Broader Markets To Open Higher
Stocks appear set to open higher
Tuesday ahead of the FOMC meeting.
The markets expect the FOMC to leave
rates unchanged today.
Merrill Lynch lowered its rating on
Xerox
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PowerRating) from Buy to Near Term Neutral due to the pending renegotiation
of its credit facility and the company’s restatement of its financials back to
1997.
Clear Channel
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PowerRating) reported Q1
earnings of 12 cents a share, beating analysts’ consensus of 16 cents according to
a survey taken by Multex.
Sharper Image
(
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PowerRating), the
specialty electronics retailer, pre-announced April quarter sales to come in at
$90.3 million vs. consensus estimates of $86.2 million. The company now
expects a loss between 3 cents to 5 cents a share. Multex consensus is for
a loss of 5 cents.
Henry Schein
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PowerRating) posted Q1
earnings of 45 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates by 3 cents according to
a survey taken by Multex.
According to a report in the Wall
Street Journal, Microsoft
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PowerRating) has made an offer to acquire Navision the
Danish software company for $1.3 billion. This acquisition will give MSFT a
presence in the European market.