From Bloomberg News | The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, or VIX, which is considered the benchmark index for U.S. stock options, fell to a three-year low as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index moved in its narrowest range since April 2007 and rose for a fifth day to reach a two-year high.
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Walgreen Co. shares soar on earnings news
Shares of Walgreen Co. surged more than 7 percent in midday trade after the company reported record quarterly earnings and sales for the first quarter of fiscal year 2011. Get the full story »
BMO shares slide deeper following M&I takeover
Shares of Bank of Montreal extended their slide on Monday, falling 2.2 percent as analysts chopped their share-price targets following the bank’s $4.1 billion deal to purchase Wisconsin lender Marshall & Ilsley Corp. Get the full story »
CEO: OptionsXpress followed all dividend rules
OptionsXpress Holdings Inc.’s chief executive said the company followed all required procedures for a big special dividend to be paid under rules that confused many investors.
The Chicago brokerage’s shares dipped as much as 14 percent before the open last Tuesday as investors wrongly thought that holding shares through the previous day, the so-called “record” date of Dec. 13, would entitle them to the $4.50 per-share payout. Get the full story »
Investors betting heavier on Motorola Solutions
The stock market on Friday started working out the relative values of the two companies Motorola Inc. will break into on Jan. 4, as their respective shares started trading on a “when-issued” basis. Get the full story »
Dow within reach of new record in 2011
Could the Dow set a record high next year? That question would have seemed crazy early last year when fear and panic enveloped the stock market and the Dow Jones industrial average plunged to 6,547 on March 9. Many investors thought it would take a decade or longer to get back to the record of 14,165, set on Oct. 9, 2007.
Now we could be on the verge. The Dow has soared 76 percent the past 21 months, and it would have to climb just 23 percent from Thursday’s close of 11,499 to set a record.
That’s a big jump, but the Dow has risen 23 percent or more six times since 1985, or roughly 1 in 4 years. Many analysts don’t expect quite that strong a run in 2011, but they agree conditions are in place for the rally to continue. Get the full story »
Motorola Mobility, Solutions to start trading Friday
Motorola Inc. isn’t officially breaking into two companies until Jan. 4, but shares of the two successor companies will start trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange on a “when issued” basis.
The company is splitting into Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., which will take the cell-phone and set-top-box manufacturing businesses, and Motorola Solutions Inc., which contains the more government- and corporate-facing parts of the company. It makes things such as police radios and bar-code scanners. Get the full story »
BP shares hit 7-month high on new asset sales
BP shares on Tuesday jumped to their highest level in seven months after the company announced it was selling another $775 million in assets to help pay for the Gulf oil spill.
The British oil giant expects to pay nearly $40 billion to handle the spill and has aggressively raised money to meet that obligation. In addition to suspending its dividend and selling bonds, the company has sold nearly $22 billion in assets. It plans to shed up to $30 billion in company assets by the end of 2011. Get the full story »
Dow industrials hit 2-year high on retail strength
U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, lifting the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its highest intraday level in more than two years, as data showing growth in U.S. retail sales and business sales boosted investors’ outlook on the economy.
The Dow rose 71 points, or 0.6 percent, to 11,499. Earlier, the measure hit 11499.70, its highest intraday level since September 2008. Its top performers spanned a variety of sectors, with Boeing up 1.4 percent, Kraft Foods up 1.3 percent and Johnson & Johnson up 1.2 percent. Get the full story »
Discover call-options trading surges before earnings
From Bloomberg News | Riverwoods-based Discover Financial’s call options trading jumped to triple the four-week average, amid wagers that Discover’s stock will rally after its Dec. 16 earnings report.
AIG, Treasury plan large stock sale
The government's bailout of AIG during the financial crisis caused controversy, but an offering of AIG stock could come as early as March. Here, workers protest outside of AIG's Chicago offices in 2009. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green)
The U.S. Treasury could cut its stake in bailed-out insurer American International Group by as much as 20 percentage points through a large stock offering in the first half of 2011, sources familiar with the matter said.
AIG and the Treasury would both sell stock in the offering, which could total more than $10 billion, according to the sources.
The government has seen strong market appetite for stock in bailed-out companies in the past few months, allowing it to be more aggressive in winding down its unpopular rescue of financial firms and other businesses. Get the full story »
Huron settles lawsuit for $38M, takes Q4 charge
Huron Consulting Group said it agreed to settle a securities lawsuit for $38 million and expects to take a related non-cash charge of about $11 million in the fourth quarter. Get the full story »
Treasury to publicly offer 2.4 billion Citi shares
The Treasury said on Monday it is commencing an underwritten public offering of its remaining 2.4 billion shares of Citigroup common stock. Get the full story »
