Gap Inc. (GPS), which announces third-quarter results after today's closing bell, just declared a quarterly dividend of $0.085 per share, which translates into an industry-leading dividend yield of 1.5%. The company also reported sales growth for the month of October.

Company Description

Gap Inc. is a global specialty retailer that sells clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women, children and babies under the Gap, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Piperlime and Athleta brands. The company operates stores in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Ireland and Japan.

Gap also has franchise agreements with unaffiliated franchisees to operate Gap and Banana Republic stores in many other countries around the world. Under these agreements, third parties operate or will operate stores that sell apparel, purchased from Gap, under Gap's brand names.

Estimates are Bullish Ahead of Earnings Announcement

Analysts polled by Zacks have been upbeat on GPS ahead of today's

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Genzyme Corporation’s (GENZ) Lumizyme failed to receive approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of Pompe disease. The FDA issued a complete response letter (CRL) stating that the agency will not grant approval unless the company addresses the manufacturing issues at its Allston Landing plant in Boston. Genzyme said that it believes that other elements like the Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS), product label and post-marketing requirements, have been satisfactorily addressed. The FDA’s response on Lumizyme does not come as a surprise. The news regarding the delay in Lumizyme’s approval follows a recent announcement regarding the detection of contamination in vials of five drugs marketed by the company. The agency completed its inspection of the company’s plant last week and has provided Genzyme with a list related to the manufacturing deficiencies found at the plant. The company stated that ...

Telefonica (TEF) reported third-quarter 2009 results with earnings per ADS of US$1.88, comfortably beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of US$1.49. The Spanish telecom giant reported net income of €1.99 billion (US$2.85 billion), down 0.6% year over year, due to lower sales as a result of the beleaguered economy, especially in Spain. Revenue Consolidated revenue fell 5.7% year over year to €14.1 billion (US$20.2 billion). Revenue was impacted by weak contributions from domestic and European markets due to the recession. Latin America contributed 40% of the group revenues followed by Spain at 35% and Europe at 25%. Result by Segments Telefonica Espana The company’s Spanish revenue declined 8.9% to €4.9 billion (US$7 billion), impacted by a reduction in mobile termination rates (inter-operator fees) and the economic downturn. Wireline business revenues fell 9.4% year over year to €2.9 billion (US$4.1 billion) while revenue from wireless ...

AdvanSource Biomaterials Corp., a leading developer and manufacturer of advanced polymer materials that provide critical characteristics in the design and development of medical devices, recently announced that the company has filed a patent for its newly launched ChronoSil polymer product, a silicone-urethane copolymer.

The company’s biomaterials are used in devices that are designed for treating a broad range of anatomical sites and disease states. The ChronoSil product family maintains the inherent benefits of a polycarbonate-based urethane combined with silicone’s industry-recognized advantages, including heightened elongation, superior elasticity and a low coefficient of friction.

“We were pleased to announce our new biomaterial product, ChronoSil, a thermoplastic silicone polycarbonate urethane, which was exhibited at the recent MEDTEC IRELAND Medical Design and Manufacturing Exhibition and Conference in Galway, Ireland,” stated Michael Adams, president and chief executive officer of AdvanSource Biomaterials Corporation.

”Two of the objectives that are key to our business strategy include the development

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DUBLIN, Ireland - November 6, 2009 - In an alliance that underscores Bedminster International's authority as a global BioEnergy technology provider, the Ireland-based company recently teamed with Samsung Heavy Industries to assist with waste management in Korea and southeast Asia.

Marathon Oil Corporation’s (MRO) third-quarter 2009 results came in better-than-expected, helped by the contribution from increased oil and natural gas production. Earnings per share, excluding mark-to-market and divestment losses, came in at 61 cents, above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 56 cents. However, as has been the case with the other oil majors that have already reported -- Exxon (XOM), ConocoPhillips (COP) and Chevron (CVX) -- earnings and revenue comparisons with the year-earlier period were quite ugly, severely hampered by lower realized commodity prices and weak refining margins. Marathon’s adjusted earnings per share plunged 77.9%, while sales declined 37.9% to $14.5 billion. Lower Prices More Than Offset Increased Upstream Volumes Income from the upstream segment totaled $491 million during the quarter, down 43.5% from the year-ago level. The company reported production (available for sale) of 393,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day (BOE/d), ...

Waste management service provider Stericycle Inc. (SRCL) earned 55 cents in the third quarter, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 2 cents. Earnings were up about 24% year-over-year, while it improved 9% sequentially on higher revenues and margins.  Revenues showed an increase of 7.5% year over year to $46.5 million helped by recent acquisitions, which added $19.3 million in the quarter. Stericycle completed six acquisitions during the first nine months of this year, which included the recently acquired Healthcare Waste Solutions’ operations in Minnesota and Wisconsin, besides Omni Medical Waste in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Operating costs decreased to 52.7% of total sales in the quarter from 55.6% in the same period of the previous year following which gross profit expanded to $140.9 million from $123.0 million in the same quarter last year. As a percent of revenue, gross profit improved to 47.3% from 44.4% in the ...

I concluded a post on stock markets over the weekend saying: “After equities’ seven-month climb, stock markets certainly look vulnerable for a decline. Two downside reversal days - on Wednesday and Friday - would seem to indicate that stocks could commence a pullback to work off the overbought condition, allowing fundamentals to reassert themselves.”

Global stock markets, as well as other risky assets, closed sharply lower over the past few days as concerns mounted over the sustainability of the global economic recovery and the outlook for central bank policy.

The performance of the major asset classes is summarized by the charts below, with the top one showing the period from the March 9 stock market lows until October 19 peak and the second one the subsequent period. The numbers indicate an all-change pattern in the performances as risk aversion re-entered financial markets and government bonds and the US

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Willis Group Holdings Limited (WSH) reported third-quarter earnings of 46 cents per share. Excluding certain items, adjusted earnings were 53 cents. Results were significantly ahead of the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 38 cents. Results were also far ahead of the prior-year period’s earnings of 25 cents and adjusted earnings of 32 cents. Results reflected strong contribution from the Hilb Rogal & Hobbs Company (HRH) acquisition. Also, on an organic basis, Willis reported decent growth in International and Global operations, though it was partly offset by a fall in organic commissions and fees in North America. The company continues to experience the benefits from its “Shaping Our Future" initiatives and strong client retention in the midst of a soft market. These positives offset the reduction in investment income and increased expenses. Net earnings from continuing operations increased to $78 million or 46 cents per share from ...

Whoever would have thought that some people once called economics the most dismal of sciences? Certainly, as the current crisis goes on and on, those of us who consider ourselves to be economists scarcely are able to find the time to squeeze in a dull moment, even here and there. But even at a broader level, interest in that most dismal of dismal topics - the theory and practice of central banking - seems now to fire up levels of enthusiasm here in Spain that make even the appetising prospect of a forthcoming Real Madrid-Barça football match pale in intensity. Even if it is the case, I have to admit, that the everyday Johnny (or Jill) come lately sitting in the bar still - truth be told - prefers the sports columns of the daily newspapers, or the lacivious details of the latest romantic adventure of one of the rich ...