Latest News In Stock Market Investement Research – March 13, 2009

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IEA cuts 2009 oil demand estimate by 300,000 barrels a day

13 Mar 2009 at 1:03am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The International Energy Agency on Friday revised down its forecast for 2009 global oil demand by around 300,000 barrels a day to 84.4 million barrels a day, or a roughly 1.5% fall year-on-year, on a reassessment of demand prospects. The IEA also cuts its forecast for non-OPEC supply growth by 380,000 barrels a day for 2009, following a reappraisal of ongoing problems at Azerbaijan’s ACG fields.

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European shares higher in early trading

13 Mar 2009 at 12:08am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares jumped higher on Friday, with oil producers and banks leading the advance. Of banks, shares of Societe Generale climbed 6.1% while shares of Royal Dutch Shell rose 1.6% in the energy sector. Shares of Independent News & Media shot up 33.3% after it detailed a change of CEO. Overall, the U.K. FTSE 100 index climbed 2% to 3,786.08, the German DAX 30 index advanced 1.7% to 4,022.97 and the French CAC-40 index rose 2% to 2,747.80.

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JD Wetherspoon first-half net profit drops 5%

12 Mar 2009 at 11:42pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Pub operator JD Wetherspoon said Friday that its net profit fell to 17.3 million pounds, from 18.3 million pounds last year, in the six months ended Jan. 25. Revenue advanced 6.5% to 468.7 million pounds. The firm said that sales in the six weeks to Mar. 8, rose 1.9% on a comparable basis and 5.6% in total. “I remain confident of the Company’s future prospects,” said chairman Tim Martin.

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Independent News & Media names Gavin O’Reilly CEO

12 Mar 2009 at 11:37pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Irish media group Independent News & Media said Friday that chief executive Anthony O’Reilly will retire on May 7. Anthony O’Reilly is the largest shareholder in the firm with a 28.5% stake. He will be succeeded by Gavin O’Reilly, currently chief operating officer.

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Swiss Re provides details of Buffett’s investment

12 Mar 2009 at 11:33pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Reinsurance group Swiss Re said Friday that its planned 3 billion Swiss franc ($2.5 billion) capital injection from Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway will be in the form of a perpetual instrument with no maturity date. Berkshire Hathaway will have the right to convert the investment, which pays annual interest of 12%, into shares after three years. The conversion price will be 25 francs a share, which is still 70% above Thursday’s close of 14.68 francs. Swiss Re can repurchase the investment at any time in the first two years for a 40% premium and any time after that for a 20% premium. The reinsurance group can also elect to pay interest in shares, which would be valued at a slight discount to the average price over the previous five days.

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European Feb new passenger car registrations fell 18.3%

12 Mar 2009 at 11:27pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Total European passenger car registrations fell 18.3% to 968,159 in February, according to the Brussels-based European Automobile Manufacturers Association. The drop was more marked in new EU member states than in Western Europe after Germany registrations grew 21.5% following recent vehicle tax reform moves and scrapping bonuses. Volkswagen registrations fell 10.2% in the month, PSA Group registrations dropped 25.3%, Ford registrations fell 12.7%, GM Group registrations fell 21.9%, Toyota registrations fell 18.3%, Daimler registrations fell 29.8% and BMW registrations fell 29.2%.

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Nikkei 225 soars 5.2% on gains across the board

12 Mar 2009 at 10:17pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japanese shares surged Friday as steep overnight advances on Wall Street and in commodity prices spurred gains across sectors. The Nikkei 225 Average ended at 7,569.28, soaring 5.2% for its biggest one-day percentage gain since mid-December. The broader Topix rose 3.3% to 724.30. Shares of Sony Corp. gained 9.1% and Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. soared 13%.

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Exporters lead surge in Tokyo on Wall Street rally

12 Mar 2009 at 4:35pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Japanese shares soared Friday after U.S. stocks stretched their rally into a third day, with exporters such as Sony Corp. leading the charge. Resource related stocks also jumped in Tokyo and elsewhere in Asia after crude-oil and gold prices posted gains overnight. The Nikkei 225 Average surged 3.9% to 7,477.24, while the broader Topix gained 2.1%. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 rose 3%, South Korea’s Kospi advanced 0.6% and New Zealand’s NZX 50 added 1.3%.

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Fitch downgrades Berkshire Hathaway AAA ratings

12 Mar 2009 at 2:59pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Fitch Ratings said late Thursday that it downgraded the issuer default rating and senior unsecured debt ratings of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on the basis that ‘AAA’ ratings are not appropriate for financial-oriented companies in the current economy. Fitch cut Berkshire’s issuer default rating to AA+ from AAA, and its senior unsecured debt rating to AA from AAA. The outlook is negative.

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Chile slashes key rate by more than expected, to 2.25%

12 Mar 2009 at 2:03pm

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Chile’s central bank Tuesday evening slashed its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 2.25%. The cut was larger than the projection by analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires for a cut of 175 basis points. In February, Banco Central de Chille also cut its rate by a more-than-expected 250 basis points. “This decision is grounded on a projected fast decline in inflation, and brings the policy rate closer to a level consistent with the current macroeconomic environment and its related risks,” policymakers said in a statement Thursday. It also said that further rate cuts may be necessary, but may be more in line with “historical patterns,” and reaffirmed its projected inflation target of 3%.

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Google’s Tim Armstrong named chair, CEO of Time Warner’s AOL

12 Mar 2009 at 1:47pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Time Warner Inc. said late Thursday it named Google Inc. Senior Vice President Tim Armstrong as Chairman and Chief Executive of Time Warner’s AOL unit. AOL’s current Chairman and CEO Randy Falco along with President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Grant plan to leave the company after a transition period.

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Pep Boys cuts quarterly dividend to 3 cents

12 Mar 2009 at 1:31pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Pep Boys late Thursday said it cut its quarterly dividend to 3 cents from 6.75 cents. The dividend will be paid April 27 to shareholders of record on April 13. The auto parts retailer expects a loss of 59 cents to 69 cents a share in the fourth quarter and projected revenue of $466 million, down 10.1% from the same period in the previous year. Analysts projected the company to report a loss of 11 cents a share and revenue of $459.5 million in the quarter. For the full year, Pep Boys forecast a loss of 53 cents to 63 cents a share and revenue of about $1.93 billion, down 9.8% on-year.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

Thomas Weisel analyst cuts rating on EMC

12 Mar 2009 at 1:25pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Doug Reid cut his rating on EMC Corp. to market weight from overweight after the market closed Thursday. In a research note, Reid said industry checks and trends suggest that the storage-technology giant’s share of the networked storage market peaked at 26% in 2008 and will drop to 24% in 2010. Reid also said he expects spending on storage hardware will drop between 7% and 10% during the first half of 2009, down from his earlier estimate of a decline of 2% to 5%. EMC shares rose 33 cents a share, or 3.1%, to close at $10.96.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

S&P downgrades National Semiconductor ratings to junk

12 Mar 2009 at 12:54pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Standard & Poor’s Ratings said late Thursday it downgraded the corporate credit and senior unsecured ratings on National Semiconductor Corp. to junk status because of possible margin erosion. S&P cut National Semiconductor to BB+ from BBB-. The outlook is stable. “While the company’s announcement that it amended key covenants in its bank agreements lifted a near-term concern about covenant compliance, we expect continued pressure on profitability for the near-to-intermediate term,” said Lucy Patricola, an S&P credit analyst, in a statement.

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Fed balance sheet totals $1.88 trln, down 0.7% vs. prev week

12 Mar 2009 at 12:32pm

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet decreased 0.7% to $1.878 trillion in the week ended March 11, the central bank said on Thursday. By comparison, the Fed’s assets and liabilities was only $870 billion in December 2007. Since then, the Fed has started a concerted program to get credit flowing into the economy. It is lending money to financial institutions against a wide range of collateral and buying assets to unfreeze specific credit markets. In the latest week, the shrinkage in the balance sheet was due primarily to a reduction in swap lines with foreign central banks.

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March 13 2009 02:05 am | Stock Market News

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