Top 10 News Items 3/22-3/26: Healthcare Reform Bill Passed, IPO Market Heats Up, Jon Corzine to Return to Wall Street to Head MF Global
Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. Late Sunday evening, House Democrats passed the highly debated health care reform bill that will seek to provide health care for every American. The bill passed 219 to 212, with not one Republican voting in favor of the bill. The bill promises to fix the broken health care system, but those against it suggest it is fiscally irresponsible and will bankrupt the country. It is being called the most sweeping social change in more than four decades. Healthcare stocks initially jumped on the news, however sold-off to close this week's trading session (as measured by iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare ETF (NYSE: IYH).
2. Four hot IPO's commenced trading this week: MaxLinear (NYSE: MXL), First Interstate BancSystem (Nasdaq: FIBK), China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) and Calix Networks (Nasdaq: CALX). Could this week's action signal a long-awaited return to the IPO market?
3. MF Global Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: MF) announced on Tuesday that it has tapped former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) chairman, John Corzine as the firm's new chairman and chief executive officer. Shares of MF traded higher each day this week, adding about 15% to its stock value.
4. On the earnings front, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) reported quarterly earnings. Best Buy reported Q3 EPS of $0.53 on sales of $12 billion while Oracle reported inline Q3 EPS of $0.38. Shares of Best Buy traded about 4% higher amid the news and Oracle shares trade about 1% lower.
5. A deal which will see the European Union and the International Monetary Fund working together to bailout Greece has been backed by France and Germany, according to reports coming out of the Wall street Journal. At a summit of all 27 EU leaders in Brussels, an accord was reached that will direct a potential bailout of Greece, with the IMF contributing in a supporting role. Debt concerns related to the now-familiar PIIGS roiled markets this week, pushing the US dollar higher.
6. On Wednesday, Fitch cut its sovereign credit rating on Portugal by one notch to AA- from AA due to weak budgetary performance in 2009 and a forecast of further underperformance over next two years could result in another downgrade. After falling to new 10-month lows against the dollar, the euro dropped even further to $1.3342 from $1.3357 immediately following the news of the ratings downgrade in Portugal.
7. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) surprised loyal investors this week by announcing its first ever dividend. The company will pay shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per common share. The stock sold-off almost 5% through Wednesday and Thursday but rebounded on Friday.
8. Final revisions to Q4 GDP came in this week; the Commerce Department reported on Friday that the gross domestic product grew by 5.6 percent in the final three months of last year, revised down from the previous report of 5.9 percent. The reading was still the strongest showing for the GDP in six years.
9. Amid the high unemployment and job security concern, pressure is being felt in Congress to address the foreclosure crisis that is putting million of Americans at risk of losing their homes. President Barack Obama and the White House administration announced on Friday a broad series of new initiatives to help homeowners in a troubled housing market, including the potential refinancing of millions of home loans into government-backed securities that would provide lower payments. Another key initiative could include aid for those homeowners that currently are unemployed or seeking a job, while also encouraging lenders to write down the value of loans held by borrowers in modification programs.
10. Shares of Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) were halted early on Wednesday morning to announce news that the FDA had notified the company that, while the agency recognizes Genzyme’s efforts, it intends to take enforcement action to ensure that products manufactured at its Allston are made in compliance with good manufacturing practice regulations. The stock tumbled 6% on Wednesday and nearly 8% on Thursday.
1. Late Sunday evening, House Democrats passed the highly debated health care reform bill that will seek to provide health care for every American. The bill passed 219 to 212, with not one Republican voting in favor of the bill. The bill promises to fix the broken health care system, but those against it suggest it is fiscally irresponsible and will bankrupt the country. It is being called the most sweeping social change in more than four decades. Healthcare stocks initially jumped on the news, however sold-off to close this week's trading session (as measured by iShares Dow Jones US Healthcare ETF (NYSE: IYH).
2. Four hot IPO's commenced trading this week: MaxLinear (NYSE: MXL), First Interstate BancSystem (Nasdaq: FIBK), China Lodging Group (Nasdaq: HTHT) and Calix Networks (Nasdaq: CALX). Could this week's action signal a long-awaited return to the IPO market?
3. MF Global Holdings Ltd. (NYSE: MF) announced on Tuesday that it has tapped former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) chairman, John Corzine as the firm's new chairman and chief executive officer. Shares of MF traded higher each day this week, adding about 15% to its stock value.
4. On the earnings front, Best Buy (NYSE: BBY) and Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) reported quarterly earnings. Best Buy reported Q3 EPS of $0.53 on sales of $12 billion while Oracle reported inline Q3 EPS of $0.38. Shares of Best Buy traded about 4% higher amid the news and Oracle shares trade about 1% lower.
5. A deal which will see the European Union and the International Monetary Fund working together to bailout Greece has been backed by France and Germany, according to reports coming out of the Wall street Journal. At a summit of all 27 EU leaders in Brussels, an accord was reached that will direct a potential bailout of Greece, with the IMF contributing in a supporting role. Debt concerns related to the now-familiar PIIGS roiled markets this week, pushing the US dollar higher.
6. On Wednesday, Fitch cut its sovereign credit rating on Portugal by one notch to AA- from AA due to weak budgetary performance in 2009 and a forecast of further underperformance over next two years could result in another downgrade. After falling to new 10-month lows against the dollar, the euro dropped even further to $1.3342 from $1.3357 immediately following the news of the ratings downgrade in Portugal.
7. Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX) surprised loyal investors this week by announcing its first ever dividend. The company will pay shareholders a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per common share. The stock sold-off almost 5% through Wednesday and Thursday but rebounded on Friday.
8. Final revisions to Q4 GDP came in this week; the Commerce Department reported on Friday that the gross domestic product grew by 5.6 percent in the final three months of last year, revised down from the previous report of 5.9 percent. The reading was still the strongest showing for the GDP in six years.
9. Amid the high unemployment and job security concern, pressure is being felt in Congress to address the foreclosure crisis that is putting million of Americans at risk of losing their homes. President Barack Obama and the White House administration announced on Friday a broad series of new initiatives to help homeowners in a troubled housing market, including the potential refinancing of millions of home loans into government-backed securities that would provide lower payments. Another key initiative could include aid for those homeowners that currently are unemployed or seeking a job, while also encouraging lenders to write down the value of loans held by borrowers in modification programs.
10. Shares of Genzyme (Nasdaq: GENZ) were halted early on Wednesday morning to announce news that the FDA had notified the company that, while the agency recognizes Genzyme’s efforts, it intends to take enforcement action to ensure that products manufactured at its Allston are made in compliance with good manufacturing practice regulations. The stock tumbled 6% on Wednesday and nearly 8% on Thursday.
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