|
| Weekly Wrap Up |
The markets struggled to advance last week, resulting in another week of trading declines. Monday seemed to set the tone for the days to come with all the major markets suffering losses. A growing influx of investors consolidating profits from the markets' recent rally appeared to pull down any positive stock movement. GM (GM: Charts, News, Offers) saw its stocks plummet 10% after it publicly reaffirmed that future bankruptcy is a "probable" outcome for the automaker. In the banking sector, BBT (BBT: Charts, News, Offers), U.S. Bancorp (USB: Charts, News, Offers), and Capital One (COF: Charts, News, Offers) reported that they will issue stock in an attempt to fast track the payment of previous federal bailout funds that it had received. Tuesday witnessed continued negative advances for the markets with one exception. The Dow Jones managed to charge back into positive territory by posting a 50.34 point gain. Unfortunately, Wall Street saw the markets continue to slide during Wednesday's trading. The lingering, woeful stock market performance seemed to be fueled by the day's retail sales reports, which indicated that April experienced an unexpected 0.4% decline. The EU slapped Intel (INTC: Charts, News, Offers) with a $1.5 billion fine for sales tactics used in an effort to smother out rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD: Charts, News, Offers). Adding to the Wenesday's gloomy outlook, Freddie Mac (FRE: Charts, News, Offers) requested an additional $6.1 billion in bailout funds as it posted a $9.9 billion quarterly loss. IBM (IBM: Charts, News, Offers) reported that it is on pace to meet its 2010 earnings goal. On Thursday, Wall Street experienced a brief rally as all the major markets posted positive numbers. However, this upward progression was quickly halted on Friday as markets slumped back into negative territory. Numerous economic reports released on Friday seemed to confirm earlier economic speculation prompted by Wednesday's retail sales reports. General Motors (GM: Charts, News, Offers) announced that it will shut down 1,100 dealerships because of poor sales performance. Panasonic reported a $4 billion loss for the fiscal year that ended in March, marking the company's first loss in seven years. The price for U.S. light crude oil for June delivery dropped $2.15 to $56.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Friday also saw the dollar gain versus the euro but fall against the yen. More Market News
|
|
| Economic News |
Retail sales fell for a second straight month in April, a disappointing performance that raised doubts about whether consumers were regaining their desire to shop. A rebound in consumer demand is a necessary ingredient for ending the recession. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that retail sales fell 0.4 percent last month. Many economists had expected a flat reading, and the April weakness followed a 1.3 percent drop in March that was worse than first estimated. (Source: Yahoo! Finance) Full Story
|
More evidence emerged Friday that the recession is easing, with output by the nation's factories, mines and utilities falling at the slowest pace in six months. At least one area of the economy is flat, but that's welcome news. Consumer prices were level in April after a slight dip the prior month. Inflation usually doesn't pick up until well after a recovery begins, noted Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wachovia. If the economy rebounds late this year, as many analysts expect, prices likely will be stable until 2011, he said. (Source: MSNBC) Full Story
|
The U.S. financial system has completed a big part of the painful adjustment away from its excessively leveraged state, and lending is starting to improve, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said Wednesday. Speaking to a group of community bankers, Geithner also said the government planned to reopen a $700 billion bailout fund to small banks once the larger ones repay some of the government money they received. "We have already seen a substantial amount of adjustment in our financial system. The more vulnerable parts of the non-bank financial system no longer exist," Geithner told the Independent Community Bankers of America. (Source: CNBC) Full Story
|
| Business News |
Embattled insurer American International Group Inc. (AIG: Charts, News, Offers) said Monday it is selling its Japanese headquarters to Nippon Life Insurance Co. for $1.2 billion in cash. The transaction, which is among the biggest divestitures New York-based AIG has made to reimburse the U.S. government for its massive infusion of aid, is expected to close in the second quarter. The 35-year-old building is 15 stories and sits on prime real estate in central Tokyo, next to the Imperial Palace. The property consists of about one acre of land, the company said. (Source: Yahoo! Finance) Full Story
|
Billionaire investor Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. added to holdings of lenders Wells Fargo & Co and U.S. Bancorp in the first quarter as the shares traded at their lowest prices in more than a decade. Buffett's firm, the largest shareholder in San Francisco- based Wells Fargo, increased its stake in the bank by about 4.3 percent in the first quarter to 302.6 million shares, Berkshire said in a regulatory filing yesterday disclosing its U.S. (Source: Bloomberg) Full Story
|
|
| Technology Focus |
Dish Network Corp. (DISH: Charts, News, Offers), the second-largest satellite TV provider in the U.S., surprised investors Monday by posting first-quarter results that were not as bad as feared. Earnings rose by 21 percent on the back of price increases and lower costs. Shares of Englewood, Colo.-based Dish rose by $2.89, or nearly 19 percent, to $18.20 in afternoon trading Monday. Dish is widely regarded as one of the weaker players in the pay-TV industry, which encompasses cable, satellite TV and phone companies that provide TV services. Dish focuses on being the low-cost provider, but that strategy hasn't led to growth amid cable and phone company discounts on their triple-play bundles of phone, Internet and cable TV. (Source: BusinessWeek) Full Story
|
The European Union fined Intel Corp. (INTC: Charts, News, Offers) a record $1.45 billion (1.06 billion euros) on Wednesday, saying the world’s biggest computer chip maker used illegal sales tactics to shut out smaller rival AMD (AMD: Charts, News, Offers). The fine exceeded a euro899 million monopoly abuse penalty for Microsoft Corp. last year. Intel called the decision "wrong" and said it would appeal. Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, has about 80 percent of the world’s personal computer microprocessor market -- and faces just one real rival, Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (Source: MSNBC) Full Story
|
|
|
|
|
