According to Reuters, Japan markets were higher on a broad government bailout plan. Reuters reports that Merrill Lynch (MER) will cut 500 trading jobs. Reuters writes that low retailer prices and competition are cutting…
Markets in Asia were mixed. The Nikkei rose 3.3% to 9,306. Canon moved up as the yen weakened. The Hang Seng fell .8% to 15,206. China Mobile (CHL) dropped on poor earnings. The Shanghai…
Tuesday is going to look like it is a true earnings bogey for the entire economy with major industrials and other companies which are representative of the strength or weakness of the entire economy. …
Mobile chip giant Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) has posted earnings of $0.43 per share and $3.39 billion in revenue. First Call had estimates of $0.44 on $3.40 billion in revenue. Back on September 9…
Flash-memory giant SanDisk Corp. (NASDAQ: SNDK) has just posted earnings of -$0.59 and $821.5 million in revenue. First Call had estimates at -$0.28 EPS on $778.1 million in revenues. The company did notes that…
Expectations for American Express’s (AXP) earnings were less than modest. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast earnings of $.59 for the quarter. Friedman, Billings, Ramsey reported that American Express reported default rates…
Brunswick (BC) Moody’s downgrades to junk because of falling consumer spending and company’s financials. Drops to $3.80 from 52-week high of $22.85. Coeur d’Alene Mines (CDE) Sells new convertible note. Metals stocks not having…
After the close of trading, we should get earnings out of mobile chip giant Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN). First Call has estimates at $0.44 EPS on $3.40 billion in revenues. As you will see,…
The UN may not be particularly good at mediating international disputes but it is one hell of a statistics bureau. International Labour Organisation, part of the worldwide fellowship body, said that the global recession…
Ben Bernanke is set to testify on in Washington D.C. before the U.S. House Budget Committee on the economic recovery. If you look at the prepared comments, it certainly doesn’t sound like the ecoonomy…
It may be a sign of the cruel mentality of the American stock trader, but generally news of layoffs drives the share price of the company making the cuts upward. Word came out this…
There was an interesting warning on 2008 earnings this morning, although it seems almost counter-intuitive. Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL) is almost back at 52-week lows this morning. The company is citing weak financial…
There are many new initiatives for "taking stakes" and "financing packages" this morning. Most of these seem to be coming from actual competitors rather than from our government, although that isn’t the case in…
Vonage Holdings Corp. (NYSE: VG) has signed a definitive agreements to refinance its convertible debt, a move which will help to secure its future. The financing package consists of a $130.3 million senior secured…
We have seen earnings this morning from toy giants Hasbro Inc. (NYSE: HAS) and Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT). One is a relative winner, while one is not.
Syneron Medical Ltd. (ELOS) is generally a thin volume stock, although it may see more active trading as the opening bell gets closer. Shares are indicated lower on an earnings warning. It sees $0.11…
These are some of the top analyst pre-market upgrades we are seeing early this Monday morning: Anadarko Petroleum (APC) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer. Apache (APA) Raised to Outperform at Oppenheimer. Applied Material (AMAT)…
These are some of the top analyst downgrades we are seeing early this Monday morning: Central Garden & Pet (CENT) Cut to Underperform at Jefferies. Helen of Troy (HELE) Cut to Hold at Jefferies.…
There is an arcane rule in the Federal Reserve charter that allows it to provide funding to organizations outside the banking system. It is buried under dust and cob webs somewhere in the basement…
How often do companies get to defy the rules of GAAP? The answer is almost never. Accountants defend it like they would the Holy Grail, if they could find it. GAAP is, to a…