Amidst a bleak economic outlook, Lowe’s Companies Inc. (LOW) recently reported its third quarter results. Quarterly earnings of 24 cents a share fell 27.3% from 33 cents posted in the prior-year quarter due to sluggish consumer demand for big renovations. However, the earnings remained in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.   The world’s second largest home improvement retailer said that it expected fourth-quarter earnings in the range of 9 cents to 13 cents a share. For the fiscal 2009, earnings are expected between $1.16 and $1.20 per share.   On a reported basis, including one-time items, earnings came in at 23 cents a share, down 30.3% year on year.   Lowe’s hinted that the markets of California and Florida, which were battered by the housing downturn, are showing some signs of revival.   Net sales for the quarter tumbled 3% to $11,375 million as cash-strapped consumers continue ...

• Boeing's (NYSE:BA) new head of its commercial aircraft division, Jim Albaugh, said the long-awaited Dreamliner test will happen by yearend

• Citigroup (NYSE:C) plans to sell Bellsystem 24, a Japanese telemarketing company, to Bain Capital for $1 billion, bringing to $10.8 billion the dollar amount Citi has raised from sales of Japanese assets

• Hedge fund Paulson & Co. reported in a September 30 filing Citigroup (NYSE:C) holdings of 300 million shares, valued at $1.45 billion

• Cisco (NASDAQ:CSCO) raised its bid for Tandberg ASA to $3.4 billion, or about an 11% increase, and extended its offer to December 1

• According to a Bloomberg report, Mitsubishi UFJ has hired JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) and Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) to manage an $11 billion secondary offering, Japan's largest ever. The company plans to sell about 2.5 billion common shares

• Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY) said it plans to spin off its 83% stake in Mead Johnson Nutrition

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U.S. stocks rose Friday, for their second consecutive weekly advance, as upbeat earnings reports from a number of companies, including Walt Disney and JC Penny, spurred optimism that the economic recovery is gaining momentum.  A dip in the value of dollar, on concerns consumer spending is likely to remain bleak, sent shares of commodity-related companies up. 

On Friday, the 30-stock Dow Jones industrial average rose 73 points, or 0.72%, to 10,270.47. The broad Standard & Poor's 500-stock index was up 6.24 points, or 0.57%, at 1,093.48. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced 18.86 points, or 0.88%, to 2,167.88.  For the week the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index jumped 2.3% to 1,093.48.  The Dow average rose 247.05 points, or 2.5%, to 10,270.47, following its 3.2% advance the prior week.

The spike in commodities came after the greenback fell Friday on news that the trade deficit widened more than expected in

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This morning, Lowe's Companies Inc. (LOW) backed its fiscal 2009 sales and earnings guidance, provided on August 17. The company maintains its earnings expectations between $1.13 and $1.21 for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2010. Lowe’s expects total sales to decline about 3% from the previous year, while sales at established stores (same-store sales) are expected to decline between 7% and 9%. The company further stated that it might recognize impairments related to operating stores of up to $100 million during the second half due to uncertainty regarding an economic recovery. For fiscal 2010, the company expects earnings per share to lie between $1.24 and $1.34. Total sales are expected to increase approximately 3% to 4%, with a comparable-store sales increase of approximately 1%. As a reminder, Lowe's – the second biggest U.S. home improvement retailer behind Home Depot Inc (HD) – announced ...

Retail sales rose a stronger-than-expected 2.7% in August. The consensus expectation was for a rise of 1.9%.

Most of the gain was due to the Cash for Clunkers program, which led to a 10.6% rise in sales at auto dealers. However, even stripping out autos it was a stronger-than-expected report, up 1.1% versus expectations of a 0.4% rise.

On a year-over-year basis, total retail sales are down 5.3% and, excluding autos, they are down 6.2%. Autos are down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. Keep in mind that a year ago retail sales started to fall off a cliff following the financial meltdown. Therefore, going forward the comparisons are going to start to look very easy.

As the graph below (from http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/) shows, it looks like the retail worm has turned. It tracks the year-over-year change in retail sales in both real and nominal terms, excluding auto sales. While the chart only

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Better-than-expected reports on housing and consumer confidence helped U.S. stocks record gains albeit in a tepid manner.  Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s reappointment also added to the positive sentiments but the muted gains signaled investors were progressing with caution.  Treasury prices rose after a successful auction of $42 billion two-year notes.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 30 points, or 0.3% and closed at its highest point since November 4.  The S&P 500 index gained 2 points, or 0.2% to close at its highest level since November 6.  The NASDAQ composite rose 6 points, or 0.3%, to 2024, its highest close since October 1.  NYSE volume remained a modest 1.14 billion shares, with advancing issues ahead of decliners by a three-to-two margin.

After touching their 10-month high, crude prices retreated 3.1% to $72.05, reflecting yesterday's reported rise in stockpiles from the American Petroleum Institute, generating a 1.4% fall in the

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The retail sector is all over the news. Unfortunately, the headlines are almost all negative. As unemployment risks remain high, consumers refuse to spend.

It has been a tough week if you have anything to do with the world of retail. Just about every company that opened its books to the Street this week got punished for the act.

The list of “disappointing” reports is getting longer by the day.

Lowes (NYSE:LOW) kicked off the week with scary-low figures. Home Depot (NYSE:HD) beat the Street but still got punished after a slew of less-than-stellar economic reports.

Outside of the home-centric sector, shares of Liz Claiborne (NYSE:LIZ) plummeted on Monday after the Standard and Poor’s cut its rating on the unprofitable retailer to B, a two-notch downgrade. The company’s rating now stands five levels below investment grade.

High-end retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) is also deep in negative

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL - June 16, 2009 - Zacks Research Director, Dirk Van Dijk says that S&P 500 earnings are continuing to show red ink. He tracks companies on the Zacks.com web site, naming names, while forecasting trends for the months ahead.

Key Points

Estimate increases outnumber cuts by 5:4 margin Second Quarter total net income expected to be down 36.0% year/year Third quarter expected to be down 23.1% year/year Full year 2009 expected to fall 12.3%, implies strong growth in fourth quarter Staples only sector expected to post positive growth in second quarter Six sectors expected to decline more than 30% Financials expected to rebound after disastrous 2008 Median EPS growth in second quarter expected to be -19.3% Bottom up estimate for S&P 500 now $57.27 in 2009 versus $57.25 two weeks ago. S&P 500 now expected to earn $72.49 in 2010 versus $72.61 last ...

Key Points: Estimate increases outnumber cuts by 5:4 margin Second Quarter total net income expected to be down 36.0% year/year Third quarter expected to be down 23.1% year/year Full year 2009 expected to fall 12.3%, implies strong growth in fourth quarter Staples only sector expected to post positive growth in second quarter Six sectors expected to decline more than 30% Financials expected to rebound after disastrous 2008 Median EPS growth in second quarter expected to be -19.3% Bottom up estimate for S&P 500 now $57.27 in 2009 versus $57.25 two weeks ago. S&P 500 now expected to earn $72.49 in 2010 versus $72.61 last week

Total Net Income Growth

The expectations bar for the second quarter is set very low with total net income projected to fall 36.0%. This is even worse than the 27.3% decline posted in the first quarter. (Note that this is different than what was posted in the last report since the numbers always reflect the

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Home Depot Investor and Analyst ConferenceToday, Home Depot (HD) is holding its 2009 Investor and Analyst Conference. The company is webcasting the event here. The company is going to discuss its Strategic Priorities, outline its Long-Term Operating Targets and update its 2009 EPS Guidance.Strategic PrioritiesHome Depot's Strategic Priorities include customer service, product authority, productivity and efficiency driven by disciplined capital allocation.Customer service - Taking care of associates, putting customers first, and simplifying the business. Product Authority - An emphasis on re-establishing a merchandising driven business, providing product that meets customer project needs, and building tools for effective implementation. Productivity and Efficiency - Disciplined capital allocation focused on the existing core retail business, transforming the supply chain, and improving information technology. Our take: These initiatives all make sense and could be made by just about any ...