News Highlights: Top Equities Stories Of The Day
11/21 04:00 PM
TOP STORIES
OBAMA PICKS GEITHNER FOR TREASURY POST
New York Fed President Timothy Geithner will be nominated to be Treasury secretary, according to a person close to the transition process. Obama plans to introduce his entire economic team early next week. Bill Richardson is expected to be Commerce secretary, NBC News reports.
US STOCKS RALLY ON OBAMA PICKS
Stocks rally on several names finally being announced for various cabinet posts in the Obama Administration. The biggest one, to the stock market, is Tim Geithner as Treasury Secretary. Reports say Bill Richardson has been tapped for Commerce and Hillary Clinton will accept job of Secretary of State. DJIA soars about 400 points.
CITIGROUP BOARD MEETS TO EXPLORE OPTIONS; SHARES DROP
Citigroup's (C:$3.76,00$-0.95,00-20.17%) stock falls 21% as the bank's board meets to consider its options and a top executive moves to reassure clients. In a meeting with executives, CEO Vikram Pandit says he has "no desire to sell Smith Barney," referring to Citigroup's (C:$3.76,00$-0.95,00-20.17%) brokerage operation.
WAL-MART NAMES MIKE DUKE CEO, REPLACING SCOTT
Wal-Mart's (WMT:$52.76,00$2.10,004.15%) board of directors elects international chief Mike Duke to succeed Lee Scott as president and chief executive officer, effective Feb. 1. Move will end Scott's nearly 9-year tenure in charge of the world's largest retailer.
CLINTON SAID TO ACCEPT SECRETARY OF STATE POST
Hillary Clinton will agree to serve as secretary of State, the New York Times (NYT:$5.32,00$-0.40,00-6.99%) reports, citing two Clinton confidants. Clinton decided after follow-up discussions with Barack Obama after their in-person meeting last Thursday in Chicago.
BIG THREE GO HOME EMPTY-HANDED
The Big Three are on their own for now. Congressional efforts to rescue Detroit's auto makers collapse, with lawmakers saying the industry lacks credible plans to return to profitability.
FANNIE, FREDDIE TO SUSPEND FORECLOSURES
U.S. mortgage giants Fannie Mae (FNM:$0.34,00$0.01,003.03%) and Freddie Mac (FRE:$0.450000,$-0.040000,-8.16%) will suspend foreclosure sales and evictions on certain properties until after the holiday season, as they prepare to implement a loan-modification program.
'PROTRACTED PERIOD' OF WEAK GROWTH SEEN
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President says he expects to see more economic weakness in an uncertain environment, and that the U.S. runs a higher risk of entering a deflationary period than a few months ago.
TOP DEMOCRATS TO SEND LETTER TO AUTOMAKERS
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Harry Reid say they're sending a letter to automakers explaining the standards by which congressional leaders will judge the companies' turnaround plans in order for them to get aid.
KEYCORP DOWN AMID BANK-SECTOR DECLINE
Bank shares fall, with KeyCorp (KEY:$6.27,00$-0.64,00-9.26%) among the major decliners, hitting levels not seen since April 1985 after slashing its dividend late Thursday. KeyCorp (KEY:$6.27,00$-0.64,00-9.26%) pares some earlier losses and trades down 19%.
GM TO ANNOUNCE FURTHER PRODUCTION SHUTDOWNS
Auto maker will implement further cutbacks to its North American production schedule and plans to inform employees about the changes this morning. Cutbacks come amid a substantial slowdown in the U.S. market and follow a series a plant shutdowns already slated for coming months. Shares down 2%.
RESEARCH IN MOTION LAUNCHES NEW BLACKBERRY
BlackBerry Storm goes on sale at Verizon Wireless stores following months of speculation. It's the latest device in what has become the most ambitious product launch schedule to date by Research In Motion (RIMM:$44.80,00$3.28,007.90%) , which is battling to keep its large share of the market for so-called smart phones.
COURT MAY NOT CHANGE CORPORATE LIABILITY STANDARD
A federal appeals court appeared unwilling to consider changing the standard used to determine a company's criminal liability when one of its employees commits wrongdoing, saying the issue ought to be argued before the U.S. Supreme Court.
BUFFETT DOESN'T SEE TURNAROUND BY MID-2009
In an interview airing today on Fox Business Network, Warren Buffett says it will take longer than mid-2009 for the U.S. economy to begin recovering, as some Fed officials suggest, and predicts unemployment will rise for some time.
US MASS LAYOFFS REMAIN HIGH IN OCTOBER
Despite retreating slightly from September, U.S. employers lay off 232,468 workers in October, the highest level for the month since 2001 as automakers, temp agencies and discount department stores shed thousands of jobs.
SEMGROUP PROBE TURNS TO FORMER EXECUTIVE, EMPLOYEES
SumSemGroup wants a court to order its former chief operating officer and two other ex-employees to cooperate with its probe of trading losses that took down the company, saying they've refused to provide information.
PETERSON PRESSES OBAMA TEAM ABOUT CFTC
House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson is pressing President- elect Barack Obama to elevate the stature of the U.S. commodities regulator, saying that the CFTC has clearly been left out of things.
GM TO SELL TWO PRIVATE JETS AMID CRITICISM
General Motors (GM:$3.012,0$0.132,04.58%) , skewered for sending CEO Rick Wagoner to Washington, D.C., in a private jet to plead for a bailout, will offload two of its corporate planes and slash travel expenses, the company says. GM shares fall 1%.
BUSH SIGNS UNEMPLOYMENT-BENEFITS EXTENSION
President George W. Bush signs legislation that extends unemployment-insurance benefits by seven weeks, to 20 weeks, and creates a second tier of 13 weeks of benefits for those in states with unemployment rates over 6%.
MORGAN STANLEY STARTS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED LAYOFFS
Investment bank, which announced plans last week to lay off 10% of its institutional securities professionals, has laid off traders and analysts from its proprietary trading desk. Shares edge lower.
USG TO SELL NOTES TO BERKSHIRE, FAIRFAX
USG agrees to sell $400 million in convertible senior notes to shareholders Berkshire Hathaway (BRK/A:$88,000.00,00$10,500.00,0013.55%) and Fairfax Financial Holdings (FFH:$276.68,00$-0.61,00-0.22%) as the building-materials maker looks to boost cash levels due to constricted credit markets. USG shares up 20%.
CONFERENCE BOARD SEES CUTBACK IN HOLIDAY SPENDING
Private research group says U.S. households are planning to spend an average of $418 on gifts this year, down from planned spending of $471 last year, because of the bad economy, according to its survey.
CRUDE INCHES HIGHER ON PIPELINE ATTACK, OPEC
Crude oil futures break a five-session losing streak as an attack on a Turkish pipeline and the prospect of an OPEC production cut allows the market to momentarily set aside demand concerns. January delivery settled 51 cents up at $ 49.93 a barrel.
FED'S LACKER SAYS 2009 RECOVERY SEEMS PLAUSIBLE
Richmond Fed president Jeffrey Lacker says consumer spending could rise sharply once labor market uncertainties recede. He also sees housing drag easing next year. While the risk of inflation is up, the risk isn't very large, he says.
FOOT LOCKER (FL:$5.46,00$-2.17,00-28.44%) , FINISH LINE SHARES SLUMP
Shares of athletic-apparel retailers drop after Foot Locker (FL:$5.46,00$-2.17,00-28.44%) cuts its outlook for the rest of the year, saying slowing economy has hurt shoe sales, particularly in the past two months. Foot Locker (FL:$5.46,00$-2.17,00-28.44%) drops 33%. Finish Line declines 16%.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
COMPLIANCE WATCH
Risk Management Seen As Gaining Influence
The nation's deepening financial crisis and the likelihood of heightened regulation will transform risk management at securities firms to a more enterprise-wide function, writes Suzanne Barlyn.
TECHNICALLY SPEAKING Bear Markets Have Bear Market Rallies
Major indexes extend downtrends, and as of this writing the Dow Industrials, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq Composite are each trading only slightly higher on the day, but near Thursday's lows, and that configuration, by itself suggest new lows presently, writes Stephen Cox.
============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION ===========
DJIA up 344.00 points to 7896.29
NASDAQ up 48.39 points to 1364.51
S&P 500 up 34.50 points to 786.94
10-year T-note 104 21/32 at 3.199 yield dn .118
NYMEX Crude up $0.51 at $ 49.93/bbl at close
Euro/Dollar up 0.0101 at 1.2555
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(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-21-081600ET
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