U.S. Indexes Lower; Lennar Net Drops 5%

Arthi Gupta
11 Jan, 2012
New York City

The U.S. indexes declined ahead of the regional economic report from the Fed and Germany sold

[R]9:40 AM New York – The U.S. indexes declined ahead of the regional economic report from the Fed and Germany sold €3.2 billion of 5-year debt. Israel-based Elbit agreed to sell 47 U.S. malls in a $1.43 billion deal.[/R]

U.S. indexes edged lower ahead of the Beige Book report that assesses the health of the regional economy.

Indexes in Europe dropped after Germany auctioned €3.153 billion worth of 5-year bonds against the €4 billion on offer at an average yield of 0.90%, less than the 1.11% in the last auction on December 7.

The bid-to-cover ratio was 2.8 compared to 2.1 in an auction of 2016 notes on December 7.

The German Chancellor Angela Merkel and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde met yesterday to discuss the European debt crisis with a special focus on Greece.

Lagarde is expected to meet with French President Nicolas Sarkozy today.

The major Asian markets traded mixed.

Elbit to Sell 47 U.S. Malls

Elbit Imaging Ltd., the property developer and its indirect Dutch subsidiary Plaza Centers N.V. announced that their U.S. subsidiary EPN Group agreed to sell 47 of its 49 US based shopping centers to BRE DDR Retail Holdings LLC in a deal totaling $1.428 billion.

Earnings Review

Lennar Corporation ((LEN)), the home builder reported fourth quarter revenues rose 11% to $952.65 million from $860.12 million in the same quarter last year. Net earnings in the quarter fell 5.4% to $30.28 million or 16 cents per diluted share compared to net earnings of $32.03 million or 17 cents per share in the prior-year quarter.

Magna International Inc. ((MGA)), the Canadian automotive supplier projects consolidated total sales to be between $27.8 billion and $29.3 billion, and consolidated production sales to be between $23.6 billion and $24.7 billion for fiscal year 2012.

Stryker Corp. ((SYK)), the medical technology company reported fourth quarter net sales increased 11% to $2.2 billion from $2.0 billion in the same quarter last year.

For fiscal 2011, net sales increased 13.5% to $8.3 billion from $7.32 billion reported in fiscal 2010.

SUPERVALU Inc. ((SVU)), the grocery retailer reported third quarter net sales declined 3.9% to $8.33 billion from $8.67 billion in the prior-year quarter. Net loss in the quarter widened 271% to $750 million or $3.54 per diluted share compared to a net loss of $202 million or 95 cents per share last year.