April 20, 2005
Altria Group released its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, showing an 18.3 percent increase in first quarter profits. Net revenue rose 8.7 percent, to $23.6 billion. Altria owns the Philip Morris tobacco group as well as 85 percent of Kraft Foods. Philip Morris showed strong income growth in both its United States and international divisions. This included a 13.1 percent increase in Philip Morris International’s income. ...
Altria rides strong profits in Q1
by Brian TurnerAltria Group released its quarterly earnings report Wednesday, showing an 18.3 percent increase in first quarter profits. Net revenue rose 8.7 percent, to $23.6 billion. Altria owns the Philip Morris tobacco group as well as 85 percent of Kraft Foods. Philip Morris showed strong income growth in both its United States and international divisions. This included a 13.1 percent increase in Philip Morris International’s income. ...
Oil futures up again
by Brian TurnerGold was down in early afternoon trading in London after a gain of almost $6 Tuesday. Silver was also down 2 cents after a 20 cent gain on Tuesday. Copper was up $35 to $3,273 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange on tight supplies, and aluminium was up $30, to $1,874 a tonne. Crude oil futures were up again on Wednesday, as investors waited for the ...
Europe slightly down despite good technology performance
by Brian TurnerIn mid-afternoon trading Wednesday in Europe, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 was down 0.4 percent to 1,066.39. Frankfurt’s Xetra Dax fell 0.5 percent to 4,182.90. The CAC-40 in Paris was down 0.3 percent to 3,975.07. This was despite good performance in the technology sector and positive earnings reports from Intel and Yahoo in the United States. The pharmaceuticals sector was off, with Roche down 0.6 percent, Sanofi-Aventis ...
April 19, 2005
Viacom’s shares were up 2.7 percent, or 94 cents, on good first-quarter earnings news, to $34.90 in mid-day trading Tuesday in New York. Viacom reported a 7 percent upturn in its first-quarter operating profits in spite of poor performance by its radio and television divisions, as its cable networks showed strong growth. Viacom’s overall earnings in the first quarter of 2005 were $585 million, or 36 cents per ...
Viacom shares up as cable division strong
by Brian TurnerViacom’s shares were up 2.7 percent, or 94 cents, on good first-quarter earnings news, to $34.90 in mid-day trading Tuesday in New York. Viacom reported a 7 percent upturn in its first-quarter operating profits in spite of poor performance by its radio and television divisions, as its cable networks showed strong growth. Viacom’s overall earnings in the first quarter of 2005 were $585 million, or 36 cents per ...
Oil prices continue to bubble up
by Brian TurnerCrude oil prices were up Tuesday. Nymex WTI May contracts rose $1.23 to $51.60 per barrel; June deliveries went up $1.58 ,t o $53.06. June delivery Brent crude was up $1.52, to $52.30. One factor in the price rise was worry around the news that ExxonMobil and Valero refineries in the U.S. had been closed recently for unplanned maintenance and that Conoco Philips will close it’s ...
Europe stocks up
by Brian TurnerA positive first-quarter earnings report from Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche and better performance on Wall Street spurred the European markets to better performance on Tuesday. A good earnings report from Texas Instruments that led the technology sector to improve as well also helped. Infinion rose by 1 percent, STMicroelectronics rose 1.3 percent, and ASML advanced by 1.1 percent. In consequence, by mid-afternoon, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 had ...
April 18, 2005
The travel business in Japan is feeling the effect of current tensions with China: shares in Kinki Nippon Tourist dropped 7.3 percent on Monday and Eurasia Travel fell 11.4 percent, as many Japanese citizens cancelled planned holidays in China for fear that traveling there might be dangerous for them. Steel companies are also feeling the effects of this conflict in light of their widespread business involvements in China. ...
China-Japan tensions hit Nikkei
by Brian TurnerThe travel business in Japan is feeling the effect of current tensions with China: shares in Kinki Nippon Tourist dropped 7.3 percent on Monday and Eurasia Travel fell 11.4 percent, as many Japanese citizens cancelled planned holidays in China for fear that traveling there might be dangerous for them. Steel companies are also feeling the effects of this conflict in light of their widespread business involvements in China. ...
Asian markets approach 6 month low
by Brian TurnerIn Taipei on Monday, a sell-off in the technology sector led the markets to a nearly six-month low as the weighted index fell 2.9 percent to 5,715.16. While Mitak International, which makes personal computers and smart phones, bucked the trend by rising 2.3 percent after a strong first quarter earnings report, shares in other technology companies were down. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing was down 2 percent. Display screen ...
Technology stocks lead fall on UK exchanges
by Brian TurnerTechnology stocks were down in mid-day trading Monday in London following IBM’s bad news on earnings. Sage Group was down 3.7 percent, 3i Group had fallen 2.9 percent, and communications group Spirent was down 5.5 percent. Asset managers and life assurers were also down substantially. Amvescap fell by 4.2 percent, Royal & Sun Alliance was down 2.5 percent, and Man Group had dropped 3.4 percent by mid-day. The ...
European stocks continue downwards trend
by Brian TurnerIn European trading at mid-afternoon Monday, the FTSE Eurofirst 300 had fallen 1.8 percent to 1,063.66. Only four stocks listed on the Eurofirst had managed gains by that time of day. The Xetra Dax in Frankfurt was off 2.5 percent to 4,204.47, and in Paris the CAC-40 was down by 1.9 percent to 3,954.83. Technology stocks were off on the old news of disappointing earnings by IBM and ...
April 15, 2005
The Nikkei 225 was down 1.7 percent at the close of trading on Friday, to stand at 11,371, and the Topic index fell 1.5 percent to 1,151 as the Tokyo markets reacted to bad news on earnings from IBM and Samsung, as well as due to worries about growth rates in the United States and China. IBM’s announcement that its quarterly earnings were much lower than estimates and South ...
Nikkei and Topic sufer losses
by Brian TurnerThe Nikkei 225 was down 1.7 percent at the close of trading on Friday, to stand at 11,371, and the Topic index fell 1.5 percent to 1,151 as the Tokyo markets reacted to bad news on earnings from IBM and Samsung, as well as due to worries about growth rates in the United States and China. IBM’s announcement that its quarterly earnings were much lower than estimates and South ...
Ericsson profits fall on excess inventories
by Brian TurnerMobile phone maker Sony Ericsson reported Friday that its pre-tax profits fell by 28 percent and that sales had dropped by 4 percent in the first quarter, and that sales, profits, and prices had all come in well below expectations. Reasons the company gave for this drop in earnings included a consumer preference for cheaper phones and excess inventories built up before Christmas. Also blamed was the tendency ...
London sectors perform poorly
by Brian TurnerMost sectors were doing poorly in mid-afternoon trading on the London markets. Mining, for instance, was down for the third straight day. Antofagasta lost 4.8 percent, BHP fell by 2 percent, and Xstrata was down 1.4 percent. Housing builders were down as well amid worries about sales slowdowns. Wimpy was off 2.4 percent and Westbury was down 4.5 percent. Taylor Woodrow did even worse, losing 4.1 ...
Technology and manufacturing down on European markets
by Brian TurnerTechnology stocks were down in mid-afternoon trading in European markets Friday on bad news from IBM and Samsung. European chipmakers and related companies were down across the board. Infineon was down 1.6 percent, STMichroelectronics fell 3.8 percent, and ASML, which makes chipmaking equipment, was down 1.4 percent, while Phillips was down 1.9 percent. Ericsson, Sony’s Swedish partner, was down 2.9 percent and Nokia was down by 3 ...
April 14, 2005
The London markets were down by mid-afternoon Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent to 4,955.3 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.8 percent to sit at 7,182.9. The losses were mostly due to weakness in the mining and oil sectors and the fact that Apax Partners had cancelled its bid to take over Woolworth’s. Woolworth’s shares fell by 29.1 percent to 39 p after Apax abandoned its ...
London lower on retail disappointment
by Brian TurnerThe London markets were down by mid-afternoon Thursday, with the FTSE 100 down 0.1 percent to 4,955.3 and the FTSE 250 falling 0.8 percent to sit at 7,182.9. The losses were mostly due to weakness in the mining and oil sectors and the fact that Apax Partners had cancelled its bid to take over Woolworth’s. Woolworth’s shares fell by 29.1 percent to 39 p after Apax abandoned its ...
Technology stocks drag down Asian markets on US consumer spending fears
by Brian TurnerAsian markets were generally down on Thursday, with technology stocks leading the retreat due to worries about slowing U.S. consumer spending after the release of weak U.S. retail sales figures. Tokyo markets were also affected by the continuing tensions between Japan and China. The Nikkei 225 closed down 0.6 percent at 11,563.17, its lowest close since February 24. The Topix index was down 0.7 percent, closing at ...
Apple shares down as revenues faces challenges
by Brian TurnerShares in Apple Computer fell 1 percent in after hours trading Wednesday in spite of a report saying that Apple had experienced a more than six-fold earnings increase on the strength of the company’s success with its iPod music player. Apple sold 5.3 million iPods and 1.07 million computers last quarter. That was a 558 percent increase in iPod sales, on the strength of the release of the ...
Nymex down as oil supply rises
by Brian TurnerNymex WTI was lower in early trading on Thursday, hitting a seven-week low of $50.06 per barrel, before going up to $50.37 on May delivery contracts. Brent was also up, rising 40 cents to $50.88 on May deliveries and to 42 cents to $51.80 on June contracts. The rise came in response to U.S. Energy Department data on crude oil stockpiles released Thursday. The good news was ...
April 13, 2005
Harley-Davidson, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer, warned Wednesday that earnings are lower than expected and announced that the company would cut production this year. This news sent Harley-Davidson stocks down 17 percent to $48.84. Earnings for the year are still expected to rise by 5 to 8 percent, but this projection is down from an earlier estimate of a 15 percent rise in 2005. The company expects to ...
Harley-Davidson flat on sales
by Brian TurnerHarley-Davidson, the Milwaukee-based motorcycle manufacturer, warned Wednesday that earnings are lower than expected and announced that the company would cut production this year. This news sent Harley-Davidson stocks down 17 percent to $48.84. Earnings for the year are still expected to rise by 5 to 8 percent, but this projection is down from an earlier estimate of a 15 percent rise in 2005. The company expects to ...
Tysabri boosts Elan
by Brian TurnerData from recent clinical trials showed that Tysabri, a multiple sclerosis drug withdrawn from the market six weeks ago due to serious side effects, showed that Tysabri had reduced the risk of disability progress by 42 percent and the rate of relapse by 67 percent in 942 patients in the trials. This news, coupled with the announcement that the drugs developers, Elan and Biogen, will enter into talks with ...