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Breaking News | Real-time commentary on the market, with links to key sources.

Market Currents - Real Time Wall Street Breakfast - Top Stories
Friday, August 22 2008
Earliest at Top
Today's Market Currents »
  • 5:16 PM Sony (SNE) cut its LCD TV prices in May in an attempt to regain the top position in the North America. It failed badly. COMMENT!
  • 4:35 PM Option volume leaders today: Freddie Mac (FRE), Fannie Mae (FNM), Lehman (LEH) and Apple (AAPL). [TrackData] COMMENT!
  • 4:16 PM Intel (INTC) CTO Justin Rattner says we're a lot closer to achieving Ray Kurtzweil's singularity than people think. COMMENT!
  • 4:12 PM Oil gives back recent gains. Crude oil -5.41% to 114.62. Gold -0.66% to 833.50. COMMENT!
  • 4:05 PM Markets at close: Dow +1.71% at 11625.62. S&P +1.13% at 1292.15. Nasdaq +1.44% at 2414.71. COMMENT!
  • 3:45 PM One day magazine publishers will realize the brands that ruled the earth in the print era are worthless in the digital age, Jeff Bercovici says. In the meantime, they'll just keep touting imaginary readership 'surges.' COMMENT!
  • 3:32 PM Businesses are having a harder time accessing credit as banks tighten up. "Banks are going to be very much holding back," Quarterly Business Report co-author King Banaian says. "There’s a lot of pain and suffering out there among businesses." COMMENT!
  • 3:08 PM Texas Instruments (TXN) dispels rumors Sony (SNE) is developing a projector using its DLP technology. COMMENT!
  • 2:45 PM Dutch Central Bank chief Nout Wellink says enough is enough: Stop propping up banks with money - or at least charge them a penalty. COMMENT!
  • 2:23 PM Vanguard is the first of the big mutual funds to speak out against the SEC's plans to do away with reliance on credit ratings firms. Removal would unduly expose investors, weaken investment standards, and put the $3.5T money market fund industry at risk, it says. COMMENT!
  • 2:14 PM Oil slides a bit more, while gold recoups a bit. Crude oil -3.19% to 117.32. Gold -0.67% to 827.40. COMMENT!
  • 2:13 PM Markets are still holding onto today's gains. Dow +1.41%. S&P +0.75%. Nasdaq +1.12%. COMMENT!
  • 1:59 PM U.K. banks should get ready for an economic downturn and a housing market slump that could mirror the recession in the early 1990s, FSA chief Hector Sants says. COMMENT!
  • 1:36 PM Washington Post's David Cho does his best to demonstrate that unregulated speculation was the cause of this summer's spike in oil prices. James Hamilton comes away unconvinced. COMMENT!
  • 1:08 PM Successful companies usually assume that marketing problems are because the market isn't getting their message - but often it’s because they’re not listening to the market. Case in point: Nokia (NOK). COMMENT!
  • 12:33 PM "They're cheap but nobody cares," Eclectica's Espen Baarsden says of oil majors. He prefers growth stocks like Suncor Energy (SU), Canadian Natural Resource (CNQ), and Canadian Oil Sands Trust (COSWF.PK). COMMENT!
  • 12:05 PM Crude oil -2.81% to 117.78. Gold -1.04% to 824.30. COMMENT!
  • 12:05 PM Global server shipments were up 12.2% from a year ago, but revenue climbed just 5.7%. Dell (DELL) shipments were up 24.2% over last quarter. IBM's (IBM) still number-one. COMMENT!
  • 12:00 PM Markets are continuing their advance. Dow +1.38%. S&P +0.77%. Nasdaq +0.97%. COMMENT!
  • 11:56 AM Bernanke: John Jansen says today's speech was "not very interesting if you are looking for something to shape your market view." COMMENT!
  • 11:35 AM Why pick on the shorts? "You show me bad fundamentals, I'll show you short sellers." COMMENT!
  • 11:10 AM What Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and Lehman (LEH) have in common - besides puny valuations. COMMENT!
  • 10:43 AM Coming soon to a Burger King (BKC) near you: Whopper Jr. Now when do they start charging to use the restrooms? COMMENT!
  • 10:11 AM Looking to tread back into U.S. financials? Bank of America (BAC) and JPMorgan (JPM) are your best bets, Morningstar's Paul Larson says. COMMENT!
  • 9:47 AM A $100M investment fund will invest in start-ups specializing in iPhone (AAPL) applications. "If you focus on a really simple consumer product, that’s better than worrying about what everyone else is doing." COMMENT!
  • 9:27 AM Futures point to a solid open. Dow +0.82%. S&P +0.76%. Nasdaq +0.6%. Crude -1.13% to $119.79. Gold -0.93% to $831.20. COMMENT!
  • 9:15 AM One industry that has yet to succumb to broad economic weakness: TVs. Global shipments rise a robust 11%. COMMENT!
  • 9:07 AM Intel (INTC) plans to shim some 20M atom chips this year. No wonder they're hard to come by. COMMENT!
  • 8:55 AM U.K. regulator FSA to probe 'materially flawed or inadequate' securities pricing seen at Credit Suisse (CS), Morgan Stanley (MS) and Lehman (LEH). COMMENT!
  • 8:43 AM Perry Ellis International (PERY): Q2 EPS of -$0.09 misses by $0.07. Revenue of $194M vs. $198M. [PR] COMMENT!
  • 8:43 AM AnnTaylor (ANN): Q2 EPS of $0.51 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $592M vs. $623M. Shares +0.8%. [PR] COMMENT!
  • 8:41 AM More from Buffett: He has no bets against the U.S. dollar, and no direct currency plays. Stocks are generally more attractive now than they were a year ago. COMMENT!
  • 8:29 AM Subprime loan delinquencies on 2006 bonds climbed to 41.7% in July from 34.2% in February, S&P says. Alt-A loans rose to 21.5% from 15.2%. Prime-jumbo delinquencies increased to 4.5% from 2.9%. COMMENT!
  • 8:15 AM Chinese iTunes (AAPL) users have been unable to download since Monday, one day after Art of Peace Foundation announced the release of Songs for Tibet. COMMENT!
  • 8:04 AM More from Buffett: "Things will be better five years from now, but not five months from now." COMMENT!
  • 7:59 AM Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) have no net worth, Warren Buffett says. "The game is over." COMMENT!
  • 7:39 AM Trying to protect profit margins, Home Depot (HD) and Lowe's (LOW) are holding back on major back-to-school promotions. The move reflects expectations it could be several quarters before demand picks up. COMMENT!
  • 7:25 AM U.S. apartment rentals, previously immune to foreclosure woes and the credit crunch, are starting to feel the pain. Growing job losses are causing more people to move in with friends or family and rental growth is dropping. COMMENT!
  • 7:10 AM U.S. dollar is +0.78% vs. the pound. +0.61% vs. the yen. +0.11% vs. the euro. -0.12% vs. the $Cdn. COMMENT!
  • 7:10 AM U.S. futures are up a bit. Dow +0.13% S&P +0.16%. Nasdaq +0.21%. Crude -0.65% to $120.40. Gold -0.29% to $836.50. COMMENT!
  • 7:10 AM Europe is higher at midday. London +1%. Paris +0.6%. Frankfurt +0.6%. COMMENT!
  • 7:10 AM Asia markets were mixed Friday. Nikkei -0.68% to 12,666. Hang Seng closed due to storm warning. BSE +1.11% to 14,401. Shanghai -1.09% to 2,405. COMMENT!
  • 7:06 AM Hopes commercial real-estate loans would be spared market turmoil appear ready to be dashed. COMMENT!
  • 7:01 AM China Sunergy (CSUN): Q2 EPS of $0.08 beats by $0.05. Revenue of $112M (+44.9%) vs. $95M. [PR] COMMENT!
  • 7:00 AM DryShips (DRYS): Q2 EPS of $3.60 misses by $0.97. Revenue of $259M (+130.1%) vs. $274M. Shares -4%. [PR] COMMENT!
  • 6:56 AM A stronger union presence saw Euro-zone salaries rise 3.4% in Q1 to match inflation, while U.S. workers salaries trailed inflation - reminding us why inflationary spiral is mainly an overseas buzzword. COMMENT!
  • 6:42 AM Banc of America Securites analyst Michael Hecht cuts EPS estimates on Goldman Sachs (GS) (to $2.50 from $3.98) and Morgan Stanley (MS) (to $0.85 from $1.02) to reflect a tough trading and brokerage environment. COMMENT!
  • 6:34 AM U.K. GDP growth was flat in Q2, surprising economists who expected weak growth of +0.1% and the government's forecast of +0.2%. Yearly growth slows to 1.4% - a 16-year low. COMMENT!
  • 6:31 AM Boeing (BA) threatens to abandon a $40B Air Force refueling tanker bid unless the Pentagon gives it six months to submit a new one - leaving the government with no competition to Northrop Grumman (NOC) for the high-profile contract. COMMENT!
  • 6:22 AM Verizon (VZ) is close to a deal with Google (GOOG) on a wide-ranging mobile-search partnership that would make Google the default search provider for Verizon devices. Revenues to be split. COMMENT!
  • 6:19 AM State-run Korea Development Bank says it's considering a possible acquisition of Lehman, reviving expectations the troubled I-bank may yet snag a large investor. COMMENT!
  • 6:17 AM Freddie Mac (FRE) executives are quietly speaking to potential investors about buying new common or preferred shares. Investors aren't biting, concerned money invested now will be lost if the Treasury purchases equity in a bail-out. COMMENT!
  • 5:47 AM Pimco increases its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities [MBS] and sheds Treasurys, betting that agency MBS will provide the more attractive yield. COMMENT!
  • 5:46 AM In separate settlements reached with state regulators, Merrill Lynch (MER), Goldman Sachs (GS), and Deutsche Bank (DB) will buy back  $10B, $1.5B and $1B respectively of illiquid auction-rate securities, and will pay $162.5M in fines. COMMENT!
  • 2:45 AM Asian markets: Nikkei -0.7%. Shanghai -1.0%. BSE +0.1%. Hang Seng closed today due to a tropical storm warning. COMMENT!
  • 12:05 AM Notable earnings before Friday's open: ANN, CSUN COMMENT!
  • 12:00 AM Friday's economic calendar:
    10:00 Bernanke speaks on financial stability COMMENT!