Specialized Finance

Quarterly reports of note scheduled for this week include those from Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE: ADM), General Motors (NYSE: GM), MasterCard (NYSE: MA), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG) and Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), all of which are expected to post earnings growth, as well as Pfizer (NYSE: PFE)...

The ceiling is leaking, but it's unclear whether it will be repaired? Rather than fix the seeping fiscal problem, Democrats and Republicans have stared at the leaky ceiling and periodically applied debt ceiling patches every year or two by raising the limit. Nanosecond debt ceiling coverage has...

Shares of Life Partners (NASDAQ: LPHI) are lower on the session by 0.19%, currently trading at $5.12. The stock has been moving largely higher over the past five weeks and is currently trading above the 50-day moving average. Options traders are buying puts on the name today. A short while ago...

According to J.P. Morgan, CME Group (NYSE: CME) reported good 2Q11 results with EPS of $4.38. J.P. Morgan said that the results included a net disposition gain after expenses of $6.6 million, but it feels that it was offset by unusually low investment income. “We see 2H11 as the transition to...

Goldman Sachs made a number of updates on the market structure sector in a research report published today. Evercore Partners (NYSE: EVR) had its rating reiterated at Buy. At the same time, its price target was maintained at $42. On Thursday, EVR added 0.41% to its value to finish the day at $29....

Accoring to KBW, Marketaxess Holdings (NASDAQ: MKTX), estimates and PT have increased. KBW announced that they have changed the EPS estimates of MKTX from $1.03 to $1.14 for FY11 and from $1.00 to $1.11 for FY12. PT has also increased to $26. Rating is reiterated to Market Perform. Marketaxess...

Kellogg Co (NYSE: K) reported a 14% rise in its second-quarter profit. Kellogg reported its quarterly profit at $343 million, or $0.94 per share, up from $302 million, or $0.79 per share, in the year-ago period. Its sales climbed 11% to $3.39 billion. However, analysts were expecting a profit of $0...

KBW reiterated its Outperform rating on NASDAQ (NASDAQ: NDAQ). At the same time, the rating agency reduced its price target on the company's stock to $33. On Wednesday, NDAQ lost 3.25% of its value to finish the day at $23.50.

CME Group Inc (NASDAQ: CME) reported an 8.5% rise in its second-quarter profit. CME reported its quarterly earnings at $293.7 million, or $4.38 per share, up from $270.7 million, or $4.11 per share, in the year-ago period. Its revenue rose 3% to $838.3 million. However, analysts were expecting a...

JP Morgan reiterated its Overweight rating on Moody's (NYSE: MCO). At the same time, the rating agency left its price target on the company's stock at $44. On Wednesday, MCO lost 5.26% of its value to end the day at $35.45.

The S&P 500 (SPX) took a major hit in Wednesday's trading session, finishing down 27.05 points, or 2.03%, from Tuesday's close to 1304.89. The selling began just after the opening bell, and the index extended its losses throughout the session, closing near the low of the day (1303.49), as...

Boeing Co (NYSE: BA) reported a 20% rise in its second-quarter profit. Boeing's quarterly profit surged to $941 million, or $1.25 per share, from $787 million, or $1.06 per share, in the year-earlier period. Its revenue gained 6% y/y to $16.54 billion from $15.57 billion. However, analysts were...

This is your Benzinga news summary and traders' outlook for Wednesday, July 27, 2011, covering headlines from overnight and Wednesday's pre-market session. Today in domestic pre-market trading, U.S. equity futures are trading flat after mixed guidance this morning from some notable companies. The...

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc (NASDAQ: NDAQ) reported a 4.25 drop in its second-quarter profit. Nasdaq reported its quarterly earnings at $92 million, down from $96 million, in the year-ago period. Its earnings per share rose to $0.51 from $0.46. Excluding items, Nasdaq's earnings came in at $0.62 per...

Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN) rose 6.92% to $229.00 in the pre-market session. Amazon reported upbeat quarterly results. Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW) added 6.58% to $78.85 in the pre-market session. EW reported an 18 percent rise in its Q2 revenue. Electronic Arts Inc (NASDAQ: ERTS...