Top 10 News Items 09/17 - 09/21: Consumers Line UP for iPhone 5; Norfolk Southern Issues Warning; Noted Financial Exec Retires; BoJ Joins Easing Party


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September 21, 2012 4:03 PM EDT Send to a Friend
Top 10 News Items 09/17 - 09/21:
  1. Following strong pre-order numbers last Friday, Apple's (Nasdaq: AAPL) iPhone 5 went on sale in several markets September 21st. Mosts analysts were expecting sales of 6 million to 10 million units or more for the opening weekend.

    One of the bigger items that concerned analysts was Apple's cutting out Google Maps in favor of its own mapping system, which didn't get the hottest of reviews this week. Everything else about the device generally got a more favorable review.

    All week shares of Apple have been reaching news highs, culminating by hitting $705.07 on Friday.

    For more analyst comments on the launch of the iPhone 5 as well as sales expectations, click here.

  2. Norfolk Southern (NYSE: NSC) shook up some big names on Wednesday night, cutting expectations for the upcoming quarter. According to the company, third-quarter 2012 EPS will range from $1.18 to $1.25, versus $1.60 reported for the second quarter and $1.59 reported in the same period last year.

    The Street consensus was calling for EPS of $1.64.

    CSX Corp. (NYSE: CSX), Kansas City Southern (NYSE: KSU), Union Pacific (NYSE: UNP), and others were notably weaker for the rest of the week on the outlook.

  3. Long time Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) finance chief David Viniar announced retirement plans this week. Viniar will be retiring in January 2013, with current Securities Division global co-head Harvey M. Schwartz slated to assume the role.

    Viniar is a 32-year vet at Goldman, spending 12 as CFO of the firm. He will join Goldman's Board of Directors as a non-independent director following retirement. For more color on the move, click here.

  4. FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) reported a first-quarter earnings beat of 5 cents on Tuesday, which comes following lowered guidance for the quarter earlier in the month.

    Speaking of lowered guidance, that's exactly what FedEx offered investors on Tuesday, dropping its outlook for fiscal 2013 from $6.90 to $7.40 down to a new range of $6.20 to $6.60. The Street was modeling EPS of $7.04 at the time. For more on the results, click here.

  5. The Bank of Japan announced a new round of easing this week, joining several powerhouse economies in efforts to stimulus global economic growth. On Wednesday, the BoJ expanded its asset purchase program by about ¥10 trillion to a new level of ¥80 trillion. The amount is equivalent to roughly $126 billion, quite a substantial sum.

    Completion of the program is expected by the end of 2013.

  6. Yahoo, Inc. (Nasdaq: YHOO) will return $3.65 billion of proceeds on the Alibaba sale to shareholders, the company said this week. News comes following completion of the first sale of its Alibaba stake, which garnered $7.6 billion for about half the 40 percent Yahoo! was holding.

    Net cash proceeds after taxes and fees from the first stage of the repurchase agreement total approximately $4.3 billion.

    From the total $3.65 billion expected, Yahoo! will distribute $3 billion over the coming months, having doled-out $646 million in stock buybacks since the transaction was announced.

  7. Divdends-a-plenty for some big names this week. Among the more notable companies boosting payouts to shareholders were:
    • Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) by 15 percent to 92 cents annually, or 23 cents on a quarterly basis. As of the close Tuesday, the new dividend had a 3.3 percent yield;

    • McDonald's (NYSE: MCD) by 10 percent to 77 cents per quarter, also yielding 3.3 percent; and

    • Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN) by24 percent to 21 cents per share every three months. Yields on the dividend is just shy of 3 percent.
  8. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) began selling its new, versatile, Verismo single-serve coffee and espresso machine this week. Although Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz said the company was committed to Green Mountain (Nasdaq: GMCR) for its K-Cups, the machine clearly draws a line in the sand.

    Also, Green Mountains K-Cup patents expire this weekend. Shares ended lower six of the last eight sessions.

  9. According to the NAR, existing home sales rose 7.8 percent in August t a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) or 4.82 million, from 4.47 million in July. The number easily outpaced economist expectations for an increase to 4.58 million.

    August existing sales were also 9.3 percent above 4.41 million units last August.

    The numbers helped boost names like KB Home (NYSE: KBH), PulteGroup (NYSE: PHM), Beazer (NYSE: BZH), and others this week.

    For more color on the data, click here.

  10. Zillow (Nasdaq: Z) competitor Trulia, Inc. (NYSE: TRLA) conducted an IPO of its common stock Thursday, getting a warm reception in the process. After pricing at $17, which was above its expected range, shares ended the session up just over 41 percent to $24 flat. Shares eased Friday, closing about a percent lower from the prior session as profit taking commenced.

    Other IPOs on Thursday included Susser Petroleum Partners (NYSE: SUSP), National Bank Holdings (Nasdaq: NBHC), and Capital Bank Financial (Nasdaq: CBF).


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