Nasdaq Confirms Rally Attempt
1 The tech-heavy index rose 2.3% on slightly higher volume, qualifying as a follow-through day. Helping were surprising retail sales data and results from First Solar and chip-gear giant Applied Materials. The Dow and S&P 500 both rose 1.4% on somewhat lower volume. The 10-year Treasury yield rose 6 basis points to 3.73%.
Retail Sales Unexpectedly Climb
2 Sales rose 0.3% -- defying forecasts for a 0.3% fall -- in a report that showed the pace of consumer spending continuing to cool but not signaling a recession. Auto sales rose, odd because automakers posted weak Jan. sales. Gas station sales rose, but gas prices seemed to slide in Jan. Furniture and electronics sales fell hard again, perhaps reflecting housing woes.
Obama Sweeps; Clinton Aide Out
3 Dem presidential candidate Barack Obama took his campaign to Wisconsin after soundly defeating Hillary Clinton in primaries in Va., Md. and D.C. He touted a $210 bil spending plan to boost "green" jobs. After Clinton's latest losses, another top campaign aide quit. GOP front-runner John McCain and Republicans are shifting their focus to take on Obama.
Yahoo, News Corp. Mull Deal
4 The ailing Net icon is talking to the media conglomerate (NYSE:NWS - News) about an alliance, according to several published reports. Yahoo (NasdaqGS:YHOO - News) likely wants to fend off Microsoft's (NasdaqGS:MSFT - News) takeover bid or force it to raise its offer. News Corp. reportedly wants to fold its social networking site MySpace and other Web assets into Yahoo in exchange for a big Yahoo stake. News Corp. fell 0.5%; Yahoo rose 1%.
First Solar Shines On Q4, Outlook
5 The maker of thin-film solar modules said Q4 profit jumped 542% to 77 cents a share, blowing past views by 24 cents. Sales jumped 281% to $201 mil, also above views. First Solar (NasdaqGS:FSLR - News) cited manufacturing costs per watt fell by 12%. It also raised its '08 sales outlook to $900 mil-$950 mil, well above views of $820 mil. First Solar shares surged 30%, with rivals also soaring.
Baidu Profit Doubles, Tops View
6 The Chinese search giant's Q4 EPS more than doubled to 92 cents ex items, beating views by 20 cents. Revenue rose 110.5% to $78.3 mil, over views. Baidu (NasdaqGS:BIDU - News) said it added over 155,000 active online marketing customers. It sees Q1 revenue of $73.1 mil-$75.1 mil, below views. But shares rose 6% after hours after climbing 6% ahead of results.
HMOs Fall On N.Y. Fraud Probe
7 UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH - News) fell 3% to 46.97 after N.Y. Att'y Gen'l Andrew Cuomo said he'll sue UnitedHealth for allegedly taking part in a scheme to defraud consumers by manipulating reimbursement rates. The inquiry centers on UnitedHealth's Ingenix unit. Subpoenas were also issued to rivals Aetna (NYSE:AET - News), Cigna (NYSE:CI - News) and Wellpoint (NYSE:WLP - News). Shares of all fell.
Deere EPS Up, But Outlook Soft
8 The farm machinery giant's Q1 EPS rose 60% to 83 cents a share, beating views by a nickel. Sales grew 18% to $5.2bil, above views. High crop prices boosted demand for agricultural equipment. Sales outside North America jumped 37%. But a weak U.S. economy and housing recession hurt construction and forestry machines. Deere (NYSE:DE - News) sees Q2 profit below Wall St. views. Shares fell 1%.
SoCal Home Sales At 20-Yr Low
9 Just 9,983 homes and condos sold in Jan., off 24.6% vs. Dec. and 44.9% vs. Jan. '07. That's the lowest since DataQuick began tracking S. Calif. sales in '88. Median prices fell 14.4% vs. a year ago to $415,000, a 2-year low. Meanwhile, foreclosure filings shot up 78.2% in the 100 biggest metro areas to 1.775 mil in '07, RealtyTrac said. Foreclosures accounted for 11.3% of Calif. home sales.
Hezbollah Terror Leader Killed
10 A car bomb in Syria killed Imad Mughniyeh, accused of murdering hundreds of Americans and Israelis. Hezbollah blamed Israel, which denied it. Mughniyeh was suspected in the '83 bombing in Lebanon that killed 241 U.S. servicemen and the execution of a Navy diver in an '85 TWA hijacking. The FBI had a $25 mil bounty on him.
No comments:
Post a Comment