By James Langton
(November 1 – 09:00 ET) – The earnings roller coaster continues today. Markets are pointing to a down open after a profit warning from Altera Corp. Telecom giant WorldCom Inc. also lowered its earnings expectations and announced a plan to realign its business and create two separately traded tracking stocks. Morgan Stanley has turned bearish on some techs, including Altera. Goldman has cut ratings on financial stocks.
At 10:00 ET the U.S. National Association of Purchasing Managers numbers will be released. They are expected to inch downward. The Fed’s Beige Book is out at 14:00 ET, with markets watching that, too.
In Canada, the Help-wanted Index edged up 2.3% in October, led by B.C. up 4.1%, with Quebec and Manitoba each gaining 2.4%.
Markets are open but trading is extremely quiet in Europe, where many firms observe a holiday for All Saints Day. The euro and the price of oil are both up. The FTSE is down 31 points to 6,407. The CAC 40 has dropped 37 to 6,360. The DAX is down 57 to 7,020.
In M&A news, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is buying Marlborough Underwriting Agency Ltd. Comerica Inc., Michigan’s largest bank, is buying California’s Imperial Bancorp for US$1.3 billion in stock.
Overnight in Asia stocks rose on the heels of yesterday’s heady Nasdaq rally. The Nikkei finished up 333 points to 14,872. The Hang Seng added 454 points to 15,349.
In other news, Seagram reported operating income of US$172 million, versus US$72 million for the year-ago period. However it reported a net loss of 84¢ a share, which included a US$390 million charge as a result of an accounting change. Before the change it earned 5¢ a share, up from a 29¢ a share loss last year.
Noranda Inc. reported earnings per share of 27¢ for the third quarter, ended September 30, up from 24¢ a share last year.
Call-Net Enterprises lost $1.30 a share in the third quarter, down from a loss of $1.06 a share in the second quarter.