Archive for July 16th, 2009

BB&T is expected to announce a strong second quarter Friday, but Wall Street isn’t convinced its credit losses are as clean the regional bank’s books suggest.”BB&T will probably report a decent quarter tomorrow,” said FBR Capital Markets analyst Paul Miller, who expects earnings of 17 cents per share. “I wouldn’t be completely shocked if they… »

Once considered among the world’s safest stocks, the shine has come off General Electric in a hurry over the past two years and with second-quarter earnings due Friday, expectations are muted.The conglomerate slashed its dividend in February, drawing the ire of shareholders, many of them retirees that depend on quarterly payouts as a substantial portion… »

Paul Miller of FBR Capital Markets expects strong top-line numbers from Bank of America on Friday, especially coming out of Merrill Lynch. “It was much more active in the second quarter,” Miller said. “Trading revenue from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase were strong, and I don’t expect anything different from BofA.”On average, Wall Street analysts… »

Citigroup, which is set to report second-quarter earnings on Friday, has been trying to come out ahead by handling operations and troubled assets, not to mention reshuffling management. But will it pay off?Wall Street’s wide range of projections average out to a loss of 37 cents per share. Jason Goldberg of Barclays Capital is optimistic… »

Although weather could result in tight supplies of sugar and cocoa by the end of 2009, futures prices have been slipping as investors question whether demand will remain strong given the challenging economic environment.Monsoon rains in India have been weaker than normal, raising concerns that sugar crop output would be weak and the amount of… »

Fertilizer companies’ second-quarter results will likely meet analysts’ softened expectations when they start reporting next week, but all signs suggest they won’t come close to topping last year’s figures.On Monday, the market absorbed industry reports that the Russian producer Silvinit agreed to sell Indian buyers 850,000 metric tons of potash through March 31, 2010 at… »

Swiss drugmaker Novartis managed to overshadow a 10% drop in profits for the second quarter after it raised its 2009 forecast for drug sales on Thursday, betting on income from cancer and heart medicines.Shares of Novartis rose 3.7%, or 1.60 Swiss francs , to 45.30 Swiss francs on Thursday morning in Zurich as second-quarter net… »

California’s ongoing struggle to close its budget gap may cause headaches for those collecting IOUs from the state. But investors holding California’s 59 billion in general obligation bonds shouldn’t worry, say some municipal market participants. The state may stiff everybody else, but it’s unlikely to bilk bondholders. Issuing IOUs may seem like a warning of… »

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, riding the tailwind of government support and record-low interest rates, reported solid quarters. Germany’s Deutsche Bank, which benefited from the U.S. bailout efforts by taking government money through AIG, is also looking at a strong quarter.The figures suggest that “Deutsche Bank will report the strongest second-quarter results,” wrote Nomura European banking… »

JPMorgan Chase blew past Wall Street’s second-quarter expectations, but the bank faces difficulties navigating credit and loan losses in an uncertain environment. JPMorgan Chase reported earnings of 2.7 billion, or 28 cents per share, ahead of the 2.0 billion, or 53 cents per share, recorded in last year’s corresponding period. The Street had predicted earnings… »