Wall Street drops, BAC, Citi, JPM, BCS in Focus
The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 61.57 points, or 0.79 percent, to 7,714.29. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index <.SPX> dropped 9.54 points, or 1.16 percent, to 813.38. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 21.95 points, or 1.41 percent, to 1,533.82.
Among the companies whose shares drops in the session are Bank of America Corporation (BAC), Citigroup Inc. (C), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Barclays PLC (ADR).
Bank of America ($7.11, -$0.69, 8.84%) stocks were down to 8.84% to $7.11. Now with only 1.1 million shares, out of BofA’s 6.4 billion outstanding shares, they haven’t really got the goods to force any change. But they’re making a go of it anyway. It’s pretty outrageous, so I figured it’s worth highlighting in Today’s Outrage.
Citigroup ($2.91, -$0.22, 7.02%) lowered its profit forecasts for the Luxembourg- based company by 22 percent for this year and 18 percent next year to reflect a weaker outlook for sales volumes and cash generation. Citigroup expects crude oil to average $47 a barrel in 2009 and $55 a barrel next year.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. ($27.46, -$1.40, 4.85%) stocks were down to 4.85% to $27.46.
Barclays Plc, ($6.85, -$0.45, 6.16%) the U.K.’s third- Biggest lender, cut the compensation of Barclays Capital chief Robert Diamond by 96 percent as executives waived bonuses amid growing public anger over pay bankers’ pay.
Diamond, 57, was paid 250,000 pounds ($367,000) last year, compared with 6.75 million pounds in salary and bonus for 2007, the London-based bank said today in its annual report. Chief Executive Officer John Varley’s compensation fell to 1.08 million pounds, from 2.4 million pounds in 2007.
Other Stocks In Focus:
Shares of Allergan ($47.88, +$4.71, +10.91%) jumped Tuesday as market speculation spread that it could be the next takeover in the pharmaceutical industry, with GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK, $29.50, -$0.28, -0.94%) the apparent buyer. Neither company would comment on the market speculation.
Newell Rubbermaid ($6.61, -$0.64, -8.83%), the maker of brands like Sharpie and Paper Mate, said it cut its quarterly dividend by 52% to 5 cents a share, the second time this year it cut its dividend, and said it would offer $250 million in senior notes as it looks to raise cash and pay down debt.
Shares of T-3 Energy Services Inc. (TTES, $11.75, -$3.10, -20.88%) tumbled after the oilfield company said Chairman and Chief Executive Gus Halas is leaving “to pursue other interests.” Pritchard Capital Partners said investors are probably unhappy with lack of transition period for Halas, who’s being replaced by former TTES director and National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV, $32.95, -$0.69, -2.04%) finance chief Steven Krablin.
Air Transport Services Group Inc. (ATSG, $0.77, +$0.07, +10.08%) swung to a fourth-quarter loss on big write-downs although revenue increased because of contractual price hikes and recent acquisitions. The company, which provides air cargo transportation to air carriers, said it has eliminated 4,800 jobs through last month.
Shares of Baidu Inc. (BIDU, $192.19, +$9.59, +5.25%) rose after Deutsche Bank said the worst is over for the Chinese Internet concern. The firm initiated its investment rating on Baidu’s shares at buy, saying it’s “poised to not only continue dominating online search but will have significant leverage to expand its footprint across the Internet economy.”
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