General News:
Labor data points
· Challenger layoffs were 42,897 in July vs. 37,718 a year ago.
· July hiring intentions were 200,067. Government accounted for 193,329 of the increase.
· July Hudson employment index was 105.8 vs. 101.2. This is strong.
· ADP shows 48,000 jobs. 100K was expected. Breakdown:
o Small business up 44,000
o Medium business up 17,000
o Large business down 13,000
o Goods sector down 41,000
o Service jobs up 89,000
o Manufacturing down 23,000
Asia/Europe:
Asia:
– Asian stocks slumped, extending a global equities rout, after Macquarie Bank Ltd. and Bear Stearns Cos. said funds may post losses as the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis spreads.
– The yen fell from a three-month high versus the euro after U.S. stocks rallied, allaying concern that losses in subprime mortgages will hurt credit markets and growth.
Europe:
– European stocks declined after Bear Stearns Cos. stopped investors from pulling money out of a hedge fund and Macquarie Bank Ltd. of Australia said two of its funds may post losses as the U.S. subprime-market rout spreads.
– Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest bank, said profit rose 31 percent, beating analysts’ estimates, as second-quarter trading revenue surged to a record.
– Sanofi-Aventis SA, Europe’s second- biggest drugmaker, reported profit that missed analysts’ estimates on reduced sales of its Ambien sleeping pill and announced a 3 billion-euro ($4.1 billion) share buyback.
– Cadbury Schweppes Plc, the world’s biggest candy maker, said profit margins won’t improve this year and turmoil in world credit markets may derail the sale of its U.S. soda unit. The shares fell the most in seven years.
Corporate News:
– Visteon Corp. (VC) reported a net loss of $67 million in the second quarter as it continued a multiyear restructuring plan and grappled with production cuts by North American automakers, including its largest customer, Ford.
– MasterCard Inc. (MA), the world’s No. 2 credit card franchise, said a rise in cardholder spending, especially abroad, helped it post a second-quarter profit that beat Wall Street predictions.
– Quarterly profits rose 5% at Time Warner Inc., as the media conglomerate reported strength in its cable unit and exceeded Wall Street’s earnings forecasts. The company also is set to spend another $5 billion buying back shares.
– Two Bear Stearns Cos. hedge funds heavily exposed to the flagging mortgage industry filed for bankruptcy protection late Tuesday, two weeks after the company told investors one was essentially worthless and the other had lost more than 90% of its value.
– Rupert Murdoch has sealed a deal to buy Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. for $5 billion, ending a century of family ownership and adding a crown jewel to his global media empire, News Corp (NWS).
