aet

Halliburton (HAL - option chain) stock is trading lower after the company said Tuesday that reduced activity by major Mexican customer Petroleos Mexicanos will reduce HAL's Q4 EPS by 2 cents. Analysts previously had expected 0.28 EPS from HAL in the fourth quarter. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on HAL.

Wednesday, HAL opened at $29.95. In early trading, the stock hit a high of $30.05 and a low of $29.30. As of 11:10, HAL was trading at $29.76, down $0.70 (-2.3%). The chart for HAL looks neutral and S&P gives HAL a neutral 3 STARS (out of 5) hold ranking.

Before tomorrow's open, jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (TIF) will be reporting its third quarter results. Analysts are expecting to see the company show earnings of 23 cents per share.

For the same period last year the company had earnings of 35 cents.

Deere & Co. (DE), maker of the iconic John Deere tractor, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal fourth-quarter 2009 financial results in a conference call Wednesday, November 25, at 10:00 AM ET, hosted by Chief Financial Officer Jim Field. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Deere planned to invest in Russia, reached a tentative agreement with the UAW and announced some layoffs. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the agricultural equipment maker to report that earnings for that period plunged from $0.81 per share a year ago to $0.03 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 34.1% lower to $4.4 billion.

Playboy Enterprises (PLA) announced Tuesday that it will outsource all of its publishing operations -- save editorial -- to American Media Inc., reports the Wall Street Journal (subscription required). The Florida-based firm will take the reins on Playboy's production, circulation, advertising sales, marketing, and support functions, in exchange for fees and incentives. No further financial details on the deal were provided.

"Our goal is to focus our resources on what we do best, which is to create compelling content," explained CEO Scott Flanders. "By joining forces with American Media, we will be able to significantly reduce our cost structure and leverage the economies of scale related to manufacturing, distribution and marketing that are available to this large, multi-title publisher."

Preppy fashion retailer J. Crew Group Inc. (JCG), which has been publicly traded since 2006, is scheduled to discuss its third-quarter 2009 results Tuesday in a conference call at 4:30 PM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

For the three months that ended in October, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the New York-based company to report that its earnings rose 48.3% from a year ago to 58 cents per share, which is in line with the previously raised guidance. Revenue for the quarter is expected to be 12.4% higher to $407.9 million.

H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ), one of the world's largest food companies, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal second-quarter 2010 financial results in a conference call Tuesday, November 24, at 8:30 AM ET, hosted by CEO William R. Johnson. You can see the accompanying slides on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Heinz partnered with the World Food Program and also declared a quarterly dividend. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the Pittsburgh-based company to report that earnings for the period fell 19.5% from a year ago to $0.70 per share. But revenue for the quarter is expected to total $2.6 billion, about the same as last year.

Is a continued weakening in the dollar in the first half of 2010 a fait accompli? Not so fast.

The median prediction in Bloomberg's survey of as many as 43 strategists shows the dollar gaining against the euro, British pound, yen, Swiss franc, and Swedish krona by September 30, 2010, Bloomberg News reported Monday.

Medtronic Inc. (MDT), a leading maker of implantable biomedical devices, is scheduled to release its fiscal second-quarter financial results Tuesday, November 24, before the market open, and then to discuss those results in a webcast at 8:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast at the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Medtronic was once again named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, settled a patent lawsuit, and announced management changes. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect this Minneapolis-based company to report that earnings for the period rose 9.5% from a year ago to $0.74 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 5.0% higher to $3.8 billion.

Campbell Soup Co. (CPB), which recently raised its quarterly dividend by 10%, is scheduled to discuss its fiscal first-quarter 2010 financial results in a conference call Monday, November 23, at 10:00 AM ET. You can catch the live webcast of the call on the company's website.

During the three months that ended in October, Campbell revamped its Chunky line of soups, was named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes, and debuted its first Times Square billboard. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect the world's biggest soup maker to report that earnings for that period rose 4.9% from a year ago to $0.81 per share. And revenue for the quarter is expected to be 1.5% higher to $2.3 billion.

Though the earnings season is winding down, and the coming week includes the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S., plenty of reports are still due out. And analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters don't seem to be expecting too many turkeys among this week's bunch.

Leading U.S. meat processor Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN), which has just named a new chief executive officer and a new chief operating officer, is expected to report fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of $0.26 per share, up from $0.14 in the same period of last year. But revenue is expected to total $6.9 billion, or 4.3% less than a year ago. The full-year forecast is for a profit of $0.25 per share (-16.7) on $26.4 billion (-3.9%) in sales. This dividend payer has offered upside surprises in the past two quarters, topping estimates by 11 cents per share in the third quarter.

What is the Philly/Fed Index and why is it important? The Philly/Fed Index measures manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area. While it measures only one area of the country, over the years it has been a leading index for manufacturing overall.

Why bother measuring the manufacturing sector? The main reason is that manufacturing accounts for 12% of our GDP. Growth in manufacturing indicates that orders are picking up. If orders are picking up, the next step is to hire more workers. Hiring more workers speeds the growth of our economy and at the same time puts unemployed persons back to work.

ADC Telecommunications (ADCT - option chain) stock is trading lower today after the company posted a fourth-quarter loss last night of $19.8 million, or 20 cents per share, on revenue of $183.9 million. ADCT also forecast a first-quarter adjusted loss of 10 to 0 cents per share on revenue of $250 million to $275 million. Analysts are forecasting a profit of 11 cents per share on revenue of $274 million. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on ADCT.

This morning, ADCT opened at $5.46. So far today the stock has hit a high of $5.93 and a low of $5.35. As of 12:05, ADCT is trading at $5.71, down 93 cents (-14.0%). The chart for ADCT looks bullish and S&P gives ADCT a positive 5 STARS (out of 5) strong buy ranking.

After-hours traders punished Dell (DELL) stock Thursday, following a weak third quarter earnings report from the technology giant.

Going into the afternoon earnings release, analysts had been expecting to see the company show earnings of 28 cents per share. Actual earnings came in much lower at 23 cents per share.

Who is Paolo Pellegrini? Pellegrini is a Rome-born analyst who helped hedge fund operator John Paulson make tons of money in the subprime crash of 2007-2008.

It was Pellegrini who led the number crunching on mortgages and home prices and came to the conclusion that housing prices were about to collapse. Paulson's hedge fund took advantage of this data and proceeded to make $3.5 billion on his trades.

Canadian Solar Inc. (CSIQ) tagged a new 52-week peak Tuesday morning in the wake of its latest earnings report. The solar company announced that it raked in a third-quarter profit of $25.3 million, or 69 cents per share, while revenue dipped 16% to $213.1 million. The results handily exceeded analysts' consensus expectations for a profit of 54 cents per share on $210.9 million in revenue.

Shipments for the recently concluded quarter more than doubled on a sequential basis, arriving at 102.6 megawatts (MW). For 2010, Canadian Solar said it expects shipments to range between 600 MW and 700 MW, compared to the current 2009 forecast for shipments of 295 MW to 305 MW.