British Airways – Co.’s 12,000 flight attendants moved closer to a strike after talks with Europe’s third-largest airline over pay cuts broke down. (BBG)
UK Stocks – Investec to join and Resolution to leave FTSE 100 companies. (BBG)
BP – Co. will pay Devon Energy USD 7.0bn in cash for assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the US deepwater Gulf of Mexico. (RTRS)
British Gas – Co. makes oil discovery near Snorre field in North Sea. (BBG)
AstraZeneca – Co. extends branded generics capability with Torrent agreement, and says Torrent will supply to co. a portfolio of generic medicines. (RTRS)
Rio Tinto – Co. is in talks with Chinalco, over potential JV opportunities. (Australian Financial Review)
Xstrata – Co. spokesman says production still halted at Rolleston coal mine and timing of return to mining yet to be determined. (BBG)
BAE Systems – US resumes processing co.’s export license applications. (FT)
Rolls Royce – United Airlines has signed a firm order for 25 A350-900 XWB aircraft, which will be powered by co.’s Trent XWB engines. (BBG)
Morrison – Co.’s FY net GBP 598m vs. Exp. GBP 540m, and FY pre-tax profit GBP 858m vs. Exp. 759m, and FY revenue up 6%. Co. sees further profitable growth. (BBG)
Old Mutual – Co.’s FY adjusted operating EPS GBP 0.121 vs. Prev. GBP 0.149. Co. says board recommending GBP 0.015 final dividend for 2009. Co. plans to sell its US Life business. (BBG)
Home Retail – Argos 8 weeks to February 27 like-for-like sales down 9.4% vs. Exp. down 7%. Homebase 8 weeks to February 27 like-for-like sales down 0.6% vs. Exp. down 2%. Co. says for the new financial year they continue to plan cautiously. (RTRS)
Equities finished higher on Wednesday following a seesaw session. The financial and technology sectors led the S&P 500 for much of the session.
Crude oil related stocks also performed well following bullish weekly DOE inventory data and after OPEC raised its global demand forecast for this year.
Financials outperformed by a wide margin on talk the industry could see a lot of M&A action and after ECB’s Weber said the proposed ‘Volcker Rule’ had ’significant’ shortcomings. This increased speculation that it would be hard to implement the new rules in the US without EU backing.
It is also worth noting in the closing minutes of cash trade, Devon Energy (+1.4%) shares took a decent bid after the WSJ reported that BP was a leading contender to buy the co.’s USD 5bn-plus in oil assets.
At the close; the S&P 500 closed up 0.45% at 1145.61, the DJIA closed up 0.03% at 10567.33 and the NASDAQ 100 closed up 0.84% at 1917.35.
Google – Co. expects to resolve China dispute in “weeks, not months”. (BBG)
Cisco Systems – Co. preparing to launch new flip cameras. (Silicon Alley Insider)
Bank of America – Co.’s CEO says acquisitions are unlikely, but will hire in investment bank and internationally. (RTRS)
Citigroup – Co.’s CEO Vikram Pandit will today raise the prospect of the US bank earning as much as USD 20bn from its main unit within a few years, according to unidentified people close to the situation. (FT)
Devon Energy -BP will pay co. USD 7.0bn in cash for assets in Brazil, Azerbaijan and the US deepwater Gulf of Mexico. (RTRS)
CSX – Co. says expects to deliver strong double digit EPS growth for 2010, says expectation supported by strong volume and revenue growth. (RTRS)
Lufthansa – Co. says expects slight sales increase in 2010, and operating profit above 2009 level. It also says new acquisitions will not contribute to group profitability in 2010, and risks to outlook come from timing of economic recovery as well as oil prices. (RTRS)
K+S – Co.’s FY net EUR 96.4m vs. Exp. EUR 92.8m, and 2009 sales EUR 3.57bn vs. Exp. EUR 3.48bn. Co. sees good prospects for revenue, and earnings growth in 2011. (BBG)
Axa – Co. seeks acquisition opportunities in Spain. (Europa Press)
Air France – Co. will in coming weeks file a complaint with the European Commission over what it says is illegal state aid received by Ryanair Holdings. (BBG)
Lagardere – 2009 net group share EUR 137m vs. Prev. EUR 593m, 2009 EBIT EUR 448m. Co. proposes to maintain dividend at EUR 1.30 per share. In other news co. CEO says has no plans to sell EADS stake in near future and says there are no talks yet on Canal Plus stake sale. Also says not against returning cash to shareholders as additional dividend or via share buybacks. (RTRS/BBG)
Santander – Co. is not interested in buying General Electric’s 20.85% stake in Turkiye Garanti Bankasi, according to unidentified co.’s spokesman. (BBG)
Data provided by RANsquawk.
The above comments do not constitute investment advice.
Paddypowertrader, RANsquawk and Clean Financial do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the above or for the correctness or accuracy of the information provided.
All reasonable efforts have been made to present accurate information.
Risk Warning: Spread betting carries a high level of risk to your capital. You may lose more than your initial investment. It may not be suitable for all investors. Only speculate with money that you can afford to lose. Please ensure you fully understand the risks involved and seek independent financial advice where necessary.
Article edited by paddypowertrader which is a trading name of London Capital Group Ltd which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA), FSA Register number 182110.
'Shares Markets' edited by paddypowertrader, updated 11-Mar-10
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