Good morning. Happy Thursday.
Overnight, the Asian/Pacific markets got clobbered. Seoul dropped 6%; Australia, Japan and Taiwan fell more than 4%; Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Singapore dropped more than 3%. No indexes moved up.
Europe is currently mixed with a slight bearish lean. Belgium, Germany, France and Amsterdam are down close to 1%. Austria and Norway are up more than 1%. London is down 0.8%.
Futures here in the States indicate a gap down open for the cash market. 37 minutes before the open, Nas 100 futures are down 5.0 (0.43%) to trade at 1160.50 while SPX futures are down 0.75 (0.09%) to trade at 839.0.
November Japanese machine orders, an indicator for capital spending in the next 3 to 6 months, tumbled by a record -16.2% m/m, the biggest decline since the survey began in 1987.
From barchart.com -> Japan’s Advantest Corp. , the world’s number-one maker of memory-chip testing equipment, fell 9.8% while South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest television maker, lost 6.1%. Asian banking shares declined as well with Woori Financial, operator of South Korea’s second-largest bank, plunging 11%, Mizuho Financial Group, Japan’s third-largest bank, dropping 5.5% and Fubon Financial Holding, Taiwan’s second-largest listed financial services company, losing 6.9%. Slumping metals prices and surging metal inventories are taking their toll on global mining companies with BHP, the world’s largest mining company, losing 6.6%, Rio Tinto Group, the third-largest, plunging 8.2% and Australia’s Alumina falling 8.5%. Japanese aluminum stockpiles climbed 17% in Dec to a 3-year high while LME copper inventories have risen 14% this year to a nearly 5-year high. South Korea’s largest automaker Hyundai Motor slid 10% and its affiliate Kia Motors slumped 11% after Fitch Ratings today cut both companies debt to junk levels on waning global auto sales. In Europe today, ASML, Europe’s largest maker of semiconductor equipment, fell over 4% and dragged other European tech companies lower after saying revenue this quarter will be between 180 and 200 million euros this quarter, lower than the company’s Dec forecast of 250 million euros.
The European Central Bank cut its interest rates by a half percentage point to 2 percent on Thursday, moving to protect the continent’s economy against a deep recession amid increasingly grim economic data.
Shares in DSG International PLC, Britain’s largest electronics retailer, fell more than 7 percent Thursday after the company said sales fell during the holiday period as customers waited for discounts to kick in.
SABMiller PLC, the brewer of Grolsch, Miller Genuine Draft and Peroni Nastro Azzurro lagers, reported an unexpected fall in beer shipments in the third quarter as the global economic slowdown took hold in key markets.
Apple (AAPL) fell 7.7% in after-hours trading yesterday after CEO Steve Jobs said he will take a medical leave of absence until June.
Coventry Health Care (CVH) tumbled 9.6% in after-hours trading yesterday after the provider of US Medicare health plans said it expects to earn as much as $1.90 a share this year, well below analysts’ estimates of $2.49.
Bank of America (BAC) fell nearly 4% in after-hours trading as the biggest US bank by assets may require aid from the government to help absorb losses tied to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) narrowly avoided a loss in the fourth quarter, indicating that it is weathering the financial crisis better than some of the other big banks. But the meager profit was driven by its acquisition of Washington Mutual Inc., and the bank added $4.1 billion to loan loss reserves — proving that it is not immune to the deepening global recession.
Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) said Thursday it is slashing domestic production by 64,000 vehicles in February and March to trim inventories and adjust to a drastic slide in global demand.
Drugmaker Eli Lilly (LLY) said Thursday it plead guilty to a charge that it illegally marketed anti-psychotic drug Zyprexa for off-label use, and will pay a combined $1.42 billion to settle civil suits and end the criminal investigation.
More than 2.3 million American homeowners faced foreclosure proceedings last year, an 81 percent increase from 2007, with the worst yet to come as consumers grapple with layoffs, shrinking investment portfolios and falling home prices.
Airbus claimed the title of the world’s largest planemaker on Thursday after delivering a record number of aircraft in 2008, but predicted a difficult year ahead for the industry as airlines curb spending amid the economic crisis.
Google Inc. (GOOG) is closing three engineering offices and cutting 100 recruiters from its work force as the recession dampens hiring at the Internet search company.
MeadWestvaco (MWV), which makes paper and plastic products, says it will lay off some 2,000 employees or about 10 percent of its work force as it accelerates cost cutting this year.
Food and Drug Administration regulators have approved Forest Laboratories Inc. (FRX) and Cypress Bioscience Inc.’s (CTPB) drug Savella as a treatment for fibromyalgia, the companies said.
The age of super-sized record shops in Manhattan is fading out: The Virgin Megastore in Times Square is closing and will be replaced by a popular clothing chain.
Japanese electronics maker Sanyo Electric Co. said Thursday it will cut 1,200 jobs globally and barely break even in the fiscal year through March as sales get battered by sinking global demand and a strengthening yen.
Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services cut American Greetings Corp.’s (AM) corporate credit rating to junk status, citing its softer-than-expected operating performance, higher leverage and tight covenant cushion.
New claims for jobless benefits increased more than expected last week, reflecting continued weakness in the labor market in the new year.
Barnes & Noble (BKS) said it will cut 100 positions at its corporate headquarters because of reduced store openings and consolidations of its retail and online operations.
Motorola (MOT) said it will cut 4,000 jobs in addition to previously-announced staff reductions, as it issued gloomy, preliminary fourth-quarter results.
Xilinx (XLNX) is out with earnings.
Gold is up 1% and Silver is up 0.5%.
Crude oil is down 35 cents to trade at 36.93.
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| UPGRADES | ABX, WLP, FAST, GSS, GRS, TPP, MOT, AXYS, ECL, ABC |
| DOWNGRADES | MBWM, PRO, UAM, HS, TYPE, AAPL, PLT, EGO, GG, KGC, AHD, ARA, ULBI, FRPT, MOT, BNI, DAI, STAR, CRNT, VCP, CMP, PG, RRGB, WMI, CWST, TRMB |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | APH, ASML, AF, BLK, BGG, CRAI, MI, MER |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | DNA, INTC, LCRD, SHFL, SWKS |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 Core PPI
8:30 Initial Jobless Claimes
8:30 PPI
10:00 Philadelphia Fed
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