Word of the Day

Exchange-Traded Fund

In the wide and varied family of the thousands and thousands of funds out there, the exchange-traded fund is one of the more consumer-friendly ones.

Unlike mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, behave more like stocks. You can buy into an ETF at any time, and sell it whenever you feel like it. And like a stock, an ETF's value can rise and fall--depending on what the ETF is invested in.What do ETFs invest in? Well, they're typically linked to an index like the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. So, if you had an ETF that trades the same companies that make up the Dow or the S&P, it will rise and fall in value pretty much the same amount as the Dow or S&P.

You can also buy ETFs that invest in other types of products, like bonds, currencies, gold or other commodities. The ETF market has grown considerably in the past few years, so there is no shortage of ETFs to invest in.

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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Stocks In Focus For Wednesday

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Sue Chang

MarketWatch

SAN FRANCISCO -- Tech shares are expected to take center stage Wednesday, with major companies scheduled to report earnings. Other familiar names such as General Mills and Nike are also slated to detail their quarterly results.

Research In Motion (RIMM) , the maker of BlackBerry, is forecast to report earnings of 85 cents a share in the first quarter, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

Software giant Oracle (ORCL) is expected to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 43 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

Nike (NKE) , the athletic footwear and apparel company, is likely to report earnings of 96 cents a share in the fourth quarter, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

General Mills (GIS) , which owns Green Giant and Pillsbury among other well known household names, is projected to post fiscal fourth-quarter earnings of 71 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

Analysts polled by FactSet are estimating Monsanto Co. (MON) , the agricultural products company, to post third-quarter earnings of $1.36 a share in the third quarter.

Red Hat Inc. (RHT) , a provider of open source software solution, is likely to post first-quarter earnings of 18 cents as share, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

CKE Restaurants (CKE) , the operator of Carl's Jr., and Hardee's, is forecast to post first-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY) is expected to report first-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share, according to analysts polled by FactSet Research.

After Tuesday's closing bell, Pier 1 Imports Inc. (PIR) withdrew its proposal to buy Cost Plus Inc. (CPWM) , hinting that the price tag for its rival may be too high. "Our goal in pursuing a combination with Cost Plus was to create a stronger, more efficient company ... We have concluded, however, it is unlikely that we would be able to acquire a majority interest in Cost Plus at a price that would make sense for our shareholders," said Pier 1 in a statement.

Watch list

3Com's (COMS) fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened to $166.7 million, or 41 cents a share, from $66.2 million, or 17 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Excluding a goodwill charge, the company would have reported adjusted earnings of 9 cents a share for the current quarter. Revenue rose to $321.3 million from $310.9 million last year.

Moody's Investors Service revised the outlook on all ratings of British Airways Plc (BAY) to negative from stable. The weaker outlook for British Airways reflects Moody's concerns about the impact of oil prices on its profitability, especially if oil remains above an average of $120 a barrel for the year. "While BA, in common with other airlines, follows strict hedging policies to mitigate the fuel cost rise, Moody's nevertheless expects that over time the benefits of such actions may be eroded as hedges at lower prices continue to mature," said Moody's in a statement. British Airways is currently rated Baa3.

Chevron (CVX) declared force majeure at its Escravos oil facility in Nigeria because of lost production, according to media report. The move comes after Nigerian militants blew up a Chevron-operated oil supply pipeline last week, cutting output by 120,000 barrels a day at the facility.

Darden Restaurants (DRI) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit of $102 million, or 71 cents a share, from a loss of $55.1 million, or 38 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 25% to $1.8 billion, helped by growth at its Olive Garden restaurant. Darden also operates Red Lobster, LongHorn Steakhouse and other restaurants. Looking ahead, Darden pegged sales growth for fiscal 2009 between 14% and 15%. It also increased its quarterly dividend to 20 cents a share, from 18 cents.

Jabil Circuit Inc. (JBL) reported a fiscal third-quarter profit of $38.4 million, or 19 cents a share, on revenue of $3.1 billion. During the same period a year ago, the electronics contract manufacturer earned $6.2 million, or 3 cents a share, on sales of $3 billion. Excluding one-time items, Jabil would have reported core earnings of $52.8 million, or 26 cents a share. By that measure, analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had forecast Jabil to earn 20 cents a share on $3.08 billion in sales. For its fourth quarter, Jabil expects to earn between 21 cents and 25 cents a share on revenue in a range of $3.2 billion to $3.5 billion.

Lehman Brothers (LEH) said Michael Gelband is returning to the brokerage firm as global head of capital markets. Alex Kirk is also re-joining the firm as global head of principal investing while Gerald Donini was named global head of equities. Gelband, Kirk and Donini will become part of Lehman's executive committee. Gelband first joined Lehman in 1983 and held a number of positions at the firm, including global head of fixed income from 2005 to 2007.

Drive-in restaurant chain Sonic Corp. (SONC) reported fiscal third-quarter earnings of $17.2 million, or 28 cents a share, down from $20.6 million, or 31 cents, a year ago. Same-store sales declined 0.4% in the quarter, primarily due to colder and wetter weather from the same period the previous year. Revenue rose to $213 million from $209.9 million a year earlier. Analysts surveyed by Factset had forecast the company would earn 31 cents a share on revenue of $220.4 million. Sonic, which operates over 3,400 drive-ins, expects its fourth-quarter earnings per share to rise 4% to 6% in fiscal 2008 from 96 cents a share in 2007. Analysts are projecting Sonic to report earnings of $1.05 a share in 2008.