Zillow Dives After Disclosing SEC Inquiry
Real estate web site Zillow Inc. (NASDAQ: Z) revealed today that it received a letter from the SEC asking the company to answer questions on the way it reported revenue. In particular, the SEC…
All Work
Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — October 2, 2012: Markets Stagnate as Stocks Slide (KBH, WFC, KCG, C, SIRI, TISI, AYI, MOS, FDO, MON, RPM, PCS, ARQL, EXPR, PBM)
The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher this morning but have had trouble staying above the neutral line since late morning. Early reports that Spain would soon ask for a bailout were knocked…
Chilean Miner Loses Lithium Concession (SQM)
Chemical & Mining Co. of Chile Inc. (NYSE: SQM) or Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile SA, has lost its 20-year concession to produce lithium awarded recently through a public tender from the Chilean…
AMD’s New Chip Doesn’t Slow Bears (AMD, INTC, ARMH, QCOM, BRCM, NVDA, DELL, HPQ, AAPL)
Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (NYSE: AMD) today announced availability of a new version of its A-Series Accelerated Processing Units and the company’s stock responded by hitting a new 52-week low of $3.17. This is…
Samsung, Google Lead in Mobile Market Share
According to August data published today by comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR), the mobile handset market share leader continues to be Samsung Electronics, followed by LG Electronics, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Motorola (now part of…
Demand for Midwater Rigs to Rise (RIG, DO, ESV, NE)
In a note today, Credit Suisse talked up the coming demand for offshore drilling rigs designed for water depths of 1,000 feet to 3,600 feet. The analysts claim that incremental demand for 13 new…
Canadian Miner Plummets After New Mine Permit Denied
Vancouver-based Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. (NYSEMKT: PBM) has been denied permission to develop a mine in British Columbia, and the stock price is plummeting on the news. The provincial government of B.C., for only…
Samsung Adds iPhone 5 to Patent Suit vs. Apple
After spending a couple of weeks examining the new iPhone 5, Samsung Electronics has added claims against the new handset from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) to its lawsuit alleging that Apple infringes on Samsung’s…
U.K. Pushes for More Sanctions on Iran
Britain, France and Germany are working to prepare new sanctions on Iran to present at an October 15 meeting of the European Union foreign affairs council. According to the Financial Times, the new sanctions…
Economic Confidence Soars: Gallup
Confidence in the U.S. economy jumped eight points in September, from a reading of -27 to -19, the second-highest reading since 2008, when Gallup began tracking economic confidence. The all-time high of -17 was…
Ford Sales Flat — with Some Bright Spots
U.S. sales of new vehicles for September were flat compared with sales in September 2011, according to data released today by Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F). Car sales were up 1.6% year-over-year and utility…
As Rebuilding Tapers Off, So Does Japan’s Economy
Japan’s recovery from the devastating tsunami and earthquakes of March 2011 have boosted the country’s gross domestic product to real growth of 2% in 2012. But the building boom is about to end and…
PetSmart Joins S&P 500
S&P Dow Jones has announced that it will replace oil and gas company Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SUN) on the S&P 500 Index with specialty retailer PetSmart Inc. (NASDAQ: PETM) after the close of trading…
Mosaic Stumbles on Weak Demand for Phosphates
Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS) reported fiscal first quarter 2013 diluted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $1.03 on revenue of $2.5 billion. In the same period a year ago, the fertilizer maker reported diluted…
Thumbs Up on U.S. Banks (CS, WFC, JPM, HBAN)
Calling U.S. banks a leveraged play on interest rates supported by declining spreads on investment grade debt, Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) today upgraded its view of U.S. banks. The bank’s analysts believe that…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — October 1, 2012: Markets Struggle to Hold Early Gains (ALU, NOW, FINL, IACI, BIDU, CALM, FGP, SURG, TISI, ZNGA, AYI, MOS, CRDN, MMM, FONR, NOK, ORCL)
The three major U.S. stock indexes opened higher this morning as the eurozone PMI numbers came in slightly better than expected, but still with a contractionary direction (more coverage here). China’s manufacturing PMI number…
Rumor: Apple Sets iPad Mini Event
Rumors have been floating around for well over a month that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) was preparing to launch a new versions of its iPad tablet. The so-called “iPad mini” would be cheaper than…
Fitch Maintains Spain Ratings
Fitch Ratings left is ‘BBB’ rating on Spanish debt unchanged following last week’s proposed 2013 government budget. The ratings agency also maintained its ‘negative’ outlook on the country. Here’s part of Fitch’s assessment: The…
American Express Hit with $113 Million for Fines, Refunds
The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CPFB) today announced an enforcement action against American Express Co. (NYSE: AXP) that will cost the company $27.5 million in fines and $85 million in refunds to approximately…
AOL, YouTube in Content Deal
Claiming the number 2 ranking in video content as measured by video streams per month, AOL.com Inc. (NYSE: AOL) this morning announced that the company has entered a deal with YouTube, which is owned…