Wall Street Breakfast: Microsoft Profit Stung By Sluggish Windows Economy The ruble has recovered slightly, trading at 67.79 per dollar, after ending Mondays session over 6% lower at 68.79. The plunge followed yesterdays move by S&P to downgrade Russias sovereign rating to junk due to weak economic growth prospects, low oil prices and Western sanctions. Russian share indexes opened lower this morning, although the ruble-based MICEX is now up by 1.6%, while the dollar-based RTS is still down by 0.8%. Following comments from the Swiss National Banks Vice President Jean-Pierre Danthine, the franc fell today to its weakest level against the euro since the SNB abandoned its exchange-rate cap on Jan. 15. We’re fundamentally prepared, Danthine told Swiss newspaper TagesAnzeiger. The central bank...remains ready to intervene in the currency market. The euro jumped to 1.03826 against the franc from 1.0150 in early trading. Brent crude prices steadied above $48 a barrel today, recovering from earlier losses as the dollar weakened against the euro. Prices were also supported after OPECs Secretary-General, Abdullah al-Badri, commented yesterday that prices may have bottomed and warned of a risk of a future jump to $200 a barrel if investment in new supplies was too low. Brent is 0.7% higher at $48.49/bbl, while WTI is up 0.6% at $45.40. Stocks Microsoft reported a fall in its quarterly profit that was in line with Wall Street forecasts, as the company struggled with the impact of a strong U.S. dollar and reduced demand for Windows software due to slumping personal computer sales. Net profit came in at $5.86B compared with $6.56B in the year-ago quarter. Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) also set its financial forecast for the remainder of the fiscal year, which ends in June, below Wall Street estimates. MSFT -6.8% premarket. Democrats in the U.S. Senate blocked the Keystone XL (NYSE:TRP) pipeline bill from moving forward on Monday, prolonging the chamber’s debate over the project. Senators voted 53-39 against a motion that would have allowed a vote on a final bill; it needed 60 to pass. Citing a continuing review process by the State Department, the White House has said President Obama would veto the measure should it reach his desk. Petrobras may take a charge of about 52B reais ($20B) in its overdue third-quarter results to reduce the value of some assets, Reuters reports quoting a Veja magazine blog. The impairment equals 42% of the market value of the company. Petrobras (NYSE:PBR) has delayed the results since November due to a corruption scandal that has so far led to the arrest of 40 people. Carnival has signed a memorandum of understanding with China Merchants Group to explore the creation China’s first domestic line, and will also collaborate on port development in the country. Considered the biggest growth market for the industry, cruise line operators are rushing to China. Carnival (NYSE:CCL) alone expects to run four ships carrying 500K passengers annually in the region this year, more than doubling capacity since 2013. Although reporting fourth-quarter earnings in line with expectations, Philips (NYSE:PHG) has announced that it will miss 2016 sales and earnings targets by 1% due to shipment delays, currency impacts and some weakening markets. Net profit fell to €134M ($150.69M) in the three months to end-December, down sharply from €412M in the same period a year earlier. Philips also expects up to €400M ($449M) in restructuring costs this year as it prepares to spin off its lighting division. Siemens net profit for its first quarter slid nearly 25%, hurt in part by economic challenges in Europe and the drop in global crude prices. Facing questions about the companys $7.6B takeover of oilfield equipment Dresser-Rand (NYSE:DRC), Siemens (OTCPK:SIEGY) CEO Joe Kaeser defended the move despite a low oil price environment. Absolutely it does make sense, declared Kaeser in a CNBC interview. We are in here through the cycle and we are in here for the long term. Aer Lingus says its board of directors would be willing to recommend that shareholders accept the latest takeover bid from International Consolidated Airlines Group (OTCPK:ICAGY), the owner of British Airways and Iberia, if certain conditions were met. The Irish carrier previously rejected two takeover offers late last year. IAG needs to win the backing of budget airline Ryanair (NASDAQ:RYAAY), which holds a 29.8% stake in Aer Lingus (OTC:AIRXY), and the Irish government, which holds a 25.1% stake. The casino operating unit of Caesars Entertainment should be allowed to choose where to file for bankruptcy even if it misbehaved, the companys lawyers argued on Monday. Creditors have alleged that Caesars (NASDAQ:CZR) looted its operating company of $3.6B in assets, leaving it unable to pay its debts. Hoping for a less favorable ruling regarding Caesars debt-cutting plan, creditors are trying to move the Chicago case to Delaware, where they have attempted to push the company into bankruptcy.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 13:46:42 +0000