U.S. Indexes Lower; AOL, Microsoft in Patent Deal

Arthi Gupta
09 Apr, 2012
New York City

U.S. indexes edged lower on the growing worries about the euro zone. Sony may slash as many as 10,000 jobs in the current year. Boeing clinches $744 million deal with Russia-based Transaero Airlines. AOL agreed to sell over 800 patents to Microsoft Corporation for $1.06 billion.

[R]10:00 AM New York – U.S. indexes edged lower on the growing worries about the euro zone. Sony may slash as many as 10,000 jobs in the current year. Boeing clinches $744 million deal with Russia-based Transaero Airlines. AOL agreed to sell over 800 patents to Microsoft Corporation for $1.06 billion.[/R]

U.S. indexes declined on the first day of the week and investors had the first opportunity to react to the latest jobs data.

The U.S. non-farm payrolls report released on Friday showed that the economy added 120,000 jobs in March, the smallest job gains in five months. The jobless rate fell to 8.2% from 8.3%.

Asian markets traded lower as inflation in China increased more than estimated in March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed today. Inflation rose to 3.6% in March from 3.2% in February.

Asian markets closed lower on the first day of the week but markets in Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand were closed today.

Boeing Wins Order from Transaero Airlines

Boeing won an order from Russia-based Transaero Airlines for the supply of four new 787-8 Dreamliners, valued at $744 million, at list prices.

Sony to Slash 10,000 Jobs

Sony Corp., the Japanese electronics maker plans to cut a total of 10,000 jobs worldwide, or about 6% of its workforce, possibly by the end of this year, The Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday, citing sources.

AOL Sells Patents to Microsoft for $1 Billion

AOL Inc. agreed to sell over 800 patents and related patent applications to Microsoft Corporation and to grant Microsoft a non-exclusive license to its retained patent portfolio for aggregate proceeds of $1.056 billion in cash.

Following the sale, AOL will continue to hold a significant patent portfolio of over 300 patents and patent applications spanning core technologies, including advertising, search, content generation/management, social networking, mapping, multimedia/streaming, and security.

Earnings Review

Regis Corp. ((RGS)), the hair care salons operator said third quarter revenues fell 1.3% to $573.62 million from $581.27 million in the previous year. Same-store sales for the period decreased 3.4% compared to a 2.3% drop last year.

The Greenbrier Companies ((GBX)), the transportation manufacturing corporation said second quarter revenues surged 61% to $458.19 million from $284.34 million last year. Net income generated in the quarter was $17.67 million or 57 cents per diluted share compared to a loss of $550,000 or 2 cents per share last year.

United Microelectronics Corp. ((UMC)), the manufacturer of semiconductor products said its March net sales declined 14.55% to NT$8.19 billion from NT$9.58 billion reported for the corresponding month last year.

For the first quarter of 2012, net sales fell 15.48% to NT$23.76 billion from NT$28.12 billion last year.