Technology/Telecoms:
Ericsson to hedge 3G wireless technology bet ----Ericsson is planning a big push into CDMA, saying the wireless technology could capture a much bigger share of the third-generation mobile phone market than anticipated. (FT)
Alcatel falls after convertible bond launch--Alcatel shares fell 16 per cent after the company launched a convertible bond issue to raise as much as €819m to help fund its restructuring programme.(FT)
Yahoo! Inc chief financial officer Susan Decker said she expects full year sales growth of 30% in the middle of the range provided by the company.In September, the internet retailer guided sales between 930-$955 million.Looking ahead to 2003, she forecast EBITDA will rise 40% on sales growth of 20%.(CNN)
Adobe Systems, maker of PhotoShop editing and Acrobat document-sharing software, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose on higher revenues and cost-cutting and that the company will hire "aggressively" this quarter. Adobe's net income rose to $40.1 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, from $34.3 million, or 14 cents, in the year-earlier quarter ended November. Excluding items and charges, its pro forma profit was up 21 percent to $59.1 million, or 25 cents per diluted share.(CNN)
Financials:
Rolf Breuer, chairman of the banking industry association, said the country´s banks will close offices and cut more jobs in 2003, the Boersen-Zeitung reported.
Cars:
General Motors Corp., Ford and other carmakers face 702 mln$ in combined costs to meet a proposed fuel-economy standard for light trucks, people familiar with the government`s plan said.
Beru AG – The maker of ignition systems for diesel engines said Marco von Maltzan will replace Ulrich Ruetz as the company`s CEO effective April 1 , 2003.(Bloom)
Airlines/Logistics:
FRAPORT will release traffic numbers for November ----Passengers +6,7% to 3,6 mio ----Cargo rises 7% to 1452.500 tonnes ---expects 2002 passenger count “slightly” below 2001
Retailing/Steel:
Germany`s only public traded condom maker CONDOMI won an order for 71,4 mln condoms for Brazil`s national AIDS program.(Reuters)
Healthcare/Chemicals:
Bayer AG spokesman Michael Preuss confirmed European anti-trust officials raided the company's offices today as part of an investigation into whether manufacturers have been fixing prices for EPDM which is a synthetic rubber used in the automotive industry.(FT)
Bayer AG CEO Wenning may need a year or more to find a partner for Germany`s top drugmaker, handicapped by a divided supervisory board and a lack of new products.(Bloom)
BASF YPC Co.Ltd., a venture between BASF AG and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, insured their planned ethylene project in Nanjing, east China, for 4 bln yuan, China Petrochemical News reported.
Energy/ Utilities:
E.ON`s Viterra Energy-unit sale may fetch EU 1 bln , Handelsblatt reports--------
Transport/Machineries:
HeidelbergCement AG said ist buying a plan near Berlin and one in Poland as part of the company`s plan to expand east.(Reuters)
Neuer Markt:
Bristol-Myers Squibb lost 6.6 per cent to $25.35 in the wake of reports in the Wall Street Journal that the company misreported earnings in order to conceal its true financial health and meet analysts' forecasts. Among other pharmaceutical stocks usually viewed as a safe bet, Merck lost 2.1 per cent to $57.16 and Wyeth was 0.1 higher at $37.65.
Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, rallied 6.7 per cent to $50.45 as it told analysts its 2003 earnings would be likely to exceed expectations.
Stocks were mixed in morning trade after the release of the day's two key economic reports. A report that US retail sales were up 0.4 per cent in November to a seasonally-adjusted $302.53bn gave retail stock investors some reason to cheer and helped temper lingering doubts about the strength of the current holiday shopping season.
But a separate report that US jobless claims were higher than expected last week triggered fresh concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.
Among retailers, AutoZone lost 7.6 per cent to $73.56, despite the auto parts store chain owner reporting that quarterly earnings increased due to cost controls and healthy growth in its commercial division.
Also in the retail sector, Costco said earnings rose 12 per cent in the fiscal first quarter. Costco's stock added 3.8 per cent to $29.56.
Among technology stocks Ciena reported narrower losses from last year but continued to struggle in a difficult environment. Shares rallied 19.6 per cent to $6.20.
In the wireless sector Sprint PCS gained 11.6 per cent to $5.36 after its parent company increased earnings guidance for the current quarter and the full year next year. Sprint's own shares added almost 7 per cent to $14.55. Rival AT&T was flat.
Procter & Gamble shares were up 0.3 per cent to $87.70 ahead of the company's analyst call. The leading consumer goods group raised its profits guidance for its fiscal second quarter on Wednesday, a day after competitor Kimberly-Clark had issued a warning citing P&G's competitive pressures in the diaper business.
Halliburton was off almost 2 per cent to $20 after the oilfield services group, formerly headed by Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, announced an imminent settlement to asbestos-related claims.
Gruß
Ericsson to hedge 3G wireless technology bet ----Ericsson is planning a big push into CDMA, saying the wireless technology could capture a much bigger share of the third-generation mobile phone market than anticipated. (FT)
Alcatel falls after convertible bond launch--Alcatel shares fell 16 per cent after the company launched a convertible bond issue to raise as much as €819m to help fund its restructuring programme.(FT)
Yahoo! Inc chief financial officer Susan Decker said she expects full year sales growth of 30% in the middle of the range provided by the company.In September, the internet retailer guided sales between 930-$955 million.Looking ahead to 2003, she forecast EBITDA will rise 40% on sales growth of 20%.(CNN)
Adobe Systems, maker of PhotoShop editing and Acrobat document-sharing software, said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit rose on higher revenues and cost-cutting and that the company will hire "aggressively" this quarter. Adobe's net income rose to $40.1 million, or 17 cents per diluted share, from $34.3 million, or 14 cents, in the year-earlier quarter ended November. Excluding items and charges, its pro forma profit was up 21 percent to $59.1 million, or 25 cents per diluted share.(CNN)
Financials:
Rolf Breuer, chairman of the banking industry association, said the country´s banks will close offices and cut more jobs in 2003, the Boersen-Zeitung reported.
Cars:
General Motors Corp., Ford and other carmakers face 702 mln$ in combined costs to meet a proposed fuel-economy standard for light trucks, people familiar with the government`s plan said.
Beru AG – The maker of ignition systems for diesel engines said Marco von Maltzan will replace Ulrich Ruetz as the company`s CEO effective April 1 , 2003.(Bloom)
Airlines/Logistics:
FRAPORT will release traffic numbers for November ----Passengers +6,7% to 3,6 mio ----Cargo rises 7% to 1452.500 tonnes ---expects 2002 passenger count “slightly” below 2001
Retailing/Steel:
Germany`s only public traded condom maker CONDOMI won an order for 71,4 mln condoms for Brazil`s national AIDS program.(Reuters)
Healthcare/Chemicals:
Bayer AG spokesman Michael Preuss confirmed European anti-trust officials raided the company's offices today as part of an investigation into whether manufacturers have been fixing prices for EPDM which is a synthetic rubber used in the automotive industry.(FT)
Bayer AG CEO Wenning may need a year or more to find a partner for Germany`s top drugmaker, handicapped by a divided supervisory board and a lack of new products.(Bloom)
BASF YPC Co.Ltd., a venture between BASF AG and China Petroleum & Chemical Corp., or Sinopec, insured their planned ethylene project in Nanjing, east China, for 4 bln yuan, China Petrochemical News reported.
Energy/ Utilities:
E.ON`s Viterra Energy-unit sale may fetch EU 1 bln , Handelsblatt reports--------
Transport/Machineries:
HeidelbergCement AG said ist buying a plan near Berlin and one in Poland as part of the company`s plan to expand east.(Reuters)
Neuer Markt:
Bristol-Myers Squibb lost 6.6 per cent to $25.35 in the wake of reports in the Wall Street Journal that the company misreported earnings in order to conceal its true financial health and meet analysts' forecasts. Among other pharmaceutical stocks usually viewed as a safe bet, Merck lost 2.1 per cent to $57.16 and Wyeth was 0.1 higher at $37.65.
Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, rallied 6.7 per cent to $50.45 as it told analysts its 2003 earnings would be likely to exceed expectations.
Stocks were mixed in morning trade after the release of the day's two key economic reports. A report that US retail sales were up 0.4 per cent in November to a seasonally-adjusted $302.53bn gave retail stock investors some reason to cheer and helped temper lingering doubts about the strength of the current holiday shopping season.
But a separate report that US jobless claims were higher than expected last week triggered fresh concerns about the strength of the economic recovery.
Among retailers, AutoZone lost 7.6 per cent to $73.56, despite the auto parts store chain owner reporting that quarterly earnings increased due to cost controls and healthy growth in its commercial division.
Also in the retail sector, Costco said earnings rose 12 per cent in the fiscal first quarter. Costco's stock added 3.8 per cent to $29.56.
Among technology stocks Ciena reported narrower losses from last year but continued to struggle in a difficult environment. Shares rallied 19.6 per cent to $6.20.
In the wireless sector Sprint PCS gained 11.6 per cent to $5.36 after its parent company increased earnings guidance for the current quarter and the full year next year. Sprint's own shares added almost 7 per cent to $14.55. Rival AT&T was flat.
Procter & Gamble shares were up 0.3 per cent to $87.70 ahead of the company's analyst call. The leading consumer goods group raised its profits guidance for its fiscal second quarter on Wednesday, a day after competitor Kimberly-Clark had issued a warning citing P&G's competitive pressures in the diaper business.
Halliburton was off almost 2 per cent to $20 after the oilfield services group, formerly headed by Dick Cheney, the US vice-president, announced an imminent settlement to asbestos-related claims.
Gruß
