Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Retreating
US index futures are lower this morning as investors wait to hear news on both consumer confidence and house prices. The S&P Case-Schiller housing price index is due at 9 a.m. ET, and the…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Homebuilder Lennar Hammers Estimates (LEN)
Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), one of the country’s largest homebuilders, today reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter ended February 29th. The company reported EPS of $0.08 on total revenue of $724 million. The…
US Treasury Pushing for Split of Ally? (GM)
Ally Financial inc.Ally Financial Inc., the former finance arm of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) known as GMAC, received more than $17 billion in federal bailout funds in 2008 and is now majority owned…
Xbox Live to Add Comcast, HBO Go Today (MSFT, CMCSA, TWX, AAPL, GOOG)
Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) will roll out new applications for its Xbox 360 platform today, including one for the Xfinity video-on-demand platform from Comcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA), another for HBO Go from the HBO…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (BHI, MU, SWY, TSLA, MTG, CALM, SARA, APOL, GOL, WAG, LEN, VRNM, SLB, AONE, AUDC, ARNA)
Markets opened about higher this morning following a flat close in Asia and a bit of enthusiasm in Europe following a manufacturing survey from Germany (our coverage here). Then Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke hinted…
Green Mountain Chairman Sold $66 Million in Shares Just Ahead of Dip (GMCR, SBUX)
ThinkstockOn March 8th, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters Inc. (NASDAQ: GMCR) announced that Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) would be making a single-cup coffee machine to compete with Green Mountain’s Keurig system. Shares of Green Mountain…
iPad Buyers Still Lining Up (AAPL)
Even while admitting that its sample was biased toward younger, more tech-savvy consumers, Baird Equity Research demonstrates yet again what a juggernaut Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL). Forbes reports that in an on-line survey of…
Teva Launches Generic Seroquel on First Day of Patent Loss (TEVA, AZN)
We noted earlier today that AstraZeneca plc (NYSE: AZN) had lost a patent ruling and that the company’s anti-pyschotic drug Seroquel lost its patent protection today. That’s all it took for Teva Pharmaceuticals Industries…
AudioCodes Dives on Lowered Outlook (AUDC)
Network gear maker AudioCodes Ltd. (NASDAQ: AUDC) lowered its first-quarter and full-year revenue and profit outlook this morning. From the press release: is now projecting revenues for the first quarter of 2012 to be…
Sinopec Profit Rises as Company Moves Upstream (SNP, CEO)
China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., commonly called Sinopec, (NYSE: SNP) reported a 2% profit gain for the 2011 fiscal year, even though the company has been hampered by a government-imposed lid on gasoline prices…
US Supreme Court Appears Eager to Rule on Obamacare
After the first of three two-hour hearings, the US Supreme Court appears to be leaning toward issuing a ruling on the healthcare reform act, known as Obamacare, rather than putting off the ruling until…
Comverge Going Private (COMV)
Comverge Inc. (NASDAQ: COMV), a maker of intelligent control systems for electricity utilities and their customers, has agreed to be taken private by an affiliate of private equity firm H.I.G. Capital LLC for a…
Coal Miner Lowers Profit Outlook (WLT)
Coal miner Walter Energy Inc. (NYSE: WLT) this morning lowered its revenue and profit forecasts for the current quarter, but, in a bit of an odd turn, maintained its full-year production forecast. Here’s what…
Intel Posts Gain in Semiconductor Market (INTC, ARMH, SSNLF, TXN, QCOM)
Intel Corp. (NASDAQ: INTC) grew its share of the total global semiconductor market to 15.9% in 2011, posting growth of nearly 21% year-over-year, based on the latest research from iSuppli. Licensees of the ARM…
Schlumberger Warns on Earnings (SLB, BHI, HAL)
ThinkstockAt an energy conference in New Orleans today, the CEO of Schlumberger Ltd. (NYSE: SLB) said that downward pressure on prices for the company’s hydraulic fracturing (fracking) services will have a negative impact on…
Sanofi, Regeneron Get Positive News from Drug Trials (SNY, REGN)
An anti-cholesterol drug being co-developed by Sanofi (NYSE: SNY) and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: REGN) has shown positive results in two Phase II trials the companies reported this morning. The investigational drug, SAR236553/REGN727, reduced…
AT&T Nokia Launch Too Little, Too Late? (T, NOK, MSFT, AAPL, GOOG)
AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has set April 8th for the launch of the Lumia 900 smartphone from Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK). The phone is the first to use the Windows Phone 7 operating system…
Texas Manufacturing Survey Steady
The Dallas Fed today released its report on Texas manufacturing, indicating that the activity level in February was equal to that in January. The current state of manufacturing, as indicated by other measures on…
National Economic Activity Survey Down
The national activity index for the month of February fell to -0.09 from +0.33 in January according to today’s report from the Chicago Fed. The index measures US economic activity in four broad categories:…
Arena Files for European Drug Review (ARNA, VVUS, OREX)
Drug maker Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) announced that its application to sell its lorcaserin weight-loss drug in Europe has been accepted by the Europe Medicines Agency. This is the first step toward a…