Good morning. Happy Tuesday. Happy Fed Day.
Today the Fed will tinker with the Discount Rate and Overnight Rate. It’s a meaningless event, but of course the media will turn it into a circus.
The Asian/Pacific markets closed mixed. Australia, Indonesia and Japan fell more than 1% while India was the only 1% winner. China rallied 0.5%.
Europe is currently mixed. Belgium is down 1.85%; Germany up 1.27%. No other market has moved more than 1% from its unchanged level. London and France are up.
30 minutes before the open, futures here in the US indicate a small gap up open. Nas 100 futures are up 4.25 (0.36%) to trade at 1199.25 and SXP futures are up 5.00 (0.57%) to trade at 877.25.
As part of a global restructuring, Citigroup (C) will sell its Japanese trust banking unit to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp.
France’s competition authorities Tuesday slapped a record $776 million in fines on 11 companies, including subsidiaries of global steel giant ArcelorMittal (MT), for running a cartel in the steel trading sector from 1999 to 2004.
The White House has assured the automakers help is on the way.
Defense contractor ITT (ITT) has reaffirmed its 2008 earnings guidance but indicated 2009 results could come below expectations. Its board of directors approved the indefinite extension of the company’s $1 billion stock buyback program, and they’re also planning to boost their 2009 dividend by 22%.
Beckman Coulter (BEC) reaffirmed its 2008 profit outlook and sees 10% growth in 2009 on expense controls.
Air Products (APD) is cutting 7% of its workforce and has lowered guidance due to the weak economy.
SanDisk (SNDK) is temporarily stopping production of some flash wafers at its joint-venture Japanese plants for 2 weeks due to declining demand.
Genzyme (GENZ) said the Food and Drug Administration approved its stem cell transplant drug Mozobil and granted the treatment special status protecting it from competition for seven years.
Cadbury (CBY), the world’s largest candy maker, said it expects a strong rise in 2008 profits despite seeing growth in North America slow in Q4.
FactSet Research Systems (FDS), a provider of financial information and analytics, said Tuesday its fiscal first-quarter profit rose 21 percent due to an increase in subscriptions, beating Wall Street expectations.
Best Buy (BBY) says its Q3 profit sank and says it will offer buyout packages to nearly all its corporate employees in an effort to cut costs.
Goldman Sachs (GS) says it had its first quarterly loss since it went public in 1999, losing $2.29 billion during its fiscal fourth quarter.
Research in Motion (RIMM) has announced the launch of Blackberry Bold in South Korea.
ABM Industries (ABM) the New York provider of janitorial, parking, security and engineering services, reported late on Monday that fiscal fourth-quarter earnings fell 23% on 31% higher revenue.
Chubb Corp’s (CB) counterparty credit rating was raised to A+ from A by Standard & Poor’s.
Constellation Energy’s (CEG) board could approve a deal to sell half the nuclear-power business to Electricite de France (ECIFF) for $4.5 billion as early as this week.
Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), the Palo Alto, Calif., drug developer, cut 71, or 24%, of its jobs to cut costs.
Johnson Controls (JCI) has withdrawn its 2009 targets as its eyes a first-quarter loss tied to deteriorating automobile production.
Office Depot’s (ODP) corporate-credit rating was downgraded to BB- from BB by Standard & Poor’s.
PNC Financial Services Group’s (PNC) acquisition of National City Corp (NCC) was approved by the Federal Reserve Board following the Department of Justice’s requirement last week that the banks divest 61 National City branches in western Pennsylvania to proceed with the acquisition.
Gold is down 0.20% and silver is down 1.22%.
Crude oil is up 78 cents to trade at 45.29.
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| UPGRADES | SUN, SWY, KR |
| DOWNGRADES | CMI, JRJC, SPR, WFT, BHI, BRNC, OCNF, ERIC, SOV, IFX, PGR, RDK, WFMI, MXIM, CY, BT, LEN, GPS, CBT, FFIV, ADTN, HRC |
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| EARNINGS | |
| before the open | BBY, FDS, GS |
| during trading | RTK |
| after the close | AIR, ADBE, APSG, HOV, PAY |
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ECONOMIC RELEASES
8:30 Building Permits
8:30 Core CPI
8:30 CPI
8:30 Housing Starts
14:15 FOMC Policy Statement
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