U.S. Drought Watch
ThinkstockDrought conditions in the U.S. have improved somewhat from last year, but much of the Midwest, from the Dakotas to Texas, continues to suffer from moderate to exceptional drought. Conditions improved a bit last…
All Work
Paul Ausick
Shops Open, J.C. Penney Stock Climbs
Courtesy J.C. Penney Co. Inc.; photo by Chris RupertToday marks the opening of the long-awaited in-store shops at J.C. Penney Co. Inc. (NYSE: JCP) stores. About 500 of the company’s 1,100 stores will unveil…
Amazon CEO Ponies Up
By Steve Jurvetson CC-BY-2.0, via Wikimedia CommonsIt has been quite a week for news website Business Insider. Co-founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Henry Blodget was the subject of a profile in The New Yorker and…
Bloodbath for Network Stocks (FFIV, JNPR, CSCO, RVBD, FTNT, CIEN, ALU)
ThinkstockAfter markets closed last night, F5 Networks Inc. (NASDAQ: FFIV) cut its estimates for earnings per share and revenues, and the stock took a beating. Shares are down about 19% in early trading today,…
Exide: Ready, Fire, Aim
ThinkstockShares of Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE) were the big losers yesterday. The stock price fell about 48%, and trading in the shares was halted for five minutes in the middle of the afternoon. The…
Computing Going Mobile; Microsoft Going Nowhere
courtesy of MicrosoftThe worldwide market for combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones is expected to total 2.4 billion units in 2013, rising to nearly 3 billion units by 2017. It is probably…
Market Close: Big Winners & Losers for April 4, 2013 (MCOX, CMGE, PRMW, STSI, BBY, XIDE, NVGN, ETAK, MVIS, CHLN)
thinkstockHere are today’s five biggest gaining stocks at closing: Mecox Lane Ltd. (NASDAQ: MCOX) is up 23.8% at $4.94. China Mobile Games and Entertainment Group Ltd. (NASDAQ: CMGE) is up 18.1% at $9.45. Primo…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 4, 2013: Markets Bounce Around to Positive Close (AAPL, CTL, LULU, LCC, ALU, DDC, GBX, RPM, TDC, BBY, FB, XIDE)
U.S. equity markets opened slightly higher this morning and spent most of the day bouncing around above the break-even line. In Asia, the Bank of Japan will double its monthly asset purchases to nearly…
Blast-Off for Facebook Phone
courtesy of Facebook Inc.Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) and its partners HTC Corp. and AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) today launched the eagerly-anticipated Facebook Phone. The device will be manufactured by HTC and sold for $99.99…
Apple Crushing Samsung in U.S. Mobile Market
courtesy of Apple Inc.For the three months ending in February 2013, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) widened its lead over Samsung Electronics as the top smartphone OEM in the U.S. by nearly 4%. Apple now…
Market for Hybrid, Plug-In Cars Continues to Grow
courtesy Ford Motor Co.Hybrid car sales totaled 46,327 vehicles in March, with Toyota Motor Corp. (NYSE: TM) grabbing just over 68% of the total, with sales of more than 31,512 Toyota and Lexus models…
Another Big Problem for Harvest Natural Resources
ThinkstockOil and gas producer Harvest Natural Resources Inc. (NYSE: HNR) said this morning that proved and probable reserves for its joint venture in Venezuela, Petrodelta, declined in 2012. The news comes just a few…
Natural Gas Supply Slides as Cold Weather Gives Way
thinkstockThe U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) today reported the U.S. natural gas stocks declined by 94 billion cubic feet last week, slightly more than the decline of 91 billion cubic feet anticipated by analysts.…
3D Printing for the Masses, but Can It Do Bobbleheads?
Courtesy of 3D Systems Inc.3D Systems Inc. (NYSE: DDD) today announced a new service that allows customers to submit a headshot and have the company produce a 5.5-inch, 3D figurine with their head on…
Americans Not Convinced Housing Crisis Is Over
ThinkstockMore than half of Americans do not believe the country’s housing crisis is over, according to new research sponsored by the MacArthur Foundation. Nearly 20% believe that the worst is yet to come. These…
Boeing, Airbus Race for New Orders
courtesy Boeing Co.In 2012, Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA) delivered 585 new airplanes to customers and took orders to build another 1,200. European competitor Airbus booked just 914 new orders in 2012. But the tables…
Greenbrier Tries to Make Shareholders Forget Icahn Offer
ThinkstockActivist investor Carl Icahn made a play for railcar maker Greenbrier Companies Inc. (NYSE: GBX) last December, but quickly reversed himself after the firm rejected his $22 per share offer. Greenbrier’s shares have risen…
Market Close: Big Winners & Losers for April 3, 2013 (MVIS, NVGN, CHLN, NIHD, UNXL, MSPD, BOSC, USMD, DRAM, IBCP)
thinkstockHere are today’s five biggest gaining stocks at closing: Microvision Inc. (NASDAQ: MVIS) is up 58.1% at $2.53. Novogen Ltd. (NASDAQ: NVGN) is up 40.2% at $6.05. China Housing & Land Development Inc. (NASDAQ:…
24/7 Wall St. Closing Bell — April 3, 2013: Markets Skid on Jobs and Oil Reports (CBST, CRL, GFI, NEE, CAT, TISI, CAG, MON, SCHN, DDC, GBX, RPM, ZNGA, BAC, FB)
U.S. equity markets opened very slightly higher this morning but it was all downhill from there. The U.S. jobs report from ADP came in weaker than expected and cast a shadow of Friday’s report…
Airlines Hit by Federal Budget Cuts
ThinkstockUS Airways Group Inc. (NYSE: LCC) reported today that March traffic rose 5.1% year-over-year as measured by revenue passenger miles. Available seat miles rose by 3.2% over March 2012, and load factor came in…