Mattress Firm’s Shares SINK and 4 Hot Stocks Attracting Attention

Micron Technology (NYSE:MU) and SanDisk Corp. shares saw a boost on Thursday morning to highlight an early tech sector rally on signs of a NAND Flash memory chip shortage which is expected to give the chipmakers a lift. Micron increased about 4 percent, and SanDisk was ahead by over 5 percent, as the two stocks led the S&P 500 higher.

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Citigroup (NYSE:C): Banks are marketing $2.25 billion of U.S. commercial-mortgage bonds as investors gird for the largest wave of new deals since peak of the market five years ago. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) along with Citigroup Inc. will offer $967 million of securities connected to office buildings, shopping malls, and hotels, according individuals familiar with the offering who requested not to be identified because the terms have not been made public. UBS AG (UBSN) and Barclays Plc are preparing about $1 billion of similar debt, and Bank of America Corp. (NYSE:BAC) is to offer $280 million of bonds backed by extended-stay hotel properties.

Mattress Firm Holding Corp (NASDAQ:MFRM) shares dropped in after-hours trading on Thursday after the bedding retailer stated that a pending acquisition may harm its profitability in its short-term. The company reported earnings totaling $10.1 million, or 30 cents per share, for its fiscal Q2, which ended on July 31. This can be compared with $3.6 million, or 16 cents per share, during Q2 last year. Following adjustment for acquisition-related costs and other special items, it earned 42 cents per share in the latest quarter. Shares of Mattress Firm Holding Corp are trading 2.90% lower today.

Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. (NYSE:PNY) has reaffirmed its FY12 EPS guidance of $1.58-$1.68 with a revised emphasis near the middle of the range. Shares of Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. are trading 0.31% higher today.

Bank of America Corporation (NYSE:BAC): A key interest rate for over $500 trillion of securities worldwide are to be replaced by a benchmark subject to greater government control, according to 45 percent of those who responded to a quarterly Bloomberg Global Poll. They claimed that the London interbank offered rate, known as Libor, is to be supplanted by a more regulated model within five years, according to Bloomberg. Shares of Bank of America Corporation are trading 4.29% higher today.

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