Stocks are lower as the dollar rises and Wall Street digests a week of mixed economic reports

Overseas markets declined. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said the ECB plans to start pulling back some of its stimulus programs as the economy begins to recover.

With little U.S. economic news to help sway the market Friday, the dollar is again pressuring stocks. A strengthening dollar drives down foreign demand for commodities, which are often traded in dollars. It also can depress U.S. exports which become more expensive as the dollar rises.

That can hurt the price of energy and materials stocks that are closely tied to commodities and companies with large operations overseas.

A disappointing earnings report from computer maker Dell Inc. is also weighing on the market. Dell said after the market closed Thursday that sales of its computers to big businesses remain sluggish. Its quarterly revenue and profit missed analysts’ expectations.

As

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Yesterday, Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) priced a private offering of $600 million of 5.25% senior notes due in November 15, 2021. The net proceeds of the offering is expected to be used to finance 7.875% Senior Notes due in 2013, of which $450 million is outstanding, and a portion of 4.250% Senior Subordinated Convertible Debentures due in 2034, of which $230 million is outstanding. The offering is subject to market and other conditions and is expected to close on November 25, 2009.   The notes will be in the general senior unsecured obligations and will mature on November 15, 2021 with interests payable semi-annually on May 15 and November 15, beginning May 15, 2010.  The company is offering the notes relying upon an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933,  for an offer and sale of securities that does not involve a public offering. The notes ...

Stocks are lower as an unexpected drop in home construction raised concerns about the pace of the economy’s recovery

The Commerce Department said construction of homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to an annual rate of 529,000, well below the pace of 600,000 that economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted.

Building permits, a key indication for future activity, slid 4 percent to an annual rate of 552,000, also below the rate of 580,000 that analysts had forecast.

There was little reaction to a report that found inflation at the retail level remained tame as rising unemployment, nervous consumers and tight credit keep prices stable.

The Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in October, slightly above the 0.2 percent economists expected. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2 percent, compared to expectations of a 0.1 percent rise.

A report released Tuesday on prices at the wholesale

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Sprint Nextel (S) has expanded its fourth-generation (4G) wireless broadband network to two more US cities. The third largest US carrier has officially launched commercial services in San Antonio and Austin in Texas. The company’s 4G services now covers about 25 markets in the US, with plans to address more than 120 million people by the end of 2009.
 
Subscribers across the newly launched markets can now enjoy lightning fast mobile broadband experience by paying just $10 per month over their existing 3G wireless data plans. The 4G WiMax network offers up to 10 times faster network speeds than the existing 3G deployments. The download speeds enabled by the 4G WiMax network average 3−6 megabits per second (Mbps), with peak speeds exceeding 10 Mbps.  
 
Sprint offers its 4G service under the “Sprint 4G” brand and leverages the WiMax (a mobile broadband technology) network operated …

Waste Management, Inc. (WM) announced that it has priced an underwritten public offering of $600 million aggregate principal amount of 6.125% senior notes due November 30, 2039. The company expects the notes to be assigned ratings of BBB by both Standard & Poor’s and Fitch and Baa3 by Moody’s. The offering is expected to close on November 17. The company said that the net proceeds from the offering will be used to fund certain equity investments and acquisitions and the remaining proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes and funding of other potential acquisitions and investments. In August, the company entered into an agreement to purchase a 40% percent equity investment in Shanghai Environment Group (SEG), a subsidiary of Shanghai Chengtou Holding, for approximately $140 million. As a joint venture partner in SEG, Waste Management will participate in the operation and management of waste-to-energy and ...

Are you sold on gold? The precious metal outperformed every major equity index in the world in 2008. The question is, can gold—and other precious metals—keep on flying? Or would buying today be buying high and selling low?

Precious metals have always been intriguing to investors because they tend to hold their value. In times of geopolitical crisis or currency devaluation, for example, the value of paper money might fluctuate, but a hard asset will always be worth something. As a result, historically, precious metals have been considered a “safe haven” in times of economic and financial instability.

That brings us to why gold is on a tear today. It declined in 2008 and early 2009 as panicked investors rushed into cash in an attempt to weather the financial crisis. But sometime in the middle on 2009, when investors began to move their money from the sidelines, gold started to rally.

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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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Stocks rise on GE upgrade despite weak employment data

U.S. stocks rose on Friday as investors took heart after the government said monthly payroll losses slowed, even as unemployment rose above 10 percent.

General Electric Co shares jumped more than 5 percent after a brokerage upgrade, and helped lead the industrial sector higher.

The market had opened lower after data showed the unemployment rate topped the psychologically key 10 percent level and reached the highest point since April 1983.

U.S. employers cut 190,000 jobs in October and unemployment hit its highest level since 1983. Despite the disturbing headline unemployment number, payroll losses continued to decline, which some investors saw as a mild positive as the hourly work week remained static.

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 17.84 points, or 0.18 percent, at 10,023.80. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 2.30 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,068.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index increased 7.87

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Stocks are higher on positive employment data

Encouraging news on the labor market buoyed stocks in early trading Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to weigh in on the economy.

The ADP National Employment Report said 203,000 private sector jobs were lost in October, down from the 227,000 jobs lost in September. It was the seventh straight month of declining job losses.

That stirred hopes for a better-than-expected employment report from the Labor Department on Friday — the month’s most important piece of economic data.

Later Wednesday morning, the Institute for Supply Management will give an update on activity in the service sector. Growth in the service industry would add significant jobs to the economy.

The market’s main focus though is the Federal Reserve and what it has to say about the economy when it wraps up a two-day meeting on interest rates Wednesday afternoon.

Policy makers aren’t expected to raise the Fed’s

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Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) posted third-quarter earnings of 39 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 37 cents. However, EPS was down 20%, compared to the prior-year quarter.   Revenues stood at $2,073.5 million, compared to $834.0 million in the third quarter of 2008. The current quarter includes financial results of Allied Waste Industries, Inc., which merged with Republic Services in December 2008. On a combined company basis (assuming the companies were merged in January 2008), internal growth in the third quarter was a negative 12.8%. A positive contribution of 2.8% from core price was offset by a 10.1% decline in core volume, a 1.9% negative contribution from commodity pricing, and a 3.6% decline in fuel recovery fees.   The company is progressing well on business integration. Through the third quarter, the company achieved annual run rate synergies of approximately $140 million. This is well ahead ...