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Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Schacknow - Today's Brief - September 25, 2012

TODAYS PRIMER                             

    Peter Schacknow - Senior Producer, CNBC Breaking News Desk

    The U.S. stock market’s performance might be a great deal better if Monday could be wiped from the calendar — with the Dow coming off its 15th Monday drop out of the past 16. The only Monday in recent months to see a rise occurred on August 6th. On the bright side, the Dow has now gone 63 straight sessions without declining by 1 percent or more, the longest such stretch in six years.

    Several economic reports are on tap for today, starting with the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index at 9 a.m. New York time. Economists think prices in the 20 largest markets increased by 1 percent in July compared to a year earlier, following the prior month’s 0.5 percent rise. At 10 a.m., the Conference Board’s September Consumer Confidence Index is expected to jump to 65.0 from August’s 60.6.

    The Treasury will sell $35 billion in 2-year notes today, with the results of that auction available shortly after 1 p.m. New York time.

    Cruise line operator Carnival (CCL) is among the few companies out with quarterly earnings this morning, along with financial information provider FactSet (FDS) and resort operator Vail Resorts (MTN). Jabil Circuit (JBL) leads the small list of companies set to issue quarterly numbers after today’s closing bell.

    Dow component Caterpillar (CAT) leads our list of stocks to watch, with the company cutting its 2015 earnings forecast because of a slow economic recovery. Caterpillar now expects to earn $12 — $18 per share for 2015, down from its prior forecast of $15 — $20 per share.

    Oneok (OKE) says it expects earnings to rise by 19 percent in 2013, due to new projects being placed into service by the energy company, and greater volumes for its publicly traded natural gas subsidiary, Oneok Partners (OKS).

    Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK) has exercised warrants that give it a 17 percent stake in Media General (MEG). Berkshire acquired those warrants earlier this year in a deal that provided $445 million in financing for the media company.

    Sanofi (SNY) says it may cut 900 jobs in France by 2015, but that’s smaller than the 2,500 predicted by unions as the drugmaker revamps its operations.

    Google (GOOG) has launched its Nexus 7 tablet in Japan, along with Japanese language downloadable content, hoping to cash in on one of the world’s biggest markets for digital downloads.

    Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) has lost a tax case in which it challenged an IRS ruling involving calculation of a research tax credit. HP will now owe an additional amount of tax in the tens of millions of dollars.

    Red Hat (RHT) has narrowed its full year revenue forecast, now seeing fiscal 2013 revenue of $1.32 billion to $1.33 billion. Its prior forecast called for revenue of up to $1.34 billion. The Linux software provider’s full year earnings forecast, however, remains unchanged at $1.16 — $1.20 per share.

    Tesla Motors (TSLA) has unveiled a faster, solar-powered charging station designed to speed up the process of refueling electric vehicles. The new charging station has been installed at six highway rest stops in California.

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