ENERGY, METALS, CURRENCIES

Oil prices surged over $67 a barrel on approaching Hurricane Rita, expected to hit oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico by the weekend. Light sweet crude November delivery climbed $1.30 to $67.50 a barrel on the Nymex. Heating oil added 2 cents to $2.03 a gallon, while gasoline gained 11cents to $2.09. Natural gas reached $12.76 per 1,000 cubic feet. London Brent rose $1.01 to trade at $65.21.

Gold advanced in European trading. In London the precious metal closed at $468.30 per troy ounce, up from $465.50. In Hong Kong gold fell $2 to close at $468.25. Silver closed at $7.35 per ounce, down from $7.36.

The U.S. dollar fell against the other major currencies. The euro was quoted at $1.2229, up from $2162. The dollar changed hands at 111.10 yen, down from 111.61. The British pound was trading at $1.8109, up from $1.8038.

EARNINGS NEWS

Biomet,(BMET: chart) medical products maker, announced 1Q net profit rose 66% to 40 cents a share, with sales up 10.7% on continued strong sales of orthopedic reconstructive devices and dental reconstructive implants for its record quarter, missing analysts’ forecasts of 41 cents. The company said it was comfortable with 2Q consensus earnings forecasts of 42 to 44 cents a share.

FedEx Corp., (FDX: chart) transportation and supply chain management services provider, posted 1Q earnings of $1.10 a share, up from $1.08 a share in the same period last year on 10% revenue growth for the comparable quarter. 1Q income included a $79 million charge for facility leases, without which Memphis-based FedEx said it would have earned $1.25 a share, beating analyst estimate for earnings of $1.17 a share. FedEx expects 2Q income $1.30 to $1.45 a share and raised its 2006 outlook to $5.25 to $5.50 a share.

CarMax Inc., (KMX: chart) used car chain provider, reported that 2Q profit jumped 39 % to 39 cents per share, compared with 28 cents per share a year earlier, beating analysts’ forecasts of 37 cents per share. Revenue from used autos rose 25% to $1.24 billion as volume rose 21%. Meanwhile, new vehicle revenue grew 11 percent to $151.9 million and wholesale revenue rose 25% to $190.8 million.

ConAgra Foods Inc. (CAG: chart), packaged food company, reported that 1Q earnings more than doubled to 68 cents per share from 26 cents per share in the year-ago period, following a large gain from selling its remaining shares in Pilgrim's Pride Corp. as well as strong performance in several areas of the business. Analysts were expecting 1Q earnings of 23 cents per share.

Morgan Stanley (MWD: chart), financial services provider, reported 3Q net income dropped 83% from the year-earlier period and gained 13 cents per share compared with 76 cents per share a year ago. The results include an aftertax charge of $1 billion to reflect the planned sale of the company's aircraft financing business. From continuing operations, Morgan Stanley gained $1.17 billion, or $1.09 a share, up 34% from last year’s period.


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