Established 1999
123jump.com - U.S. Financial Information Archive: 90,000 Annual and 10-K reports – 20,000 Global news stories - 3,500 IPO reports - 1,700 - Earnings Calls – 320 Fund Interviews – 10-year Annual earnings on 4,500 stocks – 20 Quarterly earnings on 3,600 stocks – 1,800 IPO prospectuses – 1,200 Economic data releases
     
   
 
Market Update : 
Monthly Retail Sales and Oil in Focus
Author: Albena Toncheva
123jump.com
Last Update: 9:35 AM ET August 04 2005


(Continued)

Email article | Print article

Stocks are poised to open lower on Thursday, as some profit-taking is expected at opening after a slight recovery of the futures market on a couple of good results across Europe. With little economic news scheduled for today, trading may be dull ahead of July unemployment report due Friday. Investors are likely to refrain from taking positions as oil prices edged up. Same-store sales at Wal-Mart rise 4.4% in July.

 
Pengrowth, oil and natural gas company, posted 2Q net income of C$0.34 per unit, up vs. C$0.24 per unit in the comparable quarter a year earlier on strong oil and gas sales.

Kubota, maker of tractors and farm equipment, posted 2Q net income of 19.1 billion yen, up vs. the comparable period last year on jump in income and strong sales.

Costco, wholesale club operator, posted net sales of $4.02 billion, up vs. $3.71 billion in the same period last year on sales growth.

UniLever, consumer products maker, posted 2Q net profit of 73 euro cents per share, down vs. 1.00 euro per share a year earlier, turnover edged slightly up.

Toll Brothers, builder of luxury homes, reported 3Q revenues increased to $1.54 billion from $991.3 million in the same quarter last year on rise in contracts.

ShopKo, discount stores operator, reported 4.9% decline in sales over the same month last year. 2Q earnings results due on August 18.

TODCO, provider of contract oil and gas drilling services, reported 2Q net income of 18 cents per share, compared to a net loss of 12 cents per share in the same quarter last year on revenue growth, matching analysts expectations.

PMI, provider and promoter of homeownership and mortgage transactions, said 2Q net income totaled $1.04 per share, up vs. 93 cents per share in the year-earlier comparable period on revenue growth, beating analysts’ expectations of $1.01 per share.

CORPORATE NEWS

Three major automobile manufacturers – Honda Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and BMW AG - are developing cooperative technologies for hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, according to reports. The companies hope the collaboration will cut development costs and plan to standardize fuel nozzles and other parts so they can sell fuel-cell-powered vehicles around the world.

Infosys Technologies Company Ltd. (INFY: chart), the China subsidiary of Infosys Technologies Ltd., announced that it has signed letters of intent with Shanghai Zhangjiang Company Ltd. and Administrative Commission of Hanghzhou Hi-Tech Development Industry Zone-Hangzhou, to set up software development centers in China. Infosys currently has 250 employees in China. The new centers, to be located in Shanghai and Hangzhou, would see total investment of $65 million in the next five years and would contain 6000 engineers. The Shanghai centre would get an initial investment of $10 million in the next two years. On the Hangzhou project, Infosys plans to invest $15 million in the next two years.

Private-equity firm Bain Capital and MacGregor Golf, one of the oldest names in golf equipment, are making a bid for Callaway Golf Co., lifting the chances that the world's largest golf-club maker will be taken private. The all-cash offer values Callaway at as much as $1.24 billion, or $16.25 a share, slightly more than an unsolicited all-cash offer of $16 a share made in late May by buyout company Thomas H. Lee Partners and insurance giant Fidelity National Financial.
  1  2 More: Market Update Archive

 



 
© 1999-2008 123jump.com. All rights reserved