ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting a decline of 12.3% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, compared with last week’s rise of 6.2%. Unadjusted,…
U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning on speculation — and some reports — that budget talks in the U.S. were making some progress. Asian markets clearly thought so, with most closing higher today…
ThinkstockToday’s auction of $35 billion in five-year U.S. Treasury notes sold out a a yield of 0.769%. The bid-to-cover ratio of 2.72 was somewhat lower than the four-week average ratio of 2.9. Prior to…
ThinkstockIn a filing with the SEC this morning, Carl Icahn-owned American Railcar Industries Inc. (NASDAQ: ARII) revealed that it has had “conversations” with The Greenbrier Companies (NYSE: GBX) that could result in American Railcar’s…
courtesy of Apple Inc.Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) won a $1.05 billion jury award against Samsung Electronics in August, but that didn’t stop the Cupertino giant from seeking to have the U.S. District Court ban…
courtesy of AppleThe Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) said this morning that its index of consumer technology expectations rose 9.3 point in December, lifting the index to an all-time high of 97.3 since the survey…
ThinkstockThe National Association of Homebuilders (NAHB)/Wells Fargo housing market index rose two points in December to 47, the highest index reading since April 2006. An index reading below 50 indicates that more builders view…
ThinkstockAnother earnings warning is out this morning, this time from one of the largest U.S. steel makers. Nucor Corp. (NYSE: NUE) this morning lowered its fourth-quarter diluted earnings per share (EPS) estimate to a…
ThinkstockAs part of its strategy to boost shareholder value by selling off noncore assets, ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) this morning announced that it is selling its onshore assets in Algeria to Indonesia’s state-owned oil company…
ThinkstockOil field services company Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE: BHI) this morning issued a revenue and profit warning for the fourth quarter. The company said that both revenues and profits would be affected by weaker…
ThinkstockBy 2017, coal consumption will nearly equal consumption of oil as the leading source of the world’s energy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that global coal consumption will reach 4.32 billion tons of…
thinkstockTwo of the most famous names in media research and ratings have agreed to a merger. Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) will acquire all outstanding shares of Arbitron Inc. (NYSE: ARB) for $48 a…
ThinkstockSanderson Farms Inc. (NASDAQ: SAFM) reported fourth-quarter and full fiscal 2012 results before markets opened this morning. The poultry processing firm reported diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.41 on revenues of $648.4 million.…
courtesy of Morgan StanleyThe commonwealth of Massachusetts has fined investment bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) $5 million for “improper influence” related to its dealing with research analysts prior to the March IPO of Facebook…
U.S. equity markets opened higher this morning and got another boost following a meeting between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner to discuss a solution to the impending fiscal cliff. In Europe, the…
ThinkstockHulu, the streaming video company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), expects revenues of $695 million in 2012, up 65% from just…
ThinkstockAlmost exactly a year ago, Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) projected that sales of the company’s heavily promoted Ultrabook computers would account for 40% of all notebook shipments in 2012. Taiwan’s Digitimes, however, estimates that…
courtesy Ford Motor Co.Depending on what you count and when you count, everybody’s a winner. At least that seems to be the thinking behind the latest hybrid car sales figures from Ford Motor Co.…
ThinkstockRatings and research firm Fitch Ratings reckons that if U.S. policy makers should fail to reach an agreement and the country should plunge over the fiscal cliff, U.S. GDP growth will fall by 2%…
ThinkstockOnline sales for the first 44 days of this year’s holiday shopping season totaled $33.8 billion, up 13% over last year’s total of $30 billion. Last week, shoppers spend nearly $7 billion, including $1.275…