Bernanke Tries to Woo Community Bankers
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke told an audience of community bankers today that even though the Fed’s low interest rate policy is thrashing their profits, the Fed has to keep the policy in place…
All Work
Paul Ausick
European Central Bank Protects Every Last Eurocent
The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it will exchange its €650 billion in existing Greek sovereign bonds for new bonds to be issued by Greece. The ECB’s president telegraphed the move last…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (AMZN, DE, NVDA, LO, WFR, AAP, APA, ABX, DTV, DUK, GM, TAP, STRA, PFCB, JNGW, AEA, HDY, PMFG, CAR)
Stocks opened higher this morning following upbeat reports on unemployment claims and new housing starts. With a little more than a half hour left in today’s session, all three indexes have made solid gains…
Brent Crude Tops $120
The price of Brent crude rose above $120/barrel today on both the Nymex and ICE exchanges, a six-month high. The rise is attributed to positive news on US unemployment and continued hopes for an…
Buffett’s Railroad Subject of Hearing (BRK-A, BRK-B)
The US Surface Transportation Board has agreed to hold a hearing on March 22nd to review a filing by the Western Coal Traffic League challenging the inclusion of $8.1 billion in the cost basis…
Sears Cuts Corporate Staff (SHLD)
Sears Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ: SHLD) has announced a staff cut of 100 positions at its corporate headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Illinois. The parent of retailers Sears and Kmart employs about 6,600 people at the…
Foreclosures Rise in January
US foreclosure files rose 3% in January, to a total of 210,941. The number is -11% lower than January of 2011, but is the first indication that the number of foreclosures may begin to…
Greek Recovery Will Take Years
Lael Brainard, undersecretary for international affairs at the US Treasury Department, today told a congressional committee that Greece will need to continue reforming its economy “for many years” before a recovery is sustainable. She…
BHP Scraps Plan for African Aluminum Smelter, May Sell All its Aluminum Assets (BHP, RIO, AA, NHYDY)
The world’s largest mining company, BHP Billiton plc (NYSE: BHP), is cancelling its plans to build a new aluminum smelter in Congo. Not only that, but BHP could be trying to sell its entire…
Mid-day Movers (JNGW, AEA, ITRI, CYBI, HDY)
At about noon ET today, the three major equity indexes remain solidly positive, with the DJIA up nearly 91 points at about 12,872, the Nasdaq up about 24 points at around 2,940, and the…
Conoco Leaving Vietnam (COP)
ConocoPhillips (NYSE: COP) announced this morning that it was selling all its operations in Vietnam to a division of France’s Perenco SA for $1.29 billion. The sale includes three Conoco wholly-owned subsidiaries with minority…
Saudis to Re-open Idled Oil Field
Saudi Aramco, the national oil company of Saudi Arabia, is proceeding with a plan announced last May to re-open oil production at its Dammam oil field. Dammam is the country’s oldest field discovered in…
Natural Gas Inventories Fall Again, Price Rises Slightly
The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks fell by a total of 127 billion cubic feet, higher than the drawdown of 120 billion cubic feet that analysts had expected.…
SunPower Suing SolarCity (SPWR, TOT, TSLA)
Solar panel maker SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is suing solar installer SolarCity and five former SunPower employees for stealing thousands of company documents before the five left to work at SolarCity. SunPower is majority…
Morning Movers (JNGW, AEA, ITRI, PMFG, CAR)
The three major US equities indexes opened higher this morning following good news from both the employment and the housing fronts. Ratings reviews of several major banks had caused some concern in the futures…
Demand for Gold Rose Slightly in 2011
Global demand for gold rose to 4,067 metric tons in 2011, up just 0.4% year-over-year. Gold mines produced a record number of ounces, but a slowdown in recycling and more demand for gold from…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Lower
US index futures are lower this morning, as exchanges in Europe and Asia are all trading down. In Europe, Greece is not responding well to more pressure from Germany, which seems to be saying…
GM Earnings Disappoint (GM)
General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) posted a record annual profit this morning of $7.6 billion for the fiscal year ended in December. EPS for the year totaled $4.58, up from $2.89 in the previous…
Price Increases Slashed Demand at Smucker (SJM, DF)
Food processor J.M. Smucker Co. (NYSE: SJM) badly missed expectations this morning as the company suffered from lower demand after it raised prices. For Smucker’s third quarter, the company reported EPS of $1.22 on…
Citigroup Pays $158 Million to Settle NY Mortgage Case (C)
Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) has agreed to pay $158 million to settle a lawsuit in which the bank admitted to defrauding a federal insurance program out of millions of dollars. The payment is not…