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Published July 31, 2009 at 2:23 PM
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Welcome to Deal Stocks, where we focus on a handful of select public
companies involved in activity across the deal spectrum -- including
M&A, private equity, IPOs, bankruptcies and corporate
restructurings. These are the transactions that define The Deal and are
likely contributors to a stock's gains or losses. Join in the
conversation on Twitter @dealstocks.
The markets finished mixed as traders saw a glimpse of improvement in the U.S. economy with a pickup in M&A lately and a GDP report that came in stronger than previous quarters. Overall, the Dow finished up 17.15, or .19%, to 9,171.61 while the Nasdaq closed down 5.80, or .29%, to 1,978.50.
Here's a look at the performance of some notable Deal Stocks:
- Shares of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) finished up 14 cents, or .49%, to $28.50 on news that it along with Blackstone Group's (NYSE:BX) were one of two picked by $200 billion sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. to manage its new foray into hedge funds. However, Blackstone Group's (NYSE:BX) shares were down, even though the company will get a $500 million allocation, according to the Wall Street Journal; while there was no figure for Morgan Stanley. CIC is a major shareholder in both financial firms.
- Shares of New York Times Co. closed up 25 cents, or 3.28%, to $7.87 as its Boston Globe unit reportedly has received some bids that includes Stephen Pagliuca, co-owner of the Boston Celtics basketball team and a top executive at private equity company Bain Capital.
- Investors also parsed the earnings of the Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) for clues on consumer spending and the economic outlook. Although the media company's quarterly earnings topped analysts' forecasts, coming in at 52 cents a share, compared with the expected profit of 50 cents a share, the stock fell after-hours yesterday on revenue concerns. The top line only reached $8.6 billion in the quarter; while analysts who follow Disney expected the company report sales of $8.83 billion, according to a consensus estimate from Thomson Reuters.
- Even after the $182 billion rescue and assets sales American International Group's (NYSE:AIG) still in trouble, according to the NY Times reports, as the dozens of insurance companies that make up the company are showing considerable weakness, a review of state regulatory filings show.
- Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC) may be scaling back in the U.S., but it has blueprints to expand its corporate and investment banking business
and offer wealth management services to tap rich Chinese consumers. News that the bank wants to open a Chinese subsidiary sent stocks up, according to CNBC .
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said the nation's gross domestic product contracted at 1% annual rate. The result was less severe than expected and falls well below the average 5.9% decline over the last six months.
But GDP has now fallen for four straight quarters, marking the first time since government records started talleying the statistic in 1947. Lastly, treasuries gained on news that consumer spending decreased, easing concerns of inflation, according to Bloomberg. - Gerald Magpily, George White and Maria Woehr
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VITAL SIGNS |
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Figures are calculated
according to the latest stock data available at approximately 4:30 pm
ET |
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July 31, 2009 |
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Benchmark |
Spread |
Change from previous day |
1 week ago |
1 month ago |
1 year ago |
|
LIBOR 1-MONTH |
0.28 |
-0.001 |
0.29 |
0.31 |
2.46 |
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LIBOR 3-MONTH |
0.48 |
-0.004 |
0.50 |
0.60 |
2.79 |
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TED |
0.29 |
-0.004 |
0.32 |
0.41 |
1.13 |
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Exchange |
Average |
Change from previous day |
1 week ago |
1 month ago |
1 year ago |
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VIX |
25.82 |
+0.42 (+1.65%) |
23.09 |
26.35 |
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T-bond |
Current Price/Yield |
Price/Yield change |
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3-Year |
99-24.5 / 1.58 |
0-08+ / -.092
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5-Year |
100-16+ / 2.51 |
0-17 / -.114 |
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10-Year |
97-03+ / 3.48 |
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Continue reading below
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It looks like we may have found a stable base to work from here. The better than expected GDP numbers really did help. I'm not totally sold yet though on the overall economy, or the markets.