Stock Analysts

Stryker’s (SYK) Preliminary Earnings Results Raise Concern

Orthopedic devices maker Stryker Corporation ( SYK ) has announced preliminary results for the fourth quarter and full-year 2014. The company also updated its foreign exchange outlook for 2015 based on recent foreign currency movements, which had an unfavorable impact on its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings. Stryker estimates fourth-quarter and full-year adjusted earnings in the range of $1.43–$1.45 and $4.72–$4.74 per share, respectively […]

Stock Analysts

Will Schwab Beat Q4 Earnings on Higher Trading Revenue?

The Charles Schwab Corporation ( SCHW ) is scheduled to report its fourth-quarter and full year 2014 earnings results on Jan 16, before the market opens. Third-quarter 2014 earnings per share missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results were impacted by higher operating expenses, partially offset by strong revenue growth and lower provision for loan losses. […]

Stock Analysts

Cintas Enhances Share Buyback Plan by Additional $500M

The board of directors of leading business services provider Cintas Corporation ( CTAS ) recently approved a plan to increase its share repurchase program by an additional $500 million. The increased share repurchase authorization doubles the total share buyback program of the company to a cumulative tally of $1 billion. Under its existing $500 million share buyback program authorized in Jul 2013, Cintas bought 4.3 million shares to date, at an average price of $60.87 million for a total of $262.5 million. […]

Economic Data

Retail Sales, Earnings Disappoint – Ahead of Wall Street

Wednesday, January 14, 2015 This is Mark Vickery covering for Sheraz Mian, who will be out of the office until next Tuesday. We’re obviously keeping close track of the dawning Q4 earnings season, but before the bell Wednesday, Retail Sales numbers were released, and the results are not pretty: in December, retail sales fell 0.9 percent, way down from the expected -0.1 percent. November revisions were also cut from 0.7 percent a month ago to 0.4 percent now. […]

Economic Data

Will Benchmarks Continue To Be In Negative Territory? – Economic Highlights

We’re obviously keeping close track of the dawning Q4 earnings season, but before the bell Wednesday, Retail Sales numbers were released, and the results are not pretty: in December, retail sales fell 0.9 percent, way down from the expected -0.1 percent. November revisions were also cut from 0.7 percent a month ago to 0.4 percent now. Retail sales ex-autos was down a full 1 percent […]

Technicals

Wells Fargo (WFC) Reports in-line Q4 Earnings, Sees Top-Line Growth – Tale of the Tape

Have you been eager to see how Wells Fargo & Company ( WFC ) performed in Q4 in comparison with the market expectations? Let’s quickly scan through the key facts from this San Francisco-based money center bank’s earnings release this morning: Earnings Meet Expectations Wells Fargo came out with earnings per share of $1.02, in-line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Results reflected top line improvement, partially offset by higher expenses […]

Mergers & Acquisitions

Poptent and Userfarm Combine to Form Vizy: World’s Largest Video Content Community for Brands and Agencies

Poptent and Userfarm Combine to Form Vizy: World’s Largest Video Content Community for Brands and Agencies Revolutionary Merger Makes Talent of Nearly 120,000 Independent Filmmakers Instantly Available for Brand Promotion; Platform Also Available As White Label Solution PR Newswire PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 14, 2015 PHILADELPHIA , Jan. 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — The two biggest names in video crowdsourcing, Poptent and Userfarm , today announced they have merged to create Vizy , the first truly global resource for brands and agencies wishing to engage digital audiences more effectively through high quality video content […]

Stock Analysts

Alibaba to Enter India with $575M Investment in Paytm

According to the Wall Street Journal, in its first strategic investment in India, Alibaba Group Holding Ltd ( BABA ) and its unit Alipay have agreed to pay $575 million for a 30% stake in One97 Communications. One97 owns Paytm, an online platform that users can access through mobile apps. According to the report, the deal is likely to be closed by the end of the month. […]