Today may be a fairly important news day after the close for semiconductor stocks. We have a mid-quarter update from Texas Instruments Inc. (NYSE: TXN) and an earnings report from National Semiconductor Corp. (NYSE:…
If you have been waiting for the smaller brokerage firms in the Tier-2 and Tier-3 categories to start merging, it looks like the first shot in the consolidation wars has been fired. Rodman &…
We keep trying to look for good news on the jobs front. Unfortunately, there is almost none to be found. The Conference Board Employment Trends Index was released today and the report shows that…
John Tamny, RealClearMarkets During the dark days of the Great Depression, Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau relayed to President Roosevelt the details of a conversation he had with his son, Henry III. When asked by…
Late on Friday, Reliant Energy (NYSE:RRI) announced that it had terminated a $300 million retail working capital facility with Merrill Lynch. The company had failed to meet its EBITDA covenant on the agreement in…
In 2006, Hess Corporation (NYSE:HES) invested $3.84 billion in capital spending. Last year, the company spent $3.58 billion, and while the figure for this year isn’t final yet, Hess planned to spend about $5…
Playboy Enterprises Inc. (NYSE: PLA) has announced that Christie Hefner is stepping down as Chairman & CEO of the company. Her two-decade reign over the magazine publisher and adult-oriented media and entertainment will come…
Deutsche Bank commented on Chesapeake Energy (CHK) today after the company updated its financial and operational plans, which included a major Capex retrenchment. Deutsche Bank said this is just what the doctor ordered. Deutsche…
What a great way to fire people. Dow Chemical (DOW) chopped 5,000 full-time people and cut 6,000 contractors. Its press release on the plans said the firm was announcing "a series of aggressive actions…
A recession is supposed to pull everyone under, but that everyone does not seem to include McDonald’s (MCD). The fast food firm announced that that global comparable sales increased 7.7% in November. U.S. comparable…
These are some of the top pre-market upgrades and downgrades we have seen from Wall Street analysts this Monday morning: Devon Energy (DVN) Raised to Buy at Jefferies. EnCana (ECA) Raised to Neutral at…
3M (NYSE: MMM) is joining the layoff front. This morning the company previewed a presentation it would give institutional investors detailing cost cutting actions. The company is lowering guidance and announcing layoffs.
The New York Times Company (NYT) will mortgage its building in the hope of getting as much as $225 million to help it through a cash crunch. According to The New York Times, "The…
The Tribune Company may go into Chapter 11 this week. The newspaper industry has several companies headed that way. Journal Register and Gatehouse are at the top of the list. Tribune’s failure says more…
Cutting jobs is one thing. Going out of business is another. As it becomes clear that millions of jobs will be lost by companies which are weak but will probably make it through the…