Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Lower
US index futures are lower this morning following a statement by the head of Fitch Ratings’ sovereign debt group. He warned that “time is running out” for the European Central Bank to conclude a…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Europe’s Debt Crisis Pummelling the Euro
The euro briefly dropped below $1.27 this morning as Fitch Ratings has warned that Greece “still has lots of potential to plunge Europe into crisis” and that “time is running out” according to a…
Orange Juice Prices Spike (KO, PEP)
Cold weather in Florida and the discovery of an unapproved fungicide in imports from Brazil have sent the price of orange juice up more than 25% in the past few days. The Coca-Cola Co.…
New Wind Farms Get $1 Billion Boost from BP, Sempra (BP, SRE, GE)
Units of two of the country’s largest energy companies, BP plc (NYSE: BP) and Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE) have announced a joint investment of more than $1 billion in two new wind farms in…
Urban Outfitters Loses CEO (URBN)
Clothing retailer Urban Outfitters Inc. (NASDAQ: URBN) announced after markets closed yesterday that CEO Glen Senk has resigned “to pursue another opportunity.” The announcement indicated that Senk quit a day earlier. The company named…
North Dakota Oil Production Tops 500,000 Barrels/Day (EOG, CLR)
The state of North Dakota said that crude oil production from the state’s oil fields totaled 510,000 barrels/day during November. That is the highest daily production yet recorded in the state and equals that…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (INTC, NFLX, SBUX, DIS, M, AA, ELX, BSDM, SNX, LEN, SVU, WBMD, GNOM, IDIX, TIF, LIZ)
US equities opened strongly this morning and managed to maintain solid gains throughout the day. The in-line earnings report last night from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) and higher commodity prices — based on a…
Orange Juice Futures Skyrocket on Pesticide Fears, Cold Weather
Orange juice futures are up more than 17% in the past couple of days as a result of continuing cold weather in Florida and on reports that a fungicide unapproved for use in the…
Mid-day Movers (CRUS, ELX, PWRD, IPGP)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Cirrus Logic Inc. (NASDAQ: CRUS), Emulex Corp. (NYSE: ELX), Perfect World…
Propane Subsidy As Jobs Creator… At Whopping Costs (XOM, CHK, EPD, SPH, APU, FGP)
In May 2011, a propane industry association, the National Propane Gas Association, cheered the introduction of a bill introduced in the US House that would have extended subsidy payments to propane industry in an…
T-Mobile to Stay Independent (DTEGY, T, VZ, VOD, S, AAPL)
The T-Mobile USA unit of Deutsche Telekom AG (OTC: DTEGY) doesn’t have a second offer pending now that the $39 billion deal with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) has been killed. Verizon Wireless, a joint…
S&P 500 at Five-month Peak (AA, CAT, BAC)
The S&P 500 put up a five-month intra-day high of 1,294.45 shortly before noon ET today. The index got a boost this morning from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) which rose about 3.5% at the…
Greek Debt Swap Details Still Elusive
Two months ago the European Union, the IMF, and the government of Greece agreed to a deal that would shave about euro100 billion from Greece’s euro205 billion sovereign debt and provide the troubled country…
US November Job Openings Basically Flat
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported this morning that the number of US job openings at the end of November totaled 3.16 million, down slightly from the 3.22 million jobs available at…
Liz Claiborne Cuts Estimates, Shares Hammered (LIZ, DISCA)
Liz Claiborne Inc. (NYSE: LIZ) today revised 2012 revenue estimates downward from $130-$150 million to $125-$140 million. The company also announced that its CFO is resigning at the end of March to become CFO…
Soros, Icahn Take a Beating on WebMD Shares (WBMD)
With shares of WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMDF) getting beaten up today, there are a couple of big-time investors sharing in the pain. George Soros recently upped his stake in the company to 6.14%…
IRS Reopens Overseas Disclosure Program, While Congress Considers Business Profit Repatriation
The US Internal Revenue Service is reopening its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Progam (OVDP) in an effort to collect income taxes from US taxpayers who have parked their funds in overseas banks. This is the…
WebMD Terminates CEO, Sale Discussions (WBMD)
Web-based healthcare company WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) this morning announced that the company’s CEO has resigned and that the CFO would assume the role of interim CEO until a permanent replacement is found.…
Swatch Group Posts Record Sales (SWGAY)
Swiss-based Swatch Group AG (OTC: SWGAY) posted record annual sales this morning of CHF 7,143 billion (about $7.54 billion), nearly 22% higher than sales in 2010 on a constant currency basis. Not adjusted for…
Morning Wire — US Stock-Index Futures Rising
US index futures are up this morning following an earnings report from Alcoa Inc. (NYSE: AA) after US markets closed. The company’s earnings were about as expected, but Alcoa’s CEO projects demand growth of…