NEW YORK (AP) — Railroad stocks advanced with the broader market Tuesday after a Stifel Nicolaus analyst upgraded two of the biggest North American names to “Buy,” citing their ability to grow earnings with even a gradual economic recovery.
Analyst John Larkin said that current earnings predictions among Wall Street analysts for both CSX Corp. and Canadian National Railway Co. may be too low. Not only will the companies gain from any improvement Read the rest of this entry »
PLAINVIEW, N.Y. (AP) — Shares of Veeco Instruments jumped almost 10 percent on Tuesday, a day after the maker of precision manufacturing equipment posted better-than-expected fourth-quarter profits.
Shares jumped 9 percent to $33.81.
The company said late Monday it reversed a year-ago loss and made $18.7 million, or 50 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31. It attributed the results to better sales, especially from LED and solar Read the rest of this entry »
NEW YORK (AP) — The following stocks were among those that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market:
NYSE:
Air Products & Chemicals Inc., down $5.05 at $68.64
The industrial gas supplier made an unsolicited bid of about $5.1 billion for Airgas Inc. and is willing to go hostile.
Tyson Foods Inc., up 66 cents at $14.65
The meat producer posted a better-than-expected Read the rest of this entry »
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — RightNow Technologies Inc. is poised to benefit from a number of factors including expanded business opportunities for a new product that monitors customer conversations over social networking sites, an analyst said Monday as he upgraded the company’s stock.
Baird analyst Steven Ashley upgraded RightNow, a provider of customer relationship management software, to “Outperform” from “Neutral.”
He said RightNow’s new Read the rest of this entry »
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Shares of Ralcorp Holdings Inc. rose Friday after the private-label food maker reported a slight gain in first-quarter profit, due in part to a recently acquired business.
The company, based in St. Louis, earned $67.2 million, or $1.19 per share, for the quarter compared with $65.5 million, or $1.15 per share, in the same quarter of the previous year.
Adjusted for a number of special items, the company’s profit Read the rest of this entry »
DALLAS (AP) — Stocks of the leading U.S. airlines were mixed in afternoon trading Friday, an ambiguous ending to a volatile week for airline investors.
Airline stocks soared Monday and Tuesday, then fell Wednesday and Thursday with the broader market.
On Friday, the Amex airlines index was nearly unchanged, with seven of its components up and six down in afternoon trading.
Broad stock indexes fell — the Dow Jones industrial Read the rest of this entry »
DENVER (AP) — Shares of companies that produce metals, coal and oil led U.S. markets in a broad decline, as the dollar rose and concern about the global economy intensified.
The dollar hit the highest level against the euro in more than eight months Thursday because of mounting concerns about European jobs and debt levels in countries such as Portugal, Spain and Greece.
That pressured commodities, which are priced in dollars, because Read the rest of this entry »
NEW YORK (AP) — Deutsche Bank analyst Jeetil Patel downgraded Monster Worldwide Inc. Thursday a day after the online jobs company posted a quarterly loss and purchased help-wanted site HotJobs from Yahoo Inc. for $225 million.
Patel cut his rating to “Sell” from “Hold,” saying he expects continued revenue losses in 2010 and higher operating expenses, while he believes Monster “overpaid” for HotJobs.
He said the company hasn’t laid out Read the rest of this entry »
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of chip makers advanced Monday, helped by a report indicating their revenue jumped in December and growing analyst confidence that the companies are in a strong position for the year.
Chip stocks generally fell last month, with investors jittery about the broader economic outlook and fourth-quarter earnings reports. The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was down 12 percent in January.
But in midday trading Monday, Read the rest of this entry »
By Steve Eder
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS – News) is likely to slash its chief executive’s bonus from the record $67.9 million he got two years ago, but Lloyd Blankfein’s pay package could still fuel criticism the bank has been “tone deaf” in its approach to the financial crisis.
Efforts to deflect criticism and keep regulators at bay has already prompted Goldman to change its bonus strategy, curbing compensation Read the rest of this entry »
