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3M CEO plans to sell a third of company stock
Stock Market News |
2011/05/19 10:35
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A regulatory filing shows that 3M Co. chief executive George Buckley plans to sell almost one-third of his company stock, worth more than $33 million. The prearranged plan would have Buckley sell about 350,000 shares of 3M common stock over the next two months. The shares were acquired through stock-option exercises and will be sold in accordance with minimum price thresholds. The plan was described in a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Shares of 3M were up 39 cents, or 0.4 percent, to $94.33 in morning trading Thursday. Buckley became CEO of the St. Paul-based company five years ago. In February he will turn 65, which is 3M's mandatory retirement age. |
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Mixed economic news keeps stock gains in check
Stock Market News |
2011/05/19 08:36
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Conflicting signs about the economic recovery caused stock indexes to pare early gains Thursday even after LinkedIn became the biggest Internet IPO since Google went public in 2004. Stocks opened higher after the Department of Labor reported that applications for unemployment dropped 29,000 last week, more than expected, to 409,000. Indexes gave up those early gains after three negative reports on the economy came out at midmorning. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 23 points, or 0.2 percent, to 12,583 in midday trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index edged up 1, or 0.1 percent, to 1,342. The Nasdaq composite index added 5, or 0.2 percent, to 2,820. The National Association of Realtors said fewer people purchased previously occupied homes in April. The Conference Board's outlook for future economic activity decreased for the first time since June 2010. And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve said that its measure of manufacturing activity slumped to its lowest reading since October. The mixed news confirmed investors' belief that economic growth could be slow in the coming months. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note had risen as high as 3.24 percent following the positive jobs news but was back down to 3.20 percent in afternoon trading, slightly above the 3.18 percent rate it was trading at late Wednesday. Bond yields tend to rise when investors anticipate stronger economic growth. |
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Stocks reverse early losses as commodities rise .
Stock Market News |
2011/05/16 18:52
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A bounce back in materials and financial companies erased early losses in the U.S. stock market Monday.
Commodities like corn and cotton rose more than 3 percent in morning trading. Those gains helped send materials companies up 1.3 percent, the most of the 10 industry groups that make up the S&P 500 index.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 41 points, or 0.3 percent, to 12,637 in morning trading. The S&P 500 rose 4, or 0.3 percent, to 1,341. The Nasdaq composite fell 5, or 0.1 percent, to 2,823. The Dow had been down by more than 50 points earlier in the day following an earnings miss by a big retailer and new concerns about Europe's debt crisis.
Home improvement company Lowe's Cos. fell nearly 3 percent in early trading Monday after its quarterly report missed Wall Street's estimates and the company cut its outlook for the year. The company said that its profit fell 6 percent in the first quarter because of the combination of bad weather and a decline in consumer spending.
But J.C. Penny Co. Inc. rose nearly 4 percent after the retailer said that cost-cutting and a line of exclusive merchandise helped its profit rise nearly 7 percent in the first quarter. The company also raised its full year profit estimates.
The U.S. stock market has lost some of its momentum lately after finishing its best first quarter since 1998. Companies in so-called defensive industries like healthcare, utilities and consumer staples have outperformed lately due in part to concerns that high gas prices will slow the economy and cut into corporate profits.
Investors are growing increasingly concerned over the prospect of an unprecedented U.S. default on its debt as well. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Congressional lawmakers in a letter Monday that the agency is using accounting measures to postpone hitting the federal debt limit until August.
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Leaked memo shows Hewlett-Packard CEO jitters
Stock Market News |
2011/05/16 08:51
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A leaked memo from Hewlett-Packard Co. CEO Leo Apotheker warning of "another tough quarter" underscores the urgent concerns about the technology heavyweight's growth strategy and the challenges facing its new leader.
Reports of the May 4 missive from Apotheker to his top executives surfaced late Monday, sending HP shares tumbling. HP abruptly moved up its earnings report to Tuesday morning. It had originally been scheduled to Wednesday afternoon.
The jitters reflect investors' anxiety about what is essentially a classic big-company problem -- with a twist.
HP is struggling to find ways to meaningfully boost sales without chasing bottom-feeder deals that eat away at profits. It's a code that many analysts believe HP hasn't cracked.
This as the 72-year-old company is recovering from the trauma of the management scandal that brought about the sacking of Apotheker's predecessor, Mark Hurd, in August, and led to the replacement of a third of HP's board. The boardroom purging was unusually severe for a company HP's size, and the turmoil reinforced a perception among many technology watchers of dysfunction in the top ranks of a Silicon Valley institution.
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As stock market slows down, defensive stocks shine
Stock Market News |
2011/05/16 08:50
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After sailing through its best first quarter since 1998, the stock market is starting to lose some momentum. The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index, a broad market benchmark, is up just 1 percent this quarter after jumping 5.4 percent in the first three months of the year, in large part because of conflicting data about the health of the economy.
One group -- defensive stocks -- is doing just fine. Utilities, health care and consumer staples are all considered a good defense against a slowdown because they tend to have stable profits no matter what happens in the broad economy. The items they sell aren't ones people stop buying when their budgets are tight. And for the last six weeks, investors have been putting money into stocks of companies like Aetna or Kraft Foods that cater to everyday needs, like health insurance or coffee.
Each of the defensive industry groups has gained more than 5 percent this quarter. Health care -- the best of the three -- is now up 14.2 percent for the year, after lagging sectors like energy and industrials during the first quarter. What's more, the number of shares exchanging hands in defensive industries is also increasing. Higher volume often signifies that a stock on the rise will continue to rise -- or that a declining stock will keep falling -- because it reflects increased investor interest in a stock. The daily trading volume of the SPDR Consumer Staples Select ETF, for example, is double the rate it was in January.
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Investment Fraud Litigation |
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Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a practice that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of the securities laws. Securities Arbitration. Generally speaking, securities fraud consists of deceptive practices in the stock and commodity markets, and occurs when investors are enticed to part with their money based on untrue statements.
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