RIMM misses earnings...

Research In Motion (RIMM): FQ2 EPS of $0.80 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $4.17B (-10% Y/Y) misses by $300M. Company expects FQ3 revenue of $5.3B-$5.6B and EPS of $1.20-$1.40, compared with consensus of $5.27B and $1.36. Expects FY12 EPS at low end of prior range of $5.25-$6.00, but above $5.10 consensus.

The company said 10.6M BlackBerrys shipped during quarter, below expectations of 11M-12.5M. 200K PlayBook tablets shipped, below a Bloomberg consensus of 490K. 13.5M-14.5M BlackBerry shipments expected for FQ3, slightly below Street expectations of 14M-15M.

RIMM is trading down 5 points to 24.54 in the after hours market.

Stocks close higher....

Stocks rallied for the fourth straight session.

Dow +186
Nas +34
S&P +20 to 1209

RIMM reports after the bell today...

After a series of increasingly disappointing quarterly earnings announcements, Wall Street is hoping that Research in Motion (RIMM) will deliver better results today.

The Canadian phone maker — most famous for its iconic Blackberry devices — will be reporting its second quarter earnings after the markets close later today.

Analysts are predicting earnings of 87 cents a share for the period, which is within RIM’s own guidance range of adjusted profit of between 75 cents and $1.05 per share.  Higher would be better, based on the hope is that sales of its most recent smartphones with the Blackberry 7 operating system and also its lackluster PlayBook tablet will help its results, after a downward slide that has been painful.

Here is a look at RIMM's weekly chart:

Whole Foods breaking out to new all-time highs...

Whole Foods (WFM) stock is breaking out today to new highs.  It is currently up 1.70 to 68.51

Whole Foods has raised its guidance for this fiscal year and has provided strong guidance for next year. Management is confident about the company's prospects going forward, and so are we. Whole Foods leads its industry in terms of margins, growth, balance sheet quality, and the quality of the food it sells. Whole Foods is leading its shoppers to healthier food.

Whole Foods has beaten earnings estimates for 11 straight quarters.

Here is the weekly chart:

At 3:00 pm....

Stocks are broadening their rally.  All 30 Dow stacks are now higher, and we are seeing substantial moves in Oil, Banks, and commodity stocks.  Gold and silver still selling off.

Dow +177
Nas +35
S&P +20 to 1206

Netflix is the day's big loser.  It is now down 38 points to 170.

Postal Service proposes changes...

The U.S. Postal Service proposes "sweeping changes" to save up to $3B a year - including potentially closing 250 processing facilities. Shares of Stamps.com (STMP -3.6%) have gained 81% in a 3-month tear anticipating a breakdown of business as usual (losses) at the USPS.

Noon Update...

Stock averages are still higher, led by Blue Chip names.  28 of 30 Dow stocks are higher, while technology and previous leaders are taking a day off.

Dow +103
Nas +15
S&P +10 to 1198.

Gold and silver are both down.  Banks, oils, and consumer stocks higher.  Healthcare started slowly but now are turning positive.

Foreclosures rising...

Foreclosure filings were reported on 228,000 properties in August, +7% M/M, with 78,800 default notices, +33% M/M and the highest monthly gain in four years, RealtyTrac reports. The jump may mean that lenders are pushing through more of the foreclosures delayed by robo-signing. Bank of America (BAC) reportedly has been ramping foreclosures into overdrive.

Gold breaking down....

Gold is breaking thru major support levels today.  It has been weak over the last several sessions, but had been holding up.  Today it is breaking down.

Take a look at GLD, the Gold ETF.  It had been holding up at the 175 level.  Today it is down 3.96 to 173.24.  A break below 165 might start the end of the gold mania.:

Cooperman Bullish on stocks...

Thinking that Pres. Obama will shift his "anti-business" views for "political reasons," hedge fund titan Leon Cooperman remains bullish on stocks. His favorite: Spectrum Brands (SPM), because of its focus on middle-income shoppers that are becoming more "thrifty" by moving to lower-cost products. Other favorites:

Apple (AAPL)
Boston Scientific (BSX)
KKR (KKR)
Qualcomm (QCOM)
Sallie Mae (SLM)

This is one of the few Hedge Fund managers whose opinions I respect....

Treasury yields jump...

U.S. Treasuries dive following what appears to be a coordinated QE from the major Western central banks. Both the 10 and 30 years are down more than a full point in price.

The yield on the 10 year up 12 basis points to 2.12%, the 30 year up 8 bps to 3.36%.

20 minutes in....

Stocks are climbing in reaction to the strengthening moves in the Euro.  Taking a look at my board, it looks like money is flowing into the blue chip names as opposed to the high beta names that have been moving over the last few days.

Dow +104
Nas +17
S&P +9 to 1198

US Fed moves to help ECB...

Stocks jump on news that the ECB will offer European banks dollar loans coordinated with the Fed and other central banks. European shares are flying following central bank announcements of dollar funding availability to EU banks. Stoxx 50 +4.5%.

The dollar is getting sold across the board. Gold is tumbling, -2% to $1,790/oz.

Amazon launches in Spain...

Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN). The company launched an online store in Spain on Wednesday, a move that may be the start of a new international push for the world's largest Internet retailer. Customers can sign up as Amazon Prime members and get free two- to three- day shipping for 14.95 euros, or about $20, a year.

Groupon back on track for IPO...

The Groupon IPO is back on track, according to sources, with the company aiming to go public in late October/early November. While a resolution of the SEC investigation helps, of more import is the company's confidence that market conditions have improved.

I think they better hurry up and get this thing out there before the window of opportunity closes.  Amazon, Living Social, Yahoo, Google, Facebook are all getting into this business...if you want to call it that.  I think it's garbage personally.

Netflix lowers outlook...

Netflix (NFLX) is down 30 points to 178 premarket after lowering its Q3 U.S. subscriber growth forecast to 21.8M streaming and 14.2M DVD, from a previous (July 25) 22M and 15M.

"Despite the guidance revision, we remain convinced that the splitting of our services was the right long-term strategic choice. We know our decision to split our services has upset many of our subscribers, which we don't take lightly, but we believe this split will help us make our services better for subscribers and shareholders for years to come."

A couple things hurting Netflix:  They just raised their monthly subscription rate and they just lost the Starz content, which in my opinion was their only movie content worth paying for.

Futures unchanged....

Stock index futures move off of their highs following the 8:30 economic reports pointing towards higher inflation and weakening growth.

Coming off of three straight days of gains, we may be due for a slight pullback.  Keeping an eye in the 1200 level in the S&P 500 and also on Gold prices.