Ivaylo
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
London stocks retreated from six year highs in mid-day trade on Friday as mining stocks declined and recent bid talks started to fade, although there were gains for Compass Group after a positive trading statement. SABMiller lost as hopes for consolidation among international brewers also died away. Kingfisher and Next led retailers higher. The FTSE 100 was 0.2% lower at 6,422.4, down 11 points.
Elena
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures turned lower on Friday, with Microsoft weighing on sentiment as it cautioned that analysts were too optimistic about the sales of Vista operating system. The stock fell 1.6% in the pre-open. Shares in AMR rose 4% on news that it is a buyout target of a group including Goldman Sachs and British Airways. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are reportedly considering buying U.K. defense companies. Compass Bancshare rose 6% after Spanish BBVA agreed buy the company for $9.6 B.
Elena
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
The acquisition is the latest in a string of deals, as well as the biggest BBVA has ever made, and will launch the Spanish bank into the top 20 U.S. operators. The second biggest bank in Spain said it will swap 2.8 of its own shares for each share in Compass Bancshares, or pay $71.82 a share in cash, representing a 16% premium to the average closing price over the last ten days.
Ivaylo
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
Asian stocks finished mixed on Friday, as Japanese stocks dipped for the first time in five sessions with Toyota Motor, Sony and other recent strong performers declining on profit-taking. Concerns that the U.S. dollar could be headed for further weakness against the yen also impacted the sentiment negatively. The weakness in Japan weighed on the markets around the region and Australia also declined. South Korea and HK bucked the trend and advanced.
Ivaylo
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
European equity markets were lower on Friday as banks followed results from Swedbank and news of a US acquisition by the Spanish bank BBVA. Gecina, French property group surged on strong net profit. Michelin also rallied on an update from JPMorgan. In early trade, Frankfurt Xetra Dax fell 0.2%, the CAC 40 in Paris lost 0.3% and London FTSE 100 shed 0.2%.
Ivaylo
16 Feb, 2007
New York City
Copper futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit their highest level in over a month on Thursday on strong technical support and an influx of Chinese buyers. Chinese January imports of refined copper and copper alloy were up 70% from the same month a year ago. All the precious metals settled down as well as energy stocks. Only natural gas bucked the downtrend and advanced. Arabica coffee gained, while raw sugar futures reached six-week highs.
123jump.com Staff
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
Market traded higher as the Fed Chairman continued his testimony for the second day. He also said that raising minimum wage is not going affect the inflation because a small number of people earn wages at that rate. Hershey plans to cut 1,500 jobs over the next three years. Unemployment claims rose 44,000 at the end of previous week to seasonally adjusted 357,000. United Healthcare rose 4% on stake from Buffett. Anheuser Busch rose 3% on merger talks. Home prices decline in most cities.
123jump.com Staff
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
Market traded higher as the Fed Chairman continued his testimony for the second day on Capitol Hill. He continued to review the economic health in optimistic tone. He also said that raising minimum wage is not going affect the inflation because small number of people earn wages at that rate. Hershey plans to cut 1,500 jobs over the next three years. January import price fell 1.2% on lower oil price. Unemployment claims rose 44,000 at the end of previous week to seasonally adjusted 357,000.
Elena
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
European stocks held near multiyear highs Thursday, supported by gains for Belgian-Brazilian brewer InBev on merger speculation and Reed Elsevier on a plan to sell off a division. Shares of brewer InBev rallied 4%. Other beer producers also gained. SABMiller rose 1.9%, Carlsberg rose 2.7%, Heineken added 2.3% and Scottish & Newcastle moved 2.3% higher. Britain''''s FTSE 100 closed 0.2% higher, the German DAX 30 was flat at 6,958.62 and the French CAC 40 lost 0.1%.
Elena
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
U.S. stocks kept showing a mixed performance, with investors cautious on Fed Reserve Chairman''s second day of testimony to Congress and digesting mixed economic data. Caterpillar supported the Dow, rising 2% after its board announced a $7.5 billion stock repurchase plan. Qualcom gave the tech sector a boost with a 2.6% gain on brokerage upgrade to buy from neutral.
Elena
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
Wall Street opened mixed on Thursday, reflecting mixed earnings, a report about bad loans in the financial sector, and better-than-expected economic data. Caterpillar supported the Dow with a 2.6% advance on the back of $7.5 B repurchase plan. Retail shares slipped with Staples and Bed Bath & Beyond among the top decliners. Guess Inc. jumped 11% after the company posted a better-than-expected profit, announced a two-for-one stock split and set a quarterly dividend.
Ivaylo
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
The UK market slipped into the red after hovering around six-year highs on Thursday, with upbeat news boosting Diageo and Reed Elsevier, but ebbing away bid talk around Wolseley led to losses for the stock. Miners have come under selling pressure, overshadowing gains elsewhere. Pendragon was the main advancer among mid-caps on strong earnings results. In early afternoon, the FTSE 100 was down 0.11% at 6,414.
Elena
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
U.S. stock futures advanced on Thursday, bolstered by bigger-than-expected rise in manufacturing activity in the New York area in February and a larger drop in January import prices. The U.S. Labor Department said that prices for imported goods fell 1.2%, vs. expectations of a 1.1% drop. It was also reported that initial jobless claims rose 44,000 during the week ending Feb. 10 to 357,000, the highest level seen since late November.
Ivaylo
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
Asian markets finished higher on Thursday with Japanese shares surging to their highest level in almost seven years on strong economic growth, while HK stocks soared on the comments of U.S. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday. Retailers led the advance in Japan as the consumer spending of the country was particularly upbeat. In China, institutions bought in large-caps while in Australia strong corporate earnings pushed the market higher.
Elena
15 Feb, 2007
New York City
China''''s leading Internet search engine reported earnings rise of 122.8 million yuan ($15.7 million), or 3.54 yuan (45 cents) per American Depositary Share, from 24.5 million yuan, or 0.71 yuan per ADS a year ago. The quarterly profit exceeded estimates for earnings of 32 cents per ADS.
