From Briefing.com: 8:33PM Maxim Integrated to request NASDAQ hearing regarding stock listing (MXIM) 28.74 +1.01 : Co announced that it will request a hearing before the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel (the "Panel") in response to the receipt of a Nasdaq Staff Determination letter dated September 25, 2006. The letter, which MXIM expected, was issued in accordance with standard Nasdaq procedures as a result of the delay in the filing of MXIM's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended June 24, 2006 with the S.E.C. Pending a decision by the Panel, Maxim shares will remain listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. As previously disclosed, a Special Committee of MXIM's Board of Directors has commenced an independent review of MXIM's past stock option grants and practices. MXIM intends to file its Form 10-K as soon as practicable after completion of its internal review.
8:25PM Merix obtains dismissal of federal class action securities complaint (MERX) 9.90 -0.06 : Co announced that the second amended complaint in the securities class action lawsuit (In re Merix Corporation Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court Case No. CV 04-826-MO) filed against MERX, its directors and four of its officers has been dismissed with prejudice. The motion to dismiss was granted with prejudice on September 28, 2006.
4:20 pm : Stocks extended their winning streak to four sessions Thursday, but market gains were again modest at best as investors grappled with volatile oil prices and some resistance after the Dow charged out of the gate and briefly surpassed its all-time closing high of 11,722.98.
Within seven minutes of the opening bell, the bulls finally got what they wished for, the 34 points needed by the Dow to make history for the first time in 6 1/2 years. Be that as it may, with so much hype tied to the blue-chip index reaching such a milestone being priced into equities throughout the week, the Dow's gain also left the door open for some selective consolidation following the market's recent run-up.
In fact, had it not been for continued momentum in this month's best performing Dow components -- General Motors (GM 33.02 +0.74) and Intel (INTC 20.77 +0.38) -- coupled with some bargain hunting interest in Caterpillar (CAT 66.53 +0.85) -- one of the worst performing components in Q3 -- there's a good chance the major averages would have closed relatively unchanged. General Motors hit an intraday 52-week high following reports that billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp said it may acquire an additional 12 mln GM shares and after GM CEO Rick Wagoner reassured shareholders it can survive even without an alliance. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ 35.96 +0.57) shrugging off the surprise resignation of general counsel Ann Baskins just hours before its Congressional hearing, and turning in an impressive 1.6% performance, provided additional market support.
Meanwhile, with investors already extremely sensitive to signs of economic weakness, the Commerce dept. reporting that Q2 real GDP was unexpectedly revised lower to a 2.6% annual rate of growth from a previously reported 2.9% underpinned a sense of caution. However, given the dated nature of the GDP data and the fact that the final revision won't alter expectations for continued growth in the 2-3% range for Q3 and Q4, which fits the definition of a so-called soft landing, investors eventually shrugged off the data and kept the Q3 rally intact. DJ30 +29.21 NASDAQ +6.63 SP500 +2.56 NASDAQ Dec/Adv/Vol 1429/1599/1.84 bln NYSE Dec/Adv/Vol 1546/1706/1.40 bln
2:22PM Amkor announces it is amending the terms of the consent solicitation (AMKR) 5.26 +0.15 : Co announces that it is soliciting consents from the holders of its following series of notes. The co is seeking consents for a waiver of certain defaults and events of default that may have occurred or may occur under each series of notes from the failure of the co to file with the SEC its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006, and other notices or reports, and the consequences thereof, and the waiver of the application of certain provisions of the indentures governing each series of notes. The co announced that it is amending the terms of the consent solicitation, including to extend the expiration date for the consent solicitation for each series of notes and increase the "Additional Consent Fee" referred to below. The consent solicitation for each series of notes will now expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 3, 2006, unless extended or earlier terminated for a particular series of notes. Holders may deliver their consents to the Tabulation Agent at any time before the expiration date.
11:02AM Microsoft and Intel propose new global value chain collaboration standards for high-tech manufacturing industry (MSFT) 27.47 +0.03 : MSFT and INTC in a joint effort to improve supplier collaboration in the high-tech industry, today announce they have proposed the next-generation of open, interoperable business standards for small to medium enterprise supplier collaboration, based on the Microsoft Office Open XML Formats for documents. The two cos are helping drive community consensus and standardization of this approach by co-sponsoring the next-generation RosettaNet Automated Enablement program as part of the RosettaNet consortium.
9:01AM KLA-Tencor announces it will restate financial statements related to stock options (KLAC) 44.51 -0.86 : Co announced that it will restate previously issued financial statements to correct the co's past accounting for stock options. Based on a report received from a Special Committee of the Board of Directors, the Board concluded that incorrect measurement dates for certain stock option grants were used for financial accounting purposes, principally during the periods July 1, 1997 through June 30, 2002. As a result, the co will be required to record non-cash charges for compensation expenses relating to those past stock option grants. The co has not determined the exact amount of such charges, the resulting tax and accounting impact, or which specific reporting periods may require restatement. Accordingly, the co is filing a Form 8-K today stating that the financial statements and all earnings and press releases and similar communications issued by the Company relating to periods beginning on or after July 1, 1997, should no longer be relied upon. KLA-Tencor intends to file its restated financial results and Annual Report on Form 10-K as quickly as practicable. KLA-Tencor does not anticipate that the restatement will have any impact on the co's historical revenues. Any stock-based compensation charges incurred as a result of the restatement would have the effect of decreasing reported income or increasing reported loss from operations, and decreasing reported net income or increasing reported net loss, and decreasing reported retained earnings amounts contained in the co's historical financial statements for the affected periods.
4:41AM AMD announces strategic agreement with Founder Technology, second largest PC provider in China (AMD) 25.32 : Co and Founder Technology announce an agreement to offer Founder customers a range of systems based on AMD64 processors. Founder expects to launch AMD64 processor-based desktop PCs throughout China in early October 2006. The sales agreement will begin with desktop systems and expand to cover both the notebook and the server markets in the near future.
09:15 am Family Dollar Stores, Inc. (FDO)
28.95: Discount retailer Family Dollar Stores Inc. has once again indicated financials that were better than expectations. The company reported fourth quarter earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.03 better than the Reuters Estimates consensus of $0.23. Revenues rose 10.4% year over year to $1.58 billion versus the $1.58 billion consensus. Family Dollar also issued in-line guidance for the first quarter and full year of 2007.
The company, which has a market cap of about $4.39 billion, said it sees earnings per share of $0.34 to $0.38 versus $0.37 consensus for the first quarter. It also said it anticipates earnings per share of $1.57 to $1.69 versus $1.61 consensus for the full year of 2007.
Briefing.com was bullish on Family Dollar in late May, noting the issue appeared to be a typical buy-and-hold stock with room for appreciation. Today's beat on earnings marks the second positive financial release since then. The company recently announced that August same-store sales increased 4.0%, just under Briefing.com consensus for a gain of 4.1%.
The the 47-year-old company has a business plan that makes sense in a tougher economic environment. It offers products at a deep discount and builds stores in areas that offer low-overhead options and are populated by individuals with a lower-than-average personal income.
The company's history of issuing dividends indicates both financial strength and management's confidence that the company will continue to be solid even through bad times. Trading at about 20.7x trailing twelve-month earnings, the stock is at a slight premium to the industry average; therefore any price decline should be viewed as a potential entry point.
--Christine Marie Nielsen, Briefing.com
09:05 am American Greetings (AM)
25.04: American Greetings, the number two U.S. maker of greeting cards (behind Hallmark), said it slid to a loss in the second quarter, due to normal seasonality and the rollout of a new strategy to manage inventory. The Cleveland-based company also declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, which will be paid Oct. 23 to shareholders of record on Oct. 13.
For the most recent quarter, American Greetings posted a loss from continuing operations of $13.2 million, or ($0.23) per share, compared with a year-ago profit of $3.8 million, or $0.06 per share. Analysts, however, were expecting a narrower loss of ($0.16) per share, according to Reuters Estimates. Quarterly revenue fell 6.5% year/year to $360.1 million, also short of the consensus estimate of $363.2 million.
American Greetings' chief executive, Zev Weiss, said the combination of normal seasonality as well as the planned rollout of its card and scan-based trading initiatives put downward pressure on revenues and earnings to cause a loss from continuing operations. However, the company maintained its fiscal year earnings outlook, as the second half of the year is stronger seasonally than the first half. It said it still expects to earn between $0.80 and $1 per share, versus the consensus estimate of $0.87 per share.
--Richard Jahnke, Briefing.com
08:58 am General Motors (GM)
32.28: It's back to the drawing board for General Motors, Renault and Nissan executives. All three have agreed to three more weeks of analysis over the proposed 3-way venture to determine if the potential cost synergies make financial sense. The deadline for the deal, proposed by billionaire GM shareholder Kirk Kerkorian, has been moved back to October 15th.
GM Chief Executive Officer Rick Wagoner said he's "absolutely confident " that the world's largest automaker can survive without an alliance, pointing to the fact that its plan to cut $9 bln in costs is ahead of schedule. In July, the automaker raised its cost savings target by a billion dollars as a result of the high acceptance rate of employee buyouts. At the Paris Auto Show, Wagoner told reporters that his meeting with Carlos Ghosn was "cordial" but wouldn't comment further.
Wagoner certainly has had more solid ground to stand on recently. The execution of the turnaround plan in the North American business has yielded results faster than many have expected. The once $5 bln in cost savings now stands at $9 bln. Kerkorian initiated the 3-way talks after GM posted its longest-ever losing streak in June with its market share dropping to an 80-year low. GM reported a first half net loss of $2.9 bln due to buyout and retirement costs, but revenues, driven by auto sales and financing, actually rose. GM lost $10.6 bln last year.
GM's share prices have risen an astounding 66% this year despite formidable hurdles the company is facing both on a macro and micro level. Investors have been willing to give GM the benefit of the doubt, focusing on the potential turnaround story. All the automakers face a challenging macro environment. Consumers are dealing with a declining housing market, higher interest rates, and record levels of household debt. Plunging gasoline prices are a welcome relief, but it remains to be seen whether they will translate into higher automotive sales. US auto sales have fallen for the last four months, culminating in a 4.3% YTD decline. Most auto analysts anticipate the weakness will continue throughout the remainder of the year into 2007, resulting in declining sales and rising incentives - a toxic mix for profits.
--Kimberly DuBord, Briefing.com
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