ThinkstockMonsanto Co. (NYSE: MON) posted fourth-quarter and full-year fiscal 2013 results before markets opened Wednesday morning. The fertilizer and seed maker reported a fourth-quarter adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.47 on revenue…
Wikimedia CommonsAmerican’s confidence in the U.S. economy posted a five-year high in May of -7 on Gallup’s economic confidence index. Since then, it has been all downhill, to a September reading of -19. That…
ThinkstockThe Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications Wednesday morning, noting a decrease of 0.4% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index, following a rise of 5.5% for the previous…
ThinkstockLED lighting stocks have waxed and waned over the years but the stocks are getting a boost today following a jump in guidance from one maker and a stock upgrade and price target increase…
ThinkstockHome prices rose 12.4% again in August, compared with the same month a year ago, for a 18th consecutive monthly year-over-year gain, according to research firm CoreLogic Inc. (NYSE: CLGX). Home prices rose 0.9%…
ThinkstockAutomakers report September sales throughout the day Tuesday, and we will be following the reports and posting results as they come in. Based on analysts’ estimates, the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate for 2013…
ThinkstockDrugmaker Merck & Co. Inc. (NYSE: MRK) announced Tuesday morning that it will fire another 8,500 employees in an effort to “sharpen” the company’s focus on R&D and returns to shareholders. The 8,500 job…
courtesy of WalgreenWalgreen Co. (NYSE: WAG) posted fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2013 results before markets opened Tuesday morning. The drugstore chain reported adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.73 on revenues of $17.94 billion.…
ThinkstockThe conventional wisdom says that U.S. manufacturing jobs are disappearing. That’s really not arguable. What is arguable is the reason for and the impact of that disappearance on U.S. workers and gross domestic product.…
September 30, 2013: U.S. markets opened lower Monday as hopes were dashed over the weekend to a settlement of a federal budget continuing resolution. An afternoon vote by the Senate to eliminate a delay…
Last Friday at the Texas State Fair, the Chevrolet division of General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) showed off a concept vehicle it calls “Black Ops” based on its popular Silverado pickup truck. The concept:…
ThinkstockSwedish do-it-yourself furniture store IKEA will begin selling home solar panel kits in the U.K. over the next 10 months. The kit will cost about $9,200 and generate 3,360 watts of electricity. The kits,…
ThinkstockToday’s U.S. gasoline pump prices are at their lowest point since the end of January. At a national average of $3.40 a gallon, the price has dropped by $0.19 a gallon since the beginning…
Courtesy of BlackBerryThe $4.7 billion offer from Fairfax Financial Holdings for smartphone maker BlackBerry Ltd. (NASDAQ: BBRY) was viewed almost immediately by investors as too high. The day the offer was made, the stock fell…
ThinkstockLast week saw three Chinese solar stocks rise more than 20%, with about half that gain coming on Friday following an upgrade to Buy from Deutsche Bank on Trina Solar Ltd. (NYSE: TSL) and…
JoeInQueens, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Android operating system from Google Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) claims about 70% of the market in the five large European economies: the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. But sales…
ThinkstockAnglo-Dutch oil supermajor Royal Dutch Shell PLC (NYSE: RDS-A) announced Monday that it will sell its assets in the Eagle Ford shale play in south Texas. The sale follows an announcement in August that…
ThinkstockThe former CEO of mining company Xstrata has a new venture to keep him busy. Mick Davis has brought together his former management team, all of whom had to go job hunting after the…
September 27, 2013: U.S. markets opened lower Friday as the political battle over the federal budget finally caught traders’ attention. Only the Nasdaq Composite touched the break-even line today — and then only briefly.…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its preliminary report on September farm prices on Friday afternoon. The September all-products price index dropped by 4 points (2.1%) to 185 month-over-month, with the crop index…