Archive for July 27th, 2009

High gasoline inventory levels and pricing pressures have been hitting refiners during the second quarter as the market will see when Valero Energy reports results on Tuesday. “While gasoline cracks mostly improved quarter-over-quarter, very depressed distillate cracks and lower crude differentials have taken a heavy toll on refining profitability: almost all refiners are expected to… »

The sale of Business Week won’t make much money for the McGraw-Hill Companies but it will take a money-loser off the books and signal to investors that there will be more judicious sales ahead – that’s the bullish take on McGraw’s stock. The company reports earnings Tuesday.Michael Meltz, an analysts at JPMargan Choose has an… »

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has hit the road, taping a “town-hall-style” special on public television that will air over three days this week. Discussing the economic recovery and defending the central bank’s actions before a general audience accomplishes a number of things. Aside from raising public awareness, reaching out to citizens also boosts the… »

Europe’s biggest carmaker, Volkswagen, is reportedly considering a capital increase of up to 4 billion euros to protect its credit rating after a merger with Porsche Last Thursday Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking was ousted after the Piëch and Porsche families ended a longtime struggle over the future of the debt-laden German sports car maker,… »

British publisher Pearson is speeding ahead. The publisher of the Financial Times, Penguin Books and school materials in the United States beat market expectations for the first half despite declining newspaper sales and a deteriorating U.S. school publishing market. In upgrading its guidance for earnings per share the company is betting on stronger sales than… »

Budget Irish airline Ryanair is facing a mighty competitor in its bid to raise passenger numbers in the midst of the recession: itself.The airline is being forced to cut prices by much more than it had expected this year, sending its yield, or average revenue per passenger, down by up to 20% for the year… »