Paul Kangas' Stocks in the News
Friday, March 09, 2007
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JEFF YASTINE: For all the hoopla about the February employment report, today it wound up being a quiet trading session Friday on Wall Street. A quick relief rally at the start, the Dow rising 60 points. That led to a round of selling as many traders cleared their books for the weekend. By early afternoon, the Dow was off 30, the NASDAQ down 10. But as oil prices slid to just below $60 a barrel, buyers cut those losses in the final hour. So the Dow closed up 15.62 points at 12,276.32. And this week the index rose in three out of five sessions for a gain of 162.22 points or 1.3 percent. The NASDAQ Composite slipping just a fraction to 2387.55 and that index rose twice and fell three times for an overall gain of 19.55 points. And then the S&P 500 rising nearly a point to 1402.85. As Scott Gurvey mentioned, the bond market weakened on those gains and average hourly earnings in the employment report, the 10-year note falling 19/32 to 100 9/32, putting the yield at 4.59 percent.
Starting things off, General Electric (GE) losing $0.13. The Dow component seeking more partnerships in China to expand credit card operations there.
And there's CVS Corp (CVS) gaining $0.19. A Delaware court ruling clearing the way for a vote by Caremark shareholders next week to consider the rival bid from CVS and Express Scripts. Some analysts think Express has overextended and would have difficulty raising its bid for Caremark.
And then there's New Century Financial (NEW) lost $0.66 at new lows and you heard the news from Susie just a moment ago.
Ford Motor Co (F) was unchanged, but reports out of London suggest a British bio-firm (ph) and a second company are the top contenders to buy the Aston Martin unit from Ford.
ExxonMobil (XOM) losing $0.73. Oil prices dipping about $1.50 a barrel today.
Motorola (MOT) down $0.16.
And then Pfizer (PFE) was unchanged.
EMC Corp (EMC) off $0.07.
SprintNextel (S) losing $0.07 as well. Analysts at Lehman Brothers warning the marketing costs are continuing to eat into profits at the company.
And Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM) down a fraction. (INAUDIBLE) will sell its final 16 percent ownership stake in that chip maker.
National Semiconductor (NSM) climbing $1.14. The chip maker says its inventory problems are resolved and it's getting new orders from cell phone makers. Analysts applauding that news and perhaps upside earnings surprises in future quarters.
Then Big Lots (BIG) vaulting $4 and change. Close to an eight-year high on healthy fourth quarter profits about double year ago levels. Management said the first quarter looks good and they announced a $600 million stock buyback program.
Luxury home builder Hovnanian Enterprises (HOV) climbing over $1. The first quarter loss, $0.91 a share compared to $1.25 profit in the year ago period. The drought of new buyers forcing Hovnanian to boost incentives and they're not forecasting a definite bottom in the housing market.
Vonage Holdings (VG) tumbling 14 percent, reaction to yesterday's loss of a patent infringement case brought by Verizon. However, Vonage says it is not going out of a business. It's had no loss of service to customers. It is appealing the case, but it can pay the $58 million damage award without too much of a problem if they have to.
Quiksilver (ZQK) sliding $1.25. Warmer temperatures late last year and January this year causing a meltdown in first quarter profits.
Then let's move onto the NASDAQ where Google (GOOG) fell $1.76.
And there's the damage to Yahoo! (YHOO), losing $1.59. An article in the "Wall Street Journal" suggesting now it could lose its partnership with AT&T which helps to sign up new DSL subscribers. However, late today, the two companies issued a release saying they are working together to adapt to changing market conditions and changing strategies.
Microsoft (MSFT) losing a fraction.
Amgen (AMGN) down for the day.
And so did Apple (AAPL).
Research in Motion (RIMM) falling over $2.
Intel (INTC) slipped a fraction.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) also down $0.07.
Qualcomm (QCOM) losing $0.09.
Dell (DELL) gaining $0.17.
And here's a new IPO Xinhua Finance Media (XFML) falling $1.65. It's a financial news and data service.
Then PeopleSupport (PSPT) tumbling nearly $9, saw results first quarter, results to be about $0.03 to $0.05 below estimates.
And Jones Soda Co (JSDA) climbing as well. They signed a big deal to put their product in Wal-Mart, Safeway, Kroger's and other national retailers.
Those are our stocks in the news tonight.
