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Friday, Sept. 12
Hurricane Ike remains Category 2 storm(2:12 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Hurricane Ike maintained its strength with winds of 105 miles per hour as a Category 2 storm, the National Hurricane Center said in its 2 p.m. ET update. At last check, the hurricane was centered about 165 miles southeast of Galveston, Texas, moving to the west-northwest at 12 miles per hour. "Winds and seas (are) increasing on the upper Texas coast as Hurricane Ike approaches," the National Hurricane Center said. The NHC continues to forecast a possible strengthening of Hurricane Ike to a Category 3 storm with winds topping 111 miles per hour. It's due to hit the Texas coast by late Friday or early Saturday.
Energy stocks rise as Hurricane Ike approaches(9:37 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks rose on the approach of Hurricane Ike and higher oil prices on Friday. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) rose 1.4% to 1,226. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) rose 1.2% to 546. Crude prices advanced 95 cents to $101.82.
Consol Energy to buy back up to $500 mln in stock(9:09 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Coal producer Consol Energy Inc. (CNX: news, chart, profile) on Friday set plans to buy back up to $500 million of its own stock over the next two years. Shares of the component of the S&P 500 ($SPX: news, chart, profile) rose $2.14 to $54.53 on Thursday.
Chipotle expects third-quarter net below year-ago level(8:43 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. (CMG: news, chart, profile) on Friday said it expects third-quarter net income to fall slightly below the year-ago figure of 62 cents a share. Wall Street analysts expected earnings of 72 cents a share for the restaurant firm, according to a survey by FactSet. Chipotle said the impact of the weakened economy has been greater than expected, leading to comparable restaurant sales in the low single digits for the third quarter.
Qiao Xing profit, sales drop as handset shipments fall(6:08 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Qiao Xing Mobile Communications (QXM: news, chart, profile) said second-quarter operating income dropped to 76.1 million yuan ($11.1 million) from 230.6 million yuan, with revenue falling to 383.7 million yuan from 844.1 million yuan. The Chinese mobile handset maker said shipments fell 46% to 566,000 units. Sales were negatively impacted by the earthquake that took place in Sichuan province in May, which caused a slowdown in consumption in the Chinese consumer market, as well a delay in the release of its new product, VEVA S60. Operating results in the third and fourth quarters will be "better" than the same periods last year.