Tuesday Market News (1/10/12): Fed Returns $76.9 Billion To Treasury

Mid-Day Market Action

US: Dow: 12461.00 (0.55%), S&P 500: 1291.48 (0.85%), NASDAQ: 2701.24 (0.92%)
Europe: CAC: 3210.79 (2.59%), DAX: 6162.98 (2.36%), FTSE: 5696.70 (1.48%).
Asia:Australia: 4152.20 (1.14%),China: 2285.74 (2.62%),Hong Kong: 19004.28 (0.73%),India: 4849.55 (2.25%), Japan: 8422.26 (0.38%),Korea: 1853.22 (1.44%),Singapore: 2719.83 (1.05%),
Metals: Gold: 1632.30 (1.52%), Silver: 29.90 (3.88%), Copper: 3.51 (2.75%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 102.61 (1.28%), Natural Gas: 2.92 (-2.92%)
Agriculture: Corn: 6.54 (0.35%), Soya Bean: 12.24 (-0.12%), Wheat: 6.42.
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.2778 (0.0987%), GBP/USD: 1.5483 (0.1683%), USD/JPY: 76.8185 (-0.0475%)
10 year US Treasury: 1.963% (0.005)

Market News Update

Stocks fall from sessions high: The markets pulled back from the highs of the session in afternoon trading but remained in the green as market participants mulled corporate earnings and other encouraging developments from around the globe. As of12:40 p.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 66.1 points, or 0.53%, to 12459, the S&P 500 gained 10.3 points, or 0.81%, to 1291 and the Nasdaq Composite gained 20.6 points, or 0.77%, to 2697.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/45941545

Fed returns $76.9 billion to Treasury: The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it will send about $76.9 billion of its estimated 2011 net income over to the Treasury. That was down from a record $78.4 billion in 2010, and comes primarily from the interest payments on securities held in theU.S. central bank’s massive multitrillion-dollar portfolio.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-10/fed-s-rising-balance-sheet-generates-76-9-billion-for-treasury-department.html

Lagarde to meet Merkel: German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde will meet in Berlin tonight as pressure grows to complete a Greek debt swap needed to put a rescue plan in place. http://news.businessweek.com/article.asp?documentKey=1376-LXKTC007SXKX01-50PDHAE5BKCIAPA017G218NHUI

Dollar eases: The dollar weakened against higher-yielding currencies before Germany’s chancellor meets with the International Monetary Fund’s managing director amid signs European leaders are taking steps to end the debt crisis. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204257504577152373449083242.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_MIDDLTopStories

Orange juice futures rise most since 2006: Orange-juice futures rose the most in five years on speculation that citrus groves in Florida suffered more frost damage than expected last week, with some forecasters predicting more cold weather. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204124204577152612500414628.html?mod=WSJ_Markets_MIDDLETopStories

Company News Update

Aluminum maker Alcoa Inc (AA.N) posted revenue that topped expectations late Monday and gave a bullish outlook for the industry, sending its shares up 0.8 percent to $9.49.
Popular health information website WebMD Health Corp (WBMD.O) took itself off the auction block and warned investors of lower 2012 profits as its advertisers in the drug industry pull back on spending.
General Motors (GM) is poised to once again be No. 1 in global auto sales, after three years out of the top spot.
WellPoint (WLP) reaffirmed its fiscal 2011 earnings guidance in the range of $7.18 to $7.28 a share on Tuesday, sending its shares higher as investors cheered the optimistic forecast.
Eastman Kodak Co. (EK) gained the most in the Russell 2000 Index, advancing 30 percent to 52 cents. The unprofitable 131-year-old imaging company simplified its management structure and created a chief operating office to reduce costs.
Audiovox Corp. (VOXX) gained the second-most in the Russell 200 Index, advancing 27 percent to $11.50. The maker of automotive and consumer electronics posted third-quarter sales and earnings that exceeded the single estimate in a Bloomberg survey, and forecast annual earnings higher than the average of two projections.
Charles River Laboratories International Inc. (CRL) advanced 19 percent, the most in the Russell 1000 Index, to $32.97. The medical research company will probably be broken up in a sale, with the research models and services group going to a private equity firm, and preclinical business getting a strategic buyer, according to Sterne Agee & Leach Inc.
Complete Genomics Inc. (GNOM) dropped 13 percent to $3.37 after sliding 15 percent, the most intraday since Aug. 8. The Mountain View, California-based human genome sequencing company was cut to “market perform” from “outperform” at Oppenheimer & Co.
DSW Inc. (DSW) jumped 12 percent to $47.61 for the biggest intraday gain since May 24. The shoe retailer lifted its full-year earnings forecast and said it will accelerate store openings this year.

Hedge Fund News Update

Hedge funds are taking on the powerful International Monetary Fund over its plan to slash Greece‘s towering debt burden as time runs out on the talks that could sway the future ofEurope’s single currency. The funds have built up such a powerful position in Greek bonds that they could derailEurope’s tactic of getting banks and other bond holders to share the burden of reducing the country’s debt on a voluntary basis.
Tullett Prebon estimates up to $3 billion is ready to be allocated to secondary hedge fund trading with a further $6-$10 billion of supply going into the hands of secondary buyers in 2012-13. The secondary hedge fund market remained strong in 2011, with volumes increasing as a large number of new counterparties entered the market. In pricing terms increased competition and demand ensured prices remained stable and rose higher in the first half of the year.
Legendary hedge fund manager Michael Steinhardt has been sanctioned by a Delaware judge for improper trading in a ruling that says Steinhardt wrongfully traded after receiving non-public information while serving as a plaintiff in a securities lawsuit.
Shares of video rental provider Netflix Inc. (NFLX) rose $11.89, or 14%, to close at $98.18 on Monday, after hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson told CNBC that he sees the company as a potential buyout target.
A gauge of hedge-fund bullishness measuring the proportion of bets that shares will rise climbed to 44.5 last week from 43.9 at the end of 2011, holding close to the lowest level since 2009, according to International Strategy & Investment Group. Compared with the price of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, managers’ so-called net exposure is close to the lowest since June 2008, the ISI data show.
Houston-based David Coolidge, Velite Capital has trounced most of his rivals, making it one of the best performers inU.S. energy markets that have vexed veterans and handed humbling losses to some of the savviest traders.
The 2012 Hedge Fund Compensation Report revealed that hedge fund managers anticipated an increase in base salary but a shortfall in year-end bonuses. The average reported cash compensation for 2011 was $311,000, just slightly higher than last year’s compensation. The annual industry report is based on data collected directly from hundreds of hedge fund managers and employees.
Azentus, the hedge fund set up by former Goldman Sachs (GS.N) trader Morgan Sze — the biggest launched inAsia in 2011 — lost 6.8 percent last year, as it was rattled by a sharp drop in Chinese shares.
Howard Eisen, co-founder of the FletcherBennett Group, has joined the securities sales team of The Conifer Group, a New York-based hedge fund administrator.