Stocks To Open Lower
Stocks appeared headed lower Friday as
more corporate warnings weighed on equities.
The government reported a benign
inflation environment with the Consumer Price Index increasing 0.4% in May. The
core rate came in at 0.1%.
In earlier remarks, Federal Reserve
Bank of Richmond President Alfred Broaddus said the outlook for the U.S. economy
is “very bright” despite the current slowdown. “We at the Fed had wanted
growth to moderate somewhat, and, as things turned out, it’s moderated more than
we expected or wanted,” Broaddus said. “Despite the current slowdown, however,
intermediate and longer-term prospects for the U.S. economy are still very
bright.”
Fiber-optic gear maker JDS Uniphase
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PowerRating)
overnight lowered revenue estimates. The company now expects sales for the three
months ending June 30 of $600 million, a 14% decline from the previous guidance
of $700 million.Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial/First Call were expecting
fourth quarter revenue of $690 million.
Shares of Microsoft
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PowerRating) slid
in pre-open trading amid rumors that the software giant would issue a profit
warning. Microsoft declined to comment.
Electronic components maker General
Semiconductor
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PowerRating) Friday morning warned that Q2 revenue would fall 15% to
17% from the first quarter. The company said it expects Q2 earnings of 1 to 3 cents
a share vs. 28 cents a year earlier and 12 cents in the first quarter.
Nortel Networks
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PowerRating) said it would
report a loss of 48 cents in the second quarter before the impact of charges
for bad debts and a work force reduction. The company said it would slash a
further 10,000 jobs, above and beyond the 20,000 already announced in April.
Circuit City Stores
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PowerRating) reported net
income in the May 31 quarter of 5 cents a share vs. 28 cents a year ago and a
penny above analyst estimates averaging 4 cents a share, according to Thomson
Financial/First Call.
Omni Industries said that contract
manufacturer Celestica
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PowerRating) had proposed an $884 million acquisition of the
contract electronics manufacturer .