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Monday, July 21 2008
Earliest at Top
Today's Market Currents »
  • 6:26 PM Earnings previews for companies reporting Tuesday morning: BIIB, BJS, CAT, FRX, JBLU, JEF, KEY, LMT, LXK, OMC, PCAR, RF, ROK, STI, SVU, UAUA, UNH, UPS, WB, WU
  • 5:42 PM Foundry Networks (FDRY): Q2 EPS of $0.17 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $161M (+12.2%) vs. $153.5M. Shares +33% on Brocade (BRCD) buyout. [PR]
  • 5:29 PM Everest Re Group (RE): Q2 EPS of $2.90 misses by $0.37. Revenue of $1.08B (-15%) in-line. [PR]
  • 5:28 PM Negative earnings reactions: AXP -10.8%. AAPL -9%. TXN -12%. SNDK -13.3%. SGP -4.2%. MRK -6.5%. MHK -3.1%.
  • 5:24 PM SanDisk (SNDK) now down 14.4%. It sees Q3 revenue of $750-850M vs. $1.09B.
  • 5:22 PM Wellcare Group (WCG) will restate its financial statements from 2004 to Q2 2007. Shares -2.2%.
  • 5:20 PM Keep an eye on Foundry Networks' (FDRY) peers: NT, ALU, COMS, JNPR, FFIV.
  • 5:16 PM F.N.B. (FNB): Q2 EPS of $0.17 misses by $0.10. Shares -8%. [PR]
  • 5:15 PM Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD) to acquire Foundry Networks (FDRY) for $19.25 in cash and stock. Foundry closed at $13.66, and is up 34.6% to $18.39.
  • 5:11 PM Hexcel (HXL): Q2 EPS of $0.21 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $359M (+24.1%) vs. $337M. Sees full-year EPS of $0.90-0.95 vs. $0.96. Shares -2%. [PR]
  • 5:08 PM Equifax (EFX): Q2 EPS of $0.64 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $502M (+10.4%) vs. $508M. Remains confident in full-year performance. [PR]
  • 5:05 PM Boston Scientific (BSX): Q2 EPS of $0.20 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $2.02B (-2.3%) in-line. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.14-0.19 vs. $0.13. Shares +1.5%. [PR]
  • 5:03 PM Texas Instruments (TXN) had been halted. It has resumed trading -10% to $25.60.
  • 5:02 PM Royal Caribbean (RCL): Q2 EPS of $0.40 in-line. Revenue of $1.86B (+6.9%) in-line. Sees FQ3 EPS of $1.65-1.70 vs. $1.64. Plans to reduce spending by $125M/year. Shares -1.3%. [PR]
  • 4:58 PM Woodward Governor (WGOV): FQ3 EPS of $0.47 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $330M vs. $309M. Sees full-year EPS of $1.75 vs. $1.67. Shares +4.5%. [PR]
  • 4:56 PM Lincare (LNCR): Q2 EPS of $0.82 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $428M (+7.9%) in-line. Shares +14.3%. [PR]
  • 4:53 PM Hercules (HPC): Q2 EPS of $0.54 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $613M +11.6%) vs. $601M. Shares +5.7%. [PR]
  • 4:51 PM America Movil (AMX): Q2 profits rise 25% after adding 6.1M new mobile customers. Shares +0.9%. [Reuters]
  • 4:48 PM Celanese (CE): Q2 EPS of $1.20 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.87B (+20.1%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $3.60-3.85 vs. $3.98. [PR]
  • 4:46 PM Merck (MRK): Q2 EPS of $0.86 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $6.05B (-1%) in-line. No guidance as it is still assessing the impact of today's Vytorin test results. Shares -4.3%. [PR]
  • 4:43 PM QLogic (QLGC): FQ1 EPS of $0.31 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $168M (+30.6%) vs. $162M. Shares -0.8%. [PR]
  • 4:40 PM Texas Instruments (TXN): Q2 EPS of $0.44 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $3.4B (-2.2%) in-line. Sees Q3 EPS of $0.41-0.47 vs. $0.51 and revenue of $3.26-3.54B vs. $3.56B. Demand slowed unexpectedly in June as distributors did not restock. [PR]
  • 4:37 PM Futures down sharply on weak earnings reports. Dow -0.8%. S&P -0.8%. Nasdaq -1.2%.
  • 4:36 PM AAPL: Sold 11.01M iPods in Q3 (+12%); 717,000 iPhones (doesn't include iPhone 3G); 2.5M Macs.
  • 4:33 PM Apple (AAPL): FQ3 EPS of $1.19 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $7.46B vs. $7.37B. Sees FQ4 EPS of $1.00 vs. $1.24, and revenue of $7.8B vs. $8.32B. Shares -3.5%. [PR]
  • 4:29 PM Credit card stocks:  AXP -9%. DFS -4.5%. MA -2.2%. COF -6.1%. V -3.3%.
  • 4:25 PM AXP: Loss provisions of $1.5B, vs. $640B last year.
  • 4:24 PM AXP: "Consumer spending slowed during the latter part of the quarter and credit indicators deteriorated beyond our expectations."
  • 4:20 PM American Express (AXP): Q2 EPS of $0.56 misses by $0.27. Revenue of $7.48B (+7.9%) vs. $7.6B. Shares -10.3%. "In light of the weakening economy, we are no longer tracking to our prior forecast of 4-6% EPS growth." [PR]
  • 4:18 PM Mohawk Industries (MHK): Q2 EPS of $1.29 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $1.84B (-6.9%) in-line. Sees Q3 EPS of $1.06-1.15 vs. $1.40. Shares -4.2%. [PR]
  • 4:15 PM Canadian National Railway (CNI): Q2 EPS of C$0.90 beats by $0.04. Revenue of C$2.1B in-line. Shares +3.4%. [PR]
  • 4:13 PM Amylin Pharmaceuticals (AMLN): Q2 EPS of -$0.47 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $222M (+12.7%) in-line. [PR]
  • 4:12 PM Volterra Semiconductor (VLTR): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.07. Revenue of $28.7M (+55.3%) vs. $27.5M. Shares +0.6%. [PR]
  • 4:10 PM Schering-Plough (SGP): Q2 EPS of $0.45 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $4.9B vs. $4.77B. Shares -12.8% (on top of -11.6%). [PR]
  • 4:07 PM SanDisk (SNDK): Q2 EPS of -$0.10 misses by $0.23. Revenue of $816M vs. $906M. -7.9%. [PR]
  • 4:00 PM Markets wrap modestly lower. Dow -0.27% to 11,466. S&P -0.18% to 1,258. Nasdaq -0.14% to 2,280.
  • 3:59 PM In Q2, Apple (AAPL) beat by $0.09, and closed the next day +4% on positive analyst commentary. In Q1, it beat by $0.14, but its Q2 outlook fell short; shares opened -12.5% and continued to drop over the next few days.
  • 3:51 PM The PC industry is poised to sell tens of millions of netbooks. And the big boys (MSFT, INTC, HPQ, DELL) are worried.
  • 3:43 PM Hello Dolly: 5 rigs evacuated.
  • 3:32 PM Erin Burnett's meteoric rise to stardom - brought to you by CNBC.
  • 3:20 PM Ben Shuleva: Why I'm Shorting Apple (AAPL) Ahead of Earnings
  • 3:15 PM Earnings previews for companies reporting today after the close: AAPL, AXP, SNDK, TXN, QLGC, SGP, MRK
  • 3:10 PM Notable earnings after the close: AAPL, AMLN, AXP, BSX, CNI, CX, EXP, EFX, FNB, HPC, LNCR, LOGI, LRY, MHK, MRK, PKG, QLGC, RE, SGP, SNDK, STLD, TCK, TXN, VLTR, ZRAN
  • 2:58 PM Crude +1.9% to $131.30. Gold +0.6% to $964.
  • 2:58 PM As we approach the final hour, stocks have some catching up to do. Dow -0.5%. S&P -0.2%. Nasdaq -0.3%.
  • 2:49 PM Some analysts say the Vytorin results were largely expected. Selloff may be overdone. SGP -15%. MRK -6.5%.
  • 2:38 PM A Roche/Genentech (DNA) link-up "causes an irrevocable breach in [the pair's] relations," and many DNA top scientists would likely move on if it became a research arm of Roche, Bernstein's Geoffry Porges says.
  • 2:23 PM The S&P's least volitile sector: Tech. Who woulda thunk it?
  • 2:22 PM Warner Bros.'s (TWX -1.7%) Batman installment The Dark Knight pulls in $155M during its first weekend, shattering eight records. Web ticket seller Fandango sold an unbelievable 13% of all tickets.
  • 2:10 PM For years, Microsoft (MSFT) was public enemy No. 1. Google (GOOG), despite its internet dominance, has been largely immune to serious protest. How much more can it know about us before that changes?
  • 2:00 PM S&P movers: FNM +12.5%. TIE +10.2%. VLO +9.2%. TSO +8.1%. SGP -11.8%. SHW -6%. FIS -5.9%. LM -5.5%. CIT -5.5%.
  • 2:00 PM Dow movers: AIG +8.3%. BAC +3.9%. C +3.7%. CAT +2.9%. MRK -3.9%. AXP -2.3%. JPM -1.9%.
  • 2:00 PM Sector ETF standouts: Biotech– BBH +6.6%. Coal– KOL +4.2%. Steel– SLX +3.1%. Agribusiness– MOO +3%. Solar– TAN +2.7%. Oil Services– OIH +2.2%. Tech– XLK -2.2%. Agriculture– DBA -2%. Broker/Dealers– IAI -1.6%.
  • 1:48 PM Where does Yahoo's (YHOO) new-found friendship with Carl Icahn leave Microsoft (MSFT)? Cowen's Jim Friedland thinks MSFT will let YHOO exhaust itself, and then snap up the tired carcass on the cheap.
  • 1:40 PM Debunking the VIX-above-30 buy signal.
  • 1:31 PM Schering-Plough (SGP -6.8%) and Merck (MRK -1.7%) are dropping after their cholesterol drug proves ineffective for treatment of aeortic valve disease.
  • 1:23 PM By paying $400M to attach its name to Mets Stadium, Citi (C) joins the un-illustrious company of Enron, Fleet Bank, Gillette, Adelphia and PSINet. Bad karma, or just bad judgement?
  • 1:05 PM Sources say Apple's (AAPL -1.6%) hedge fund investors, some of who have met with CEO Steve Jobs, continue to be troubled by his thin appearance. Jobs is a survivor of pancreatic cancer.
  • 12:55 PM Cloud computing woes at Amazon.com (AMZN) and Google (GOOG). Is it ready for prime time?
  • 12:42 PM If last week's strong chip earnings (INTC, ALTR) carries over to Texas Instruments (TXN), which reports today, investors can kiss trough valuations goodbye.
  • 12:30 PM Dow standouts: AIG +8.3%. BAC +6.4%. C +2.7%. CAT +1.8%. MRK -2.6%. JPM -2.5%. AXP -2.3%. IBM -1.5%.
  • 12:19 PM With regional banks' Q2 earnings starting to roll in, loan losses may force some to raise capital. Investors are already fretting the where-from.
  • 12:07 PM Carl Icahn's deal with Yahoo (YHOO -3%) is probably the best he could have hoped for, Erick Schonfeld says, after Microsoft (MSFT) distanced itself and Bill Miller (LM) sided with YHOO.
  • 12:02 PM Markets have turned negative over the past hour. Dow -0.4%. S&P -0.25%. Nasdaq -0.4%.
  • 11:40 AM The most recent economic expansion may be the first in 60 years that ends before wage earners recover from the previous slowdown. "We're discovering people aren't protected from inflation like they used to be."
  • 11:27 AM "All told, I'd argue that tech is holding up rather well amid this economic mess. But how long can it fend off the inevitable?" - Barron's Mark Veverka
  • 11:13 AM Rodman and Renshaw calls Roche's $89 opening bid laughable. Given Genentech's (DNA) share price reaction (+13.3% to $92.70), investors seem to agree.
  • 10:59 AM "Watching Paulson sweat, fidget, and squirm," one wag commented on his Sunday appearance on Face the Nation, "makes me realize that this was a fool's rally, and this is the last good chance to get out in the 11,000's. So I will."
  • 10:47 AM WCI Communities (WCI +13%) says it has not received a buyout offer.
  • 10:40 AM A federal appeals court reversed a $550,000 fine against CBS (CBS) for Janet Jackson's 2004 Super Bowl halftime 'wardrobe malfunction.'
  • 10:30 AM Starbucks (SBUX) is being coy as to how it will deal with the ever-growing Save Our Starbucks campaign. "It's not a simple answer," spokeswoman Deb Trevino says.
  • 10:19 AM June Leading Indicators: -0.1%, in-line. May -0.2% revised from +0.1%. The decline has moderated, but continues to be widespread.
  • 10:10 AM Portfolio.com's "exclusive look inside (Countrywide) CEO Angelo Mozilo's secret effort to curry favor with lawmakers, politicians, and others who could influence the company's fortunes."
  • 10:03 AM Financial strength: FNM +30%. FRE +12%. BAC +10%. WM +8%.
  • 10:03 AM Upon the rally in financials, consider the risk/reward of preferred stocks vs. common.
  • 10:00 AM Markets hold onto gains after first half hour. Dow +0.4%. S&P +0.45%. Nasdaq +0.6%.
  • 9:56 AM Crude dips below $130 again; +0.4% to $129.35. Gold +0.3% to $960.60.
  • 9:54 AM Merrill upgrades Biogen (BIIB), calling it significantly undervalued. Shares are up 5%, but some of that is a cheer for Roche's Genentech bid.
  • 9:49 AM Sector ETF standouts: Biotech– BBH +7.1%. Financials– XLF +3.3%. Commercial Banks– KBE +2.8%. Regional Banks– KRE +2.2%. Steel– SLX +2.2%. Biotech– IBB +1.9%. Natural Gas– UNG -3%. Tech– XLK -1.5%.
  • 9:42 AM NYT's Gretchen Morgenson profiles a 'typical American' deeply in debt; Tanta at Calculated Risk sees heavy-handed 'class cues' in Morgenson's coverage.
  • 9:35 AM Jeff Matthews: "For a world that is coming to an end, a lot of companies are doing remarkably well."
  • 9:27 AM Richard Baldwin on what's at stake in Geneva today.
  • 9:25 AM Futures indicate a higher open. Dow +0.3%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.4%. Crude +1.1% to $130.30. Gold +0.4% to $962.20.
  • 9:19 AM A proposed European Commission rule would only allow banks to buy repackaged loans if the seller continues to hold 10%.
  • 9:14 AM Roche's $89/share offer for Genentech (DNA +16%) is too low - anything under $100 'is just robbing shareholders blind.' Lazard says DNA will likely strive to remain independent.
  • 9:11 AM Bank of America (BAC) +11.3% on strong earnings. FNM +11.7%. FRE +9.5%. WM +9.3%. NCC +5.7%. KEY +5.6%.
  • 9:08 AM WCI Communities (WCI) +75% to $2.60. The homebuilder may be sold to an unidentified bidder for $5.25/share ($220M).
  • 9:04 AM Nothern Oil & Gas (NOG) +26%. Announces 'significant' oil discoveries. [PR]
  • 9:01 AM Unilever NV (UN) sells Bertolli olive oil for €630M - part of a plan to sell off non-core assets that produce about €2B/year.
  • 8:52 AM Citigroup (C) is under pressure from union shareholders who want a break-up, begging the bank to "restore shareholder value that is currently trapped in the sprawling financial supermarket approach."
  • 8:49 AM Yahoo (YHOO) -1.8%. New board with possible MSFT buyout > old board with Icahn and two henchmen?
  • 8:44 AM Monday's Barron's stocks II: Growth (CAL, GOOG, HD, LOW, LUV, MDT); Solar (AKNS, CSIQ, FSLR, JASO, SPWR, STP, WFR, YGE).
  • 8:43 AM Monday's Barron's stocks I: TROW, BWS, TRN, ACN. Chips (SMH, IGW, TXN); Financials (AXP, BK, CMA, FITB, FNM, FRE, GLD, JPM, KRE, LEH, MI, NCC, SLV, SOV, STI, TRV, USB, UYG, WB, WFC, ZION).
  • 8:38 AM Merck (MRK) and Schering-Plough (SGP) postpone Q2 earnings to after the close. Surprisingly, a study of whether their Vytorin cholesterol drug reduces heart-attack risk will be updated this afternoon.
  • 8:21 AM Washington Federal (WFSL): Q3 EPS of $0.38 beats by $0.02. [PR]
  • 8:19 AM UnionBanCal (UB): Q2 EPS of $1.02 beats by $0.10. Revenues of $633M (-3.9%) vs. $681M. Sees Q3 EPS of $1.10-1.20 vs. $1.01. [PR]
  • 8:03 AM PetMed Express (PETS): Q2 EPS of $0.28 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $68.4M vs. $65.3M. [PR]
  • 7:46 AM "While I continue to believe that the sale of the whole company or the sale of its search business... must be given full consideration, I share the view that Yahoo's (YHOO) valuable collection of assets positions it well to continue expanding its online leadership and enhancing returns to stockholders." - Icahn
  • 7:41 AM Timken (TKR): Sees Q2 EPS of $0.96 vs. $0.78 consensus, and full-year EPS of $2.95-3.10 vs. $2.90. Results benefited from "higher volume, improved mix and better execution more than offsetting the impact of declining automotive demand." [PR]
  • 7:27 AM Yahoo (YHOO) settles its differences with activist Carl Icahn. He gets three board seats out of an expanded 11 - for himself and two cohorts. Robert Kotick steps down.
  • 7:25 AM IMS Health (RX): Q2 EPS of $0.40 in-line. Revenue of $601M (+11.8%) vs. $593M. [PR]
  • 7:23 AM AMTEK (AME): Q2 EPS of $0.68 beats by $0.11. Revenue of $649M (+24.9%) vs. $627M. Sees full-year EPS of $2.50-2.54 vs. $2.47. [PR]
  • 7:13 AM Dr. Reddy's (RDY): FQ1 net income fell 26%, beating consensus. Revenue rose 26%. [PR]
  • 7:10 AM Radcom (RDCM): Q2 EPS of -$0.34 beats by $0.46. Revenue +57% to $3.7M. [PR]
  • 7:09 AM Weatherford International (WFT): Q2 EPS of $0.43 misses by $0.02. Revenue of $2.23B (+22.8%) in-line. [PR]
  • 7:06 AM Albemarle (ALB): Q2 EPS of $0.67 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $621M (+10.1%) vs. $635M. [PR]
  • 7:03 AM Sam Antar: The SEC's allowing Overstock.com (OSTK) to overstate EBITDA.
  • 7:02 AM Bank of America (BAC): Q2 EPS of $0.72 beats by $0.19. Revenue of $20.32B vs. $18.37B. Provision expense rose by $4.02B to $5.83B, reflecting charge-offs of $3.62B and $2.21B in increased loss allowances. [PR]
  • 6:55 AM Dissident shareholder Eric Jackson will call on Yahoo (YHOO) to compromise and accept a mixed board that includes four nominees from Carl Icahn's rival slate.
  • 6:47 AM Shares of HSBC (HBC) gained 2.5% in London on reports of a possible investment by China Investment Corp.
  • 6:42 AM Members of Ghana's opposition party have so far blocked the government's attempt to sell Vodafone (VOD) a 70% stake in the country's state-owned telecom for £450M.
  • 6:38 AM XM Satellite Radio (XMSR): Adds 322K net subscribers in Q2 to 9.65M - up 17% from a year ago. Churn fell to 1.67% from 1.77% last quarter and 1.84% a year ago. [PR]
  • 6:35 AM Hasbro (HAS): Q2 EPS of $0.25 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $784M (+13.4%) vs. $675M. "While input cost inflation continues to be challenging, thus far we have been able to mitigate most of the impact through cost savings initiatives and pricing actions." [PR]
  • 6:28 AM RPM (RPM): FQ4 EPS of $0.75 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $1.08B (+7%) in-line. Sees full-year EPS of $1.85 vs. $1.90. [PR]
  • 6:26 AM Futures are following overseas markets up. Dow +0.25%. S&P +0.4%. Nasdaq +0.6%. Crude +1.25% to $130.50. Gold +0.75% to $965.
  • 6:25 AM European markets are higher at midday. London +0.2%. Paris +0.9%. Frankfurt +0.4%.
  • 6:24 AM Asia markets all closed up Monday. Hang Seng