courtesy U.S. State DepartmentThe much-maligned Keystone XL pipeline project proposed by Transcanada Corp. (NYSE: TRP) today received a go-ahead from the state of Nebraska’s Department of Environmental Quality. The state’s governor, Republican Dave Heineman,…
ThinkstockAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are 315 million people living in the U.S. These folks own 425 million PCs, smartphones, video game consoles, tablets, HDTVs, disc players, and streaming media devices connected…
ThinkstockShares of a host of shipping companies are getting a big boost today on a report from Bloomberg that the 2013 outlook for shipping rates, especially for iron ore, are set to rise substantially…
ThinkstockThe US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial crude inventories decreased by 11.1 million barrels last week, bringing the total US commercial crude inventory to 359.9…
thinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today reported the U.S. natural gas stocks declined by 135 billion cubic feet last week, above an average expected drop of around 127 billion cubic feet. Natural gas…
thinkstockLooking back on 2012, it is hard to discern the biggest story in the oil and gas sector. The reshuffling of assets was certainly a contender, as was the huge growth in U.S. oil…
ThinkstockU.S. consumers spent more money in December than in any month since December 2008. In a self-reporting poll from Gallup, consumers’ average daily spending in December averaged $83, up from $73 in November and…
courtesy of WalgreenDrug store giant Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) announced this morning that December same-store sales fell 6.1% year-over-year, primarily due to the impact of generic drug sales replacing sales of higher-priced brand-name drugs.…
ThinkstockFinish Line Inc. (NASDAQ: FINL) reported third-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The athletic shoe and apparel retailer reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) at breakeven on revenues of $296.6 million.…
ThinkstockOnline purchasing during the 2012 holiday season totaled $42.3 billion, up 14% from $37.2 billion in 2011, according to research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR). That is a very nice gain, but about $1.2…
ThinkstockGold futures closed at around $1,676 an ounce in 2012, about 7% higher than the $1,565 or so the yellow metal fetched at the beginning of the year. Forecasts for the price of gold…
thinkstockThe Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) reported second-quarter fiscal 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The fertilizer maker reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.47 on revenues of $2.5 billion. In the same…
U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a higher-than-expected report of new claims for unemployment benefits (more coverage here). The news more than compensated for the afterglow of yesterday’s big gains and the…
courtesy of Google Inc.Search giant Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced an agreement today to resolve concerns that some of the company’s practices could inhibit competition in the market…
ThinkstockTransocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG), the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig that exploded and burned in 2010, taking 11 workers’ lives and dumping 5 million barrels of crude into the Gulf of…
ThinkstockIn the month of November, 55,000 U.S. homes were foreclosed, down from 59,000 in October and down from 72,000 in November 2011, according to research firm CoreLogic (NYSE: CLGX). While an improvement, the number…
ThinkstockWhile early reports on December same-store sales were mixed, the final tally showed a solid gain, with 53% of retailers reporting same-store sales beating estimates and just 47% falling short. The data comes from…
courtesy of Apple Inc.According to November data published today by comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), the mobile handset market share leader continues to be Samsung Electronics, followed byApple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), LG Electronics, Motorola, now…
ThinkstockU.S. new car sales are on track to top 14.4 million vehicles in 2012, and up to 15.5 million in the new year. Today’s reports on sales from major automakers continue a winning streak…
courtesy Barnes & Noble Inc. Bookstore chain Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) reported this morning that nine-week same-store sales fell 8.2% compared with the same period in 2011. B&N reported sales for the…