Market Currents RSS Syndication from SeekingAlpha.com Notable earnings before Friday's open: ACI, AEP, AIV, AON, BPO, BWA, CSE, CVH, CVX, ENDP, FO, ITT, LPX, MCK, MRK, NWL, PEG, SPG, UFS, UPL, WY Post your comment! Friday's economic calendar:
8:30 GDP Q2
8:30 Employment Cost Index
8:30 ISM New York Business Index:
9:45 Chicago PMI
9:55 Reuters/UofM Consumer Sentiment
3:00 PM USDA Ag. Prices Post your comment! Despite cries that letting the Bush tax cuts die would kill any recovery, few dare utter an uncomfortable reality, according to Gregg Easterbrook: Taxes should rise for everyone, not just for the rich. Americans think they're clobbered by onerous taxes, but U.S. taxes are relatively low compared to the rest of the world, and federal income taxes have fallen dramatically. 85 comments! On the hour: S&P -0.02%. 10-yr +0.28%. Euro +0.02% vs. dollar. Crude -0.11% to $78.27. Gold -0.08% to $1170.30. Post your comment! If we're really in a Japan-style deflationary economy, how should you invest? Gary Shilling suggests long-term treasury bonds, which he says could provide higher returns than stocks. If you insist on stocks, buy dividend stocks. 10 comments! Google (GOOG) says its search service availability in China is completely blocked, according to CNBC. GOOG -1.9% AH. 1 comment! Eastman Chemical (EMN): Q2 EPS of $2.05 beats by $0.40. Revenue of $1.7M (+37.6%) vs. $1.6M. (PR) 2 comments! Paul Volcker adds his voice to those who say Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) "need to go... That’s a challenge for next year and year following. We are going to have to reconstruct the whole mortgage market and you can’t do that overnight." 1 comment! DTE Energy (DTE): Q2 EPS of $0.51 misses by $0.09. Revenue of $1.8B (+6.2%) vs. $1.7B. (PR) Post your comment! Monster Worldwide (MWW) : Q2 EPS of $0.00 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $215M (-4%) vs. $216M. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR) Post your comment! On the hour: S&P flat. 10-yr +0.28%. Euro +0.02% vs. dollar. Crude +1.65% to $78.26. Gold +0.7% to $1170.50. Post your comment! The Justice Department sues Oracle (ORCL), alleging it defrauded the federal government on a software contract in effect from 1998 to 2006 that involved hundreds of millions of dollars in sales. 1 comment! KLA-Tencor (KLAC): FQ4 EPS of $0.70 beats by $0.10. Revenue of $559M (+98.2%) vs. $558M. Shares -0.7% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Genworth Financial (GNW): Q2 EPS of $0.24 may not be comparable to consensus of $0.28. Shares -1.4% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM): FQ4 EPS of $0.33 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $566M (+43.5%) vs. $562M. Shares +1.7% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Coinstar (CSTR): Q2 EPS of $0.39 beats by $0.06. Revenue of $342M (+34.8%) vs. $381M. Shares -8.3% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Acme Packet (APKT): Q2 EPS of $0.18 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $53.3M (+62%) vs. $52.5M. Shares -10.8% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Amgen (AMGN): Q2 EPS of $1.38 beats by $0.08. Revenue of $3.8B (+2.5%) vs. $3.7B. Shares +0.2% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Pactiv (PTV): Q2 EPS of $0.56 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $973M (+8%) vs. $1010M. Shares -0.9% AH. (PR) Post your comment! McAfee (MFE): Q2 EPS of $0.63 beats by $0.03. Revenue of $495M (+5.7%) vs. $507M. Shares +0.6% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Sunoco (SUN): Q2 EPS of $1.31 beats by $0.54. Revenue of $9.6B (+31.4%) vs. $8.3B. Shares +0.8% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Republic Services (RSG): Q2 EPS of $0.43 beats by $0.01. Revenue of $2.1B in-line. (PR) Post your comment! MEMC Electronic Materials (WFR): Q2 EPS of $0.06 misses by $0.03. Revenue of $448M (+58.5%) vs. $466M. Shares -8.2% AH. (PR) Post your comment! MetLife (MET): Q2 EPS of $1.23 beats by $0.23. Revenue of $12.8B (+4.8%) vs. $13B. Shares +3.6% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Rovi (ROVI): Q2 EPS of $0.55 beats by $0.09. Revenue of $135M (+12.8%) vs. $129M. (PR) Post your comment! First Solar (FSLR): Q2 EPS of $1.84 beats by $0.23. Revenue of $588M (+11.8%) vs. $543M. Shares -3.1% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Ingram Micro (IM): Q2 EPS of $0.41 beats by $0.04. Revenue of $8.2B (+24%) vs. $7.9B. (PR) Post your comment! Regal Entertainment Group (RGC): Q2 EPS of $0.03 may not be comparable to consensus of $0.17. Revenue of $731M (-7.4%) vs. $757M. (PR) Post your comment! Expedia (EXPE): Q2 EPS of $0.44 beats by $0.02. Revenue of $834M (+8.3%) vs. $846M. Shares -1.3% AH. (PR) Post your comment! Market recap: Stocks finished with modest losses, weighed down by disappointing revenue and guidance from utilities and consumer companies. Traders also were uneasy ahead of Friday's GDP report. Decliners led advancers on the NYSE by about seven to six on continued light volume. 1 comment!