gamavor Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Whoever got GM's should buy us a drink! Stocks Rise on Kerkorian's GM Offer Stocks skipped higher Wednesday as investors were emboldened by decent earnings, a handful of mergers and billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's bid to substantially add to his stake in General Motors Corp. The Dow Jones industrials soared almost 125 points. Wall Street enjoyed a broad rally as investors seemed to shrug off some of the worries that have dogged stocks in recent weeks. The possible return of the 30-year bond was the biggest news of the day, but analysts said what really lured stock buyers back from the sidelines was Kerkorian's commitment to troubled auto maker GM. Considered a smart value investor, Kerkorian's unexpected move may have restored some faith in the market, which ultimately could turn sentiment around. "It kind of surprised everyone that someone as savvy as him would talk about increasing his stake in a beleaguered company. It suggested that there is value in this market," said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors. "On the days the stock market reverses or changes direction, it's often hard, historically, to find a reason why, on that day. I used to say the market seems to reach magical moments, and this may very well be one of those magical moments, where the configuration of events is just enough to get investors back on the bandwagon." The Dow closed up 127.69, or 1.2 percent, at 10,384.64, largely thanks to the 18 percent rise in GM's share price. Broader stock indicators were also higher. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 14.48, or 1.25 percent, to 1,175.65. The Nasdaq composite index rose 29.16, or 1.5 percent, to 1,962.23. The announcement that the government is considering bringing back the 30-year Treasury rattled the bond market, sending the yield on the 10-year note to 4.19 percent, up from 4.17 percent late Tuesday. Prices of the existing 30-year Treasury also sank. The 30-year note, discontinued in 2001, could provide financing for the government in an era of record budget deficits; a decision is expected in August. The U.S. dollar fell Wednesday against other major currencies in European trading; gold prices rose. Oil futures rebounded from earlier lows, rising 63 cents to settle at $50.13 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after a weekly government report showed rising supplies of crude oil and gasoline. "Oil is going to influence us every day, there's no doubt. Any time we see some drop in oil prices, that's good for the market," said Michael Palazzi, managing director of equity trading at SG Cowen Securities. "I think there's quite a bit of cash on the sidelines taking its cue from the positive news on GM, and from decent earnings projections." GM soared $5.03 to $32.80 after Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. offered to pay about $870 million for a nearly 5 percent stake in the automaker, a deal that would boost the billionaire's stake to nearly 9 percent. Kerkorian is seeking to purchase 28 million shares at $31 apiece. Time Warner Inc. added 60 cents to $17.28 after the world's largest media company said its first-quarter earnings rose slightly on growth at its cable networks, cable TV and several one-time gains. Per share earnings beat the consensus estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial by a penny a share. MetLife Inc. surged 12 percent, or $4.71, to $43.55, after the insurance company announced a 65 percent surge in first-quarter profits over last year on strong gains across all its business lines. The company raised its full-year earnings forecast based on the strong results and its planned acquisition of Travelers Life & Annuity and most of the international insurance operations from Citigroup Inc. Communications tower management firm American Tower Corp. was down 1 cent at $17.20 after announcing plans to pay $3.1 billion in stock to acquire rival SpectraSite Inc., a Cary, N.C.-based operator of wireless and broadcast signal towers. SpectraSite added 8.9 percent, or $5.00, to $61.20. Genzyme Corp. was up 12 cents at $60.02 after announcing plans to acquire Bone Care International in a deal valued at about $600 million. Bone Care soared 35 percent, or $8.28, to $32.11. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies was up 10.74, or 1.84 percent, at 595.22. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange. Preliminary volume came to 1.8 billion shares, compared with 1.67 billion on Tuesday. Overseas, Japanese financial markets were closed Wednesday for People's Holiday, a national holiday. Trading will resume on Friday after the annual "golden week" holidays. In Europe, France's CAC-40 rose 0.80 percent, Britain's FTSE 100 was up 0.44 percent and Germany's DAX index added 0.44 percent. ___ http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n...L&type=business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ED Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Whoever got GM's should buy us a drink! but I wish I had more..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakachik77 Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 the only Armenian in the World's Billionaire's List. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azat Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 It is interesting how one man can say something and have such a huge effect on the stock market. Not only did GM go over the price that Kirk is willing to pay for it but Ford, Daimler/Chrysler, and all the car part makers went up too. The single comment actually changed the whole market for a day. However if you read the Economist article called "Rough road ahead for GM" you may think that soon(within a month) the price of GM will be back to where it was yesterday morning. Mid to high 20s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sasun Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 the only Armenian in the World's Billionaire's List. style_images/master/snapback.png I am not sure about that. There are a few robber barrons with nick names in Armenia who could make the list, but they would prefer to keep a low profile. How about Eurnekian, why is he not on the list? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boghos Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Not just Eurnekian but also Manoogian for example. I think the reference was perhaps to the world´s richest people by Forbes and not necessarily just billionaires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kakachik77 Posted May 5, 2005 Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 yes, i referred to Forbes, I just recently read it. Interestingly enough, in Russia I expected to see one or two but there were none, instead found some Azeri sounding names, LOL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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