Stocks to Watch: Goldman, J.C. Penney

NEW YORK -- The Justice Department won't prosecute Goldman Sachs (GS) or the firm's employees for financial fraud related to the mortgage crisis.

The Justice Department's year-long investigation stemmed from allegations made in a report by a Senate panel investigating the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

"The department and investigative agencies ultimately concluded that the burden of proof to bring a criminal case could not be met based on the law and facts as they exist at this time," the Justice Department said in a statement.

The Senate subcommittee report in April 2011 found Goldman marketed four sets of complex mortgage securities to banks and other investors but that the firm failed to tell clients that the securities were very risky.

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J.C. Penney (JCP) releases second-quarter results before Friday's opening bell and analysts expect the mid-price department store operator to post a loss of 26 cents a share on revenue of $3.2 billion.

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Chipmaker Nvidia (NVDA) posted Thursday second-quarter revenue of $1.04 billion, up from $1.02 billion in the same period last year and above analysts' estimates of $1.01 billion. Excluding items, Nvidia reported earnings of 27 cents a share, down from 32 cents. Analysts were looking for 14 cents.

The results were driven by mobile computing, particularly the booming tablet market, according to Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang.

Nvidia offered healthy guidance, predicting third-quarter revenue between $1.15 billion and $1.25 billion. Analysts are looking for sales of $1.09 billion.

Nvidia Shares Jump as Earnings Exceed Estimates

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Research In Motion's (RIMM) enterprise-services unit has attracted the interest of IBM (IBM), Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the situation.

IBM made an informal approach about possibly acquiring the division, which operates a network of secure servers used to support its BlackBerry devices, said one of the people, Bloomberg reported.

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Chesapeake Energy (CHK) is being investigated by the U.S. over possible criminal antitrust violations related to the purchase and lease of oil and gas properties in Michigan, Reuters reported, citing a regulatory filing the company made Thursday.

Chesapeake received a subpoena from the antitrust division of the Justice Department's Midwest field office, requiring the company to produce documents before a grand jury in the Western District of Michigan, Reuters reported.

4 Stocks To Buy and Forget For 4 Years

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-- Written by Joseph Woelfel



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