The Stocks Wall Street Is Watching
Friday after the close Abbott Labs
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ABT |
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PowerRating) received
FDA approval for the epilepsy drug Depakote.
Wal-Mart
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PowerRating) is projecting that
December comparative sales will be at the low end of 3 to 5% growth. The sales
update covers the period through Friday, December 20th.
An Alabama Supreme Court reversed a $3.5 billion
jury verdict against Exxon Mobil
(
XOM |
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PowerRating) in the Mobile Bay royalties
dispute. The case will be sent back to a lower court for retrial.
Weight Watchers
(
WTW |
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PowerRating) may be fully
valued at current prices according to a Salomon Smith Barney analyst in an
article in Barron’s over the weekend.
Banc of America
(
BAC |
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PowerRating) sees a charge of
approximately $1.2 billion in Q4 due to provisions for loan losses and net
charge-offs. The figure is higher than in previous quarters due to the utilities
sector and associated losses with the banktuptcy of a major airline.
Federated
(
FD |
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PowerRating), parent company of
Bloomingdale’s and Macy’s says sales during the third week of December were not
as strong as anticipated, and it is now likely that it will miss previous
forecasts of “flat to down 2.5% for the November – December period.
Citigroup
(
C |
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PowerRating) will take a one time
charge of $1.3 billion for SEC and related litigation related to Enron. The
company also stated that it will increase its credit reserves by $200 million to
reflect a demanding corporate credit environment.
McDonald’s
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MCD |
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PowerRating) debt has been placed
on review by Moody’s. The process for review opens up the potential for a
downgrade of the company’s debt.