Top 10 News Items 9/28-10/02: Jobs Number Comes in Worse-Than-Expected; Ken Lewis to Retire from BofA at Year-End; Xerox Bids for ACS

October 2, 2009 4:04 PM EDT

Here is a recap of the top news items from this week on Wall Street:

1. The important September jobs number was released on Friday and as had been anticipated, was worse than expected. The data showed that the change in nonfarm payrolls for September was down 263,000, vs. the consensus of -175,000. The unemployment rate for the month came in at 9.8%, vs. the consensus of 9.8%. Although futures traded sharply lower, buyers stayed resilient and the market hung in there, vacillating around breakeven throughout most of the day.

2. On Wednesday, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) CEO Ken Lewis announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2009. Lewis had been under pressure due to the Merrill Lynch merger. No replacement has been named yet.

3. Xerox Corporation (NYSE: XRX) and Affiliated Computer Services, Inc. (NYSE: ACS) announced a definitive agreement for Xerox to acquire ACS in a cash and stock transaction valued at $63.11 per share or $6.4 billion as of the closing price of Xerox stock on Sept. 25. The market reaction was exaggerated to say the least: shares of Xerox sold-off by more than 14% on Monday while shares of ACS rallied 14%.

4. Comast (Nasdaq: CMCSA) could be a near a deal to acquire 51% of NBC Universal from GE (NYSE: GE). A deal has not been announced, but there have been subtle confirmations from the parties that something is in the works. It could still fall apart. Shares of Comcast rallied in the beginning of the week, but by Wednesday, when the talks were confirmed, shares sold-off about 12%, closing this week's trading session around $15.29.

5. CIT Group Inc. (NYSE: CIT) was a very fluid situation this week, related to a possible debt exchange or bankruptcy filing. Late Thursday, CIT commenced a restructuring of its capital structure that has been approved by the Company's Board of Directors and by the Steering Committee of CIT's bondholders. If the exchange offer is approved the current common shareholders will retain 2.5% of its common stock. If CIT files the prepackaged bankruptcy, the common could be worthless. On Tuesday, shares rose 32%, Wednesday the stock sank 45%, followed by a 12% slide on Thursday, and today, Friday, the stock jumped more than 10%.

6. A deal by Abbott (NYSE: ABT) on Monday added to strong upside sentiment in the market following several other M&A announcements. Abbott announced a definitive agreement to acquire Solvay's pharmaceuticals business for EUR 4.5 billion ($6.6 billion) in cash. Shares held up amid the news, finishing the week almost 7% higher.

7. After seeing a 15% run-up in the third quarter, stocks started out the fourth quarter with a thud. On Thursday, the Dow fell 203 points, or 2.1%, to 9509, the Nasdaq lost 65 points, and the S&P 50 lost 27 points.

8. Penske Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE: PAG) terminated its discussions with General Motors Company to acquire the Saturn brand. Related to this news, GM said it would wind down the Saturn brand and dealerships. Shares of Penske plunged more than 20% to close the week.

9. Auto and truck sales for the month of September were issued Thursday, showing that automakers are missing the temporary boost provided by the Cash for Clunkers program last month. GM - saw sales plummet about 45% from the same period last year. Total autos sold came in at 156,673. Toyota (NYSE: TM) - reported an adjusted 16.1% drop in sales, or 13% on an unadjusted basis. Total units for the month came in at 126,015. Ford (NYSE: F) - sales fell from 120,355 last year to 114,241 this year, a relatively modest 5.1% decline. Honda (NYSE: HMC) - sales fell 23.3% during the month, with total units coming in at 77,229. Chrysler - reported a 42% drop in auto sales. The total number of units sold was 62,197. On a positive note, however, Chrysler announced that its U.S. market share rose during the month. Nissan - last month, total sales in the U.S. fell 7% to 55,393.

10. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil won the International Olympic Committee's bid to host the 2016 summer Olympics. The final four candidates were: Madrid, Chicago, Tokyo and Rio. The iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF (NYSE: EWZ), or the EWZ, rose 2% today on the news.

Create E-mail AlertRelated Categories

Special Reports

Stocks Mentioned

Related Entities

• Chrysler LLC
• Nonfarm Payrolls
• Merrill Lynch
• Bank of America
• Standard & Poor's
• StreetInsider.com Top 10 News Items for the Week
• Bankruptcy
• Layoffs

Add Your Comment

Name

Subject

Body

Verification can't see the text?
click here to refresh the image.
what's this?