US stocks fall ahead of earnings season kickoff

U.S. stocks closed lower Tuesday as traders awaited the start of the corporate earnings season.The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 55.44 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,328.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.74, or 0.3 percent, to 1,457.15. The Nasdaq composite index shed 7.01, or 0.2 percent, to 3,091.81.Alcoa reported its fourth-quarter financial results after the market closed,...

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TSX flat as Goldcorp offsets softer energy stocks

TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index finished little changed on Tuesday, with weakness in the energy sector offset by Goldcorp Inc stock, following an update on the company's production outlook and a plan to be more transparent on how it reports mining costs.Investor sentiment was cautious at the start of the U.S. earnings season with U.S. stocks retreating from last week's rally to five-year...

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Alcoa earnings as expected, revenue tops forecasts

NEW YORK (AP) — Alcoa Inc. on Tuesday reported fourth-quarter earnings that met Wall Street's expectations, and the company said it expects slightly higher demand for aluminum this year.The sluggish global economy has weakened prices for aluminum used in everything from airplanes to soda cans.But Alcoa forecast demand growing 7 percent in 2013, up from a 6 percent gain in 2012. It sees the best prospects...

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Lilly 2013 profit forecast tops expectations

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Lilly and Co. unveiled a better-than-expected 2013 earnings forecast Friday, in part because the pharmaceutical company expects growth from several established drugs to help make up for revenue lost to generic competition.The Indianapolis drug developer saw sales for its all-time best-selling drug, the antipsychotics Zyprexa, crater in 2012 after it lost U.S. patent protection....

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IMF cuts Malawi 2013 growth forecast on inflation, drought

The International Monetary Fund expects Malawi's economy to grow by 5.5 percent this year, more than double the rate estimated for 2012, but slightly lower than the 5.7 percent the IMF had previously projected.IMF head Christine Lagarde said a spike in inflation, lower-than-expected foreign exchange earnings and a drought that has cut into farm production have hurt the economy. But she was optimistic...

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RIM shares fall at the open after earnings

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd fell in early trading on Friday following the BlackBerry maker's Thursday earnings announcement, when the company outlined plans to change the way it charges for services.RIM, pushing to revive its fortunes with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 devices next month, surprised investors when it said it plans to alter its service revenue model, a move that...

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Walgreen fiscal 1Q profit sinks nearly 26 pct

Walgreen's fiscal first-quarter earnings sank nearly 26 percent as costs tied to a couple big deals and Superstorm Sandy helped put a bigger-than-expected dent in the drugstore chain's performance.CEO Greg Wasson told analysts he saw the quarter as a "turning point" for the Deerfield, Ill., company, which has been working to recapture customers it lost during a contract dispute with Express Scripts...

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Nigeria's Dangote Cement expects 38 pct rise in Q1 profit

LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's biggest listed company, Dangote Cement, expects pretax profit to rise 38.9 percent year-on-year to 42.09 billion naira in the first three months of next year, it said in a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange.Dangote Cement, Nigeria's biggest cement producer, said it expected turnover of around 81.6 billion naira in the first quarter, compared with 64.1 billion naira...

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Fed split on stimulus plans nudges stocks lower

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are fading into the close of trading on Wall Street after the Federal Reserve revealed a split among its policymakers over how long to continue an economic stimulus program.The market started on a weak note Thursday following mixed holiday sales reports from retailers and the prospect of another fiscal fight looming in Congress over the nation's borrowing limit.The Dow Jones...

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Fed becoming worried about stimulus side effects

Federal Reserve officials are increasingly concerned about the potential risks of the U.S. central bank's asset purchases on financial markets, even if they look set to continue an open-ended stimulus program for now.In a surprise to Wall Street, minutes from the Fed's December policy meeting, published on Thursday, showed a growing reticence about further increases in the central bank's $2.9 trillion...

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Stocks fade after Fed discloses split on stimulus

A two-day rally in the stock market came to an end Thursday afternoon when an account of the Federal Reserve's last meeting revealed a split between bank officials over how long the Fed should keep buying bonds to support the economy.The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 index treaded water for much of the day, then slid into the red around 2 p.m. Eastern, after the Fed...

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How the Dow Jones industrial average fared

A two-day rally in the stock market came to an end Thursday afternoon when an account of the Federal Reserve's last meeting revealed a split between bank officials over how long the Fed should keep buying bonds to support the economy.The Dow Jones industrial average lost 21.19, or 0.2 percent, to 13,391.36.The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3.05, or 0.2 percent, to 1,459.37.The Nasdaq composite...

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Data-feed glitch leaves some traders in dark on Nasdaq prices

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A technical glitch caused an outage of around 15 minutes on real-time prices for Nasdaq listed stocks, including Apple Inc and Google Inc , for many investors on Thursday, traders and multiple industry sources said.Nasdaq said at 1:42 p.m. in an alert to traders that it was investigating an issue involving the Universal Trading Platform's (UTP) centralized securities information...

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Wall Street ends 2012 riding high on "cliff" deal optimism

 U.S. stocks closed out 2012 with their strongest day in more than a month, putting the S&P 500 up 13.4 percent for the year, as lawmakers in Washington closed in on a resolution to the "fiscal cliff" negotiations.The S&P 500's gain for the year marks its best performance since 2009, as stocks navigated through debt crises in Europe and the United States that dominated the headlines....

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Stocks open lower as lawmakers doubt budget deal

Stocks are opening lower on Wall Street amid concern that lawmakers will fail to reach a deal to stop the U.S. going over the so-called fiscal cliff.The Dow Jones industrial average is down 39 points at 13,151. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is off four points at 1,426. The Nasdaq composite is down six points at 3,013.Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that it is now "more likely we'll go over the...

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Stocks fall as lawmakers doubt budget deal

Stocks are down Wall Street amid concern that lawmakers will fail to reach a deal to stop the U.S. going over the so-called fiscal cliff.The Dow Jones industrial average is down 32 points at 13,158. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is off four points at 1,426. The Nasdaq composite is down nine points at 3,012.Sen. Joe Lieberman said Sunday that it "It's the first time that I feel it's more likely...

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New Jersey pension fund sues NYSE Euronext on ICE deal

 A pension fund that holds shares of NYSE Euronext has sued the exchange operator over its proposed $8.2 billion sale to IntercontinentalExchange Inc , saying the deal undervalues the company's stock.The New Jersey Carpenters Pension Fund late on Friday filed a complaint in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan contending that NYSE Euronext breached its duty to maximize returns for shareholders....

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U.S. may expand mortgage refinance program: WSJ

The U.S. government is considering expanding its mortgage refinancing program to include borrowers whose mortgages are not backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the discussions. (http://link.reuters.com/mej84t)The refinancing program now being considered also seeks to include "underwater" borrowers who owe more than their homes are worth,...

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TEXT-S&P summary: Chartis Singapore Insurance Pte. Ltd.

Dec 26 -===============================================================================Summary analysis -- Chartis Singapore Insurance Pte. Ltd. --------- 26-Dec-2012===============================================================================CREDIT RATING: Country: SingaporeLocal currency A/Stable/--===============================================================================Credit Rating History:Local...

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Ugandan shilling steady, seen weaker after Christmas holiday

KAMPALA (Reuters) - The Ugandan shilling was unchanged against the dollar on Friday but traders said they expected it to weaken once more active trading resumed next year. At 1238 GMT commercial banks in Kampala quoted the currency of east Africa's third-largest economy at 2,645/2,655, unchanged from Thursday's close. "The market is pretty flat because (dollar) demand is not there but going into 2013...

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