U.S. Personal Income Falls; Micron Swings to Loss

Arthi Gupta
30 Sep, 2011
New York City

U.S. and global indexes plunged after China

[R]9:00 AM New York – U.S. and global indexes plunged after China’s manufacturing contracted for the third month in a row. Personal income in the U.S. slid 0.1% but spending rose 0.2% in August. European indexes slumped on weak German retail sales and euro area inflation rose. Micron swung to quarterly loss.[/R]

Global indexes slumped after China''s manufacturing activity contracted for the third straight month in September and German retail sales declined the most since 2007.

China''s purchasing managers'' index was 49.9 in September, unchanged on August, but higher than the flash estimate of 49.4, final results from Markit Economics showed today.

German Retail Sales Drop

German retail sales fell 2.9% on a monthly basis in August following a 0.3% increase in July, according to the latest data out today from the Federal Office of Statistics.

U.S. Personal Income Down, Spending Rises

Personal income in the U.S. declined 0.1% in August following a downwardly revised increase of 0.1% in July, according to a report released by the U.S. Commerce Department today.

However, personal spending rose 0.2% in August after surging 0.7% in July.

Anvil Reaches Agreement with Minmetals

Anvil Mining Ltd., the copper producer entered into a binding agreement, pursuant to which Chinese state-owned mining company Minmetals Resources Ltd. would make friendly cash offer to acquire Anvil at C$8 per share or a total consideration of C$1.33 billion.

Cukurova to Pay Damages to TeliaSonera

TeliaSonera AB, the Swedish telecommunications firm said that an arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce ordered Cukurova Holding to pay damages of $932 million, plus interest.

The final award was related to a dispute concerning the 2005 share purchase deal related to Turkish mobile phone operator Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S. between TeliaSonera and Cukurova.

Earnings Review

Micron Technology, Inc. ((MU)), the memory chip maker said fourth quarter net sales fell 14% to $2.14 billion from $2.49 billion in the same quarter last year. Net loss in the quarter was $135 million or 14 cents per diluted share compared to net income of $342 million or 32 cents per share for the year-ago quarter.