CME Group OKs 5-for-1 Stock Split (CME, ICE)
After markets closed last night, CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) announced a 5-for-1 stock split which will be accomplished as a 400% stock dividend. The dividend will be paid on July 20th to shareholders…
All Work
Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 24, 2012 (HPQ, ARMH, DUK, NOV, MET, FRED, HNZ, TIF, COST, TD, CRMT, MENT, POST, FRO, JDAS, NTAP, ROSG, P)
The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following a weak report on Chinese and German PMI readings (our coverage here and here). New US jobless benefits claims came in pretty much…
Chesapeake Plans to Shed More Assets
Natural gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) has reportedly struck a deal to sell about 504,000 net acres of leasehold in the northern part of the Denver-Julesburg (DJ) basin, which stretches across parts…
Fed’s Dudley Downplays Inflation Risk
New York Federal Reserve Bank President William Dudley said today that he believes that the 2% inflation “objective” the Fed has adopted will eventually be higher than the real inflation rate: More generally, there…
Mobile Advertising Booming on Tablets (AAPL, AMZN, SSNLF, GOOG, RIMM, NOK, BKS, MM)
In the first quarter of 2012, the leading maker of mobile devices as measured by page impressions was Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), followed by Samsung Electronics (OTC: SSNLF.PK), HTC Corp., Motorola (now folded into…
Natural Gas Inventories Rise, Price Falls
The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks rose by a total of 77 billion cubic feet, in line with a 75-79 billion cubic feet increase that analysts had expected.…
After the Fall: Retail Stocks Upside Potential Remains (COST, WMT, TGT, M, KSS, JCP, GPS, LTD, AEO, ANF, TJX, DG)
Retailers have fared better than many other sectors over the past year, with the majority of share prices having risen although price to book values remain negative. Thus, either the sector is undervalued or…
Talks on Iran Sanctions, Nuclear Development Not Yet Productive
Negotiations in Baghdad between Iran and the P5+1 nations — the US, the UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany — over the continued development of Iran’s nuclear program and the existing and future sanctions…
BP Gets OK to Refine Oil Sands Crude in Indiana
The sixth-largest crude refinery in the US, in Whiting, Indiana, has the capacity to turn more than 400,000 barrels/day of crude into useful products like gasoline and jet fuel. BP plc (NYSE: BP) has…
Tiffany Lags, Expects More of the Same
Luxury jewelry retailer Tiffany & Co. (NYSE: TIF) reported first quarter earnings this morning that were a light even though revenues were better than expected. The company posted EPS of $0.64 compared with a…
US Carbon Emissions Falling on Natural Gas Boom
The rise in US natural gas production from shale has cut the use of coal as a power generation fuel by about 20%. Natural gas, which emits about half the CO2 of coal, has…
Google Wins Verdict in Oracle Patent Suit
Even the whittled down version of the patent infringement lawsuit that Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ: ORCL) brought against Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) didn’t pass a San Francisco jury today. The federal jury’s verdict represents the…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — May 23, 2012 (FB, PCX, BX, AMAT, DELL, AEO, BIG, HRL, STP, TSL, FRED, HNZ, MMYT, TIF, TD, COST, PETM, STX)
The three major US stock indexes opened lower this morning after European leaders disagree on a fiscal response to the continent’s debt crisis(our coverage here). New US home sales were slightly above the consensus…
US Crude Oil Inventories Rise Slightly, Gasoline Prices Continue Sliding
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial crude inventories increased by 900,000 barrels last week, bringing the total US commercial crude inventory to 382.5 million…
Euro Loses to US Dollar Loses to Yen
If the euro had only advanced against some currency today, we could use the rock-paper-scissors analogy to describe what happened in the currency markets. Alas, the single currency took its lumps from everyone. The…
Facebook Deathwatch: Morgan Stanley to Pay Up
courtesy Facebook Inc.Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) has sent a letter 17,200 brokers at its Morgan Stanley Smith Barney brokerage houses telling the brokers that the bank is reviewing customer orders for the IPO of…
Solar Saga Continues Downward Spiral (STP, TSL, SOL, FSLR, SPWR, LDK, JASO, YGE)
The string of losses in the solar PV industry is really not news any longer. Stock prices have been hit hard by collapsing panel prices and vanishing margins. Today is really no different. Chinese…
Facebook Deathwatch: Shares Rise on Lawsuits, Investigations, Short Sellers
After tumbling about -26% in its first three days of trading, stock in Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) is up more than 3% just before noon today even as shareholder lawsuits and investigations mount against…
After the Fall: Value and Upside in Conglomerate Stocks (GE, MMM, UTX, HON, TYC)
Searching for a value play in conglomerate stocks may resemble looking for a needle in a haystack. The companies are so large and diversified that anything short of a major shake-up barely moves the…
Usage-based Internet Charges Get Backing from FCC Chairman (CMCSA, NFLX, TWC, CVC, T, VZ, VOD)
At a meeting of cable industry executives in Boston yesterday, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said the he supports usage-based pricing for Internet service to “help drive efficiency in the networks.” Genachowski also said that…