Asian food eatery P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. (NASDAQ: PFCB) this morning announced that it is being taken private in a deal worth $1.1 billion. The buyer is private equity firm Centerbridge Partners LP,…
In advance of its annual meeting tomorrow, Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) this morning announced that its first quarter same-store sales fell -1.3% compared with the same period a year ago. The stock is…
A deal that first made it into public view less than a month ago has now been completed. Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL), through its wholly-owned Monroe Energy LLC subsidiary, has acquired the…
The major US stock indexes opened slightly lower this morning and continued drifting lower all day. The Chicago PMI report got the day started on the wrong foot, showing a decline in spending even…
When the largest soft-drink company in the US can’t make a competitive product in a growing market, it looks around for a company it can buy. It appears that the Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO),…
The development of the Canadian oil sands is expected to increase the amount of crude oil produced at the Alberta oil sands from its current level of about 1.6 million barrels/day to as high…
US retailers will report April same-store sales results this week and the outlook calls for a substantial drop from March’s gain of 3.9% to an April rise of just 1.4%. The data comes from…
The Chicago purchasing managers index (PMI) for the month of April fell from 62.2 in March to 56.2, the lowest reading since September 2009. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, but economists had been…
Anheuser-Busch InBev SA/NV (NYSE: BUD) reported first quarter earnings this morning that beat consensus estimates for EPS and barely missed revenues, but the company’s shares are lower on concerns about US sales, rising costs,…
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its report for March personal income and outlays this morning, showing that Americans got a bit of an income boost in March, but that they chose…
Energy Transfer Partners L.P. (NYSE: ETP) announced this morning that it will acquire Sunoco Inc. (NYSE: SUN) in a cash and common unit deal worth $5.3 billion. The transaction gives ETP an entry into…
courtesy Barnes & Noble Inc.Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) announced this morning that the two companies were forming a “strategic partnership,” called ‘Newco’ for purposes of the announcement,…
Shares of solar PV maker LDK Solar Co. Ltd. (NYSE: LDK) are pointed toward a new 52-week low today following the company’s report on its fourth quarter 2011 earnings. The company had delayed the…
Markets opened higher this morning following a lower-than-expected GDP growth estimate of 2.2%. That was weaker, but not awful (our coverage here). The consumer sentiment survey rose a couple of ticks in April, but…
ThinkstockLast night computer hard drive maker Western Digital Corp. (NYSE: WDC) reported third fiscal quarter revenues and earnings that easily beat pretty low expectations. The company posted revenues of $3.04 billion, up 35% year-over-year,…
Internet travel company Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ: EXPE) absolutely pasted revenue and EPS expectations last night, sending the stock on a 25%+ express ride. The company posted revenue of $816.5 million, significantly higher than the…
Coffee merchant Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) must be wondering today what it needs to do to impress investors. For its second fiscal quarter, the company reported revenues of $3.2 billion and EPS of $0.40,…
Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ: MDRX) fired its board chairman, saw three directors leave in protest, and announced the resignation of the company’s CFO all at the same time that it reported quarterly earnings…
The Reuters/University of Michigan survey of consumer sentiment for April is a couple of ticks higher than it was in March and 9.5% higher than it was in April 2011. The index reading for…
gemphotography/ThinkStockGolf equipment maker Callaway Golf Co. (NYSE: ELY) reported first-quarter results this morning that missed expectations, but the worse news was that the company sharply lowered its guidance for the first half of 2012.…