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Wednesday, Sept. 17
Comtech fourth-quarter net income falls to 61 cents a share (4:49 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Comtech Telecommunications Corp.'s (CMTL: news, chart, profile) fourth-quarter net income fell to $17 million, or 61 cents a share, from $17.1 million, or 63 cents a share, a year earlier, according to a 10-K filing from the company Wednesday. Revenue increased to $126.5 million from $117.8 million a year ago, said the Melville, N.Y.-based telecommunications company. Analysts polled by FactSet Research had forecast revenue of $125.2 million.
Energy stocks fall ahead of weekly inventory data(9:48 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks fell with the broad market on Wednesday, ahead of key inventory data. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) dropped 0.1% to 1,172. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX: news, chart, profile) dropped 0.6% to 254. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) dipped 0.4% to 533.
Constellation Energy reviewing strategic alternatives(9:31 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Constellation Energy (CEG: news, chart, profile) on Wednesday said it has hired Morgan Stanley (MS: news, chart, profile) and UBS (UBS: news, chart, profile) to review strategic alternatives. The power firm also affirmed a bank commitment for a $2 billion credit facility. Constellation reaffirmed its outlook for third-quarter earnings of 83 cents to 99 cents a share, and full-year 2008 earnings of $5.25 to $5.75 a share. "Constellation Energy also reinforced that its credit exposure to financial institutions is limited" to about $120 million, the company said. The corporate parent of Baltimore Gas & Electric is the nation's largest competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller. No single financial institution represents more than $28 million of net credit risk exposure, the company said.
General Mills earnings per share fall 2.5% (7:23 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- General Mills (GIS: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that first-quarter earnings fell to $278.5 million, or 79 cents a share, compared to $288.9 million, or 81 cents, in the same period a year ago. Sales rose 13.8% to $3.5 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet Research estimated, on average, earnings per share of 88 cents on sales of $3.3 billion. General Mills said it sees sales growth for 2009 in the mid-single digits and it lifted its 2009 earnings-per-share view to $3.81 to $3.85.
House lifts ban on offshore drilling (7:05 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The U.S. House of Representatives late Tuesday OK'd a measure by a vote of 236 to 189 to lift a ban on offshore oil and gas drilling. The bill would allow drilling as close as 50 miles from the coast, with seas further offshore than 100 miles opened up completely. The measure prohibits drilling around Georges Bank, a major U.S. commercial fishing area.
Nortel Networks warns carriers cutting spending further(6:24 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Nortel Networks (NT: news, chart, profile) (CA:NT: news, chart, profile) warned that carriers are cutting back their capital spending further than previously expected and that some enterprise and metro Ethernet customers are deferring new IT and optical investments. It's also seeing additional pressure on revenue due to foreign exchange impact and certain product delivery delays. It expects gross margins of 39% and revenue of $2.3 billion in the third quarter, and for the year, it expects revenue to fall between 2% and 4% and gross margins of 42%. Analysts polled by FactSet Research expected sales to rise 2% this year and third-quarter revenue of $2.65 billion. Planning is underway for further restructuring and other cost reduction and it may sell its Metro Ethernet Networks unit.
Barclays: all units remained profitable in July, August(2:27 am ET)
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Barclays (UK:BARC: news, chart, profile) (BCS: news, chart, profile) said Wednesday that trading has been satisfactory in July and August. The bank said the monthly run-rate for group pretax profit in the two months was slightly lower than the average for the first half of the year, reflecting usual seasonality. The bank added all its business were profitable during the two-month period.
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Morgan Stanley sticking with investment bank model: CFO(5:56 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Morgan Stanley (MS: news, chart, profile) Chief Financial Officer Colm Kelleher said late Tuesday that the firm believes in the investment banking business model. Banks and other financial institutions with customer deposits "do not necessarily better enable us to execute our business and in fact may bring with them their own set of complications," he explained during a conference call with analysts. Speculation has increased this week that Morgan Stanley may sell itself to a larger bank after rival brokerage firm Merrill Lynch (MER: news, chart, profile) was acquired by Bank of America (BAC: news, chart, profile) .
Morgan Stanley quarterly net income $1.425 billion(4:22 pm ET)
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Morgan Stanley (MS: news, chart, profile) said late Tuesday that fiscal third-quarter net income came in at $1.425 billion, or $1.32 a share, down slightly from a year earlier when the investment bank made $1.543 billion, or $1.44 a share. Net revenues were $8 billion in the latest quarter, 1% above last year's third quarter, the firm added. Morgan Stanley was expected to make 79 cents a share, according to a FactSet analyst survey. Morgan Stanley shares rose in after-hours action.
Energy stocks remain in red after Fed(2:23 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks remained in the red after the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee kept interest rates unchanged despite hopes of a cut. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) fell 2.3% to 1,117. The Philadelphia Oil Service Index ($OSX: news, chart, profile) subtracted 0.8% to 243. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) gave up 1.8% to 510.
Constellation Energy shares fall 38% (2:20 pm ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Constellation Energy Group (CEG: news, chart, profile) fell 38% to $29.55 as it disclosed ties to Lehman Brothers, but the company said its liquidity remains sound despite the bankruptcy of the Wall Street firm. Constellation said in a filing with regulators that Lehman Brothers' total commitment within existing credit facilities stood at $150 million. Constellation said it holds excess liquidity of approximately $2 billion, excluding the existing Lehman commitment. "Constellation does not believe that the potential reduction in available capacity under the credit facilities would have a significant impact on its liquidity," the company said.
Energy stocks continue their slide(9:38 am ET)
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Energy stocks continued their steep slide from the previosu session on Tuesday, as the sector moved down in lock-step with oil prices, which fell toward $90 a barrel. The Amex Oil Index (XOI: news, chart, profile) fell 3% to 1,108. The Amex Natural Gas Index (XNG: news, chart, profile) subtracted 4.4% to 496. Anadarko Petroleum (APC: news, chart, profile) fell 7% to $47.49. Hess Corp. (HES: news, chart, profile) fell 7% to $75.95. Oil futures subtracted $4.70 to trade at $91.01.