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Before the bell: VMW, FTE, AAPL, SIRI, CLD, CBS

Posted Aug 15th 2007 9:00AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Apple Inc (AAPL), Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS), EMC Corp (EMC)

Main market news here: Before the bell: Credit concerns send futures lower

In its market debut Tuesday, EMC Corp. (NYSE: EMC) spinoff VMware (NYSE: VMW) gained 76%, climbing from its $29 IPO price to close at $51 even.

France Telecom (NYSE: FTE) shares climbed overseas on rumors that its cellular division, Orange, had won the rights to market Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone in France. France Telecom declined to comment.

Both Sirius Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: SIRI) and Citadel Broadcasting (NYSE: CDL)'s New York radio station WABC are rumored to be courting dismissed CBS (NYSE: CBS) radio curmudgeon Don Imus, who settled his termination dispute with the broadcaster yesterday.

Before the bell: MAT, NOK, YHOO, GOOG, BRCM, QCOM

Posted Aug 14th 2007 8:30AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), Nokia Corp. (NOK), Mattel, Inc (MAT), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM), Broadcom Corp'A' (BRCM)

Main market news here: Before the bell: Futures advance on central banks' efforts

Top toymaker Mattel Inc. (NYSE: MAT) may initiate another recall after again finding excessive lead levels in some toys' paint. Mattel recalled some 1 million Fisher Price toys earlier this month.

Cell-phone maker Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is replacing 46 million batteries made by Matsushita Electric Industrial (NYSE: MC), saying the batteries are subject to overheating.

A consumer satisfaction survey out of the University of Michigan showed Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) rated higher than Google (NASDAQ: GOOG).

In the wake of a series of courtroom setbacks vs. rival Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM), chipmaker Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QCOM)'s head counsel has resigned.

Before the bell: AAPL, ERTS, HAS, MSFT, AMZN, GOOG, WMT

Posted Aug 10th 2007 8:15AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Apple Inc (AAPL), Wal-Mart (WMT), Amazon.com (AMZN), Hasbro Inc (HAS), Electronic Arts (ERTS)

Main market news here: Before the bell: Losses aren't over

Illuminating Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone users' reports of dead spots on their touch screens, an analyst notes that the property rights for the touch screen's chemical makeup were purchased from a bankrupt Finnish firm that could not solve the screen film's degradation and loss of sensitivity that came with frequent use.

Electronic Arts (NASDAQ: ERTS) has won exclusive rights through 2013 to create video games from the properties of toy maker Hasbro (NYSE: HAS), including Monopoly and other classic board games.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) has begun testing a quick "dashboard" view for its 300 million Windows Live users.

Vivendi's world-leading Universal Music Group plans to license the sale of songs without digital copy protection. Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) will sell the songs online. Apple's iTunes is notably not participating.

Ecolab (ECL) bid drives Microtek Medical Holdings (MTMD) up 28%

Posted Aug 8th 2007 4:33PM by Erin Danielson (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement

Shares of Microtek Medical Holdings (NASDAQ: MTMD) bounded 27.93% higher Wednesday, jumping $1.31 to close at $6.00 in one of the Nasdaq's largest percentage gains.

Microtek's gain was driven by yesterday's announcement that Ecolab Inc. (NYSE: ECL) plans to buy out the company's 43.5 million outstanding shares for $6.30 per share in cash, or $274.1 million.

Analysts that cover the health care industry don't seem too surprised by the acquisition. Both companies are among the leaders in their field, and the deal is expected to leverage the resources of both. Ecolab provides cleaning and pest control services to the hospitality industry while Microtek is a supplier or infection and fluid control products, and other surgical products.

Microtek will release its second quarter earnings Thursday.

Wireless merchant InPhonic (INPC) gains 39%

Posted Aug 8th 2007 3:28PM by Kelly Wu (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement

Shares of InPhonic (NASDAQ: INPC), NASDAQ's top percentage gainer Wednesday, are trading nearly 40% higher. The seller of wireless service and devices is due to report earnings Thursday after the markets close.

Shortly before Wednesday's close, InPhonic was trading at $3.74, 39% higher than Tuesday's $2.69 close.

Today's gains notwithstanding, InPhonic sits well beneath its 52-week high of $14.49, reached in February. Founded in 1999, InPhonic sells its service and products through e-commerce site Wirefly.com and other private online retailer sites. InPhonic compares prices on wireless services and products for customers.

Before the bell: MSFT, QCOM, MCD, TYC

Posted Aug 7th 2007 8:20AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Microsoft (MSFT), McDonald's (MCD), QUALCOMM Inc (QCOM)

Main market news: Before the bell: Futures flat ahead of Fed announcement

Starting tomorrow, Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT)'s Xbox 360 video game console will sell for $50 cheaper. Microsoft also prevailed in court Monday when Alcatel-Lucent's $1.53 billion patent infringement win against MSFT was overturned. Alcatel-Lucent said it would appeal.

A federal judge has ruled that Qualcomm Inc. (NASDAQ: QCOM) waived rights to disputed patents in its case against Broadcom Corp. (NASDAQ: BRCM).

Tyco International (NYSE: TYC) reported a sharp rise in its flow control division Tuesday, helping to boost quarterly earnings.

A childhood development study found children preferring foods -- vegetables and all -- in McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) packaging.

Before the bell: Futures flat ahead of Fed announcement

Posted Aug 7th 2007 8:00AM by Barry Summerlin (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the Bell, Cisco Systems (CSCO), Pfizer (PFE), Harrah's Entertainment (HET), ,

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.