On July 18th, Companhia Vale do Rio Doce (NYSE: VALE) said it was not interested in acquiring more fertilizer companies. The statement was made after a Sao Paulo newspaper reported the Brazilian mining company was considering a $25 billion buyout of the Minnesota-based… Read More
Results
Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) turns in its quarterly report card this evening after the closing bell. Its earnings, like any company’s, are all about the past. With Apple, the direction to look is forward. First, the basics: Apple… Read More
When it rains, it pours. And we’ll see how that bodes for the market as Wall Street is deluged with second-quarter earnings reports today, led by five Dow components during the day and culminating with results from Apple after the… Read More
“In the coming year, the Securities and Exchange Commission will complete its examination of the [nation’s rating agencies] role in rating residential mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations linked to subprime mortgage loans.” So said… Read More
Everything is relative, especially market valuation. A utility, for instance, with its steady, slow-growth business, is never going to command the earnings multiple of a rapidly growing biotech firm or high-tech upstart. That’s why it’s best to make valuation comparisons within industries. It’s also… Read More
J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) earned $2.7 billion this quarter, up +36% from $2.0 billion in the second quarter of 2008. Morgan earned 28 cents a share, a -47% decline from 53 cents a share a year ago. The results reflected a charge of $1.1 billion, or 27… Read More
ProShares, a leader in “short” and “ultrashort” shares that profit when baskets of stocks fall in price, has released a new fund with a hybrid strategy of buying certain companies and short-selling others. The fund is the ProShares Credit Suisse 130/30 and trades… Read More
Biogen Idec (Nasdaq: BIIB) said it earned $143 million in the second quarter, or 49 cents a share, down -31% from last year, when the company earned 70 cents a share. The results reflect a $110 million expenditure on Fampridine, a new drug to treat multiple sclerosis. Excluding the purchase,… Read More
Harley-Davidson (NYSE: HOG) said second-quarter earnings fell -91% from a year ago. The manufacture of iconic motorcycles said it earned $19.8 million, or 8 cents a share, versus last year’s profit of $222.8 million, or 95 cents… Read More
ExxonMobil (NYSE: XOM) said it will spend $600 million to develop biofuel from algae. The petroleum giant, the most profitable company in the United States, will work in partnership with privately held Synthetic Genomics. Exxon will spend $300 million on its research and provide… Read More