Trading for the Masses

Strike Two for Neiderhoffer

The Easing Credit Crunch I

Caveat Prognosticator

Ten Notes on Our Funky Federal Reserve

Biggest M&A Year in History

Credit Suisse: “Time to Buckle Up”

Stupidity!

Six Degrees of Spreading Cancer

Bull vs. Bear vs. “Right”

Corned Beef

Zillow Clones

Study: Illegal alien population may be as high as 38 million

Global Yield Curves, Earnings Growth, and Sector Returns

Nellie McKay

A sense of Humor at Countrywide

Hommies R’us?

What do foreclosures and fortune cookies have in common?

Or so they say in the history books. Today was not one for the books, but the brokers had some fun chopping em around in the tight range we traded in all day. Lets’ bring the bond boys back tomorrow and hopefully find some volatility.
Until then stay safe.

INTC Intel: Apple pre-booked all amounts of top Penryn bins that could be booked for this year - The Inquirer (25.54 )
The Inquirer reports the high-rpm hummingbirds buzzing around Tokyo told them that Apple (AAPL) loves the Penryn. It covets both the Yorkfield Extreme for its mainstream boxes and Harpertown Xeons for the next Mac Pro. In particular, the massive memory throughput and SSE4 improvements help Mac-type apps shine more - think about an in-memory huge image manipulation task than needs both of these features. So, the rumor says that Apple pretty much pre-booked all the amounts of top Penryn bins that could be booked for this year - especially the X548″. This excludes the minimum quantities for other big vendors so that they will be able to claim at least starting to ship their stuff. Those other vendors will, in reality, mostly have to count on the “standard” Penryn speed bins, a notch or two below the top ones.

HPQ Hewlett-Packard added to strategic stock selections list at UBS (50.90 )
UBS adds HPQ to their strategic stock selections list and are increasingly bullish on large-cap tech stocks. The firm says there are many positives for HPQ - Global Grower (65% of revs outside U.S.); gaining share in PC’s; margin expansion in both enterprise and consumer; dominant printer franchise; high return on capital, yet 2008E PE matches S&P 500.

Nollenberger believes warmer weather, challenging sales comparisons, and confusing fashion trends made September a difficult month for most retailers, and they do not expect robust sales numbers to be reported. The firm still has confidence in consumers, and they believe retailers are better managing their businesses and inventories, which creates earnings opportunities. Their top stock picks for the back half of the year are AEO, BEBE, and CWTR… ThinkEquity notes that MIPS Technology (MIPS 7.97) announced its revenues for Q3 are likely to fall slightly short of the low end of guidance, offset somewhat by faster-than-expected growth for Chipidea. As they view Chipidea customer synergies (especially with QUALCOMM) and ramping Q4 royalties (especially through Broadcom) as the chief reasons to own MIPS, they view potential share weakness as a buying opportunity.

GRMN Garmin upgraded to Neutral at Amtech (103.71 )
Amtech upgrades GRMN to Neutral from Sell saying they were early with their negative call and says near-term strength offsets longer-term concerns. The firm says longer-term concerns about margins, substitutes to P.N.Ds, and map supply still remain, however, the near-term continues to look very strong and will keep buying interest in the stock.

Gapping up on strong earnings/guidance: CTDC +29.3% (co issues press release with previously reported 1H results (originally reported Fri morning), provides additional commentary)… M&A: NGPS +16.1% (to be acquired by Hexagon for $50 per share), BOBJ +15.1% (to be acquired by SAP for ~$59.64 per ADS — secondary plays COGN +6.2%, INFA +2.6%, MSTR +2.6% are trading higher in pre-mkt), UIC +5.8% (to be acquired by Textron for $81/share)… Select China names are bid up in pre-market trading: XFML +22.0% (hearing early strength attributed to newsletter mention), HRAY +16.4%, CDS +9.9%, CNTF +8.6% (announces the launch of the world’s first WCDMA/GSM dual mode phone), CLWT +8.5%, STV +7.5% (stock had its IPO on Friday), CPSL +7.0%, ATS +6.6%, ORS +6.3%… Other news: AVNR +29.3% (granted special protocol assessment from FDA for confirmatory phase III trial of Zenvia in patients with P.B.A.), UCBH +14.3% (signs agreement for China Minsheng Banking to take minority strategic investment), MASI (Cramer names stock as an overlooked IPO), CHDX +7.5% (tgt raised to $38 at Brean Murray, saying co has been selected as the preferred 2008 Beijing Olympics healthcare service provider), HEPH +5.5% (presents positive data demonstrating HE3286 provides benefit in animal model of ulcerative colitis).

AAPL Apple is losing some of its shine? - LA Times (161.45 )
LA Times reports why can’t the co stop ticking off the people who love it? Some of the loyalists who have made Apple so successful lately have turned on the tech star. Even as Apple posts record financial results, they complain that the revolutionary co they supported has changed, showing signs of being wrong-headed, shortsighted, even greedy. One week there’s hue and cry over Apple’s decision to slash the iPhone’s price only two months after it went on sale. The next, it’s sputtering anger over a software security update that wiped out programs iPhone owners installed so they could do such things as send instant messages or play games. When they get really mad, they lob an M-bomb — they say Apple is starting to remind them of historical rival Microsoft, which in their world is the prototypical soulless, monopolistic machine. “There is a rise in complaints about Apple’s policies and strategic decisions this year, and it seems to be accelerating,” said John Gruber, writer of the popular technology blog Daring Fireball. Apple’s continued push into the mainstream mkt has come at the cost of goodwill from some of its biggest fans.

BEAS BEA Systems: Downgrade details (14.01 )
UBS downgraded BEAS to Neutral from Buy and raised their tgt to $14.50 from $14. The firm cites that BEA could fix its execution issues and fundamentals would improve, or that someone else could come in and improve shareholder value for the upgrade. While F2Q08 showed slight execution improvement, the firm believes the key question is whether it can continue or whether the Board will be forced to consider activist Carl Icahn’s call for action now that he owns 13.22% as of 10/3.

GS Goldman Sachs targets hedge funds - Daily Telegraph (228.50 )
Daily Telegraph reports the co is raising a new private equity fund to buy stakes in some of the City’s best-known hedge funds. The new fund, which is being marketed to investors, is being managed by Jonathan Sorrell, son of Sir Martin Sorrell, the boss of marketing services giant WPP. Goldman’s move is timely: the recent crisis in financial markets means prices for hedge funds are much lower than they were before the summer and the US bank is likely to be able to pick up some bargains. It also comes as consolidation within the $1.7 trillion hedge fund industry intensifies.

MDT Medtronic: Panel recommendation expected to be positive - Caris (55.90 )
Caris notes that MDT’s Endeavor D.E.S. will be reviewed by an FDA advisory panel on Wednesday October 10, 2007. Given the totality of the data, the firm anticipates the panel to recommend approval for the Endeavor D.E.S.. The firm says the panel recommendation should set the stage for final FDA approval which they anticipate in early CY08. Endeavor is one of MDT’s multiple growth drivers and thus they think the co is well positioned to sustain low double digit sales growth and even faster earnings growth over the next couple of years.

PER Perot Systems: Triad contract termination a setback but not a thesis killer- Stifel (17.09 )
Stifel notes Friday after the close, PER announced Community Health (CYH) is terminating PER’s contract with Triad Hospitals. The firm says while Triad was expected to be only ~3% of rev in 2007, and services will still continue into 2008, the termination will still be deja vu to many investors, and is causing them to lower their estimates. The firm also says PER expects a “large” (but as yet quantified) termination fee, which will cover wind down costs and some level of future profits, and which they believe could be used to offset some EPS impact in 2008 (e.g., via debt repayment). Firmsays this termination fee is NOT in their ests.

LEND Accredited Home Lenders: Lone Star, over the weekend, announced satisfaction of conditions to tender offer to acquire Accredited (11.74 )Over the weekend, LSF5 Accredited Investments, a subsidiary of Lone Star Fund V, announced that all of the conditions to the closing of its tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of LEND for $11.75 per share in cash have been satisfied. As of the close of business on Oct 5, 2007, Lone Star had received approximately 23,966,387 shares tendered into the offer representing over 95% of the outstanding shares of the co.

Buyers: Prospect Capital (PSEC 16.34) CEO bought 6,101 shares at $16.29… Aircastle (AYR 32.36) CEO bought 2,600 shares at $31.79; Director Fortress Investment Group bought 164,430 shares at $31.82 - $31.90… Lannett (LCI 5.00) Director and 10% Owner bought 23,100 shares at $4.77 - $4.99… TLC Vision (TLCV 3.25) 10% Owner Highland Capital Mgmt bought 815K shares at $3.00… CPI (CPY 39.35) 10% Owner Starboard Value & Opportunity Master Fund bought 35K shares at $38.88… Oriental Financial Group (OFG 12.21) Officer bought 25K shares at $11.44… Lamar Advertising (LAMR 55.41) 10% Owner SPO Advisory bought 54,400 shares at $50.45. Sellers: Landec (LNDC 15.82) Officer/Director sold 500K shares at $15.64… DDI Corp. (DDIC 6.61) 10% Owner Contrarian Equity Fund sold 1,393,200 shares at $6.54… Bakers Footwear Group (BKRS 4.20) Chairman sold 20K shares at $4.23… China Automotive Systems (CAAS 8.80) CEO sold 80K shares at $10.30; Officers (2) sold 160K shares at $9.90 - $10.10; Chief Operating Officer sold 80K shares at $9.85.

Gapping up: XFML +15.8%, BOBJ +15.5%, BGPS +13.1%, CDS +9.8%, CHDX +9.2%, UCBH +8.9%, TUNE +8.8%, COGN +8.4%, MASI +8.2%, HEPH +7.6%, TARR +6.8%, STV +6.3%, UIC +5.8%, CPSL +4.5%, NVTL +4.5%, ISIS +4.4%, GSI +4.0%, INFA +3.8%… Gapping down: LDK -8.8%, EMKR -8.8%, SAP -5.4%, R -4.6%, CHNR -4.0%, FXI -3.1%, LMC -2.4%.

Greenspan says the odds of a recession are less than 50/50 - NY Post
NY Post reports Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said yesterday that the rate of U.S. economic growth was slowing, but the odds of a recession are less than 50/50. Greenspan also said in an interview on CNN’s “Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer” that the turmoil caused by the subprime mortgage crisis was easing and financial mkts were beginning to go back to normal. Greenspan said Americans should be “cautious” about the economy, but not necessarily nervous.

R Ryder System lowers guidance below consensus for Q3 & FY07 (49.25 )
Co issues downside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees EPS of $1.12-1.14, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.21 Reuters Estimates consensus, prior guidance $1.20-1.23. Co issues downside guidance for FY07 (Dec), sees EPS of $4.10-4.15, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $4.31 consensus, prior guidance $4.30-4.35. Co says that economic conditions have softened considerably in more industries beyond those related to housing and construction. Consequently, freight and shipment levels have weakened to a greater extent than previously anticipated. The Company anticipates softer economic conditions to continue through the fourth quarter.

CLWR Clearwire: ThinkEquity comments on Friday’s weakness (20.38 )
ThinkEquity notes that CLWR’s share price has dropped dramatically since peaking near $35.50 on July 19, highlighted by Friday’s 14% drop. While the firm thinks concerns over the future of the Sprint (S) alliance drove Friday’s action, much prior concern dealt with latent misunderstanding of the co’s strategy and progress. The firm notes that CLWR is now materially less expensive than it was before the Sprint LoI was announced—closing July 18 at $24.78 versus Friday’s $20.38 close, a drop of 18%. They believe this makes no sense whatsoever.

BOBJ Business Objects: Color on acquisition by SAP, implications for other cos -Update-

Wedbush notes that following several weeks of persistent rumors that a deal was impending, yesterday BOBJ announced that it agreed to sell itself to SAP in an all cash transaction for €42.00/ share, which at Friday’s exchange rates equals $59.64 per ADS. While not surprising given the rampant rumors, they note this deal is an about face from SAP’s management’s previous repeated claims that they would not pursue large acquisitions. Based on the same multiples that BOBJ and HYSL were acquired, the firm thinks COGN could potentially be valued at $49-$50 / share, based on their estimates. They say possible buyers of COGN could include HP, IBM, and ORCL. Firm maintains their Buy rating on BOBJ based on the remote possibility that a competing bid for BOBJ will be announced before the deal closes… In Baird’s downgrade of BOBJ to Neutral (see 6:25 comment), they believe that SAP’s acquisition of BOBJ makes a good deal of strategic sense and expects the deal to be completed without any encombrances. Firm notes that this leaves COGN and MSTR as the last sizable independent B.I. co’s… Roth thinks the acquisition has important ramifications for players in the sector, most notably COGN and INFA; they think that the deal puts Cognos “in play,” and they think that the acquisition could make life tougher for Informatica as it could reduce its prospects with SAP’s customers. While Cognos has several logical potential suitors (including IBM and Microsoft), they think that prospects are less attractive for Informatica.

CHDX Chindex tgt raised to $38 from $26 at Brean Murray (29.30 )
Brean Murray raises their tgt on CHDX to $38 from $26 saying despite the fact that the co has not announced the selection, they are ecstatic to learn from various numbers of the United Family Hospital staff that Chindex’s United Family Hospital has been selected as the preferred 2008 Beijing Olympics healthcare service provider to care for the world’s elite athletes. The service will include at least one 24-hour clinic based in the Olympic village. The selection by the Olympic Committee validates U.F.H’s business model and speaks volumes about the quality of service U.F.H provides in China.

FFIV F5 Networks tgt raised to $53 from $45 at CIBC (43.09 )
CIBC raises their tgt on FFIV to $53 from $45 saying they believe F5’s fundamental strength in Application Traffic Management should help provide a modest upside to expectations in its soon to be released Q4 FY07. They continue to be believers in the co’s product market vision and execution. Firm says F5’s analyst day, scheduled for early November, should highlight its Acopia integration strategy and upcoming product cycles including Montreal, which they believe could be a catalyst for the stock.

MOT Motorola: Impression of MOT’s current business environment is turning more positive- CIBC (18.81 )
CIBC says their overall impression of MOT’s current business environment is turning more positive as their checks suggest improving handset shipments (as well as sell-through) and A.S.P trends. Accordingly, they are slightly raising our 2007-2008 A.S.P and margin assumptions as well as their EPS targets. The firm says checks suggest Motorola’s handsets are sold out for the quarter (3Q07) in certain regions (mainly Asia and North America) on certain models (mainly RAZR) relative to its targets. They believe 3Q07 inventories could shrink to around 7-8 weeks from 20 weeks in 2Q07, helping cash flow.

Upgrades: Baird upgrades HireRight (HIRE 10.30) to Outperform from Neutral and maintains their $15 tgt, based on valuation and stabilizing labor markets… Jefferies upgrades Dover Downs (DDE 10.69) to Buy from Hold and maintains their $14 tgt, based on valuation… Merrill Lynch upgrades UBS (UBS 57.75) to Buy from Neutral… Credit Suisse upgrades Centerpoint Energy (CNP 16.87) to Outperform from Neutral and raises their tgt to $20 from $18 given recent underperformance to its peers and following an extensive meeting with management, they believe CNP offers investors above-average utility growth at an attractive price…. Credit Suisse upgrades Lehman (LEH 63.9 to Outperform from Neutral and sets a $90-$85 tgt based on improved performance prospects (both absolute and relative to peers) and with that a greater likelihood of multiple expansion and share price outperformance… SunTrust upgrades American Reprographics (ARP 20.00) to Buy from Neutral and sets a $25 tgt, based on their view that nonresidential construction activity was mostly steady in Q3 and that ARP’s performance should exceed expectations implied by the current valuation. Downgrades: BofA downgrades Sealy (ZZ 13.61) to Neutral from Buy… UBS downgrades BEA Systems (BEAS 14..01) to Neutral from Buy… Piper Jaffray downgrades Beacon Roofing Supply (BECN 12.17) to Market Perform from Outperform… SunTrust downgrades Procter & Gamble (PG 70.83) to Neutral from Buy, based on valuation. Miscellaneous: BofA initiates Satyam (SAY 27.53) with a Neutral and a $29 tgt.

Sensex down 259pts - Business Standard
Business Standard reports the Sensex is now down 259 points at 17,514. Out of 2,773 stocks traded so far, 2,273 have declined, 454 have advanced and 46 are unchanged.

Asian stocks rise to record on U.S. jobs report; BHP climbs - Bloomberg.com
Bloomberg.com reports Asian stocks rose to a record after a pickup in U.S. hiring stoked optimism the world’s biggest economy will avoid a recession. Japan’s market is closed for a holiday… The CSI 300 Index rose 1.3% on this month’s first day of trading in China. Pakistan’s Karachi Stock Exchange 100 Index climbed to a new high after President Pervez Musharraf won an election and benchmarks in Australia and the Philippines also set records. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index closed 0.2% lower, after earlier surging 2.3% to an intra-day high.

Downgrades: Ferris, Baker downgrades F5 Networks (FFIV 43.09) to Neutral from Buy, based on valuation… Wachovia downgrades Allstate (ALL 58.84) to Market Perform from Outperform, reflecting deteriorating fundamentals in personal lines… Wachovia downgrades Progressive (PGR 20.03) to Underperform from Market Perform, based on competitive advantages that are no longer offsetting the pressures of an increasingly competitive personal auto market, a rate cut strategy that isn’t translating into top-line growth, rising expenses and deteriorating margins… Wachovia downgrades Charlotte Russe (CHIC 14.93) to Market Perform from Outperform, as they are concerned about estimates for CHIC given that guidance for Q4 was based on an improvement in sales trends from July and expect management to guide conservatively for Q1, particularly given the strong results last year… Wachovia downgrades Citi Trends (CTRN 19.9 to Market Perform from Outperform, as they expect inventory will continue to be an issue… Baird downgrades Business Objects (BOBJ 50.27) to Neutral from Outperform and raises their tgt to $60 from $53, following the co’s agreement to be acquired by SAP and preliminary Q307 results that were below expectations… Baird downgrades Chipotle (CMG 127.54) to Neutral from Outperform and raises their tgt to $135 from $120, based on valuation.

Downgrades: J.P Morgan downgrades Privatebancorp (PVTB 33.03) to Neutral from Overweight… J.P Morgan downgrades Merrill Lynch (MER 76.67) to Neutral from Overweight… Citigroup downgrades Expedia (EXPE 35.04) to Hold from Buy… Friedman Billings downgrades Boston Private Financial Holdings (BPFH 27.40) to Market Perform from Outperform and lowers their tgt to $29 from $32, as they believe shares have more limited upside at the current valuation in the context of two material challenges the co could face next year - increasing credit costs and decelerating balance sheet growth… Merrill Lynch downgrades Credit Suisse (CS 69.61) to Neutral from Buy… Merrill Lynch downgrades Simon Property (SPG 108.45) to Neutral from Buy… Deutsche Bank downgrades Boston Properties (BXP 113.60) to Hold from Buy and maintains their $110 tgt, based on valuation… Deutsche Bank downgrades AvalonBay Communities (AVB 123.95) to Hold from Buy and maintains their $129 tgt, based on valuation… Deutsche Bank downgrades Kimco Realty (KIM 47.63) to Hold from Buy and maintains their $45 tgt, based on valuation… Deutsche Bank downgrades Public Storage (PSA 85.45) to Hold from Buy and lowers their tgt to $85 from $105, based on valuation… Deutsche Bank downgrades Health Care REIT (HCN 46.47) to Hold from Buy and maintains their $44 tgt, based on valuation… Friedman Billings downgrades The Talbots (TLB 19.46) to Underperform from Market Perform and lowers their tgt to $15 from $18, based on ongoing weak traffic at both divisions, increased promotional activity y/y, debt-laden balance sheet and a weak missy sector.

JOE St. Joe Company to accelerate value creation (34.15 )
Co announces it intends to significantly accelerate its value creation process in Northwest Florida and is restructuring the co to accomplish that objective. The restructured JOE is designed to increase its financial flexibility and strengthen its balance sheet. To improve its financial performance the co intends to: Significantly reduce capital expenditures, meaningfully decrease selling, general and administrative expenses, divest non-core assets, aggressively lower debt and eliminate the current dividend and over time return value to shareholders through the share repurchase program. In connection with this restructuring, JOE expects to take a charge to earnings of approx $7 mln consisting of severance benefits to employees. This charge will be expensed substantially in 2007 and 2008. JOE’s restructuring is expected to generate annual savings of approximately $10 mln in 2008, approx $18 mln in 2009 and approx $20 mln in later years. In addition, JOE expects to take charges aggregating approx $25 to $30 mln in Q307 related to contract termination costs, the write-off of capitalized costs at certain projects, the impairment of completed spec homes in several communities and the write-off of goodwill related to Sunshine State Cypress Mill.

JP Morgan, BofA poised for $3 bln writedown - Financial Times
Financial Times reports JP Morgan (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC) are expected to reveal losses of about $3 bln on holdings of mortgage securities and leveraged loans when they report third-quarter results this month. This would take to more than $20 bln the total writedowns announced by the world’s leading banks as a result of the credit market turmoil over the summer. JPMorgan is likely to unveil mark-to-market losses on leveraged loans of about $1.4 bln, in line with those reported by Citigroup (C) last week, according to Howard Mason, analyst at Sanford Bernstein. He estimates it will suffer a further $700 mln of writedowns on mortgages and mortgage-backed securities, for a total of $2.1 bln. For Bank of America, he estimates leveraged loan losses will be $700 mln and the mortgage writedowns $300 mln. Other banks with smaller capital markets operations such as Wachovia are likely to report writedowns. The size of JPMorgan and Bank of America’s writedowns will depend on the effectiveness of their hedging strategies, which has varied widely among the banks that have reported.

GOOG For Google, advertising and phones go together - NY Times (594.05 )
The NY Times reports for more than two years, a large group of engineers at Google (GOOG) has been working in secret on a mobile phone project. The co wants to extend its dominance of online advertising to the mobile Internet, a small market today, but one that is expected to grow rapidly. It hopes to persuade wireless carriers and mobile phone makers to offer phones based on its software, according to people briefed on the project. The cost of those phones may be partly subsidized by advertising that appears on their screens. Google is expected to unveil the fruit of its mobile efforts later this year, and phones based on its technology could be available next year. Some analysts say that the Google project’s affect on the wireless industry is not likely to be as profound, at least initially, as that of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone. “The iPhone was a milestone in terms of how people use a mobile device,” said Karsten Weide, an analyst with IDC. “The GPhone, if it does come out, will help Google with distribution for their online services.” At the core of Google’s phone efforts is an operating system for mobile phones that will be based on open-source Linux software, according to industry executives familiar with the project. In addition, Google is expected to develop mobile versions of its applications that go well beyond the mobile search and map software it offers today. Those applications may include a Web browser to run on cellphones. While Google has built phone prototypes to test its software and show off its technology to manufacturers, the co is not likely to make the phones itself, according to analysts.

AMR AMR’s long-term solution needs to gain some altitude - WSJ (25.64 )
The Wall Street Journal reports AMR (AMR) is setting a slower recovery pace than its competitors — and that drag on the stock isn’t likely to go away soon. Some argue that American could bounce back fast if industry fundamentals improved. “There’s such huge financial and operating leverage at American that when they start turning, you’re going to see kind of an explosive upside,” said FTN Midwest Securities analyst Michael Derchin, who has a “buy” rating on the stock and a 12-month price target of $38. FTN doesn’t own any AMR shares. But American would have to regain a lot of altitude. Most airline stocks have been hurt in recent months by soaring energy prices, but shares of AMR have been battered more than others. They plunged 14% one day last month on word that the airline’s Q3 unit-revenue growth would fall short of analysts’ expectations. Unit revenue is revenue per seat, per mile flown. American spokesman Andy Backover said, “It is hard to compare the unit-revenue performance of different airlines until the companies report their actual quarterly results and provide color behind that.” He also noted that American’s unit-revenue is still growing. Analysts suspect that American has been losing market share to rivals who have expanded more aggressively overseas, to both Europe and Latin America. American also is facing stiffer local competition from low-fare hometown rival Southwest Airlines (LUV). And the recent U.S. launch of Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin America is starting to add pressure.

LDK LDK Solar mentioned negatively in Barron’s (50.95 )
Barron’s reports they have talked to someone with knowledge of LDK Solar’s (LDK) manufacturing and that person said that the co’s silicon ingots were indeed so impure that a recent production run had produced tons of them that were too contaminated for technicians to even analyze with instruments. The co says it knows of no such problems. Savings from the co’s scrap recipe, which allows them to make wafers with as much as 25% virgin polysilicon, may be a mirage, according to allegations of ex-controller Chaley Situ and a person familiar with LDK’s manufacturing. Via a translator, Barron’s learned that LDK’s furnaces are often short of usable feedstock, even though the co’s piles of silicon scrap keep growing. The factory’s internal information is unreliable, with one record reportedly indicating that LDK’s wafer-cutting saws had an impossible yield of 140%. Industry experts say that most wafer-cutting enterprises break even at 90% usable yields. Instead, according to the person knowledgeable about the manufacturing, LDK’s wafering operation has yields that actually range from 55% to 70%. The co won’t comment on its yields.

CAH Cardinal Health mentioned positively in Barron’s (63.32 )
Barron’s reports Cardinal Health (CAH) shares seem cheap at 13.1x earnings. If Cardinal, whose earnings are expected to grow in the mid-teens over the next few years, could carry a multiple of 16x ‘09 expected earnings, the stock would be worth about 74. With accounting problems behind it, the co can focus more energy on bright spots like clinical technology and its medical-products unit, CMP, which supplies software that maintains proper intravenous-fluids flow to hospital patients, and automated drug dispensers with built-in fail-safes to assure correct dosages are being dispensed. The unit delivers just 5% of revenue but 26% of earnings; within three years, Cardinal reckons, it will contribute 40% of profit. Longer term, Chief Executive Kerry Clark aims to grow EPS by 12% to 16% a year, returning 50% of operating cash flow to stockholders, reinvesting 25% and using the rest for acquisitions. That, Cardinal executives maintain, ought to justify a higher multiple for the shares. “The business should be [valued at a multiple] two to three points higher,” says David Schlotterbeck, who runs clinical and medical products. That group “is now [about] 25% of earnings. But when it’s 40% of 50% of earnings, you can’t ignore it anymore,” he says.

‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round cont. - TheStreet.com
Cramer was bearish on Hansen Natural (HANS) and Coldwater Creek (CWTR).

‘Mad Money’ Recap: Lightning Round - TheStreet.com
Cramer was bullish on Schering-Plough (SGP), Synchronoss Technologies (SNCR), American Eagle Outfitters (AEO), Bill Barrett (BBG), XTO Energy (XTO), Deere (DE), Bunge (BG) and Monsanto (MON).

Cramer’s ‘Mad Money’ Recap - TheStreet.com
On Friday’s edition, Jim suggests Masimo (MASI) as an overlooked IPO and claims it could be the next Omniture (OMTR). The co, a maker of medical devices that allow for noninvasive measurement of blood oxygenation, has a recurring revenue stream and is growing with patent production on its products.

Bonds are closed and stocks should be slow with little on the economic front and earnings starting in earnest next week. CNBC has full cheerlead mode and I keep waking up to Groundhog Day feelings. Go Jimmy Harbaugh and go Les Miles.