Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – April 23, 2010

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Greece to ask for EU-IMF aid within hours: CNBC

23 Apr 2010 at 2:04am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Greece is expected to formally ask to tap a 45 billion euro ($59.9 billion) European Union-International Monetary Fund aid package within the next two hours, CNBC reported Friday, citing unidentified sources. E.U. and IMF officials arrived in Athens for talks on Wednesday. A rout in Greek credit markets has sent the nation’s borrowing costs soaring and was seen leaving the government little choice but to tap the standby aid plan in order to meet upcoming funding needs.

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U.K. first-quarter GDP rise weaker than expected

23 Apr 2010 at 1:32am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The British economy grew more sluggishly than expected in the first quarter, with gross domestic product expanding by 0.2% compared to the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Economists had forecast a 0.4% rise.

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European shares extend gains after Ifo

23 Apr 2010 at 1:10am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares extended gains after a better-than-expected German Ifo business sentiment reading helped support confidence about economic trends for at least some countries in the region. Early gains were made as investors welcomed earnings reports and Volvo [s; se:volvb] shares were up 10.5% and Adidas shares climbed 2.8% after updating investors. The German DAX index rose 0.9% to 6,221.50, the French CAC-40 index rose 0.2% to 3,933.94 and the U.K. FTSE 100 index climbed 0.5% to 5,695.32.

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German Ifo business climate index sees strong rise

23 Apr 2010 at 1:07am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The Ifo Institute’s closely-watched German business climate index rose to 101.6 in April, up from 98.1 in March. Economists had forecast a more modest rise to 98.9.

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Akzo Nobel upped to buy at SNS post results

23 Apr 2010 at 12:41am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Akzo Nobel was upped to buy from hold at Dutch broker SNS Securities after the chemical firm’s first-quarter results. “Decorative was in line with our estimates, Performance Coatings better and Specialty Chemicals far better as these results were excluding National Starch, which is being classified again as to be discontinued as the company believes this division will be divested this year,” the broker said. It says National Starch could net the firm between 900 million euros and 1.1 billion euros.

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Logica cut to neutral from buy: UBS

23 Apr 2010 at 12:38am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — IT services group Logica was downgraded to neutral from buy on Friday at UBS, which said the sector has performed well year-to-date and faces near-term news flow headwinds. Rival Atos Origin and Capgemini — both rated buy — are now the preferred plays in IT services. UBS said that although Logica’s outsourcing bookings should be strong, with sales expected to be still in decline and a looming U.K. election they expect headwinds will keep to a continued re-rating. The investment bank notes that 13% of group sales come from the U.K. public sector and sees post-election cost-cutting actions as a “real risk to investor sentiment.”

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BMW aims to sell 120,000 cars in China this year

23 Apr 2010 at 12:13am

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — German premium-car maker BMW said Friday it aimed to grow its sales in China to 120,000 vehicles this year, up from a previous target of more than 100,000 cars. “China is, and will remain, one of the most attractive automobile markets in the world,” BMW said in a statement. China is currently the BMW’s fourth largest market worldwide. Last year, the company sold more than 90,000 vehicles in mainland China. In the first quarter of 2010, deliveries increased by 100.5% to 36,579 vehicles.

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European shares move higher in early trading

23 Apr 2010 at 12:07am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares edged higher in early trading on Friday, with autos boosted by gains of 1% from Daimler and a 3.3% rise from Renault . Swedish truckmaker Volvo said Friday that it returned to a profit in the first quarter of 2010, extending a recent run of positive earnings news in the sector. Also reporting earnings, shares of Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel rose 4.7%. The U.K. FTSE 100 index advanced 0.3% to 5,684.34, the German DAX index rose 0.4% to 6,194.75 and the French CAC-40 index edged up 0.1% to 3,928.55.

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Aegon upgraded to buy at Citigroup

22 Apr 2010 at 11:53pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Citigroup upgraded insurer Aegon to buy from hold Friday, saying the stock is trading at a 30% discount to peers based on underlying earnings forecasts. “Assuming favorable macro developments, Aegon should be able to redeem the remaining government capital without the significant dilution its share price seem to assume and close this valuation target,” the broker said.

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Prudential sets timing for rights issue

22 Apr 2010 at 11:44pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. insurer Prudential said Friday that it plans to announce the details of its upcoming $21 billion rights issue on May 5 as it also said it will seek a new secondary listing in Singapore as well as its planned primary listing in Hong Kong. Prudential, which is raising the cash to help pay for its acquisition of AIA from American International Group said its shares are expected to list in Hong Kong and Singapore on May 11. The company isn’t planning to raise capital directly through the new listings, but hopes they will make it easier for Asian investors to deal in its shares.

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Experian: First American exercises FARES option

22 Apr 2010 at 11:42pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Experian said Friday that First American Corp. has exercised its option over Experian’s residual interest in First American Real Estate Solutions, or FARES, and will pay Experian $314 million in cash by the end of 2010. Following the completion of this transaction, Experian will have fully divested its 20% interest in FARES.

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Yara International net profit jumps 72%

22 Apr 2010 at 11:37pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Norwegian fertilizer maker Yara International said Friday that its first-quarter net profit rose to 1.5 billion Norwegian kroner ($252 million), from 887 million kroner a year ago. Sales declined to 14.7 billion kroner, from 17.1 billion kroner last year.
“Fertilizer markets have improved substantially from the downturn witnessed in late 2008 and 2009. Yara has increased production to full capacity again in the first quarter, and prices have continued to increase,” said CEO Jorgen Ole Haslestad. “We are prepared for volatile markets going forward and can meet these with the flexibility and scale in Yara’s business model,” he added.

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Volvo returns to first-quarter profit

22 Apr 2010 at 11:34pm

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Swedish truckmaker Volvo reported on Friday a first-quarter net profit of 1.7 billion Swedish kronor ($238 million) compared with a loss of 4.2 billion kronor in the same period a year ago. Sales increased by 4% to 58.6 billion kronor. Analysts expected a net loss of 68.3 million kronor and revenue of 55.68 billion kronor, according to a survey conducted by Dow Jones and Factset. Operating income rose to 2.8 billion kronor, compared with a loss of 4.5 billion kronor in the year-ago period. “With a gradually improved global economy, demand is once again increasing for the group’s products. At the same time, the measures we have implemented to cut costs have generated good results throughout the group,” said Leif Johansson, Volvo’s president and CEO.

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.


Akzo Nobel swings to profit

22 Apr 2010 at 11:24pm

lONDON (MarketWatch) — Dutch chemicals group Akzo Nobel said Friday that it swung to a first-quarter net profit of 81 million euros ($107.8 million) from a year-earlier loss of 7 million euros, helped by improved volumes in most businesses as well as cost cutting. The firm said revenue for the quarter rose 6% to 3.25 billion euros, while cost controls helped lift its EBITDA margin to 12.3% from 9.4%. The firm gave a somewhat cautious outlook, noting that while revenue growth was solid across the business, it was in comparison to a particularly weak quarter a year ago. “We expect pressure from further raw material cost increases during the year and remain cautious about the strength of the recovery,” said CEO Hans Wijers.

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.


Ericsson quarterly net profit drops 30%

22 Apr 2010 at 11:23pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson said Friday that its first-quarter net income declined 30% to 1.3 billion Swedish kronor ($179 million). The firm took 2.2 billion kronor of restructuring charges in the quarter, up from 0.7 billion kroner of charges last year. Analysts had been looking for a profit of 1.79 billion kronor, according to data compiled by Dow Jones Newswires. Sales dropped 9% to 45.1 billion kronor with a decline in network sales offsetting an increase in global service sales. The firm’s gross margin rose to 39%, from 36% a year ago, helped by the business mix and continued efficiency gains. “The market conditions we saw in the second half of 2009 prevailed also in this quarter with mixed operator investment behavior across regions and markets,” said CEO Hans Vestberg. “We forecast that mobile data traffic will double annually over the next five years,” he added.

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.

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April 23 2010 02:08 am | Stock Market News

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