Pending Home Sales Decline
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) this morning announced that its pending home sales index fell in February from January’s reading of 97.0 to 96.5. The consensus estimate for the index called for a…
All Work
Paul Ausick
A123 to Replace Defective Batteries (AONE)
Lithium ion battery maker A123 Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: AONE) has announced a field campaign to replace modules and battery packs that may contain defective cells. The defect may result in premature failure of the…
Yahoo! Adds Three Independent Directors (YHOO, AXP, DISCA, IACI, MSFT)
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) has added three independent directors to its board in an effort to stave off a proxy fight with activist investor Daniel Loeb. The Internet company added John D. Hayes, chief…
Verenium Soars on Asset Sales (VRNM, CDXS, SZYM)
Enzyme commercialization company Verenium Corp. (NASDAQ: VRNM) has announced the sale of several of its assets to Dutch firm DSM Food Specialties B.V., a business group of Royal DSM. The sale includes Verenium’s oilseed…
Light Beers Looking for More Drinkers (TAP, BUD, SBMRY)
The light beer revolution that was launched in the mid-1970s has been having a rough time lately. Though the global market for light beet remains around $50 billion annually, beer sales in general and…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Higher
US index futures are higher this morning as investors react positively to the report of a slight rise in Germany’s business climate index (more coverage here). Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke is giving a speech…
S&P Cautions on Russia
Ratings agency Standard & Poor’s this morning released a study on the impact of crude oil prices on the Russian economy. A “sustained drop” in the price of crude, “could damage the Russian economy…
AstraZeneca Loses Patent Fight (AZN)
Late last Friday, drug maker AstraZeneca PLC (NYSE: AZN) lost its court fight to prevent a generic version of its anti-psychotic drug Seroquel from reaching the US market. The company had sought to keep…
German Economy Not So Hot
The Ifo Institute, a primary economics research outfit in Germany, this morning released its German Business Climate Index for March. Overall, the index rose, from 109.7 in February to 109.8 in March, which was…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AET, MO, MWW, RAI, ZNGA, DRI, DLGC, ACN, BONE, WTSLA, KBH, KITD, CPWM, BTU, PLUG)
Markets opened about flat this morning but lost ground almost immediately as new home sales data came in weaker than expected. Then came a report that Iranian crude shipments were falling as a result…
Losing Mobile Phones Nearly as Popular as Buying Them
Citing a report from mobile phone security firm Lookout, Digital Trends reports that $30 billion worth of mobile phones were lost in the US last year. That’s nearly $100 for every man, woman, and…
Standard Register Shares Jump on New Deal (SR)
Printing and communications company Standard Register Co. (NYSE: SR) announced today that it had signed an agreement with HealthTrust Purchasing Group LP that includes, for the first time, a contract for HealthTrust to use…
Germany Could Soften Solar Subsidy Cuts (TSL, YGE, LDK, JASO, STP)
The German government had been expected to cut the country’s solar PV subsidy by 15% in April, and by 2% a month thereafter. PV Magazine is reporting today that following a meeting last night,…
Moody’s Lifts Andarko Debt to Investment Grade (APC)
Ratings agency Moody’s has raised its senior unsecured ratings for Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (NYSE: APC) from ‘Ba1’ to ‘Baa3’ with a stable outlook. The move puts Anadarko’s debt back at investment grade. In its…
Mobile Services Firm iPass Jumps on Takeover Talk (IPAS)
iPass Inc. (NASDAQ: IPAS), a supplier of mobile services like virtual private networking to enterprise customers, is seeing its stock jump following a note from dealReporter that the company “could be up for sale.”…
Cost Plus Forecast Drives Shares Higher (CPWM)
Retailer Cost Plus Inc. (NASDAQ: CPWM) reported better-than-expected earnings and solid revenues after the market closed last night. The company posted EPS for the fourth quarter of $1.56 compared with the consensus estimate of…
Lower Iranian Crude Shipments Push Prices Sharply Higher
Just before 10:00 a.m. this morning, Reuters published a story reporting that Iranian crude oil exports have fallen by 300,000 barrels/day in March. That’s a drop of 14% in Iran’s exports and the story…
Management Shake-up Clobbers KIT Digital (KITD)
Czech Republic-based KIT Digital Inc. (NASDAQ: KITD) today announced that the company’s CEO would transition to board chairman and that its chief administrative officer would become acting CEO while a search is conducted for…
Fed President Bullard Rejects More Stimulus
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard said in a speech this morning that the macroeconomic policy actions the Fed took to stimulate the economy at the start of the financial crisis may…
Zynga Preps Secondary Offering (ZNGA, GOOG)
ZyngaZynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA) has filed a Form S-1/A with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to sell about 43 million shares of class A common stock. None of the proceeds from the…