Stocks have recovered modestly from a morning drop. The Dow is up 54.84 to 12,685, Nasdaq is up 14.97 to 2,860, and the S&P 500 rose 4.80 to 1,347.
Metals continued their decline, led by silver, which dropped 5.4% to $33.92 per ounce. Gold fell 0.3% to $1,497 after a 1% decline Wednesday
Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) fell 4.37% on weak fiscal fourth quarter forecasts despite beating third quarter earnings estimates. Canaccord Genuity analyst Paul Mansky downgraded the stock from buy to hold while Baird analyst downgraded it from outperform to neutral. The company has struggled recently with challenges to its core routers market, struggling to respond.
Takeda Pharmaceuticals (OTC:TKPHF) is in talks to buy Nycomed in a deal worth between $12 to $14 billion. Nycomed had earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization last year of about $1.1 billion. Takeda intends on paying for the deal with its cash reserves and a bond issue. The acquisition is driven by looming patent losses and a desire to enter emerging markets.
Federal prosecutors are seeking a $1 billion settlement in the investigation of Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) improper promotion of the antipsychotic Risperdal for unapproved uses. The settlement would be among the largest ever in the industry and likely to have a material impact on the company’s finances. Prior to Risperdal’s patent expiration, it was one of J&J’s best-selling drugs, with sales of $2.2 billion in 2007.
Ben Bernanke, head of the Federal reserve, once again called on Congress to raise the debt limit, currently set at $14.294 trillion. He described catastrophic consequences if borrowing got too close to the limit, including destabilization of the financial system.
According to the Boston Consulting Group, 2015 will be a tipping point when global manufacturers will view the U.S. as equal to or better than China. BCG sites rising wages in China denting its cheap labor advantage, high productivity in the U.S., and “intangibles” such as supply chain and ease of communication favoring the U.S.
According to CNNMoney, Facebook has unleashed an anti-Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) media campaign with PR firm Burson-Marsteller circulating emails suggesting that Google is sharing personal information without users’ knowledge or consent. Facebook and Google have become increasingly competitive as Google moves into social media.
E*Trade Financial Corp (NASDAQ:ETFC) has named Steven Freiberg as its interim Chairman
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) showed off the first laptops running the Chrome operating machine. They are being made by Acer Inc (Taiwan:2353) and Samsung Electronics Co (OTC:SSNLF) and will be available next month through national retailers. The laptops are designed to run web-based applications so internet access will be required for most programs. Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) will provide free wireless access with up to 100 megabytes of data per month; users will need to pay for extra data.
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) are both launching yuan denominated private equity funds to expand their China presence. Goldman signed a deal with the Beijing government to raise 5 billion yuan, about $770 million. Details of Morgan Stanley’s fund will be announced next week.
Nissan Motor Co. (OTC:NSANF) and Toyota Motor Corp (NYSE:TM) are launching new incentives in the U.S. Nissan told U.S. dealers its supply of vehicles have increased from April to May due to increased production in anticipation of higher sales. Toyota had been hit by a supply crunch from a lack of parts made in Japan while Nissan has been less affected.
Stocks on the Move
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) shares fell 4% as two analysts downgraded the stock on worries that risk of a lawsuit from the US Department of Justice is growing.
Questcor (NASDAQ:QCOR) rose 14.4% when the company said prescriptions for itsmultiple sclerosis drug Acthar were tracking substantially higher in the second quarter than in the first.
Tyson Foods (NYSE:TSN) increase 5.11% on the announcement of an accelerated 22.5 million share buyback program. The company had 309.5 million shares outstanding as of May 10.
Clearwire Corp (NASDAQ:CLWR) sank 12% when Intel Corp (NASDAQ:INTC) said it plans on selling 10 million shares of the company beginning around May 13.
Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) moved up 5% as fourth quarter earnings beat analyst estimates by 2 cents per share