The United Steelworkers Union has reached a tentative agreement with US refiners that will avoid a strike that could have begun at 12:01 a.m. this morning. Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) led negotiations…
Bookstore owner Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) will no longer carry books published by a division of Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) in the chain’s 700 or so bricks-and-mortar stores. B&N will sell the books…
President Obama is set today to propose a new mortgage refinancing plans for borrowers who are current on their mortgages. The president’s plan would allow mortgage holders to get a lower-interest federally-insured loan even…
Semiconductor manufacturer Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM) reported fourth quarter and full year earnings after markets closed today. The company posted adjusted fourth-quarter EPS of $0.68, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65. Revenue totaled $1.82…
All three major indexes opened higher this morning, but the strength didn’t last as the Chicago PMI number failed to meet expectations and came in lower even than last month’s reading. The lower reading…
Gold prices have risen 11% in January, closing today at $1,738.10/ounce. The yellow metal has been gaining strength as the euro makes a comeback against the dollar and as WTI crude oil prices hang…
At mid-afternoon, we’ve seen some changes among today’s big movers. On the plus side are Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG), Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTI), FriendFinders Network Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN), and Verifone Systems Inc.…
Holders of Greek bonds could be facing a loss of more than 70% of the net present value on their holdings according to the country’s finance minister. The loss would include a writedown of…
The UK market for streaming video is about to get more crowded. Earlier this month, Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) announced that it would offer its streaming video service in the UK and Ireland for…
Ag and construction machinery maker CNH Global N.V. (NYSE: CNH) reported fourth quarter and full-year earnings this morning, beating EPS and revenue estimates for the year and for the quarter. The company’s report focused…
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) doesn’t get much respect for any of its assets except for its ownership stake in Chinese e-commerce site Alibaba. But the company has a stable of patents totalling around 1,100,…
Among the major movers at around noon today are RadioShack Corp. (NYSE: RSH), Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG), Gentex Corp. (NASDAQ: GNTX), Rare Element Resources Ltd. (AMEX: REE), and Clean Diesel Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: CDTI).…
The cost to insure the senior debt of 25 European banks has fallen 57 basis points so far in January. Credit default swaps (CDS) fell six basis points yesterday to 220 basis. Falling rates…
Low prices for US natural gas have attracted another Asian buyer. Korea Gas Corp. has signed a 20-year contract with Cheniere Energy Partners L.P. (AMEX: CQP) to take 3.5 million metric tons of liquefied…
The monthly S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices for the month of November were released this morning, and the results were worse than expected. The annual decline in home prices in the 10- and 20- metropolitan…
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Vringo Inc. (NASDAQ: VRNG), FriendFinders Network Inc. (NASDAQ: FFN), RadioShack Corp.…
Chip designer ARM Holdings plc (NASDAQ: ARMH) posted revenues of $217.4 million for the company’s fourth quarter, handily beating the consensus estimate of $193.4 million. Adjusted net income also soared past expectations, coming in…
The US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released a 5-year comparison of compensation in the public and private sectors that indicates that federal civilian employees as a group earn wages that are 2% higher…
The latest data from Gallup shows that consumers’ confidence in the US economy stayed at an index reading of -27, where it has been for the past three weeks. The reading is significantly higher…
US index futures are higher this morning following developments in Europe that people believe will lead to a sounder euro. Of the 27 members of the European Union all but 2 have approved a…