Don't Worry About Today's Retirees: Boomers Are Fine, (but Gen X…
$600 Million Powerball: 1 Winning Ticket Sold in Fla.Douglas McIntyre
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AOL Buys Huffington Post: A New Era of Online News
Online media giant AOL (AOL) has bought The Huffington Post for $315 million. It will pay $300 million in cash, the rest in stock for the news website. When The Huffington Post raised money just over a year ago, the value of the site was rumored to be $125 million. It has 25 million unique users a month, according to Comscore figures. AOL has just over 90 million. The combined user bases could push the total ahead of MSN, the Microsoft (MSFT) portal, and perhaps Yahoo! (YHOO).
AOL, the parent company of BloggingStocks, said in a release that Arianna Huffington would lead the newly formed Huffington Post Media Group, which will integrate all the content from The Huffington Post and AOL sites, from politics and finance to Moviefone and Mapquest.
Continue reading AOL Buys Huffington Post: A New Era of Online News
Is News Corp. Saying Goodbye to MySpace?
There have been rumors for some time, fueled by occasional comments from News Corp., that the media giant's days of owning also-ran social network MySpace are numbered. News Corp. COO Chase Carey indicated that MySpace may be sold or spun out when he spoke on the company's earnings call on Feb. 2.
Buried in a line item of the News Corp. (NWS) fiscal second-quarter earnings release were the results of MySpace, under the category of "Other." The description of the segment was: "The Other segment reported a second-quarter operating loss of $156 million, which is $31 million greater than the prior year. This decline was primarily due to increased losses at the Digital Media Group, stemming largely from lower search and advertising revenues at MySpace."
Continue reading Is News Corp. Saying Goodbye to MySpace?
American Air Pulls Tickets from Orbiz
AMR (AMR) operating unit American Air pulled the ability to buy its tickets from travel site Orbitz.
"Effective December 21, 2010, schedules and fares for flights on American Airlines and American Eagle are no longer available on Orbitz.com or websites powered by Orbitz.com", the company said. Tickets will still be sold through travel agencies and at the firm's own website -- AA.com.
Continue reading American Air Pulls Tickets from Orbiz
Stocks at Two-Year High: What Lies Ahead?
The S&P 500 is now at a two-year high, closing last week at 1,240.40. The index last hit that level in September 2008.
Some analysts believe that the market trades ahead of what it sees in the economy six months out. If that's true, Wall Street expects improved employment, a moderately rising GDP, and early signs of a real estate recovery.
Continue reading Stocks at Two-Year High: What Lies Ahead?
Closing Bell: Stocks Seesaw on GDP Report (FSLR, PWER, HAL, FMR, VVUS
Stocks opened lower this morning before getting a boost from the report that US GDP growth in the third quarter tallied an expected 2%. Then a report on consumer confidence sent the market sharply lower before it rebounded again to positive territory before heading slightly lower again.
On this final trading day of October -- and the 81st anniversary of the crash of 1929 -- stocks are poised to maintain their gains for the month. The DJIA is up about 3% in the month, while the S&P 500 is up 3.7%. The dollar weakened slightly today, down 0.1% against a basket of six other currencies. All eyes are now focused on next Tuesday's elections and Wednesday's meeting of the Fed's open market committee.
Continue reading Closing Bell: Stocks Seesaw on GDP Report (FSLR, PWER, HAL, FMR, VVUS
Closing Bell: A Round Trip to a Plus Day (AMZN, AXP, MCD, EBAY, NFLX)
The market started well enough as McDonald's Corporation (MCD), Netflix, Inc. (NFLX), eBay, Inc. (EBAY), and several other companies posted strong earnings. Weekly jobless claims, notoriously fickle, fell 23,000 to 452,000. The total is still within the troubling range that indicates job creation is nil.The market lost all of its morning momentum when the Philly Fed index came in slightly below expectations which was viewed as a sign by traders that better earnings are not necessarily tied to better economic fundamentals. Companies which do business in the emerging world markets like McDonald's and Caterpillar may buck US headwinds, but many firms do not enjoy that geographic diversity.
The numbers:
Dow Jones 11,146.79 +38.82 (0.35%)
S&P 500 1,180.23 +2.06 (0.17%)
Nasdaq 2,459.67 +2.28 (0.09%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: A Round Trip to a Plus Day (AMZN, AXP, MCD, EBAY, NFLX)
Graco Recalls 2 Million Strollers
Graco (GGG), which manufactures children's products, recalled 2 million strollers Wednesday because they can cause strangulation to children under 12 months of age. The action includes Quattro Tour models made before November 2006 and MetroLite strollers and travel systems made before July 2007.
Graco said that children can slip through the space between the tray and seat when they are not harnessed. The company reported that the problem has caused nine injuries, but four deaths have apparently been tied to the strollers as well. The deaths occurred between 2003 and 2005, according to Consumer Reports. Graco is urging consumers to stop using the products immediately and contact the company for a free repair set. Graco has listed the products involved at its website.
Continue reading Graco Recalls 2 Million Strollers
Despite Economic Woes, Wall Street Pay Set to Jump
Wall Street employees will make a record $144 billion this year -- a 4% increase from 2009. The Wall Street Journal reported that the compensation figures comprise pay and benefits at "about three dozen of the top publicly held securities and investment-services firms -- which include banks, investment banks, hedge funds, money-management firms and securities exchanges."Revenue will rise at 29 of the 35 firms that had their pay plans examined by the paper. But the Journal says that revenue at the firms will not rise as quickly as compensation. Wall Street revenue is expected to improve 3% to $448 billion this year compared to last. Employee payout as a percent of revenue will remain flat at 32.1%.
Continue reading Despite Economic Woes, Wall Street Pay Set to Jump
Closing Bell: Market Rockets Higher (AMD, PBR, XOM)
The overall markets were up about 2% today, primarily because of a rise in capital goods spending. New durable goods orders excluding transportation rose 2% in August. Wall St. took this as a sign that businesses as a whole are not terribly concerned about a double dip recession.The market ignored bad news about housing, perhaps because it has been bad for months and that is expected to continue at least through the end of the year. New home sales remained flat in August according to the Commerce Department at a level of 282,000. Most analysts believed the figure would be above 300,000.
Today's closing bell numbers:
Dow Jones 10,860.26 +197.84 (1.86%)
S&P 500 1,148.67 +23.84 (2.12%)
Nasdaq 2,381.22 +54.14 (2.33%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: Market Rockets Higher (AMD, PBR, XOM)
Marker Close: Another Listless Trading Day (BAC, NVDA, TXN, AMD, BIDU, YHOO)
The market went up and then down. By the end of the trading day, most of the indexes were in the red, but not by much. The two pieces of news that traders had to digest both came early in the day. The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales rose 7.6% to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.13 million. Housing market progress is still painfully slow. Weekly jobless claims, a notoriously fickle number, rose 12,000 to 465,000. A better indication of the job market -- continuing claims -- fell 48,000 to 4.49 million. The figure is still staggeringly large and a sign the the joblessness problem remains firmly entrenched.The numbers:
Dow Jones 10,662.42 -76.89 (-0.72%)
S&P 500 1,124.83 -9.45 (-0.83%)
Nasdaq 2,327.08 -7.47 (-0.32%)
Continue reading Marker Close: Another Listless Trading Day (BAC, NVDA, TXN, AMD, BIDU, YHOO)
The Closing Bell: Housing Kills the Rally (ADBE, MSFT, BRCD, IBM)
The Federal Housing Financial Agency reported home prices reached their lowest point in nearly six years. For the twelve months ending in July, the drop was 3.3% compared to the same period a year earlier. The news set a negative tone, and the market was down all day. Worried investors poured money into gold after a Fed report yesterday showed worrisome data on the economy. The metal hit $1,290 an ounce and may stay in all-time high record territory if fears about GDP expansion spread. Although it was a down day, the markets showed little damage at the close.
Today's closing bell numbers:
Dow Jones 10,739.31 -21.72 (-0.20%)
S&P 500 1,134.27 -5.51 (-0.48%)
Nasdaq 2,334.55 -14.80 (-0.63%)
Continue reading The Closing Bell: Housing Kills the Rally (ADBE, MSFT, BRCD, IBM)
Closing Bell: The Fed Is All That Counts (CAG, NOK, VVUS)
There was a blizzard of economic news today, but the only thing that really counted was the release of the notes from the The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee. The governors decided to keep rates near zero but do nothing beyond that to ease what is clearly a slowing economy. "Employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts are at a depressed level. Bank lending has continued to contract, but at a reduced rate in recent months." Wall St. temporarily viewed this as news the Fed would ride to the rescue if the economy contracts. The markets traded up right after the 2:15pm announcement but sold off for the balance of the day. The financial world's faith in the Fed's future actions only lasted an hour. The markets ended nearly flat for the day.
Today's unofficial closing numbers:
Dow Jones 10,761.03 +7.41 (0.07%)
S&P 500 1,139.78 -2.93 (-0.26%)
Nasdaq 2,349.35 -6.48 (-0.28%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: The Fed Is All That Counts (CAG, NOK, VVUS)
Closing Bell: Little Action on Less Care (RIMM, ORCL, JNJ, STU, C and ARNA)
It really wasn't a very good news day for stocks, but the market was flat anyway. The University of Michigan consumer index hit a one year low, which was not expected. It dropped to 66.6 in September from 68.9 last month. Consensus estimates were for the number to be 70. Consumer inflation literally dropped to zero, once food and energy were factored out. There has not been much talk about deflation recently, but when price pressure dissipates, the specter appears.
Today's closing bell numbers:
Dow Jones 10,607.85 +13.02 (0.12%)
S&P 500 1,125.59 +0.93 (0.08%)
Nasdaq 2,315.61 +12.36 (0.54%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: Little Action on Less Care (RIMM, ORCL, JNJ, STU, C and ARNA)
Closing Bell: Housing and Prosperity Fade (FDX, F, ATVI, MSFT, RIMM, AAPL)
Three pieces of information stood out today. The first is that one in seven people lived in poverty last year according the US Census. That is nearly 44 million people. The Census describes these people as members of four person families that make less than $22,000 a year. Two other pieces of data that showed the economic dreams of many American is eroding were RealtyTrac reported foreclosures hit an all time high since the housing crisis began. In July the figure rose to 95,465. Also in the housing sector, Fannie Mae research reported that while a majority of Americans (67%) continue to believe that buying a home is a safe investment, this fell 16 points since 2003. The market may have gotten the impression from these pieces of news that the recession is not over.
Today's Closing Bell numbers:
Dow Jones 10,594.83 +22.10 (0.21%)
S&P 500 1,124.66 -0.41 (-0.04%)
Nasdaq 2,303.25 +1.93 (0.08%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: Housing and Prosperity Fade (FDX, F, ATVI, MSFT, RIMM, AAPL)
Closing Bell: The Market Advances Without Conviction (BA, YHOO)
The market ignored intervention on behalf of Japan to drive down the value of the yen and an anemic improvement in August industrial output, which was only up .2%, to post a very modest gain for the day. Today's closing bell numbers:
Dow Jones 10,572.73 +46.24 (0.44%)
S&P 500 1,125.07 +3.97 (0.35%)
Nasdaq 2,301.32 +11.55 (0.50%)
Continue reading Closing Bell: The Market Advances Without Conviction (BA, YHOO)
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