The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial crude inventories increased by 4 million barrels last week, bringing the total US commercial crude inventory to 373…
In a continuation of the mixed signals we keep getting from the US housing market, this week’s data on mortgage applications shows a decline of -3.3% from the previous week. The largest portion of…
Aircraft maker Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) reported first quarter earnings this morning that handily beat expectations for EPS and revenues. EPS came in at $1.22 on revenue of $19.4 billion, compared with consensus estimates…
The March report on durable goods from the US Census Bureau is out and for the second of the past three months new orders are down. The March drop totals -4.2%, with transportation equipment…
The largest car dealership in the US, AutoNation Inc. (NYSE: AN) reported earnings this morning for the first quarter. The company posted EPS of $0.56, an all-time high, on revenue of $3.7 billion. The…
Markets opened mixed this morning, with the DJIA showing much more strength than the S&P 500, which opened higher, or the Nasdaq, which opened lower. The S&P Case-Shiller house price index showed another decline…
Just one week ago Good Times Restaurants Inc. (NASDAQ: GTIM) stock was available for about $1.50/share. Today the share posted a new 52-week high of $5.98 on no news. In fact the last news…
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) today ruled in favor of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) — soon to complete its acquisition by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) — in a trade case claiming…
The oilfield services companies are on a roll. Well, sort of. Expectations had been lowered so much coming into this earnings season that every one is able to clear the lowered bar. Baker Hughes…
The crackdown on financial aid to students at for-profit colleges has taken a toll on the revenues of these institutions over the past couple of years. But the restrictions on the way these schools…
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) is getting its reward for dodging bankruptcy during the financial crisis, something that its US rivals General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler were not able to achieve. Fitch…
The high-end of the retail market has faced a few bumps in the first calendar quarter of 2012, with gasoline prices on a steady march higher while home prices continue to sink. Today’s earnings…
The US Department of Housing and Urban Development and the US Census Bureau released the March data on new home sales this morning. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales fell by -7.1% to…
Tobacco merchant Reynolds American Inc. (NYSE: RAI) reported first quarter earnings this morning, and posted a clear miss. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.63, lower than the consensus estimate of $0.65. Revenues totaled $1.93…
UK-based chip designer ARM Holdings PLC (NASDAQ: ARMH) reported earnings earlier today, posting revenue of about $209.4 million, well above estimates of $201.23 million, but below revenues of $217 million in the fourth quarter…
Oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) has finally nabbed British-based Cove Energy PLC in a deal worth $1.8 billion. In late February shell made an offer of $1.58 billion for the firm,…
The object of what is touted as the largest IPO of the year, Facebook Inc. (FB) filed an amended Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission today, incorporating the company’s first fiscal…
Markets opened lower this morning following some reversals in Europe, not the least of which is the coming French presidential election. PMI readings from Europe and China were also weak. Asian and European markets…
The annual report of the Trustees of the Social Security and Medicare trust funds has been released, and no matter what one believes about how the US should provide a safety net for its…
courtesy Facebook Inc.Social media giant Facebook Inc. (FB) will acquire about half the patents that once belonged to AOL Inc. (NYSE: AOL) until they were acquired by Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) last week. Microsoft…