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[Ether_Snake]

Lockheed Martin getting into solar energy.

An Unexpected Player in the Solar Market

Lockheed is positioning itself to become a large player in the solar space as an engineer of "concentrated solar-power plants."

"Lockheed isn't just a defense company," Chris Myers, vice president for solar energy programs at Lockheed Martin, said in an interview. "We are a global company providing IT services to the government and commercial enterprises, and now we're offering energy diversification systems. So from our global security perspective, it's very in line with our business."

The company teamed up exclusively with Starwood Energy, the energy arm of private equity firm Starwood Capital, in late 2007 to pursue North American solar generation projects. That partnership materialized in May, when Lockheed made the first of more deals to come with Starwood Energy to design and build a 290-megawatt concentrated solar power plant for Arizona Public Service Co.

Pending regulatory approval, the project is scheduled to be completed by 2013. The plant is expected to provide enough electricity for 73,000 Arizona customers, and Myers estimates that it is likely to generate more than $1 billion in revenues for Lockheed.

Aside from the Arizona project, Myers says Lockheed currently has about 34 projects in the pipeline -- 12 projects expected in the next two years and 22 more after that at potentially more than $1 billion each. "There are just a lot of utilities looking at how they can meet renewable standards," Myers said. "[Also], given national security for the United States, an energy-diversified portfolio makes a lot of sense -- especially from a clean environment perspective."

In addition to pursuing utility scale projects in the commercial market, Lockheed is also exploring the development of solar power on civilian Department of Defense installations that have renewable energy goals. "These bases have lots of land that can be utilized," Myers said.

Demand is voracious
Myers says he sees a big market for solar that will continue to grow. Demand for renewable energy is expected to double by the year 2030, according to a 2008 study by the Energy Information Administration. "We cannot continue to build coal plants to meet that desire if we're going to keep the environment clean," Myers said. "We have to have a renewable mix."

As a result, Myers says he expects widescale adoption of solar by consumers and businesses. "Demand for electricity is growing," he said. "Regulation is dictating that utilities build renewable power plants. The desire to have a lot of coal plants is not there. From an environmental perspective, from an energy-diversity perspective and from a regulatory perspective, the drive to renewable energy is there. We see a big market."

As for the skeptics who challenge the workability of these plants, Myers says concentrated solar power plants are very similar in operation to a natural gas or coal plant. You have power when you need it -- not only when the sun's out. "We're advancing the movement here of renewable energy as working [like] a normal energy plant," he said.

Lockheed's advantage
As the utility-scale solar market heats up, pure-play solar companies such as SunPower (Nasdaq: SPWRA), First Solar (Nasdaq: FSLR), Suntech Power (NYSE: STP), and Yingli Green Energy (NYSE: YGE) are expected to gobble up a slice of the pie. So what chance does Lockheed have?

"We have a lot of flexibility in getting into the marketplace, from a project financing perspective and from a permitting perspective in different states," says Myers.

Due to the banking crisis, power companies have faced difficulties raising funding for major projects, and are still figuring out how to obtain federal loans and grants. Enter Starwood Energy.

Lockheed has its own funder, Starwood Energy, to finance its deals. Starwood is experienced in both project financing and the energy space. In 2007, it financed Neptune, a 65-mile, 660-megawatt underground (and sea) transmission project.

Lockheed will also be able to fall back on its engineering expertise. "What's missing [in the market] are investment-grade engineering procurement construction companies that can build and guarantee the performance of these plants," said Brad Nordholm, CEO of Starwood Energy. Concentrated solar plants are different than normal solar plants. In order to funnel the sun's power into a steam generator, engineering and manufacturing is required. And that's what Lockheed does best: engineering.

"By putting together Lockheed's strengths and our strengths, we have the ability to deliver the complete package to utilities," said Nordholm. "We think that gives us a leg up on our competitors."

 

[RSTEIN]

Sold my 7 SO contracts for 15% gain. Still lugging my MSFT and WAT puts.

ERTS upgraded to buy. That was a nice gift. Still long. I could see a bit of weakness first week of July. Lots of window dressing going on. Light volume. We'll see. Still very long!

 

[kathode]

Sold my SO puts for 17%. Looking to dump MIL, CELG, and HSP puts.

 

[Ovid]

GE Healthcare and biotechnology firm Geron Corp. will work together to develop tests based on human embryonic stem cell lines that Geron licenses from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.

The products developed should allow researchers to spot toxicity problems with drug candidates earlier in the drug development process. Earlier detection of toxicity problems — in the lab rather than, more harmfully, in human testing — could reduce both overall drug development costs and potential harm to people.

GE Healthcare will fund the research and development program and will be responsible for manufacturing, sales and distribution of the tests.

The companies didn’t give financial details.

The work will use stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines listed on the National Institutes of Health Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry, which are eligible for federal funding.

GE Healthcare gets an exclusive license under Geron’s intellectual property portfolio covering the growth and differentiation of hESCs, as well as a sublicense under Geron’s rights to the foundational hESC patents held by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, the patent licensing arm of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The first products developed under this deal should be available by early 2010, with a pipeline of products to follow.

Under the terms of the agreement, intellectual property rights arising from the alliance program research will be shared, with GE Healthcare receiving rights for the development of drug discovery technologies, and Geron receiving rights for cell therapy applications.

Told you guys about GERN back in Feburary. Up 15% today.

 

[Drakken]

Can anyone recommend a good site at which I can get a dummy account to mess around with fake stock trading? I signed up for Marketwatch's Virtual Stock Exchange but apparently there's no after-hours trading.

 

[Ovid]

Can anyone recommend a good site at which I can get a dummy account to mess around with fake stock trading? I signed up for Marketwatch's Virtual Stock Exchange but apparently there's no after-hours trading.

Investopedia has a good one. I don't think are are any stock simulators out there that have an AH or Pre-Market trading feature.

 

[Captain Sparrow]

Bought shares of CDIV at .0024 in March, worth .047 now.

(Victory dance of win)

 

[kathode]

Bought shares of CDIV at .0024 in March, worth .047 now.

(Victory dance of win)

Nice work!

I'm out of puts now - 10-15% each for MIL, HSP, and CELG. Looking to get into calls but I'll probably wait to see if any post-3PM crazies come out to play.

 

[Ether_Snake]

The economy hasn't changed, other than tightening of credit. No wonder so many jobs have been lost again. Nothing has changed, nothing has been fixed.

 

[Ovid]

I agree. Were still in a recession and it's not gonna end anytime soon. As a result, I hope FDO posts a big quarter next Wednesday.

 

[teh_pwn]

The economy hasn't changed, other than tightening of credit. No wonder so many jobs have been lost again. Nothing has changed, nothing has been fixed.

Indeed.

Pretty much we've treated a couple of negative outcomes out of bad policy, but reverted back to the bad policy that started this. The Federal Reserve has lowered interest rates just as Greenspan did, and if this rate is sustained, it's going to create malinvestment. It diverts capital from stocks of companies that innovate, increase productivity and create jobs, to McMansions and outlandish financial derivatives.

It's like giving more drugs to a patient going through withdrawal. It won't work long term.

I think we've hit the bottom as PMI is suggesting, but without fixing the root problem the American economy's growth is going to remain retarded over the next several years. Better times are ahead, but we won't be the nation of innovation that we were. We spend too much money on real estate, banks, and military to keep up with the Pacific and maybe even Europe.

Long term investors should continue to diversify index funds in different markets worldwide, and in different asset classes, and rebalance.

In fact if your a young investor, you've got a great opportunity. I am, but I'm still not pleased with how my country is digging a larger ditch to climb out of. Eventually we won't get more credit, and real change can occur.

 

[sefskillz]

Sold out of SIRI at .46 for ~30% gains. Might get back in soon though, especially if we get a dip here in the next few days. I really think their next quarter is going to show a bigger step towards profit than most people think. Subscribers are down from the merger, but they've slimmed up a lot of the business too.

Anyway, really watching WNBD right now. They've got a conference call scheduled for Monday EOD where they could be announcing a national chain picking up their product coming out of, what sounds like, a very successful trade convention. It's really been moving with some decent volume in the last month or so.

 

[Relix]

Nice to see things crashing again..... Really, you give Wall Street one chance and they try to fuck you over in no time. Let them burn and crash further. Will this be the summer crash I was predicting back in spring? =O!!!!

Also... CRASH OIL! CRAAASH!!!

 

[Ether_Snake]

The only way to get out of this mess is to reverse the trade deficit. That is the only solution, and it has been the true root cause of the economic crisis.

Anyway, on topic, MSFT has been pretty damn solid during all this mess. They've been at an average of $25 a share for almost a decade.

Anyway, I'm opening a Tax-Free Savings Account.

The Tax Free Savings Account or TFSA is an account that provides tax benefits for saving in Canada. Contributions to a TFSA account are not deductible for income tax purposes but investment income, including capital gains, earned in a TFSA are not taxed, even when withdrawn.

For this year the limit is 5000 dollars, but the limit grows over time, and if you don't reach the limit it carries over to the next year. Basically you can invest $5000 per year into it, and each year the limit grows by $500 too, so for example after three years from this year, I will be able to invest as much as $16500 into the account.

I'm planning to use that to invest in dividend-oriented shares. Basically, my biggest gains should be in there. Any tips?

I'm contributing more to my RRSP this year too. I read about a strategy about the TFSA that deals with investing in trust companies, but I don't quite understand why they have such high return rates (like, anywhere from 10% to 17%)? Sounds too good to be true.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

man all my longs have become seriously loooong.

I'm thinking of dumping what I can and just buy bonds. I hear some of those Euro bonds have quite attractive returns.

 

[sefskillz]

WNBD up 20% today heading into the presser. Hopefully everything goes my way and we gap up nicely in the morning

 

[yoopoo]

XRTX is up 27.20% in the last 10 days....my best buy so far

 

[Ovid]

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Family Dollar Stores Inc. (FDO 27.75, -0.29, -1.03%) said Wednesday third-quarter net income climbed by nearly 36% to $87.7 million, or 62 cents a share, from $64.7 million, or 46 cents a share in the year-ago period. The retailer beat the Wall Street analyst estimate of 59 cents a share in a survey by FactSet Research. The company reported a 2% increase in same-store sales in June. Fadmily Dollar expects fourth-quarter earnings of 39 to 43 cents a share, compared to the Wall Street target of 39 cents a share.

Awesome...I hope this baby climbs today.

Again, nothing has changed and Americans are still losing jobs. This company will continue to beat Wall St. estimates until the economy shows signs of "real" improvement.

 

[RSTEIN]

Everyone having fun?

I see FDO is up. Nice!

My portfolio has flatlined since June 1st. The market hasn't really done anything, up or down. I've made over $700k worth of trades since June 1 yet my portfolio is basically flat. Talk about a lot of work for nothing.

I bought some PCP calls yesterday and sold them for 16% gain. I bought some BDK and CAT calls. I sold my MSFT and WAT puts for nice gains. I went short SPY this morning when it broke 880/200 day moving average. I'll hold it until it breaks back up to the 200 day I guess. I have some longs but nothing is really working for me except AAPL, PFE, PG, MRVL, ERTS.

 

[kathode]

Not having fun I bought a few calls late in the day Thursday.

No fun at all :lol

C'mon Alcoa, don't fuck me over!

 

[Meier]

I haven't held anything for probably about a month now. Too scared...

 

[kathode]

So looks like Alcoa had a big loss, but still beat estimates by quite a bit. The buzz seems to be that this is very good news and should spur some green movement tomorrow.

 

[yoopoo]

What a horrible day...every one of my picks are in the red :/

 

[Ether_Snake]

Nothing to report here. I might invest in some dividend-oriented stocks in the near future, if it's worth it. Or I might buy something specific, I don't know.

 

[Zyzyxxz]

The economy hasn't changed, other than tightening of credit. No wonder so many jobs have been lost again. Nothing has changed, nothing has been fixed.

seriously we are where we still were at the beginning of this year.

 

[Ether_Snake]

I'm trying to figure out what to invest in. I got some money, markets have been going down again, and while we're probably going to head lower in the coming months I'm wondering where to go from here.

At worst, I wait till October. Isn't October always bad?

All the mutual funds I've looked at are invested in sectors like finance, energy, big old corporations and the likes, and I have no faith in any of them.

It's too bad that there is no way to invest in new technologies and green energy without investing in some startups that could end up doing nothing else than a dot.com-like boom.

EDIT: Man these mutual funds are all sketchy, like, the one that is oriented for investments in Asian companies is all Japanese investments. Not interested

 

[Ovid]

I'm trying to figure out what to invest in. I got some money, markets have been going down again, and while we're probably going to head lower in the coming months I'm wondering where to go from here.

At worst, I wait till October. Isn't October always bad?

All the mutual funds I've looked at are invested in sectors like finance, energy, big old corporations and the likes, and I have no faith in any of them.

It's too bad that there is no way to invest in new technologies and green energy without investing in some startups that could end up doing nothing else than a dot.com-like boom.

EDIT: Man these mutual funds are all sketchy, like, the one that is oriented for investments in Asian companies is all Japanese investments. Not interested

You should wait a few months. I pulled most of my money from the markets after FDO posted earnings this week. My only long positions are GERN, STEM, CAE, DELL, INTC, DIS, SNDK, JBLU, CBAI and MVL. I'm about 90% cash right now. I don't think I'll be putting money into the markets for a while. I have a feeling something bad is gonna happen and I don't want to take any chances.

 

[Ether_Snake]

If I don't buy anything I should put my money in something with fixed guaranteed returns, like guaranteed investment certificates (not sure what it's called in the US). But returns are extremely low, below 3%. Most are at around 1.5%, or even lower

The only mutual funds I'm interested in is a precious metal one, and dividend-oriented one.

 

[Ovid]

Ally bank (formerly GMAC Financial) offers a no penalty 9-month CD with a 2.00% APY. Looks tempting.

 

[Ether_Snake]

I had 3.5% 12 month one around two years ago at RBC. I can't find anything close to that anymore. Seemed so little at the time, but now I want it back

 

[Ovid]

I had 3.5% 12 month one around two years ago at RBC. I can't find anything close to that anymore. Seemed so little at the time, but now I want it back

Yeah, me too. I remember back in November GMAC had a 1 yr CD with a 4.00% APY. Everyone thought they were going to fail and needed to lure depositors. We're not gonna see those yields for a while.

 

[Ovid]

Most of Wall Street, and America, is still waiting for an economic recovery. Then there is Goldman Sachs. Up and down Wall Street, analysts and traders are buzzing that Goldman, which only recently paid back its government bailout money, will report blowout profits from trading on Tuesday.

Analysts predict the bank earned a profit of more than $2 billion in the March-June period, because of its trading prowess across world markets. If they are right, the bank’s rivals will once again be left to wonder exactly how Goldman, long the envy of Wall Street, couldhave rebounded so drastically only months after the nation’s financial industry was shaken to its foundations.

The obsessive speculation has already begun, along with banter about how Goldman’s rapid return to minting money will be perceived by lawmakers and taxpayers who aided Goldman with a multibillion-dollar cushion last fall.

“They exist, and others don’t, and taxpayers made it possible,” said one industry consultant, who, like many people interviewed for this article, declined to be named for fear of jeopardizing business relationships.

Startling, too, is how much of its revenue Goldman is expected to share with its employees. Analysts estimate that the bank will set aside enough money to pay a total of $18 billion in compensation and benefits this year to its 28,000 employees, or more than $600,000 an employee. Top producers stand to earn millions.

Goldman was humbled along with the rest of Wall Street when the financial markets froze last year. As a result, it lost money in the final quarter, a rarity for the bank. Along with other big banks, it was compelled to accept billions of dollars in federal aid, which it paid back last month.

Amid the crisis, it also converted from an investment bank to a more regulated bank holding company.

Goldman declined to comment over the weekend, pending its Tuesday earnings report.

But if the analysts are right — and given the vagaries of Wall Street trading, any hard forecast is little more than a guess — the results will extend a remarkable run for Goldman that was marred only by the single quarterly loss last fall of $2.12 billion.

Goldman Sachs is betting on the markets, but the markets are also betting on Goldman: Its share price has soared 68 percent this year, closing at $141.87 on Friday. The stock is still well off its record high of $250.70, reached in 2007.

In essence, Goldman has managed to do again what it has always done so well: embrace risks that its rivals feared to take and, for the most part, manage those risks better than its rivals dreamed possible.

“It is, in many respects, business as usual at Goldman,” said Roger Freeman, an analyst at Barclays Capital.

Traders said Goldman capitalized on the tumult in the credit markets to reap a fortune trading bonds. It profitably navigated a white-knuckled run in stock markets. It bought and sold volatile currencies, as well as commodities like oil. And it reaped lucrative fees from the high-margin business of underwriting stock offerings, which surged this year as other, more troubled financial institutions raced to raise capital.

nytimes.com

There's something fishy about this.

 

[Relix]

nytimes.com

There's something fishy about this.

GS is the DIRTIEST financial company out there. Trust me I worked there :lol

 

[Zyzyxxz]

If I don't buy anything I should put my money in something with fixed guaranteed returns, like guaranteed investment certificates (not sure what it's called in the US). But returns are extremely low, below 3%. Most are at around 1.5%, or even lower

The only mutual funds I'm interested in is a precious metal one, and dividend-oriented one.

This sounds crazy but bonds at 3% are actually not bad right now.

I've been reading that bonds based on Euro companies can net you much higher yields though.

 

[Ether_Snake]

Almost everything I have access to through RBC is heavily US-oriented. Or US/Can.

If anyone can suggest me anything from these: http://www.rbcam.com/RBC:SlqvFo71A8UAycB8S1o/solutions/mutual-fund-updates.html

I'm looking at this one for precious metals: http://www.rbcam.com/pdf/information/rmfpre.pdf

 

[Tarazet]

I need to get rid of my CIT bonds.. it looks like they might have to declare bankruptcy. That's huge, by the way, but all I care about right now is getting the most out of my bonds, which may be worthless within days. The best offer I'm getting right now is 55 cents on the dollar. :'(

 

[Relix]

I am gonna buy a fuckload of GM shares. What's the worst that can happen in a few years? Pff...

 

[Tarazet]

I am gonna buy a fuckload of GM shares. What's the worst that can happen in a few years? Pff...

Wait until they have their new issue, GMGMQ is worthless.

 

[Relix]

Wait until they have their new issue, GMGMQ is worthless.

Isn't that for 2Q 2010?

 

[Tarazet]

Isn't that for 2Q 2010?

I believe so. GMGMQ will be liquidated, with common shareholders getting the short end of the stick compared with preferred shareholders and bondholders, and you may or may not get a small cash settlement which, if you get it, is very unlikely to cover the cost of the shares. Then the shares will simply disappear. They won't be converted into New GM shares.

 

[kathode]

Hooray, 30% on SVU calls! Looks like everything else is moving up, except UNG. Why did I let myself get talked into this garbage? Natural gas ETF that is just going down, down, down.

 

[Ovid]

Has anyone dabbled with GM shares while on Pink Sheets?

 

[mckmas8808]

Did Goldman Sachs report their earnings yet?

 

[kathode]

Did Goldman Sachs report their earnings yet?

Tomorrow before the market open, though it seems to be basically an open secret that they're awash in profits. Got upgraded today.

 

[Ovid]

July 13 (Bloomberg) -- CIT Group Inc. bonds plunged on concern that the century-old lender, which has been unable to persuade the government to back its debt sales, won’t be able to meet its credit obligations.

CIT’s $1 billion of floating-rate notes maturing in August plummeted 14.375 cents to 80 cents on the dollar as of 4:21 p.m. in New York, according to Trace, the bond-price reporting system of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

A CIT collapse would put 760 manufacturing clients at risk of failure and “precipitate a crisis” for as many as 300,000 retailers, the New York-based lender said in internal documents obtained by Bloomberg News that make the case for its importance to the U.S. economy. CIT spokesman Curt Ritter declined to comment on the documents.

“If CIT isn’t doing trade finance and lending, its customers will look to other banks for replacement and from what I’ve seen, they aren’t willing to step up,” said Ed Grebeck, chief executive officer of debt consulting firm Tempus Advisors in Stamford, Connecticut.

U.S. officials are “in advanced talks” about aid for CIT, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. No final deal was yet reached and the cost of any rescue isn’t known, the Journal reported, without elaborating.

I hope this isn't the start of another crisis. Sounds alot like AIG.

 

[Ether_Snake]

More bailouts, not surprising.

BTW, anyone has an opinion on precious metals? After looking back at historical prices, am I wrong in saying that I might be better off waiting (if I'm going to buy into it at all)? Seems too high to me.

Other than that, I'm guessing I'm going to put some money in dividend-oriented mutual funds, but I feel like we could see much worst times by this fall.

When are the next job losses numbers going to be released?

 

[Tarazet]

I hope this isn't the start of another crisis. Sounds alot like AIG.

I just sold my CIT bond maturing in November for 73.6 cents on the dollar. That hurt but nothing like it would have been if I had waited for them to go under..

 

[Ovid]

I actually bought some CIT shares AH yesterday and sold them in the pre-market this morning for a small gain.

When are the next job losses numbers going to be released?

Jobless numbers are released every Thursday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/markets/ecalendar/index.html

 

[YakiSOBA]

GAF:

If your hypothetical friend (age: 53, retired, widowed) had $250,000 in cash coming out of a GIC soon, what would you suggest he do with it?

His bank's interests on a new GIC are terrible (<1%), and he doesn't want to put it into any mutual funds or stocks.

Options? Invest it into cheap real estate? Lock it into a low % return GIC and just wait? Take a higher risk and go into stocks, mutual funds, etc?

 

[Ovid]

GAF:

If your hypothetical friend (age: 53, retired, widowed) had $250,000 in cash coming out of a GIC soon, what would you suggest he do with it?

His bank's interests on a new GIC are terrible (<1%), and he doesn't want to put it into any mutual funds or stocks.

Options? Invest it into cheap real estate? Lock it into a low % return GIC and just wait? Take a higher risk and go into stocks, mutual funds, etc?

At 53, they shouldn't have all of their retirement funds in stocks. If $250,000 is all this person has for retirement then I would suggest putting it into a CD ladder.