Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

Crude Oil Price Update: OPEC Could Halt Demand Hikes

By Paul Ausick

The International Energy Agency this morning announced that it was raising its projection of crude oil demand increases in 2010 by 30,000 b/d, to 1.7 million b/d. Total demand is now expected to reach 86.6 million b/d.

China’s Geely Auto Stuck in Neutral (F, TM, HMC)

By Paul Ausick

Hong Kong-listed Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd. reported net profit rose 35% in 2009 to $173 million on sales of about $2.07 billion. The largest privately-owned Chinese car maker sold 325,413 cars in 2009, 59% above its 250,000-unit target. The elephant in the room, of course, is competition from foreign automakers like General Motors, Ford Motor (F), Toyota Motors (TM), Honda Motors (HMC), and Audi/Volkswagen.

Palm Sale May Not Be So Easy

By Paul Ausick

About three weeks ago, an analyst at Canaccord Adams set a price target of $0/share for Palm Inc. (PALM). The company had just announced that it projected revenue for its fourth fiscal quarater ending in May would be half previous estimates. Canaccord Adams said at the time that there was no value in the company's common shares.

Energy Stocks Join to Keep the Lights On (MIR, RRI, NRG, EXC)

By Paul Ausick

Two troubled electricity generating companies have announced a merger that will create a new company, called GenOn, with a market cap of $3.1 billion and 24,700 megawatts of generation. The merger, between Mirant Corp. (MIR) and RRI Energy Inc. (RRI), has been approved by the boards of directors of both comapneis and will now go to a shareholder vote. The deal creates the largest independent power producer in the U.S.

Hiding Debt Common at Biggest U.S. Banks (GS, MS, JPM, BAC, C)

By Paul Ausick

The recent report by a bankruptcy examiner reviewing the implosion of Lehman Brothers spent more than 300 pages detailing a practice known within the investment bank as "Repo 105", a practice the company used to minimize its reported debt. The Wall Street Journal is reporting that 18 other banks, including Goldman Sachs (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), JP Morgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), and Citigroup (C) have been fudging the books with this maneuver.

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