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Brown-Forman reports sharply higher 4Q profit (AP)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Thu Jun 5, 9:05 AM ET LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Liquor producer Brown -Forman Corp. says its fourth-quarter profit rose 48 percent partly on the strength of higher demand for its flagship Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey and Finlandia vodka. The Louisville-based company said Thursday it also benefited from the acquisition of the Casa Herradura brands and a weaker U.S. dollar.Brown-Forman says its net income rose to $99.1 million from $66.8 million in the year-ago period. It says its sales rose 12 percent to $772.3 million.For the year, the company says its profit rose 13 percent to $439.8 million on record net sales of nearly $3.3 billion. International markets contributed more than 50 percent of those sales for the first time in the company’s 138-year history.
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SAIC 1Q profit jumps 25 percent as revenue soars (AP)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
By ELLIOT SPAGAT, AP Business Writer Tue Jun 3, 6:11 PM ET SAN DIEGO - Defense contractor SAIC Inc. said Tuesday that first-quarter profit grew 25 percent as revenue soared on U.S. military spending. The company said its strong results and contract wins — along with share repurchases — will allow it to achieve its goal of growing per-share earnings 11 percent to 18 percent this year. Less than three months ago, the company warned that it might miss that mark.”Our support in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan is increasing,” said Ken Dahlberg, SAIC’s chairman and chief executive officer.SAIC singled out its logistics work on mine-resistant armored vehicles for fueling growth.The company’s profit and rev...
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Bombardier profit triples; restores dividend (Reuters)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Wed Jun 4, 10:25 AM ET TORONTO (Reuters ) - Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO), the world's top passenger train maker and No. 3 civil aircraft manufacturer, said on Wednesday that quarterly profit nearly tripled as aircraft deliveries rose, prompting it to reinstate its quarterly dividend. Bombardier said it earned $226 million, or 12 cents a share, in the first quarter ended on April 30, up from $79 million, or 4 cents a share, a year earlier. Earnings before financing income, financing expense and income taxes were $321 million, compared with $183 million last year. Analysts, on average, had expected earnings per share before exceptional items of 9 cents a share, according to Reuters data. Revenue for the quarter was $4.79 billion, up 21 percent from $3.97 billion for the same time last year helpe...
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AT&T to take earnings hit from iPhone subsidies (AP)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
By PETER SVENSSON, AP Technology Writer Mon Jun 9, 6:39 PM ET NEW YORK - AT&T Inc.’s profits for the next two years will take a hit as it subsidizes the new low price of the latest iPhones, the company said Monday. The news sent the carrier’s stock down 65 cents, or 1.7 percent, to close at $37.56.AT&T, which is the iPhone’s exclusive U.S. carrier, put the cost at 10 cents to 12 cents per share for this year and next, or roughly $600 million per year.Carrier subsidies for expensive phones are usually around $200 each. The expected cost figure points to AT&T expecting to sell about 3 million of the new iPhones per year, but AT&T executives did not reveal specifics of the subsidy.The cheapest model o...
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Krispy Kreme posts Q1 profit; shares rise (Reuters)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Mon Jun 9, 9:30 AM ET (Reuters ) - Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc (KKD.N) posted a profit for the first quarter as the doughnut shop chain's turnaround efforts helped in trimming costs, sending its shares up more than 8 percent. The company, which has lost more than a half of its market value over the past year as it shut more stores and revamped its management to turn around its business, however warned of more store closures by its franchisees in future, adding the number of such closures may be "significant." The company, once a Wall Street favorite, said it posted a net profit of $4.0 million, or 6 cents per share, for its first quarter ended on May 4, compared with a net loss of $7.4 million, or 12 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue at the Winston-Salem, North Carolina-based co...
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Hovnanian reports 2Q loss grows tenfold (AP)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
By JEFFREY GOLD, AP Business Writer Tue Jun 3, 7:32 PM ET TRENTON, N.J. - Homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. on Tuesday evening said second-quarter losses grew tenfold from a year earlier as it reported its seventh consecutive negative quarter. Red Bank-based Hovnanian blamed a “persistently challenging market environment” but said it has “ample liquidity to weather the current downturn.”"We expect to persevere through the current downturn and we will be in position to thrive again once the housing markets begin to recover,” President and CEO Ara K. Hovnanian said in a statement.After paying preferred stock dividends, the company reported a net loss of $340.7 million, or $5.29 per share, for the qu...
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Williams-Sonoma profit falls 42 percent (Reuters)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Wed Jun 4, 10:32 AM ET ATLANTA (Reuters ) - Williams -Sonoma Inc (WSM.N) posted a 42 percent drop in quarterly profit on Wednesday and lowered its 2008 revenue forecast, sending its shares down as the soft U.S. economy and weak housing market hurt sales. "While we continue to favor Williams-Sonoma's strong brands and longer-term growth potential, we remain concerned by deteriorating housing market and soft consumer-spending trends," Standard & Poor's Equity analysts Ken Leon and Michael Souers said in a research note. The operator of Williams-Sonoma cookware stores and Pottery Barn home goods stores said earnings were $10.4 million, or 10 cents a share, for the first quarter ended May 4, down from $18.2 million, or 16 cents a share, a year earlier. Excluding a benefit of ...
More About: Profit , Falls

Del Monte fourth-quarter profit rises (Reuters)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Thu Jun 5, 8:11 AM ET NEW YORK (Reuters ) - Del Monte Foods Co (DLM.N) on Wednesday posted higher quarterly profit, as price increases helped offset rising commodity costs. The company — which sells canned fruits and vegetables, Meow Mix cat food and Kibbles 'n Bits dog food — said net profit was $50.4 million, or 25 cents a share, for the fiscal fourth quarter ended April 27, compared with $36.7 million, or 18 cents a share, a year earlier. (Reporting by Bill Rigby, editing by Gerald E. McCormick)
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Homebuilders offer bleak outlook and post losses (AP)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
By ALEX VEIGA, AP Business Writer Tue Jun 3, 8:49 PM ET LOS ANGELES - Homebuilder D.R. Horton said Tuesday the industry could face tough times until 2010, and underscoring that point, Toll Bros. and Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. each reported a second-quarter loss. “I believe the industry will continue to face rising pressures for certainly the next 12 to 18 months,” said Don Tomnitz, D.R. Horton’s president and chief executive, adding that “2010 will be the earliest we get a more solid homebuilding environment.”Homebuilders are struggling to sell their homes at a time when many buyers remain reluctant to enter the market because they expect home prices to keep falling. A glut of unsold homes has also hur...
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Smithfield’s profit tumbles, feed costs hurt (Reuters)
2008-06-10 10:25:00
Thu Jun 5, 8:04 AM ET CHICAGO (Reuters ) - Smithfield Foods Inc. (SFD.N) posted sharply lower quarterly profit on Thursday as losses in its hog unit, due in part to high feed prices, outweighed better results in its meat operations, which include Armour and Eckrich brands. Earnings for the fourth quarter ended April 27 were $2.4 million, or 2 cents per share, compared with year-earlier results of $37.1 million, or 33 cents per share. Results included after-tax income from discontinued operations of $0.6 million, or 1 cent per share. Smithfield, like other livestock and meat producers, has been hurt by much higher feed costs. The price of corn, an important feed, surpassed a record $6 per bushel this year, due to demand by livestock producers, grain exporters, and makers of the biofuel ethanol....
More About: Profit , Hurt , Feed , Costs

Technical problems plague Nordic markets (AP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
By LOUISE NORDSTROM, Associated Press Writer Tue Jun 3, 11:28 AM ET STOCKHOLM, Sweden - Technical problems paralyzed the Nasdaq OMX Nordic stock markets for up to 7 hours in some countries Tuesday, freezing trades in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and in the Baltic region. Continuing for a second day, problems spilled over Tuesday into even more Nasdaq OMX trading floors and led to a near standstill in share trade with members unable to log on to a newly installed trading system. Because of regional time differences and other opening hours, some Baltic bourses experienced as much as six-and-a-half hours of downtime, while the Stockholm stock exchange was down for more than five, and the Icelandic for about three, Nasdaq OMX spokesman Carl Norell said. “We haven’t had this type of downtime since 1999, when the system was introduced,” Norell said. Th...
More About: Markets , Problems

Energy stocks boost European markets (AFP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Fri Jun 6, 6:53 AM ET LONDON (AFP) - Europe's main stock markets rallied Friday as energy companies garnered support from surging crude oil prices which boost their profits, analysts said. In late morning trade, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares gained 0.90 percent to 6,049.50 points. Frankfurt's DAX 30 index added 0.44 percent to 6,972.38 points near the half-way stage, and the Paris CAC 40 index increased by 0.90 percent to 4,951.28. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of top eurozone shares won 0.41 percent to 3,967.88 points. The European single currency stood at 1.5602 dollars. Wall Street had jumped higher on Thursday after Verizon Wireless announced it had agreed to buy mobile operator Alltel in a blockbuster 28.1-billion-dollar deal. Japanese share prices gained more than one percent on Friday to reach the highest level in about five months...
More About: Stocks , Energy , Markets , Boost

Stocks fall sharply on surge in oil, jobs data (AP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer Fri Jun 6, 6:44 PM ET NEW YORK - Wall Street tumbled Friday, taking the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 400 points, on a pair of alarming economic developments: oil prices that shot up by more than $11 a barrel and approached $140 for the first time, and the biggest gain in the government’s unemployment reading in more than 20 years. The jump in oil to a price that might have seemed unfathomable only a few months ago appeared to wipe out investors’ recent optimism over the prospects for a strengthening of the economy. Oil jumped following a Morgan Stanley analyst’s forecast of $150 oil by July 4, and in response to a drop in the dollar and fresh tensions in the Middle East. The surge in oil seemed the guarantee that gasoline prices that are on the verge of a national average of $4 a gallon will only continue to cl...
More About: Stocks , Jobs , Data , Surge , Fall

London shares close sharply down (AFP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Fri Jun 6, 12:07 PM ET LONDON (AFP) - Leading shares closed sharply lower, near the session low, as Wall Street plunged after the government reported a larger-than-expected jump in unemployment and the price of oil shot higher. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 88.5 points at 5,906.8, near the session low of 5,906.5, with the FTSE 250 index 175.9 points weaker at 9,834.3. Vodafone was the most traded stock, seeing 237 million units change hands, followed by RBS, which saw 156 million shares switch owners. Xstrata was the top performing blue chip, up 145 pence — or 3.66 percent — at 4107, followed by Cairn Energy which was up 116 pence — or 3.64 percent — at 3305. British Airways headed the losers, down 20.75 pence — or 8.16 percent — to close at 233.5, followed by HBOS which lost 27.25 pence — or 7.61 percent — at 330.75.
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Japan stocks rise on weaker yen (AP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Fri Jun 6, 4:36 AM ET TOKYO - Japan ese stocks rose to a five-month high Friday as investors snatched up exporter shares on a weaker yen and oil issues on rising crude prices. The Nikkei 225 index gained 148.32 points, or 1.03 percent, to 14,489.44 — the highest close since Jan. 9. Investors welcomed the yen’s slide against the dollar, as well as Wall Street’s overnight gains. The dollar traded at 106.06 yen at late afternoon Friday, up from 105.89 yen late Thursday in New York. The euro was little changed at $1.5600. A strong yen makes Japanese goods less competitive in overseas markets, and reduces the repatriated earnings of exporting companies. Kyocera rose 2.9 percent, and Tokyo Electron gained 2 percent. Buying lost steam in the afternoon as investors grew cautious ahead of the release of U.S. jobs data, slated for later Friday, traders said. “The Nikkei is very sensitive to external factors lately,&r...
More About: Stocks , Rise

AIG faces SEC probe on subprime mortgage contracts: report (Reuters)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Fri Jun 6, 2:44 AM ET (Reuters ) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether American International Group Inc (AIG.N) overstated the value of contracts linked to subprime mortgages, the Wall Street Journal said on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The way AIG valued credit default swaps, including those backed by subprime mortgages, is at issue, the newspaper said. Prosecutors from the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. attorney's office in Brooklyn, New York have asked for information the SEC is gathering, which could signal a criminal investigation, the newspaper said. AIG, the SEC, the Justice Department and the U.S attorney did not immediately return calls seeking comment. According to the newspaper, an AIG spokesman said the company would co-operate in regulatory and governmental reviews on all matters. Credit protection costs have risen for AIG, the world's largest ...
More About: Faces , Report , Mortgage , Subprime

European stocks struggle after Asian markets slide (AFP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Tue Jun 3, 7:43 AM ET LONDON (AFP) - European equity markets struggled on Tuesday after sharp falls in Asia and the United States overnight, as traders seized on renewed concerns about the ongoing credit crunch and high inflation. Tokyo tumbled 1.6 percent lower as concerns about the health of major US banks, following huge losses caused by the default crisis among high-risk American mortgages, returned to the fore. Wall Street had skidded lower on Monday after management shakeups at US banking giants Wachovia and Washington Mutual. In addition, ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its credit ratings on Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, and warned that banks could face further losses on US residential mortgage-backed investments. Added to the gloomy picture, traders were concerned about a Wall Street Journal report that Lehman Brothers will report its first...
More About: Stocks , Markets , Slide , Asian

Small-Cap Funds Resume Lead On Domestic Front (Investor’s Busine
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Trang Ho Tue Jun 3, 5:51 PM ET U.S. stock funds returned 2.96% in a roller coaster May, in which oil flew to a new high of $135 a barrel and Uncle Sam sent out nearly half of the $106.7 billion to be mailed to taxpayers as part of an economic stimulus plan. The gain followed a 4.98% rally in April. Through May 31, U.S. mutual funds have shed 2.89% year to date, according to Lipper Inc. Small -cap equity funds trumped their mid- and large-cap peers. Growth outpaced value in all size categories. Small-cap growth funds surged 4.89%. That beat small-cap value's 4.21% gain. Mid-cap growth jumped 4.48%. Mid-cap value rose 3.75%. Large-cap growth climbed 3.03%. Large-cap value eked out 0.69% in May. Positive Territory Year to date, only small-cap value and mid-cap core funds, up 0.24% and 0.54% respectively, are in positive territory. The major indexes kicked off t...
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Oil price drop continues as US stocks swell (AFP)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
Wed Jun 4, 3:48 PM ET NEW YORK (AFP) - Oil prices fell Wednesday, extending recent heavy losses on the back of a stronger dollar and as investors reacted to rising motor fuel inventories in the United States. Concern about oil prices persisted nonetheless as they still remain historically high. US Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said the American economy was holding up in the face of a "serious oil price shock." New York's main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for July delivery, shed 2.01 dollars to close at 122.30 dollars a barrel. In London, Brent North Sea crude for July delivery lost 2.48 dollars to 122.10 dollars. Price s tumbled after the US government's Energy Information Administration said American gasoline (petrol) reserves increased 2.9 million barrels in the week ending May 30. That beat market expectations for a gain of just 8...
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Credit worries rattle markets again (Reuters)
2008-06-08 22:06:00
By Jeremy Gaunt Tue Jun 3, 4:42 AM ET LONDON (Reuters ) - Fears that the credit crisis is back rattled financial markets on Tuesday as a newspaper report added to previous woes by suggesting that U.S. giant Lehman Brothers may need to raise nore capital. Equities were lower, bonds got a boost from investors seeking safety and the Japanese yen strengthened in a display of investor risk aversion. The Wall Street Journal reported that Lehman Brothers (LEH.N) may raise $3-$4 billion in fresh capital and suggested the bank could post its first quarterly loss since going public. The report followed Monday's Standard & Poor's debt rating downgrade of three big securities companies and the ouster of number four U.S. bank Wachovia's (WB.N) chief executive. Monday also saw UK mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley (BB.L) slash its emergency fundraising pric...
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Barnes & Noble posts loss, cuts sales forecast (Reuters)
2008-05-29 17:27:00
Thu May 22, 11:16 AM ET ...
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Barnes & Noble loss widens, weighing Borders bid (AP)
2008-05-29 17:27:00
By ANNE D’INNOCENZIO, AP Business Writer ...
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FGIC posts first-quarter loss (Reuters)
2008-05-28 17:43:00
Fri May 23, 11:23 AM ET ...
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Lawmaker calls foreclosure of her home improper (AP)
2008-05-28 17:43:00
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer ...
More About: Home , Foreclosure , Calls

Need To Modify Your Countrywide Loan? Pay Now, Talk Later (Investor&rs
2008-05-28 17:43:00
Kathleen Doler ...
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Japanese shares fall on inflation fears; Nikkei sheds 159 (AP)
2008-05-10 04:36:00
Thu May 8, 7:09 AM ET ...
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Countrywide falls on worry over B of A merger (Reuters)
2008-05-10 04:21:00
Fri May 9, 3:39 PM ET ...
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AIG sees no signs of mortgage asset market rebound yet (Reuters)
2008-05-10 04:21:00
By Lilla Zuill ...
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Oil hits record $126 on supply worry (Reuters)
2008-05-10 04:21:00
By Robert Campbell ...
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Icahn prepared to buy Circuit City if Blockbuster can’t (AP)
2008-05-10 04:21:00
By MICHELLE CHAPMAN, AP Business Writer ...
More About: Icahn , Blockbuster , City , Circuit , Circuit City