Homebuilder Beats, Cautiously Optimistic (DHI)
Homebuilder DR Horton Inc. (NYSE: DHI) posted EPS of $0.09 this morning, beating the consensus estimate of $0.04 and smashing an EPS loss of -$0.06 in the same period last year. The company’s results…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Research in Motion Has At Least One Believer (RIMM)
Prem Watsa, CEO of Canada’s Fairfax Financial Holdings Ltd., is the newest member of the board of directors for BlackBerry smartphone maker Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM). To demonstrate his faith in the…
J.C. Penney, Netflix Calm Down (JCP, NFLX)
Shares of J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) jumped more than 15% yesterday while shares of Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) soared more than 22%. Today’s gains are far more modest, about 0.2% for both…
Carnival Offers Payment to Passengers of Costa Concordia (CCL)
Cruise line operator Carnival Corp. (NYSE: CCL) has offered a payment of $14,460 to uninjured passengers of the wrecked Costa Concordia cruise ship. The number of passengers receiving the offer is around 3,200. The…
Morning Movers (INFI, RVBD, SOA, INFA, F)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ: INFI), Riverbed Technology Inc. (NASDAQ: RVBD), Solutia…
Marlboro Country Getting Smaller (MO)
Altria Group Inc. (NYSE: MO), makers of Marlboro cigarettes and many other branded tobacco products, reported fourth quarter earnings this morning. Adjusted EPS came in at $0.50, a penny better than estimates. Revenue totaled…
Marvell Lowers 4Q Revenue Estimate (MRVL)
Chip maker Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: MRVL) lowered its revenue estimate for the fourth quarter this morning from $775-$825 million to $735-$745 million. The company’s CEO explained the projected decline: The supply of…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Slightly Higher
US index futures are slightly higher this morning while European and Asian markets are mixed. The US GDP report is due out this morning, and expectations are calling for growth of 3%. There is…
Banks Dumped Eurozone Debt In Third Quarter
The latest report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) shows that international banks cut lending to Italian, Spanish, and French banks, while loading up on German, Japanese, and US debt. According to the…
Wellpoint to Focus on Wellness (WLP, AET, HUM, CI)
Health insurer Wellpoint Inc. (NYSE: WLP) is changing its fee schedule for primary care physicians. Like other insurers Aetna Inc. (NYSE: AET), Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), and Cigna Inc. (NYSE: CI), Wellpoint’s share price…
Showdown at Oshkosh Today (OSK)
At today’s annual meeting for shareholders of truck maker Oshkosh Corp. (NYSE: OSK), investor Carl Icahn will get an up-or-down vote on his slate of six candidates for the company’s board of directors. Icahn…
Transocean Gets Favorable Ruling in Gulf Disaster (RIG, BP)
A federal judge in New Orleans has ruled that Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) is indemnified from paying compensatory damages related to the explosion and sinking of its Deepwater Horizon platform that killed 11 workers…
Brent Crude Rising on Expectations of US GDP Report
The price of Brent crude oil is rising this morning as traders await the US fourth quarter GDP report from the Department of Commerce. Economists are expecting US GDP to post a 3% gain…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (GD, VALE, GMCR, GLW, CHK, ARG, ACAT, T, BMY, CAT, CY, LMT, MKC, MWW, POT, RTN, VIST, RNWK, MNTA, NFLX, EFSC)
All three major US indexes opened higher this morning, but enthusiasm tapered off quickly and steadily, if not sharply. A drop in the number of new home sales and a smaller-than-expected rise in the…
Greece Funding Needs May Be Greater Than Believed
The discussions over a deal to cut Greek debt by €100 billion and reduce the country’s debt level to 120% of GDP by 2020 are currently stalled on the interest rate private bondholders will…
BofA Limits Cash Bonuses (BAC, MS, CS)
Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) is reducing the amount of cash it pays out in bonuses to employees. According to Bloomberg News, employees are being told of the new bonus structure today. BofA…
Natural Gas Inventories Fall, Prices Rise (CHK)
The US Energy Information Administration today reported the US natural gas stocks fell by a total of 192 billion cubic feet in the past week, somewhat more than the drawdown of 182 billion cubic…
Super Bowl Tickets Available – For a (Steep) Price
Online ticket seller stubhub.com claims to have 3,187 Super Bowl tickets available for next week’s big game in Indianapolis. The lowest priced ticket available goes for $2,460 and is in Row 20 of Section…
Best-Selling Car in China? A Buick! (GM)
Chinese consumers bought 18.5 million automobiles in 2011, and the top pick was a Buick Excelle made by General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM). Some 254,000 of the Excelle were sold last year in China,…
UAE Says It Can Export Oil if Iran Closes Strait of Hormuz
Even though Iran hasn’t threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz for at least a few days now, at least one Middle East oil exporter is working on contingency plans. A Dubai official has…