Congress Appears to Agree on Spending Bill
Maybe it’s the holiday spirit, but the US Congress appears to have agreed on a spending bill to keep the US government running until the end of next year, according to CNBC. The bill…
All Work
Paul Ausick
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (INTC, BA, AZO, DD, EPB, LEN, TOL, BRN, DMND, VMC, OXGN, HBP, PNCL, ROSE, NBG)
US equity markets opened sharply lower this morning and continued falling before levelling off at around 200 pts down on the DJIA. The downturn followed closer examination of the European Union’s agreement last week…
CFOs Doubtful on Economic Growth in 2012 (BAC)
Just 38% of corporate executives expect the US economy to expand in 2012. That’s down from 56% in 2010 who expected expansion this year and 66% in 2009 who expected growth in 2010. The…
Dish Network Interested in T-Mobile Should Deal with AT&T Fail (DISH, T, S)
The CEO of Dish Network Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) would be interested in some kind of unspecified partner arrangement with T-Mobile USA if the proposed $39 billion deal with AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) fails to…
Fitch Ratings Does Not View European Debt Crisis Solved
Last week’s agreement among the members of the European Union and, more especially, among the 17 Eurozone countries gave markets a boost, but there’s less to the agreements than meets the eye. Fitch Ratings…
OPEC Crude Production at 30.6 Million Barrels/Day in November
The last time OPEC members set an official production quota was in December 2008. The cartel’s agreed upon production, not including Iraq, was pegged at 24.84 million barrels/day, divided among the 11 other members.…
Martin Marietta Launches Hostile Bid for Competitor Vulcan (MLM, VMC)
Construction materials company Martin Marietta Materials Inc. (NYSE: MLM) has launched a hostile takeover bid for larger rival Vulcan Materials Corp. (NYSE: VMC). The deal would be a tax-free exchange of 0.50 shares of…
Europe Stalls Google, Motorola Merger (GOOG, MMI, AAPL)
The proposed $12.5 billion acquisition by Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) of Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (NYSE: MMI) has been wending its way slowly through the European regulatory mechanism. Progress has now stopped, however, according…
Morning Movers (OXGN, DMND, INTC, SKY, NEXS)
There are several stocks trading more heavily than usual this morning, and also experiencing large gains or drops in share prices. These include Oxigene, Inc. (NASDAQ: OXGN), Diamond Foods Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND), Intel Corp.…
Response to Climate Change Coming from Technology, Not Talks
Current United Nations negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires at the end of 2012, have not yielded much in the way of results thus far. Nor are they expected to.…
Are Crude Oil Price Declines Here to Stay?
The average price for a barrel of WTI crude oil has remained below $100/barrel for the past month, and it is dropping again this morning to near $98/barrel. Pump prices for regular gasoline in…
US EPA Links Fracking to Groundwater Contamination (ECA, CHK, XOM, EOG)
ThinkstockThe US Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday released a draft of its three-year study of possible groundwater contamination caused by hydraulic fracturing near Pavillion, Wyoming. The draft results are not good news for the…
Decision Looms in Apple, HTC Patent Dispute (AAPL, GOOG, MMI)
The US International Trade Commission is expected to issue a ruling on Wednesday in a patent dispute between Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Taiwan’s HTC Corp., a smartphone maker that uses the Android operating…
Morning Wire — Futures Sag on Europe Concerns
US stock futures are sinking this morning as traders wonder if the Eurozone summit agreement that juiced markets last Friday is in fact the real deal. Moody’s says it plans to re-evaluate the sovereign…
Petrochemical Prices Hit Yearly Low in November (DD)
Crude oil and gasoline aren’t the only petroleum products that are seeing price drops. The market for petrochemicals such as benzene, xylene, and styrene have all fallen by about 25% since the Spring, mostly…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell (C, SHLD, SIRI, YHOO, MCP, FGP, TITN, OPTT, KMGB, DMND, BCSI, FLOW, PCYC, CTIC, GE)
Equity markets opened higher this morning as an agreement on dealing with the Eurozone’s debt crisis boosted markets. Shares climbed during the day, recovering some of the losses in yesterday’s bear market. The consumer…
Chocolate Should Get Cheaper (ADM)
Cocoa prices spiked earlier this year when Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer, banned exports in a political dispute. The bean reached a high of more than $3,600/metric ton in February. Since then, the…
Nook Tablet Orders Increasing (BKS, AAPL, AMZN)
A burst of interest in the Nook tablets from Barnes & Noble Inc. (NYSE: BKS) is causing the company to increase orders on its manufacturers. That’s good news for B&N, but even with the…
Value Choices in the Auto Industry (GM, F, HTZ, CAR, ZIP, AN, KMX, CRMT, ORLY, AZO, PBY)
The month of December was the leading month for new car sales in the US in 2010. It was the second leading month in 2009, and the pattern could continue this year as pent-up…
Climate Change Could Be Faster, Bigger
Most climate change scientists believe that the earth must avoid raising its average temperature by about 2 degrees Celsius if we are to avoid the catastrophic effects of global warming. That target may be…