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Wall Street should be in the publishing business, because financial companies are wonders at crafting stories.

 

Today the analysts at Goldman Sachs (GS) are weaving a negative story about Capital One (COF) with a downgrade of the stock.

 

The supposed justification for the downgrade came from expected decreases in loans, an increase in February delinquencies and worries about late fee rules that could reduce sub-prime revenue by 5-10%.

 

On the surface the downgrade appears credible, but that is the point of quality story telling. The downgrade ignores two factors that will be a boon for Capital One.

 

Before the stock market opened March 4, Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers (RBA) reported earnings per share of 20 cents and revenue of $97.1 million. 

The earnings number matched Wall Street projections, but revenue was 1% above expectations of $95.8 million. Revenue was up 19% for the quarter from the fourth quarter of 2008.

The number to watch, though, if you want to understand what's going on at Ritchie Bros., is gross auction proceeds. That's the amount of money that Ritchie Bros. collects for buyers in selling their items. Ritchie Bros. earns a commission on gross auction proceeds.

 

Start lining up at your local Apple store. A new survey suggests demand will be hot when the iPad goes on sale April 3.

 

According to the research survey, a wave of dramatic demand for the Apple (AAPL) iPad is already sweeping through the marketplace. This mirrors the results of a January survey of consumer sentiment behind the iPad’s highly anticipated launch.

All this indicates that sales could be off the charts and gadget-hungry consumers may have to wait as Apple tried to keep up with orders.

 

A 6.6 magnitude aftershock shook the region of Concepcion last night, the second major tremor in the wake of the severe earthquake early Saturday that measured 8.8 on the Richter scale.

 

There is a lot of uncertainty in the region as the clean-up continues and fears of another quake persist. Infrastructure damage is substantial, and critical ports in this export-reliant nation are only operating at about 50% of capacity. But before investors start running for the exits to dump their Chilean stocks, let me reassure you that there still some great finds in this region. These Chilean stocks are unshaken despite the mayhem in the region.

 

By Jim Cramer, TheStreet

 

We need to stop thinking of the cyclicals as cyclical. That's what I have been thinking about as I watch the classic cyclicals, the ones that used to be totally connected to the gross domestic product and residential or auto construction domestically, systematically create long-term growth by abandoning the traditional business lines.

 

Last night I interviewed Sandy Cutler, an amazing CEO who took out almost $500 million in costs ahead of the downturn yet spent more on R&D to develop what might be the best power management franchise in the world. Eaton's (ETN) about trying to get the most out of energy as well as providing top-flight electronics for aerospace. It's about as high-tech as you can get. This was a class eight truck company 15 years ago. It still has that business, for sure, but solar and wind management might be as important and will certainly be more important in a few years.

 

Earlier this week, book publisher Random House launched a team whose sole goal is to create original stories for videogames and provide advice on titles in development.

 

It’s no surprise why: Though the recession took its toll on gamers in 2009, video games were still a $20 billion industry. Random House is hoping that its ability to tell a story will translate to this lucrative market. It’s a blunt nod to what the publisher expects to be a rather rocky road as eBooks gain appeal and erode the company’s current sales model.

 

By Sung Moss, TheStreet

 

The larger meaning of Friday's government jobs report may be buried under a few feet of snow.

 

The monthly nonfarm payrolls report, to be released by the Labor Department at 8:30 a.m. ET Friday, is known to set the economic tone for any given month. But economists and equity strategists are bewildered about what to expect for February, when several major snowstorms disrupted business across the country.

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"It may show the jobs picture is worse than it actually is," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies, whose firm expects to see a loss of 122,000 jobs.

 

The public vilification of Goldman Sachs (GS) isn't going away. In fact, the bashing has hit a threshold that even Goldman is starting to find a little uncomfortable.

Now, YouTube is the latest grounds for people to air grievances against the investment bank. Today, the "Goldman Sucks" video is getting some attention. The 10-minute, heavily narrated video describes itself as a visualization of the infamous Matt Taibbi "vampire squid" article that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.

Goldman seems to be getting a little worried about all the negativity. In its latest annual report, it warns investors that the financial crisis and the public anger against financial institutions "has resulted in a significant amount of adverse press coverage, as well as adverse statements or charges by regulators or elected officials." 

What looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, but doesn't walk like a duck?

A lame duck, of course.

Watch tomorrow's state of China address and the policies announced by the National People's Congress to see if Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao fits that description.

My bet is that with Wen and President Hu Jintao both scheduled to step down

 

By Sam Collins, OptionsZone.com.

Despite what the bears say, gold remains very pricey -- and will stay there for a while. The yellow stuff continues to trade at more than $1,100 an ounce even as the U.S. dollar rises and holds back commodity prices.

If you’re looking to play gold, I have a doozy of a mutual fund for you: The Gabelli Global Gold, Natural Resources & Income Trust (GGN).  This non-diversified, closed-end management fund invests in the equity securities of companies principally engaged in the gold and natural resources industries.

For starters, this fund yields a mammoth dividend of 10%! And as you’ll see in my technical analysis, shares of GGN themselves have a lot of upside potential as gold stays in high demand. Just check out this chart: showing the technical indicators:

 

I had a little extra buying power in my Wall Street Survivor portfolio so I went on the hunt for a new stock to add to that portfolio. As always I start on Barchart and screen for the stocks that in the last 20 trading sessions had price appreciations on at least 50% of those days. After taking the top 10 and doing some additional filtering I came upon Kratos Defense and Security Solutions (KTOS).

Since 9/11 I've noticed a great change in the environment in the US. I have to go through check points and security screenings that I never thought would happen. Even when I go to athletic events at public middle schools and high schools, I must open up everything and be wanded with a metal detector. When I go to local city and school board meetings I have to sign in, produce an ID and be screened by a metal detector. As I walk the downtown streets of Charlotte now instead of counting the number of Volkswagen beetles I find myself looking up and seeing how many security cameras I can find. It's almost like the only thing that they got wrong in the book 1984 was the date.

I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable but I'm trying to show you that this is a company that seems to be positioned to come up with solutions to what has become an ever consuming concern -- security.
 

The cruise ship industry continues its recovery from a crippling recession that resulted in declining sales. Shares of Carnival Corp. (CCL) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) have rallied significantly since bottoming last year.

 

Does news of monster waves hitting a cruise ship in the Mediterranean signal a market top for these industry titans? If you are superstitious you might be tempted to do sell with this news.

 

See: 5 stocks insiders are buying

 

Of course the reality is that the cruise industry is regaining its health and while this singular story may be tragic it is unlikely to have any impact on customers interested in sailing the high seas.

 

What ultimately matters with any stock is valuation.

 

All those cheap made-in-China goods we buy from Wal-Mart (WMT) and other stores have given China billions of American dollars to play with.

Now, China is increasingly using that money to invest in America. It's buying up real estate across the country, and is upping its stakes in American companies like Coca-Cola (KO) and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), reports the Los Angeles Times.

China is investing globally. Its direct investments overseas rose 6.5% last year to $43.3 billion, writes the Times' Don Lee. That could hit $60 billion this year.

So what's China buying? 

By Jason Notte, TheStreet 

 

Luxury vehicle sales numbers are often like the cars themselves -- pretty from afar, but gaudy and overblown upon further inspection. February's tally was no different.

 

After delaying car purchases and curbing spending during the economic recession, consumers are peeling out of dealerships in new Buick, Mercedes and Infiniti models. Except for Toyota's namesake brand, US sales of luxury cars rose last month at most automakers.

 

General Motors: Buick ran down its upscale competitors as sales jumped 47%, including a 163% boost from its LaCrosse sedan. Cadillac posted a 32% gain despite flagging sales from each of its mainstay sedan models. If not for significant gains by two Escalade SUV models and a more than 540% sales spike by its SRX crossover, Cadillac's sales would seem as dried up as the Corvette's, which dropped by more than a third.

 

Here's one way to get out of foreclosure: Clean the house of the chief executive of the bank evicting you.

That's what happened to Rosalina Gomez, a Minneapolis janitor who cleaned the house of Richard Davis, the chief executive of US Bank. The same US Bank that received $6.6 billion in bailout funds.

Gomez, who earns $26,000 a year as a house cleaner, received an eviction order on the house, according to The Huffington Post.