Elena
17 May, 2007
New York City
Alliance Data Systems surged 26% after the provider of transaction, credit and marketing services agreed to be acquired by Blackstone Group in a deal worth $7.8 billion. The private-equity firm is paying $81.75 a share, a 30% premium to Wednesday''s closing price of Alliance Data, including debt. In other deal news, Acxiom surged 16% after the company agreed to be acquired by Silver Lake and ValueAct Capital for $3 billion, or $27.10 per share in cash, including debt assumption.
Elena
17 May, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks opened lower on Thursday, with investors taking profit after recent rally ahead of data on leading economic indicators. Wall Street also awaited a speech by the Fed Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that could provide clues to whether problems with subprime mortgage loans could affect the broader economy. An increase by the oil price also weighed on market sentiment, as light sweet crude rose 47 cents to $63.02 on the Nymex.
Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City
London equities were trading in positive territory by mid-day on Thursday as the oil sector advanced on increasing crude prices and amid speculation of more takeover activity. Credit-checking firm Experian was one of the best perfomers, while Prudential powered ahead on talks that it may be broken up. The FTSE 100 rose 12 points, or 0.2%, to 6,571.9 in lunchtime exchanges.
Elena
17 May, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures declined Thursday following solid gains in the previous session. Market sentiment was hurt by profit taking amid expectations for a quiet day of economic news. In corporate news, Hewlett-Packard gained 1.7% in the pre-open after it posted Q2 results that included well-received extra $3 billion in sales. Sun Microsystems rose 3.3% after announcing its board approved a buyback of up to $3 billion in outstanding shares.
Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City
Asian markets closed mostly higher, although Japan bucked the trend and slipped after the government posted gross-domestic product figures that were below expetations. Not surgprisingly, the Bank of Japan left its key interest rate at 0.5%. Japanese exporter shares were bolstered by news from the U.S. that factory production advanced 0.7% in the past month. All other major regional indices finished higher.
Elena
17 May, 2007
New York City
Hewlett-Packard said net income was $1.78 billion, or 65 cents per share, vs. $1.90 billion, or 66 cents per share, including a tax settlement gain of 15 cents. Second-quarter revenue for HP rose by 13% to $25.5 billion. HP projected Q3 revenue of $23.7 billion to $23.9 billion, and narrowed its forecast range for Q3 earnings per share to 64 cents to 65 cents from a prior 63 cents to 65 cents. Company''s shares rose 1.3% in pre-market trading.
Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City
The market was firm throughout Thursday on a strong performance mainly from banking stocks and a rally in Reliance Industries. Bajaj Auto was in focus today as lack of clarity on the demerger issue pushed the share sharply lower at close. SBI and Reliance Industries led the advancers today, while Bajaj Auto was the worst performing stock. The government said licenses of cable operators will be cancelled if they overcharge.
Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City
European markets advanced in early trading on Thursday, with U.K. insurer Prudential leading gainers on talk that it may be bought out and by conglomerates including Siemens and Philips Electronics. Volumes were low in Europe with many traders on vacation for the Ascension Day holiday. The U.K. FTSE 100 gain 0.3%, the German DAX 30 advanced 0.5% and the French CAC 40 improved 0.4%.
Ivaylo
17 May, 2007
New York City
Gold and silver futures plunged Wednesday, pulled down by the firmer U.S. dollar and technical selling. The most-active July copper contract dipped also injured by the the stronger dollar, news about a decline in building permits and chart-based factors. On the Chicago Board of Trade, soybean futures closed sharply higher after climbing to 6-week highs on aggressive fund buying interest.
123jump.com Staff
16 May, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks advanced after billionaire investors Buffett, Lampert and Carl Icahn increased their holdings of drug companies, banks and railroads. Bausch & Lomb jumped 9% after it agreed to be acquired by Warburg Pincus for $65 per share. Agile Software rose 13% on agreement to be bought by Oracle for $495 million. Applied Materials slid 3.4% after forecasting flat sales in third quarter. Brazilian currency rose on debt rating upgrade. HP reported earnings fall of 7% on revenue gain of 13%.
123jump.com Staff
16 May, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks advanced mainly on a mixed reading on the housing sector that had briefly helped send stocks lower. Citigroug rose 4% after billionaire hedge fund manager Ed Lampert said he acquired more than 15 million shares of the financial services conglomerate. Dell Inc. rose 4.2%.
Elena
16 May, 2007
New York City
European stock markets closed in the negative territory on Wednesday, pressured by weakness among airlines stocks as well as mixed earnings from Credit Agricole and Vivendi. Air France-KLM dropped 2.1% after UBS downgraded the company to neutral from buy. Shares in the French Credit Agricole slipped 4.1%, while Vivendi shares rose 1.1%. The U.K. FTSE 100 edged down 0.1%, the French CAC-40 declined 0.2%, and the German DAX Xetra 30 lost 0.3%.
Elena
16 May, 2007
New York City
In late morning trading, U.S. stocks reversed from earlier gains made on the back of better-than-expected economic data. The Commerce Department said that construction of homes and apartments rose 2.5% in April, while a Fed report showed that industrial output rebounded by 0.7% in April. While the Dow and the Nasdaq traded below the flat line, the S&P 500 managed to remain in positive territory on strong gains by Compuware and Bausch & Lomb, rising 12.2% and 8%, respectively.
Elena
16 May, 2007
New York City
Compuware surged 14.5% after it reported 20% earnings increase in Q4. Jack in The Box was another earnings-related gainer, rising 3.6% after posting better-than-expected profit rise of 25% as revenue grew 6.8% to $660.7 million. Deere & Co. declined 1.8% on the back of 16% drop in Q2 earnings. Arcelor Mittal fell 1.2% after it reported 40% increase in Q1 profit on 17% higher sales. The company also projected higher Q2 earnings, driven by higher prices.
Elena
16 May, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks advanced at opening on Wednesday, reflecting mixed housing data, speculation about Citigroup and a cautious outlook at chip-equipment maker Applied Materials. Dow component Citigroup jumped 3% after hedge-fund manager disclosed he bought more than 15 million shares in the bank. Tech stocks were pressured by Applied Materials which fell 4.6% after forecasting flat Q3 sales and up to a 15% drop in orders. Rival chip equipment makers KLA-Tencor fell 2.1% and Lam Research slipped 2.7%.
