Regional and Multinational Bank Stocks for 2014
ThinkstockIn our previous looks at big bank stocks going into the new year, the two that appear to be best positioned for growth were Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) and JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Retail Stocks to Buy (or Not) in 2014
ThinkstockBuying a retail stock is often a pretty risky venture and it won’t get any less risky in 2014. The stocks can bounce around a lot, especially for those stores that report monthly same-store…
Morgan Stanley Dumps Global Oil Trading on Russia’s Rosneft
Courtesy RosneftGlobal mega-bank Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) said late Friday that it has agreed to sell its global oil trading business to Russia’s state-controlled oil giant OAO Rosneft for an undisclosed sum. The deal…
Regulatory Costs Driving Bank Earnings Lower, QE Impact Too
While the Volcker Rule did not hit banks as hard as many expected, that is not to say that the big banks are off the hook in 2014. Sterne Agee has lowered its earnings…
The 4 Stocks That Moved the Market on Friday
thinkstockDecember 20, 2013: Markets opened higher on Friday following the announcement that third-quarter GDP was up by 4.1%, much better than the previous reading of an increase of 3.6%. The tech sector traded ahead…
U.S. Spending for Gaming Shrinks, But Number of Payers Grows
MicrosoftU.S. spending on digital games is declining. In 2012, the total spend was about $21.9 billion compared with an expected total of $20.5 billion in 2013. But the news isn’t all bad. In fact,…
U.S. GDP: Boom!
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau reported Friday morning that its third estimate of third-quarter U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) rose at an annual rate of 4.1%. That was sharply higher than the 2.5% growth rate…
Boeing Adds Orders From FedEx, Cathay Pacific
Courtesy Boeing Co.As of December 17, The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) had booked a net total for 1,074 new planes in 2013, compared with a net total of 1,314 new orders reported by archrival…
Credit Rating Downgrade Puts EU on Par With U.S.
Standard & Poor's downgrade of European Union long-term debt to AA+ puts it on par with the rating of the long-term debt of the United States.
BlackBerry Smartphones Now Foxconn’s Problem
Courtesy of BlackBerryBlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) reported fiscal third-quarter results before markets opened on Friday. The smartphone maker reported an adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.67 on revenues of $1.19 billion.…
The 4 Stocks That Moved the Market on Thursday
thinkstockDecember 19, 2013: Markets opened lower on Thursday, probably a result of profit taking after all the buying that followed Wednesday’s FOMC announcement. The three major indexes closed mixed. The DJIA closed up 0.07%,…
Safety First? Apparently Not at U.S. Automakers
ThinkstockThe Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) released its best-rated safety picks for 2014 model year cars on Thursday and the big news is that the Camry from Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) is…
2014 New Car Sales Forecast at 16.4 Million: Kelley Blue Book
General Motors Co.It’s no secret that new car sales in the U.S. have been very strong this year. Automakers are on track to sell more than 15.6 million cars in 2013 and to finish…
More Trouble for McDonald’s, This Time in Japan
courtesy of McDonald'sIn a statement in Tokyo after markets closed on Thursday, the Japanese arm of McDonald’s Corp. (NYSE: MCD) issued a statement saying that net income would be about $48 million for the…
November Sales of Existing Homes Fall Below Last Year’s Total
ThinkstockThe National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports that the seasonally adjusted annual rate of existing home sales in November fell 4.3% to 4.9 million from a total of 5.12 million in October. Sales are…
Caterpillar Sales Slide Simply Awful
ThinkstockWe can’t say we weren’t warned. When Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT) reported third-quarter results in October, the company slashed its guidance for the second time this year. When the company released its November retail…
Darden Restaurants Wants to Shed Red Lobster
Darden Restaurants Inc. (NYSE: DRI) said Thursday morning that it plans to hold a tax-free spin-off of its Red Lobster restaurants and that it would consider an outright sale of the chain.
Facebook Offers Shares, Trashes Stock
Shares of Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) traded down in the premarket Thursday morning, following the announcement that the company will have a follow-on stock offering of 70 million shares.
Potash Prices Tumble, Demand to Rise
Uralkali, the Russian half of the former Belarusian Potash cartel, said that its export price for potash had fallen 27% to $272 per metric ton (tonne) in the third quarter.
Will 3D Systems’ Growth Strategy Be a Winner?
3D Systems Inc. (NYSE: DDD) has acquired a team of engineers and other assets from Xerox Corp. (NYSE: XRX), its third acquisition this month as it focuses on technology and growth over profits.