logo-loader

US EQUITIES OPENING HEADLINES INCLUDING: Microsoft director has chided Google as being too unpredictable with product cancellations and customer support

Published: 13:06 03 Nov 2011 GMT

no_picture_pai
Stock futures are once again pointing to a higher open. The market bounced back yesterday with solid gains following two days of large declines, during which stocks lost more than 4% of their value. As usual the volatility is being caused by events in Europe. 
 
•          The ECB cuts the benchmark interest rate by 25 BPS to 1.25% vs. Exp. 1.50%. (RTRS)
 
•          US RBC Consumer Outlook Index (Nov) M/M 39.6 vs. Prev. 39.2
•          US Initial Jobless Claims (Oct 29) W/W 397K vs. Exp. 400K (Prev. 402K, Rev. to 406K)
•          US Continuing Claims (Oct 22) W/W 3683K vs. Exp. 3693K (Prev. 3645K, Rev. to 3698K)
•          US Non-farm Productivity (Q3 P) Q/Q 3.1% vs. Exp. 3.0% (Prev. -0.7%, Rev. -0.1%)
•          Unit Labour Costs (Q3 P) Q/Q -2.4% vs. Exp. -1.0% (Prev. 3.3%, Rev. 2.8%)
 
•          FTSE (+0.57%), CAC (+2.18%), DAX (+2.20%), FTSE MIB (+2.61%), IBEX (-1.34%), SMI (-0.45%), prices taken at 1240 GMT.
 
Pre-market activity following earnings released earlier on:
 
Apache: up 2.4%
 
CVS Caremark: flat
 
Kellogg: down 6.0%
 
DJIA
 
Earnings:
 
Kraft Foods – Co.’s Q3 EPS USD 0.58 vs. Exp. USD 0.55, boost forecast for YR EPS, Q3 revenue USD 13.2bln vs. Exp. USD 12.79bln. (RTRS/Sources)
-       Co. raises FY11 EPS to at least USD 2.27, saw USD 2.25 vs. Exp. USD 2.27 
-       Co. boosts forecast for yr organic net revenue growth
-       Co. expects to raise prices on more products in Europe in FY12 
-       Co. sees commodity costs rising in first half of FY12
-       Co. cites strong business momentum in each geography  
-       Co. shares were seen up 1% in after-market trade
 
Other news:
 
Microsoft - A co. director has chided Google as being too unpredictable with product cancellations and customer support. (Business Insider)
 
Intel - Worldwide PC microprocessor revenues in Q3 rose to USD 10.7bln, up 12.2% over the previous quarter and 16.1% over a year ago, according to IDC. (Digitimes)
 
Companies going ex-dividend: Intel (USD 0.2100)
 
S&P 500
 
Earnings:
 
Prudential – Co.’s Q3 adjusted EPS USD 1.07 vs. USD 1.53, Q3 revenue USD 9.95bln vs. Exp. USD 9.97bln. (RTRS)
-       Q3 operation includes USD 435mln pre-tax charge annuities
-       Q3 end adjusted book value USD 66.79 per share
-       Co. shares were seen down 0.3% in after-market trade
 
Apache - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 2.95 vs. Exp. USD 2.79. (RTRS)
 
Kellogg - Q3 EPS USD 0.80 vs. Exp. USD 0.89, cut forecast, Q3 revenue USD 3.31bln vs. Exp. USD 3.41bln. (RTRS)
-       Co. sees FY11 internal net sales growth in the range of 4 -5 %
-       Co. sees FY11 EPS $3.27-$3.33 vs. consensus $3.48 
 
Murphy Oil – Co. Q3 EPS USD 2.09 (cont-ops USD 1.73) vs. Exp. USD 1.19, Q3 Revenue USD 7.24bln vs. Exp. USD 8.80bln. (Sources)
-       Co. sees Q4 EPS USD 1.35-1.70 vs. Exp. USD 1.26
 
CenturyLink - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.34 vs. Exp. USD 0.34, Q3 revenue USD 4.6bln vs. Exp. USD 4.6bln. (RTRS)
-       Co. sees Q4 adjusted EPS USD 0.58-0.62 vs. Exp. USD 0.33
-       Co. sees Q4 revenue USD 4.6-4.65bln vs. Exp. USD 4.59bln
 
Estee Lauder - Q1 EPS USD 1.41 vs. Exp. USD 1.18, Q1 revenue USD 2.48bln vs. Exp. USD 2.41bln. (RTRS)
 
Alpha Natural - Q3 EPS USD 0.35 vs. exp. USD 0.04, Q3 revenue USD 2.3bln vs. Exp. USD 2.06bln. (Sources)
 
NYSE Euronext - Q3 EPS USD 0.71 vs. Exp. USD 0.70, Q3 revenue ex-expenses USD 704mln vs. Exp. USD 705mln. (RTRS)
 
PPL - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.76 vs. Exp. USD 0.69, Q3 revenue USD 3.12bln vs. Exp. USD 2.96bln. (RTRS)
 
Duke Energy - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.50 vs. Exp. USD 0.46, boost forecast, Q3 Operating Revenue USD 3.96bln vs. Exp. USD 4.02bln. (RTRS)
 
PG&E - Q3 non-gaap EPS USD 1.08 vs. Exp. USD 1.06, reaffirms forecast. (RTRS)
 
CVS Caremark - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.70 vs. Exp. USD 0.68, Q3 Net Revenue USD 26.7bln vs. Exp. USD 26.76bln, co. sees year's EPS at higher end of the range. (RTRS)
 
Tesoro - Q3 EPS USD 2.39 vs. Exp. USD 1.99, Q3 revenue USD 8.1bln vs. Exp. USD 8.07bln. (Sources)
 
Energy Transfer Equity - Q3 EPS USD 0.31 vs. Exp. USD 0.37, Q3 revenue USD 2.1bln vs. Exp. USD 1.87bln. (RTRS)
 
Progress Energy - Q3 ongoing EPS USD 1.16 vs. Exp. USD 1.18, reaffirms year 2011 earnings, Q3 revenue USD 2.75bln vs. Exp. USD 3.04bln. (RTRS)
 
Sara Lee - Q1 adjusted EPS USD 0.18 vs. Exp. USD 0.17, reaffirms forecast. (RTRS)
 
Eastman Kodak - Q3 loss per share USD 0.83 vs. Exp. loss per share USD 0.44, Q3 revenue USD 1.462bln vs. Exp. USD 1.65bln. (RTRS)
 
Other news:
 
Procter & Gamble/Teva Pharmaceutical – Co.’s announce formation of new consumer health care partnership. Procter & Gamble says the joint venture may see USD 4bln sales towards decade end and may see double-digit sale growth. (RTRS)
 
Pfizer/Eli Lilly - Drug makers want to overturn a decades old FDA ban that prohibits them from pushing medicines for uses not listed on the bottle. (WSJ)
 
Wells Fargo – Co. are to purchase USD 3.3bln in IBRC’s commercial real estate loan portfolio. (Sources) An Illinois state court judge ruled that the state can proceed with a lawsuit alleging that Wells Fargo & Co. directed minority borrowers into risky mortgages at the height of the housing bubble. (WSJ)
 
NYSE Euronext – Co. said, "We are moving forward with our merger with Deutsche Boerse and have just recently conducted a hearing before the Directorate General for Competition of the European Commission." (theflyonthewall.com)
 
BB&T – Co. will acquire the California insurance agency, Percept; however terms of the transaction are undisclosed. (Sources)
 
CME Group – Co. state that "CME Clearing is holding substantial excess margin collateral from MF Global and therefore continues to be in a strong financial position, both with respect to MF Global and more generally. 
 
Sprint Nextel – Co. says it is working with Apple on the connection issues affecting some iPhone 4S devices. (CNet)
 
Companies going ex-dividend: Baker Hughes (USD 0.1500), Southern (USD 0.4725), Eaton (USD 0.3400), Noble Energy (USD 0.2200)
 
Companies paying dividend: Raytheon (USD 0.4300)
 
Nasdaq 100
 
Earnings:
 
Qualcomm – Q4 adjusted EPS USD 0.80 vs. Exp. USD 0.78, Q4 revenue USD 4.12bln vs. Exp. USD 4.00bln. (RTRS/Sources)
-       Co. sees Q1 adjusted EPS USD 0.86-0.92 vs. Exp. USD 0.94
-       Co. sees Q1 adjusted revenue USD 4.12bln vs. Exp. USD 4.00bln
-       Co. sees FY12 EPS USD 3.42-3.62 vs. Exp. USD 3.48
-       Co. sees FY12 revenue USD 18-19bln vs. Exp. USD 17.3bln
-       Co. shares were seen up 7% in after-market trade
 
News Corp – Co.’s Q1 adjusted EPS USD 0.32 vs. Exp. USD 0.29, Q1 revenue USD 7.96bln vs. Exp. USD 7.66bln. (RTRS/Sources) 
-       Q1 total segment operating income up 21%
-       Q1 publishing operating income USD 110mln vs. USD 178mln 
-       News Corp. says not considering any changes for James Murdoch 
-       News Corp. sees FY12 segment operating income growth low-mid teens 
-       News Corp. to continue to buy back stock in FY12
-       Q1 Cable Network Programming revenue USD 2.12bln
-       Q1 Filmed Entertainment revenue USD 1.78bln
-       Q1 Publishing revenue USD 2.07bln
-       Q1 TV revenue USD 923mln
-       Co. shares were up 1.6% in after-market trade
 
DirecTV - Q3 adjusted EPS USD 0.70 vs. Exp. USD 0.72, Q3 revenue USD 6.84bln vs. Exp. USD 6.78bln. (RTRS)
 
Other news:
 
Apple – Co.’s update to its iPad 2 is reportedly soon to enter mass production, with its release scheduled for March of 2012, with the iPad 3 set for Q3 of that year, according to upstream sources. (Digitimes) In other news co. could be planning to overhaul nearly its entire product lineup in 2012, according to sources in the upstream supply chain. (Digitimes)
 
Amazon – Co. is starting a digital book lending library available to owners of its Kindle and Kindle Fire devices, and who are also subscribers to its Amazon Prime program. (WSJ) In its long running battle with the state of California over sales tax collection, Amazon has abruptly changed its strategy and offered to collect said taxes for a fee amounting to 2.9% of the total collected. (LA Times) 
 
Yahoo – Co. is contemplating the sale of a minority stake to a private equity firm followed by a large share repurchase, in a bid to buy time to turn around the Internet company, people familiar with the matter said. (RTRS)
 
Western Digital – Co. and Samsung have reportedly notified its distributors that it will not be distributing any hard drive supplies to Taiwan in November. (Digitimes)
 
October Same Store Sales
 
Gap - October same store sales down 6.0% vs. Exp. down 5.7%. (Sources)
 
Walgreens - October same stores sales up 2.6% vs. Exp. up 4.1%. (Sources)
 
Nordstrom - October same stores sales up 5.4% vs. Exp. up 6.3%. (Sources)
 
Ross Stores - October same store sales up 5%. (Sources)
 
JC Penney - October same store sales down 2.6% vs. Exp. up 1.4%. (Sources)
 
Kohl's - October same store sales up 3.9% vs. Exp. up 3.6%. (Sources)
 
TJX - October same stores sales up 4.0%. (Sources)
 
Macy's - October same store sales up 2.2% vs. Exp. up 4.0%. (Sources)
 
Saks - October same store up 1.8% vs. Exp. up 6.1%. (Sources)
 
Target - October same-store sales up 3.3%, Exp. up 4.2%. (Sources)
 
Fred's - October same store sales up 2% vs. Exp. up 1.6%. (Sources)
 
Limited - October same store sales up 6%. (Sources)
 
Costco - October same store sales up 9%. (Sources)
 
Dillard's - October same store sales up 8%. (Sources)
 
CNBC’s Jim Cramer on US corporate earnings
 
Thursday - Apache is cheap, as is Chesapeake Energy which is transitioning away from natural gas and into more lucrative oil assets. He also recommended Skyworks Solutions, another chipmaker that should deliver an upside surprise. 
 
Friday - Cramer said Windstream should have a magnificent quarter. 
 
Broker moves
 
Upgrades:
 
Teva – Co. upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Morgan Stanley, Price target is USD 47
 
Downgrades:
 
Rockwell Collins – Co. downgraded to Underperform from Buy at BofA/Merrill, Price target is USD 50
 
MF Global update
 
-       The SEC began an investigation into whether MF Global Holdings and CEO Jon Corzine made misleading statements about the USD 6.3bln bet that lead to the firm's collapse. (WSJ)
 
Other News
 
Walter Energy - Q3 EPS USD 1.21 vs. Exp. USD 1.12, Q3 revenue USD 690.1mln vs. Exp. USD 722.30mln.  (Sources)
-       Co. expects Q4 EPS USD 1.91-2.39 vs. Exp. USD 2.63 
 
Whole Foods - Q4 EPS USD 0.42 vs. Exp. USD 0.41, Q4 revenue USD 2.35bln vs. Exp. USD 2.36bln. (RTRS) 
-       Co. increases quarterly dividend by 40%
 
Hanesbrands - Q3 EPS USD 0.91 vs. Exp. USD 0.82, Q3 revenue USD 1.23bln vs. Exp. USD 1.36bln. (RTRS)
-       Co. sees Q4 EPS USD 0.47-0.57 vs. Exp. USD 0.63
-       Co. sees Q4 revenue USD 1.2-1.3bln vs. Exp. USD 1.32bln 
 
S&P 500Citigroup writes: the bear market rally is behind us and anticipate a move towards the 1,000-1,015 target over the weeks and months ahead. (Citigroup/ZeroHedge) 
 
General Motors – Co.'s Chevrolet is already making inroads into new markets like India and South Korea, but the auto giant is looking to take the brand truly global in the next few years. (Detroit News)
 
US Banks - The SEC is set to target more Wall Street firms over the sale of mortgage-linked securities, with the hopes of wrapping up probes into the financial crisis soon. The potential charges would follow SEC settlements with Citigroup, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan, which allegedly misled investors who brought collateralized debt obligations. (theflyonthewall.com)
 
Jefferies – Co.’s CEO said its investment bank is shunning risk-taking that could undermine its stability because the US probably won’t rescue the firm in an emergency. (Sources)
 
Freddie Mac - Q3 net loss of USD 4.4bln, says new home sales in Q3 of 2011 averaged 302,000 homes. (RTRS)

Caledonia Mining tackles 2023 challenges with optimism for 2024 as it...

Caledonia Mining Corporation PLC (AIM:CMCL, NYSE-A:CMCL) chief executive Mark Learmonth tells Proactive's Stephen Gunnion the company faced a challenging 2023, primarily due to poor production in the first half of the year at its core asset, the Blanket Mine in Zimbabwe, and an underperformance...

15 minutes ago