GE Begins Headquarters Relocation Process Soon

After 42 years at its Fairfield,Connecticut home,General Electric will begin moving to its new global headquarters in Boston later this month.Its executives will head for temporary offices on Farnsworth Street in the Fort Point Channel neighbourhood where the project will take shape;the bulk of the 800 headquarters staff will not arrive until 2018.Two extant brick buildings will be rehabilitated on the 2.4 acre site beginning later this year;while a new 12-storey building with 293,000 square feet of office space will be constructed there as well.A bridge and walkway will connect the three buildings.*
The new campus is to be a global epicenter of innovation,according to Ann R. Klee,GE head of Boston operations and development.Our headquarters is designed to engage and leverage the talent,technology and work ethic of Fort Point and greater Boston,while also giving back to the community through investment,rehabilitation and an inviting public space.GE expects our new headquarters will transform the existing unused site into a limb of technology,innovation and intellectual stimulation as well as become a new meaningful destination on the the city's Harbor Walk,Ms.Klee's statement said.*
The first floor and part of the second will feature a museum of GE's history and future.It will also offer a visitors' reception area and co-working space open to the public,plus a coffee bar.*
General Electric (GE)

Industry on the March:Alcoa,Boeing and Airbus

Alcoa achieved a double beat in its Q4 earnings report,scoring a revenue beat of 6.38 billion versus an estimate of 6.04;and an earnings per share beat of 0.33 versus the 0.29 estimate.CEO Klaus Kleinfeld notes that Q4 is capping off a really wonderful transformation.We have three groups,and all are performing very,very well.Costs are coming down in our commodity business and improving our profitability there.We look at our end markets and what is happening regionally,and I think it has the potential o stay the same for 2015.
Low oil prices could offer a .4 to a .8 GDP gain.We are predicting another seven percent rise in demand for 2015.There is a lot of disconnect.For us,we can't control the outside world.We make sure we've had a very competitive commodity business.Thirty-one percent of our smelting business was closed or sold.There is the value-add energy;automotive innovation in the first all-aluminum vehicle.We are very confident in aerospace.Look at the order volumes that Boeing and Airbus have been generating in 2014,and look at the auto backlog:eight yers of an increased 2014 production.*
Boeing is sold out of 787 Dreamliners through 2020.*
David Zervos,a managing director at Jefferies&Co,adds that the dollar is a very aggressively owned asset right now.People are using the S&P 500 as a kind of hedge against declining oil prices.They'd better sell something.*
Alcoa(AA),Boeing(BA),Airbus Group NV ADR(EADSY),iShares Core S&P 500 ETF(IVV)

Asia This Day:China,Japan,Australia

There's no doubt that we have to be relevant across the world,said Alex Malley,CEO of CPA Australia.In Australia at the moment,the politics are dramatic,but they're not good for the country.The whole world rests on integration with China.One of the sleeping giants is in agriculture and professional services for China.*Chinese industrial profits slipped from a 12.3% increase in May to an 11.1% increase in June.The causes include a slowdown in sales and rising materials costs.*Japanese consumer prices rose at their highest pace year over year since November 2008,a sign of inflation and economic recovery after two decades of deflation.*Asian markets will be responding this week to more Chinese and Japanese economic data,as well as a meeting of India's central bank.*China's move to a more consumer-based economy from rapid infrastructure development has repercussions for mining and mining services concerns.*China and the EU avoided a trade war Saturday by reaching a deal on imports of Chinese solar panels.*The MSCI Asia Pacific index was down 0.71% in early Monday trading.*CPA Australia has more than 144,000 members in 127 countries.It provides education,training,tech support and advocacy for its members,representing the accounting profession to all levels of government,regulators,academe,industry and the general public.

Oppenheimer's Market Outlook

We weren't surprised by the poor jobs number,says Brian Belski,chief investment strategist at Oppenheimer&Co.At Oppenheimer,we have the advantage of investing in actual companies and access to their CEOs.We believe that too many investors are hanging on to the belief that Q2 earnings are gonna save the market.
I don't think the problem is priced in.Given the budget and election concerns,we believe the highs of the year may have already been reached.We still like industrials and tech.We think dividend growth is very important,the U.S.-based large cap names as investors move out of bonds.
We believe tech will provide leadership for the next bull market.We don't think financials will lead,with the strong structural reforms coming to them.The soft patch thinking was reflected in the payroll numbers.Company guidance is likely to be squishy because of that,Mr.Belski projected.
Oppenheimer is a full service investment firm with a history of more than 125 years,providing expertise and insight to affluent individuals,businesses and institutions.From wealth management to capital markets,it has a proud tradition of delivering effective and innovative solutions to its clientele,the company feels.
Brian Belski assumed his current position in March of 2009.A frequent guest on business television,he was previously employed by Merrill Lynch.
Oppenheimer Holdings(OPY)

JP Morgan's U.S. Outlook

We've already hit the 2011 low,according to JP Morgan's chief U.S. equity strategist Thomas H. Lee.By year's end,he expects to see the S&P at 1425.He likes the materials,industrial and energy sectors.Avoid stocks sensitive to oil prices.There will be moderate to severe disruption to supply chains in tech because of the Japan disaster.
Near term,Q1 earnings are really gonna be a support for markets.Markets may be troubled from June to September,rangebound because of the expiration of the Federal Reserve's QE 2 support program.The housing market will improve,however,driving the S&P higher by the end of 2011.
Equity market rallies are really driven by corporate profit recoveries.Investors are buying the dips because they're under-exposed.In the financial sector,we've seen improvement in credit trends,but not demand,Mr.Lee added.
In addition to his JP Morgan post,Thomas H. Lee is Chairman and CEO of Thomas H. Lee Partners,L.P.A 1965 Harvard graduate,he is a trustee of Rockefeller and Brandeis Universities.Mr. Lee is also a director of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
JP Morgan Chase(JPM)

Oppenheimer Strategist Optimistic About Market

Brian Belski,chief market strategist at Oppenheimer&Co.,says the market overreacted to the Japan events.You have to look back at the Kobe earthquake in 1995.It is positive that the G-7 industrialized nations have intervened to support Japan.
This crisis has not altered our viewpoint.Single digits are still a good way to look at it.This is more of a transition year,a lot more volatile than portfolios are prepared for.
Look at mid-cycle areas that are more domestic-oriented,large-cap high quality companies,more toward domestic industrials that will profit from the problems in Japan.
We are on the precipice of a long term bull market,Mr.Belski believes.
Oppenheimer&Co.,Inc.,a division of Oppenheimer Holdings,is a leading investment bank and full service investment firm.For more than 125 years,they have assisted high net worth investors,businesses and institutions.
Oppenheimer Holdings(OPY)