Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – Feb 26, 2010

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26 Feb 2010 at 2:37am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — British gross domestic product expanded 0.3% in the final three months of 2009, the Office for National Statistics said in a revised estimate Friday, up from an initial projection of 0.1% quarterly growth. Economists had forecast a revision to show 0.2% growth. Compared to the same period last year, GDP fell 3.3%, compared to an initial estimate of a 3.2% decline. Third quarter GDP was revised down to show a 0.3% quarterly decline from a previous estimate of a 0.2% fall.

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Euro-area leading index grows in January

26 Feb 2010 at 2:36am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The Conference Board leading economic index for the euro area increased 0.8% in January, following a 0.9% increase in December and a 0.5% increase in November. Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe, said the moderation of the upward trend suggests the recovery is unlikely to gather speed over 2010.

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FCC net profit falls 8% in 2009

26 Feb 2010 at 2:07am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Spanish construction giant Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas SA (FCC) on Friday reported net profit of 307 million euros ($416 million) for 2009, an 8% fall on the prior year. Revenue for the group fell 6.7% to 12.7 billion euros in 2008, owing to a 10.2% fall in Spanish revenues owing to a slowdown in infrastruture activity, the FCC said. Among sectors, cement was weakest with sales down 27.3% in 2009, while its environmental services sector fell 1%. FCC said it reduced its net debt by 10% and its backlog of works and services expanded by 5.6% in 2009.

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Endesa net profit falls 52.2% in 2009

26 Feb 2010 at 1:09am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Spanish electric utility group Endesa on Friday reported a 52.2% fall in 2009 net profit to 3.43 billion euros ($4.65 billion) in 2008. Endesa said stripping out the effects of the 4.78 billion euro sale of assets to E.On in June, net income was 1% higher than that of 2008. Figures for 2009 also include net income from the sale of assets to Acciona of 1.04 billion euros. On a regional breakdown, Spain and Portugal contributed 2.75 billion euros to net income, a gajn of 24.9% versus the previous year, while Latin America contributed 671 million euros, a 32.6% rise on the prior year. Endesa’s electricity output was 8.5% lower than 2008, while electricity sales fell 1.6%.

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Europe shares rise in early trading

26 Feb 2010 at 1:10am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares rose on Friday, with worries about Greece’s fiscal health on the backburner. Commodity-sector stocks took back some sharp losses from the previous session, with shares of platinum miner Lonmin up 1.8% and natural gas producer BG Group shares advancing 1.3%. Of companies reporting earnings, Bayer shares fell 4% after it fourth-quarter net profit climbed 44% but fell short of analyst estimates. The U.K. FTSE 100 index jumped 1% to 5,329.87, the German DAX index rose 0.7% to 5,571.46 and the French CAC-40 index advanced 0.9% to 3,674.56.

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Liberty in talks to sell U.S. centers: report

26 Feb 2010 at 1:08am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Britain’s Liberty International is in advanced talks to sell its $560 million U.S. shopping center business to Equity One , the Financial Times reported, citing people close to the negotiations. Liberty is believed to be structuring the deal to trade the properties in return for equity in the U.S. group, rather than cash. Liberty has previously stated its desire to reduce its U.S. exposure.

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Frontline profit slumps 92%

26 Feb 2010 at 1:00am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Oil tanker operator Frontline said its fourth-quarter profit dropped to $3.92 million from $51.55 million, with revenue dropping to $262.1 million from $451.5 million. Analysts polled by Capital IQ expected a $10 million profit on revenue of $208 million. The board expects improved results for the first quarter of 2010 compared to the fourth quarter of 2009. It’s keeping its quarterly dividend at 25 cents a share.

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Rolls-Royce offers to buy rest of Odim

26 Feb 2010 at 12:49am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Engine maker Rolls-Royce said Friday that it will offer to buy the 67% of Odim it doesn’t already own for 45 Norwegian kroner, or 1.4 billion kroner. Odim is a Norwegian marine technology company which develops and sells advanced automated handling systems for seismic and offshore vessels. (Corrects typo in headline.)

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Austria’s Erste Bank swings to quarterly profit

26 Feb 2010 at 12:43am

FRANKFURT (MarketWatch) — Austria’s Erste Group Bank AG reported Friday a fourth-quarter net profit of 183.3 million euros ($248 million) after a net loss of 603.4 million euros in the same period a year earlier. The bank said its board will propose an unchanged dividend of 0.65 euro. All of the bank’s subsidiaries in Central and Eastern Europe, except for Erste Bank Ukraine, continued to operate profitably in 2009, Erste Bank said.

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U.K. house prices drop 1% in February – Nationwide

26 Feb 2010 at 12:42am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Nationwide Building Society said Friday that U.K. house prices fell 1.0% month-on-month in February, the first fall in 10 months. The mortgage provider said that snow and the expiry of a tax holiday may have been behind the drop and it’s “too early to say” whether this is the start of a new trend. In January, house prices rose 1.2%, bringing annual gains to 8.6%.

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Lloyds impairments rise as gain boosts bottom line

26 Feb 2010 at 12:36am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Lloyds Banking Group said Friday that its 2009 net profit rose to 2.83 billion pounds ($4.32 billion) from 772 million pounds a year earlier due to an 11.2 billion pound gain linked to its acquisition of HBOS. Excluding that gains and comparing the combined operations, the pretax loss narrowed to 6.3 billion pounds from 6.71 billion pounds, while impairments rose 61% to 23.99 billion pounds. Lloyds said, however, that impairments in the second half of the year were 21% below the first half and it expects to see a similar pace of improvement throughout 2010. The bank said the economy is showing signs of stabilization, with a “weak upturn” expected in 2010, which it said should drive significant improvements in the performance of its continuing businesses. Lloyds said it’s targeting high single-digit income growth from continuing businesses within two years. Analysts were expecting a pretax loss of around 6.7 billion pounds for 2009.

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Serco fiscal-year net profit up 30.7%

26 Feb 2010 at 12:34am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Outsourcing firm Serco said Friday that its 2009 net income rose to 130.2 million pounds, from 99.6 million pounds a year ago. Sales rose 27.1% to 3.97 billion pounds. The firm said revenue visibility and substantial opportunities mean that it expects to make further progress in 2010 and over the medium term.

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.


Belgacom EBITDA edges up

26 Feb 2010 at 12:33am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Belgacom said its fourth-quarter earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization rose to 1.97 billion euros from 1.91 billion euros, with revenue dipping to 1.52 billion euros from 1.55 billion euros. The telecommunications firm is paying a 1.68 euros a share final dividend for 2009, and for 2010, its final dividend will also be 1.68 euros though its interim dividend will be 0.50 euros instead of 0.40 euros as it seeks to return most of its annual cash flow to shareholders. Belgacom expects to increase its revenue between 8% and 9%, with its EBITDA margin between 30% and 31% after 2009’s 32.6%.

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.


Bayer quarterly net income up 44%

26 Feb 2010 at 12:24am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — German healthcare firm Bayer said Friday its fourth-quarter net income rose 44.3% to 153 million euros ($207.5 million). Sales declined 0.6% to 7.9 billion euros. Bayer said it expects the global economy to continue to recover in 2010 but believes the impact of the global business downturn in 2009 will continue to be felt “for some time to come.” Still, Bayer said it’s optimistic for 2010 and plans to increase sales by more than 5% on an adjusted basis, with adjusted EBITDA expected to rise toward 7 billion euros.

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.


Telefonica net profit up 22.2%; sticks to ‘10 view

26 Feb 2010 at 12:06am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — Spanish telecom giant Telefonica SA on Friday said net profit for the fourth quarter rose 22.2% to 2.44 billion euros ($3.01 billion), against 2.0 billion euros in the same period a year ago. A survey of analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires was expecting net profit of 2.3 billion euros. Revenue for the period rose 1.2% to 14.98 billion euros, against 14.8 billion euros in the same period a year ago. Telefonica said it was maintaining its objective of achieving net profit of 2.10 euros per share for 2010 and reiterated its objective of medium-term growth.

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 26 2010 01:57 am | Stock Market News

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