AIG Profit Slips 29%

Elena
10 Aug, 2006
New York City

U.S. stocks futures dropped Thursday, following reports of a terrorist plot to blow up aircraft in flight between Britain and the U.S. Shares of airlines slipped on the news, with Continental Airlines falling 3.1%. Insurance giant American International Group reported Q2 profit dropped 29% to $1.21 per share, down from $1.71 a year ago.

[R]9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a lower start.[/R]
U.S. stock futures indicated a lower market opening Thursday after British authorities reported they thwarted a plot to blow up several aircraft mid-flight between Britain and the United States. Airlines canceled hundreds of flights in and out of London. The U.S. government raised its threat level for commercial flights to Britain to ‘severe’-its highest level. Britain''s national security threat level was raised to ‘critical’ from ‘severe.’

Before the opening bell, shares of Continental Airlines ((CAL)) fell 3.1% to $23.46 on the Inet, while in Europe major carriers'' shares dropped about 4%. In other trade before the bell, shares of ImClone Systems Inc. ((IMCL)) slipped 8.6% after the company said its board of directors completed a review of its strategic alternatives and the company decided to remain independent. Insurer American International Group ((AIG)) reported quarterly earnings declined 29% to $1.21 per share, down from $1.71 a year ago. Among retailers reporting today, JC Penney Co. Inc. ((JCP)) posted surging Q2 profit to 76 cents a share from 50 cents a year ago, helped by improving sales of jewelry, accessories and women's apparel. Company’s quarterly results exceeded estimates of 73 cents a share. Standard & Poor''s 500 futures were down 7.1 points, below fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 47 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were down 8 points.


[R]U.S. trade deficit narrowed.[/R]
Thursday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on U.S. international trade in goods and services in the month of June. The report showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed compared to a revised reading for May. The report showed that the trade deficit narrowed to $64.8 billion in June from a revised $65.0 billion in May. Economists had expected the deficit to widen to $64.5 billion compared to the $63.8 billion originally reported for the previous month. The narrower deficit in June compared to the previous month came as an increase in exports outpaced an increase in imports. The Commerce Department said that the value of exports rose 1.9 percent to $120.7 billion in June from $118.4 billion in May, while the value of imports rose 1.1 percent to $185.5 billion from $183.4 billion in the previous month. The report also showed that the goods deficit narrowed to $70.4 billion in June from $71.0 billion in May, while the services surplus narrowed to $5.6 billion from $6.0 billion. Additionally, the Commerce Department said that the politically sensitive trade deficit with China widened to $19.7 billion in June from $17.7 billion in May.

[R]Initial jobless claims rose more than expected.[/R]
The Department of Labor released its report on initial jobless claims in the week ended August 5 on Thursday, showing that jobless claims came in above economist estimates. At the same time, the report showed a decrease by the less-volatile four-week moving average. The report showed that jobless claims rose to 319,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 312,000. Economists had expected claims to come in unchanged compared to the 315,000 originally reported for the previous week. As mentioned above, the Labor Department also said that the four-week moving average fell to 308,750 from the previous week's revised average of 312,500. The report also showed that continuing claims in the week ended July 29 rose to 2.480 million from the preceding week's revised level of 2.432 million.


[R]8:00AM Airlines and travel companies dropped.[/R]
Airlines and travel companies steeply dropped Thursday after British authorities reported they held 21 people in custody after a terrorist plot to blow up several aircraft in flight between the U.S. and Britain. The plot had targeted United Airlines ((UAUA)), American Airlines ((AMR)) and Continental Airlines Inc. ((CAL)), according to the Associated Press, citing two U.S. counterterrorism officials. Britain''s national security threat level was raised to ‘critical’ from ‘severe.’ The U.S. government raised its threat level for commercial flights to Britain to its highest level.

Shares of U.S. airlines trading in Europe tumbled. American Airlines parent AMR Corp.''s shares fell 12.8% to 17.68 euros ($22.73). Shares of UAL Corp., the parent of United Airlines, fell more than 4% to 18.32 euros ($23.55). Shares of British Airways PLC ((BAB)) made the steepest decline among European airlines because of its heavy exposure to the trans-Atlantic route. Its shares fell 3.9% to 374.50 pence ($7.15) on the LSE. BA said it was experiencing severe operational delays Thursday and it was likely some flights would be canceled. Budget airline easyJet PLC fell 2.6% to 411.75 pence ($7.84), while low-cost carrier Ryanair Holdings PLC lost 2.8% to 7.32 euros ($9.41). Among other airlines, Air France-KLM was down 2.8% to 19.19 euros ($24.68), while Lufthansa was down 3.2% at 14.16 euros ($18.21).


[R]7:30AM Asian markets slip, Japan lower as Sony and Sharp plunge.[/R]
Asian markets were lower in Thursday trading. The Nikkei finished the day down 0.16% at 15,630.91. Trading was cautious as investors awaited quarterly GDP data, which will be released Friday. Electronics exporters Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. both declined about 1%. Mobile service provider NTT DoCoMo advanced 1.8% on hopes the company will gain subscribers after number portability regulations go into effect in October.

Suzuki Motor moved up 1.6% after saying Wednesday it was lifting its full-year sales outlook to 3 trillion yen from 2.8 trillion yen. The company also said it would build a new plant in Japan to help satisfy strong demand for small cars. It will be Suzuki''s first new Japanese factory in more than three decades. Nissan Motor advanced 0.5%. Banks also gained, after better-than-expected machinery-order data released Wednesday suggested a strong market for corporate loans. Mizuho Financial Group was up 1.5%.

Hong Kong''s Hang Seng Index fell 0.72% to 17,222.14 as investors took profit on blue chips including China Mobile and Henderson Land. China Mobile, gaining 4.5% Wednesday, shed 1.1%, while Henderson Land sank by 1.7%. South Korea''s Kospi index slipped 0.81% after the country''s central bank raised interest rates at mid-morning, increasing the call-rate target by 0.25 percentage point to 4.5%.

Australia''s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 slid 0.52% after Telstra Corp reported disappointing earnings before the market opened Thursday. Miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto slipped as a strike continued at their Escondida copper mine in Chile. Elsewhere, China''s volatile Shanghai Composite index rose 1.74% after Air China''s Shanghai IPO, recently downsized following a weak response from institutional investors, met with healthy retail demand.


[R]6:30AM European stocks fell Thursday morning on security issues.[/R]
European markets were lower Thursday morning. The FTSE 100 in London dipped 1.4% to 5,781.2, the Xetra Dax sank 2.1% to 5,585.72, the CAC-40 fell 1.5% to 4,952.28. British Airways shed 4%, Ryanair dropped 3.3% and Lufthansa fell 3.8% on security uncertainty and the impact on travel sentiment as UK airports have introduced a ban on all hand baggage on aircraft leaving the UK, on government advice. Ferrovial, owner of UK airports operator BAA, declined 3%.

Tui, the German tourism and shipping group, sank 6.5 per cent to €14.54 as it warned costs at its shipping division would hit this year’s earnings. Securitas, the security services group, fell 9.7 per cent to SKr120.50 after reporting second quarter earnings fell well below forecasts. Deutsche Telekom lost 8.2% after Europe’s biggest telecom group issued a profits warning and reduced its targets for 2006 and 2007. The telecom sector suffered a blow, falling 3.3 %, with Telecom Italia down 2.8%, France Telecom off 3.1% and BT down 2.6%.

Crude oil prices changed little Thursday as the market remained wary of factors influencing supply in the United States, Africa and the Middle East. Light, sweet crude for September delivery gained 9 cents to $76.44 a barrel in electronic trading on the NYME. September Brent crude futures on London''s ICE Futures rose 25 cents to $77.53 a barrel. Gold opened Thursday at a bid price of $653.10 a troy ounce, up from $652.90 late Wednesday.

The euro gained slightly against the U.S. dollar Thursday as traders absorbed a decision by the U.S. Fed to hold off on any interest rate increases. The euro bought $1.2889 in morning European trading, up from $1.2861 in New York late Wednesday. The British pound edged upward to $1.9074 from $1.9049. The dollar was marginally lower against the Japanese currency, slipping to 115.06 yen from 115.23 yen