In trading on Thursday, construction materials & machinery shares were relative leaders, down on the day by about 0.2%. Leading the group were shares of Texas Industries (TXI), up about 5.5% and shares of Martin Marietta Materials (MLM) up about 1.7% on the day.
United Airlines (UAL) and Boeing (BA) are expected to announce a deal this morning in which the airline is poised to buy at least 100 new Boeing 737 airplanes. The order could be worth over $9 Billion.
Good morning, welcome to the Financial News Network, your source for the latest business news. Here’s a few things to watch for in the financial world today July 9. Wellpoint (NYSE:WLP.N), one of America’s big health insurers is making a big bet this morning. The company announced it will be acquiring rival Amerigroup Corp (AGP.N) for $4.46 billion in hopes on an expansion of government-run Medicaid health plans. This comes after the Supreme Court’s constitutional ruling on President Obama’s healthcare law which potentially will extend coverage to more than 30 million uninsured Americans. Wellpoint expects a boost to earnings per share by more than $1 in 2013. The deal is expected to close some time in the first quarter of next year.Just before earnings season kicks off Sirius XM Radio (SIRI) gives some hope to investors as it lifts its forecast for revenue and subscriber growth. The company now expects revenue of $3.4 billion for the year, up from the $3.3 billion projected in May. Sirius XM also said subscribers will be up 100,000 from the previous estimate to 1.6 million. The company has been cutting costs and focused on expanding their subscriber base to increase their earnings over recent quarters. Their second-quarter results will be released on August 7.Finally, juice company Jamba Juice is popular on Wall Street this morning. The company has had great sales this summer due to the heat waves across the United States. Over the last 30 days the stock has risen 22%. The company also released a press release today showing that they are continuing to expand. A new store is opening in Washington D.C.’s Dupont Circle today with Venus Williams as the main investor in the project. The highly publicized grand opening tonight only shows that Jamba Juice isn’t going anywhere and is definitely poised for even more growth in the coming months.Those were a few things to watch out for here on the Financial News Network. For more coverage and analysis of the business world check us out at fnno.com or follow us on twitter @FNNOnline. I’m Chuck Pierce.
From fnno.com this is the Financial News Network, here with more news of yet another company cutting their earnings forecast. Applied Materials announced their projected 85 to 95 cents per share prediction may fall 15 to 20 cents due to weak demand from customers. Analysts had been expecting earnings to come in around 94 cents a share.Investors often look to companies like Applied Materials to determine how the semiconductor manufacturing market is fairing as well as seeing it as an indicator for global microchip demand. With this forecast cut, it could mean slower spending in the industry, something that will most likely bring stocks down in the coming months. Analysts weren’t completely surprised by the company’s announcement though. It could be due to the Eurozone debt crisis and declining sales in personal computers.Other companies in the industry cutting their forecasts also include Advanced Micro Devices, Qlik Technologies, and Informatica Corp.For more on this and other financial stories, follow us on Twitter @FNNOnline, or check out our website at fnno.com. I’m Laura Hankin.
From Fnno.com, this is the Financial News Network, your source for the latest business news. Here’s a few things to watch for in the financial world today July 11. J.C. Penney (NYSE:JCP) not fairing well as it continues to try and restructure its business. The department store chain announced its next round of layoffs, cutting 350 jobs at its headquarters in Plano, Texas. This will bring the total amount of layoffs to 3,100 employees, nearly 30 percent of its workforce. Investors are not convinced the layoffs or new strategy will bring J.C. Penney business back from the brink. Credit Suisse cut its estimates Tuesday, saying the company’s second quarter sales will likely drop by 20 percent. The cut in forecast and negative outlook caused the stock to drop 6 percent Tuesday and could drop more today.Yet another company cutting their earnings guidance, electronics retailer hhgregg (NYSE:HGG) says it sees its full-year earnings between $0.90 and $1.05. This is down from the previous estimate of $1.12 to $1.27. The company said the cut is due to weakness in its video business. The company’s CEO Dennis May said they will continue to compete on price as they plan to test new products to fill the void in their sales declines. Investors are running from this stock and will continue to into the trading session. HHgregg is down over 27% premarket.Finally, some good news from a company for a change. MagicJack Vocaltec has done the opposite of what most companies are doing right now and decided to raise its estimates for its second quarter results. The internet phone services company expects a profit between 48 to 52 cents per share, above its estimates of just 43 cents a share. MagicJack said the change is due to increasing sales of a new product called MagicJack Plus which can directly connect a home phone without the need to be attached to a computer. Yesterday shares of the company rose more than 17 percent so watch out for more movement in the coming session.Those were a few things to watch out for here on the Financial News Network. For more coverage and analysis of the business world check us out at fnno.com or follow us on twitter @FNNOnline. I’m Chuck Pierce.
Spain’s Prime Minister has announced a brand new round of austerity measures today in order for it to meet it’s agreements with the European Union. The new taxes and spending cuts are intended to bring the budget deficit down by 65 billion euros by 2014.The planned tax hikes will be a 3-point increase on the Value Added Tax on goods and services, as well new indirect taxes on energy. Spain’s cuts on spending will affect unemployment benefits, and civil service pay and perks. There was also an announcement of plans to privatize ports, airports, and certain rail assets.These new measures come as the EU agreed on Tuesday to give Spain an additional year, 2014 rather than 2013, to reach its goal of bringing the public deficit down to 3% of GDP.
The Commerce Department reports that the U.S. trade deficit shrank in May as demand for imports fell. Imports lowered .7% that month and the deficit fell 3.8%, to $48.7 billion. Experts have cited numerous causes for the decline in imports, from the falling prices of crude oil to slowing global growth. In addition, a lack of hiring in the United States has initiated household belt-tightening, leading to less demand for imported goods.Exports in the same month rose .2%, with exports to the Eurozone up 2.6% and exports to China up 5.2%. Despite the drop in the U.S. trade deficit, imports from both Europe and China still grew in May.
Stock prices on corn soared as the current crop is estimated to yield far fewer bushels than previously expected. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced that the current crop estimate is only 146 bushels an acre, a 20 bushel reduction from last month.The U.S. Midwest is currently experiencing its worst drought in a quarter century. The higher price of corn is predicted to drive up U.S. meat production with the greater cost of feed for livestock. A suitable substitute in the event of a corn shortage, would be wheat and that commodity should also be on your radar.The USDA is expected to make a new estimate of the yield in August. Despite the set backs, the current crop is on track to be the third largest on record.For more updates, follow us on our Twitter feed, @fnnonline, or on our website, fnno.com
Bruker (BRKR) was downgraded today by JP Morgan (JPM) to neutral from overweight with a price target of $16 due a lack of catalysts to drive the price target higher in the near term. Shares are lower by about three quarters of a percent.
Adtran Incorporated (ADTN) maintained its quarterly dividend of 9 cents per share. The dividend will be paid to holders of record at the close of business on July 26, 2012.
