Futures waver before earnings season kicks off
The IMF downgrades its global outlook. Spain's bailout plans remain uncertain. Small-business optimism declines. Alcoa reports after the close.
By Andrea Tse
Stock futures were wavering Tuesday ahead of the start of the new earnings season, and amid a downgrade of global growth estimates from the International Monetary Fund.
Meanwhile Spain's bailout plans remained uncertain.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) were up by 5 points at 13,506. S&P 500 ($INX) futures were up by 0.90 points at 1,451. Futures for the Nasdaq ($COMPX) were falling by 2.50 points to 2,775.
The International Monetary Fund said in its latest World Economic Outlook, unveiled in Tokyo ahead of meetings this week of global finance chiefs in the city, that the global economy could grow 3.3% in 2012 and 3.6% in 2013, below its prior forecasts of 3.5% this year and 3.9% next year. However, prospects could improve if clouds over the eurozone and the U.S. "fiscal cliff" are lifted, the report added.
The major U.S. stock averages fell Monday with investors ill at ease about the possible outcome of a two-day meeting between European finance ministers and the World Bank's downgrade of China and East Asia's growth prospects.
On the U.S. economic front Tuesday, the National Federation of Independent Business' small business optimism index fell to 92.8 in September from 92.9 in August.
On the corporate front, Alcoa (AA), the first component of the Dow to report each quarter, is expected by analysts after Tuesday's closing bell to post third-quarter earnings at breakeven on a per-share basis.
Revenue for the aluminum maker is expected at $5.57 billion.
Yum Brands (YUM), the owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, is expected by analysts to post quarterly earnings of 97 cents a share on revenue of $3.66 billion.
Edwards Lifesciences (EW), the heart valve maker, provided a weak outlook for the third quarter on Monday, citing the impact of austerity measures in Europe and other factors.
The company expects sales of $448 million in the September-ended quarter, below its previous targeted range of between $465 million to $485 million. Wall Street's consensus estimate is for revenue of $476.6 million in the quarter.
Power and hand tools supplier Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) reached an agreement to sell its hardware and home-improvement unit to Spectrum Brands (SPB) for $1.4 billion in cash.
AngioDynamics (ANGO) posted a fiscal first-quarter loss on Monday of 2 cents a share; analysts had expected the medical instruments maker to post earnings of 9 cents a share.
AngioDynamics also announced plans to buy Vortex Medical for $15 million.
Principal Financial (PFG), the insurance company, announced Monday it agreed to buy Chile's AFP Cuprum, a pension company, for $1.5 billion.
Homeopathic and health products company ProPhase Labs (PRPH) was offered a sweetened proposal of $1.60 a share in cash from Matrixx Initiatives, which was 14% above the previous offer of $1.40 that was turned down by ProPhase.
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the early earth forming evidence is a great topic to research. if i ever win the lotto or retire i'd like to take several courses on the subject. key details help earth become "earth". such as a giant planet like jupiter to be out there collecting comets that would otherwise destroy life all too often.
note the comet that slammed jupiter around 2000? a planet killer!
also the moon is rather large for the size of earth and as such is another collector of meteors. another way to collect debris before it hits us.
there's a thinking that comets slamming earth provided the ocean's waters. another concept that the comets contain some "seed DNA" and that is how life is spread thru the cosmos.
slowly gathering evidence helps walk the science thinking in these directions.
my low budget observation is the gulf of mexico is an old meteor site. "it's round" and the sand is extremely fine. turned out roughly 1987 "they" found evidence in cancoon mexico of sea life atop some mountains to help indicate how far some particulates traveled.
if you ever get the chance, go see the meteor crater in arizona south east of the grand canyon. a wondeful region that makes you feel REAL small on th escale of things
re-tog: objects in motion stay in motion until acted upon by an outside source. (good old newton).
gravity invites orbits. unless you fall straight into a large object, you will orbit them. we all orbit the sun. the petty planets that couldn't do this ended up in the sun. impacts impart a torque on objects to spin them. we 'go round" because we were hit at least a few times to get our spin happening. asteroids, comets, all provided a spin to our earth.
V_L .....Not to be catty as you sometimes might accuse..
But I think you are overthinking the investment picture, get some advice from friends, financial guys and read and research...There is a wealth of knowledge here, if utilized and there are 100 other Financial locations....I use about 15, I like or prefer.
Investing on good Fundamentals and Diversification are key for me, but I make mistakes like everyone.
Investors, brokers, financial advisors,analysts and fund managers all make mistakes; If they don't admit it...THEY ARE LIARS.
I agree with the Gulf thing.....And a Large Comet did strike off the Yucatan area, ancient times.
Part of theory of changing climate and destroying dinosaurs...
But I think there was something bigger even further back, the Gulf area resembles an impact or hit area even if it was a glancing blow.
There are thousands of impact areas around the earth, many have been covered up or are only recognizable from space or high distance.
Meteor Park, AZ is one that we have been to at least twice??
iNTERESTING....Steve,..Now I'm picking up on the glancing blow part, which I can see in the way an object, strikes and normally spins or rotates off another object.
Hence, not striking the object but instead the atmosphere or gravitational field; And not being able to pull itself away from that pressure..
Maybe also explosions from the Sun, releasing particles (planets and moons) to orbit around the gravitational pull of the mass..
Not sure about impact strikes(we have had many), but I'm sure everything comes into play..
And I'm sure the "whole explanation" is far more complicated, then what we have came up with??
If shift is inevitable now, and every over-exploited commercial investment is now collapsing under the weight of abuse and excessive manipulation... where do you put your ill-gotten unearned cash?
Answer... back where you got it from. With a likely $1 QUADRILLION outstanding in currencies and instruments pretending to be currency... the sheer size of the bubble will cripple everyone except an obvious alternative... restore the Main Street economy, trash Wall Street. Before you fire back some dunderhead response... contemplate-- History. the ONLY solution that wasn't tried in ALL examples of Inflationist caused collapses, is restoring the suppressed. You can't take it with you, even if you're an oil baron on Kool Aid and think you can buy fresh human body parts and organs to replace your octogenarian geezer versions... you too will end up in a box where cash isn't king.
Wake up, losers... derivatives don't formulate to profit, shark bonds are bust and wiping out the hands that grow make shape and sell what feeds you, never made any sense. Go ahead and rename some pathetic city after you as you go broke rebuilding it, at least that's a legacy worth chasing. Being part of 1% of a devastated population victimized by your greed and stupidity is a lowlife goal. Aim higher.
Europe is toast. If your eggs are scrambled in it's financial implosion, your toast will come burnt whether you ordered it that way or not and no- you can't skip out on the bill.
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