Investors are worried that any future liquidity injections will require an external event, and a rather bad one. That has nervousness creeping back into the market as they look to see what domino could possibly fall next.
China’s growth cut is not helping matters, and is giving rise to the fears that another downturn could be on the horizon.
Europe was rattled overnight after a Reuters report said that a disorderly default in Greece could cause over one trillion euros in damage, including over 150 billion euros in bank recapitalization losses. Needless to say that rattled a few nerves.
Domestically, we are at the mercy of international stage. The economic data calendar is clear with the next major piece being payroll data later this week. All we have is Super Tuesday today. Makes you wish for a flash crash. Anything but listening to Romney and Santorum talk.
The downturn in futures is bleeding over into commodities. Nymex futures are currently down $1.09 to $105.63. Tensions with Iran will keep the prices above the 100 mark for the foreseeable future.
Stocks to watch today include Harvest Natural Resources, Inc. (NYSE:HNR), Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW), Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SWY), Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTY), Keryx Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ:KERX), Frontline Ltd. (NYSE:FRO) and NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI).
Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE:HNR) is up 11.50% in pre market trading at $6.98. HNR shares are rising this morning after the company provided an operational update. Harvest Natural reported 2011 Venezuela production was around 11.39 million barrels of oil for a daily average of 31,205 barrels per day. That is an increase of 214.82 million. The company has a market cap of 214.82 million.
Monster Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE:MWW) is up 7.05% in pre market trading at $8.05. MWW shares are up today as the company hires bankers for strategic plan. MWW trades nearly 4 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 884.56 million.
Safeway Inc. (NYSE:SFW) is up 2.58% in pre market trading at $22.66. SWY shares are heading higher this morning thanks to an upbeat 2012 guidance. Safeway is forecasting earnings between $1.90 and $2.10 a share in 2012, beating estimates of $1.80. The company has a market cap of 5.92 billion.
Oncothyreon Inc. (NASDAQ:ONTY) is down 40.55% in pre market trading at $5.00. ONTY shares are getting destroyed today after the company posted fourth quarter results. Oncothyreon reported a net operating loss of $24.7 million in the fourth quarter compared to $19.5 million last year. The company has a market cap of 358.96 million.
Keryx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:KERX) is down 7.09% in pre market trading at $4.58. KERX has traded 185 thousand shares already this morning and trades 1.6 million shares a day on average. KERX shares are dipping some today after the stock’s big rise yesterday. The company has a market cap of 350.85 million.
Frontline Ltd (NYSE:FRO) is down 3.80% in pre market trading at $5.07. FRO shares are down again today and have dropped more than $0.70 in the past five days. FRO trades close to 2 million shares a day on average. The company has a market cap of 410.31 million.
NutriSystem Inc. (NASDAQ:NTRI) is down 12.88% in pre market trading at $10.35. NTRI shares are plunging today on a weak fourth quarter and outlook. The company reported a fourth quarter loss of $0.04 per share compared to income of $0.25 per share in the same quarter last year. Nutrisystem expects to earn between $0.45 and $0.55 per share for 2012, analysts were expecting $0.92 per share. The company has a market cap of 322.86 million.
About Danny Fisher
