The U.S. dollar advanced against the euro and the yen on positive jobs report. Against the euro the dollar stood at $1.2341, up from $1.2384. The greenback bought 112.05 yen, up from 111.23.

Gold declined slightly in Europe as traders awaited key U.S. payroll data. Spot gold was last traded at $437.75 per troy ounce, down from $438.00. Silver retreated to $7.19 per ounce, down from $7.24.

EARNINGS NEWS

Sequa, aerospace and auto parts industry supplier, posted 2Q net income of $1.14 a share, up from 48 cents a share in the year-earlier period on strong sales.

National Oilwell Varco, oil and gas drilling manufacturer, announced 2Q profit of 35 cents a share, up from 25 cents a share last year on more–than-doubled revenue. Apart from charges, earnings would have been 49 cents, topping analysts’ forecasts by 5 cents.

The Washington Post, newspapers publisher, posted 2Q net income of $8.16 a share, down from $8.82 a share in the year-ago period on strong revenue, missing analysts’ forecasts of $9.65 cents a share.

British Airways, U.K. carrier, reported 1Q doubled profit of 90 million pounds compared with 43 million pounds a year ago on increased passenger traffic, fuel surcharges and 8.3% higher revenue. The company posted pretax profit jump of 65%, beating estimates of 35%.

Cardinal Health, distributor of health-care products, posted 4Q net earnings of 66 cents a share, down vs. 90 cents gained in the same period in fiscal 2004 on quarterly revenue growth, missing analyst estimate of 89 cents a share.

Liberty Media, electronic retailing owner, announced 2Q loss was reduced to 4 cents a share, up from 11 cents a share for the same period last year, on increase in revenue.

Westwood One, radio and television stations services provider, posted 2Q net income of 25 cents a share, down vs. 26 cents a share in the year-earlier period on revenue growth, missing analysts’ forecasts of 27 cents a share.

Alliant Energy, electricity provider, posted 2Q loss from continuing operations of 8 cents per share, vs. income 30 cents per share in the same period last year, while analysts had seen earnings at 27 cents per share.

Allis-Chalmers Energy, drilling and oil field services provider, posted 2Q net income of 12 cents per share, vs. 5 cents per share in the same quarter a year earlier on strong revenue.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals, drug developer, posted a 2Q net loss of 6 cents per share, vs. a net loss of 6 cents per share for the same quarter last year.

Hovnanian Enterprises, single-family detached homes developer, said 3Q dollar value of net contracts rose 34.8%, while the number of net contracts jumped 16.6% compared with the same quarter a year ago. The sales value of contract backlog rose 55.7% and the number of homes in contract backlog climbed 33.3%.

ProspEx Resources, oil and gas company, posted 2Q earnings per share of C$0.03 for the quarter on strong 2Q net earnings compared with 2Q the prior year.

Century Casinos, casino operator, reported 2Q net earnings of 4 cents per share, down vs. 8 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter on revenue growth, missing analysts’ expectations of 8 cents per share

Dynatec, mining companies services operator, posted 2Q net earnings of C$0.012 per share, vs. C$0.007 per share in the year-ago comparable period on revenue growth.

Redwood Trust, real estate investment trust, reported 2Q earnings of $1.50 per share, vs. $1.74 per share in the same quarter a year earlier. Quarterly net interest income jumped to $53.2 million vs. $47.6 million in the year ago corresponding quarter.

Mills, real estate investment trust group, posted 2Q fund from operations of $1.01 a share, up vs. 94 cents a share in the same period last year despite falling revenue, matching analyst forecasts.

Chesapeake, a provider of paperboard and plastic packaging, announced it anticipates a 2Q loss ranging from 9 cents to 11 cents a share. The company also lowered its earnings outlook to between 80 cents and $1 a share.

CORPORATE NEWS

Newspaper giant Alex Spring AG agreed to buy broadcaster ProSiebenSat 1 Media from a consortium of U.S. private-equity investors for $3.01 billion. The deal will unite Germany’s leading newspaper and television companies.

The Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation of allegations that DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes unit paid bribes in at least a dozen countries and that senior executives may have been aware of the practice. The investigation came in following a civil inquiry by the SEC that disclosed late last year. Shares of the automaker ended at $49.51 in trading on the Big Board Thursday.