Austin, TX 2/4/2010 1:11:42 AM
News / Business

Daily Small Cap Market News and Stock Highlights from SmallCapVoice.com

Stocks are lower on weak earnings reports and economic data

Stocks declined on Wednesday after disappointing results from Pfizer and transport companies, while slower-than-expected expansion in the services sector also weighed on the market.

 

Pfizer Inc fell 1.6 percent to $18.75 and led a broad decline in several healthcare sectors after the world's biggest drugmaker said quarterly earnings missed estimates and forecast profits below expectations.

 

Ryder fell 8.7 percent to $34.08, and C.H. Robinson tumbled 6.2 percent to $53.90, while the Dow Jones transportation average lost 1.3 percent.

 

The Institute for Supply Management said its services index rose to 50.5 in January from 49.8 in December, below the 51.0 median forecast of economists surveyed by Reuters.

 

A report by ADP Employer Services showed the pace of U.S. job losses in the private sector slowed in January, as employers reported the smallest payroll decline in nearly two years.

 

The closely watched government jobs report due Friday is expected to show continued improvement in U.S. employment.

 

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 23.51 points, or 0.23 percent, to 10,273.34. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 4.95 points, or 0.45 percent, to 1,098.37. The Nasdaq Composite Index lost 1.23 points, or 0.06 percent, to 2,188.83.

 

Yesterday’s Top Performing Small Cap stock:

 

Budget Center Inc. (OTC BB: BDGN) was a SmallCapVoice.com top performer yesterday closing up over 31% on trading volume of 21,518 shares.

 

Budget Center Inc. announced that since launching its online travel website www.budgethotels.com on Dec. 27, 2009, the number of new or unique visitors has been increasing by approximately 30% per week and is already in the thousands.

 

Online travel consumers have been quick to embrace the savings offered by www.budgethotels.com discounted hotel offerings and the customer feedback has been tremendous since the initial launch. Equally impressive to the growth in traffic has been a high percentage of click throughs and revenue for hotel bookings after the first 3 weeks, which is well above Management’s expectations and the industry average of 10%. The strong initial response has been achieved with no search optimization marketing (SEO) to date, which will be among Management’s plans for the next phase in the build-out of the site. The Company will also be providing a testimonial section on the site where customers can share their comments and experiences, a travel blog, extensive SEO marketing and the utilization of social networking sites such as Twitter, and Facebook.

 

Today’s SmallCapVoice.com Hot Stock to Watch:

 

CrowdGather, Inc. (OTC BB: CRWG)

 

With its growing portfolio of special interest forums and enthusiast message board communities, CrowdGather has created a centralized network to benefit forum members, forum owners and forum advertisers. CrowdGather provides a highly interactive and informational social network for members, a management and revenue-sharing resource for third-party forum owners, and a largely untapped advertising network for marketers worldwide.

 

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only. The stocks profiled by SCV are only company profiles and are not intended to be and should not be accepted by you as recommendations to buy or sell in these securities. These profiles are compiled from publicly available sources. Our sources include, but are not limited to, online research, company profiles, member suggestions, magazines, newspapers, analyst suggestions, broker recommendations, contact with the company, company rumors, press releases and other similar information sources. All profiles are based on information that is accessible by the public. Investing in stocks involves risk. SCV is not and does not hold itself out to be a registered broker or dealer or other licensed securities professional. You should consult a qualified, licensed financial advisor or stock broker before making any decisions to invest in the securities of any company that is described in these profiles.  For compensation and complete disclaimer click here.

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