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Comcast (CMCSA) announced that it earned $1.224 billion, or 45 cents per share in its most recent fiscal quarter, versus $943 million, or 34 cents per share, in the same period last year. Analysts had expected earnings of 42 cents per share.

Published on Tue, 05/01/2012 – 08:53 By FNNO Staff in News corner, axp, GRPN, SBUX, american express, board, groupon, grpn, starbucks 5-1-12-Shares of Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) shares sold off in the last hour of trading Monday on news that Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) Chairman and CEO Howard Schultz and Accel Partners’ Kevin Efrusy were stepping down from Groupon’s board.The members will be replaced by Daniel Henry, CFO of American Express (NYSE:AXP), and Deloitte Vice Chairman Robert Bass.The shakeup comes as Groupon looks to shore up investor confidence following its Q4 restatement which was a nightmare for the company’s stock.The departures were voluntary, however, AllThingsD reported that several sources noted that Schultz almost left the board right before Groupon’s public offering last fall, following several ongoing disputes with its management, but opted to stay on so as to not cause any issues with the IPO.Groupon’s stock rose to over $31 on November 4th of 2011, but has come off considerably since it’s IPO and is trading at $10.72 this morning, about flat on the day after falling over 10% yesterday.

Europe’s finance ministers are trying to strike a deal that will force banks to set aside more cash to prevent another crisis.

5-1-12-Ford (NYSE:F) reported its April sales in the US fell 5% to 180,350 vehicles, the company said Tuesday.Cars fell 11.2% to 64,789 and specifically by segment; Fusion sales rose 2% to 21,610, Focus sales rose 12.5% to 19,425, Mustang sales fell 4.6% to 7,801.Meanwhile Utilities fell 1% to 50,724: Escape sales fell 20% to 16,986, Explorer sales rose 6.6% to 13,419, and Edge sales rose 12.4% to 10,520.SmarTrend alerted subscribers to take profits in Ford Motor on April 20, 2012 at $11.55, since then the stock fell 2.4%. We are now watching for any positive developments that could result in a new uptrend signal.

All sectors leaped into the green after the growth in American factory output accelerated unexpectedly in April to the fastest rate in nearly one year. ISM index rose to 54.8 from 53.4, beating economists’ expectation of dropping to 53. Financial, energy and commodity names led the gains among the 10 major industries in the S&P. Alcoa, JP Morgan, Bank of America, American Express, Intel, Verizon and AT&T led the rally in the Dow and pushed it the highest level since 2007. Equity indexes erased the losses in April. YTD return for the Dow, 8.69%. And it gets better with the S&P and NASDAQ, YTD returns are 11.79% and 17.09% respectively. For more news and updates, keep it right here at the Financial News Network. I’m Julia Sun reporting from New York City.

Shares of Herbalife (NYSE:HLF) tumbled on news that Greenlight Capital’s David Einhorn was asking questions during the company’s webcast.The questions came at the 37 minute mark.Greenlight’s spokesman declined to comment on Einhorn’s remarks during the call.Shares are trading over 19% lower during Tuesday’s session.

This is what’s in the news for Wednesday April 11, 2012. The Wall Street Journal reports China’s crude oil imports surged to near-record levels last month, as some energy analysts believe the country is hoarding oil for its strategic reserves The Wall Street Journal also reports American International Group (NYSE:AIG) plans to again invest in U.S. property, reversing efforts to downsize its real estate business after its near collapse and government bailout. Reuters reports Las Vegas Sands (NYSE:LVS) Chairman and CEO Sheldon Adelson says he plans to spend $35B on a mini-Las Vegas strip in Spain where he’s courting Barcelona and Madrid. Reuters also reports Bain Capital LLC is considering raising $6B-$8B for a new global buyout fund, offering investors up to three options on fees it charges to manage the money, sources say. Bloomberg reports Credit Suisse Group (NYSE:CS) can’t disclose a client’s account data to U.S. tax authorities because a request for assistance last year addressed only tax evasion, not covered by a 1996 treaty, a Swiss court ruled. Finally, Bloomberg also reports money losing Liz Claiborne (NYSE:LIZ), which owns the Kate Spade brand, could still be a bargain in a takeover, as it returns to profitability in 2012, according to analysts’ estimates.

The markets added to their gains with the Dow closing at a four year high, on news of a better than expected manufacturing report. The Institute for Supply Management is reporting that factory activity in the US rose unexpectedly to 54.8 in April.

Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) was upgraded today from neutral to buy by UBS (UBS) with a price target of $66, as trends have stabilized and the stock represents a good value at current levels. Shares are higher by about 5.7 percent.

5-1-12-Cummins (NYSE:CMI) reported Q1 EPS of $2.38, beating estimates by $0.18.Revenues in the quarter rose 15.9% year-over-year to $4.47 billion, inline with estimates.Cummins reiterated its 2012 revenue growth forecast of 10%, which implies $19.85 billion, vs. estimates of $20.1 billion, 2012 EBIT view 14.5%-15% of sales.