Friday, April 13, 2012

Bond Fair Pricing, YTM, Risk and CDS Calculator

Bond Fair Pricing, YTM, Risk and CDS Calculator

An easy-to-use tool to calculate a bond fair pricing, its YTM or get a risk indicator (CDS spread) for any issuer.

The application is structured into two parts.

The first part of the application calculates the "fair pricing" of a bond given a few basic inputs, like CDS spread (issuer risk), coupon, coupon frequency and maturity value and date.
The "fair pricing" is a relatively complex calculation that combines the perceived risk of the issuer with the assumed (and updated) risk-free asset (AAA government bonds for European issuers or Treasury bonds for US Companies), and resulting in a price indication, that, however, does not take liquidity into consideration.

The second part of the application calculates the CDS spread based on inputs like coupon, coupon frequency, issuer price, market price and maturity date and value.
Knowing the updated CDS spread for a specific issuer may be useful as it allows an immediate comparison with other issuers (both in the same sector or in different sectors), or even sovereign issuers – which can also be calculated with this tool.

KEY FEATURES
- Calculate a specific bond’s fair pricing based on a few simple inputs.
- Estimate the up-to-date market default risk (CDS) associated with a bond issuer, based on simple inputs related to one (or more) of its bonds.
- Accurate YTM available in both calculations.



Available at this link. 

3 steps to creating the next big app

from www.fiercedeveloper.com:

 >>One way to create a more engaging and immersive experience can be borrowed from the video game console world. For years haptic effects have provided realistic rumble or force feedback in video games. For gamers, it gives a sense of realism as they engage in virtual surroundings. The technology has made its way into mobile devices; recently Grand Theft Auto III from Rockstar Games used haptic effects to create a console-like gaming experience on Android devices where users can feel every punch and kick they land in a fight. The key to success is to enhance the action of the app with haptics, and not overwhelm the user, and by using proper haptic design tools and techniques, the developer can minimize battery impact.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

Wells Fargo Reiterates an 'Outperform' on Equinix (EQIX); Channel Checks Indicate Compelling Data Points

from ww.streetinsider.com: 

>>Wells fargo maintains an 'Outperform' on Equinix price target range raised from $150-160 to $192-205.

Analyst, Gary Powell, said, "It sounds like EQIX continues to gain traction with managed hosting/cloud providers and that the ecosystem is slowly helping EQIX improve growth in the enterprise segment, which has historically lagged other verticals. In addition, demand in key markets like Silicon Valley, Washington, DC and New York are strong and trends in Chicago are improving. Lastly, we heard EQIX won a couple of larger deals that could help trends in Q2/Q3.

Jamba recent sell-off a buying opportunity, says Capstone

from www.theflyonthewall.com:

>>Capstone would use recent weakness in Buy rated Jamba as a buying opportunity. The firm believes its discounted valuation is unwarranted and notes the company is entering a new growth stage following its turnaround efforts. Price target raised to $2.50 from $2.20.

Smartphone sales to touch 1 billion-unit mark in 2014: Credit Suisse

from Yahoo:

>>Global smartphones annual sales will cross the billion-unit mark in 2014, helped by strong demand from China and the launch of cheaper low-end handsets, Credit Suisse said.
..

The analysts also expects Samsung — the world's number two smartphone maker — and Huawei to gain market share.
But they said there are increasing signs of vulnerability for Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc, HTC Corp and Sony Corp, and predicted a rapid decline for BlackBerry maker Research In Motion.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

The 10 Biggest Tech Innovations of the New York Auto Show

from www.wired.com: 

>> We told you about Cadillac's CUE infotainment system when it debuted late last year. This was the first chance we had to try it out, and we came away cautiously impressed.
In the CUE cockpit we sampled, button presses were accompanied by light haptic feedback. Superfluous controls faded away after 15 seconds of non-use, freeing up screen space for an easy-to-read display. Move your hand closer to CUE's center touchscreen and all those menus will reapear. We especially liked a new row of preset buttons that allows you to program navigation destinations and phone numbers alongside radio stations – something that BMW has been doing for years.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

The Chicago Board Option Exchange Moves To New York

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha: 

>> Following a similar move made in July 2011 and related to its CBOE Stock Exchange [CBSX] operations, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will now move its primary options trading platform from Chicago to the Equinix's (EQIX) New York metro NY4 data center.
This additional move is related to competitive reasons and member demand, as explained in an article published by Traders Magazine.com:

Monday, April 9, 2012

Samsung's Profit Hits Fast Track

from WSJ:

>>

Samsung, the world's biggest technology company by revenue, on Friday told investors that it expects its operating profit for the January-March quarter to be between 5.6 trillion won (around $5 billion) and 6.0 trillion won.
That would beat its quarterly record 5.3 trillion won operating profit set in last year's October-December quarter and be nearly double the operating profit of last year's first quarter.

...

Even so, analysts on Friday noted that Samsung's guidance on operating profit likely meant that the cellphone unit accounted for more than half of the company's overall profit in the first quarter. Some analysts said the unit's operating margin likely climbed above 20% for the first time since 2004.

What's Next For Data Center Stocks?

Read the whole article at Seeking Alpha: 

>>
The stock market closed one of its best quarters on record, with Q1 2012 achieving the strongest performance since 1998. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 Index and the Nasdaq composite finished the first quarter up 8%, 13% and 19%, respectively.
Data center related stocks also performed very well, with most companies achieving double-digit returns, and more than half of the names under our coverage surpassing returns of 20%, beating even the most challenging benchmark, the technology related Nasdaq composite.

Researchers suggest haptics and audio for discreet password input

from Engadget: 

>>Researchers Andrea Bianchi, Ian Oakley and Dong-Soo Kwon have some ideas for overcoming that little problem though, and recently put together a video demonstrating a few of the possibilities they've come up with. All of those rely on haptic input systems -- either on their own or in conjunction with some audio output (through headphones for privacy).