Pending Home Sales: Tuesday's Headlines
Tuesday's early headlines include the December read on pending home sales
NEW YORK (
) -- Here are the top stock market headlines for the morning of Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2010.
Tuesday's Early Headlines
- Obama Pitches Small Business Aid Proposal -- President Obama will travel to Nashua, New Hampshire Tuesday to outline his proposal to use $30 billion from the bank bailout for a small business lending fund to try to spur job growth in a critical sector of the U.S. economy, Reuters reports. The initiative, which was first announced a week ago during the President's State of the Union address, would be limited to smaller or community banks. "The more loans these banks provide to credit-worthy small businesses, the better a deal we'll give them on capital from this fund," Obama will say, according to speech excerpts released by the White House.
- Pending Home Sales Data Due at 10 a.m. EST -- The National Association of Realtors is expected to say that its index of sales of previously occupied homes rose 1.1% in December, retracing some of the previous month's decline. In November, the pending home sales index plummeted 16% to a reading of 96. Although the decline was far greater than expected, the index was still up by 15.5% compared to November 2008, when the index was at 83.1.
- Bank of New York Buying PNC Unit for $2.1 Billion -- Bank of New York Mellon (BK) - Get Report reached an agreement to acquire PNC's (PNC) - Get Report Global Investment Servicing subsidiary for $2.1 billion. The deal includes the purchase of $1.57 billion of stock and repayment of intercompany debt from PNC. BNY Mellon, in a statement Tuesday, said it plans to raise about $800 million in equity as part of the transaction. The all-cash deal, which will be accretive in the first year, is expected to close in the third quarter.
- Boeing Could Scrap 787-3: Report -- Boeing (BA) - Get Report likely will scrap the planned short-haul 787-3 plane after Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways switched orders to the longer range 787-8 version, Bloomberg reports, citing a company executive. All Nippon, which is expected to be Boeing's first Dreamliner client, replaced its order for 28 787-3s with the longer range 787-8 model last month while Japan Air switched orders last year, Bloomberg notes. Abandoning the 787-3 version will enable Boeing to focus its resources on the more popular long range version of the Dreamliner and the 747-8 airplane, the report said.
- Citigroup to Expand Retail Banking in Japan -- Citigroup (C) - Get Report plans to open four retail branches in Japan in 2010, with the first two locations set to open in the second quarter in the central Tokyo districts of Marunouchi and Nihonbashi, Citibank Japan said, The Associated Press reports. Citigroup's move would mark its first expansion in Japan since selling several of its Japanese finance businesses last year to pay back bailout money it received from the U.S. government.
- Leap Wireless Reportedly Exploring a Sale -- Leap Wireless (LEAP) has hired Goldman Sachs and formed a special board committee to explore strategic options including a sale or merger with rivals, people familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal. The company intends to "reassesses its alternatives and checks its options out there right now," one person familiar with the process told the newspaper. According to the Journal's sources, some bankers consider MetroPCS (PCS) as the most likely partner for Leap. MetroPCS unsuccessfully bid for Leap in late 2007 valuing the company at $5.5 billion, about five times its current market value, the Journal notes.
Tuesday's Earnings Roundup
- UPS (UPS) - Get Report reported fourth-quarter earnings of 75 cents a share, a penny better than the Thomson Reuters average estimate. Revenue fell 2.5% to $12.38 billion, slightly above the consensus target of $12.25 billion. Looking ahead to 2010, UPS offered earnings guidance of $2.70 to $3.05 a share, in line with the average estimate of $2.81 a share.
- Archer-Daniels Midland (ADM) - Get Report posted a fiscal second-quarter profit of 88 cents a share, well ahead of the average analyst target of 72 cents a share. Revenue was down 4.6% from a year ago to $15.91 billion, which was below Wall Street's target of $16.54 billion.
- Dow Chemical (DOW) - Get Report notched an adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 18 cents a share, above the 11-cent-a-share consensus target, according to Thomson Reuters. Revenue climbed nearly 15% to $12.47 billion, which was also above analysts' targets.
- BP (BP) - Get Report posted fourth-quarter earnings of $4.3 billion, compared with a year-earlier loss of $3.34 billion. BP, in a statement Tuesday, said production rose 4% in the quarter, ahead of its expected long-term average growth of 1% to 2%.
- Emerson Electric (EMR) - Get Report said it earned 56 cents a share in its fiscal first quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters average estimate of 42 cents a share. Sales were down 7.5% from a year ago to $5.01 billion, although that was also better than analysts expected. Looking ahead to 2010, Emerson offered earnings and revenue guidance that is above Wall Street's targets.
- Hershey Foods (HSY) - Get Report posted an adjusted fourth-quarter profit of 63 cents a share, 3 cents better than the Thomson Reuters average estimate. Revenue was up 2.2% from last year to $1.41 billion, which was in line with the $1.42-billion consensus target.
-- Written by Robert Holmes in Boston
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