Among the companies whose shares are expected to actively trade
in Wednesday's session are Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), Bank of
New York Mellon Corp. (BK) and Yahoo Inc. (YHOO).
Goldman Sachs' fourth-quarter earnings slumped 58% as rocky
capital markets pushed the investment bank to record its
second-lowest quarterly revenue since the midst of the financial
crisis. Shares still rose 1.2% to $98.80 in recent premarket
trading as earnings beat Wall Street's expectations.
Bank of New York Mellon's fourth-quarter income fell 26% as the
trust bank's fee revenue dropped and it posted restructuring
charges, though assets under management rose. Revenue missed Street
expectations as Bank of New York called the period "a challenging
revenue quarter, as general uncertainty in the financial markets
resulted in lower-than-normal levels of client activity." Shares
fell 4.1% to $20.40 in recent premarket trading.
Yahoo said Jerry Yang, cofounder of the struggling Internet
heavyweight, has resigned from its board and his other positions
there. Shares rose 2.7% to $15.84 in recent premarket trading.
U.S. Bancorp's (USB) fourth-quarter earnings jumped 39% as the
lender again reduced funds set aside to cover potentially risky
loans and benefited from growth in lending. Shares rose 0.8% to $29
in light premarket trading.
PNC Financial Services Group Inc.'s (PNC) fourth-quarter profit
slid 42% as the lender struggled with a decline in revenue and
steep one-time charges, although credit costs continued to fall.
Shares slipped 1.6% to $60.25 premarket.
Hess Corp. (HES) said the Hovensa LLC refinery in St. Croix,
U.S. Virgin Islands, will be shut down, after the refinery's losses
continued over several years. Hess said it will take a $525 million
after-tax charge in its fourth quarter as a result of the shutdown,
after which Hovensa will operate as an oil storage terminal. Shares
rose 1.6% to $58.30 in recent premarket trading.
Cree Inc.'s (CREE) fiscal second-quarter profit fell 76% as the
electronic-component maker's margins continued to slide. Shares
dropped 3.8% to $22.45 in premarket trading as the company also
gave a gloomy third-quarter profit target that missed analysts'
estimates.
Linear Technology Corp.'s (LLTC) fiscal second-quarter earnings
fell 39% as the chip maker reported weaker revenue and margins.
Shares still rose 10% to $32.89 in light premarket trading as the
company's adjusted earnings beat analyst expectations and as the
company issued upbeat guidance for the third quarter.
Majesco Entertainment Co.'s (COOL) fourth-quarter loss widened
as an impairment charge weighed on the videogame provider's
bottom-line results, though revenue increased. Shares fell 27% to
$2.18 in premarket trading as the company's results missed analyst
expectations and as it issued a downbeat forecast for 2012.
Drug maker XOMA Corp. (XOMA) said Tuesday it acquired the U.S.
rights to market blood-pressure treatment franchise from the French
pharmaceutical company that is also its partner on XOMA's lead drug
candidate. Shares in the biotechnology company were up 1.2% at
$1.70 in recent premarket trading. The stock has been losing value
lately, hitting an all-time low last month.
Watch List:
Adtran Inc.'s (ADTN) fourth-quarter earnings fell 13% as
continued improvement in its broadband access segment was masked by
weaker margins, acquisition-related costs and higher research and
development expenses.
American Water Works Co. (AWK) projected 2012 earnings in line
with analysts' expectations as the company neared its second full
year of profits.
Chevron Corp. (CVX) said Tuesday a rig that was drilling a
natural-gas well off of Nigeria continues to burn and that it is
still searching for two missing contractors.
E.W. Scripps Co. (SSP) said it expects its television revenue to
increase by more than 50% in 2012, helped by gains from its
recently acquired stations. The owner of local newspapers and
television stations said it expects more than $100 million of
revenue from the nine-station broadcasting group it acquired from
McGraw-Hill Co. (MHP) at the end of December. Newspaper revenue is
expected to fall slightly to approximately $400 million, the
company said.
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) has named Bill Veghte as its new chief
strategy officer. The company said that in addition to helping
drive the company's strategy, Veghte will lead the company's cloud
and webOS open source initiatives. Veghte also will continue in his
current role as executive vice president of HP Software.
MeadWestvaco Corp. (MWV) expects its fourth-quarter results to
be hurt by weaker-than-expected demand in some of its U.S. and
European packaging markets. The company, which is in the process of
selling its consumer-and-office products business, said the weaker
demand resulted in lower volumes and production rates during the
quarter.
Mercury Computer Systems Inc. (MRCY) poached the financial chief
of SeaChange International Inc. (SEAC) to succeed its own retiring
chief financial officer.
Northern Trust Corp.'s (NTRS) fourth-quarter earnings fell 17%
on restructuring and integration-related charges, though the
trust-and-custody bank's revenue improved with a boost from
acquisitions. Results missed expectations.
PartnerRe Ltd. (PRE) said it expects to post an operating loss
for the fourth quarter as it records a charge of roughly $120
million related to flooding in Thailand late last year.
Rex Energy Corp.'s (REXX) proved reserves soared by 82% in 2011,
mostly owing to growth in natural-gas drilling in Pennsylvania. The
oil and gas company said that its fourth-quarter consolidated net
production more than doubled from a year earlier, reaching the high
end of expectations.
State Street Corp. (STT), one of the country's largest trust
banks, saw its fourth-quarter earnings more than quadruple from a
prior-year period weighed down by charges, though revenue from fees
weakened.
-Edited by Ian Thomson and Maya Pope-Chappell; write to
ian.thomson@dowjones.com and maya.pope-chappell@dowjones.com