Friday, September 12, 2008

BNET Update: Monday, September 15, 2008



Canadian Natural Resources (CNQ-$78.54) is encountering testing and commission delays with the upgrading plant at its Horizon Oil Sands Project, located in Alberta. Open mining of the first oil sands is ready, but the scheduled September ramp-up in producing the first barrels of Synthetic Crude Oil (SCO) has hit a snag.

In this sluggish economic environment, CarMax (KMX-$15.66) is getting aggressive in attempts to move pre-owned vehicles off its lots. In the last month, the nation’s largest retailer of used cars
has upgraded its search tools to avoid the showroom floor.

In
a recent letter to shareholders, Ener1 (HEV-$6.37) Chief Executive Charles Gassenheimer shared his view that each dollar of capital expended at its automotive battery subsidiary EnerDel would return between $4.00 and $6.00 in annual revenues. A significant claim- - as Ener1 has generated minimal revenue to date, for its battery technology is still in development.

Although it no longer services or originates mortgages, H&R Block (HRB-$24.07) is required to indemnify WL Ross for any potential losses made due to deception or warranty breaches by its former mortgage subsidiary. In the first-quarter 2009 ended July 31,
anticipating future recourse for bad loans the nation’s largest tax service provider added about $203 million to its reserves, according to the company’s 10-Q filing.

Mariner Energy (ME-$25.52) is
a case profile in the risk and rewards to be had by drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. Approximately 280 million cubic feet of natural gas equivalent per day (MMcfe/d), or 75 percent of daily production, comes from its offshore production. Although the company experienced no significant damage from Hurricane Gustav, the Houston-based driller might not be so lucky with Hurricane Ike.

Synopsis (SNPS-$20.62), a developer of chip set design software,
provided details on its recent dust-up with the IRS in its third-quarter 2008 filing on Tuesday.

Yingli Green Energy (YGE-$13.67) forecasts shipment of between 270 megawatts to 280 megawatts of PV modules in 2008, representing an increase of 89 percent to 96 percent compared to 2007.
Management’s outlook could prove too optimistic should the government of Spain sharply reduce existing energy subsidies, set to expire on September 29.

Editor David J Phillips and Columnist Debra Fiakas do not hold a financial interest in any stocks mentioned in this article. The 10Q Detective has a Full Disclosure Policy.

No comments: