SAN FRANCISCO – Among the companies whose shares are expected to see active trading on Monday are American Express Co., Merck & Co., and Texas Instruments Inc.
Altera Corp. (ALTR) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 19 cents a share, according to a survey of analysts by Thomson Financial.
American Express (AXP) is expected to post earnings of 86 cents a share for the second quarter.
Halliburton Co. (HAL) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 56 cents a share.
Hasbro Inc. (HAS) is expected to post earnings of 17 cents a share for the second quarter.
Merck (MRK) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 72 cents a share.
Netflix Inc. (NFLX) is expected to post earnings of 23 cents a share for the second quarter.
Pactiv Corp. (PTV) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 48 cents a share.
Schering-Plough Corp. (SGP) is expected to post earnings of 35 cents a share for the second quarter.
Texas Instruments (TXN) is expected to report second-quarter earnings of 42 cents a share.
Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) is expected to post earnings of 70 cents a share for the second quarter.
After Friday's closing bell, Internet entrepreneur Brian Greenspan outlined what he described as a strategy for Dow Jones & Co. (DJ) that would push its stock price to the $100 level while paying off those members of the controlling Bancroft family who want to sell the company now. See full story.
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American Physicians Capital Inc. (ACAP) reported second-quarter net earnings of $16.3 million, or $1.44 a share, up 52% from $10.7 million, or 86 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The East Lansing, Mich.-based provider of medical professional liability insurance said net written premiums in the three months ended June 30 fell to $27 million from $30.1 million in the comparable period last year. Analysts polled by Thomson Financial were expecting, on average, a per-share profit of 91 cents. The company posted a combined ration of 58.7% in the second quarter versus 89.6% in the same period in 2006.
Broadcom Corp. (BRCM) disclosed that it and its co-founder and Chairman Henry Samueli have received Wells notices from the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the company's stock option accounting problems. A Wells notice indicates that the SEC staff plans to recommend the agency pursue civil actions against the company and Samueli. Broadcom and Samueli will have the opportunity to respond in writing to the Wells notices before the SEC staff makes its final recommendation. They will take that opportunity, and may seek meetings with the staff, Broadcom said in an SEC filing. Broadcom, an Irvine, Calif., telecommunications chip maker, disclosed the Wells notices in its second-quarter report filed with the SEC. Earlier this year, the company concluded its internal stock option review and recorded a $2.2 billion charge. Broadcom blamed its option accounting problems on former company officers, including former Chief Executive and co-founder Henry T. Nicholas III.
Roche Holdings Ltd. (RHHDY) and Trimeris Inc. (TRMS) said that new interim results from an ongoing study demonstrate a high response rate with Fuzeon plus darunavir, regardless of existing protease inhibitor resistance. The data showed that about 64% of three-class, treatment-experienced patients achieved undetectable HIV at 24 weeks, and that baseline sensitivity to darunavir didn't appear to influence patient response to the regimen, the companies said. Fuzeon, co-developed by Roche and Trimeris, is a fusion inhibitor available for the treatment of HIV, while darunavir is a commercially available, ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitor, marketed by Tibotec Therapeutics. The study was presented at the 4th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Pathogenesis, Treatment and Prevention in Sydney, Australia.
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) first discussed a deal with ABN Amro Holding NV (ABN) more than two years ago, according to documents released late Friday, the FT reported on its Web site. The documents show RBS Chief Executive Sir Fred Goodwin first met ABN Amro CEO Rijkman Groenink to discuss a possible combination of the two banks back in February 2005, though nothing came of the talks, according to the FT.
State Street Corp. (STT) said it has entered into a $1 billion accelerated share buyback with an affiliate of Lehman Brothers Inc. The total number of shares to be repurchased is subject to certain conditions, the Boston-based financial services company said. The transaction is expected to be completed within the next six months, State Street said. The company said it will have a total of about 13.2 million shares of remaining capacity under its existing stock buyback program, based on the Thursday closing price of $71.39 on the New York Stock Exchange.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.'s (WMT) executive vice president of apparel merchandising, Claire Watts, has resigned, a company spokesperson said. Watts, who announced her resignation to the discount retailer yesterday, is leaving "to pursue other career interests," spokesperson Sarah Clarke said. Wal-Mart has subsequently shuffled the ranks of its apparel merchandising division, which has struggled over the past year, hampering the retail giant's overall sales momentum. Among the changes, it has named Dottie Mattison as senior vice-president and general merchandising manager of women's apparel; Mattison will also oversee women's jewelry, shoes and accessories, as well as product development for apparel. Mark Larson will continue to preside over men's, kids and babies, but now he and Mattison will report directly to John Fleming, chief merchant for the U.S. division of Wal-Mart's namesake stores.
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