courtesy of Office DepotFollowing an inadvertent announcement earlier this morning of a merger between office supply retailers Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX), the two companies have now made it…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development reported this morning that new housing starts in January slipped to an annual seasonally adjusted rate of 890,000, a sharp decrease of…
courtesy of Office DepotUPDATE: According to a report at The New York Times Dealbook blog, the announcement of a merger between Office Depot Inc. (NYSE: ODP) and OfficeMax Inc. (NYSE: OMX) was released prematurely…
ThinkstockSodaStream International Ltd. (NASDAQ: SODA) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before markets opened this morning. The home beverage carbonation system maker reported quarterly adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) $0.45 on revenues of…
ThinkstockOver the past three months, the poorest performing solar stock has increased by more about 53% and the best performing stock is up about 235%. So far, analysts’ price targets on the stocks have…
ThinkstockToll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) reported first-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The luxury home builder reported quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) $0.03 on revenues of $424.6 million. In the…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a decrease of 1.7% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a drop of 6.4% for the previous…
ThinkstockSomeone’s going to take a beating after today’s earnings results from Herbalife Ltd. (NYSE: HLF). Will it be Carl Icahn, who now owns about 13% of the company’s stock, or will it be William…
U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning and managed to get within striking distance of five-year highs. There was little economic data released anywhere today, but what there was came out mixed. In…
ThinkstockFollowing about 10 months of mostly steady improvement in share prices, growth has flattened out a little in the homebuilders’ stocks. Upbeat reports on the state of the housing market, historically low interest rates,…
ThinkstockWe noted after President Obama’s State of the Union speech last week the enthusiasm among investors for the relatively new field of 3D printing. U.S. investors are not the only ones with any eye…
ThinkstockJust last Thursday we said that gasoline prices, then at $3.628, could continue to rise until prices got to an average of around $3.80 a gallon. According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge report,…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo housing market index fell by a point in February to 46. The January reading was the highest for the index since April 2006. An index reading below…
ThinkstockPackaged food giant ConAgra Foods Inc. (NYSE: CAG) completed its $4.95 billion acquisition of private-label food maker Ralcorp late last month, and today the company told an analysts’ conference that 2013 will be a…
ThinkstockWith a population more than four times that of the United States, it is only a matter of time before China becomes the world leader in any number of areas where the U.S. has…
ThinkstockIn 1997, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) paid an estimated $400 to $500 million for one of the Internet’s first webmail programs, Hotmail. Today, the software giant is officially launching Outlook.com to replace the 17-year…
ThinkstockExpress Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results yesterday. For the quarter, the pharmacy benefits management company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.05 on revenues of $27.41…
U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning on better economic news out of Europe and basically good data in the U.S. In Europe, the eurozone trade balance came in better than expected, but…
ThinkstockMarin Software, maker of cloud-based digital advertising management platform, has filed a Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) launching the company’s quest for an initial public offering (IPO). For the…
thinkstockWe’ve already noted that international money transfer company Xoom Corp. (NASDAQ: XOOM) priced its initial public offering today above the expected range at $16 a share. What we were unable to say at the…