The three major US equities indexes opened slightly lower this morning following some more dreary news from Europe. Eurozone PMI fell in February to a lower-than-expected reading of 49.3, reawakening fears of a second…
The eurozone economy may have posted its second successive quarter of contraction, leading to the possibility that the continent is entering a second recession. The Markit Eurozone Composite PMI Index fell to 49.3 in…
Drug maker Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) has released results of a phase III study of its investigational allergy immunotherapy tablet (AIT) for ragweed pollen this morning. According to the company’s announcement: The…
Now that it’s $3.8 billion acquisition of Healthspring Inc. is completed, insurer Cigna Inc. (NYSE: CI) is looking at either a sale of its pharmacy-benefits division or the outsourcing of the division’s function. Wellpoint…
Pharmacy retailer Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) reported same-store sales for February were down -4.6% compared with February 2011. The number of prescriptions filled at comparable stores also fell, by -9.5%. The company also said that…
US index futures are lower this morning following an announcement from China that the country’s GDP growth target for 2012 is 7.5%, its lowest GDP growth goal since 2004. Chinese officials also plan to…
US airlines are reporting their February traffic counts this morning, and the two we have so far have both shown increases. US Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) and Delta Air Lines Inc. (NYSE: DAL)…
The European Central Bank (ECB) took €820.8 billion (about $1.08 trillion) in overnight deposits on Friday, a new record amount. The previous record of €777 billion (about $1.02 billion) was set last Thursday, following…
When it comes to assigning blame for the current high prices for gasoline, the US public focuses its ire most on the President and his administration. According to a survey from Pew Research and…
The major US stock indexes opened lower this morning following some weak data on European unemployment. Buyers tried to come back but low volume so far has kept trading lower, and a last-minute rally…
The most valuable company in the US, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), claims to have created some 514,000 US jobs. The company currently employs 47,000 people on its own and says it supports 257,000 jobs…
The second of the European Central Bank’s long-term refinancing operations (LTRO) pumped €530 billion (about $713 billion) into the eurozone’s banking system on Wednesday. Finding it difficult to spend that much cash right away,…
Yesterday’s decision by the International Swaps & Derivatives Association (ISDA) declared that Greece had not yet caused a “credit event” equivalent to a default. Many holders of credit default swaps (CDS) on that debt…
Shares in Wynn Resorts Ltd. (NASDAQ: WYNN) were halted for about half an hour this morning after the company revealed that it had included an incorrect statement in an SEC 8-K filing. The company…
At about noon today, all three major US stock indexes are lower, with the DJIA down about 30 points at around12,950, the Nasdaq down about 7 points at 2,982, and the S&P 500 down…
Average daily spending this February rose by 3.3% compared with February 2011, according to the latest survey results from Gallup. Spending averaged $63/day this year compared with $61/day last year. Compared with January 2012,…
The three major US equities indexes opened lower this morning following some more dreary news from Europe. Spanish unemployment totaled 23.3% in January, and the other weak eurozone nations are struggling too (more coverage…
Food company Sara Lee Inc. (NYSE: SLE) has announced a special dividend of $3/share once the company’s spin-off of its coffee & tea division is completed, now expected to occur in June. The new…
The number of mobile phone subscribers in China reached 997 million at the end of February and is expected to top 1 billion by the end of this month, according to a report from…
US index futures are lower this morning following an announcement from Spain that it was unilaterally raising its budget deficit target to 5.8% of GDP, much higher than the 4.4% that the country had…