Top 10 News Items 2/7-2/11: NYSE, Deutsche Boerse Merger Talks Shock the Market; Unrest Turns Into Celebration as Egypt's Mubarak Steps Down; Hot M&A Activity Continues
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Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. Shares of NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) surged more than 14% on Wednesday's trading session amid reports that the historic exchange and Deutsche Boerse are in so-called "advanced" merger talks. While the companies confirmed these talks, traders showed clear concern that an American icon in capitalism will be taken over. The most recent reports have Deutsche Boerse owning about 50-60% of the combined company. A CNBC report late-Friday said that the companies could announce a deal as early as Tuesday of next week.
2. Extreme unrest in Egypt continued for a third week in a row, and, as President Honsi Mubarak failed to bend to protester demands and step down on Thursday, it appeared that Friday would be the most volatile day yet. Fears were lessened on Friday as Vice President Suleiman announced that Mubarak officially passed the power on to him. Oil was very volatile over the week.
3. Widespread M&A activity continued this week: AOL (NYSE: AOL) purchased The Huffington Post on Monday fro $315 million, Danaher (NYSE: DHR) announced it would buy Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) for $83.50/share, Ensco (NYSE: ESV) and Pride (NYSE: PDE) will tie-up in a $7.3 billion deal, Herley Industries (Nasdaq: HRLY) will be bought by Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) in a $270 million deal, RehabCare (NYSE: RHB) will be acquired by Kindred (NYSE: KND) in a $1.3 billion deal and Conexant (Nasdaq: CNXT) moved 18% higher on Tuesday amid news that it received an offer in the $2.35-$2.45/share range.
4. On the earnings front, the following big name companies reported: Disney (NYSE: DIS), Coke (NYSE: KO), Pepsi (NYSE: PEP), Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI), Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) and Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN). Also, Sierra Wireless (Nasdaq: SWIR) shares tumbled amid a concerning quarterly report.
5. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares plummeted about 14% on Friday as
the company announced a partnership with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Investors are disappointed that the announcement didn't go as far as a merger, and Nokia decided not to use industry leading open software Android from Google.
6. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 5 come in at 383,000, vs. the economist estimate of 410,000. The prior week reading of 415,000 was revised to 419,000. Continuing claims for the week ended Jan. 29 come in at 3.888 million, vs. the consensus of 3.9 million. The prior week reading of 3.925 million was revised to 3.935 million.
7. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered an economic outlook before the Committee on the Budget this week, suggesting that unemployment will remain high "for some time." Bernanke also noted that fiscal health in the US has "deteriorate appreciably."
8. Another Fed-head, Jeffery Lacker, indicated his belief that the government's QE2 measure needs to be re-evaluated in light of the recent improvement in economic conditions.
9. An IPO for Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) hit the Street this week, marking the largest ever LBO-backed US offering. KMI shares closed this week's session at $30.98.
10. Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) touched $360 this week, but were hit by a wave of selling soon after as lackluster anecdotal evidence for the iPhone's Verizon (NYSE: VZ) launch began making the rounds. Rumors of Steve Jobs health issues also began swirling as the stock nose dived about 3% in just minutes. The stock closed this week's session at $356.85.
1. Shares of NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) surged more than 14% on Wednesday's trading session amid reports that the historic exchange and Deutsche Boerse are in so-called "advanced" merger talks. While the companies confirmed these talks, traders showed clear concern that an American icon in capitalism will be taken over. The most recent reports have Deutsche Boerse owning about 50-60% of the combined company. A CNBC report late-Friday said that the companies could announce a deal as early as Tuesday of next week.
2. Extreme unrest in Egypt continued for a third week in a row, and, as President Honsi Mubarak failed to bend to protester demands and step down on Thursday, it appeared that Friday would be the most volatile day yet. Fears were lessened on Friday as Vice President Suleiman announced that Mubarak officially passed the power on to him. Oil was very volatile over the week.
3. Widespread M&A activity continued this week: AOL (NYSE: AOL) purchased The Huffington Post on Monday fro $315 million, Danaher (NYSE: DHR) announced it would buy Beckman Coulter (NYSE: BEC) for $83.50/share, Ensco (NYSE: ESV) and Pride (NYSE: PDE) will tie-up in a $7.3 billion deal, Herley Industries (Nasdaq: HRLY) will be bought by Kratos (Nasdaq: KTOS) in a $270 million deal, RehabCare (NYSE: RHB) will be acquired by Kindred (NYSE: KND) in a $1.3 billion deal and Conexant (Nasdaq: CNXT) moved 18% higher on Tuesday amid news that it received an offer in the $2.35-$2.45/share range.
4. On the earnings front, the following big name companies reported: Disney (NYSE: DIS), Coke (NYSE: KO), Pepsi (NYSE: PEP), Cisco (Nasdaq: CSCO), Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI), Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Expedia (Nasdaq: EXPE) and Wynn Resorts (Nasdaq: WYNN). Also, Sierra Wireless (Nasdaq: SWIR) shares tumbled amid a concerning quarterly report.
5. Nokia (NYSE: NOK) shares plummeted about 14% on Friday as
the company announced a partnership with Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT). Investors are disappointed that the announcement didn't go as far as a merger, and Nokia decided not to use industry leading open software Android from Google.
6. Initial jobless claims for the week ended Feb. 5 come in at 383,000, vs. the economist estimate of 410,000. The prior week reading of 415,000 was revised to 419,000. Continuing claims for the week ended Jan. 29 come in at 3.888 million, vs. the consensus of 3.9 million. The prior week reading of 3.925 million was revised to 3.935 million.
7. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke offered an economic outlook before the Committee on the Budget this week, suggesting that unemployment will remain high "for some time." Bernanke also noted that fiscal health in the US has "deteriorate appreciably."
8. Another Fed-head, Jeffery Lacker, indicated his belief that the government's QE2 measure needs to be re-evaluated in light of the recent improvement in economic conditions.
9. An IPO for Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) hit the Street this week, marking the largest ever LBO-backed US offering. KMI shares closed this week's session at $30.98.
10. Shares of Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) touched $360 this week, but were hit by a wave of selling soon after as lackluster anecdotal evidence for the iPhone's Verizon (NYSE: VZ) launch began making the rounds. Rumors of Steve Jobs health issues also began swirling as the stock nose dived about 3% in just minutes. The stock closed this week's session at $356.85.
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