Day Runner (DAYR - 3-13/16), maker of popular loose-leaf paper calendars and organizers, is down by more than 27 percent in mid-afternoon trading and has dropped to its lowest level ever. This slippage comes in reaction to the company's report that it expects a loss of 14 cents to 24 cents per share in its second quarter ending on Friday. In the year-ago period, DAYR posted a 16-cents-per-share profit. This development continues the equity's long-term technical weakness. Since reaching all-time high territory in May 1998, the shares have weakened by 90 percent.<
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Titan Corp.'s (TTN - 44-7/8) Cayenta division, which leases software to businesses, filed for a $70 million initial stock sale this morning. The defense contractor will hold the majority of Cayenta's voting stock, including all class B shares, and will control Cayenta. In response to this news, TTN is trading over four points, or 11 percent, higher today. This upswing comes after the stock has successfully tested its ascending 10-day moving average throughout this week's activity. Since November 12, the shares have used the reliable support of this short-term trendline to push ahead by 131 percent.<
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File this one under "putting your money where your mouth is." It has been announced that TheStreet.com (TSCM - 19-1/4) co-founder and contributing editor James Cramer will forgo his regular salary in the year 2000 in exchange for options to buy 30,000 shares of the company's stock at $19 per share in one year. Wall Street appears to be viewing the move as a vote of confidence in the shares. The stock is currently up over a dollar from the announcement at about 1:15 p.m. today.
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The clear signs of the tightest labor market in three decades continue to be borne out in the data. Earlier today, the Labor Department released its initial unemployment claims numbers for the week ended December 25. Initial claims were 274,000, down from revised 283,000 for the preceding week. That brings the four-week moving average of the measure to 279,750, its lowest level since mid-1973, a span of more than 26 years. Analysts had expected a rise to 285,000. The Christmas holiday is surely part of the equation as consumers eager to earn additional shopping money go to work rather than file for unemployment. Additionally, unemployment continues near a 30-year low and the initial jobless claims numbers have been below 300,000 for an unprecedented 12 consecutive weeks. In a separate release, the Conference Board's November help wanted advertising index was 85 versus 86 in October, still quite high by historical standards. However, the index is lower than the 89 recorded a year ago, possibly indicating that the pace of hiring is dropping somewhat in response to the lack of qualified candidates.
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Amazon.com (AMZN - 79-3/4) shares have been moving lower in today's trading, but appear to have temporarily found support from their 20-week moving average. A test of the 20-week moving average in early November set the stage for a powerful rally in the stock that saw the shares appreciate over 73 percent through early December 9.
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