Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s this morning lowered the corporate credit rating of Chesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) from ‘BB’ to ‘BB-’, and put the company on negative credit watch. Two Chesapeake subsidiaries, Chesapeake…
US retail sales rose 0.1% month-over-month in April following a jump of 6.6% in March. The difference is likely attributed to the warmer weather and the early Easter holiday pulling sales ahead from April.…
ThinkstockFood processor J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) announced this morning that it was lowering the price on its coffee brands by an average of 6% “in response to sustained declines in green coffee costs.”…
The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reported first quarter earnings this morning that were close to consensus estimates for both EPS and revenues, but just enough short to give investors pause. The home remodeling…
Canada-based exploration & production company InterOil Corp. (NYSE: IOC) said yesterday that it believes the government of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is preparing to cancel the agreement under which the company is building a…
The major US stock indexes opened significantly lower this morning as investors reacted to the surprise loss of $2 billion by JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) disclosed by the bank’s CEO after trading…
Fitch Ratings is out with a statistical review of operational metrics at a number of oil & gas companies. The review notes a handful of emerging trends: Finding, development, and acquisition (FD&A) costs are…
Lost in the last night’s commotion over the $2 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) were weak reports from retail Nordstrom Inc. (NYSE: JWN), Kohl’s Corp. (NYSE: KSS), and Dillard’s Inc.…
At a speech to a group of Texas bankers, Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher was asked to comment on the news of the $2 billion trading loss reported by JPMorgan Chase & Co.…
The Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index for May rose to 77.8, up from 76.4 in April and the best index reading since January 2008. A MarketWatch poll of economists expected a reading of…
Chip maker Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ: NVDA) handily beat consensus estimates for first quarter revenues and EPS the company reported this morning. Revenue totaled $924.9 million compared with an estimate of $916.2 million and adjusted…
When the company reported fourth quarter earnings in March, it set expectations for the first quarter fairly low. Renesola posted an EPS loss of -$0.23, better than the expected loss of -$0.31, and revenue came…
The International Energy Agency this morning released its April report on the global oil market. The short version of the story is that global consumption of oil is expected to rise to an average…
The major US stock indexes opened significantly higher this morning as investors were heartened by yesterday’s nationalization of Spain’s Bankia. The Bank of England also keps rates and asset purchases stable. This morning’s report…
Robert Murray http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/1449653The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks rose by a total of 30 billion cubic feet, identical with the increase that analysts had expected. Natural gas prices…
In a speech today to the Economic Club of Minnesota, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Naryana Kocherlakota reviewed the Fed’s new transparency policies (he supports them) and then reviewed the Fed’s role in maintaining…
One piece of the solar industry that has taken a bigger hit to prices than the panel makers, it’s the polysilicon wafer makers. Case in point is MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) which…
In its latest report on gambling revenues in the state, the Nevada Gaming Commission said that total revenue for March 2012 came in at $854.6 million, down -10.86% compared with March 2011. For the…
Over the past 12 months, the best performing car maker stock is — drum roll — Tesla Motors Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA). Shares in the maker of electric vehicles (EVs) are up more than 18%.…
The interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an all-time low of 3.83% last week according to Freddie Mac. The previous record low was 3.84% set in last week, and the rate…