Morning News: Updates on GE, SLB, XRX, BHI, STI, FHN, AEP, MAN, PFE

Every morning we put out a news report with the latest news in global stock markets, company news, and global economic news.

Market Levels

US: Dow Futures: 12815.00 (-0.50%), S&P 500 Futures: 1362.80 (-0.66%), NASDAQ Futures: 2643.25 (-0.34%)
Europe: CAC: 3216.37 (-1.80%), DAX: 6680.00 (-1.17%), FTSE: 5667.62 (-0.82%)
Asia-Pacific: Australia: 4199.10 (-0.18%), China: 2168.64 (-0.75%), Hong Kong: 19640.80 (0.42%), India: 5205.10 (-0.72%), Japan: 8669.87 (-1.45%).
Metals: Gold: 1575.70 (-0.30%), Silver: 26.86 (-1.33%), Copper: 3.45 (-2.28%)
Energy: Crude Oil: 90.79 (-2.02%), Natural Gas: 3.04 (1.37%)
Commodities: Corn: 7.92 (1.83%), Soya Bean: 16.82 (1.85%), Wheat: 9.36 (0.16%)
Currency: EUR/USD: 1.2187 (-0.77%), GBP/USD: 1.5665 (-0.38%), USD/JPY: 78.5900 (-0.00%)
10 year US Treasury: 1.470% (-0.037)

Financial and Economic News Update

U.S. stock-index futures trading lower: U.S. stock index futures are pointing to a lower open on Friday following the three-day rally, amid mixed corporate results, and investors concerns about the growing Spanish debt problems. The Dow futures, the S&P futures and the NASDAQ future are all trading close to half a percent lower.

European markets deep in the red: European markets are trading significantly lower with the German DAX (INDEXDB:DAX) trading down 1.2 percent at 6680.00, the FTSE 100 (INDEXFTSE:UKX) slumped 0.8 percent to 5667.62, and the CAC 40 (INDEXEURO:PX1) plunged 1.8 percent to 3216.37. The euro zone blue-chip ESTX 50 PR.EUR (INDEXSTOXX:SX5E) (Euro Stoxx 50) was down 1.8 percent.

Asian markets end lower: Asian markets closed lower on Friday with Japan’s NIKKEI 225 (INDEXNIKKEI:NI225) closing down 1.4 percent at 8,669.87 points. The HANG SENG INDEX (INDEXHANGSENG:HSI) closed up 0.4 percent on the day and 2.9 percent on the week at 19,640.8, while the SSE Composite Index (SHA:000001) (Shanghai Composite Index) ended down 0.7 percent on the day at 2,168.6. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) index ended down 7.6 points at 4,199.1 points. The benchmark Indian 30-share BSE SENSITIVE (INDEXBOM:SENSEX) index fell 0.7 percent to 17,160.88 points.

Stocks in Focus

U.S.

General Electric Company (NYSE:GE) posted second quarter earnings, excluding one-time items, of 38 cents per share, one cent above estimates. Sales increased 2.5 percent to $36.5 billion, below Wall Street’s expectation of $36.8 billion. GE Capital profit rose 31 percent to $2.12 billion, while revenue declined 8 percent to $11.5 billion.
Schlumberger Limited. (NYSE:SLB) reported second quarter net profit of $1.40 billion, or $1.05 per share, five cents above estimates, while revenue stood at $10.45 billion, in line Street expectations.
Xerox Corporation (NYSE:XRX) posted second quarter earnings per share of 26 cents, in line with analysts’ estimates, while revenue for the quarter came in at $5.5 billion, slightly below Street expectations of $5.59 billion. The company also lowered its full-year outlook.
Oilfield services provider, Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), reported better than expected second quarter profit and revenue on increased drilling activity at its operations in Europe and the Middle East.
Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks, Inc. (NYSE:STI) reported second quarter net income of $275 million, or 50 cents per share, topping expectations of 44 cents per share. Revenue increased 3 percent to $2.23 billion that also managed to beat Street estimates.
Bank holding company, First Horizon National Corporation (NYSE:FHN) reported bigger than expected second quarter loss due to charges related to its mortgage repurchases. Total revenue fell 8 percent to $331.6 million that also trailed estimates of $358 million.
American Electric Power Company, Inc. (NYSE:AEP) reported second-quarter earnings per share of 75 cents, beating the 72 cents a share estimate. Revenue for the quarter was flat at $3.6 billion versus the $3.57 billion estimate.
Employment services provider, Manpower Inc (NYSE:MAN), posted second quarter earnings, excluding one-time charges, of 76 cents a share, 5 cents above the average analysts’ estimate. Revenue declined 8 percent to $5.21 billion, in line with Wall Street estimates. The Milwaukee-based company forecast third-quarter profit of 64 cents to 72 cents per share. Analysts were expecting 79 cents per share.
Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), the world’s largest drug maker, said that a U.S. district judge upheld the validity of patents of its pain- drug, Lyrica, thereby blocking the generic versions of one of its best-selling drugs.
Viacom, Inc. (NASDAQ:VIAB) and DirecTV (NASDAQ:DTV) have settled a programming fee dispute which kept 17 Viacom channels off DirecTV for more than a week. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Bank holding company, Fidelity Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSBI), has agreed to be acquired by West Virginia-based WesBanco, Inc. (NASDAQ:WSBC) for $70.8 million.
The board of oil and gas exploration and production company, Venoco, Inc. (NYSE:VQ), has extended the deadline for Chief Executive Timothy Marquez to secure finances to take it private, to August 31.
eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY) was upgraded to “overweight” from “neutral” by analysts at JPMorgan Chase.
· SanDisk Corporation (NASDAQ:SNDK) was raised to “buy” by analysts at Jefferies, following second quarter earnings that beat estimates. The stock soared 11 percent in New York pre-market trading.
Network-security company, Palo Alto Networks, priced its initial public offer at $42 per share, above the recently raised range of $38 to $40 per share.

Europe

Vodafone Group Plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:VOD) (LON:VOD), the world’s largest mobile operator by revenue, reported first-quarter service revenue that missed the average analysts’ estimates, as economic conditions in Europe worsened and growth in India slowed.
French advertising agency, Publicis Groupe SA (EPA:PUB), predicted better performance for the rest of the year after posting weak numbers for the second quarter.
Deutsche Post AG (ETR:DPW) (FRA:DPW), Europe’s largest mail carrier, may face a multi million-euro write-down in the current year, after mail-order company Neckermann filed for bankruptcy, German business daily, Handelsblatt reported.
· Volkswagen-controlled Swedish truck maker, Scania AB (STO:SCV-B), posted a bigger than expected fall in second-quarter earnings amid lower sales and capacity utilization.
Anglo-Swiss mining company, Xstrata PLC (LON:XTA), said the chief executive of its Alloys unit, Peet Nienaber, would retire at the end of September for personal reasons.
Norwegian industrial and branded goods company, Orkla (STO:ORKO), reported second-quarter net income of 285 million kroner ($47 million) that missed the average analysts’ estimate of 727 million kroner.
Goals Soccer Centres plc (LON:GOAL), the U.K.-based operator of outdoor soccer centers, accepted a 73.1 million pound ($115 million) buyout offer from the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, one of Canada’s largest pension funds.
German utility, RWE AG (ETR:RWE) (FRA:RWE), slumped 4 percent after analysts at UBS downgraded the stock to “sell” from “neutral.”
French-listed aerospace and defense group, EADS NV (EPA:EAD), soared 3.7 percent after Goldman Sachs upgraded the stock to “buy.”
Akzo Nobel N.V. (AMS:AKZA), the world’s largest paints maker, gained 1 percent in trade today, as Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to “neutral,” and analysts at HSBC and Nomura Securities increased their price targets.
Analysts at Bank of America Corp. downgraded the ratings of British real estate investment trust, Hammerson plc (LON:HMSO), and property investment and development company, Segro plc (LON:SGRO), to “neutral” from “buy.”

Asia

Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) launched the latest version of its popular iPad tablet in China on Friday, weeks after the technology giant paid $60 million to the Shenzhen-based company, Shenzhen Proview Technology Ltd, to settle a trademark lawsuit.
Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX:S68) has denied media reports of a possible merger with the London Stock Exchange Group Plc (LON:LSE). The British newspaper, Daily Telegraph, had said that the two bourses were working at a potential 7.2 billion pound ($11.3 billion) merger.
U.S. private equity group, TPG, is planning to table a 3 billion Australian dollars ($3.1 billion) bid for distressed Australian media company, Nine Entertainment Co., according to a report in The Australian Financial Review.
Dutch brewer, Heineken N.V. (AMS:HEIA), has launched a 5.1 billion Singapore dollars ($4.1 billion) bid for Fraser and Neave Limited (SGX:F99)’s stake in Asia Pacific Breweries Ltd. (SGX:A46), trumping an offer made by a Thai billionaire and his family, earlier this week.
Australia’s top lenders, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX:CBA), National Australia Bank Ltd. (ASX:NAB), Westpac Banking Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:WBK) (ASX:WBC) and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ), could be in for some tough time ahead due to a rise in bad loans, particularly from small-to-medium sized enterprises, according to a report by analysts at Nomura Securities.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc (ADR) (NYSE:MTU) (TYO:8306), which holds a stake of around 20 percent in Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), slumped 3.4 percent, after the U.S. firm yesterday reported a 50 percent fall in second-quarter profit.
China National Petroleum Corporation, the nation’s biggest oil producer, is in talks with the government of Ecuador over a potential investment in its $12.5 billion Pacifico refinery project.
Aussie gas distributor, APA Group (ASX:APA), said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has approved its 1.1 billion Australian dollars ($1.1 billion) hostile bid for energy infrastructure investor Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund (ASX:HDF).
Citic Securities Co Ltd (HKG:6030) (SHA:600030), the largest-listed Chinese brokerage, reported a 24 percent decline in first-half net profit slid to 2.25 billion yuan from the year ago quarter, according to a preliminary earnings statement.
Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg. Co. Ltd. (ADR) (NYSE:TSM) (TPE:2330), the world’s largest contract chip maker, slid 1 percent in Taipei, after lowering its fourth quarter revenue forecast amid a weak global economy. Analysts at Credit Suisse have also slashed its earnings per-share estimate for 2012 by 4 percent and for next year by 5.3 percent.