Union Pacific Chugs Along
Shares of Union Pacific Corp. (NYSE: UNP) are up about 18% over the past 12 months, trailing only Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. (NYSE: CP), up 21%, and Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), up 20%.…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Walgreen Stock Jumps on New Deal with Express Scripts
While no details were provided, Walgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) and Express Scripts Holding Co. (NASDAQ: ESRX) this morning announced a new multiyear deal that will once again add Walgreens stores to the pharmacy network…
Wireless Data Driving Verizon Results
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) reported second-quarter results this morning that were inline with consensus estimates. Diluted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.64, on target with the estimate, and revenue totaled $28.6…
AutoNation Blows Off the Doors
Auto retailer AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) reported second-quarter earnings this morning that crushed consensus estimates. Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) came in at $0.66 versus a consensus estimate of $0.59. Revenue totaled $3.9 billion…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — July 18, 2012: Markets Rise on Lack of Bad News
The three major US stock indexes opened modestly lower this morning as there was little news out of Europe and Asian markets closed mixed. Traders were waiting to hear more from Fed Chairman Bernanke…
US Economic Growth “Modest to Moderate” — Beige Book
The US Federal Reserve’s summary of current economic conditions in the 12 Fed districts — commonly called the ‘Beige Book’ — was released this afternoon. The report is based on data through July 9th.…
BP Starts Talks on Sale of Stake in TNK-BP
Oil supermajor BP plc (NYSE: BP) announced today that it will begin a 90-day “good faith” negotiating period with its Russian partner in TNK-BP related to the sale of some or all of BP’s…
Microsoft to Capture 4% of US Smartphone Sales in 2012
According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, Windows Phone operating systems from Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will capture 4% of the US smartphone market in 2012. While still trailing far behind market leaders…
IMF Pushes ECB on Bank Union, Fiscal Integration
The European Union and the European Central Bank (ECB) can no longer just kick the can down the road if they hope to solve the financial crisis in the Eurozone. That’s the conclusion of…
Investor Confidence in Profit Growth “Deteriorating” — BofA
Fewer investors than at any time since April 2009 believe that corporate profits can grow by more than 10%, according to the July survey of fund managers by BofA/Merrill Lynch, a division of Bank…
Facebook Advertising Works Better than You Think
courtesy Facebook Inc.According to the latest data from advertising research firm TBG Digital, advertising is doing just fine for Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB). The rates advertisers are paying for impressions, as measured by cost…
Crude, Gasoline Inventories Fall; Prices Rise
The Department of Energy is out with its weekly oil and gasoline inventory data and we saw a slight drop in both crude and gasoline inventories. Weekly DOE crude oil stocks fell by 809,000…
Top 10 U.S. Drugs for 2012 First Quarter
Online drug research firm drugs.com today released its list of the top 100 selling drugs in the United States for the first quarter of 2012. The top five sellers include drugs from Bristol-Myers Squibb…
Google Works Around Smartphone Trade Ban; Apple Gets Another Wide-Ranging Patent
In May the International Trade Commission (ITC) ruled that certain Motorola Mobility smartphones could not be imported into the United States beginning today because the phones infringed on a patent owned by Microsoft Corp.…
New Home Construction Rises to Four-Year High, New Permits Decline Slightly
The monthly report from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that new housing starts totaled a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 760,000 units in June, a rise…
Abbott Labs Stung by Foreign Exchange Rate
Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT) reported second-quarter results this morning that beat the consensus estimate for earnings per share (EPS), but missed slightly on revenues. The drug maker reported adjusted diluted EPS of $1.23, a…
Big Jump in Mortgage Applications
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) reported this morning that mortgage applications for last week increased by a seasonally adjusted 16.9% from the previous week. The unadjusted increase jumped by 46%. An MBA spokesman said:…
Intel Results Just Barely Better, Forecast Slips
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) reported second quarter results after markets closed today, and the company posted EPS of $0.54 on revenue of $13.5 billion. Earnings estimates called for $0.52 EPS and $13.57 billion in…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — July 17, 2012: Markets Higher After Bernanke Speaks
The three major US stock indexes opened higher this morning in advance of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s semi-annual report to Congress and following some data on inflation (more coverage here), industrial production, and the…
US Facebook User Numbers Fall, So Do Share Prices at FB and Zynga
A report today from an analyst at Capstone that Facebook Inc.’s (NASDAQ: FB) US user numbers have fallen by 1.1% over the past six months pushed the stock down by about -3.8% in the…