** MORNING WRAP **
** US MARKETS **
Dow 0,26%; Nasdaq 0,31%; S&P 0,58%; Soxx 0,07%; Russel2k 0,61%; DJAIG 2,55%;
10yr Bond 0,03%; 10yr Yield 4,87%; Crude future 56,58; Gold 645,5
| Energy 2,1%| Telecom 1,31%| Healthcare 0,58%| Financials 0,52%| Technology
0,48%| Utilities 0,38%| Materials 0,32%| ConsDisc 0,27%| Industrials 0,16%|
ConsStaples 0,03%
- Ford May Scrap $1 Billion of Thailand Investment Because of Currency Curbs
- Yen Rises on Speculation Weakness Will Be Topic of Group of Seven Meeting
- U.S. Stocks Rise; Oil’s Biggest Rally in 16 Months Lifts Exxon, Chevron
- There is little question that interest rates will be on the minds of investors
, as policy makers wrap up a two-day FOMC meeting. The Fed is expected
to leave the fed funds rate unchanged at 5.25%, but what isn’t a foregone
conclusion is what the accompanying policy directive will imply about future
rate decisions.
- Before the culmination of Wednesday’s Fed meeting, though, investors will have
plenty of economic data to digest. Up first will be an advance read on Q4 GDP
and the Employment Cost Index at 14:30 CET. Chicago PMI is scheduled for release
at 15:45 CET while Construction Spending should hit the wires soon after (16:00
CET)
- On the earnings front, Dow components Altria (MO) and Boeing (BA) will be the
headliners. Other S&P 500 constituents out before the bell
include Constellation Energy (CEG), Dominion (D), Eastman Kodak (EK), Eli
Lilly (LLY), Hess (HES), Hilton Hotels (HLT), Ingersoll-Rand (IR), Kraft Foods
(KFT), Public Service (PEG), and Time Warner (TWX).
After the close, Google (GOOG) leads a list that also includes EOG Resources
(EOG), Fiserv (FISV), Gilead Sciences (GILD), Pulte Homes (PHM), Starbucks
(SBUX), and Sunoco (SUN).
** ASIAN MARKETS **
Nikkei -0,61%; Kospi -0,77%; HSI -0,15%; Taiwan -0,52%; China -3,17%; India
0,07%; Thailand 0,23%; Australia -0,58%
- Tata Steel Bids $12 Billion for Corus, Topping CSN Offer; Shares Tumble
- India’s Central Bank Raises Interest Rate to 4-Year High to Curb Inflation
- Honda’s Third-Quarter Profit Rises 9 Percent on Weaker Yen, Overseas Sales
- Asian Stocks Drop, Led by Toyota and Canon on Yen Outlook; China Tumbles
- DoCoMo Third-Quarter Profit Drops 28 Percent as Network Spending Increases
- Pioneer Cuts Annual Profit Forecast, Delays Plasma TV Factory Construction
- Japan’s Wages Fall Most in 16 Months; Consumer Spending Slump May Deepen
- Ford May Scrap $1 Billion of Thailand Investment Because of Currency Curbs
** EUROPE: IN PLAY TODAY **
- Bulgari SpA: The world’s third-largest jeweler said fourth-quarter sales
advanced 4 percent to 323.6 million euros ($419 million), missing the 326.5
million-euro median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of five analysts. The
company expects to report a gain of more than 12 percent in profit for last
year, up from 10 percent previously.
- Colruyt SA: Belgium’s biggest discount food retailer said nine-month sales
rose 9.2 percent to 3.89 billion euros. The company reiterated its forecast that
net income for the full-year ending March 31 will be at least 259 million euros.
- Corus: Tata Steel Ltd. offered 6.2 billion pounds ($12 billion) in cash for
Corus Group Plc, beating Brazil’s Cia. Siderurgica Nacional SA in the race to
become the world’s fifth-biggest steelmaker.
- Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG: The world’s largest maker of printing machines
intends to release fiscal third-quarter earnings. The company may report
quarterly profit more than tripled on a 70 million-euro ($90 million) tax gain,
a survey of analysts by Bloomberg showed.
- Mittal Steel Co NV: The world’s biggest steelmaker will join the Amsterdam AEX
index as of March 1, Euronext said in a statement. Mittal will adopt Arcelor
Mittal as its market name.
- Novo Nordisk A/S: The world’s largest insulin maker is scheduled to report
fourth-quarter earnings. The company posted net income of 1.196 billion kroner
in the same period last year.
- Randstad Holding NV: The world’s fourth-largest temporary employment agency
will be included in the Amsterdam AEX Index, Euronext said in a statement.
- Vivendi SA: The media and telecommunications company will announce fourth
quarter sales after the market shuts. It may say quarterly sales rose as higher
video-game and pay-television revenue more than made up for a decline in the
cellular and music businesses, according to analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News.