U.S. MARKET AVERAGES

Google, Research in Motion, auto sales, Boeing and volatile oil were all part of today’s stock market.

Google, after reporting earnings of $1.54 per share for the fourth quarter missing some analysts’ estimates of $1.74 largely on the reasons of higher tax rate, dropped more than 11% at the opening but closed above $401 and dropping 7.1%.

Boeing stock rose 4.8% on earnings report of 58 cents vs. 23 cents a year ago. Defense and commercial aerospace company reported strong earnings on high orders from India and other Asian and Middle Eastern countries.

Maker of popular wireless email device, BlackBerry, Research in Motion stock jumped $6 or 9% on the news that U.S. Patent office issued Non-final rejection of one of the patents issued to NTP Inc. Two companies are in litigation for more than three years.

Oil price jumped up and down during the session. Crude oil futures jumped up more than a dollar during the day but closed lower by $1.36 to $66.56 per barrel.

U. S. auto makers suffered another month of market loss to Asian auto makers in January 2006. While auto sales for GM, Ford and Chrysler rose 6%, 2.7% and 5% respectively, sales at Toyota, Honda and Hyundai rose 16%, 21% and 16% respectively.

Overall domestic auto makers lost market to their foreign rivals in January of this year. There are no visible signs that domestic makers are likely to gain market share in the near future. Sales across the industry rose 7.6% to 1.14 million units in January according to industry sales data tracker Autodata. Asian makers gained 1.2% market share to 37.5% and U.S. makers lost 1.6% market share to 55.7%.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Monster Worldwide Inc (MNST: chart) said Q4 net income jumped 49% to $36.5 million, or 29 cents a share, from the year-ago quarter, on strong international growth. Sales climbed 24% to $266.6 million. The company said it sees 2006 earnings from continuing operations in the range of $1.21 to $1.26 a share on revenue of $1.165 billion to $1.215 billion. The company’s shares climbed 13.4%.

Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL: chart), real estate and money management services provider, reported Q4 net earnings of $66.9 million, or $2.11 a share, up 34% from $50 million, or $1.62 a share. Revenue rose 21% to $499 million from $412.4 million a year ago, said the real estate and money management services provider. The stock rose 12.5%.

Phoenix Cos (PNX: chart), life insurance and asset management company, posted Q4 profit rise to $50.2 million, or 48 cents a share, from $48.3 million, or 48 cents, a year ago. Total segment income was $27.6 million, or 27 cents a share, up from $26 million, or 26 cents, in last year''s fourth quarter, beating estimates of 21 cents a share. The company affirmed its fiscal 2006 view for a double-digit percent gain in earnings growth. The stock gained 4.7%.

PPL Corp (PPL: chart) said Q4 net income rose to $185 million, or 49 cents a share, from $177 million, or 47 cents a share, with revenue up 2.4% to $1.5 billion. Earnings from continuing operations of 53 cents a share topped analyst earnings forecasts of 50 cents a share. PPL confirmed its 2006 guidance of earnings of $2.15 to $2.25 a share and said it expects 11% compound annual earnings per share growth through 2010. The company’s shares rose 3.8%.

SigmaTel Inc (SGTL: chart), semiconductor company, reported Q4 net earnings of $4.65 million, or 12 cents a share, down 76% from $19.5 million, or 52 cents a share, last year. Pro forma net income was $6 million, or 16 cents a share, while revenue rose to $82 million from $78.6 million. Analysts expected earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $84 million. The company forecast a Q1 loss of 10 cents to 17 cents a share, or a penny to 8 cents a share on a pro forma basis, on revenue of $52 million to $60 million. The stock slipped 11.5%.

Pixelworx Inc (PXLW: chart), integrated circuits maker, posted Q4 net loss of $35.9 million, or 75 cents a share compared with a profit of $4 million, or 8 cents a share a year ago. Its loss on a pro forma basis was $32 million, or 67 cents a share. Revenue rose to $43.3 million from $38.5 million last year. Pixelworks projected Q1 net loss of 19 cents to 22 cents a share and a pro forma loss of 8 cents to 11 cents a share on revenue of $39 million to $43 million and a net gross profit margin of 40% to 42%. The company’s shares dropped 19.8%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Crude oil inventories showed an advance in the latest week, according to government statistics released Wednesday, reversing a portion of the previous week''s decline. Stocks of gasoline recorded a sharp rise, while inventories of distillate fuel oil ticked down.

The Department of Energy''s Energy Information Administration revealed that crude oil inventories climbed by 1.9 million barrels for the week ended January 27, rising to 321.0 million barrels from the prior week''s level of 319.1 million barrels. This followed a decline of 2.3 million barrels in the previous week. Oil inventories were 11.4% higher than their levels of the same time last year.

Gasoline inventories posted a week-over-week increase of 4.2 million barrels, the government said, adding to the previous week''s increase of 3.2 million barrels. Gasoline stocks were 0.1% above their levels of last year, the first time they have shown a year-over-year increase in some time. Inventories of distillate fuel oil ticked down by 200,000 barrels in the most recent week.

The Department of Commerce released its report on construction spending in the month of December on Wednesday, showing that spending rose much more than economists had anticipated. The growth reflected a notable increase in spending on private construction.