probes hacker attack on Citigroup - YAHOO!

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:29 AM PST

WASHINGTON – The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Citing anonymous government officials, the Journal reported that the hackers were connected to a Russian cyber gang. Two other computer systems, at least one of connected to a U.S. government agency, were also attacked.

Citigroup denied the report. "We had no breach of the system and there were no losses, no customer losses, no bank losses," said Joe Petro, managing director of Citigroup's Security and Investigative services. "Any allegation that the FBI is working a case at Citigroup involving tens of millions of losses is just not true."

The Journal reported that the attack on Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary was detected over the summer, although it may have occurred up to one year earlier. The FBI, the National Security Agency, the Homeland Security Department and Citigroup worked together to investigate the attack.

Cyber crime is of increasing concern to businesses and the federal government, with President Barack Obama calling it one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face."

On Tuesday, Obama announced the appointment of Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, as the government's cyber security coordinator.

Internet attacks on banks are very common, said Tom Kellermann, a former senior member of the World Bank's Treasury security team and now vice president of security awareness for Core Security Technologies.

While he said he has no knowledge of an attack specific to Citigroup, Kellermann said Tuesday that large financial institutions are "consistently targeted" by criminal organizations in Eastern Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.

"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he said, adding that the industry is "hemorrhaging funds" as a result.

Banks that accept deposits made more than 53,000 reports of wire transfer fraud between April 1996 and the end of 2008, according to the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These reports are filed when a bank suspects criminal activity, though they are not necessarily evidence that a crime was committed. Nevertheless, such reports have been increasing. Nearly 15,000 of these reports were filed in 2008, up from 9,300 the year before.

It's often difficult to determine who pulled off a virtual bank heist. Hackers tend to use "botnets," worldwide networks of "zombie" personal computers they've infected with viruses without the knowledge of the computers' owners.

And even if the hackers are caught, punishing them is another hurdle.

"Less than 30 countries have actually criminalized cybercrime," Kellermann said.

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WSJ: FBI probes hacker attack on Citigroup - CNBC

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:29 AM PST

WASHINGTON - The FBI is investigating a hacker attack on Citigroup Inc. that led to the theft of tens of millions of dollars, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.

Citing anonymous government officials, the Journal reported that the hackers were connected to a Russian cyber gang. Two other computer systems, at least one of connected to a U.S. government agency, were also attacked.

Citigroup denied the report. "We had no breach of the system and there were no losses, no customer losses, no bank losses," said Joe Petro, managing director of Citigroup's Security and Investigative services. "Any allegation that the FBI is working a case at Citigroup involving tens of millions of losses is just not true."

The Journal reported that the attack on Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary was detected over the summer, although it may have occurred up to one year earlier. The FBI, the National Security Agency, the Homeland Security Department and Citigroup worked together to investigate the attack.

Cyber crime is of increasing concern to businesses and the federal government, with President Barack Obama calling it one of the "most serious economic and national security challenges we face."

On Tuesday, Obama announced the appointment of Howard A. Schmidt, a former eBay and Microsoft executive, as the government's cyber security coordinator.

Internet attacks on banks are very common, said Tom Kellermann, a former senior member of the World Bank's Treasury security team and now vice president of security awareness for Core Security Technologies.

While he said he has no knowledge of an attack specific to Citigroup, Kellermann said Tuesday that large financial institutions are "consistently targeted" by criminal organizations in Eastern Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia.

"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he said, adding that the industry is "hemorrhaging funds" as a result.

Banks that accept deposits made more than 53,000 reports of wire transfer fraud between April 1996 and the end of 2008, according to the Department of Treasury's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. These reports are filed when a bank suspects criminal activity, though they are not necessarily evidence that a crime was committed. Nevertheless, such reports have been increasing. Nearly 15,000 of these reports were filed in 2008, up from 9,300 the year before.

It's often difficult to determine who pulled off a virtual bank heist. Hackers tend to use "botnets," worldwide networks of "zombie" personal computers they've infected with viruses without the knowledge of the computers' owners.

And even if the hackers are caught, punishing them is another hurdle.

"Less than 30 countries have actually criminalized cybercrime," Kellermann said.

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NewMarket Technology, Inc. Issues Update on Greenfield Program ... - Stockhouse

Posted: 22 Dec 2009 08:37 AM PST

DALLAS, TX, Dec 22, 2009 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX News Network) --

NewMarket Technology, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: NWMT) today released an on-demand Webcast providing an update on progress in Africa in conjunction with the Company's Greenfield program and its participating companies. NewMarket started the Greenfield partnership program to accelerate the introduction of new technologies into emerging markets around the world where technology buying is on the rise, while improving return on investment (ROI) potential. Companies currently participating in the program include China Crescent Enterprises, Inc. (OTCBB: CCTR), NuMobile, Inc. (OTCBB: NUBL) and Alternet Systems, Inc. (OTCBB: ALYI). These companies were chosen to participate in the partnership program based on their technology and service offerings in conjunction with the emerging geographic markets in which they currently participate, such as China, Latin America and East Africa.

China Crescent Enterprises, Inc.

China Crescent is a systems integration service provider in China that markets technology outsourcing services that include the sale and service of brand name technologies such as Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, IBM, HP and Dell. China Crescent reported over $40 million in annual revenue in both 2007 and 2008, and recently reported $30 million in revenue through the first nine months of the year ending September 30, 2009, with record net income of $1.8 million compared to $517k in net income for the same period in 2008.

NuMobile, Inc.

NuMobile is building a portfolio of software solutions for the global mobile computing and smartphone market and in 2009 acquired two companies with proprietary technology focused on mobile network security. Additionally, NuMobile announced a potential $20 million contract and two additional pending acquisitions focused on SMS, MMS, IVR, and identity management solutions for SaaS and Cloud computing.

Alternet Systems, Inc.

Alternet's solutions focus on effective and profitable mobile payment and m-commerce systems and solutions that tie together telecom operators, financial institutions, and payees such as mass public transportation and utility providers. With the majority of the population in emerging markets belonging to the "unbanked" sector, mobile banking opens up a major opportunity to deliver financial services to a rapidly growing subscriber base. Penetration of mobile services around the world has increased rapidly, with the subscriber base worldwide growing from just over 11 million mobile phone users in 1990 to over 3 billion in 2008. Growth is particularly impressive in developing economies. With only 1 billion bank accounts worldwide and close to 4 billion mobile phone subscribers, both mobile network operators and financial institutions recognize the value proposition in offering mobile financial services. Alternet is currently focused on providing its service offerings to the Latin American marketplace.

A link to the Webcast titled 'NewMarket Greenfield Program Africa Update Webcast' is available on the homepage and investor relations page of the NewMarket website www.newmarkettechnology.com and the NuMobile website www.numobileinc.com.

Corporate Information and E-mail Updates

To sign up to receive email updates or to obtain more information on the Company, please visit www.newmarkettechnology.com.

About NewMarket Technology, Inc. (www.newmarkettechnology.com)

NewMarket is a reporting company with audited financial reports filed with the SEC. NewMarket provides systems integration, technology infrastructure services and emerging technology worldwide. NewMarket has a focus on providing technology and support services to rapidly growing economies where technology purchasing is on the rise. In addition to its base of operations in North America, NewMarket has operations today in the growing economies of China, Southeast Asia, Brazil and Northern Latin America. Last year the Company reported over $40 million in revenue from Asia and over $20 million in revenue from Latin America. Overall, NewMarket reported over $95 million in revenue for 2008.

Across the globe, NewMarket is a Microsoft and Oracle partner, distributes various computer hardware and peripherals from brand partners such as Dell, HP, IBM, Cisco, Sony, Epson, Canon and Sanyo and is also an authorized reseller of operating systems and various software from companies such as Red Hat, Sybase, IBM, BEA, Veritas and others. Additionally, the Company works with emerging technologies such as mobile computing, various security and wireless broadband technologies.

NewMarket's rapid growth since 2002 has placed the Company on the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 for 5 consecutive years. NewMarket was recognized as the third fastest growing technology company in the United States in 2006 and the number one fastest growing technology company in North Texas for two years in a row.

"SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT" UNDER THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results, events and performance could vary materially from those contemplated by these forward-looking statements. These statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause NewMarket's actual results in future periods to differ materially from results expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, product demand and market competition. You should independently investigate and fully understand all risks before making investment decisions.

Contact: NewMarket Technology, Inc. Investor Relations 214-722-3065 ir@newmarkettechnology.com

SOURCE: NewMarket Technology, Inc.

mailto:ir@newmarkettechnology.com

Copyright 2009 Marketwire, Inc., All rights reserved.

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