Following the Dow's steepest one-day climb in four years, stock futures were flat Tuesday ahead of the Federal Reserve's 2:15 p.m. decision on interest rates. The Fed is expected to maintain its benchmark federal funds rate at 5.25%.Also Tuesday morning, the Labor Department will report on second-quarter productivity and costs; moderated labor costs and increased productivity are expected.
Companies reporting earnings today include Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), TXU Corp. (NYSE: TXU), and Harrah's Entertainment (NYSE: HET). Cisco is expected to match earnings estimates of 35 cents a share.
Overseas, the Nikkei eked out a 0.04% rise to close at 16,921.77, while the FTSE 100 rallied following Wall Street's gains Monday.
Corporate news
Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) shares advanced overseas on a report from London that CEO Jimmy Cayne called other financial executives to assure them of BSC's fiscal health.
Reporting earnings following Monday's close, software maker BMC (NYSE: BMC) nearly doubled its first-quarter profits from last year and raised estimates for the year.
Also late Monday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) said it has enough drugs in development to meet its goal of tripling its portfolio of final-trial phase products by 2009.
Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) shares advanced overseas on a report from London that CEO Jimmy Cayne called other financial executives to assure them of BSC's fiscal health.
Reporting earnings following Monday's close, software maker BMC (NYSE: BMC) nearly doubled its first-quarter profits from last year and raised estimates for the year.
Also late Monday, Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) said it has enough drugs in development to meet its goal of tripling its portfolio of final-trial phase products by 2009.
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