The Money Man Behind Rick Santorum: Who Is Foster S. Friess?
Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
U.S. stock futures advanced Tuesday morning, pointing to a second day of gains as signs of progress in the Greek debt crisis helped stabilize European markets. Meanwhile, merger activity continued as investors awaited what is likely to be a disappointing month for U.S. car sales. Merger Monday helped lift Wall Street as deal news had the Nasdaq and S&P 500 gaining over 1%, putting both back in the black for the year. The Dow industrials, although adding 0.8% Monday, is still down 0.2% in 2010.
With little economic news today, most eyes are on the upcoming February sales figures from car manufacturers even as General Motors may be recalling 1.3 million compact cars in North America. Auto and truck sales in February are expected to reach 785,000 cars and trucks, a 14.2% increase from February 2009, according to Edmunds.com. While this may sound encouraging, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales is expected to dip to 10.6 million from 10.7 million and be below where they were expected to be.
Overseas, Asian markets finished the day mixed, while European shares rose modestly. "The main focus in the markets continues to be the Greek debt crisis and whether Germany and France are prepared to offer Greece a financial lifeline to help it borrow the money it needs in the international bond markets," the AP reports.
Meanwhile deal activity continues. CF Industries (CF) made a $47.70 a share bid fpr Terra Industries (TRA), which jumped nearly 13% following the news. The bid trumps an agreed bid from Yara International. Among other stocks in the news are Staples (SPLS), which reported disappointing results and Qualcomm (QCOM), which said it is increasing its stock buyback to as much as $3 billion and hiking its dividend by 12%.
Goldman Earnings Sink After Buffett Dividend
Johnson & Johnson's Income Falls 23%
Burberry Shares Leap on Sales Update
