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Active Deal Making in Quiet Trading
Dec 23, 4:13 PM EST |
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| Durable goods orders rose in November and new homes sales dropped 11%, largest drop in a decade. NBC raises its stake in MSNBC to 82%. |
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| Bond and gold markets were the only financial markets that showed normal level of activities. Bonds in thin trading rose as durable goods orders rose and new home sales declined. Gold advanced little but demand for gold remained high from India and Middle East. Pace of deal making did not slacken. Texas inst, Affiliated Computers, NBC, Tommy Hilfiger kept bankers busy. Natural gas price fell 10% for the week but copper traded at record and silver and gold traded near record levels. |
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NBC Universal to Control MSNBC
Dec 23, 2:49 PM EST |
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| NBC Universal raises its stake in MSNBC cable channel to 82%, another indication that Microsoft is increasing its focus on its core business. |
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| U.S. stocks traded in a low volume as it was expected with investors reluctant to make any significant moves ahead of the long holiday weekend. The averages modestly advanced at start but failed to build a significant upward momentum, despite news that orders to U.S. factories for big-ticket manufactured goods jumped by the largest amount in six months. In corporate news, Tommy Hilfiger agreed to be bought by Apax Partners for $16.80 a share, or $1.6 billion. |
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Sharp Decline in New Homes
Dec 23, 11:14 AM EST |
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| New home sales fell 11.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.245 million units. Orders for durable goods rose 4.4% after a 3% growth in Oct. |
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| Stock markets ticked up at opening on Ford Motor''''s health-care deal, merger-and-acquisition news, as well as economic data. Ahead of the Christmas holiday investors seem reluctant to make significant moves and only thin trading is expected. In earnings news, General Mills posted Q2 earnings rise of 97 cents a share, exceeding estimates, while American Greetings Corp missed estimates reporting Q3 profit decline, reflecting charges. |
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November Durable Goods Orders up 4.4%
Dec 23, 9:09 AM EST |
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| Crude oil prices slipped to $58.03 a barrel in subdued trading and warm weather forecast. European gold rose. The dollar was mixed. |
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| November orders for durable goods exceeded expectations with a rise of 4.4% due to orders for civilian aircraf, following a 3% increase in October. Asian-Pacific benchmarks finished mixed with the Nikkei closed in honor of the Emperor''s birthday. Taipei''s Weighted index surged 1.5%, South Korean Kospi climbed 0.6%, led by Samsung Electronics, up 1.7%. European stocks advanced at mid-day with London''s FTSE 100 hitting a four-year peak of 0.1% to 5,600. |
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