Word of the Day

Exchange-Traded Fund

In the wide and varied family of the thousands and thousands of funds out there, the exchange-traded fund is one of the more consumer-friendly ones.

Unlike mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, behave more like stocks. You can buy into an ETF at any time, and sell it whenever you feel like it. And like a stock, an ETF's value can rise and fall--depending on what the ETF is invested in.What do ETFs invest in? Well, they're typically linked to an index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. So, if you had an ETF that trades the same companies that make up the Dow or the S&P, it will rise and fall in value pretty much the same amount as the Dow or S&P.

You can also buy ETFs that invest in other types of products, like bonds, currencies, gold or other commodities. The ETF market has grown considerably in the past few years, so there is no shortage of ETFs to invest in.

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Monday, September 15, 2008

Stocks In Focus For Tuesday

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MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO -- Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trade in Tuesday's session are Goldman Sachs, Best Buy, Adobe Systems, and AIG.

Goldman Sachs (GS) is projected to report third-quarter earnings of $1.71 a share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Best Buy Co. (BBY) is likely to post earnings of 56 cents a share in the second quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Adobe Systems is forecast to post earnings of 44 cents a share in the third quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Kroger Co. (KR) is expected to post earnings of 41 cents a share in the second quarter, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

CBRL Group (CBRL) is expected to report fourth-quarter earnings of 92 cents a share, according to analysts surveyed by FactSet Research.

Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research are estimating Darden Restaurants (DRI) to report first-quarter earnings of 63 cents a share.

Investors will keep a close eye on AIG (AIG) shares amid reports that the insurer is seeking a bridge loan from the Federal Reserve. AIG shares fell over 60% to $4.76 in Monday's session. See full story

After Monday's closing bell, Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) said it would cut 24,600 jobs as part of its acquisition of Electronic Data Systems. The job cuts amount to about 7.5% of the combined company's total workforce. H-P also said it would take a one-time charge of $1.7 billion in its fiscal fourth quarter related to integrating EDS' operations, and that it expects the restructuring to result in annual cost savings of $1.8 billion. See full story

Watch list

Influential insurance industry rating agency A.M. Best downgraded American International Group (AIG) because of a "rapid deterioration" in the insurer's financial strength and flexibility. "AIG's lack of liquidity at the holding company level and management's need to secure funding options are not representative of financial stability and not reflective of AIG's current ratings," A.M. Best said in a statement. The financial strength rating of AIG's domestic life and retirement services subsidiaries was cut to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior). The issuer credit rating of that unit was downgraded to a from aa, the agency said. AIG's domestic property and casualty subsidiaries suffered similar downgrades from A.M. Best.

J.M. Smucker Co. (SJM) will pay a special one-time dividend of $5 in connection with its buyout of Folgers. The dividend will be paid on Oct. 31 to shareholders of record at the close of business Sept. 30. The deal is expected to add to J.M. Smucker's earnings and will close in the fourth quarter.

Standard & Poor's will remove Lehman Brothers (LEH) from the S&P 500 after the close of trading on Tuesday following the company's filing for bankruptcy. Lehman will be replaced by Harris Corp. (HRS) on the index.

Fitch Ratings revised its review of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s (MER) ratings to evolving from negative following the $50 billion acquisition offer from Bank of America (BAC) . Fitch has an A+ long-term issuer default rating and long-term senior debt rating on Merrill.

Pall Corp. (PLL) reported a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $69.9 million, or 57 cents a share, compared with $16.7 million, or 13 cents a share, a year ago. For the quarter ended July 31, Pall said sales rose almost 12% to $723.2 million. The company forecast fiscal 2009 earnings in the range $2.15 to $2.30 a share, excluding charges.

Fitch Ratings downgraded the ratings of Synovus Financial Corp. (SNV) and its subsidiary banks because of prolonged credit stress at the company. Among the downgrades, Fitch cut Synovus' long-term issuer default rating to A- from A, and its subordinated debt rating to BBB+ from A-. The outlook remains negative.

Standard & Poor's downgraded the ratings of Washington Mutual Inc. (WM) and Washington Mutual Bank because of increased market turmoil. S&P cut the counterparty credit rating on Washington Mutual Inc. to BB-/B from BBB-/A-3, and the rating on Washington Mutual Bank to BBB-/A-3 from BBB/A-2. The outlook is negative. "Increasing market turmoil and the related impact from managing its concentrated mortgage franchise in this troubled housing and credit cycle led to the downgrade of WaMu," said Victoria Wagner, an S&P credit analyst, in a statement.