BIDU up 27%

Elena
10 May, 2006
New York City

U.S. stock futures pointed to a weak opening ahead of Fed Reserve interest-rate decision, due out in the afternoon. The benchmark fed funds rate is expected to be raised by a quarter of a point to 5%. In pre-market trading BIDU shares jumped 27% after China''s Web search system reported sharply higher quarterly earnings. Cisco Systems reported better-than-expected profit, but fell about 0.8% on a disappointing revenue forecast.

[R]9:00 AM Stock futures indicated a weak market opening.[/R]
U.S. stock futures traded weak, awaiting the Fed Reserve announcement on interest rates, with the market growing optimistic that the Fed will signal a pause in rate increases. The benchmark fed funds rate is expected to be raised to 5% from 4.75%. On Tuesday, Dell ((DELL)) put pressure on technology stocks after releasing a profit warning, while a rally in General Motors ((GM)) sent the Dow to a six-year high. After the closing bell Tuesday, Dow component Disney ((DIS)) reported quarterly earnings increase, exceeding analyst expectations. Technology bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. ((CSCO)) reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, but fell about 0.8% in electronic trading before the opening bell on a disappointing revenue forecast. Baidu.com Inc. ((BIDU)) shares jumped 29% before the opening bell after China''s most popular Web search system reported Tuesday sharply higher quarterly earnings. Symantec Corp. ((SYMC)) rose 2.5% on strong quarterly results that topped Wall Street targets. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were down 1 point, slightly below fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 3 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 3.75 points.

Crude oil prices steadied ahead of petroleum report, expected to show gasoline supplies. Light sweet crude June delivery traded unchanged at $70.69 a barrel. Gasoline marginally rose $2.0489 a gallon, while heating oil was up to $2.000. Natural gas gained about 5 cents to $6.626 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent added 10 cents to $71.18. European gold crossed $700, hitting a new 255-year high on weaker dollar and global tensions. In London the precious metal rose to $704.30 per troy ounce. In Zurich gold gained to $702.90. In Hong Kong gold jumped $23.13 to $702.50. The U.S. dollar dropped to one-year low in European trading ahead of FOMC meeting. The euro traded at $1.2784. The dollar bought 110.56 yen. The British pound was quoted at $1.8680.

Rural/Metro Corp, ((RURL)), provider of medical transportation, reported its fiscal Q3 net loss advanced to 16 cents a share, from 13 cents a share a year earlier. The company added that Q3 earnings include 18 cents a share from discontinued operations. The company also announced a $2.5 million charge pre-tax charge related to an ongoing government investigation into certain of its former Texas operations. Revenue advanced 6.8% to $137.9 million.

Southern Union Co., ((SUG)), energy company, reported Q1 earnings after the payment of preferred dividends of 82 cents a share, up from 81 cents a share a year ago. On a continuing operations basis, the company posted a profit of 60 cents a share, up from equivalent earnings of 48 cents a share a year-ago on revenue growth . The company missed analyst for a profit of 85 cents a share in Q1. Southern Union attributed the rise in earnings from continuing operations to improvement in its transportation and storage business and the acquisition of the Sid Richardson Energy Services business.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd, ((TEVA)), pharmaceutical company, reversed to a Q1 loss of. $1.40 per ADR, down from a profit of 38 cents per ADR a year-ago. On an adjusted basis, before one-time charges, it earned 37 cents per ADR. The first quarter 2006 results includes a write off of $1.2 billion of in-process research and development and $64 million of inventory step-up in connection with the acquisition of Ivax, Teva added. The company missed analysts’ forecasts for a profit of 41 cents per ADR.

Ferro Corp, ((FOE)), performance materials producer, reported net income for 2005 after payment of preferred dividends of 30 cents a share for the year, down from 55 cents a share in 2004. On a continuing operations basis, Ferro gained 32 cents a share, for 2005, down from a equivalent profit of 62 cents a share a year-ago. The periods include charges coming at 24 cents a share and 2 cents a share, respectively. Sales advanced 2% in 2005 in comparison to 2004. Ferro added that these results are still preliminary as it continues to work to complete its financial filings for the year, an effort it expects to finish in September.

Legg Mason Inc., ((LM)), asset manager, reported fiscal Q4 net income advanced to $1.03 a share, up vs. 98 cents in the year-ago quarter. The company missed analysts’ expectations for $1.25 a share.


[R]8:15AM Asia closed largely lower. China Shanghai Composite advanced.[/R]
Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished broadly in the red, hurt by weaker dollar and cautious trading ahead of U.S. FOMC meeting and interest-rate decision. Strong blue-chip stocks rally in the U.S. failed to provide solid support. The Nikkei dropped 1.4% to 16951.93 as the weak dollar weighed on exporter-related issues. Kyocera fell 2.6%, Honda Motor declined 2.3%, Sony lost 1.2%, and Advantest Corp. shed 1.2% The dollar bought 110.45 yen. After market closed Toyota Motor reported 39% increase in Q4 net income. Across the region, Shanghai Composite rose 1%, extending gains to hit a 2-year high on fresh fund flows. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.3%, dragged by property stocks which offset gains in HSBC. Taiwan Weighted index dropped 0.9% on weak financial stocks and profit taking. South Korea’s Kospi closed flat.


[R]7:45AM European markets traded in a tight range at mid-day.[/R]
European markets traded in a lackluster fashion at midday as investors were cautious, eagerly awaiting the U.S. Fed Reserve interest-rate decision. The U.S. central bank is expected to raise its federal funds target rate to 5%. Weaker dollar against the euro pressured export-related stocks like tech stocks with Infineon Technologies and Philips Electronics moving lower. The euro rose 0.3% to $1.2794. However, gains in the automotive sector helped limit the downward trend. Automakers were supported by DaimlerChrysler which rose 2.5% as Deutsche Bank upgraded the company to buy from hold and lifted its price target to 59 euros from 45 euros. The German DAX 30 gained 0.2%, the French CAC 40 lost 0.1%, and London’s FTSE 100 edged down 0.03%.