| Assured Guaranty stock soars on ratings |
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--(www.FinancialNewsUSA.com)-- 11/16/2009 - US Market industry news provided by Financial News USA. NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Assured Guaranty Ltd. soared Friday after the bond insurer said it was committed to maintaining "the highest possible rating" for the company. Moody's Investor Service on Thursday had dropped its insurance financial strength rating on the Bermuda-based company one notch to "Aa3" from "Aa2" and warned further cuts could come. The move was based largely on Assured Guaranty's exposure to mortgage-backed securities, Moody's said. In response to the downgrade, Assured Guaranty President and CEO Dominic Frederico said Friday the company would implement a capital plan to maintain its investment-grade double-A ratings. The initiatives, which entail external reinsurance, intercompany capital support and about $300 million of additional capital, are to solely support rating agency capital requirements, Frederico said. [Read the full article] NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. rose Friday after an analyst upgraded the stock based on a sharp decline in the stock's value. Goldman Sachs analyst Patrick Archambault upgraded the stock to "Buy" from "Neutral," noting shares have declined 20 percent since Oct. 28 when Goodyear issued weak guidance for the rest of the year. "We see the sell-off, which put shares back to their July 21st levels, as an opportunity to build positions in the shares," said Archambault. He pointed to the Akron, Ohio, company's recent U.S. price hike of as much as 6 percent in boosting his earnings estimates for next year to $1.05 per share from 95 cents per share. Archambault also raised his price target to $19 from $17 on increased consumer tire demand, benefits from improved fixed cost absorption and continued cost reduction from better manufacturing flexibility afforded by the new United Steel Workers contract. Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. [Read the full article] NEW YORK/CHICAGO (Reuters) - Shares of Palm Inc (NasdaqGS:PALM - News) rose 8 percent on Friday fueled by rumors that bigger rival phone maker Nokia (Helsinki:NOK1V.HE - News) may be eyeing the maker of the Pre and Pixi smartphones. Reuters - The new Palm Pre cellular phone can be seen in New York June 3, 2009. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson ... "Palm shares jumped and its call volume surged to 9 times their normal level as more than 80,000 call contracts traded by midday on renewed takeover speculation," said Frederic Ruffy, option strategist at WhatsTrading.com, a Web information site. Representatives for Palm and Nokia were not immediately available to comment after Palm shares rose 8.1 percent to $12.38 in active afternoon trading on Nasdaq. Chatter about a combination of Palm and potential suitors has bubbled up from time to time for months. [Read the full article] NEW YORK (AP) -- Federal-Mogul Corp. fell Friday after an analyst downgraded shares of the auto parts supplier because of his view that shares of other such companies offer better opportunities. Goldman Sachs analyst Peter Archambault downgraded Federal-Mogul shares to "Neutral" from "Buy," saying his $16 price target implies a potential upside of 23 percent. That is less, however, than the 38 percent potential upside he calculates for shares of Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He also said that Federal-Mogul's dependence on the pace of economic recovery in Europe constitutes a risk for shareholders. Federal-Mogul, which makes powertrain and safety components for cars, has suffered over the past year from falling car production. But cost reductions have helped boost its profitability, and by the end of the third quarter the Southfield, Mich., company had cut its work force by 11,000 employees, or 22 percent. [Read the full article] About Financial News USA Financial News USA is a Next Generation Financial Communications firm focused on the distribution of market moving news. Financial News USA has developed leading edge e-publishing tools including programming proprietary RSS feeds and enabling open source press release publishing across its network. Financial News USA has been aggressively expanding its news distribution network by targeting direct feeds to financial news and data providers such as FinancialContent, Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO), among others. Financial News USA offers a free news feed available online (www.financialnewsusa.com) to websites and financial services looking for content and for individual investors looking to stay informed on the financial markets. Financial News USA and its affiliates charge each client cash for news distribution and may take an equity position in the companies mentioned herein, please visit the disclaimer at www.financialnewsusa.com. 
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