The Daily Buzz News

‘Chernobyl Diaries’ — Horror Flick RIPPED By Victim Support Group

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

The new Jesse McCartney horror flick “Chernobyl Diaries” is a slap in the face to the 400,000 victims of the real-life nuclear disaster … so says a Chernobyl recovery organization. For those unfamiliar with the Chernobyl disaster … (shame on you…

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Lindsay Lohan Declares Wardrobe on Liz Taylor

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

Lindsay Lohan’s finally looking the part — trying on some crucial Elizabeth Taylor-inspired outfits for her new movie … and TMZ has obtained pics of the wardrobe action.Sources close to Lindsay tell TMZ, the actress is dead set on nailing Liz…

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Vladimir Putin, Russia President, Names New Cabinet

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin named a new Cabinet Monday, warning its members that they will have to fulfill their duties in a difficult global economic climate.

Several key ministers, including foreign, defense and finance, have kept their seats, but some of the most unpopular ones were replaced.

‘Ax Men’ Season Finale: A Close Call For The Big Gun Loggers (VIDEO)

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

The two-hour Season 5 Finale of “Ax Men” (Sun., 9 p.m. ET on History) saw the men of Big Gun logging have a dangerously close call.

A piece of equipment malfunctioned and sent a pile of logs hurtling downhill toward where the men were working.

Luckily they all managed to jump clear, with a hurt knee the only injury.

Mortgage Insurers Under Pressure

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

By Sammy Pollack:

Shares of the largest mortgage insurers, MGIC Corp (MTG), Radian Group (RDN), and Genworth Financial (GNW) have all lost about half their value over the past three months.

Reasons For The Decline

Over the past three months, the S&P 500 (SPY) is down nearly 5%. While there has not been a major sell-off, the negative move in the averages has played a role in the sell-off of the mortgage insurers.
The financial sector as a whole has been under more pressure for a variety of reasons. Some important issues weighing on financials have been the trading loss at JP Morgan (JPM), and the government sale of American International Group (AIG) stock. The problems with the European financial system have also led to increased selling in financial shares. While none of these issues have a direct impact on the mortgage insurers, these issues have tempered the enthusiasm for investing in financial

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End Of Operation Twist Is Good News For Annaly

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

By Neal Razi:

At then end of March, I wrote an article detailing an opportunity in Annaly Capital Management (NLY), the well respected Mortgage REIT. Concerns over Annaly’s relatively low leverage levels and health of its CEO had driven the price of NLY’s stock down to some of its lowest levels of the last two years. Since that article, Annaly has outperformed the rest of the market with Annaly up 5% and the S&P down 5%. That’s not a bad swing.

(click to enlarge)

I want to reaffirm my buy on this stock for a few reasons.

First, it is important to understand how Annaly and the other Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trusts like Agency (AGNC), Capstone (CMO), Hatteras (HTS), and Chimera (CIM) make money. As I detailed before, it is on the interest rate difference (the

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American Manufacturing Renaissance Updates

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

1. From today’s WSJ article “Indiana Steel Mill Revived With Lessons From Abroad:”

“American manufacturing—from chemicals to washing machines—is growing again. Spurred by stable labor costs, weaker unions and low natural gas prices, today’s manufacturers have emerged from the recession far different from what they were even a decade ago. They employ more highly skilled workers, are more automated and have far fewer workers.

Globalization often is blamed for the travails of American manufacturing—from the relentless pressure of imports from lower-wage countries to outsourcing and overseas production by U.S.-based manufacturers. But globalization has its upsides as well. Not only does it often mean cheaper goods for American manufacturers, but it puts pressure on U.S. factories to become more efficient to keep up with global competition, making it possible for them to survive.”

2. From the Financial Times article “Factories begin to shift back to US“:

“Two-thirds of big US manufacturers have moved factories in the past two years, with the most popular destination being the US, according to a survey being released on Monday by Accenture, the consultants.”

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Not All Applicants Are Equal?

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

This is a standard notice on advertisements for most university positions:

“The University of Michigan is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action employer and strongly encourages applications from minorities and women.”

Maybe I’m just being overly cynical, but aren’t statement like this saying:

1. All applicants are “equal,” but some candidates are more equal (minorities and women) than others?

2. The University discourages applications from male non-minorities (white men, Middle Eastern men, Pacific Islander men, a male from Mauritius or Turkey, etc.)? That is, might not some white, Mauritian and Middle Eastern men be discouraged from applying know that other applicants were being encouraged to apply, i.e. given preferences?

3. Minorities and women wouldn’t apply unless they were given signals ahead of time that their applications would be given extra consideration?

4. In cases where two candidates’ credentials were equal, minorities and women would be hired over a Middle Eastern male?

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Nexus Smartphones: Who Wins, Who Loses if Google Launches Android 5.0 in Multiple Handsets?

filed in Daily Buzz News on May.21, 2012

This fall, Google is expected to release not one, but five Android 5.0 flagship phones, each running a pure, unadulterated version of the new OS. Who wins — and who loses — if this bold shift in policy comes to pass?