Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – Feb 19, 2010

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Europe stocks fall in wake of Fed hike, results

19 Feb 2010 at 1:08am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares fell on Friday after a surprise quarter-point hike in the U.S. Federal Reserve’s disount rate late the previous day. Overall, the U.K. FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to 5,293.07, the German DAX index fell 0.8% to 5,632.61 and the French CAC-40 index fell 0.9% to 3,712.43. The Spanish IBEX-35 fell 1% to 10,458.60.

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Anglo American 2009 net profit falls 53%

19 Feb 2010 at 12:58am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Anglo American on Friday reported a 53% fall in 2009 net profit to $2.42 billion, or $2.02 per share, against $5.22 billion in 2008, or $4.34, as the global economic downturn weighed on prices for its metals. Group revenue fell 25.3% to $24.64 billion, against $33 billion a year ago. The company noted falling demand particularly in the metallurgical coal and thermal coal units. Operating profit for copper was 6% higher, but iron ore and manganese fell 42%, metallurgical coal fell 59%, thermal coal fell 33%, diamonds fell 87%, with nickel down as well. Anglo American said the medium and long-term outlook for the industry remain strong, with commodity demand expected to remain robust. The group said it expects China will continue to upgrade and develop its infrastructure while longer-term potential of India and Brazil will provide further support. It sees economic headwinds for developed economies.

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Rentokil profit up, sees economy remaining tough

19 Feb 2010 at 12:47am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Rentokil Initial said Friday that its net profit for 2009 more than doubled to 47.6 million pounds ($73.8 million) from 18.8 million pounds a year earlier, as revenue for the year grew 5% to 2.53 billion pounds. The group said operating profit improved at its pest control and washroom services units, while losses narrowed at its City Link courier arm. “Although we see no easing in economic conditions across most of our markets this year, our objectives are to deliver modest revenue growth, take out more costs and make further improvements in customer service and responsiveness,” said CEO Alan Brown. “Above all, in 2010 we intend to lay the foundations for profitable growth in 2011 and beyond,” he added.

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Lafarge swings to quarterly net loss

19 Feb 2010 at 12:38am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — French building materials firm Lafarge said Friday that it swung to a fourth-quarter net loss of 38 million euros. Last year, the firm posted a profit of 40 million euros. Sales declined 22% to 3.6 billion euros in the quarter. Lafarge said that emerging markets continue to show strength and it forecasts that cement volumes in these markets will continue to drive demand in 2010. For developed markets, the group expects that demand will start to recover slowly during the second half of the year. Overall, the group expects cement volumes in its markets to increase between 0% and 5% in 2010. Pricing is expected to remain solid for the year in most markets, it said.

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Novartis drug gets priority review status from FDA

19 Feb 2010 at 12:34am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Novartis said Friday that its Tasigna drug has been granted priority review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of adult patients with a form of newly diagnosed leukemia. Novartis said FDA priority review status is granted to therapies that offer major advances in treatment or provide a treatment where no adequate therapy exists. The status accelerates the standard review time from 10 to six months.

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GlaxoSmithKline reviewing FDA labelling proposals

19 Feb 2010 at 12:26am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that its reviewing label changes proposed by the Food and Drug Administration for asthma medications containing long-acting beta-agonists, such as GSK’s Advair. The company and makers of other affected medicines have 30 days to agree to the proposed changes or state why they aren’t warranted. “There was no evidence in clinical trials for Advair of increased risk for asthma-related death, asthma-related hospitalization, asthma-related intubation or all cause death compared to other treatments options,” GlaxoSmithKline said.

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Carrefour net profit drops 74% after charges

19 Feb 2010 at 12:25am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — French supermarket group Carrefour said Friday that its fiscal-year net profit fell 74.2% to 327 million euros, while sales declined 1.0% to 87.4 billion euros. The firm said that it took 1.1 billion euros of charges over the year, including 766 million euros of impairment charges, mainly in Italy. In 2010, the environment is likely to remain challenging, the firm said.

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Nestle fiscal-year net income declines 42%

19 Feb 2010 at 12:18am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swiss food group Nestle said Friday that its fiscal-year net income declined to 10.4 billion Swiss francs ($9.6 billion), from 18.0 billion francs recorded for the same period a year ago. Sales fell to 107.6 billion francs, from 109.9 billion francs last year. “With organic growth of 4.1% achieved in last year’s challenging environment, we were able to grow substantially faster than our industry,” said CEO Paul Bulcke. Nestle will pay a 1.60 franc per share dividend, up 14.3% from last year. It will also start a new share buyback program and intends to buy back 10 billion francs of shares.

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Schlumberger in advanced talks to buy Smith : WSJ

18 Feb 2010 at 10:25pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Oil services firm Schlumberger Ltd. is in advanced talks to acquire Smith International Inc. , The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing people familiar with the negotiations. A deal combine two of the world’s biggest oil services companies, with Schlumberger’s revenue nearly doubling that of its nearest competitor following a deal, the report said. Smith currently has a capitalization fo $7.5 billion, and a typical 20% deal premium would take the transaction to the $9 billion range, the report 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.


Fed rate move hits Hong Kong shares in early trade

18 Feb 2010 at 7:20pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Hong Kong shares fell sharply early Friday, as the U.S. Federal Reserve decision to raise its discount rate lifted the U.S. dollar but weighed on sentiment and commodity prices. Chinese banks and resource stocks suffered the most, helping the Hang Seng Index fall 1.8% to 20,041.60 and the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index drop 2.1% to 11,355.37. Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd. lost 2.5%, and China Construction Bank Corp. gave up 2.4%. In the resource space, Cnooc Ltd. dropped 2.3%, and Zijin Mining Group Co. fell 2.6%.

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.


Google China attack traced to two schools: report

18 Feb 2010 at 7:15pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The sophisticated cyber-attacks disclosed by Google Inc. in January have been traced to computers at two educational institutions in China, the New York Times reported Thursday. Google announced on Jan. 12 that it had suffered attacks aimed at stealing intellectual property and identifying advocates for human rights reform in China — prompting the company to reevaluate whether it will continue doing business directly there. Citing unnamed sources, the Times reported that the two schools in China that hosted the attacks are Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang Vocational School. “Jiaotong has one of China’s top computer-science programs,” the Times reported, while Lanxiang trains some computer scientists for the military.

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.


Japan edges up as stronger dollar lifts exporters

18 Feb 2010 at 5:28pm

TOKYO (MarketWatch) — Japanese shares edged higher Friday morning in Tokyo with shares of most exporters on the rise after the U.S. Federal Reserve’s surprise lift in the lending rate it charges banks helped strengthen the dollar. The Nikkei 225 added 0.2% to 10,352.60 and the Topix was up 0.1% at 905.81. Among the exporters, Isuzu Motors Ltd. added 1.9%, NEC Electronics Corp. rose 3.2% and Sony Corp. climbed 1.1%. Financial shares traded mainly lower, however, with Aozora Bank Ltd. down 2.5% a day after the Bank of Japan left its interest rate unchanged. Elsewhere, South Korea’s Kospi shed 0.5% and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 was 0.1% lower.

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.


Australia shares move sideways, as banks cap gains

18 Feb 2010 at 4:55pm

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Australian shares meandered in early Friday trading, with weak financials preventing a broader climb for the market. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 was down less than 0.1% at 4,653.0 after a mildly positive open, as National Australia Bank Ltd. led weakness in banking stocks, falling 2.3% after it posted flat quarterly cash earnings ahead of the market open. The results weighed on other financials, with Westpac Banking Corp. down 1%, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia off by 0.6%. Papuan-Australian miner Lihir Gold Ltd. was also down, falling by 1.8% after UBS cut the stock’s rating to neutral from buy. Among advancers, shares of Qantas Airways Ltd. retraced some of their sharp losses in the previous session, rising 2.6%, helped in part by Credit Suisse reiterating its outperform rating price target for Australia’s biggest carrier.

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.


Icahn buys Fontainebleau property for $150M

18 Feb 2010 at 3:20pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Icahn Enterprises on Thursday said it has bought Fontainebleau’s Las Vegas property for $150 million, calling it a distressed asset of “considerable” value. The Fontainebleau property includes an unfinished building of about 7 million square feet situated on 25 acres of land.

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.


Dollar jumps after Fed hikes discount rate

18 Feb 2010 at 3:05pm

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The dollar jumped against major counterparts on Thursday, after the Federal Reserve delivered a surprise hike in its discount rate after the close of U.S. markets. The dollar index , which measures the U.S. unit against a basket of six major currencies, stood at 80.90 in recent action, compared with 80.38 ahead of the Fed move. The dollar jumped to 91.65 yen, while the euro slumped to $1.3527. The Fed said its 25-basis-point hike of the discount rate to 0.75% was to encourage banks to borrow more from the private market, and cautioned this was not a tightening of its monetary policy. But the dollar’s reaction showed the market had another interpretation, according to Kathy Lien, director of currency research at GFT Forex. “Although the Fed went out of their way to say that this does not equate to a change in their monetary policy outlook, action speaks louder than words,” she wrote in a note. “The most important takeaway is that the Fed is beginning to implement an exit strategy which is more than what many of the other central banks are doing and therefore this action will be extremely positive for the dollar.”

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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February 19 2010 01:20 am | Stock Market News

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