Good morning. Happy Friday. Happy Options Expiration Day.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed and with a downward bias. Hong Kong lost 2.4% and New Zealand lost 1.9%. There were no other 1% movers. China moved up slightly and Japan fell 0.9%.
Europe is down across the board. Austria is down 3.7%…Norway and London down more than 2%…France, Germany, Amsterdam, Italy, Spain, Stockholm and Switzerland are down more than1%.
Futures here in the States indicate a small gap down open. 40 min before the open, Nas 100 futures are down 6.25 (0.51%) to trade at 1219.25 while SPX futures are down 0.75 (0.08%) to trade at 891.75.
Standard & Poor’s cut the ratings on 12 US and European banks including: Bank of America, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, RBS, and UBS.
Japan’s central bank cuts key interest rate to 0.1 percent to support contracting economy
Oil and mining companies are trading lower on this morning’s drop in oil and gold prices. BP and Total are down at least 3% and BHP Biliton and Rio Tinto are each down 4%.
Palm (PALM) is down 9% after reporting a loss for the sixth consecutive quarter on strong competition from Blackberry and iPhone units.
Oracle (ORCL) is little changed today after its fiscal Q2 earnings report and Q3 guidance was in line with market expectations
Panasonic began a $9 billion takeover of Sanyo.
Hank Paulson is echoing Bush’s words…an “orderly” bankruptcy for the automakers may be best.
Toyota (TM) is likely to post their first ever loss for the fiscal year through March 2009, Japanese media reports said Friday, highlighting the dire conditions faced by global automakers.
Jabil (JBL) Q1 profits falls 26%, revenue flat.
CarMax (KMX) swung to a Q3 loss as sales fall due to the poor economy.
Domtar (UFS) which owns timberlands and makes paper, said Friday that a Quebec sawmill it temporarily idled in 2006 will be closed permanently because of the deteriorating U.S. housing market.
Texas Instruments (TXN) is cutting 400 jobs in the Philippines due to falling demand for semiconductors.
French bank Natixis is cutting its investment banking staff by 15 percent, or 840 jobs.
Cintas (CTAS) Q2 profit fell 13%…the company is withdrawing 2009 guidance.
Cummins Emissions, the emissions subsidiary of diesel engine maker Cummins (CMI) is laying of 100 workers at a Wisconsin factory.
Armstrong World Industries (AWI) did not declare a special cash dividend in its regular Dec meeting.
Restaurant chain Ruby Tuesday (RT) said it will record restructuring and impairment charges in its second and third fiscal quarters due to restaurant closures.
Heidrick & Struggles International Inc., an executive search and consulting firm, said late Thursday it will cut its work force by 15 percent as part of cost-reduction efforts amid the slowing economy.
Rhode Island’s unemployment rate held steady at 9.3%. Connecticut’s rate climbed to 6.6%.
MGM Mirage (MGM) is set to hire 12,000 workers for $9.2B CityCenter on Las Vegas Strip.
Centene (CNC) sets 2009 profit and revenue guidance below estimates, backs adjusted 2008 outlook.
3Com (COMS) swung to a fiscal Q2 profit after losing move in the year-ago period.
Accenture’s (ACN) Q1 net income rose 26% from the year-ago period.
Choice Hotels (CHH) upped its share buyback plans for 5 million shares.
Darden Restaurants (DRI) beat profit and revenue expectations.
LSI (LSI) lowered its Q4 outlook because of what it called a weakening economic environment.
Potash (POT) has lowered its full-year earnings guidance because of softness in global fertilizer demand.
Research in Motion (RIMM) saw its earnings rise in its fiscal third quarter as the smartphone maker issued a forecast for the current period that was above Wall Street’s estimates.
Weyerhaeuser (WY) is reducing its quarterly dividend 25%.
Gold is down 1.76% and silver is down 1.73%.
Crude oil is down 1.81 to trade at 34.41 – it’s lowest level in 5 years.
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| UPGRADES |
ASML, ALKS, AIZ, UNM |
| DOWNGRADES | ASCA, WOR, FULT, PNK, HPGP, HLND, AMZN, EBAY, RBA, RIMM, OXY, FLR, PT, AAUK, MWE, GNW, PRU, CENX |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | KMX, CTAS, JBL, STEI |
| during trading | none |
| after the close | none |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
none
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