Stocks To Open Lower
Stocks appear set to open lower
Friday after Dell Computers
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PowerRating) reported mixed numbers for Q2
and lowered guidance for next quarter.
Also dragging the markets lower is
Scientific Atlanta
(
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PowerRating) after the company announced it could no longer
forecast expectations accurately. SFA was also downgraded by Banc of America
Securities from Strong Buy to Market Perform.
DB Alex Brown downgraded Jabil Circuit
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JBL |
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PowerRating) to Market Perform from Buy and lowered estimates for FY02 from 80
cents to 65 cents.
According to a report from Reuters,
Express Scripts
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PowerRating) has entered a forward sales contract for 4.5 million
shares of stock with New York Life. The life of the contract is 10 years, and
the transfer of stock does not take place until the contract expires.
AsiaInfo
(
ASIA |
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PowerRating) was selected by
China Unicom to build a billing system for a new CDMA network.
Fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger
(
TOM |
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PowerRating)
said it was looking at possibilities to participate in a bid to acquire Brooks
Brothers.
Merrill Lynch raised its near-term
rating on Comverse Technologies
(
CMVT |
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PowerRating) from Neutral to Accumulate.
After Maxim Integrated
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MXIM |
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PowerRating)
reported earnings, Lehman Brothers said it would still continue to avoid the
stock.
The Trade Deficit widened 3.3% to
$29.4 billion, as both exports and imports fell to levels not seen since early
2000, supporting evidence of the impact of the global slowdown on the U.S.
economy.
Ford Motor
(
F |
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PowerRating) announced that it
would cut up to 5000 salaried jobs in North America by the end of the year and
also lowered its outlook for 2001.
Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded
Tiffany & Co
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TIF |
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PowerRating) to Buy from Hold after the company reported Q2
earnings in line with analysts’ lowered expectations.
Gap Inc.
(
GPS |
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PowerRating) was downgraded by
Credit Suisse First Boston to Hold from Buy after the company posted lower Q2
profits and warned that Q3 earnings could come in below analysts’ expectations.
Wind River Systems
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WIND |
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PowerRating) posted
a Q2 loss of 8 cents a share, in line with analysts’ expectations according to a
poll taken by Thomson Financial/First Call.
IHOP
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IHP |
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PowerRating), the home of the Pancake
House chain, said it has retained investment bank Salomon Smith Barney to assist
in the critiquing of the company’s strategic and structural options.