thinkstockPackaged food and dairy products maker WhiteWave Foods Inc. (NYSE: WWAV) announced preliminary data for its second quarter after markets closed today. The company said it would report net sales of $616 million and…
July 15, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning but the report on U.S. retail sales pushed shares into the red early. A later report on business inventories helped pull stocks out of a…
ThinkstockWe have been on the price of ethanol credits since they rocketed to $1.00 earlier this year. Today, the price soared to $1.25, an increase of more than 2,000% since the beginning of the…
ThinkstockIn a move first discussed in March, Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) has filed an amended Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the initial public offering (IPO) of 15 million…
ThinkstockThe European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) was established to provide a financial backstop to potential sovereign debt default among eurozone nations. Backed by guarantees, primarily from Germany and France, the debt was rated ‘AAA’…
ThinkstockWhen China sneezes, the world economy gets a cold. Likewise, when the world’s most populous country feels better, at least some parts of the global economy get well. Today, it is solar panel makers’…
AppleThe disagreements between smartphone leaders Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) and Samsung Electronics apparently do not extend to the chip fabrication part of the business. A report in The Korean Economic Daily this morning claims…
ThinkstockAccording to today’s report from the U.S. Census Bureau, seasonally adjusted retail and food services sales in June rose 0.4% month-over-month and 5.7% compared with June 2012. Economists had expected an increase of 0.8%.…
ThinkstockCitigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) reported fiscal second quarter results before markets opened this morning. The bank reported adjusted diluted quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.254 on revenues of $20.5 billion. In the same…
ThinkstockFlash memory maker OCZ Technology Group Inc. (NASDAQ: OCZ) this morning announced that its first fiscal quarter revenues will fall far short of the consensus estimate. The company now expects revenues for the quarter…
Wikimedia CommonsLast Friday’s announcement that AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) would acquire Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) for a total of $1.2 billion in cash ($15 a share) is not a done deal yet,…
July 12, 2013: U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning as European industrial production was below expectations and U.S. PPI was a bit higher than expected. The other major U.S. data point out…
Courtesy Toyota Motor Corp.The 2013 RAV4 small SUV from Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) managed to achieve just a ‘poor’ rating on a new front crash test. The small overlap front crash test simulates a…
ThinkstockIn its latest assault on sovereign debt ratings, Fitch Ratings has downgraded France’s default rating from ‘AAA’ to ‘AA+’ with a Stable outlook. Fitch is jointly owned (50% each) by Hearst Corporation and FIMALAC…
ThinkstockIn the second such action so far this year, Costco Wholesale Corp. (NASDAQ: COST) is being sued by a luxury goods maker for selling or promoting luxury items that the warehouse store doesn’t sell.…
ThinkstockThe continuing drought over much of the western half of the United States spread modestly in the past week, now covering about 45% of lower 48 states. The drought covered 44% of the continental…
Courtesy United Parcel Service Inc.United Parcel Service Inc. (NYSE: UPS) cut its second-quarter and full-year earnings guidance this morning, citing overcapacity in the air freight market, a slowing U.S. economy and customers who are…
ThinkstockThe shrinking differential between the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent crude gets the lion’s share of the blame for last night’s announcement from Valero Corp. (NYSE: VLO) that net income for…
ThinkstockFabless semiconductor firm Spreadtrum Communications Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRD) and China’s Tsinghua Unigroup announced today that the two companies have agreed to a merger under which Tsinghua will pay $31 per American depositary share (ADS)…
ThinkstockHealth information website WebMD Health Corp. (NASDAQ: WBMD) this morning raised its second-quarter estimates for revenues and profits, citing higher demand for its advertising and sponsorships, especially from biopharmaceutical companies. The company also boosted…