Stockhouse @ the Bell: Banks boost U.S. stocks; oil slips

Today on Stockhouse

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Marc Davis of BNWnews.ca describes why vanadium is hailed by Obama as a renewable energy breakthrough.

And, Ticker Trax’s Thom Calandra talks cheap silver plays at the PDAC.

Top Bullboards post: “I was at PDAC yesterday talking to the guys … We chatted about the drilling going on, and if we have a good handle on how to select the holes to be drilled. I've heard from a couple of other sources that this company doesn't understand the property, and doesn't know how to go about finding the gold patterns. Perhaps these companies were jealous of our property? I mentioned this to our executive team yesterday and they re-iterated that everything is under control, and that the statement is untrue. Our chief Geologist and the others do know what they are doing, and are selecting drill targets according to many criteria, including soil samples, geophysics, magnetometor, resistivity tests, etc, etc. To me, that sounds like they know what they are doing. I hear them doing similar things as other companies in which I am a shareholder, so I put my faith in this group.” From wood6411 on the Eagle Hill Exploration (TSX: V.EAG, Stock Forum) board.

Top Bullboard:OPEL Solar International (TSX: V.OPL, Stock Forum) received the most reads and posts on a day its share price surged more than 38%.

Top blog: Architeuthis explains why the blogger is taking profits in this manganese play in the Thoughts from the deep blog.

For news about small stocks that made big moves in Tuesday’s trading, please read the Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report.

Word on Wall Street

“It’s just a prime time to be in banking — with such a steep yield curve, that’s designed to drive profits to banks, allowing banks to borrow cheaply and lend higher,” said Mickey Cargile, managing partner of WNB Private Client Services, in an interview with MarketWatch. “There has been quite a bit of attention paid to the bad side of banking without really paying attention to the facts — banks can make bigger spreads than they normally do.”

Today In The Markets

Gold, energy stocks lead TSX lower; Scotiabank ups dividend, meets expectations

DJIA	12,214.38	+124.35
NASDAQ	2,765.77	+20.14
S&P500	1,321.82	+11.69
S&P/TSX	14,012.97	-79.38
S&P/TSX Venture	2,385.74	-38.04

Toronto & New York (The Canadian Press) - The Toronto stock market was lower Tuesday as energy stocks declined amid big swings in the price of oil, while mining companies fell alongside weak copper and gold prices.

The S&P/TSX composite index dropped 79.38 points to 14,012.97, while the TSX Venture Exchange declined 38.04 points to 2,385.74.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed 124.35 points higher at 12,214.38. The Nasdaq composite index rose 20.14 points to 2,765.77 while the S&P 500 index was ahead 11.69 points at 1,321.82.

Please click here for the complete U.S. and Canadian market summaries.

After-Hours News

Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN, Stock Forum)
After Tuesday's close, the chip maker said it now expects revenue in the range of $3.34 billion to $3.48 billion, compared with a previous range of $3.27 billion to $3.55 billion. The company also said it now expects earnings per share of 56 cents a share to 60 cents a share, compared with a previous forecast of 54 cents a share to 62 cents a share.

Great Panther Silver (TSX: T.GPR, Stock Forum)
The silver junior, after Tuesday’s closing bell, said it has paid off $4,050,000 in two outstanding $2,025,000 Principal Amount 8% Unsecured Convertible Loan Notes due July 14, 2011, by the issuance of 1,800,000 fully paid common shares of the company at the originally agreed upon conversion price of $2.25 per common share.