Market Currents

• Monday, December 28, 2009

• 14:00 PM Dow leaders: IBM +1.1%. MMM +1%. MRK +0.8%. DD +0.6%.
  Laggards: AA -1.2%. AXP -1%. DIS -1%. GE -0.8%. BA -0.7%. Comment!

• Thursday, December 24, 2009

• 18:27 PM Boeing (BA) wins a $750M contract with the U.S. Air Force for modernization and maintenance of Boeing-built B-52 Stratofortress bomber's weapons system. The B-52, dubbed BUFF for Big Ugly Fat Fellow, first entered combat in 1965 during the Vietnam War. (DoD) 2 Comments
• 10:25 AM Dow leaders: AA +1.8%. TRV +1.4%. DD +1.2%. UTX +1.1%. BA +1%. INTC +0.9%. MMM +0.9%. AXP +0.8%.
  Laggards: MRK -0.5%. DIS -0.4%. Comment!

• Wednesday, December 23, 2009

• 10:30 AM Dow leaders after one hour: BA +0.7%. CAT +0.6%. PFE +0.5%.
  Laggards: HD -1.6%. MRK -0.8%. JPM -0.8%. DIS -0.7%. PG -0.7%. AA -0.7%. Comment!

• Tuesday, December 22, 2009

• 15:44 PM Boeing (BA +1.4%) buys out Alenia North America's half-stake in a South Carolina fuselage plant, bringing more construction of the 787 Dreamliner under direct control. In the summer, Boeing paid Vought for some facilities that manufactured Dreamliner parts. The latest move increases the shift of Boeing's manufacturing to the U.S. South rather than in Washington. 1 Comment
• 15:25 PM Dow leaders: DD +1.5%. T +1.4%. BA +1.3%. HD +1.1%.
  Dow laggards: GE -0.6%. INTC -0.4%. PG -0.3%. Comment!
• 10:30 AM Dow leaders early on: DD +1.7%. BA +1.6%. HD +1.3%. MSFT +1.2%. XOM +0.9%. HPQ +0.9%.
  Laggards: AA -0.8%. AXP -0.7%. Comment!

• Monday, December 21, 2009

• 16:20 PM Boeing (BA) reports that All Nippon Airways has ordered $2B in planes: five 777s and five 767s. Previously, an internal document showed that ANA was the partner who would take the first delivery of a production 787 Dreamliner. (PR) Comment!
• 08:00 AM GE (GE) and French aerospace group Safran win a lucrative contract to manufacture engines for China's future C919 aircraft worth an initial $5B for each company, and potentially many times that over coming decades if China succeeds in its plan to become a player in the passenger plane market dominated by Boeing (BA) and Airbus. Utec's (UTX) Pratt & Whitney and Goodrich (GR) were also in the running. Comment!

• Friday, December 18, 2009

• 13:32 PM Dow leaders: INTC +3.1%. HPQ +1.8%. MSFT +1.5%. JPM +1.4%. BAC +1.4%.
  Dow laggards: BA -2%. PG -1.1%. CAT -0.6%. TRV -0.5%. AXP -0.5%. Comment!
• 10:13 AM Dow leaders early on: HPQ +1.5%. MSFT +1.5%. INTC +1.3%. T +1.2%.
  Dow laggards: BA -1.1%. PG -0.7%. WMT -0.4%. JNJ -0.3%. AXP -0.3%. Comment!
• 08:06 AM Shares of Ryanair (RYAAY) +4% premarket after it terminated negotiations with Boeing (BA) for an order of up to 200 B737-800 series aircraft for delivery between 2013 and 2016, opting instead to "significantly reduce growth and capital expenditures, in order to maximize cash balances for distribution to shareholders." Ryanair was pushing Boeing for steep discounts. 1 Comment

• Wednesday, December 16, 2009

• 14:08 PM Dow leaders: AA +1.9%. JPM +1.7%. DD +1.7%. KFT +1.4%. AXP +1.3%.
  Dow laggards: INTC -1.9%. TRV -1.5%. BA -1.2%. MMM -0.8%. Comment!
• 10:30 AM Dow leaders after one hour: AA -2.4%. DD +1.6%. KFT +1.2%. AXP +1.2%. BAC +1.1%. MSFT +1%. HPQ +0.9%. CVX +0.8%.
  Laggards: INTC -1.9%. BA -1.3%. Comment!

• Tuesday, December 15, 2009

• 16:55 PM So Boeing (BA) finally got the Dreamliner off the ground (and, just as important, landed) after more than two years of delays; now the challenge is to churn them out and make it into a mass-produced money maker. Meanwhile, competitor Airbus congratulates Boeing on continuing a "robust rivalry," though for now its Dreamliner competitor - the A350 - exists only on paper. Comment!
• 13:15 PM It's been two and a half years in the making, but you can watch Boeing's (BA +0.2%) 787 Dreamliner take off with your own eyes (streaming video; Seattle Times Twitter feed). Comment!