Independent oil & gas company Hess Corp. (NYSE: HES) has announced a planned capital spending and exploration budget of $6.8 billion for for 2012. The largest chunk of spending, $2.5 billion, goes to unconventional…
US index futures are up this morning after today’s auction of Spanish and Italian bonds was well-received by buyers. Spain sold twice the volume it expected and Italy’s yield fell 30 basis points. The…
In another sign that the recent holiday season may not have been a hit with everyone, high-end home furnishings store Williams-Sonoma Inc. (NYSE: WSM) today cut its fourth-quarter and full-year guidance. Fourth-quarter EPS guidance…
For the first time since last August, shares of American Apparel Inc. (NYSE: AAP) have closed a trading day at $1/share. The clothing retailer has been under SEC scrutiny since May, but the investigation…
About a month ago, Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) was mentioned as a possible buyer for the T-Mobile USA unit of Deutsche Telekon AG (OTC: DTEGY), should the $39 billion deal with AT&T Inc.…
Denmark’s Vestas Wind Systems A/S is the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and its about to get smaller. Last week the company warned on earnings for 2012 and said that it planned to…
Equities opened modestly down this morning and the three major indexes have stayed within a few points of flat all day. The NASDAQ composite has remained in positive territory as the technology sector has…
The US Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today approved implementation of the so-called Volcker Rule, which would prohibit banks from trading securities, derivatives, and some other financial instruments on the banks’ own accounts. The…
The US Food and Drug Administration has halted all imports of orange juice into the US pending final test results on imported juice from Brazil due later this week. If more than a trace…
Shares of Research in Motion Ltd. (NASDAQ: RIMM)have lost about -75% of their value in the past 12 months, but the company is trying to make up some of the loss in the early…
The price of gold is rising again and has today reached a four-week high at $1,648/ounce. Since reaching its peak, the yellow metal has retreated somewhat, trading at around $1,639/ounce currently. The rise is…
The tide of patent expirations that is washing over big pharmaceutical houses is cresting now and investors have begun looking forward to how these companies will deal with some sharp blows to their revenues…
The hostile takeover offer from a division of Icahn Enterprises LP (NYSE: IEP) for Commercial Metals Co. (NYSE: CMC) has been expired at midnight last night with only 23% of shares tendered at the…
The US Energy Information Administration released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. US commercial crude inventories rose by 5 million barrels last week, bringing the total US commercial crude inventory to 334.6 million…
When a group including movie studios and streaming video companies released a new streaming format called UltraViolet last October hardly anyone noticed. That’s likely to change now that Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN) has committed to…
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) announced a recall of 450,000 of older model minivans and SUVs this morning at the Detroit Auto Show. The company is recalling 2001 and 2002 Ford Escape compact SUV,…
Canadian oil & gas company Ivanhoe Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: IVAN) has sold 100% of its stake in a production sharing contract in a Chinese natural gas project. Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) has…
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Delta Apparel Inc. (NYSE: DLA), Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN), Hecla…
Internet radio company Pandora Media Inc. (NYSE: P) has announced 23 agreements with automakers and after-market suppliers to include the company’s radio player in their product offerings. Pandora also claims to have more than…
The maker of Hostess Twinkies, Cupcakes, and Zingers has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the second time in less than eight years. The company last emerged from bankruptcy in 2009. Privately held…