ThinkstockIf most Americans had ever heard the term “sequester” before last fall, they probably thought it meant something like entering a monastery or convent. But in the doublespeak of the current world of politics,…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. U.S. commercial crude inventories increased by 1.1 million barrels last week, bringing the total U.S. commercial crude inventory to 377.5…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Realtors (NAR) this morning released its data on pending home sales in January. The index rose 4.5% from a downwardly revised 101.3 in December to 105.9, and it is 9.5%…
ThinkstockThe largest of the 3D printing companies measured by market cap, 3D Systems Inc. (NYSE: DDD), said this morning that it has completed its $55 million acquisition of Geomagic, a software company that builds…
ThinkstockStillwater Mining Co. (NYSE: SWC) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. The platinum and palladium miner posted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.46, compared with a consensus estimate…
courtesy of TargetTarget Corp. (NYSE: TGT) reported fourth-quarter and fiscal-year results before markets opened this morning. The big-box retailer posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter of $1.65 and $22.73 billion…
ThinkstockDollar Tree Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) reported fourth-quarter and full-year results before markets opened this morning. The discount retailer reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter of $1.01 on revenues of $2.25…
ThinkstockJoy Global Inc. (NYSE: JOY) reported first-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The mining equipment maker reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.31 on revenues of $1.15 billion. In…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a decrease of 3.8% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a drop of 1.7% for the previous…
U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and wobbled around before heading upward for most of the day. Strong home prices and a surge in the consumer confidence index (more coverage here) gave the…
ThinkstockFollowing today’s dismal report from Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL), the entire solar sector is experiencing a sell-off. The only question investors need to ask themselves is whether or not this turn of events…
ThinkstockThe recording industry has taken a beating for more than a decade as it struggled to come up with a way to maintain its substantial profits in the face of Internet sharing programs like…
ThinkstockWe have already covered the sea change that is washing over the mining industry. Where past practice has been to invest heavily in new assets with the strategy that growth was assured, massive mining…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau this morning released data on new single-family home sales for January. Sales rose 15.6% month-over-month, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 437,000, from a revised December sales figure of…
ThinkstockThe Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reported this morning that U.S. home prices rose 0.6% month-over-month in December following a downward revision of the November housing price index to a gain of 0.4%. For…
ThinkstockThe S&P/Case-Shiller home price index for December was higher for the ninth consecutive month. The 20-city composite rose 6.8% year-over-year in December, in line with the consensus estimate, and well above the November increase…
ThinkstockMacy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) reported fourth-quarter and fiscal-year results before markets opened this morning. The department store giant posted quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.05 on revenues of $9.35 billion. In…
ThinkstockHollyFrontier Corp. (NYSE: HFC) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. The oil refiner posted quarterly EPS of $1.92 on revenues of $5.15 billion. In the same period a year…
ThinkstockThe Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reported fourth-quarter 2012 adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67 and $18.2 billion in revenues before markets opened this morning. In the same period a year ago,…
ThinkstockNatural gas producers Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) and Encana Corp. (NYSE: ECA) are the targets of a federal civil suit by Northstar Energy, a Michigan oil and gas field developer, for colluding to…