Tag Archives: Raymond James

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Facebook Stock Just Pennies Shy of Hitting IPO Price Again

Leave a comment

By Reuters

Hand holding a smartphone with a Facebook logo in front of dollar bills, symbolic image for the Facebook IPO

Filed under: , , ,

Alamy

By Alexei Oreskovic

Facebook’s (FB) stock on Tuesday came within a hair of reclaiming its $38 debut price for the first time since going public in 2012, a milestone in the social networking company’s effort to wipe away Wall Street’s skepticism of its business.

The stock has surged more than 40 percent in the past week after the company reported blowout quarterly results that showed Facebook’s progress building a mobile advertising business. Shares of Facebook climbed as much as 7 percent to $37.96 in heavy trading on Tuesday, before settling back to finish the regular session at $37.63.

The social network, with 1.15 billion users, has never traded at or above $38 since the first few days after its initial public offering in May 2012.

Facebook’s market value was cut in half in the months following the IPO as concerns about issues ranging from slowing revenue to massive insider selling made the Internet company’s stock a Wall Street punch line.

“Most companies of that size don’t re-accelerate their growth rate. Facebook’s been an exception,” said Aaron Kessler, an analyst with Raymond James. “I would say they’re in better shape today than they were at the IPO price and the stock is still below that.”

Facebook options volume was frenzied on Tuesday, as overall turnover was 3.8 times the recent daily average, according to options analytics firm Trade Alert. Traders on Tuesday exchanged 694,000 calls and 300,000 puts on Facebook.

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

The most popular options were the weekly $38 and $37 strike calls expiring this Friday as most traders expected gains in coming days. One player liked the weekly $32.50 strike puts expiring on Aug. 9, which appeared to be bought 15,000 times for only a dime, said options strategist Frederic Ruffy.

Facebook’s recent success building a mobile advertising business — an area where many of its rivals have struggled — and the online service’s expanding number of daily users have won back investors’ respect and confidence in its prospects. That has fueled a rebound in the shares, which are up more than 50 percent in July.

Facebook said last week its mobile advertising revenue grew 75 percent in a span of three months, trouncing analyst targets and delivering the company’s strongest revenue growth since the third quarter of 2011. Many analysts raised their price targets above the $38 level following Facebook’s quarterly report last week.

The second quarter results “were really a game-changer in terms of how Facebook is perceived on the Street,” said Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson. “It was pretty close to the perfect quarter.”

Facebook announced plans on Tuesday to help market and distribute mobile games on its social network in exchange for a cut of revenue that the games generate, raising hopes that the company could tap a new business. And many investors expect Facebook …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

News, Politics, Government

Amid federal investigation, coal exports at record levels

Leave a comment

From the time coal is scooped from the depths of the Spring Creek strip mine in Montana’s wide-open Powder River Basin until it travels more than 6,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to power plants in South Korea, the price can increase more than fivefold.

Mining companies, however, are only paying government royalties on the price of the coal when it is mined from federal lands, not when it is sold for more overseas, saving them millions of dollars in the process.

As the Interior Department investigates the industry’s export practices and considers a new royalty system, several exporters in the Montana-Wyoming coal region — the nation’s most productive — are planning to increase shipments abroad to energy-hungry Asia.

Whatever the department decides on royalties, a matter currently under internal review, the results have the potential to cut into profits at a time when the industry is looking to foreign markets to offset some of the daunting challenges it faces at home.

Proposed ports on the West Coast have the potential to increase U.S. coal exports by 60 to 100 million tons a year, said Jim Rollyson, an energy analyst with the advisory firm Raymond James.

“The international export market is where long-term growth for the industry might come from,” Rollyson said. “If you’re the government, that’s real money you’re trying to get there.”

Federal officials forecast that 175 coal-burning power plant units will be shuttered in the next five years, equal to 8.5 percent of the total electricity produced by coal, largely because of competition from cheap natural gas and costs of complying with new environmental regulations.

Overseas markets, by contrast, have been booming.

While analysts expect demand to slip temporarily this year, 2012 saw a record 125 million tons of coal exported from the U.S. Some in the industry project that figure could double in just the next five years if new ports and port expansions are built in Washington state, Oregon and the Gulf Coast.

Federal officials declined to say what they’ve uncovered since the royalties investigation was announced in February. But they’ve said the probe will continue under the leadership of recently confirmed Interior Secretary Sally Jewell.

“We take this issue very seriously and remain fully committed to collecting every dollar due,” said Patrick Etchart with Interior’s Office of Natural Resource Revenue.

Among the major coal producers from federal lands in the West, Peabody Energy and Spring Creek owner Cloud Peak Energy have denied any wrongdoing, while Arch Coal, Inc., has declined to comment.

The investigation into the industry follows concerns raised by two prominent U.S. senators — Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and the committee’s ranking minority member, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska.

They’ve warned taxpayers could lose many millions of dollars annually if royalties are unfairly calculated. “Taxpayers deserve to know if Interior’s oversight and regulations have kept up” with the rise in exports, said Wyden spokesman Keith Chu.

Royalties currently are paid based on the mine price of coal — about $10.55 a ton in the Powder River Basin, kept low by the volume

From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/national/~3/XPevvQXZnLg/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Smartphone Buyers Say "Do Not Want!" to BlackBerry

Leave a comment

By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

That’s gotta hurt. A Raymond James poll, made public earlier today, lets BlackBerry know in no uncertain terms that consumers want nothing to do with its products. More than 250 people replied to the poll, which asked about the features that might drive the purchase of a new smartphone — with a twist: One answer allowed people to say they would never consider buying a certain brand. More than 71% of all responses had no interest in BlackBerry at all, compared to 31% for Google‘s Android phones and just 20% for Apple‘s iPhones. This may be good news for Apple as much as it is bad news for BlackBerry, as the iPhone maker has often drawn polarizing responses from consumers. However, it’s worth taking this survey with a grain of salt, as a statistically valid survey will inevitably have more than 1,000 responses — not just 250.

This sentiment smackdown arrives on the heels of another survey, released two days ago by MKM Partners and Barron’s, showing that 83% of American consumers weren’t even aware of the launch of the BlackBerry 10 operating system (along with the Z10, a phone that has its fair share of domestic problems). This survey polled more than 1,500 people and had similar results to the Raymond James poll in terms of preference, finding that 68% of American consumers weren’t interested in a Blackberry 10 phone at all. Between these surveys and recent reports of Z10 returns outpacing Z10 sales, it should be small wonder that BlackBerry slid lower throughout today’s trading session.

ITG analyst Joe Fersedi noted that the Z10 launch was lousy and only got worse, with sales in line with older BlackBerry models. The Z10 initially claimed 4% share of the sales in Verizon stores and 7% in AT&T stores, but now its share of those carriers’ sales has shriveled to 1% and 2%, respectively. Detwiler analyst Jeff Johnston noted that he had never seen a launch where returns exceeded sales prior to the Z10. On the other hand, Johnston expects BlackBerry’s keyboard-equipped Q10 to perform better. At least BlackBerry has a niche. Will this optimism bear out in light of the reported dislike of the BlackBerry 10 OS?

However, if you’re one of the rare few consumers champing at the bit for a brand-new BlackBerry, you’re in luck! While the Z10 launched with a $199 sticker price, Amazon.com has already decided to lower its price for a Z10 with a two-year contract with either AT&T or Verizon to just $99. What a steal! Even if you were one of the few people who bought a Z10 and don’t want to return it, Amazon will even give you a $50 credit — with some possible caveats, so (repeat) buyer beware.

Will you be picking up a new BlackBerry, or are you one of the 71% saying “Do not want!” to the Canadian smartphone maker?

Is BlackBerry’s pain Apple’s gain?<br

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/smartphone-buyers-say-do-not-want-to-blackberry/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

New Study on Advisor Satisfaction Invokes Chickens, Eggs

Leave a comment

By Molly McCluskey, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

In the case of broker and customer satisfaction, which comes first, the chicken or the egg?

Do satisfied customers lead to satisfied brokers? Or are customers satisfied when their brokers are?

It’s a question I asked Craig Martin, director of investment services at J.D. Power and Associates and the lead on the new 2013 U.S. Financial Advisor Satisfaction study. The study measures satisfaction among advisors who are employed directly with an investment services firm, as well as those who are affiliated with, but independently operated from, a broker-dealer. Among the findings: Overall satisfaction among advisors is up since 2010; advisors want their firms to focus more on customers than on profits, and nearly a third of all advisors are ambivalent about their firm, which could ultimately cause them to change firms.

The top firms in the employee segment were Edward Jones, Raymond James and Associates, UBS Financial Services, Merrill Lynch Financial Management , Wells Fargo , and Chase. In the independent-advisor segment, the highest-ranked firms were Commonwealth Financial Network, Cambridge Investment Research, Raymond James Financial Services, Northwestern Mutual, and LPL Financial. J.D. Power looked at factors including compensation, contact, people, job duties, work environment, products and offerings to clients, technology, and services and support offered to financial advisors.

The results of the 2013 Customer Satisfaction Survey will be released in May, but if last year’s dual studies are any indication, the results of the two will dovetail very closely. That’s what I found in covering last year’s studies, and Martin says it’s likely to be similar this year. And, he says, that’s to be expected year after year. “People are generally happier when they’re successful,” he told me, “and for an advisor to be successful, he or she has to be able to serve their clients. The question is, how do you create a level of engagement you want with a customer, one that not just satisfies them, but truly makes them an advocate of your firm, one who tells their friends and is loyal?”

That, Martin says, only comes when advisors are supported by their firm. With 40% of advisors saying they experienced a technological or paperwork issue in the past year, how those issues are handled makes a difference in advisor satisfaction, and ultimately, customer satisfaction. “The higher-services firms prevent the challenges that prevent advisors from being in front of the client,” Martin says. “Those at the top eliminate issues and limit the impact to the advisor on a daily basis.”

But what does all this happiness mean for investors? Ultimately, very little. Martin says that although J.D. Power hasn’t done any studies on the impacts of their reports on share prices, he suspects there aren’t any dramatic changes. “This [report] isn’t a surprise. It’s a validation,” he says. “If you’re losing customers and losing advisors, that’s going to have a bottom-line impact, and will show up long before our review.”

So, which comes first? A happy customer or a happy advisor? Martin has

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/new-study-on-advisor-satisfaction-invokes-chickens/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

LA Runner Kershaw Running the Boston Marathon

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LA Runner Kershaw Running the Boston Marathon

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Courtney Kershaw, member of the LA Wealth Advisory Group at Raymond James, age 27, started running 5 years ago and is now running her 7th race – participating in the famous Boston Marathon on April 15th.

Kershaw Running the Boston Marathon (Photo: Business Wire)

Lisa Detanna, team leader of the group states, “We are so very proud of our Courtney!” In addition to helping raise her extended family and working as lead administrative member of Wealth Advisory Group at Raymond James, Courtney still finds time to train and run over 35 miles a week like clockwork – with total dedication to her craft. “Courtney is truly amazing,” claims Detanna “and when focused on something, always achieves great things.”

Detanna has been a mentor to many young individuals, dating back to the Beverly Hills High School internship program that was accelerated during her time as Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce President. Two team members of the LA Wealth Advisory Group at Raymond James – Tim Kang and Brian Kim – started with Detanna as interns as well. Tim joined Detanna seven years ago while attending undergraduate school at UCLA and Brian Kim interned with Detanna and the LA Wealth Advisor team while at USC in 2011. Detanna believes mentoring young adults and watching them achieve great things helps her continue to grow as well. It gives her more energy, while forcing her to stay youthful and current on the newest gadgets. “I am so fortunate to be a part of my team members’ worlds and help and watch them actualize their dreams as they help me,” Detanna shares.

The Boston Marathon is very significant to women – as the first women runner Kathrine Switzer challenged the then all male event in 1967 where she finished the race in spite of a physical attack on her by a race official. The fact that Courtney and other women now compete in this sport and finish the race with very competitive times is wonderful.

Courtney’s last race was the 2013 LA Marathon where she completed the race in the top 15th percentile for both male and female. Courtney tells Detanna, “I run to remember my dad and to never give up on living. Running gives me a chance to start with a goal and to finish it… 26.2 miles later. A chance to push beyond my comfort zone and test my limits, to enter into a world to be in my own space, in my head and in my heart. It

From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/11/la-runner-kershaw-running-the-boston-marathon/

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

California Dreaming of an Oil- and Gas-Free Future

Leave a comment

By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Oil and gas exploration has the power to unleash a powerful job-creating force. California, with the worst unemployment rates in the country at 9.6% (tied with Mississippi and Nevada), could join in the jobs boom that would have it rival best-in-the-nation North Dakota, which boasts a 3.3% unemployment rate. But unfortunately for those looking for work in the state, a recent court victory shows the state has no chance of participating in that job-creating machine anytime soon.

Turning a blind eye
A federal judge ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management ignored its responsibility in assessing the environmental impact hydraulic fracturing would cause when the agency doled out leases in California’s Monterey Shale Formation, which is estimated to hold some 15 billion barrels of oil. That’s akin to 64% of all the estimated shale oil reserves in the U.S. and is double the combined reserves of North Dakota‘s Bakken Shale and Texas’ Eagle Ford Shale.

Occidental Petroleum was one of the biggest winners of leases when they were handed out, but analysts at Raymond James have identified privately held Venoco and Plains Exploration & Production as among those also highly exposed to the Monterey formation.

Rockin’ the Bakken
It was of course the Bakken boom that ignited North Dakota‘s economy and sent its unemployment rate to the lowest level of any state (Texas is 17th on the list at 6.4% unemployment). It also happens to be one of the few states with a budget surplus. An oil and gas boom in California would go a long way to shoring up its chronic fiscal problems and pension woes, let alone leading the U.S. in surpassing Saudi Arabia as the top oil producer in the world.

The court decision, however, effectively bars any drilling on the contested 2,500 acres leased for oil and gas development until the fracking question is resolved.

A fractured future
In the fracking process, water, chemicals, and fluids are pumped into wells under high pressure to fracture rock formations. Proppants are injected to prop open the fissures and allow the oil and gas to flow more freely. Environmentalists charge that the process opens up the entire ecosystem to contamination, and in the past it has been blamed for everything from groundwater contamination to earthquakes. Considering California‘s history with quakes, its nervousness is perhaps understandable.

Heckmann is a leading player in the fluids-management area, and with its recent acquisition of Power Fuels — centered almost solely in the Bakken oil play — it seeks to become a one-stop shop for environmental services. It noted declining levels of activity in the Bakken last quarter, though a lot of that has to do with greater efficiencies realized. That suggests California might have been able to capitalize on the opportunity if a slowdown did manifest itself.

California dreamin’
There are still more lawsuits in the pipeline on other acreage because leases were granted by BLM under the same “flawed analysis,” according to one

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

KNOT Offshore Partners LP Prices Initial Public Offering of Common Units

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

KNOT Offshore Partners LP Prices Initial Public Offering of Common Units

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– KNOT Offshore Partners LP (NYS: KNOP) (“KNOT Offshore Partners” or “KNOP“) today announced that it priced its initial public offering of 7,450,000 common units at a price of $21.00 per unit. KNOT Offshore Partners has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 1,117,500 additional common units, at the same price per unit. The common units being offered to the public are expected to begin trading on April 10, 2013, on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “KNOP.” The offering is expected to close on or about April 15, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.

Following completion of the offering, Knutsen NYK Offshore Tankers AS, a Norwegian private limited liability company (“KNOT“), will own KNOP‘s general partner and a 55.4% limited partner interest in KNOT Offshore Partners. If the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units is exercised in full, KNOT will own a 49.0% limited partner interest in KNOT Offshore Partners.

KNOT Offshore Partners intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, which are estimated to be approximately $138.4 million, after deducting estimated underwriting discounts and commissions, structuring fees and estimated offering expenses, to repay borrowings outstanding under its vessel financing agreements and for general partnership purposes.

BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup are acting as co-structuring agents and joint book-running managers in the transaction. Barclays is acting as a joint book-running manager. DNB and UBS are acting as co-lead managers for the offering. Raymond James and RBC are acting as co-managers for the offering. The offering of the common units will be made only by means of a prospectus. A written prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933 may be obtained from the offices of:

BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Attention: Prospectus Department, dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com.

Citigroup, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717 (tel: 800-831-9146).

A registration statement relating to KNOT Offshore Partners’ common units has been filed with and declared effective by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC“). The registration statement is available on the SEC‘s website at www.sec.gov.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the common units described above, nor will there be any sales of these common …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Kite Realty Group Trust Announces Pricing of Common Share Offering

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Kite Realty Group Trust Announces Pricing of Common Share Offering

INDIANAPOLIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Kite Realty Group Trust (NYS: KRG) (the “Company”) announced today that it has priced its underwritten public offering of 13,500,000 of its common shares of beneficial interest (“Common Shares“) at a public offering price of $6.55 per share. The underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,025,000 Common Shares. The Company estimates that the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, will be approximately $84.6 million, or approximately $97.4 million if the underwriters’ option to purchase additional Common Shares is exercised in full.

The Company intends to use a portion of the net proceeds from this offering initially to repay approximately $62.2 million of outstanding indebtedness under the Company’s revolving credit facility and the remainder for the acquisition of properties. Such net proceeds that initially are used to repay outstanding indebtedness under the revolving credit facility are expected to be redeployed for other general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of properties and funding development costs.

The offering, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close on or about April 12, 2013.

BofA Merrill Lynch, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Citigroup and Wells Fargo Securities are serving as the joint book-running managers for this offering. J.P. Morgan and Raymond James are serving as the lead managers for this offering. Evercore Partners, The Huntington Investment Company and Stifel are serving as the co-managers for this offering.

The offering is being made pursuant to a shelf registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which became effective on January 11, 2012. A preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement. Copies of the prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained from BofA Merrill Lynch, 222 Broadway, New York, New York 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department, or by email at dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com; from KeyBanc Capital Markets, Attention: Prospectus Delivery Department, 127 Public Square, 4th Floor, Cleveland, Ohio 44114; …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dow Soars to New Highs With UnitedHealth at Its Side

Leave a comment

By Jessica Alling, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped this morning following a slight decline yesterday. Up by 103 points so far this morning, the index has surpassed another milestone with a new intraday high — which could very well be overshadowed by gains throughout the day. Positive news from various sectors of the economy has jolted investors back into action after several weeks of international and economic concerns.

Factory orders were up in the month of February by 3%, just slightly above the 2.9% increase expected by analysts. The overall gain was boosted by increased orders in the aircraft industry, while all other categories only gained 0.3%. Motor vehicle sales data released this morning showed a surge in buying activity as the economy continues to recover. Analysts at Edmunds.com raised the annual sales forecast for 2013 to 15.5 million vehicles on the strength of the sales data released by the car manufacturers. Ford had a 5.7% increase in sales during March, while Chrysler also boasted of a 6% increase. This is the best month on record for the Detroit Big Three since December 2007.

Dow winners
UnitedHealth Group is soaring this morning, up 6.77%, following a ruling from the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services stating that Medicare Advantage payouts will not be cut by the previously expected 2.2%, but will increase by 3.3%. The stock gained 3.1% yesterday after the ruling and continued to climb from there to a seven-year high. After the news, UnitedHealth was also upgraded by analysts at Raymond James to a “strong buy” from “outperform,” while other firms either reiterated their buy rating or upgraded the company to a buy. Health insurance stocks have gained across the board on the news, with other medical-related companies piggybacking on the ruling’s positive outcome.

Proctor & Gamble and Pfizer are both up this morning as well, both with a 1.4% improvement. On top of any benefit that the two companies may receive from the Medicare Advantage ruling, P&G has recently announced that 25% of its factories are now zero-waste. On top of the 45 currently designated zero-waste factories, another 20 are on the brink of the designation — a big boon for P&G, which is aiming for all its factories to meet the requirements by 2020. Pfizer hasn’t had the same great news for investors, as it recently failed its attempts to have lawsuits from Celebrex users dismissed. Along with its 10% decline so far in 2013, the drugmaker is enjoying any positive gains it can get its hands on.

When President Obama was reelected, shares of UnitedHealth and other health insurers fell immediately. Is Obamacare a death knell for health insurers, or is the market missing out on some of the opportunities the law presents? In this premium report on UnitedHealth, The Motley Fool takes a long-term view, homing in on prospects for UnitedHealth in a post-Obamacare world. So don’t miss out …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

iParty Corp. Announces End of Go-Shop

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

iParty Corp. Announces End of Go-Shop

DEDHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– iParty Corp. (NYSE MKT: IPT – news), a leading party goods retailer with a strong presence in New England, today announced the expiration, at 11:59 p.m. (Eastern Daylight Savings Time) on March 31, 2013, of the “go-shop” period during which it was permitted to solicit alternative proposals to its proposed merger with Party City Holdings Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Party City“).

On March 1, 2013, iParty entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement“) with Party City and Confetti Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation and wholly-owned subsidiary of Party City (“Merger Sub“). Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, Merger Sub will be merged with and into iParty, and as a result iParty will continue as the surviving corporation (the “Merger“). During the “go-shop” period contemplated by the Merger Agreement, iParty was permitted to initiate, solicit and encourage, whether publicly or otherwise, any acquisition proposals from third parties, and provide non-public information to and engage in discussions or negotiations with third parties with respect to alternative acquisition proposals. The go-shop process was conducted on iParty’s behalf by its financial advisor Raymond James & Associates, Inc. (“Raymond James“).

During the “go-shop” period, Raymond James contacted 40 potential transaction partners at the request of and on behalf of iParty, including strategic and financial buyers. Despite this solicitation of interest, none of the 40 contacted parties requested to review non-public information or submitted a written acquisition proposal with respect to iParty.

iParty is now subject to customary “no-shop” restrictions on its ability to solicit acquisition proposals from third parties and to provide non-public information to and engage in discussions or negotiations with third parties regarding alternative acquisition proposals. Notwithstanding the “no shop” restrictions, prior to obtaining the Company stockholder approval of the Merger Agreement, iParty may under certain circumstances provide information to and participate in discussions or negotiations with third parties with respect to any unsolicited acquisition proposal in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement to permit iParty’s board of directors to comply with its fiduciary duties.

iParty is continuing to work with Party City to complete the Merger in a timely manner. iParty expects the Merger to close during the second quarter of 2013, however the Merger is subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by iParty’s stockholders of the Merger Agreement.

About iParty Corp.

Headquartered in …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Mattress Firm Shares Jumped

Leave a comment

By Jeremy Bowman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Although we don’t believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes — just in case they’re material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of Mattress Firm Holding were springing higher today, gaining as much as 13% after providing promising 2013 guidance in its quarterly report.

So what: Despite today’s gain, It wasn’t exactly a great quarter for Mattress Firm. Adjusted earnings per share fell from $0.56 to $0.30, and although revenue grew 37% in the quarter, that growth came entirely from new and acquired stores as same-store sales fell by 1.6%. The results missed expectations on both top and bottom lines. EPS guidance of $1.90 to $1.98 for 2013 was within range of estimates, while revenue guidance of $1.24 to $1.25 billion was ahead by about 3%.

Now what: The earnings report won Mattress Firm an upgrade from The Street from sell to hold based on strong revenue growth and solid return on equity, and Raymond James also upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “market perform.” Citigroup noted that sales could increase by more than expected as mattress prices continue to go up. The upside revenue guidance was enough to bring shares of industry rivals Tempur-Pedic and Select Comfort up significantly. Still, I’d remain wary of these companies, as the industry is extremely competitive and the durable nature of mattresses means that any meaningful innovation is likely to be copied before it reaches most consumers.

Don’t miss the next update on Mattress Firm. Add the stock to your Watchlist by clicking right here.

The article Why Mattress Firm Shares Jumped originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Jeremy Bowman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Citigroup and Tempur-Pedic International. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Science & Technology

Broker Suspended For Downloading Customer Files On Flash Drive And Laptop

Leave a comment

By Bill Singer

Steven Robert Tomlinson entered the financial industry in 1981, and over a 20 year span worked for various firms before joining a Corning , NY credit union in 2001 as a financial advisor in its investment services group –by 2003, he became the group manager. During the relevant times in this matter, the credit union was affiliated with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (?FINRA?) member firm Raymond James Financial Services, Inc. (“RJFS“), and Tomlinson was an employee of both the credit union and registered with RJFS.
Salary Versus Commission
In 2008, Tomlinson learned from a magazine article that a registered representative with whom he had trained years earlier had built a business at another broker-dealer firm to pass along to his son. That success story seemed to have troubled Tomlinson, who also desired to leave a business for his son but was growing concerned about the inherent limitations in his credit union’s salary-based compensation system versus the brokerage industry?s commission structure. Consequently, the magazine article may have fanned the embers of Tomlinson?s desire to move on and move up.
Walkin’ Over To Wachovia
Toward the end of June 2008, Tomlinson began talking to a friend at Wachovia about an opening in a nearby branch office; and in October 2008, Tomlinson visited a St. Louis, MO, Wachovia office. Tomlinson must have liked the grass on the other side of the fence because he soon decided to leave the credit union and RJFS to join Wachovia, where his new position offered a small payment for managing the branch coupled with the potential for much greater commission-based compensation.
You’re On Notice
As a credit union manager, Tomlinson was familiar with the organization?s compliance manual, which, in pertinent part stated:

Associates may not share customer information with third parties unless specifically authorized by the client. Customer and confidential information may not be removed from a Raymond James office without the branch manager’s permission.

Further, the credit union?s compliance manual prohibited financial associates (subject to client authorization) from transmitting non-public or personally identifiable information (e.g., social security number, financial account numbers, net worth, income, tax bracket) to a third party for non-business purposes. Also, Tomlinson had signed a financial advisor agreement with RJFS and the credit union in which he agreed, among other things, not to remove records from the premises of the investment group without prior authorization and not to disclose to any person any non-public customer information.
Wachovia?s Instructions
In contemplation of his joining Wachovia, that firm had instructed Tomlinson that the only information he could bring with him was in the nature of a “Christmas card list;” i.e., the names, phone numbers and addresses of his clients. Wachovia conveyed the instruction several times in several different ways, including during a discussion at the St. Louis recruiting meeting and also memorialized in a ?Financial Advisor Integration Planner” given to Tomlinson by the senior vice president who had handled his recruitment. The Planner stated in bold-face type that financial advisors were not allowed to bring “client statements, account numbers, social security …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Technology

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

StoneMor Prices New Unit Offering

Leave a comment

By Eric Volkman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

StoneMor Partners has priced its upcoming unit offering. The company is to issue 1.4 million common units at $25.35 apiece in an underwritten public flotation. Additionally, the company’s underwriters have been granted a 30-day purchase option for an additional 210,000 million units to cover over-allotments, if any.

The offering was increased from the previously-announced level by 200,000 units.

StoneMor said it plans to use the issue’s anticipated net proceeds of around $33.3 million (or $38.4 million if the underwriters exercise their options) to retire some of the outstanding borrowings drawn from the firm’s existing credit facility.

Raymond James and Janney Montgomery Scott are the two underwriters of the offering.

The article StoneMor Prices New Unit Offering originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends StoneMor Partners. The Motley Fool owns shares of StoneMor Partners. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Pricing of Upsized Public Offering of 13.8 Million Common Shares

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

RLJ Lodging Trust Announces Pricing of Upsized Public Offering of 13.8 Million Common Shares

BETHESDA, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– RLJ Lodging Trust (the “Company”) (NYS: RLJ) today announced it has priced an underwritten public offering of 13,800,000 common shares of beneficial interest at a public offering price of $21.60 per share, for net proceeds of approximately $284.8 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and other estimated offering costs. The offering was upsized from an original amount of 11,500,000 shares to the final offering size of 13,800,000 shares. The Company also granted the underwriters of the offering a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,070,000 common shares. The offering is expected to close on or about March 25, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund potential acquisitions and for general corporate purposes, and may use net proceeds to repay amounts outstanding from time to time under its unsecured revolving credit facility.

A shelf registration statement on Form S-3 relating to the securities was previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and became effective on August 22, 2012. A preliminary prospectus supplement relating to the offering has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.

Barclays, BofA Merrill Lynch, and Wells Fargo Securities will serve as joint book-running managers for the offering. Deutsche Bank Securities, PNC Capital Markets LLC, and RBC Capital Markets are acting as senior co-managers and Baird, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Raymond James, Scotiabank and Compass Point are acting as co-managers. The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus supplement and related base prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement, final prospectus supplement (when available) and the related base prospectus may be obtained by contacting: (a) Barclays, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717, or by calling 1-888-603-5847 or emailing barclaysprospectus@broadridge.com; BofA Merrill Lynch, Attention: Prospectus Department, 222 Broadway, New York, NY 10038, Email: dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com; or Wells Fargo Securities, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 375 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10152, by email at cmclientsupport@wellsfargo.com; or by …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

LRR Energy, L.P. Prices Public Offering of Common Units

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LRR Energy, L.P. Prices Public Offering of Common Units

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– LRR Energy, L.P. (NYS: LRE) (“LRR Energy” or “LRE“) announced today the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 common units, of which 3,000,000 common units are being offered by LRR Energy and 3,000,000 common units are being offered by LRR Energy’s sponsor, Lime Rock Resources, at a public offering price of $16.84 per common unit. The underwriters have been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 700,000 additional common units from LRR Energy and up to 200,000 additional common units from Lime Rock Resources. The offering is scheduled to close on March 22, 2013, subject to customary closing conditions.

LRE‘s second lien term loan requires LRE to use 50% of the net cash proceeds from any equity offering to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s term loan. LRE is seeking, and expects to receive, a waiver of this requirement from the lender under LRE‘s term loan. In the event LRE receives the waiver prior to the closing of the offering, LRE plans to use the net proceeds from the offering and from any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units from LRE to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s revolving credit facility. In the event LRE does not receive the waiver prior to the closing of the offering, LRE will use 50% of the net proceeds from the offering, or approximately $24.2 million, to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s term loan and the remaining net proceeds to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s revolving credit facility. LRE will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the common units held by Lime Rock Resources. LRE intends to use borrowings (including re-borrowings of the net offering proceeds) under its revolving credit facility to fund the purchase price for LRE‘s previously announced acquisition of certain oil and natural gas properties in the Mid-Continent region in Oklahoma from Lime Rock Resources.

Raymond James, Barclays and UBS Investment Bank are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering. Baird, Oppenheimer & Co., Stifel, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., MLV & Co. and Wunderlich Securities are acting as co-managers of the offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering may be …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

LRR Energy, L.P. Announces Public Offering of Common Units

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LRR Energy, L.P. Announces Public Offering of Common Units

HOUSTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– LRR Energy, L.P. (NYS: LRE) (“LRR Energy” or “LRE“) announced today that it plans to conduct an underwritten public offering of 6,000,000 common units, of which 3,000,000 common units are being offered by LRR Energy and 3,000,000 common units are being offered by LRR Energy’s sponsor, Lime Rock Resources, pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 700,000 additional common units from LRR Energy and up to 200,000 additional common units from Lime Rock Resources.

LRE‘s second lien term loan requires LRE to use 50% of the net cash proceeds from any equity offering to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s term loan. LRE is seeking, and expects to receive, a waiver of this requirement from the lender under LRE‘s term loan. In the event LRE receives the waiver prior to the closing of the offering, LRE plans to use the net proceeds from the offering and from any exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional common units from LRE to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s revolving credit facility. In the event LRE does not receive the waiver prior to the closing of the offering, LRE will use 50% of the net proceeds from the offering to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s term loan and the remaining net proceeds to repay borrowings outstanding under LRE‘s revolving credit facility. LRE will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the common units held by Lime Rock Resources. LRE intends to use borrowings (including re-borrowings of the net offering proceeds) under its revolving credit facility to fund the purchase price for LRE‘s previously announced acquisition of certain oil and natural gas properties in the Mid-Continent region in Oklahoma from Lime Rock Resources.

Raymond James, Barclays and UBS Investment Bank are acting as joint book-running managers of the offering. Baird, Oppenheimer & Co., Stifel, Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., MLV & Co. and Wunderlich Securities are acting as co-managers of the offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and related …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Lisa Detanna of Raymond James and Elizabeth Kabler Host a Day at Sunnylands, "Camp David West"

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Lisa Detanna of Raymond James and Elizabeth Kabler Host a Day at Sunnylands, “Camp David West”

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Lisa Detanna, Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Investments at Raymond James, Inc. along with the Los Angeles Wealth Advisory Team of Raymond James recently hosted a special event at Sunnylands, often referred to as “Camp David West,” the family home of Walter and Lenore Annenberg who served in prominent roles in the Reagan Administration.

Sunnylands hosted 7 US Presidents and has long been a place for world leaders to gather to solve problems, discuss issues and get to know each other socially while being entertained by celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Bob Hope, Gregory Peck and more recently John Legend. The estate sports a golf course and sits on 200 acres. The visitor’s center has had over 60,000 guests in its first year of being open to the public.

As noted in “The Annenberg Retreat at Sunnylands” in the March 8, 2013 edition of The Beverly Hills Courier, the day began with a tour of the residence, which houses replicas of over a billion dollars in art work, since donated to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The guests then saw the film in the visitor’s center theater about what Sunnylands hopes to accomplish in the future.

At lunch, Lisa gave a presentation about Raymond James and how they help individuals, families, institutions, foundations, endowments and not-for-profit organizations to analyze, plan and choose investments which are conflict-free, non-biased and provide top performance in good markets as well as offer more protection in tough markets. She emphasized Raymond James‘ philosophy that philanthropy and foundations are an extension of a family.

Lisa’s connection with the Annenberg family began when she met Marcia Wilson Hobbs, fellow Board Member of the Beverly Hills Chamber of Commerce. Marcia spent time with the Annenberg family as a child when her parents, friends of Lenore and Walter all served together for Ronald Reagan in the 1980’s. Marcia introduced Lisa to Elizabeth Kabler, Lenore Annenberg‘s daughter.

Elizabeth and Marcia spoke at the Sunnylands event about what it was like living in and visiting the home when they were children. They described the elaborate menus created for the Presidents and other Heads of State who would stay on the estate. Sunnylands is planning to publish a cookbook to recreate some of the recipes from those days. Marcia also talked about the Annenberg art collection, which Walter Annenberg had taken the time to educate her about, leading to her great interest …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. Prices Public Offering of 7.125% Series C Preferred Stock

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. Prices Public Offering of 7.125% Series C Preferred Stock

AUSTIN, Texas–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Summit Hotel Properties, Inc. (NYS: INN) (the “Company”) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 3,000,000 shares of its 7.125% Series C Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (“Series C Preferred Stock”) at a public offering price of $25.00 per share. Dividends on the Series C Preferred Stock will be payable quarterly in arrears on or about the last day of February, May, August and November of each year, commencing on or about May 31, 2013, at the rate of 7.125% per annum of the $25.00 liquidation preference, which is equivalent to $1.78125 per annum per share. The offering is expected to close on March 20, 2013. The underwriters have a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 400,000 shares of Series C Preferred Stock to cover over-allotments, if any. All the shares are being sold by the Company.

The Company intends to apply to list the Series C Preferred Stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “INNPrC.”

The Company estimates that the net proceeds from this offering, after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and estimated offering expenses, will be approximately $72.4million (or approximately $82.1 million if the underwriters’ over-allotment option is exercised in full). The Company expects to use the net proceeds to reduce the outstanding balance under its revolving credit facility, and the balance, if any, for general corporate purposes.

Raymond James, Baird and RBC Capital Markets are acting as joint book-running managers for the offering. Deutsche Bank Securities and KeyBanc Capital Markets are acting as senior co-managers for the offering. JMP Securities and MLV & Co are acting as co-managers for the offering.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of, or any solicitation of an offer to buy, these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering is being made solely by means of the prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming part of the effective shelf registration statement.

A copy of the prospectus supplement and base prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by contacting: Raymond James & Associates, Inc., 880 Carillon Parkway, St. Petersburg, Florida 33716, or by calling toll-free at 1-800-248-8863, or emailing prospectus@raymondjames.com; Robert …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Make Money in "Strong Buy" Stocks the Easy Way

Leave a comment

By Selena Maranjian, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Exchange-traded funds offer a convenient way to invest in sectors or niches that interest you. If you’d like to add some highly rated stocks to your portfolio, the Guggenheim Raymond James SB-1 Equity ETF  could save you a lot of trouble. Instead of trying to figure out which companies will perform best, you can use this ETF to invest in lots of them simultaneously. It focuses on companies rated as “strong buys” by analysts at Raymond James.

The basics
ETFs often sport lower expense ratios than their mutual fund cousins. The Guggenheim ETF‘s expense ratio — its annual fee — is 0.75%, which is on the steep side for an ETF but still cheaper than a typical stock mutual fund. The fund is fairly small, so if you’re thinking of buying, beware of possibly large spreads between its bid and ask prices. Consider using a limit order if you want to buy in.

This ETF has performed reasonably, outpacing the S&P 500 over the past three and five years. As with most investments, of course, we can’t expect outstanding performances in every quarter or year. Investors with conviction need to wait for their holdings to deliver.

Why “strong buy” stocks?
Stocks deemed strong buys merit some consideration because savvy financial professionals have apparently found some appealing factors in them — though, of course, they’re not always right. (Indeed, my colleague Dan Dzombak has pointed out a blind spot they typically have.)

More than a handful of companies  that have sported a “strong buy” rating recently have performed well over the past year. Valero Energy surged 63%, for example, profiting by processing cheap U.S. oil and then selling it at higher prices in Latin America and Europe — thereby helping keep fuel prices in the U.S. high. It stands to benefit from the proposed and controversial Keystone XL Pipeline, and has been investing in railcars to boost profits from the Bakken shale fields.

Regions Financial gained 42% and is attractive on many counts, having repaid its TARP obligation, posted improving net interest margin and asset quality, and had a powerful presence in the growing Southeast region. Its recent quarter featured a swing from a big loss to a big gain, among other achievements. My colleague Sean Williams has nominated the company’s leader for CEO of the year.

Swift Transportation , a trucking company, climbed 22%. Its fourth-quarter earnings surged 27% over year-ago levels as the trucking industry enjoys a resurgence, with January tonnage having been the highest in five years. Its Moody’s credit rating has been hiked recently, and analysts at TheStreet.com upped its rating from sell to hold.

Other companies didn’t do quite as well last year, but could see their fortunes change in the coming years. Micron Technology , for example, advanced 10%, as its believers expect that growth in tablets and smartphones, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

LaSalle Hotel Properties Announces the Sale of 400,000 Additional Series I Preferred Shares Pursuant

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LaSalle Hotel Properties Announces the Sale of 400,000 Additional Series I Preferred Shares Pursuant to the Underwriters’ Option

BETHESDA, Md.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– LaSalle Hotel Properties (NYS: LHO) today announced that the underwriters of its recent public offering of 6.375% Series I Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares have exercised their option to purchase an additional 400,000 Series I Preferred Shares, bringing the total number of shares issued in this offering to 4,400,000 Series I Preferred Shares.

Wells Fargo Securities, BofA Merrill Lynch and Citigroup acted as joint book-running managers for the offering, RBC Capital Markets acted as lead manager, Barclays, BMO Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities and Raymond James acted as senior co-managers, and Baird, MLV & Co and US Bancorp acted as co-managers.

The Company intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for one or more of the following purposes: to redeem a portion of its outstanding Series G Preferred Shares, to reduce amounts outstanding under its senior unsecured credit facility, and for acquisitions, working capital and other general corporate purposes.

A registration statement relating to the securities became effective upon filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The offering will be made only by means of a preliminary prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus forming part of the registration statement. Copies of the final prospectus supplement and prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by contacting (a) Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, 1525 West W.T. Harris Blvd., NC0675, Charlotte, North Carolina 28262, Attention: Capital Markets Support, email: cmclientsupport@wellsfargo.com, or by calling toll-free at 1-800-326-5897; (b) Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, 222 Broadway, 7th Floor, New York, New York 10038, Attn: Prospectus Department; email: dg.prospectus_requests@baml.com; (c) Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by calling 1-800-831-9146; or (d) the Internet site of the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state.

LaSalle Hotel Properties is a leading multi-operator real estate investment trust. The Company owns 40 hotels and a mezzanine loan secured by two hotels in Santa Monica, CA. The properties are upscale full-service hotels, totaling over 10,600 guest rooms in 13 markets in nine states and the District of Columbia. The …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance