Good morning. Happy Friday. It’s options expiration day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mostly up. India rallied 3%; Japan and Seoul moved up more than 2%; China, Indonesia and Singapore moved up more than 1%.
Europe is all green. Germany and Amsterdam are up more than 3%. Austria, France, Norway, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and London are up more than 2%; Belgium and Stockholm more than 1%.
Futures here in the States indicate a gap up open for the cash market. 45 minutes before the open, Nas 100 futures are up 16.25 (1.4%) to trade at 1193.50 while SPX futures are up 11.25 (1.3%) to trade at 850.50.
Citigroup (C) posted a $8.29 billion loss and said the company was being split into two businesses. In Citigroup’s reorganization, one business, Citicorp, will focus on traditional banking around the world, while the other, Citi Holdings, will hold the company’s riskier assets.
Bank of America (BAC) falls to 4th-quarter loss; gets $20B gov’t infusion, and cuts dividend to 1 cent.
Honda Motor Co. (HMC) said it was slashing 3,100 workers Friday as it and other top Japanese automakers announced another round of production cuts to grapple with sinking global demand. On top of the job cuts — all temporary workers — Honda said it was trimming production by 56,000 vehicles in Japan and 17,000 vehicles in Europe for the fiscal year through March.
Mobile phone maker Sony Ericsson on Friday said it swung to a net loss in the fourth quarter, mainly pressured by lower volumes on the back of the financial crisis.
Switzerland’s UBS AG (UBS) said Friday it is selling parts of its commodities business to Barclays Bank PLC (BCS) for a yet-to-be determined sum.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced a major restructuring Friday, consolidating business operations into two divisions as South Korea’s most powerful and iconic corporation deals with the slowing global economy and expectations of looming red ink.
Johnson Controls Inc. (JCI) says it lost $608 million in its first fiscal quarter, citing soft demand from slumping automotive and construction markets and hefty one-time charges.
Xerox Corp. (XRX) says it’s cutting 275 jobs in the Rochester area as part of already planned cutback.
A group of Midwestern AAA clubs says it will lay off 200 workers and close 34 branch offices in seven states as customers increasingly use the Web and telephone services instead of visiting offices.
Toy maker Mattel Inc. (MAT) said Friday it bought Sekkoia SAS, which makes board game Blokus, for undisclosed financial terms. Under the terms of the deal, Mattel also acquired the rights to the Whac-A-Mole game from Bob’s Space Racers Inc.
Nissan Motor Co. (NSANY) will shift some production of its top-selling compact car to India, Thailand and other lower-cost nations, the company said Friday, in a bid to cut production costs amid the global slump.
The International Energy Agency predicted Friday that the global economic downturn will cause world oil consumption to fall for a second straight year in 2009, the first two-year decline in 26 years.
Anglo Irish Bank share trading was suspended Friday after the Irish government announced it was nationalizing the troubled lender.
Shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MTU) rose Friday, despite growing concerns that major stockholding losses at Japan’s biggest bank announced this week would send it into the red in the fiscal third quarter.
Health insurer WellPoint Inc. (WLP) says it will cut about 1,500 jobs to reduce costs, a move that will cost the company $24 million in the fourth quarter.
Intel (INTC) reported a fourth-quarter net income of $234 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a net profit of $2.27 billion, or 38 cents a share for the year-earlier period. Revenue was $8.2 billion, down 23% from $10.7 billion last year.
Genentech (DNA) saw earnings rise 47% during the fourth quarter on strong drug sales.
The undergarment maker Maidenform Brands (MFB) said it will cut its corporate staff by 9%.
Saks (SKS) will reduce 1,100 corporate support and store positions, about 9% of its total workforce, as part of its effort to weather the deteriorating economic environment.
Gold is up 1.5% and Silver is up 2.7%.
Crude oil is down 36 cents to trade at 35.04.
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| UPGRADES | UNM, K, SONS, BKS, OCR |
| DOWNGRADES |
PL, MD, PSD, NWS, VIA.B, FFIV, TRI, CPO, CYNO, VCP, HMA, KND, THC, PAAS, GG, AEM, KGC, NSR |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | ACO, FHN, LAB, PPG, SNE |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | none |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 Core CPI
8:30 CPI
9:15 Capacity Utilization
9:15 Industrial Production
9:55 Mich Sentiment-Prel
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