Benchmarks

Hong Kong Shares Jump From 2009 Closing High

By V. Phani Kumar| MarketWatch Pulse| Other Stories

… Airways Ltd. jumping after Citigroup upgraded the stock to hold from sell. Commodity stocks also shot up after Wall Street benchmarks hit their highest level of this year. The Hang Seng Index gained 1.3% to 21,687.28, while the Hang Seng China Enterprises …

Story|09/16/2009

Vivus Shares Soar on Diet Drug Results

By Ken Sweet| FOXBusiness| Markets

… pressure, cholesterol levels and improvements in type-2 diabetes. According to Vivus, the drug exceeded the efficacy benchmarks set by the Food and Drug Administration for diet drugs. The formula would still need approval from the FDA. Despite the …

Story|09/09/2009

Kraft: World Changed Dramatically Since Mars Deal

By Steve Goldstein| MarketWatch Pulse| Markets

… favorably," he said. He added that $625 million of run-rate cost synergies represent a very strong comparable to industry benchmarks , and that "Cadbury is worth what someone is willing to pay for it - nothing more. We are the most logical buyer but we …

Story|09/08/2009

Lazy Portfolios Floor 'behavioral Finance' Funds

By Paul B. Farrell| MarketWatch| Markets

… 90s, and still manage. Assets were about $84 million in the two mutual funds at midyear. The data and their peer group benchmarks come from the J.P. Morgan Web site. Comparative midyear data for our eight Lazy Portfolios comes from the MarketWatch …

Story|09/07/2009

Kraft Primed to Sweeten $16.7B Cadbury Bid

Reuters| Markets

… share and Bernstein Research suggested between 855 and 1,070. One top 20 Cadbury investor who declined to be named said benchmarks set by other deals indicated Kraft would need to offer at least 10% more, "and you could be looking at 20 to 30% higher …

Story|09/07/2009

Ease Up On Stocks If The Economy Stays Weak

By Sam Mamudi| MarketWatch| Markets

… cautious, i.e., negative, view on growth stocks," Arnott said, and he notes that those shares dominate standard market benchmarks such as the S&P 500, which weight stocks based on their total stock-market value. On the bond side, Arnott has concerns …

Story|09/02/2009

Bond Indexes Beat Active Mutual-funds

By Sam Mamudi| MarketWatch| Markets

… All figures are for periods ending June 30. Dash suggested the disparity between actively-managed bond funds and their benchmarks is due mainly to two factors, liquidity and security selection. The costs incurred by bond fund managers, who can be working …

Story|08/20/2009

HOUSE DEMS ASK FOR HEALTH INSURERS’ PAY « Emac's Stock Watch

Emac's Stock Watch

… detailing the compensation models used to arrive at this executive pay, including “performance criteria, incentives, benchmarks , and bonus pay triggers.” The letter also asks for data on annual sales, net income, and dividend payments from 2003 …

Blog|08/19/2009

Eight Signs You Have a Clunker Fund

By Chuck Jaffe| MarketWatch| Markets

… the fastest car on the road, but your investment vehicle needs some pick-up. If your funds can't keep pace with their benchmarks -- a minimal standard for doing the job you picked them for -- you're falling behind, and it will take you longer to …

Story|08/09/2009

Fund Firms Can Afford To Cut Fees

By Chuck Jaffe| MarketWatch| Markets

… to institute performance fees on some of its stock funds, so that the firm gets paid more only if its funds exceed index benchmarks and, thus, investor expectations. If Putnam funds underperform their index, the firm -- which is footing the bill for …

Story|08/02/2009