Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Hi Shmoo-
We've made a few changes to Wall Street Breakfast recently, as you've noticed. Our goal is to make WSB both incredibly useful and easy to read, whether on a mobile device or on the website. To this end, we're trying out a format where we include only the links that provide the most value for our readers - in this case, deeper opinion and analysis of the topics at hand.
When a story is an exclusive, we of course provide attribution to the original source. As you noted, this is important for preserving the integrity of the site. In the case of the Social Security story you mentioned, though Bloomberg and other sites carried the news, the original source is actually the government report referenced above, which can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/JWiWEU
Your feedback, and the feedback of all our readers, is crucial to making WSB the fantastic product it is, so please keep the comments coming.
Apollo Global Management (APO) is leading a group that is close to buying El Paso's (EP) oil-exploration business for around $7B, sources say, with a deal announcement possible as soon as today. [View news story]
Kinder Morgan is looking to offload EP's exploration and production business and will use the proceeds of the sale to pay down some of the debt KMI is taking on to fund its El Paso purchase.
MasterCard (MA +1.9%) CEO Ajay Banga tells the Nikkei business daily that the deleveraging cycle in the U.S. is "reaching an end," but warns that until housing and unemployment improve, "you can't say that the consumer is in a better place." (submitted by Holly Thompson) [View news story]
The WSJreports that President Obama plans to nominate Harvard finance professor Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell - a former Bush official and P-E exec - to fill the two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board. [View news story]
Hi Frank-
It's a fair criticism. On the one hand, we do try to limit how often we link to articles behind paywalls. On the other hand, we would be doing Market Currents readers a disservice if we skipped salient stories simply because some sources are behind a paywall, especially when we're talking about such a mainstream source as the WSJ. As a middle ground, we provide the in-text link as a courtesy but generally try to encapsulate the crux of the story in the Market Current itself. That way, those who want to click through for additional information can do so and can handle the paywall as they see fit. For those who don't want to click through or don't have a subscription, the MC should suffice.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Hi WSB Readers:
We're still soliciting feedback about the new WSB format, which has been simplified to make it easier to read on mobile devices. In particular, what are your thoughts about the earnings section at the bottom? Do you prefer the condensed version currently provided, with a link to more details? Or do you prefer that the full earnings list be included in WSB itself, even if the list becomes quite lengthy during earnings season?
Please weigh in on this or any other comments/suggestions you may have.
Merck KGaA (MKGAF.PK) reports a Q2 net EPS loss of €0.40 ($0.58), vs. profit of €0.84 a year earlier. Revenue +16% to €2.56B. For 2011, Merck expects operating profit of about €1B, below guidance given in April, due to one-time adjustments. [View news story]
Thanks for your comment. An earlier version of this post had incorrectly included the ticker for Merck & Co. instead of Merck KGaA. The post has since been fixed.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
So did we! It was a good way to kick off the morning, and Wall Street Breakfast. But we're trying to ensure that WSB is as great a product when read on a mobile phone as it is when read on the site, and unfortunately the cup was crowding out WSB's content.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
The earnings summary, plus earnings from lots of stocks that didn't make the summary, can be found on the Market Currents earnings page (here: seekingalpha.com/curre...).
The link is also included above in WSB, next to "Earnings Results."
Goldman Sachs (GS): Q2 EPS, excluding certain charges, of $2.75. Inclusive of charges, $1.85 vs. consensus of $2.35. Revenue of $7.3B (-18% Y/Y). Shares -2.6% premarket. (PR) [View news story]
Excluding the impact of the $600M U.K. bank payroll tax and a $550M SEC settlement, diluted EPS was $2.75. Including those charges, EPS was $1.85.
The post has been edited to make that distinction clearer. Thanks.
The FCC asks AT&T (T) for more info on its planned merger with T-Mobile USA (DTEGY.PK), including claims on spectrum shortages, coverage overlaps and plans to close facilities. [View news story]
More details:
-AT&T had cited spectrum shortages as the main reason behind its decision to buy T-Mobile USA. The FCC wants to see additional information on the shortages claims, as well as details about under-used capacity, the companies' future plans and what drove certain subscribers to change companies.
-The FCC is also looking for information on AT&T/T-Mobile's potential plans to change the prices or other terms for providing "backhaul" to small carriers.
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism yesterday that AT&T's (T) planned purchase of T-Mobile (DTEGY.PK) would bring consumers the benefits the two companies claim, and worried about the impact on innovation and competition. State regulators are equally concerned. [View news story]
More details:
-AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson testified in front of the House subcommittee on intellectual property, competition and the Internet yesterday, and tried to spin the deal as a way to reach out to under-served parts of the country.
-Lawmakers were blunt about their skepticism but it's unclear whether that will have any practical impact on the deal's future, as the panel has no direct say on whether the deal can go forward.
-Meanwhile, over in California, state regulators said yesterday that they plan to investigate the deal. Louisiana has signaled it will likely launch an investigation as well.
Citigroup (C) files a court claim arguing it's entitled to keep the $1B in collateral it received from Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK) shortly before the I-bank's collapse. Lehman's trustee is trying to recoup the money, saying it was obtained under coercion. [View news story]
More details:
-Citi is relying on the "safe harbor" provisions written into U.S. bankruptcy law, which allow certain financial transactions to be excluded from creditors' asset pool. The aim is to incentivize banks to keep providing key services to clients who face potential insolvency.
-Citi claims Lehman's collapse resulted in $1.26B of costs related to forex clearing, so even after keeping the collateral, Citi is still facing a net loss.
-Earlier this month, JPMorgan made similar "safe harbor" arguments to try to counter an $8.6B claim from Lehman's trustee.
More on Big Lots' (BIG) earnings: Issues downside Q2 EPS guidance of $0.38-0.48 vs. $0.53 consensus. Issues downside FY'11 EPS guidance of $2.75-2.90 vs. $3.03 and $3.05-3.15 prior guidance. (PR) [View news story]
More details from Big Lots' earnings report:
-EPS revisions based on estimated FY'11 comparable store sales of flat to -2%, and operating profit rate in the range of 6.9-7.2%.
-Cash flow guidance revised to $185M from $205M prior guidance.
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
We've made a few changes to Wall Street Breakfast recently, as you've noticed. Our goal is to make WSB both incredibly useful and easy to read, whether on a mobile device or on the website. To this end, we're trying out a format where we include only the links that provide the most value for our readers - in this case, deeper opinion and analysis of the topics at hand.
When a story is an exclusive, we of course provide attribution to the original source. As you noted, this is important for preserving the integrity of the site. In the case of the Social Security story you mentioned, though Bloomberg and other sites carried the news, the original source is actually the government report referenced above, which can be found here: http://1.usa.gov/JWiWEU
Your feedback, and the feedback of all our readers, is crucial to making WSB the fantastic product it is, so please keep the comments coming.
Best,
Rachael
Seeking Alpha Passes One Million Members -- 5 Things You Need To Know [View article]
Apollo Global Management (APO) is leading a group that is close to buying El Paso's (EP) oil-exploration business for around $7B, sources say, with a deal announcement possible as soon as today. [View news story]
MasterCard (MA +1.9%) CEO Ajay Banga tells the Nikkei business daily that the deleveraging cycle in the U.S. is "reaching an end," but warns that until housing and unemployment improve, "you can't say that the consumer is in a better place." (submitted by Holly Thompson) [View news story]
The WSJ reports that President Obama plans to nominate Harvard finance professor Jeremy Stein and Jerome Powell - a former Bush official and P-E exec - to fill the two vacancies on the Federal Reserve Board. [View news story]
It's a fair criticism. On the one hand, we do try to limit how often we link to articles behind paywalls. On the other hand, we would be doing Market Currents readers a disservice if we skipped salient stories simply because some sources are behind a paywall, especially when we're talking about such a mainstream source as the WSJ. As a middle ground, we provide the in-text link as a courtesy but generally try to encapsulate the crux of the story in the Market Current itself. That way, those who want to click through for additional information can do so and can handle the paywall as they see fit. For those who don't want to click through or don't have a subscription, the MC should suffice.
Hope this helps, and thanks for the feedback.
~Rachael Granby
Deputy Managing Editor, Market Currents
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
We're still soliciting feedback about the new WSB format, which has been simplified to make it easier to read on mobile devices. In particular, what are your thoughts about the earnings section at the bottom? Do you prefer the condensed version currently provided, with a link to more details? Or do you prefer that the full earnings list be included in WSB itself, even if the list becomes quite lengthy during earnings season?
Please weigh in on this or any other comments/suggestions you may have.
Thanks,
Rachael
Merck KGaA (MKGAF.PK) reports a Q2 net EPS loss of €0.40 ($0.58), vs. profit of €0.84 a year earlier. Revenue +16% to €2.56B. For 2011, Merck expects operating profit of about €1B, below guidance given in April, due to one-time adjustments. [View news story]
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
Wall Street Breakfast: Must-Know News [View article]
The link is also included above in WSB, next to "Earnings Results."
Goldman Sachs (GS): Q2 EPS, excluding certain charges, of $2.75. Inclusive of charges, $1.85 vs. consensus of $2.35. Revenue of $7.3B (-18% Y/Y). Shares -2.6% premarket. (PR) [View news story]
The post has been edited to make that distinction clearer. Thanks.
The FCC asks AT&T (T) for more info on its planned merger with T-Mobile USA (DTEGY.PK), including claims on spectrum shortages, coverage overlaps and plans to close facilities. [View news story]
-AT&T had cited spectrum shortages as the main reason behind its decision to buy T-Mobile USA. The FCC wants to see additional information on the shortages claims, as well as details about under-used capacity, the companies' future plans and what drove certain subscribers to change companies.
-The FCC is also looking for information on AT&T/T-Mobile's potential plans to change the prices or other terms for providing "backhaul" to small carriers.
More details here: www.reuters.com/articl...
Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism yesterday that AT&T's (T) planned purchase of T-Mobile (DTEGY.PK) would bring consumers the benefits the two companies claim, and worried about the impact on innovation and competition. State regulators are equally concerned. [View news story]
-AT&T Chairman Randall Stephenson testified in front of the House subcommittee on intellectual property, competition and the Internet yesterday, and tried to spin the deal as a way to reach out to under-served parts of the country.
-Lawmakers were blunt about their skepticism but it's unclear whether that will have any practical impact on the deal's future, as the panel has no direct say on whether the deal can go forward.
-Meanwhile, over in California, state regulators said yesterday that they plan to investigate the deal. Louisiana has signaled it will likely launch an investigation as well.
More details here: www.reuters.com/articl...
and here:online.wsj.com/article...
Citigroup (C) files a court claim arguing it's entitled to keep the $1B in collateral it received from Lehman Brothers (LEHMQ.PK) shortly before the I-bank's collapse. Lehman's trustee is trying to recoup the money, saying it was obtained under coercion. [View news story]
-Citi is relying on the "safe harbor" provisions written into U.S. bankruptcy law, which allow certain financial transactions to be excluded from creditors' asset pool. The aim is to incentivize banks to keep providing key services to clients who face potential insolvency.
-Citi claims Lehman's collapse resulted in $1.26B of costs related to forex clearing, so even after keeping the collateral, Citi is still facing a net loss.
-Earlier this month, JPMorgan made similar "safe harbor" arguments to try to counter an $8.6B claim from Lehman's trustee.
More details here: www.reuters.com/articl...
More on Big Lots' (BIG) earnings: Issues downside Q2 EPS guidance of $0.38-0.48 vs. $0.53 consensus. Issues downside FY'11 EPS guidance of $2.75-2.90 vs. $3.03 and $3.05-3.15 prior guidance. (PR) [View news story]
-EPS revisions based on estimated FY'11 comparable store sales of flat to -2%, and operating profit rate in the range of 6.9-7.2%.
-Cash flow guidance revised to $185M from $205M prior guidance.