The Home Depot Inc. (NYSE: HD) reported better-than-expected quarterly financial results Tuesday -- 45 cents per share profit vs. estimates of 38 cents per share according to Thomson Reuters. Sales, however, continued to decline -- 6.2% in the quarter -- amid ongoing weakness in the housing, construction and retail sectors and the home improvement retailer warned that sales could plunge 8% for the year. HD shares are up 2.25% in premarket trading (8:04 am). HD shares traded about 6.5% lower by midday.
Yahoo Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) founder and CEO Jerry Yang has finally decided to step aside as chief executive. Apparently, he's too emotionally involved to run the struggling internet portal properly. The new CEO will face the same problems Yang faced when Semel left and he was made CEO, boosting earnings and facing skeptic investors. But now the job will be that much harder in the current economic downturn. This could clear the way for Yahoo selling to Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT). YHOO shares are jumping nearly 12% in premarket trading (8:04 am). Shares of MSFT are up 1.2% in premarket trading as well (8:08 am). YHOO shares gained nearly 13% by midday.
[Added 8:32: Hewlett-Packard Co. (NYSE: HPQ) shares are soaring 12.75% in premarket trading (8:17 am) after the company said it expects fiscal fourth-quarter results above Wall Street's expectations due to its global reach, diverse customer base and cost-cutting measures, and despite the bad economy.] HPQ shares gained 12.75% by midday.
Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F), which is also struggling to have enough cash for operations, meanwhile is slashing its 33.4% stake in Mazda Motor Corp. by nearly two-thirds. It will sell about a 20% stake for 52 billion yen ($540 million) based on Mazda's closing price Tuesday, which is a quarter of what it was worth a year ago. Ford shares were half a percent higher by midday.
News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox Sports unit will not match an offer from Walt Disney Co.'s (NYSE: DIS) ESPN to televise Bowl Championship Series college football games from 2011 to 2014, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Symantec Corp. (NASDAQ: SYMC) said CEO John Thompson would retire at the end of the security software company's fiscal year. Enrique Salem will take over as Symantec's CEO on April 4, 2009. Thompson will remain as chairman of the board of directors. SYMC shares were about 2% higher by midday.
Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) shares closed below $100,000 Monday for the first time in just over two years. Shares continued to slide, losing another 1% by midday trading.
Analyst calls:
- Pali Research upgraded Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) from Neutral to Buy. DIS shares were up about 4.5% by midday trading.
- UBS downgraded both Coca-Cola Co. (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo (NYSE: PEP) from Buy to Neutral. Shares of KO and PEP are down 1.5% (8:05 am) and 2.2% (8:01 am) in premarket trading respectively. KO shares were down little over 1% while PEP shares were up nearly 1% by midday trading.
- UBS also downgraded Kellogg (NYSE: K) from Buy to Neutral. Shares are down 2% in premarket trading (8:01 am). K shares traded slightly higher by midday trading.
Apple backs AT&T in continuing spat with Verizon
Closing Bell: The recession is still over, still... do you feel it?
Struggling Playboy outsources business ops
