ArcelorMittal (NYSE: MT) swung to a surprising $2.6 billion loss in the fourth quarter -- its first ever -- as it experienced a collapse in demand and a sharp drop in prices. It wrote down $4.4 billion in pre-tax charges. The steel giant is also shedding some 9,000 workers. MT shares jumped over 6% in premarket trade.Applied Materials (NASDAQ: AMAT) warned late Tuesday that chipmakers will spend 50% less this year for its products. The maker of semiconductor production equipment also posted a fiscal first-quarter loss of $3 million, excluding charges, and said it will cut 14% of its workforce, or about 2,000 jobs, as well as production. AMAT shares declined some 2% in premarket trade.
Eight CEOs including Lloyd C. Blankfein, of Goldman Sachs & Co. (NYSE: GS), James Dimon of JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM), Ken Lewis of Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Vikram Pandit of Citigroup (NYSE: C) will face questions from Congress at 10:00 am about executive pay and how their banks have spent their share of the first $350 billion in the rescue plan. After getting pounded Tuesday, bank shares are generally recovering this morning.
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) reported a fiscal fourth-quarter loss of $147.7 million, but excluding charges, the loss was $94.4 million, or 18 cents a share, missing estimates of a loss of 12 cents a share. Revenue for the graphics chip maker fell almost 60% to $481 million, also below estimates of $587 million in sales. NVDA shares decline over 3% in premarket trade.
Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. (NYSE: MJN), a spin-off of Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. (NYSE: BMY) and the maker of Enfamil infant-formula, is ending a long IPO dry spell with MJN's initial public offerings with a $680 million debut.
Sirius XM Radio Inc. (NASDAQ: SIRI) was reported by The New York Times it has hired advisers to prepare for a possible bankruptcy filing, which could come in days. While this isn't surprising if it is indeed the case, Doug McIntyre warns about such rumors. SIRI shares are down over 50% in premarket trading to 5 cents.
Reporting today (among others):
Credit Suisse Group (NYSE: CS) - forecast to post a loss of $2.77 per American Depositary Share in the fourth quarter. CS shares are up nearly 2% in premarket trade as it scents recovery after record FY loss.
Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI) -- forecast to post fourth-quarter earnings of 29 cents a share.
Dean Foods (NYSE: DF) -- forecast to to post earnings of 39 cents a share in the fourth quarter. DF beat estimates and shares are gaining over 6% in premarket trade.
Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) said it may reduce its workforce by up to 4% as part of its restructuring effort.
Research in Motion (NASDAQ: RIMM) shares are tumbling over 10% in premarket trade after the smartphone maker gave outlook that disappointed investors.
Rio Tinto (NYSE: RTP) shares climbed over 7% in premarket trade as speculation intensified that the mining giant may be near a deal to cut its debt.
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Corrections, seasonality and Santa Claus
