This is what's in the news for Wednesday January 4, 2012. The Wall Street Journal reports Federal Reserve officials will soon begin detailing their plans for short-term interest rates, a move that could show that the central bank's easy money policies will remain in place for years and boost the economy. The Wall Street Journal also reports with increased competition and weaker markets, investment banks are lowering expectations and cutting costs in Asia which has been a key source of growth for the industry. Reuters reports MF Global (MFGLQ) unloaded hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of securities to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) days before its collapse, but it did not immediately receive payment from its clearing firm and lender, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM), sources say. Finally, Reuters also reports Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) is in talks to sell most of its 50% stake in TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK back to its Japanese refining partner and unload other assets in Japan in a deal that could be worth as much as $5B, sources say.
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Cabot Oil & Gas Announces Spit And Boosts Dividend
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG) announced a 2-for-1 stock split with a distribution date of January 25th and raised its dividend on a pre-split basis to $0.16 per share from its prior $0.12 per share.
The firm added that it more than doubled production in the Marcellus shale to 600 million cubic feet per day during the final two days of 2011.
Cabot Oil & Gas (NYSE:COG) has potential upside of 25.5% based on a current price of $76.8 and an average consensus analyst price target of $96.38.
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Reliance And Apollo Global In Talks To Acquire El Paso Unit
India's Reliance and private equity firm Apollo Global (NYSE:APO) are among the suitors in talks to acquire El Paso's (NYSE:EP) oil and gas exploration and production unit, according to a Bloomberg report.
Kinder Morgan (NYSE:KMI) is looking to spin off the business, which carries a price tag of approximately $8.1 billion, in an effort to help finance its $21 billion acquisition of El Paso.
El Paso (NYSE:EP) has potential upside of 0.9% based on a current price of $26.5 and an average consensus analyst price target of $26.75.
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Teva Pharmaceutical Jumps On Lipitor Market Share Increase And CEO Appointment
Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:TEVA) rose to its highest level in almost six months on news that Ranbaxy Laboratories picked up market share in with its Lipitor drug, as well as news that the firm's choice of CEO was well received by analysts.
Shares of Teva rose 3.3% to $43.16 in Tel Aviv trading on the news following yesterday's 6.8% rise in US trading.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ:TEVA) has potential upside of 27.6% based on a current price of $43.1 and an average consensus analyst price target of $55.
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Yahoo To Name New CEO According to AllThingsD
According to All Things Digital, Yahoo (NASDAQ:YHOO) is set to name a new CEO after firing former CEO Carol Bartz back in September. Their likely candidate is PayPal President Scott Thompson who has been running the online payments unit since early 2008.
The move for a new CEO comes as Yahoo trails behind other online powerhouses such as Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Facebook. Recently, the online portal has been discussing slashing its stakes in China's Alibaba Group and its Japanese affiliate as part of a share deal worth about $17 billion.
Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) has potential upside of 12.4% based on a current price of $16.28 and an average consensus analyst price target of $18.3.
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Reliance Industries And BP Gain Government Approval For $1.5 Billion Gas Development
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Ltd (NYSE:RS) and BP (NYSE:BP) landed government approval to spend $1.5 billion to develop four discoveries that could boost output from India's largest natural gas field, according to three inside sources.
The plan could result in the production of 10 million cubic meters of gas per day from the satellite fields in the KG-D6 block of India's east coast.
The sources requested to remain unidentified because the news hadn't been made public yet.
BP (NYSE:BP) has potential upside of 10.6% based on a current price of $44.14 and an average consensus analyst price target of $48.81.
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Starbucks Raises Prices to Recoup Higher Costs
Seattle-based coffee maker Starbucks (NYSE:SBUX) raised its prices by an average of about 1 percent in select cities throughout the United States. Coffee drinkers in New York, Boston, Washington, Atlanta, Dallas, and Albuquerque will have to cough up more dough for that cup of joe.
The reason for the hike? Starbucks says it expects high costs for things like coffee, milk and fuel that will cut into profits this year. Just like many other restaurants, the coffee company is raising prices to help offset some cost pressure.
In New York City, the price for a 12-ounce "tall" brewed coffee or latte went up 10 cents. The prices on about half a dozen other beverages will increase as well.
Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) has potential upside of 7.9% based on a current price of $45.28 and an average consensus analyst price target of $48.86.
