Top 10 News Items 5/14-5/18: Concerning Facebook IPO Has Traders Shaking Their Heads; European Fears Control US Stocks; GE Capital Pays Dividend
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Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:
1. Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) hit Wall Street this week -- and what an opening day it was... After pricing at $38, rumors of very lofty opening prices swarmed the market, but the stock eventually opened at $42.05, however, not without widespread issues. The stock was supposed to begin trading at 11am ET, but problems at the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) exchange kept the stock locked up until after 11:30. Shares almost immediately tested the $38 level just 20 minutes later but bounced to near the $42 level by the afternoon. The stock closed right at $38, certainly an extreme battleground for underwriters.
2. Stocks closed lower every day this as week as fears across Europe weighed heavily on the minds of US traders. The S&P 500 fell more than 4 percent, closing below an important technical and psychological level at 1,300. Worries surrounded bank runs in both Greece and Spain. Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks and Santander UK on Thursday. Data this week showed Spain officially entered a recession last quarter.
3. GE Capital delivered a dividend to its parent General Electric (NYSE: GE) this week, sending shares up more than 3 percent on Wednesday. The quarterly dividend totaled $475 million. The dividend was the first payment made since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. GECC also said it plans to pay a $4.5 billion special dividend sometime this year.
4. The minutes from the Fed's latest FOMC meeting showed several
members of the Committee pointed at further easing if the recovery in the US wanes. The minutes make it clear most members were comfortable with the levels of inflation seen in the U.S., although some expressed concern a moderate recovery could cause inflation to rise. Click here to see the full minutes.
5. The Ira Sohn Conference had numerous stocks moving sharply up or down this week. The Conference brings together some of the top fund managers, with each presenting long or short investment ideas. While DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach pressed his short bet on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital stole the show. After saying Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE: MLM) had a number of problems, the stock plunged and was promptly halted on a volatility circuit breaker. The stock fell more than 8 percent on Wednesday, added another 3 percent to the downside on Thursday, but bounced more than 2.5 percent on Friday. Einhorn also showed bearishness toward Dick's (NYSE: DKS) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), but seemed bullish on none other than Apple.
6. Shares of Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) rose nearly 9 percent on Friday after posting beat and raise results. The company said EPS came in at 37 cents on sales of $695 million. The company is looking for FY13 sales of $2.97-$3 billion. Click here to see our full report.
7. With quarterly 13F filings hitting the Street this week, investors turned to The Oracle himself, Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway formed positions in GM (NYSE: GM) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA-B) to name a few.
8. Third Point's Dan Loeb got his way this week as Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) decided to remove CEO Scott Thompson following controversy over incorrect school credentials. While the news buoyed Yahoo! shares, rumors the company could sell a 20 percent stake in Alibaba for around $7 billion pushed the stock up almost 4 percent on Friday.
9. Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) shares rallied 18.5 percent (ahead of the results) Monday and added another 10-plus percent over Tuesday and Wednesday's sessions. The company posted Q1 EPS of 2 cents, better than the 1 cent estimate, on sales of $559.3 million. Groupon execs are looking for sales of $550-$590 million and net income of $25-$45 million. Word FINRA is investigating the preemptive sharp move higher on Monday took shares down by 5 percent on Thursday and another 6.7 percent on Friday.
10. Shares of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) plunged nearly 20 percent on Wednesday after disappointing quarterly results. The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.02, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.01. Revenue for the quarter came in at $559.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $530.82 million. Sees net income of $25-$45 million. Groupon sees Q2 2012 revenue of $550-$590 million, versus the consensus of $558.7 million.
1. Shares of Facebook (Nasdaq: FB) hit Wall Street this week -- and what an opening day it was... After pricing at $38, rumors of very lofty opening prices swarmed the market, but the stock eventually opened at $42.05, however, not without widespread issues. The stock was supposed to begin trading at 11am ET, but problems at the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) exchange kept the stock locked up until after 11:30. Shares almost immediately tested the $38 level just 20 minutes later but bounced to near the $42 level by the afternoon. The stock closed right at $38, certainly an extreme battleground for underwriters.
2. Stocks closed lower every day this as week as fears across Europe weighed heavily on the minds of US traders. The S&P 500 fell more than 4 percent, closing below an important technical and psychological level at 1,300. Worries surrounded bank runs in both Greece and Spain. Moody's downgraded 16 Spanish banks and Santander UK on Thursday. Data this week showed Spain officially entered a recession last quarter.
3. GE Capital delivered a dividend to its parent General Electric (NYSE: GE) this week, sending shares up more than 3 percent on Wednesday. The quarterly dividend totaled $475 million. The dividend was the first payment made since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. GECC also said it plans to pay a $4.5 billion special dividend sometime this year.
4. The minutes from the Fed's latest FOMC meeting showed several
members of the Committee pointed at further easing if the recovery in the US wanes. The minutes make it clear most members were comfortable with the levels of inflation seen in the U.S., although some expressed concern a moderate recovery could cause inflation to rise. Click here to see the full minutes.
5. The Ira Sohn Conference had numerous stocks moving sharply up or down this week. The Conference brings together some of the top fund managers, with each presenting long or short investment ideas. While DoubleLine Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach pressed his short bet on Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL), David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital stole the show. After saying Martin Marietta Materials (NYSE: MLM) had a number of problems, the stock plunged and was promptly halted on a volatility circuit breaker. The stock fell more than 8 percent on Wednesday, added another 3 percent to the downside on Thursday, but bounced more than 2.5 percent on Friday. Einhorn also showed bearishness toward Dick's (NYSE: DKS) and Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN), but seemed bullish on none other than Apple.
6. Shares of Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM) rose nearly 9 percent on Friday after posting beat and raise results. The company said EPS came in at 37 cents on sales of $695 million. The company is looking for FY13 sales of $2.97-$3 billion. Click here to see our full report.
7. With quarterly 13F filings hitting the Street this week, investors turned to The Oracle himself, Warren Buffett. Berkshire Hathaway formed positions in GM (NYSE: GM) and Viacom (NYSE: VIA-B) to name a few.
8. Third Point's Dan Loeb got his way this week as Yahoo! (Nasdaq: YHOO) decided to remove CEO Scott Thompson following controversy over incorrect school credentials. While the news buoyed Yahoo! shares, rumors the company could sell a 20 percent stake in Alibaba for around $7 billion pushed the stock up almost 4 percent on Friday.
9. Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) shares rallied 18.5 percent (ahead of the results) Monday and added another 10-plus percent over Tuesday and Wednesday's sessions. The company posted Q1 EPS of 2 cents, better than the 1 cent estimate, on sales of $559.3 million. Groupon execs are looking for sales of $550-$590 million and net income of $25-$45 million. Word FINRA is investigating the preemptive sharp move higher on Monday took shares down by 5 percent on Thursday and another 6.7 percent on Friday.
10. Shares of JCPenney (NYSE: JCP) plunged nearly 20 percent on Wednesday after disappointing quarterly results. The company reported Q1 EPS of $0.02, $0.01 better than the analyst estimate of $0.01. Revenue for the quarter came in at $559.3 million versus the consensus estimate of $530.82 million. Sees net income of $25-$45 million. Groupon sees Q2 2012 revenue of $550-$590 million, versus the consensus of $558.7 million.
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