Out Fox The $treet

Prior to the collapse last week, MF Global (MF) appeared to be an excellent candidate to take market share in the financial sector. MF was already a respectable commodities trader and primary broker dealer. On top of that, it hired prominent figure John Corzine with experience at both Goldman Sachs (GS) and the political arena to expand into the investment banking sector. The combination provided a catalyst for a what could be a game changer. Unfortunately last week the concept completely collapsed as MF couldn't handle the high leverage of European Soveriegn debt. Debt that likely will payoff as expected, but debt that unfortunately scared the market into a panic. Lesson revisited that perception trumps reality at least in the short run. Last week we wrote about the thesis for buying into MF prior to the earnings report and even after [See Wild Times at MF Global Holdings ] At the time, the trade seemed to have a good risk/reward thesis. The stock had already been cut to h...

Today Moody's downgraded MF Global (MF) to Baa3 putting them on the verge of junk status. Then, MF announced that it has upped the Q3 earnings report to tomorrow morning instead of Thursday. This all comes after last week MF had to increase capital after the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) raised concern about exposure to European sovereign debt. All of this new has led the stock to a hit a fresh 52 week low of $3.48 today. All the way down from a 52 week high of $9.28 back in January. Considering financial like Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) have had huge bounces recently, it should be concerning to any investor that Wall Street knows something. Is this extreme fear warranted? Is $6.4B of exposure to Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, and Ireland with a weighted maturity of October 2012 worthy of a drop from $7.5 at the start of August? Heck, Citigroup (C) stock is already above levels from mid-August with sights on the pre market collapse levels....

This is the fourth and final article focusing on the stocks with the fastest earnings growth rates for 2012 according to the SteetAuthority report . The first three articles focused on Take Two Interactive ( TTWO ), Patriot Coal ( PCX ), Accuride ( ACW ), and Meritor ( MTOR ). The final article will focus on the better remaining options. All of the companies on the list expect earnings to soar more than 100% from fiscal 2011 to 2012. If the numbers are hit, than any of the picks could provide solid stock returns. The remaining list includes Allstate Corp ( ALL ), with a market cap around $16B, all the way to SMART Modular Tech ( SMOD ), with only $580M in market cap. All of them have relatively low forward PEs considering they expect earnings to expand by triple digits. The key is to determine which stocks have the potential to expand on these earnings beyond 2012. One-off situations such as ALL aren't as appealing. Read the full article at Seeking Alpha. Disclo...

Very interesting to see the stock of Goldman Sachs (GS) appear headed to a triple top breakout when just about every analyst has downgraded its earnings potential due to reduced trading profits and market activity. Not to mention that the stock is ramping prior to earnings just a week away on the 19th. Also, note the higher lows in the chart pattern suggesting further strength in the stock. The lower moving averages are about to cross the 200ema which is another very bullish sign. Though my portfolios have no position in GS, the stock is a leading indication of financials and the market in general. Right now the stock says the market is headed higher. Our favorites in this general area remain MF Global (MF) and International Assets (IAAC) both of which have been breaking out lately as well.

At least that's the goal that new CEO John Corzine has outlined for MF Global (MF). What exactly that entails it's probably much harder to grasp and understand. MF clearly wants to move into investment banking and money management sectors left dismantled by the financial regulations and credit crisis. It's also areas that Corzine and his new COO likely understand following their careers at Goldman Sachs (GS). Whether they can be successful pushing MF into these competitive areas seems up in the air. According to FT.com report and news from an investment conference last month, Corzine made the statement that MF hoped to double to 4,000 employees within a couple of years from an aggressive move into investment banking and money management. Now that's a very aggressive statement and very atypical in the financial sector these days where most institutions are expected to decrease in size. MF has the potential to skate under the radar and take share from bigger rivals tha...

Bought MF Global (MF) in the Opportunistic and Growth portfolios to rotate into a financial that underperformed over the last month or so. MF is particularly interesting because they hired former Goldman Sachs (GS) Chairman and ex-Governor of New Jersey to be their CEO. He has taken an aggressively path to move into investment banking plus they reported a strong margin expansion in Q2 due to cost cuts. Q3 will be as impressive due to the slow market, but now is likely the time to build a position. This is mainly a move that Corzine will be able to use his experience and influence to make MF into a major financial player. Especially at a time when the major players like Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) continue to face massive regulation pressures. Whether MF will be able to overcome such pressures isn't clear, but if anybody is going to make it happen its a Democrat like Corzine. The position was entered around $7.2 and is definitely being entered based on technicals....