Iran Walks Back Crude Oil Cut-off Threats
Iran’s oil minister said over the weekend that if the country does cut off oil shipments to Europe, the cuts would be directed only at “hostile” nations. The European Union has adopted a July…
All Work
Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (MRO, PEET, RIMM, URBN, CHK, GILD, GNW, PCCC, NVLS, PKI, BEAM, EL, WY, THLD, TUDO, ZOLT, STRI, MNKD)
Major indexes reacted positively to this morning’s non-farm payrolls report and the drop in the US unemployment rate from 8.5% to 8.3%. Expectations for the unemployment rate had been no better than flat, and…
Sprint to Offer $100 Tablet (S, AMZN, GOOG)
Sprint Nextel Inc. (NYSE: S) has decided to take a swipe at Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) and its Kindle Fire table with a deal offering a 7-inch 3G-compatible tablet for $100 with a two-year mobile…
Estee Lauder Falls on Increased Ad Spending (EL)
Cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Cos. Inc. (NYSE: EL) reported earnings about as expected this morning, but lowered its fiscal third quarter guidance far below the consensus EPS estimate of $0.41. The company now expects…
Rick’s Cabaret Investing in Super Bowl Party-goers (RICK)
Restraurant operator Rick’s Cabaret International Inc. (NASDAQ: RICK) has imported more than 100 strippers to Indianopolis ahead of this weekend’s Super Bowl game. A company spokesman told Bloomberg News: We wouldn’t bring them down…
New York State Sues Banks Over Foreclosures (BAC, WFC, JPM)
The state of New York has filed a lawsuit in the state’s Supreme Court charging Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC), Wells Fargo & Co. (NYSE: WFC), and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM)…
Gilead, Idenix Slug it Out (GILD, IDIX)
When biotech company Gilead Sciences Inc. (NASDAQ: GILD) made a deal last month to acquire Pharmasett for $11 billion, no thought it would pay off so soon. Especially the folks at Idenix Pharmaceuticals Inc.…
Dollar, Crude Oil Up; Gold Down at Mid-day
The huge increase in new jobs reported this morning, coupled with the drop in the unemployment rate to 8.3% has pushed US equities by more than 1% this morning. The news feeds renewed hopes…
Mid-day Movers (THLD, OPTT, ZNGA, MNOV, MNKD)
Among the major movers at around noon today are Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD), Ocean Power Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: OPTT), Zynga Inc. (NASDAQ: ZNGA), MediciNova Inc. (NASDAQ: MNOV), and Mannkind Corp. (NASDAQ: MNKD). Shares…
SolarCity Preparing Third Quarter IPO (FSLR, STP, YGE, RSOL, WEST, KYO, BAC, GOOG)
Solar systems installer SolarCity is reported to be preparing an IPO in the third quarter of this year. A Reuters report notes that Goldman Sachs will be the lead underwriter for the stock offering,…
Morning Movers (THLD, ZOLT, GNW, STRI, IN)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Threshold Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: THLD), Zoltek Cos. Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT), Genworth…
Martha Stewart Cites Loophole in Macy’s Contract (MSO, M, JCP)
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia (NYSE: MSO) was sued last week by Macy’s Inc. (NYSE: M) for breach of contract following the homemaking company’s announcement of a new deal to sell Martha Stewart branded products…
Fannie, Freddie on the Chopping Block
US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said this morning that the Obama administration intends to proceed with plans “for winding down the GSEs” (government-sponsored entities) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. For once, the administration and…
US Charges Swiss Bank with Enabling Tax Fraud (UBS)
The US Department of Justice has indicted Switzerland’s oldest private bank, Wegelin founded in 1741, with fraud and conspiracy for enabling US customers to hide at least $1.2 billion in deposits from US taxation.…
No Apple iTV in Q2 — Digitimes (AAPL)
A report in Taiwan’s Digitimes pours cold water on the expectation that Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) will launch its internet television product, iTV, in the second quarter of this year. The paper claims that…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Slightly Higher
US index futures are up modestly this morning as investors wait to hear the latest numbers on US non-farm payrolls and the January headline unemployment number. Estimates for new jobs are relatively low, ranging…
SEC Plays Softball with Big Banks — NY Times (JPM, GS, BAC, C, DELL, GE, URI)
Over the last ten years, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has offered nearly 350 waivers to the country’s biggest banks in cases when the banks might be punished for fraud, according to…
US Start-ups Lagging
Ahead of today’s non-farm payroll report, analysts expect a modest gain of 125,000 jobs, and an slightly higher headline unemployment rate of 8.6%. Part of the reason for the weaker numbers is that many…
Google Gets Tough with Android Hackers (GOOG, AAPL)
Since sometime last year, Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) has been automatically scanning apps at its Android Market for malicious software that could compromise personal information for users of its Android operating system software. Google,…
Farmers, Ranchers to Get Protection Against Misuse of Hedging Funds (CME)
The CME Group Inc. (NYSE: CME) has initiated a $100 million fund to provide protection to family farmers and ranchers who hedge their businesses on the company’s futures markets: In light of the recent…