{loadposition comment2} The Pantry Inc. (PTRY), an independently operated convenience store chain in the southeastern U.S., announced Tuesday that it has completed the previously disclosed acquisition of 38 convenience stores from Herndon Oil Corp, using cash in hand. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. {loadposition link_supportresistance}   {loadposition homeaccordion2}   {loadposition contentad}       The Sanford, North Carolina-based company said that of the 40 stores included when the acquisition was first announced, one has since been shut down and another was later removed from the transaction. The company expects the transaction to add to its earnings per share in fiscal 2010. The stores operate under a variety of names, including Flamingo, and are primarily located in the Mobile, Alabama market, with the remainder in Florida, Mississippi and Louisiana, and generated revenues of nearly $152 million for the 12 months ended May 2009. As at June 25, 2009, The Pantry operated 1,679 stores in eleven states under select banners, including under its primary operating banner Kangaroo Express. PTRY closed Monday's trading at $16.79 on the Nasdaq. {loadposition link_nowtime}   Free trading ideas and analysis are always found at LearningMarkets.com. {loadposition followus}

I tried to jump the turn in the market before it actually turned. I saw some indicators turning, but in reality anything important has been long for awhile and was still there on Friday. The hardest behavior to correct for me is staying with a trend when in the past I’ve been so quick to [...]

Growth Investors focus on companies with great earnings growth. And while some stocks gained by just by beating dreary expectations in this recent earnings season - that isn’t going to cut it forever. Especially since earnings growth is down roughly 35% from last year at this time. Value Investors focus on low valuation metrics, such as low P/Es. But ...

Just when we thought the heat-seeking short squeeze in credit land may be subsiding, three new bonds rip tighter: old shorter max-pain name Neiman Marcus, whose bonds tightened by 540 bps, Graham Packaging which ripped by 550 bps and Huntsman Int'l which tightened by 425 bps. As in the last week, the rolling equity squeeze in unique stocks and sectors has caused comparable squeezes in corresponding highly-shorted credits. Some odd names that stand out this week with respect to a disproportionate widening in loans and a tightening in bonds are: BE Aerospace, Centennial Communications, Constellation Brands, First Data Corp and Pantry, although the moves are marginal enough to be likely noise. <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"[More...]

Monday:
Economic Empire (-26), Cap U & IP (76.6%, -0.1%)
Earnings Lowe’s (LOW), Target (TGT), Ctrip.com (CTRP)

Tuesday:
Economic PPI & Core (0.2%, -1.5%)
Earnings China Med (CMED), Home Depot (HD), Medtronic (MDT), ReneSola (SOL), Saks (SKS), Jack In The Box (JBX), La-Z-Boy (LZB)

Wednesday:
Economic Weekly Crude, Build P’s & Housing (770K, 780K), CPI & Core (0.2%, -0.8%), FOMC Minutes
Earnings BJ’s (BJ), LDK Solar (LDK), Ross (ROST), Trina (TSL), Dress Barn (DBRN), Gymboree (GYMB), Hot Topic (HOTT), Intuit (INTU), Limited (LTD), Men’s Wearhouse (MW), PETsMART (PETM), Woodward Governor (WGOV)

Thursday:
Economic Weekly Claims, Leading Indicators (-0.6%), Philly Fed (-30.0)
Earnings Barnes & Noble (BKS), Children’s Place (PLCE), Dick’s (DKS), Gamestop (GME), Pantry (PTRY), Patterson (PDCO), Suntech Power (STP), Yingli Green (YGE), Buckle (BKE), Autodesk (ADSK), Dell (DELL), Gap (GPS), J. Crew (JCG), Salesforce (CRM), Zumiez (ZUMZ)

Friday:
Economic NA
Earnings AnnTaylor (ANN), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), HJ Heinz (HNZ)