Top 10 News Items 12/13-12/17: $858B Tax-Cut Bill Signed; Best Buy Tanks on Concerning Q3 Results; Visa, MasterCard Tumble As Durbin Strikes Back
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Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. President Obama signed into law the $858 billion bill which extends the Bush-era tax cuts on Friday of this week. The measure will extend all tax cuts on income, capital gains and dividends through 2012. Additionally, unemployment benefits will be extended for 13 months and the bill includes a one-year Social Security tax cut.
2. Shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) got whacked this week following disappointing Q3 results and FY11 guidance that came in below the Street. The stock tumbled nearly 15% on Tuesday, then another 2.9% on Wednesday. After closing last Friday's session at $41.80, the stock closed today at $34.27.
3. Two of the largest credit-card processors, Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA), plunged sharply late-Thursday following reports from the Fed that regulators are considering new rules governing debit card interchange fees and routing. Comments were requested on two alternative frameworks for assessing "reasonable and proportional" interchange fees, both which limit the maximum fee amount to 12 cents per transaction. Click here to see the full report.
4. BP (NYSE: BP) shares finished the week on a concerning note as, on Wednesday, news out of a federal court in New Orleans that the government is suing the oil-giant related to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The stock fell more than 2.5% to end the week.
5. Shares of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) rose 4% on Friday amid solid Q2 results: EPS came in at 51 cents, 5 cents better than what analysts were looking for, on sales of $8.6 billion, up 47% from the same quarter last year. The tech company also offered guidance which was about inline. Sees Q3 adj-EPS of 48-50c, which compares to the Street estimate of 47c. Sees non-GAAP sales growth of 31-35%.
6. Economic data points are starting to look positive: housing starts for November rose for the first time in three months, initial jobless claims fell unexpectedly to 420,000, and the Philly Fed index for December was much better-than-expected at 24.3.
7. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) posted a rare miss this week, however the stock held up relatively well. The company saw Q2 EPS of $1.16, about 15 cents lower than the Street, on sales of $9.63 billion, also below the Street. FedEx says it expects to report Q3 EPS of 95c-$1.15. The company boosted its FY11 outlook from $4.80-$5.25 to $5-$5.30.
8. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea (NYSE: GAP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. According to the release, A&P will continue to conduct its business and serve customers at its 395 stores. The Chapter 11 process is in effect to support the financial and operational restructuring of the company.
9. The FOMC statement came out this week, with the Fed leaving rates and language unchanged. The regulator also said it still expects to purchase $600 billion in assets by June. Click here to see the full statement.
10. On the M&A front: Novartis (NYSE: NVS) purchased the remaining shares of Alcon (NYSE: ACL) it did not already own, Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP) bought Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) for $5.50/share, Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO) agreed to buy Dionex (Nasdaq: DNEX) for $118.50/share in cash, and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) acquired Compellent (NYSE: CML) for $27.75/share.
1. President Obama signed into law the $858 billion bill which extends the Bush-era tax cuts on Friday of this week. The measure will extend all tax cuts on income, capital gains and dividends through 2012. Additionally, unemployment benefits will be extended for 13 months and the bill includes a one-year Social Security tax cut.
2. Shares of Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) got whacked this week following disappointing Q3 results and FY11 guidance that came in below the Street. The stock tumbled nearly 15% on Tuesday, then another 2.9% on Wednesday. After closing last Friday's session at $41.80, the stock closed today at $34.27.
3. Two of the largest credit-card processors, Visa (NYSE: V) and MasterCard (NYSE: MA), plunged sharply late-Thursday following reports from the Fed that regulators are considering new rules governing debit card interchange fees and routing. Comments were requested on two alternative frameworks for assessing "reasonable and proportional" interchange fees, both which limit the maximum fee amount to 12 cents per transaction. Click here to see the full report.
4. BP (NYSE: BP) shares finished the week on a concerning note as, on Wednesday, news out of a federal court in New Orleans that the government is suing the oil-giant related to the Gulf of Mexico disaster. The stock fell more than 2.5% to end the week.
5. Shares of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) rose 4% on Friday amid solid Q2 results: EPS came in at 51 cents, 5 cents better than what analysts were looking for, on sales of $8.6 billion, up 47% from the same quarter last year. The tech company also offered guidance which was about inline. Sees Q3 adj-EPS of 48-50c, which compares to the Street estimate of 47c. Sees non-GAAP sales growth of 31-35%.
6. Economic data points are starting to look positive: housing starts for November rose for the first time in three months, initial jobless claims fell unexpectedly to 420,000, and the Philly Fed index for December was much better-than-expected at 24.3.
7. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) posted a rare miss this week, however the stock held up relatively well. The company saw Q2 EPS of $1.16, about 15 cents lower than the Street, on sales of $9.63 billion, also below the Street. FedEx says it expects to report Q3 EPS of 95c-$1.15. The company boosted its FY11 outlook from $4.80-$5.25 to $5-$5.30.
8. Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea (NYSE: GAP) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. According to the release, A&P will continue to conduct its business and serve customers at its 395 stores. The Chapter 11 process is in effect to support the financial and operational restructuring of the company.
9. The FOMC statement came out this week, with the Fed leaving rates and language unchanged. The regulator also said it still expects to purchase $600 billion in assets by June. Click here to see the full statement.
10. On the M&A front: Novartis (NYSE: NVS) purchased the remaining shares of Alcon (NYSE: ACL) it did not already own, Icahn Enterprises (NYSE: IEP) bought Dynegy (NYSE: DYN) for $5.50/share, Thermo Fisher (NYSE: TMO) agreed to buy Dionex (Nasdaq: DNEX) for $118.50/share in cash, and Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) acquired Compellent (NYSE: CML) for $27.75/share.
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