DJ MARKET TALK: Intel's Not Only Bigwig Reporting Tonight
Edited by Thomas Granahan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES (Call Us: 201-938-5299; All Times Eastern) MARKET TALK can be found using code N/DJMT
3:10 (Dow Jones) Intel (INTC) is going to steal the show tonight when it reports its 1Q (even though Wall Street is pretty comfortable with existing estimates), but there are plenty of other names to look at: Motorola (MOT), Kraft (KFT), Boston Scientific (BSX), Veritas (VRTS), and Washington Mutual (WM), among many others report after the bell. (TG)
2:56 (Dow Jones) Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., said the Senate will "never" bring up a tax bill that is likely to pass the House later this week making last year's tax cuts permanent beyond the year 2010. "We are not for it. It will not come up," Daschle said. (JCD)
2:46 (Dow Jones) The pre-Greenspan Fed obsession begins. Treasurys get a positive kick out of comments on CNBC from Minneapolis Fed Pres. Stern, a voter, who suggested that growth will be moderate after a pop in first-quarter growth. He also said capital spending rebound will take time. Nothing really new here, but it plays into the school of thought that says the Fed would rather wait and see before starting to tighten. Two-year note's yield fell a quick 2 BP following the interview, to 3.38% from 3.40%. (SV)
2:36 (Dow Jones) There's chatter emerging on the two IPOs this week. Talk is ExpressJet, the regional airline, is looking 2 1/2-times oversubscribed, but that pales with the other deal, for Medical Staffing Network, which is 10-times oversubscribed, according to MorningNotes.com. (RJH)
2:19 (Dow Jones) Delta Air Lines (DAL) reported a 1Q loss that's almost triple its year-ago loss, but its fuel hedges could make the company look relatively more attractive if crude prices stay high. The No. 3 carrier, currently among the best-protected from the higher fuel prices, has hedged 57% of its fuel needs for 2Q at 58 cents a gallon and 47% of its full-year fuel requirements at 65 cents a gallon, CFO said during a conference call. Delta stock is off 21 cents, or 0.7%, at $29.80. (SON)
2:09 (Dow Jones) The DJIA and Nasdaq Composite are coincidentally testing resistance at 10286.60 and 1806.88. The indexes will have to close above those levels to confirm a technical breakout. DJIA up 184 at 10277, Nasdaq Comp gains 55 to 1808. (SC)
2:01 (Dow Jones) Investor worry about Ruby Tuesday (RI) being the potential Enron of the restaurant industry are unwarranted, says analyst Scott Tilghman at Ladenburg Thalmann. He says the company's recent $17.2 million reserve against a note receivable eliminates one of the accounting issues weighing on the stock. Also, the company's "financial and operational strength" should dispel concern about its use of synthetic leases, Tilghman says. He rates the stock a buy, and is holding to his above-guidance estimate of 32 cents EPS for the fiscal 4Q. (RLG)
1:43 (Dow Jones) After a profit-taking session that took Treasurys down considerably from Monday's highs, prices are coming partially back as shorts cover and as stocks take a breather near their highs of the day. With the entire curve having backed up 5-7 basis points on the day, traders are said to feel a bit less vulnerable going into a two-year announcement, buyback announcement, and Greenspan testimony all set for Wednesday. (SV)
1:26 (Dow Jones) Continuing its aggressive expansion under new leader Bruce Wasserstein, Lazard has lured seven investment bankers from Allianz AG's Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, according to a company memo. The recruits mark the latest in a string of hires by Wasserstein from his old firm. The most recent Dresdner hires include Steve Campbell, who served as financial institutions banker; Michael Gottschalk, consumer products banker; Neal Lerner, a tech, media and telecom banker; Justin Millberg, a financial institutions banker; Alasdair Nisbet, a chemicals banker; Art Reichstetter, an energy banker; and Douglas Taylor, a media banker. Nisbet is based in London, while the other bankers are based in New York. (JAW)
1:14 (Dow Jones) Prudential calls Mellon's (MEL) quarter "not great but still OK during a time that has been tough for asset managers and seemingly tougher for some of Mellon's competitors." Positives include good cash management, better expense control, higher margins, and buybacks, while negatives include weaker asset management in institutional and lower foreign exchange/trading. Keeps buy rating, $49 target. Mellon up 3.8% at $38.52. (TG)
1:02 (Dow Jones) Borrowing needs of the U.S. and emerging markets set to rise over the next year, forecasts credit rating agency Fitch in a report, released Tuesday. Prospective U.S. economic recovery "revives concerns" about size of current account deficit, which Fitch expects to widen to $475B in 2002, then to S550B in 2003. (JNP)
12:50 (Dow Jones) Volatility dropped a marked notch as stocks rally on some good earnings news from the tech sector. The CBOE's market volatility index, or VIX, is down 1.71 to 20.67. In the tech sector, the CBOE Nasdaq volatility Index, or VXN, fell 2.20 to 39.68, easing below 40 for the first time since earlier this month. The Amex's Nasdaq Volatility Index, or QQV, is down 1.73 to 33.90. The rare rally was welcomed by many but the mood in the options market remains somewhat skeptical, with many waiting to see how the rest of this week's earnings reports stack up. (KT)
12:46 (Dow Jones) Charles Schwab (SCH) employees have reason to be a little more upbeat this year. Hurt by the online-trading slump, Schwab went through two big rounds of job cuts last year. But Schwab, which didn't pay employee bonuses last year, has set aside about $13 million to do so this year. CFO Christopher Dodds calls the bonuses, which he said will be paid out over the next few weeks, "modest." Schwab has no current plans for more large-scale job cuts, Dodds says, but is keeping a tight lid on payroll expenses. Earlier, Schwab reported a 3% drop in 1Q net income. Schwab shares are up 3.6%. (GFC)
12:33 (Dow Jones) Wireless modem maker Sierra Wireless (SWIR) is down 4% at $9.75 after BMO Nesbitt analyst Ray Sharma cut his rating to market perform from outperform. The analyst said disappointing guidance from the likes of Research In Motion (RIMM) and Handspring (HAND) indicate that carriers are selling and marketing 2.5G services at a slower rate than expected. He also said competition, particularly from major semiconductor companies, is increasing. Sierra is scheduled to report 1Q results after the close Tuesday. The mean estimate is for a loss of 25 cents a share. (SEW)
(END) DOW JONES NEWS 04-16-02 |
