Oil Sheen in Gulf of Mexico Knocks Shell Stock (RDS-A, RDS-B, BP, TOT)
An oil sheen has appeared in the Gulf of Mexico near an area where Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) (NYSE: RDS-B) has operations. The sheen is about 1 mile wide and 10 miles…
All Work
Paul Ausick
BrightSource Withdraws IPO Filing (GOOG, NRG, FSLR)
Solar thermal power company BrightSource Energy Inc. today filed a request with the Securities and Exchange Commission to withdraw its Form S-1 registration statement, effectively cancelling the company’s planned IPO. BrightSource cites “current market…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher
US index futures are higher this morning as expectations are high for good earnings reports due today. The weekly report on new claims for unemployment benefits will be out this morning, as will the…
Tractor Supply Sales Jump, So Does Forecast (TSCO)
Farm and ranch retailer Tractor Supply Co. (NASDAQ: TSCO) reported first quarter sales this morning and absolutely crushed expectations. Total sales reached $1.02 billion, sharply above estimates of $937.4 million. Same-store sales rose 11.5%.…
NY Fed President Says Recovery Not Yet Strong Enough
In a speech this morning in Syracuse, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley told an audience of local business leaders that while the US economy is doing better, “real economic activity has yet…
Global Crude Prices Falling — A Little
The International Energy Agency (IEA) released its monthly Oil Market Report this morning. The single, most important data point in the report is that global oil inventories grew by 1.2 million barrels in the…
US Natural Gas Price Falls to $2
The price of 1,000 cubic feet (or 1 million BTUs) of natural gas fell to $2 for the first time in more than 10 years today. In electronic trading, the current price is $1.98/thousand…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (JCP, AMSC, EGO, NVDA, M, HCSG, PGR, ADTN, MSW, FAST, RAD, MFRM, TITN, DVR, NOK)
Markets opened higher this morning following the pleasant surprise earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) after markets closed yesterday (our coverage here). The report on US crude oil inventories showed a relatively modest…
Apple Tops Brand Loyalty Survey (AAPL, KO, GOOG, AMZN, SBUX, TGT, MSFT)
What consumers value most in a product are quality and customer service. Companies that succeed in creating a brand based on excellent quality and outstanding customer service can charge more for their products, get…
Nokia’s Woes Mount with Buggy Phone (NOK, T, MSFT, AAPL, GOOG)
Earlier this morning Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) issued a warning on first and second quarter revenue and earnings, but that wasn’t all the bad news the company had coming today. Nokia’s Sunday launch of…
Biggest Threat to US Economy? Oil Price Spike Caused by Iran
When 18 economists were asked to name the biggest threat to the recovering US economy, 9 answered that an oil price spike caused by a US-Iran confrontation is the most likely. Other contenders included…
Credit Card Swipe Fees on Gasoline Blasted (V, MA, AXP, DFS)
We noted earlier this morning how lenders and credit card issuers were trying to beef up revenues by going back into the sub-prime market. Another way banks and card issuers boost revenue is by…
US Petroleum Inventories Rise, Imports Drop
The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial crude inventories rose by 2.8 million barrels last week, bringing the total US commercial crude inventory to 365.2…
Coal Exports Rose, But Low Domestic Prices Hurt (BTU, ACI, ANR, CLD)
US coal miners exported 107 million tons of coal in 2011, most of it to Asia. That’s nearly double total US coal exports just five years earlier, and the shipments brought in about $16…
Credit Card, Mortgage Lending Returning to Sub-prime Market (COF, GM, HBC, JPM)
Borrowers with less-than-perfect credit are being courted once more by lenders trying to bolster their loan portfolios to make up for the loss of fee income from new regulations. The lost fees can be…
Nokia Warns on Earnings (NOK)
Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) this morning issued a preliminary look at first and second quarter earnings, and the view is not pretty. The company noted margin declines and poor sales in Africa, the Middle…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher
US index futures are slightly higher this morning following a good earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) last night to get the new earnings season started on the right foot. In Europe, yields…
Jobs and Workers: Which is the Chicken and Which is the Egg?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) says that the country’s labor force is growing at a rate of about 0.9% annually. That’s half the growth rate of the period between 1980 and 2000,…
Billiton Closes Australian Coal Mine (BHP)
BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP) today announced the closing of its Norwich Park metallurgical coal mine in Queensland. The mine is one of six owned and operated by a 50/50 partnership between Billiton and…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (DELL, AIG, WPRT, VLO, HOG, SVU, ATNY, AA, HCSG, XRIT, DHR, VPHM, TRGT)
Markets opened mixed this morning but all three major indexes turned lower shortly thereafter and have continued to inch lower into the late afternoon. The selling is being pushed along by a significant rise…