General News:
– Housing starts are down 2.1%.
– Permits rose to 1.501 million.
– International Council of Shopping Centers report that sales fell 0.1% month over month and 1.9% year over year. They cite high gas prices as the culprit.
– USA Today is running a story that people in Minneapolis are walking away from their home because they owe more than the house is worth.
– Economic forecasters at UCLA predict that the US economy will slump this year because of falling house prices and rising gas prices.
– Bloomberg is reporting that Nigerian unions plan to start a strike unless the government reverses an increase in fuel prices.
– The Blackstone IPO is going to be priced on June 21st instead of June 25th.
Asia/Europe:
Asia:
– Tokyo department sales rose 0.7%, but nationwide sales fell 0.4%.
– Bank of Japan’s, Fukui, said that Japan’s economy is moving in line with the April forecast.
– The Japanese government has admitted to losing 50 million records of contributors to Japan’s public pensions. The admission is quickly becoming a threat to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
– China will but its export tax rebate on July 1st, which will slow exports out of the country.
– China opened another 406,491 accounts as reported in the last period.
Europe:
– European Central Bank’s, Bini Smaghi, warned that structural reforms were still necessary despite a period of strong growth.
– Ryanair reported that air travel is soft and is getting worse.
– Cadbury Schweppes (CSG) is cutting 7500 jobs and is selling its US unit.
Corporate News:
– Humana Inc. (HUM) buys Compbenefits for $360 million.
– There was a management shake-up at Yahoo (YHOO). The co-founder, Jerry Yang, will replace Terry Semel as CEO.
– General Electric (GE) is purchasing Regency Energy Partners LP (RGNC).
– Boeing (BA) received 63 orders from ILFC worth $8.8 billion.
– FactSet Research Systems (FDS) reports strong numbers.
– Expedia (EXPE) will buyback $3.5 billion worth of shares.
– Nvidia (NVDA) is talking about buying back about $1 million worth of shares.
– Best Buy (BBY) says EPS is $0.39, $0.50 was expected.
– ASHW reports weak profits.
Favorable Comments:
– Textron Inc. (TXT) upgraded at Goldman.
– Mastercard (MA) and American Express (AXP) had their targets raised at Calyon.
– Knight Transportation (KNX) and Werner Enterprises (WERN) are upgraded at Wachovia.
– Gaming and lodging sectors are upgraded at CIBC based on M&A activity.
– Cigna (CI) upgraded at Bank of America.
Negative Comments:
– YRC Worldwide (YRCW) downgraded at Wachovia.
– Gannett (GCI) downgraded at Merrill Lynch.
– Wynn Resorts (WYNN) downgraded at Morgan Stanley.
– Isle of Capri Casinos (ISLE) downgraded at Matrix.
– Freeport-McMoRoan Copper & Gold (FCX) downgraded at Stifel.