Insiders' Blog

Brazilian ETF, iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund ETF (NYSE: EWZ), is relatively flat today despite news that nearly half the country was affected by a major power outage last night. 

According to reports from the Associated Press, the outage, which hit at 10:15 pm Tuesday (0015 GMT Wednesday) lasted four to six hours and put nearly half the country into darkness. An estimated 50 million people were affected. Power was mostly returned before dawn, though several areas remained without energy.

The ETF EWZ has been en fuego after Brazil was awarded 2016 Olympics.

Some Brazilina utility companies:
CPFL Energia S.A. (NYSE: CPL), Companhia de Saneamento Basico do Estado de Sao Paulo (NYSE: SBS), Companhia Energetica de Minas Gerais (NYSE: CIG), Companhia Paranaense de Energia (NYSE: ELP).

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Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) shares are trading sharply higher this morning as we have several analysts out with seemingly bullish research notes on the company's stock. Shares of Palm most recently traded at $11.84, up 7.7% from yesterday's closing price. Notably, just 90 minutes into the trading session, the stock has already traded 7.1 million times, versus the stock's average daily volume of about 9.2 million shares.

First, following a recent meeting with management, BofA Merrill Lynch issued a very positive note on Palm earlier. The firm reiterated its Buy rating and $20 price target, which would represent potential upside of about 68%. BofA Merrill said the key takeaway from the meeting was: "despite increasing smartphone competition Palm can maintain differentiation and remains well positioned to launch its products with multiple new Tier-1 carriers in early 2010 by which time it should have a robust apps catalog." The firm also notes Palm's recent sliding stock price (down 33% since the beginning of October), saying that the sell-off creates a promising buying opportunity.

Next, we have an analyst from boutique firm MKM Partners starting coverage on the stock with a Neutral rating and $11 price target. While the note is not necessarily bullish, it suggests that downside in the stock could be limited.

To see all the analyst action on shares of Palm, visit our Analyst Ratings page.

Today retail giant Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) announced that starting Saturday Nov. 14 they will give shoppers a $100 Walmart Gift Card if they buy a Research and Motion (Nasdaq: RIMM) BlackBerry devices from any of the four major carriers: AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless and sign a two-year contract.

Shares of RIM are up 0.7 percent today to $64.10.

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There is a report out today from market research firm NPD Group that consumers' holiday spending intentions shows one in five (19%) consumers told NPD 'they plan to buy fragrance' as a gift this upcoming holiday season, a two point increase from last year.

This report could help companies like Perfumania Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: PERF) and Parlux Fragrances Inc. (Nasdaq: PARL), but both are down 3% today.

Shares of Citigroup, Inc. (NYSE: C) are seeing some interest this morning as Vice Chairman Ned Kelly, BofA/ML banking conference. Shares are up 1%. Below are some highlights:

• on road to stabilization recovery
  
• dramatically increased capital, liquidity
  
• Citicorp is future of Citi
  
• Continue to cut assets in special asset pool
  
• Balance sheet is very liquid
  
• Deposit are continuing to grow
  
• Liquidity gives Citi time to reduce Citiholding assets.
  
• Odds of keeping CitiFinancial are very low.