People have been asking me, "What do the results in New Hampshire mean for the stock market?" My answer: not much. For now, it's just entertainment.
Instead, the stock market is very focused on earnings. Many financial stocks are still a mess. MBIA (MBI), for example, just cut its dividend by 62%. Among the homebuilders, KB Home (KBH) had horrible earnings yesterday. Revenues plunged 31%. Not surprisingly, both stocks were rated "F - Strong Sell" in PortfolioGrader Pro.
Many of my favorite stocks continue to look strong. This morning, Mosaic (MOS), reported that earnings grew nearly six-fold and shattered Wall Street's expectations.
MarketWatch reports:
Mosaic Co.'s (MOS) said Wednesday that its fiscal second-quarter net income rose sharply to $394 million, or 89 cents a share, from $65.9 million, or 15 cents a share, a year earlier. Results for the latest quarter included a foreign currency transaction loss of 9 cents a share and a tax benefit of 8 cents a share. Sales at the the Plymouth, Minn., fertilizer company grew 44% to $2.2 billion in the period ended Nov. 30. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected earnings of 73 cents a share and revenue of $2.17 billion. Mosaic shares closed Tuesday at $88.37.



