DJ News Highlights: Top Equities Stories Of The Day
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TOP STORIES
US PAYROLLS PLUNGE BY 663K; JOBLESS RATE AT 25-YEAR HIGH
Ê U.S. continues to shed jobs at an unrelenting clip in March, pushing total losses since the recession started 16 months ago past five million. The figures, which included another sharp rise in the unemployment rate to a 25-year high of 8.5%, are a sober reality check on the economy after some mildly encouraging news on housing, automobiles and manufacturing.
US STOCK FUTURES MIXED AFTER PAYROLLS DATA
Ê U.S. stock futures were mixed after March job losses come in as expected. February numbers are unrevised while January data is revised downward, but stocks show no reaction.
US CONGRESS APPROVES $3.6 TRILLION BUDGET
Ê The U.S. House of Representatives and Senate approve a $3.6 trillion fiscal 2010 budget that includes President Obama's biggest priorities, giving him a significant victory as he tries to shift direction from the Bush era.
IBM, SUN IN FINAL STAGES OF $7B MERGER TALKS
Ê IBM is in the final stages of negotiations to buy Sun Microsystems, in a deal valued at $7 billion. Sun is demanding assurances that IBM will push to complete a deal even if it faces regulatory objections, sources say.
GOOGLE REPORTEDLY IN TALKS TO BUY TWITTER
Ê U.S. Internet giant Google is in negotiations to acquire micro-blogging sensation Twitter for over $250 million, technology blog TechCrunch reports, citing two sources familiar with the matter.
RESEARCH IN MOTION 4Q TOPS VIEWS; SHARES UP
Ê BlackBerry maker posts fiscal 4Q earnings and revenue that easily exceed analyst expectations and announces 1Q guidance that estimates an increase in gross margins to 43-44% from the fourth-quarter's 40%. Shares jump 22% premarket.
GM WILLING TO CONSIDER BANKRUPTCY
Ê General Motors is prepared to file for bankruptcy protection if it can't restructure out of court, a press report says, citing a progress report included in a company regulatory filing.
CURRENT, PERFORMING HOME MORTGAGES BELOW 90%
Ê For the first time in decades, the share of U.S. home mortgages that were current and performing dips below 90%. Credit quality deteriorates across all loan categories during the fourth quarter of 2008, as job losses and the weakened economy take a toll on household finances.
CONGRESS NOW SEES TARP COSTING TAXPAYERS MORE
Ê The Congressional Budget Office has quietly altered its estimate of the ultimate cost to taxpayers of TARP to $356 billion from $189 billion, and now figures it will be much more expensive in the long run than it previously figured.
US MORTGAGE DEFAULTS SPUR TALK OF TAXPAYER BAILOUT
Ê Rising mortgage defaults could force the U.S. Federal Housing Administration to seek a taxpayer bailout for the first time in its 75-year history, housing officials and lawmakers say.
CEO PAY SINKS ALONG WITH PROFITS
Ê The robust rise of CEO pay reversed in 2008 as shrinking profits led to smaller bonuses. The median salaries and bonuses for the chief executives of 200 big U.S. companies fell 8.5% to $2.24 million, analysis shows.
OBAMA TO PUSH AFGHAN PLAN AT NATO SUMMIT
Ê Barack Obama will use the North Atlantic Treaty Organization summit to showcase a new Afghan war plan and to enlist support from European allies for a renewed effort to crush Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
EUROPEAN SHARES MOVE OFF EARLY LOWS
Ê European shares shake off early losses to trade flat, with banks and auto makers notably higher ahead of U.S. jobs data that could impact the rising optimism in markets.
MURDOCH PESSIMISTIC ON ECONOMY, FREE ONLINE MEDIA
Ê News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch says he doesn't see the global economic crisis easing yet, and he fears financial markets may not recover for two or three years. He also says the proliferation of free content online is breaking the media's business models.
ANOTHER MERRILL BANKER QUITS
Ê George H. 'Woody' Young, who ran Merrill Lynch's global technology, media and telecommunications group, is leaving Bank of America, the latest in a string of senior bankers with ties to Merrill who have left since the bank bought Merrill in January.
GLOBAL CHIP SALES FALL 30% IN FIFTH STRAIGHT MONTHLY DROP
Ê Global semiconductor sales fell 30% in February from a year earlier, as consumers and businesses delayed purchases during the recession, the Semiconductor Industry Association says.
MORGAN STANLEY EXEC GALLO TO LEAVE FIRM
Ê Morgan Stanley's global head of equities, Fabrizio Gallo, is leaving the firm to relocate to London and spend more time with his family. The 15-year Morgan veteran will be replaced by Luc Francois and Ted Pick.
WORLD LEADERS AGREE ON GLOBAL RESPONSE
Ê Leaders of the G20 nations announce a host of measures they say should help lift the global economy, but defer many of the trickiest decisions or forward them to international institutions unaccustomed to the responsibility.
US GEITHNER REJECTS IDEA OF GLOBAL REGULATOR
Ê U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says there are encouraging signs on the economy but that more effort is needed to ensure recovery, and rebuffs a European move for more intrusive global financial regulation.
STANDARD CHARTERED IN $10B TRADE FINANCE SUPPORT
Ê Standard Chartered Chief Executive Peter Sands says that the bank has entered a partnership with the World Bank to support emerging market banks with up to $10 billion in trade finance.
BP FACES NEW ALASKA LAWSUITS AS ENDGAME NEARS
Ê A double-whammy of civil lawsuits from the federal and Alaska state governments over oil spills is unearthing ghosts from BP 's recent past. The lawsuits may also represent one of the final stretches in a saga of litigation stemming from 2005.
======= DOW JONES NEWSWIRES ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARIES =======
MARK TO MARKET
There Are 700,000 Sad Stories In Jobs Report Ê Jim Murphy says analysts expect Friday's March U.S. jobs report to tell a tale of almost unprecedented diminution of nonfarm payrolls, with forecasts of many moving beyond 650,000 job losses to 700,000 and beyond.
TAKING STOCK
US Puts Bankers On Their Honor Ê Allowing bankers flights of valuation fantasy was a big part of what got us into this mess in the first place, says David Cottle. So why has the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board just relaxed the rules on asset valuation?
============ U.S. MARKETS ACTION ===========
DJIA 7978.08 from Thursday
NASDAQ 1602.63 from Thursday
S&P 500 834.38 from Thursday
10-year T-note 99 19/32 at 2.799 yield dn
074
NYMEX Crude down $0.72 at $51.89/bbl
Euro/Dollar down 0.0068 at 1.3399
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