Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – Jan 23, 2009

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Centex Corp. quarterly net sales totaled 1,080 units

23 Jan 2009 at 4:45am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Homebuilder Centex Corp. said that its fiscal third-quarter net sales totaled 1,080 units, while backlog totaled 4,628 units at Dec. 31. “Abrupt and sweeping changes in the economy caused unprecedented homebuyer hesitancy, which severely impacted sales early in the quarter,” said CEO Timothy Eller. The company said that, due to current market conditions and because it expects house prices to continue to decline, it will take between $550 million and $600 million in non-cash impairments in the quarter, primarily for land valuation. Centex will release its third-quarter earnings on Feb. 3.

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Harley-Davidson cutting 1,100 jobs, consolidating plants

23 Jan 2009 at 4:43am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Motorcylce manufacturer Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday that it will cut around 1,100 jobs in 2009 and 2010 as it cuts production volumes and restructures. The company said it will consolidate its two engine and transmission plants in the Milwaukee area into its facility in Menomonee Falls, Wis., discontinue its domestic transportation fleet, close its distribution facility in Franklin, Wis., and consolidate paint and frame operations at its assembly facility in York, Pa. The group said it expects to take one-time charges of $110 to $140 million and generate annual savings of $60 million to $70 million.

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Harley-Davidson profit down 58%, plans to cut shipments

23 Jan 2009 at 4:21am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Harley-Davidson Inc. said Friday that its fourth-quarter net profit fell 58% to $77.8 million, or 34 cents a share, from $186.1 million, or 78 cents a share, a year earlier as it also announced plans to restructure and reduce shipments in 2009. The group said revenue for the final quarter of 2008 fell 6.8% to $1.29 billion and worldwide retail sales of its motorcycles fell 13.1% from a year earlier as U.S. demand slumped. In the first quarter of 2009, the company expects to ship between 74,000 and 78,000 new motorcycles, representing a 3.5% to 8.5% increase on a year earlier. But for 2009 as a whole it expects to ship between 264,000 and 273,000 units — a decline of 10% to 13%. Margin will be between 30.5% and 31.5%, compared to 34.5% in 2008, but the firm said it won’t give earnings guidance because of the volatile economic environment.

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Schlumberger quarterly net income down 17%

23 Jan 2009 at 4:15am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Schlumberger said that fourth-quarter net income declined to $1.15 billion, or 95 cents a share, from $1.38 billion, or $1.12 a share, at the same point a year ago. Revenue totaled $6.87 billion, compared to $6.25 billion last year. Income from continuing operations, excluding charges and credits, was $1.24 billion, or $1.03 a share. Analysts had been expecting the company to produce earnings of $1.08 a share, according to data compiled by FactSet. Schlumberger said it expects activity to weaken across the board in 2009 with the most significant declines occurring in North American gas drilling, Russian oil production enhancement and in mature offshore basins.

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UPDATE: Qimonda files for insolvency

23 Jan 2009 at 3:22am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — German chip maker Qimonda said Friday that it has filed for insolvency in a Munich court. The company said the decision was due to the “massive drop in prices in the DRAM industry” as well as dramatically reduced access to financing on the capital markets. A previously agreed 325 million euro ($421 million) financing package involving the German state of Saxony, several banks and Qimonda’s main shareholder Infineon Technologies could not be completed in time, the company said. The court will appoint a preliminary insolvency administrator, who will analyze the company’s situation in the coming days. Qimonda said it assumes it will be able to continue operating and that German insolvency laws offer the opportunity to accelerate its restructuring plans. Shares in Infineon fell around 5% in Frankfurt. [Updates to include company statement.]

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SEC continues to widen Madoff probe: WSJ

23 Jan 2009 at 3:15am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The Securities and Exchange Commission has recently issued subpoenas against a lieutenant of Bernard Madoff and a brokerage firm affiliated with him and is preparing to issue another subpoena to a Madoff associate as it works to unravel the alleged $50 billion ponzi scheme, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. The developments, six weeks after Madoff confessed to the scheme and was arrested, show the agency is now seeking to find out who may have helped Madoff, who has said he acted alone, the newspaper reported. Separately Friday, the Financial Times reported that Spain’s Banco Santander praised Madoff in a report to investors just weeks before his arrest. Santander has reportedly agreed to meet lawyers representing investors who lost money in funds linked to Madoff next week.

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Dow Jones Stoxx 600 falls to level last seen in 2003

23 Jan 2009 at 3:09am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index hit a level not seen since early 2003 on Friday. The index traded as low as 178.33 in the session, falling below the previous low of 179.72 recorded last November. It was recently down 2.3% at 178.59.

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EADS won’t withdraw from A400M program

23 Jan 2009 at 3:07am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European aerospace and defense giant EADS on Friday rejected press speculation that it may withdraw from the delayed A400M military transport aircraft program. The group said that over 6,000 people are actively working on the aircraft and that there are ongoing discussions with the customer governments to try and set a new framework for the program.

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U.K. fourth-quarter GDP shrinks 1.5%; confirms recession

23 Jan 2009 at 2:36am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The British economy shrank by 1.5% in the final three months of 2008, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday. The contraction follows a decline of 0.6% in the third quarter, meeting a widely used definition of a recession as two consecutive quarters of shrinking GDP. On an annual basis, fourth-quarter GDP fell 1.8% following a 0.3% year-on-year rise in the third quarter.

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Euro-zone PMI shows small, unexpected bounce

23 Jan 2009 at 2:11am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Purchasing managers indexes released Friday indicated activity in the euro-zone’s manufacturing and services sectors continued to shrink aggressively in January, but at a slower pace than December, news reports said. Euro-zone manufacturing PMI rose to 34.5 from a reading of 33.9 in December. Consensus expectations were for a further slide to 33, according to a Dow Jones Newswires survey of economists. Services PMI rose slightly to 42.5 from 42.1 in December, compared to expectations for a January reading of 41.5. Composite PMI also posted a small rebound to 38.5 from 38.2 in December. Expectations were for a reading of 37.4. A figure of less than 50 signals contraction, while a number above that level signals expansion.

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Sinopec speaks to bankers on Repsol stake bid: report

23 Jan 2009 at 1:59am

MADRID (MarketWatch) — China Petrochemical Corp., or Sinopec, has spoken to bankers in Beijing and Hong Kong about a possible bid for a stake in Spanish oil company Repsol YPF SA, Dow Jones Newswires reported Friday, citing two people familiar with the situation. “Sinopec is looking to buy a stake in Repsol, but has yet to appoint an advising bank,” one of the people said. A Sinopec official, who declined to be named, said contact had been made with bankers and more information could be made public soon, but declined to elaborate. A Repsol official also declined to comment, while calls to Sinopec’s general office were unanswered, the report said. Spanish newspaper Cinco Dias reported Jan. 14 that Sinopec is negotiating to buy the 20% stake in Repsol held by Spanish builder Sacyr Vallehermoso SA.

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Dow deal for Rohm & Haas close to being approved: report

23 Jan 2009 at 1:52am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Dow Chemical Co. is on the verge of getting approval from U.S. antitrust authorities to acquire Rohm & Haas Co. , according to a Bloomberg report. Lawyers at the Federal Trade Commission recommended the deal be allowed to proceed after Dow agreed to sell its acrylic and emulsion businesses the report said, citing people familiar with the matter. A green light from the FTC would force Dow to complete the deal in two business days, but without $9 billion it had been expecting to receive from a now-cancelled joint venture with Kuwait, the report said. Dow’s CEO has said he can buy Rohm & Haas using $13 billion of short-term loans and $4 billion of equity investments, the firm is also seeking damages from Kuwait, Bloomberg added.

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Fortis Bank faces $18 billion loss

23 Jan 2009 at 1:41am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Fortis Banque, the former Belgian banking arm of Fortis and now controlled by the Belgian government, said late Thursday that it made a net loss of 14.1 billion euros ($18.2 billion) in the first nine months of 2008. The bank also said it will lose between 4 billion euros and 5 billion euros in the final quarter of the year. France’s BNP Paribas had agreed to some Fortis assets and banking operations, but that deal has been put on hold after a court ruled shareholders must be given a say in the plans.

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GlaxoSmithKline to acquire UCB portfolio for $666 million

23 Jan 2009 at 1:29am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that it has signed a deal with UCB to acquire its current marketed product portfolio across certain territories in Africa, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and Latin America for 515 million euros ($666 million) in cash. GSK said the deal includes the drugs Keppra, Xyzal and Zyrtec and will strengthen its product portfolio in emerging markets. Completion of the deal is expected to take place in March. UCB said it will continue to strengthen its core businesses, such as immunology.

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European shares flat-to-lower in early trading

23 Jan 2009 at 1:11am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European shares traded flat-to-lower on Friday morning. A 2% advance from HSBC Holdings boosted the banking sector and a 1.7% rise from AstraZeneca and a 4.4% gain for Merck KGaA helped drugmakers to climb. On the downside, Fortis shares fell 6.1% after Fortis Banque posted a 14.1 billion euro loss for the first nine months of 2008. Oil producers and mineral extractors were also dragging. The French CAC-40 index traded flat at 2,869.91, the German DAX 30 index lost 0.5% at 4,196.62 and the U.K. FTSE 100 index lost 0.5% to 4,030.91.

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January 23 2009 04:10 am | Stock Market News

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