On Tuesday July 20, 2010, 5:53 pm EDT
Goldman profit slides on
SEC charge, revenue drops
NEW YORK (AP) -- Goldman
Sachs had an 83 percent drop in second-quarter net income but still got a vote
of confidence from investors.
Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
said Tuesday its earnings fell to $453 million as trading revenue dropped
during a dismal spring for the financial markets. The bank also booked a $550
million charge for its settlement of civil fraud charges with the Securities and
Exchange Commission and took a $600 million charge because of a new tax on
employee bonuses in Britain.
Investors initially sold
Goldman's stock after its earnings were released, but they had a change of
heart as the trading day wore on. Analysts said investors focused on the fact
that Goldman is still the top player on Wall Street and will remain so in the
future when the markets recover from their current slump.
Unemployment benefits
extension clears hurdle
WASHINGTON (AP) --
Legislation to restore unemployment benefits to millions who have been out of
work for more than six months broke free of Senate Republican delaying tactics
on Tuesday. Senators voted 60-40 to move ahead on the bill, clearing the way
for a final Senate vote later on Tuesday. The measure would restore jobless
checks for 2.5 million people whose benefits started running out seven weeks
ago in a stubbornly jobless economic recovery.
The vote was a modest
victory for President Barack Obama and Democrats, whose more ambitious hopes
for a jobs agenda have mostly fizzled in the face of GOP opposition in the
Senate. A battle has raged for months over whether jobless benefits should be
financed with additional federal debt as Democrats want or through cuts to
other government programs as most Republicans insist.
Stocks are higher on mixed
earnings reports
NEW YORK (AP) -- Investors
are trying to get a read on the economy using earnings reports. They're finding
it's not so easy.
The result Tuesday was yet
another erratic day of stock trading. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 75
points after having fallen 140 in early trading in response to a series of
disappointing revenue reports. Analysts were hard-pressed to come up with a
reason for the turnaround. But trading was extremely light, and that tends to
skew stock prices.
Investors seem to have
decided as Tuesday wore on that earnings didn't look quite as bad as they first
thought. Meanwhile, some analysts said there were technical factors involved in
the market's moves.
Relief effort fails many at
risk of foreclosure
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The
Obama administration's effort to help those at risk of losing their homes is
failing to aid many and could spur a rise in foreclosures that would further
depress the housing industry.
More foreclosures would
force down home prices and that would deter already-ailing homebuilders from
starting new projects.
As a result, the economic
rebound could suffer. Each new home built creates, on average, the equivalent
of three jobs for a year and generates about $90,000 in taxes paid to local and
federal authorities, according to the National Association of Home Builders.
Apple fiscal 3Q net income
jumps 78 percent
SEATTLE (AP) -- Apple Inc.
blew past expectations when reporting results for its latest quarter on Tuesday,
and reported selling almost as many iPads as it sold Mac computers.
Apple said its fiscal
third-quarter net income rose 78 percent, thanks to sales of its iPhone and the
new iPad tablet computer.
Revenue for the
April-to-June period rose 61 percent from last year to $15.7 billion, making it
the company highest quarterly revenue ever, even beating the latest holiday
season.
Net income jumped to $3.25
billion, or $3.51 per share, from $1.8 billion, or $2.01 per share a year ago.
PepsiCo's 2Q net income
edges down on buyout costs
NEW YORK (AP) -- PepsiCo
Inc.'s second-quarter net income fell 3 percent on charges related to the
company's buyout of its two biggest bottlers, but the same deal pushed up
revenue 40 percent and showed signs of paying off for its U.S. drinks business.
The long-slumping Gatorade
business improved for the first time in years as the company rolled out new
versions of the sports drink and courted athletes. The highly profitable
convenience store and gas station business also improved, though PepsiCo didn't
want to speculate about sales the rest of the year.
Yahoo 2Q earnings climb 51
pct, but revenue modest
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Yahoo
Inc.'s turnaround effort wavered in the second quarter as the Internet
company's lackluster revenue growth overshadowed a surge in net income.
The results released
Tuesday could cause some investors to doubt the strategy of Yahoo's no-nonsense
CEO, Carol Bartz, who was hired 18 months ago to lead the company out of a
prolonged financial funk that has depressed its stock.
Bartz has been able to
boost Yahoo's earnings by cutting costs, but so far hasn't been able to produce
dramatic revenue gains.
J&J posts higher 2Q net
income despite recalls
Repeated recalls of popular
Johnson & Johnson nonprescription medicines kept second-quarter revenue
flat and forced J&J to cut its profit forecast, but a big drop in its tax
rate enabled the health care giant to pull off a 7.5 percent increase in net
income.
In a rare move, the maker
of Band-Aids, birth control and biotech drugs on Tuesday reduced its 2010
profit forecast by 15 cents a share.
Johnson & Johnson cited
the recalls of tens of millions of bottles of Tylenol and other well-known
brands, the long-term closure of the suburban Philadelphia factory that made
some of them and unfavorable currency exchange rates.
Icahn renews bid for Lions
Gate after truce ends
NEW YORK (AP) -- Activist
investor Carl Icahn declared an end to his brief truce with boutique film
studio Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. on Tuesday, renewing his bid to take over
the company and replace its board.
Icahn disclosed that he now
controls 37.9 percent of Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.'s shares -- although a
defensive move by management to swap debt for equity cut that to 33.5 percent
on Tuesday. Still, he has amassed enough of a stake that it could be difficult
for the company's management to make major decisions without his OK.
And he said he will launch
another tender offer for the stake he doesn't own, this time dropping his offer
price by 50 cents to $6.50 per share.
China surpasses US as
world's top energy consumer
PARIS (AP) -- China has
overtaken the United States as the world's largest energy consumer, the
International Energy Agency said Tuesday. China immediately questioned the
report, claiming its calculations were "unreliable."
The Paris-based agency said
China's 2009 consumption of energy sources ranging from oil and coal to wind
and solar power was equal to 2.265 billion tons of oil, compared to 2.169
billion tons used that year by the United States.
The shift is historic,
coming years ahead of forecasts. In climate change talks, China has long
pointed fingers at the energy consumption patterns of developed nations and is
sure to feel uncomfortable with the mantle of consuming more energy than any
other nation.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 75.53, or 0.7
percent, to 10,229.96.
The broader Standard &
Poor's 500 index rose 12.23, or 1.1 percent, to 1,083.48 and the Nasdaq
composite index rose 24.26, or 1.1 percent, to 2,222.49.
Benchmark crude for August
delivery rose 90 cents to settle at $77.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile
Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in
August contracts, heating oil rose 0.77 cent to settle at $2.0247 a gallon,
gasoline gained 1.96 cents to settle at $2.0786 a gallon and natural gas added
8 cents to settle at $4.590 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude rose 60 cents
to settle at $76.22 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.