Search This Blog

Thursday, May 31, 2012

Schacknow - TODAY'S PRIMER, May 31, 2012

                      
                             Peter Schacknow, Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

U.S. stock investors will likely not be unhappy to see May end – the Dow is on track for its biggest monthly point loss since May 2010, while the Nasdaq is set to register its largest monthly point decline since October 2008.

The Dow will also end the month without a single two-day win streak, the first time that’s happened since May 2010.

The economic calendar is a full one today, giving the Street plenty to consider while investors await the Friday morning release of the May jobs report.

ADP is out with its monthly look at private sector employment at 8:15am ET, with economists looking for payrolls to grow by 150,000 for May, compared with April’s increase of 119,000.

At 8:30am ET, the Labor Department is expected to report 370,000 first-time jobless claims for the week ending May 26, unchanged from the prior week.

At the same time, the government is out with the second estimate of first quarter GDP, with consensus forecasts calling for a 1.9 percent annual rate increase, compared with the prior Q1 estimate of 2.2 percent growth.

At 9:45am ET, the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index is seen coming in at 56.0 for May, little changed from the prior reading of 56.2.

The Energy Department will release two inventory reports this morning: the regular Thursday look at natural gas at 10:30am ET, and the holiday-delayed oil and gasoline inventory report at 11am ET. 

Most of the nation’s retailers will report their May results this morning – a calendar quirk is the reason why those reports come before the month has actually ended.

Very few corporate earnings reports are out this morning, although we are scheduled to hear from Joy Global (JOY) and networking equipment maker Ciena (CIEN).

TiVo (TIVO) is a stock to watch this morning, after the maker of digital video recording devices reported a quarterly loss of $0.17 per share, slightly wider than estimates. The loss came amid rising litigation and marketing costs, even as subscriber numbers increased.  TiVo is also forecasting a second quarter loss that’s wider than analysts had been anticipating.

Lionsgate (LGF) reported a fiscal fourth quarter loss of $0.17 per share, compared with analyst estimates of a $0.26 per share profit. Lionsgate had sizable marketing costs for its films, as well as expenses related to its acquisition of Summit Entertainment. Some analysts had been optimistic that the hit movie “Hunger Games” would results in more recognized profit than was actually the case.

Forest Laboratories (FRX) has responded the investor Carl Icahn’s intention to nominate his own slate of directors, saying it’s disappointed the Icahn’s first chosen method of engagement since last year is the threat of yet another proxy fight.

Caesars Entertainment (CZR) chief financial officer Jonathan Halkyard is departing for a new job outside the gaming industry. Senior management members will share the CFO duties on an interim basis while the company searches for a permanent replacement.

Costco (COST) saw its May same-store sales rise 4 percent, short of the 4.3 percent increase that analysts were anticipating.

Zumiez (ZUMZ) reported a 13.7 percent increase in May same-store sales, more than double analyst estimates. Zumiez has seen a jump in demand from its teenage customers for its surfing and snowboarding apparel.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.