Good morning. Happy Wednesday. Happy New Years. We’re going through the motions of posting this even though the number of people reading it have declined day after day the last week. There’s definitely more traders away from the market than actively participating.
Several of the Asian/Pacific markets were closed today. Of the ones open, China and India dropped and Hong Kong rallied. Taiwan was flat.
The same situation exists in Europe. Many markets are closed. Belgium, France and London are up; Amsterdam is down.
Futures here in the States are mixed. 45 minutes before the open, Nas 100 futures are down 2 (0.17%) to trade at 1204.0 and SPX futures are up 2.5 (0.28%) to trade at 890.75.
China will raise its spending on railway construction by 80 percent in 2009 to $87.9 billion as part of a stimulus plan to boost domestic demand, state media said Wednesday.
Hong Kong closed 2008 down 48%, China down 65%, and Japan down 42%.
Credit Suisse (CS) sells part of its asset management business to Aberdeen, a British company, in return for stake.
Online sales for the holiday period up to December 23 fell 3 percent from the same period last year, marking the first decline in online spending since comScore Inc started tracking online sales in 2001.
Swiss bank UBS (UBS) sells stake in Bank of China in deal estimated to be worth about $900 million
Media giant Viacom (VIA) said its Nickelodeon, MTV, Comedy Central and 16 other channels will go dark on Time Warner Cable Inc. at 12:01 a.m. Thursday if a new carriage fee deal is not agreed upon by then.
Navistar International (NAV), which makes trucks, buses and engines, posted a wider fiscal fourth-quarter loss, citing charges related to its diesel engine business with Ford Motor Co.
Computer maker Dell (DELL) said Wednesday that Michael Cannon, president of global operations, and Mark Jarvis, chief marketing officer, will leave the company as part of a global restructuring.
The Food and Drug Administration approved Watson Pharmaceuticals’ (WPI) generic version of the nicotine gum Nicorette, the company said Wednesday, and Watson plans to start selling the mint-flavored gum in early January.
CBIZ (CBZ), which provides, outsourced business services, said Wednesday it completed its purchase of the non-attest business of two accounting-services companies, Mahoney Cohen & Co. and Tofias PC.
Citigroup (C) said Wednesday it completed the sale of its India-based business process outsourcing unit Citigroup Global Services Ltd. to Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., India’s largest software services provider.
Panama carrier Copa orders 4 more Boeing 737-800s to be delivered within 3 years
Power-plant operator FPL Group (FPL) sells $50 million in notes to pay down debt.
VeriFone Holdings (PAY) will be filing its annual report with the SEC late as it assesses charges.
Gold is down 1.66% and Silver is down 1.56%.
Crude oil is down 1.63 to trade at 37.40.
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| UPGRADES | ACTI |
| DOWNGRADES | ELMG, CRDN, EDE, RTIX |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | none |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | none |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 Initial Claims
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