Latest News In Stock Market Investment Research – March 20, 2009

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Euro-zone Jan. industrial production plunges 17.3% on year

20 Mar 2009 at 2:06am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Industrial production in the euro zone continued to tumble in January, posting a 3.5% decline from December and dropping 17.3% from the level seen in January 2008, the statistical agency Eurostat reported Friday. Economists had expected a 4% monthly decline but a 15.5% year-on-year fall.

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Ericsson wins contract to supply 3G networks to China Unicom

20 Mar 2009 at 1:39am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Swedish telecoms-equipment maker Ericsson on Friday said it has won a contract with China Unicom to build third-generation WCDMA networks in 15 provinces in China. The financial terms of the deal weren’t announced. Ericsson said deliveries and deployment have already started.

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Hong Kong inflation eases to 0.8% in February

20 Mar 2009 at 1:35am

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Hong Kong’s consumer price inflation eased to an annualized 0.8% in February, a two-year low, cooling from a 3.1% rise in January, as softer food prices and government waivers on some public services helped cushion the overall price index.

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Europe stocks drop at the open with Ericsson, Nokia lower

20 Mar 2009 at 12:11am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — European stocks dropped on Friday, as a weak close on Wall Street and profit warning from the mobile-phone making unit that’s half owned by Ericsson dragged on markets. Ericsson dropped 5.1% after the warning by Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, and rival Nokia fell 4.1%. The U.K. FTSE 100 fell 0.8% to 3,787.65, the German DAX 30 fell 0.6% to 4,019.30 and the French CAC 40 fell 1% to 2,748.66.

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Sony Ericsson says demand, de-stocking to hurt results

20 Mar 2009 at 12:05am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications, the mobile phone making joint venture between Sony and Ericsson , said first-quarter sales and pretax profit continue to be affected by weak consumer demand as well as de-stocking in the retail and distribution
channels. It expects to ship gross 14 million phones at an average price of 120 euros, with gross margin falling both from year-earlier and the 15% level in the fourth quarter. Sony Ericsson may lose as much as 390 million euros before tax, excluding restructuring charges in the range of 10 to 20 million euros.

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U.K. hedge fund collapses over derivatives position: report

20 Mar 2009 at 12:00am

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.K. hedge fund manager Weavering Capital put its $639 million Weavering Macro Fixed Income fund into administration late Thursday after the discovery that the fund’s main assets was a $637 million derivatives trade with an offshore company controlled by the fund’s founder and chief executive, according to a report in the Financial Times. Weavering Capital called in administrators after claims that the trade could not be paid, the newspaper reported. The fund was frozen a week ago after the position was discovered, it added.

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Northern Rock continued to make high-risk loans after rescue

19 Mar 2009 at 11:50pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — The U.K. government could have acted more decisively in its handling of failed lender Northern Rock and allowed the mortgage bank to keep writing high-risk loans even after it had been propped up with public money, according to a report from the National Audit Office. The report found that Northern Rock continued to write mortgages for up to 125% of a property’s value throughout the period that it was receiving emergency support, although at a reduced volume. The government auditor also said that the Treasury “did not challenge with sufficient rigour” the company’s forecasts of future trading conditions and did not commission its own due diligence on the company’s operations.

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Regus profit rises 10.5%, dividend increased

19 Mar 2009 at 11:38pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Office space provider Regus Plc said Friday that its 2008 net profit rose 10.5% to 113.9 million pounds as revenue grew 25% to 1.08 billion pounds. Regus said markets became tougher in the final quarter of the year, but it has attracted new clients that are looking to reduce their office costs. The total dividend payout for the year will rise 80% to 1.8 pence a share, Regus said. It added revenue grew in all its geographical regions and that for 2009 the focus will be on driving down costs.

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GlaxoSmithKline reduce Quest Diagnostics stake

19 Mar 2009 at 11:28pm

LONDON (MarketWatch) — Drug company GlaxoSmithKline said Friday that it has sold around 5.7 million shares in Quest Diagnostics Inc. since March 17 for roughly $256 million. The company said $200 million of the shares were sold back to Quest and the rest were sold on the open market. The sale was part of the group’s gradual reduction of its holdings. GlaxoSmithKline said that following the sale it holds 30.8 million shares, or around a 16.5% stake in Quest, worth $1.36 billion.

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Orient Overseas 2008 net income falls 89% to $272 million

19 Mar 2009 at 6:56pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Container shipping line Orient Overseas (International) reported Friday 2008 net profit totaled $272.3 million, down 89% from $2.55 billion a year earlier. The company, which is run by the family of former Hong Kong Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa, declared a final dividend of 4.5 U.S. cents, compared to 13.5 U.S. cents a year earlier. Revenue for the year totaled $6.55 billion, up 16% from $5.65 billion a year earlier.

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Asia shares mixed; metals, energy stocks up; Tokyo closed

19 Mar 2009 at 4:41pm

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Asian markets were mixed Friday, with Australian and New Zealand stocks dropping after an overnight decline on Wall Street, while South Korean stocks rebounded from Thursday’s fall on shipbuilders and metals stocks. Energy producers such as BHP Billiton posted gains on a rally in crude-oil prices. Japanese markets were closed for a holiday. South Korea’s Kospi climbed 0.9% to 1,172.74 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 slipped 0.1% to 3,475.60, while New Zealand’s NZX 50 fell 0.7% to 2,614.87.

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New York Fed says received $4.7 bln in TALF loan requests

19 Mar 2009 at 3:00pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The New York Federal Reserve Bank said late Thursday it had received $4.7 billion in loan requests from investors seeking to access central bank funding to buy asset-backed securities. In the first round of its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, it received $1.9 billion in loan requests linked to auto-loan securitizations and $2.8 billion in credit-card related loan requests. It did not receive any requests for loans to buy student-loan or small-business securitizations. “This is a good start for a program that we will continue to build on in the future,” said New York Fed President William Dudley.

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Citi says it’s cutting office space to save money

19 Mar 2009 at 2:49pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Citigroup Inc. said late Thursday that it’s cutting office space to save money. The bank, part-owned by the U.S. government, said reported premises and equipment expenses fell by $100 million in the last two quarters and forecast “significantly more savings” this year. Executives at the bank’s Park Avenue headquarters in New York will get one floor instead of two, Citi noted. The bank is also making offices smaller and using more workstations, while subleasing space that’s freed up. “The 399 Park Avenue office space consolidation, through densification and sublease, is estimated over the life of the lease to net $20 million in savings, an amount well in excess of the project costs,” Citi explained.

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B. of A. to hand over details on Merrill’s bonuses: WSJ

19 Mar 2009 at 2:37pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Bank of America Corp. plans to hand over details about who got bonuses at Merrill Lynch prior to its merger with Bank of America as early as Thursday evening, the Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site, citing people familiar with the matter. Bank of America had asked a judge for a protective order allowing it to keep certain information confidential while complying with a probe from New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who is looking into the circumstances surrounding the award of more than $3.6 billion in December 2008 bonuses, the newspaper said.

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Lam Research to cut 375 jobs, or 10% of workforce

19 Mar 2009 at 1:33pm

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Lam Research Corp. said late Thursday it will cut 375 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce, by the end of the June quarter, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The chip maker said about 225 of the cuts will be in North America, with the remainder in Asia and Europe. The company hopes to save $85 million to $95 million a year with the reductions.

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March 20 2009 02:22 am | Stock Market News

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