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You might be wondering about what happened to AIG shares. The answer is simple: the company decided to make a reverse stock split.

Following that measure, American International Group Inc (stock ticker: AIG) shares of this troubled insurer were down $4.53, or 19.5 percent, to $18.67 in early-afternoon trade on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The reverse split was approved at the AIG annual meeting on Tuesday. The shares closed at a pre-split $1.16 on Tuesday.

The only consequence of this reverse split is to seek some kind of psychological advantage, since the share price was too low, but what they were hoping for did not occur.

Before the split, the shares had traded below $2 for much of the year, weighed down by the company’s nearly $100 billion in losses last year and a taxpayer bailout that left the U.S. government owning a nearly 80% stake in the company.

The shares also fell sharply on Tuesday after Chief Executive Ed Liddy said at the annual meeting that he could not give any assurance that the shares would ever recover or that the U.S. government would ever relinquish its majority ownership of the company.

AIG disclosed its plans for the reverse stock split in a regulatory filing on May 21, but the news was overshadowed by an announcement that same day that Liddy planned to step down as CEO and chairman once successors were found. Read the rest of this entry »

Citigroup (stock ticker: C) will issue its second quarter 2009 results via press release at approximately 8:00 AM (EDT) on July 17, 2009. At 11:00 AM (EDT), Ned Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, will review the results via live webcast and teleconference.On average, analysts expect a loss of 0.29 USD per share.

The press release, webcast and presentation materials will be available at http://www.citigroup.com/citi/fin

You may also hear the teleconference, dialing (877) 700-4194 (for U.S. and Canada callers) or (706) 679-8401 (for international callers). Conference code: 13445980.

For more info, contact info@quickstockanalysis.com

The stock market appears in the news every day. You hear about it any time it reaches a new high or a new low, and you also hear about it daily in statements like “The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2 percent today, with advances leading declines by a margin of…”. Obviously, stocks and the stock market are important, but you may find that you know very little about them.

What is a stock? What is a stock market? Why do we need a stock market? Where does the stock come from to begin with, and why do people want to buy and sell it? If you have questions like these, then this article will open your eyes to a whole new world!

Determining Value. Let’s say that you want to start a business, and you decide to open a restaurant. You go out and buy a building, buy all the kitchen equipment, tables and chairs that you need, buy your supplies and hire your cooks, servers, etc. You advertise and open your doors. Let’s say that:

• You spend $500,000 buying the building and the equipment.
• In the first year, you spend $250,000 on supplies, food and the payroll for your employees.
• At the end of your first year, you add up all of the money you have received from customers and find that your total income is $300,000.

Since you have made $300,000 and paid out the $250,000 for expenses, your net profit is:

GE: the biggest beneficiary of the U.S. bailout

U.S. taxpayers have poured more bank-rescue money into General Electric (stock ticker: GE), the biggest industrial company in the world, than any other recipient. The company has received the benefits without coming under regulatory restraints that govern other major players in the financial sector. Unlike Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase, GE is not subject to the Federal Reserve’s rules limiting risk taking and has not been required to undergo the central bank’s stress tests.US housing industry remains stalled despite the efforts

U.S. President Barack Obama vowed to bolster home sales, but the turnaround has been impeded by factors including banks’ reluctance to lend to borrowers who will not live in the homes. Mortgage lending also has decreased because of increasing costs of residential loans and stricter qualifying rules. The tax credit for first-time home buyers has done little to help, said Eric Belsky of Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. “It hasn’t been much more than a seesawing of data,” Belsky said. “Housing has led the U.S. economy out of every recession for at least 50 years, and for that to happen again, more stimulus is going to be needed.”
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Today, June 26, Bloomberg posted a very interesting table showing the highest and lowest average analyst ratings for stocks in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index as of June 26.

Bloomberg assigns a number to each rating that ranges from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest recommendation. To calculate the average, these numbers are added together and the total is divided by how many recommendations were made during the past 12 months. The target price is the average of analysts’ 12 months predicted price. Only companies that have at least three analyst ratings are included.

HIGHEST AVERAGE RATING
                                                             Average
                              Average   Total #   Price       Target   1 Year
Tkr    Company Name            Rating   Analyst    6/25        Price  %Return
=============================================================================
TMO    THERMO FISHER            5.000   13        41.79        45.25   -25.1
PM     PHILIP MORRIS            4.867   15        42.98        48.58   -12.0
MET    METLIFE INC              4.789   19        29.98        38.86   -45.6
DTV    DIRECTV GROUP IN         4.778   18        24.52        30.55    -6.9
GME    GAMESTOP CORP-A          4.778   18        22.21        33.94   -51.7
GILD   GILEAD SCIENCES          4.750   32        47.88        55.44   -12.1
LO     LORILLARD INC            4.750    8        67.93        82.00     0.4
AES    AES CORP                 4.714    7        11.12        13.90   -41.6
ESRX   EXPRESS SCRIPT           4.696   23        68.60        77.50     6.6
DVA    DAVITA INC               4.692   13        48.99        59.38    -7.4
BAX    BAXTER INTL INC          4.667   15        52.23        59.80   -15.2
BDX    BECTON DICKINSON         4.667   12        70.91        81.50    -8.9
CMS    CMS ENERGY CORP          4.667   12        12.06        13.94   -18.2
SPG    SIMON PROPERTY           4.667   18        51.53        59.44   -42.4
MHS    MEDCO HEALTH SOL         4.654   26        45.83        55.82    -1.1
APOL   APOLLO GROUP-A           4.636   22        67.32        94.17    37.2
GENZ   GENZYME CORP             4.636   22        56.18        70.62   -22.0
HPQ    HEWLETT-PACKARD          4.636   33        38.12        43.87   -15.6
K      KELLOGG CO               4.636   22        46.33        50.92    -4.1
AMGN   AMGEN INC                4.625   24        51.92        61.43    10.9
CVS    CVS CAREMARK COR         4.625   24        31.20        38.00   -23.2
LIFE   LIFE TECHNOLOGIE         4.625   16        41.59        43.50     4.3
PX     PRAXAIR INC              4.611   18        71.00        80.87   -25.8
FLS    FLOWSERVE CORP           4.600   10        71.87        80.00   -44.3
SNA    SNAP-ON INC              4.600    5        29.54        43.50   -43.2
ABT    ABBOTT LABS              4.579   19        48.02        53.30    -7.6
UTX    UNITED TECH CORP         4.579   19        52.03        58.46   -18.9
GOOG   GOOGLE INC-CL A          4.564   39       415.77       471.83   -24.5
OI     OWENS-ILLINOIS           4.538   13        28.79        31.50   -38.4
XTO    XTO ENERGY INC           4.531   32        38.20        50.32   -42.7
CHK    CHESAPEAKE ENERG         4.516   31        19.61        27.95   -68.9
AMT    AMERICAN TOWER-A         4.500   16        32.06        38.70   -24.9
EXC    EXELON CORP              4.500   16        51.00        58.60   -41.3
HAL    HALLIBURTON CO           4.500   22        20.64        29.29   -58.7
MA     MASTERCARD INC-A         4.500   26       164.28       203.69   -43.1
PPL    PPL CORPORATION          4.500   12        32.73        38.60   -36.3
CELG   CELGENE CORP             4.480   25        47.97        58.00   -22.6
PFE    PFIZER INC               4.476   21        15.33        18.00    -8.2
LH     LABORATORY CP            4.467   15        67.35        76.13    -4.0
MHP    MCGRAW-HILL COS          4.455   11        29.72        36.25   -28.2
QCOM   QUALCOMM INC             4.455   33        46.34        50.48    -0.1
TJX    TJX COS INC              4.450   20        31.81        33.85    -0.6
ORCL   ORACLE CORP              4.448   29        21.63        23.83    -3.8
KR     KROGER CO                4.444   18        22.34        28.25   -22.8
FLIR   FLIR SYSTEMS             4.438   16        22.82        32.44   -43.9
KO     COCA-COLA CO             4.438   16        47.85        51.30    -8.5
CEPH   CEPHALON INC             4.429   28        57.35        76.94   -17.2
DPS    DR PEPPER SNAPPL         4.429    7        20.80        24.60    -7.7
EFX    EQUIFAX INC              4.429    7        26.28        33.33   -23.6
MSFT   MICROSOFT CORP           4.429   35        23.79        24.71   -14.0
XRAY   DENTSPLY INTL            4.429    7        30.87        32.60   -19.5

LOWEST AVERAGE RATING
                                                             Average
                              Average   Total #   Price       Target   1 Year
Tkr    Company Name            Rating   Analyst    6/25        Price  %Return
=============================================================================
EK     EASTMAN KODAK            1.000    5         2.58         1.50   -82.5
SHLD   SEARS HOLDINGS           1.500    8        65.54        44.60   -12.0
HAR    HARMAN INTL              1.800    5        18.70        13.67   -57.3
BF/B   BROWN-FORMAN -B          2.143    7        42.54        42.33   -28.7
NYT    NEW YORK TIMES-A         2.143    7         5.23         1.00@  -66.6
AIV    APARTMENT INVEST         2.250   16         8.73         8.95   -60.8
HSY    HERSHEY CO/THE           2.263   19        36.25        34.90    11.8
BMS    BEMIS CO                 2.400   10        24.80        25.25     8.9
HBAN   HUNTINGTON BANC          2.467   15         4.41         3.79   -23.5
MTB    M&T BANK CORP            2.500   16        49.67        52.69   -28.8
AN     AUTONATION INC           2.538   13        16.96        15.00    47.5
AXP    AMERICAN EXPRESS         2.565   23        24.44        22.31   -38.4
ROK    ROCKWELL AUTOMAT         2.571   14        31.39        28.57   -28.8
TIE    TITANIUM METALS          2.600    5         9.38         6.25   -31.7
JAVA   SUN MICROSYSTEMS         2.647   17         9.20         9.63   -20.2
MAS    MASCO CORP               2.667   12         9.42         8.25   -39.1
WHR    WHIRLPOOL CORP           2.667    6        42.31        44.00   -32.5
MI     MARSHALL &ILSLEY         2.684   19         4.83         7.17   -69.6
LXK    LEXMARK INTL-A           2.692   13        15.34        17.25   -55.7
AVB    AVALONBAY COMMUN         2.700   20        55.96        53.35   -33.8
AVY    AVERY DENNISON           2.700   10        25.54        27.33   -42.2
SUN    SUNOCO INC               2.700   20        23.84        30.00   -38.3
ED     CONS EDISON INC          2.714   14        37.14        36.94    -1.8
PHM    PULTE HOMES INC          2.714   14         8.96        10.40   -18.8
TSO    TESORO CORP              2.714   21        13.02        14.23   -37.2
BBT    BB&T CORP                2.724   29        22.31        23.00    -3.5
AMD    ADV MICRO DEVICE         2.727   33         3.64         3.64   -43.4
F      FORD MOTOR CO            2.733   15         5.68         4.29     8.4
GAS    NICOR INC                2.750    8        34.96        38.75   -17.1
JNS    JANUS CAPITAL GR         2.750   16        11.29        10.00   -61.2
MUR    MURPHY OIL CORP          2.750   16        54.37        55.56   -40.1
C      CITIGROUP INC            2.778   18         3.03         3.67   -83.4
EQR    EQUITY RESIDENTI         2.789   19        22.17        22.39   -40.8
BJS    BJ SERVICES CO           2.800   20        13.30        16.36   -58.6
MAR    MARRIOTT INTL-A          2.810   21        22.01        21.42   -20.5
KBH    KB HOME                  2.813   16        14.77        15.60   -20.9
SEE    SEALED AIR CORP          2.818   11        17.86        20.50   -10.5
ATI    ALLEGHENY TECH           2.833   12        35.54        31.00   -40.6
CSC    COMPUTER SCIENCE         2.846   13        43.31        36.63   -10.1
TMK    TORCHMARK CORP           2.846   13        37.34        38.22   -36.6
RDC    ROWAN COMPANIES          2.862   29        19.33        20.61   -57.4
ODP    OFFICE DEPOT INC         2.875   16         4.42         4.06   -62.0
WYNN   WYNN RESORTS LTD         2.882   17        37.16        42.30   -57.5
ETN    EATON CORP               2.900   20        44.23        43.23   -48.0
RSH    RADIOSHACK CORP          2.900   20        14.01        13.33    11.2
NSM    NATL SEMICONDUCT         2.909   22        13.04        14.57   -38.4
COF    CAPITAL ONE FINA         2.960   25        22.16        24.79   -43.5

It seems that Citigroup (stick ticker: C) expects a 58.000 million dollar conversion to be done this week (24-30 June 2009). This postponed conversion was suposed to be achieved a few weeks ago, as part of the plan that will give the US Government a 34% stake.

After suffering 36.000 millon losses over the last semester, Citi announced that they will give priority to make this conversion happen assoon as possible, since they need to raise capital.The plan was to offer 52.500 millons in preferred shares, including 25.000 million of the TARC Program (toxic assets), at a conversion price of 3,25 dollars per share. This offer has an expiration date of July 24th.

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According to “The Wall Street Journal”, the investor’s favorite stocks are selling cheaply right now.

Despite this spring’s stock market rally, several of Mr. Buffett’s favorite stocks are selling for less than he paid for them.
Warren Buffett liked oil giant ConocoPhillips (stock ticker: COP) enough to invest $7 billion in the stock through the end of last year, at an average price of $82.55, according to the Berkshire Hathaway annual report. Anyone buying today can get it for about $41.

Mr. Buffett has conceded an “unforced error” in buying this oil stock when oil prices were booming. But that doesn’t mean he has given up on it. In his last comments on the subject a few months ago, he reiterated his belief that demand for energy would remain strong. At current prices ConocoPhillips is about 13 times this year’s forecast earnings, but analysts predict that will drop to a cheap 7 times in 2010. That’s because they believe oil and gas prices will rebound.

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