U.S. Index Futures Rise; Adobe Swings to Profit

Arthi Gupta
21 Dec, 2010
New York City

The U.S. index futures rose on optimism of economic recovery. Toronto-Dominion inched closer to acquire Chrysler Financial for $6.3 billion. Buckeye agreed to acquire 80% stake in Bahamas Oil for $1.36 billion. Martek agreed for takeover offer by Koninklijke DSM in $1.09 billion deal.

[R]8:20 AM New York – The U.S. index futures rose on optimism of economic recovery. Toronto-Dominion inched closer to acquire Chrysler Financial for $6.3 billion. Buckeye agreed to acquire 80% stake in Bahamas Oil for $1.36 billion. Martek agreed for takeover offer by Koninklijke DSM in $1.09 billion deal.[/R]

World markets advanced after tension eased in the Korean peninsula and hopes of global economic growth. Markets in Asia advanced and in Europe gained after China said Portugal has taken “concrete” steps to alleviate sovereign debt crisis.

Toronto-Dominion Nears Acquisition of Chrysler Financial

Toronto-Dominion Bank, the Canadian lender is close to acquiring auto lender Chrysler Financial Corp. from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, in a deal worth about $6.3 billion, according to reports.

Buckeye Acquires 80% in Bahamas Oil

Buckeye Partners, L.P. signed an agreement to acquire an 80% interest in Bahamas Oil Refining Company International from affiliates of First Reserve Corporation for $1.36 billion. The company expects to finance the purchase through a combination of equity and debt.

Martek Biosciences Agrees for Takeover by Koninklijke DSM

Koninklijke DSM N.V., the global life sciences and materials sciences company and Martek Biosciences Corporation entered into an agreement under which DSM will acquire all the outstanding shares of common stock of Martek for $31.50 in cash a share for a total consideration of $1,087 million.

HP Inks Deal with BP

Hewlett-Packard Co. said its global business and technology services division HP Enterprise Services UK Ltd. inked a five-year outsourcing services agreement worth over $400 million with BP plc.

As per the deal, HP will provide BP with data center management services from monitoring, backup and recovery, site management and maintenance services, to database and middleware management.

AOL Buys about.me, Inc.

AOL, Inc. said it agreed to buy about.me, Inc., a product that empowers people to create a single personal profile page that presents their online identities together in one place.

Brown-Forman Contemplates Sale of Wine Business

Brown-Forman Corp., the alcoholic beverage maker put its wine business up for sale, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter. The report also said that Constellation Brands Inc. is close to selling the bulk of its non-U.S. wine portfolio to an unknown buyer.

Toyota Pays Penalty to NHTSA

Toyota Corp., the Japanese automaker reached two settlements with the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration related to recalls conducted by the company in 2005 as well as between 2007 and early 2010.

Toyota agreed to pay $32.425 million as part of these settlements.

CSC Acquires CenTauri Solutions

Computer Science Corp. acquired CenTauri Solutions, LLC. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Commenting on the acquisition, CSC said it will enable the company to deliver IT services and solutions as a prime contractor through the Defense Intelligence Agency''s $6.6 billion identity projects.

Earnings Review

Adobe Systems Incorporated ((ADBE)), the publishing and design software maker said fourth quarter revenue rose 33% to a record $1.01 billion from $757.28 million in the same quarter last year. Net income generated in the quarter was $268.9 million or 53 cents per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $32.0 million or 6 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.

For the fiscal year 2010, revenue rose 29% to $3.80 billion in fiscal 2010 from $2.95 billion last year. Annual net income soared 100% to $774.7 million or $1.47 per share, compared to net income of $386.5 million or $0.73 per share in fiscal 2009.

ConAgra Foods, Inc. ((CAG)), the food company said second quarter net sales improved 2.0% to $3.16 billion from $3.10 billion in the comparable period. Net income in the quarter decreased 16.2% to $200.9 million or 45 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $239.7 million or 54 cents per share last year.

Darden Restaurants, Inc. ((DRI)), the operator of full-service restaurant reported second quarter sales increased 5.2% to $1.72 billion from $1.64 billion a year earlier. Net earnings in the quarter rose 24% to $74.5 million or 53 cents per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $60.3 million or 43 cents per share a year earlier.

Jabil Circuit, Inc. ((JBL)), the electronic product solutions company reported first quarter net revenue surged 32.3% to $4.1 billion from $3.1 billion in the same period last year. Net income in the quarter soared 277% to $106.7 million or 49 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $28.3 million or 13 cents per share in the year-ago period.

Jefferies Group, Inc. ((JEF)), the securities and investment banking firm said fourth quarter net revenues increased 29% to $694.88 million from $538.21 million in the comparable period a year ago. Net earnings in the quarter slipped 24.4% to $70.72 million or 35 cents per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $93.52 million or 46 cents per share a year earlier.

Paychex, Inc. ((PAYX)), the staffing and outsourcing service provider reported second quarter total revenue increased 3% to $512.0 million from $496.6 million a year ago. Net income in the quarter increased 6.4% to $133.9 million or 37 cents per diluted share, compared to net income of $125.8 million or 35 cents per share in the previous year.