Is Kellogg 'Great,' Or Just OK?

By Renaissance Capital IPO Research: Despite the drop-off in new issues this year, filing activity has proved surprisingly resilient in the U.S., with 259 initial submissions to the SEC, matching the number seen in 2010. With one week left in 2011, the final total for IPO filings this year could well exceed last year's. 2011 could become the third most active year for U.S. IPO filings over the last decade, trailing only 2004 (315 filings) and 2007 (299 filings).

By Jason Tillberg:We remain in what I have been calling a "golden age of corporate profits." Huge deficits, low savings rates and low wages relative to productivity gains are funneling dollars into the bottom lines all over corporate America.The recent data on Q3 corporate profits shows an ever extending gain in after tax corporate profits as a percent of GDP. (click to enlarge)

Although payroll job growth slowed sharply in May, with only 54,000 net jobs added, job growth this year is well ahead of 2010. Note: I'll have an update to my economic outlook later.The first table below shows payroll job growth in 2010 and 2011 through May (excluding Census hires in 2010). The third column is total payroll growth for 2010.Although job growth is sluggish relative to the slack in the labor market (with the unemployment rate at 9.1%), 2011 is clearly better than 2010 through May.

Todd Feldman submits:Based on anecdotal evidence and behavioral finance modeling, we suggest that the US stock market in 2011 will be similar to 2004. Let's take a look at the calculated return of the S&P 500 based on data from Yahoo Finance from 2000-2002, 2003, 2008, and 2009-2010. Table 1: S&P 500 Return Comparison

By Bargain Bin:AT&T (T) is one of the two dominant U.S. wireless carriers, competing with the other telecom giant Verizon (VZ). Together these two companies service 60% of wireless customers.

By Valuentum: Oracle (ORCL) posted strong fiscal first-quarter results Tuesday that showed significant growth in new software licenses and product support (about two thirds of revenue) and some weakness in hardware systems products revenues (about 20% of its top line). Services revenue, accounting for the balance, increased nicely and remained steady at about 14% of sales.

Earlier ...• Case Shiller: National Home Prices Hit New Low in 2011 Q1• Real House Prices and Price-to-Rent: Back to 1999• The Excess Vacant Housing Supply• Home Prices Graph Gallery

Gary Townsend submits:There are few true growth stories in American banking today, but one mid-sized New York City-based commercial bank surely fits the description. Tuesday, Signature Bank (SBNY) reported 4Q10 operating EPS of $0.70 (GAAP EPS was $0.72), handily beating the $0.64 consensus estimate. Earnings accelerated again. In 2010, this $2.2 billion market cap company earned $2.30 per share on an operating basis, up +43.3% from $1.61 in 2009, when operating EPS grew 20.6%.