Results-packed week for USA Inc
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Financial results from major US firms will this week give investors an indication of how sky-high oil prices are affecting the economy.
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(InfoWorld) - Mergers and acquisitions and several strong financial reports excited IT investors this week, even as concerns about the U.S. economy continue to roil the stock market. The U.S. Federal Reserve Board decision Tuesday to cut interest rates gave a temporary boost to stock exchanges and benefitted bellwether IT companies, such as Google, Research in Motion, and Dell, which all posted share gains after the Fed's move. Since mid-quarter, investors have dumped shares, including those of IT vendors, as concerns about the faltering U.S. housing sector, mortgage payment failures, and related worries about the credit market have grown.The Fed's move was meant to allay worries about a potential tightening of credit, which is often expected to dampen business and consumer spending. But economic concerns have not appeared to slow the pace of M&A among IT vendors themselves. For example, to expand its foothold in the U.S.,Â T-Mobile announced Monday that it will buy SunCom WirelessÂ for $2.4 billion. SunCom Wireless jumped $3.65 to close at $25.65 after the announcement. Yahoo also helped the week start off with a bang, announcing a $350 million acquisition in the hot software-as-a-service market.Â Yahoo is buying Zimbra, which offers a hosted collaboration and messaging software suite. Yahoo shares closed Monday at $24.95, up by $0.22. There were a host of other M&A news, including Monday's announcement by InfoSpace, that it would sell its Switchboard.com online directory business for $225 million to Idearc, a print and online directory publisher. InfoSpace shares soared $4.13 to close at $17.38 on the news. Meanwhile Leap WirelessÂ rejected an unsolicited buyout offer from cell phone rival MetroPCS, saying the $4.7 billion bid underestimates Leap's growth potential. Generally, M&A news boosts investor confidence because it is taken as a sign that the vendors themselves are certain enough about new technology to bet big on it. Other good news this week came from software bellwetherÂ Oracle, which Thursday announced that strong database, middleware and services revenue helped bring net income for its first fiscal quarter to $840 million, a 25 percent jump from the year-earlier period. In the hardware arena, Best BuyÂ reported Tuesday that due in part to strong sales of computers, net income rose to $250 million for the quarter ended Sept. 1, compared with $230 million a year earlier. Gartner offered more good news for hardware, predicting in a report Thursday that lower prices and the improved performance of laptops will fuel continued growth in PC sales. Worldwide PC shipments will grow 12.3 percent this year, Gartner said.
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Universal Technical Institute posts strong results.
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Stocks resumed the weekâs rally as Wall Street drew confidence from strong earnings from Oracle.
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European and Asian markets rallied Friday near the end of a tumultuous trading week as investors took heart from Wall's Street's gains overnight and positive U.S. labor market data.
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A look at the stocks that saw serious volatility last week.
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Wall Street's quarterly earnings  frenzy is starting to taper off, but U.S. stock investors will  still have plenty of numbers to watch next week. Several media  giants as well as beverage and snack foods company PepsiCo Inc.   and forest products company Weyerhaeuser Co.  are  among those planning to announce results in the week ahead.
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Wall Street's quarterly earnings frenzy is starting to taper off, but U.S. stock investors will still have plenty of numbers to watch next week. Several media giants as well as beverage and snack foods company PepsiCo Inc.  and forest products company Weyerhaeuser Co.  are among those planning to announce results in the week ahead.
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We track the week in private equity in search of Rule Breakers of the future.
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More than a few companies that you know -- and possibly own -- will be reporting earnings in the week ahead.
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From the looks of it, retail insiders were busy last week.
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WALL Street weathered a variety of bad news this week, managing a positive showing by the blue-chip Dow Jones and broader S&amp;P 500.
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Stocks rallied on Friday as strong results from Research in Motion lifted the technology sector while a report of another overseas investment in a U.S. investment bank boosted financial stocks.
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Stock markets powered ahead while government bonds suffered yesterday as financial markets around the world signalled relief at the emerging clarity, and the result, of the US presidential election.
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The FTSE 100 ended the week on a positive note thanks to a powerful performance from the heavyweight oil sector.
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Mergers and acquisitions and several strong financial reports excited IT investors this week, even as concerns about the U.S. economy continue to roil the stock market.
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European stocks have soared as participants seized on positive earnings news, unchanged US interest rates and encouraging signs that the US economy was on track.