ThinkstockIn its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey, home lending giant Freddie Mac reported a record-low lending rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage of 2.56%. The firm also noted drops in three other mortgage lending…
thinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today reported that the U.S. natural gas stocks increased by 43 billion cubic feet last week, substantially above the expected range for a build of about 28 billion…
ThinkstockING U.S. Inc. (NYSE: VOYA) held its initial public offering (IPO) today and the U.S. insurance arm of Dutch-based ING Groep N.V. (NYSE: ING) raised $1.27 billion at an IPO price of $19.50 a…
ThinkstockAfter more than a year of twists and turns and negotiations, the $75 billion merger between Glencore International and Xstrata became official today. The new company will also get a new name later today,…
ThinkstockGoldcorp Inc. (NYSE: GG) reported first-quarter 2013 earnings before markets opened this morning. The gold miner posted adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.31 on revenues of $1.02 billion. In the same period a…
courtesy of General MotorsGeneral Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The automaker posted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.67 on revenues of $36.9 billion. In the…
ThinkstockAlpha Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: ANR) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The coal miner posted an adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss for the quarter of $0.47 on revenues…
thinkstockHere are the five biggest gaining stocks in today’s U.S. markets at closing: Neutral Tandem Inc. (NASDAQ: IQNT) is up 52% at $4.53. James River Coal Co. (NASDAQ: JRCC) is up 29.1% at $2.13.…
ThinkstockLas Vegas Sands Corp. (NYSE: LVS) reported first-quarter 2013 results after markets closed today. For the quarter, the casino and resort operator posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.71 on revenues of…
U.S. equity markets opened lower this morning following a weaker-than-expected employment report from ADP and concern that Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics will follow the ADP lead (more coverage here). In…
courtesy of Apple Inc.Tablet makers shipped 49.2 million tablet devices in the first quarter of 2013, led by rising demand for the smaller screen devices like the iPad mini from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL).…
courtesy of Google Inc.Digital media research firm comScore Inc. (NASDAQ: SCOR) has released its ranking of the top 50 U.S. web properties for March and the list is topped, once again, by the usual…
thinkstockToday’s report on U.S. crude oil and gasoline inventories underscores a story we have been trying to tell for several weeks now: crude oil and gasoline prices have nowhere to go but down. U.S.…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) released its weekly petroleum status report this morning. The big news is U.S. crude oil inventories are at their highest level since the EIA began keeping weekly data…
ThinkstockThe U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning that construction spending in March dropped 1.7% to an estimated seasonally adjusted annual rate of $856.7 billion from a downwardly revised estimate of $871.2 billion in February.…
ThinkstockApril U.S. sales numbers are due out from most U.S. and foreign automakers today, and it looks like it was another good month for car sales. Chrysler Group, which is controlled by Italy’s Fiat…
ThinkstockPhillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The oil refiner posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $2.19. In the same period a year ago, the company…
ThinkstockComcast Corp. (NASDAQ: CMCSA) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The cable operator posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.54 on revenues of $15.31 billion. In the same period…
ThinkstockChesapeake Energy Corp. (NYSE: CHK) reported first-quarter 2013 earnings before markets opened this morning. The oil and gas exploration and production company posted adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.30 on revenues of…
The Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA) released its weekly report on mortgage applications this morning, noting an increase of 1.8% in the group’s seasonally adjusted composite index following a rise of 0.2% for the previous…