First-quarter earnings season gets well underway next week with
results due from major players in the banking sector. A plethora of
earnings reports are also due from heavyweights in the technology
sphere, including International Business Machines Corp. (IBM),
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Intel Corp. (INTC). Meanwhile, investors
will be looking for signs of recovery in the hard-hit housing
sector next week when a gamut of housing data is released.
Quarterly Earnings Due From Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley
First-quarter results are due from banking giants Citigroup Inc.
(C) and Bank of America (BAC) as well as the nation's largest
investment banks--Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) and Morgan Stanley
(MS).
Banks are benefiting from a rebound in business borrowing and
investor-trading activity. However, their first-quarter revenue is
expected to remain flat from a year earlier because loan books grew
more slowly than in previous quarters and interest rates remain
low, offsetting improved revenue from securities trading.
Meanwhile, a revival in bond trading will likely boost
first-quarter earnings for Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, but
results should still fall short of tough comparisons to the
year-earlier period. The period was very much a mixed bag for the
pair as equities-trading volumes remained weak and
investment-banking activity has been skittish, particularly on the
mergers-and-acquisitions front.
Breadth Of Tech Companies To Report 1Q Results
A trio of big software names -- IBM, Microsoft and VMware Inc.
(VMW) will release their results next week. Investors will likely
focus on IBM's software-and-services business, which has buoyed Big
Blue's recent results, as well as sales of Microsoft's flagship
Windows operating system, which has suffered lately from declining
personal-computer sales. VMware has already stated its
first-quarter results would "broadly meet or slightly exceed" its
original guidance.
Intel will be the first major semiconductor to report its
quarterly earnings when it releases results on Tuesday. Analysts
expect Intel, considered a bellwether for the broader industry
because its chips run more than 80% of the world's PCs, to post
weaker profits and revenue. The company faces soft PC sales in
mature markets like the U.S., and hard-disk drive shortages hurt
manufacturers' ability to build computers. Fellow chipmakers
Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) report
on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.
Internet giants Yahoo Inc. (YHOO) and eBay Inc. (EBAY) are set
to release their latest results Tuesday and Wednesday,
respectively. Investors await details about Yahoo's Chief Executive
Scott Thompson's turnaround strategy as Yahoo struggles to revive
its declining ad business, the cornerstone of its operations.
Meanwhile, recent monthly sales data suggest eBay's core
marketplace segment is on track to deliver stronger revenue,
building on gains seen over the past year after the online retailer
revamped the business with fee changes and other tweaks.
Other companies reporting next week include wireless carrier
Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), beverage giant Coca-Cola Co.
(KO), pharmaceutical and health-care products company Johnson &
Johnson (JNJ), railroads CSX Corp. (CSX) and Union Pacific Corp.
(UNP) and newspaper publishers Gannett Co. (GCI) and New York Times
Co. (NYT).
Housing Data On Tap For Next Week
Markets will examine a gamut of housing data next week, as
investors look for signs of improvement in the depressed housing
sector.
The National Association of Home Builder's housing index will be
released Monday. U.S. home builders' confidence in the housing
market held steady in March after five consecutive monthly gains,
keeping sentiment at the highest level in nearly five years as the
industry slowly regains its footing after a devastating bust.
March housing starts data will be released Tuesday. U.S. home
building fell in February, but permits for new construction reached
their highest levels since 2008.
Existing-home-sales data for March is due Thursday.
Existing-home sales fell slightly in February after January's
uptick.
Carlyle Group To Begin IPO Road Show
A road show will start as early as next week for the initial
public offering of Carlyle Group that will value the private-equity
firm at between $7.5 billion and $8 billion, The Wall Street
Journal reported Wednesday, citing a person familiar with the
matter.
Carlyle filed documents to the Securities and Exchange
Commission earlier this month to sell a 10% stake. It is likely to
generate as much as $800 million in proceeds, according to the
person. The company's performance fee-generating funds climbed
about 9% in the first quarter, with energy funds leading with a 14%
rally, according to a securities filing on Tuesday.
US Officials To Review Cheniere Natural-Gas Export Plan
Federal-energy officials have decided to review a closely
watched plan to export U.S. natural gas when they gather for a
monthly meeting next week, paving the way for what could be the
first set of federal permits for a string of proposals to ship the
fuel overseas.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said Thursday it plans
to take up an application from Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG)--which is
seeking to export up to 2.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per
day--when members meet April 19 in Washington.
Cheniere is proposing to build an export facility in Louisiana,
where it currently operates a facility to import natural gas.
If FERC approves the project, Cheniere will become the first
company in years to get approval to export liquefied natural gas
from the U.S., though it might not be the last. More than a half
dozen companies are seeking permission from the federal government
to ship the fuel abroad.
Kodak To Ask Bankruptcy Judge To Launch Process To Sell Times Square Billboard Lease
Eastman Kodak Co. (EKDKQ) on Monday will ask a bankruptcy judge
to let it launch a competitive-bidding process to sell the lease to
its giant billboard in Manhattan's Times Square.
Kodak, which is phasing out its digital-camera business, said it
no longer needs to advertise those products on a 40-foot video
screen that millions of people view each year.
The company has a leading bid of $3.7 million lined up for the
lease from Orange Barrel Media, an advertising firm that already
has two LED billboards in Times Square. Under Kodak's proposal,
Orange Barrel would receive a $200,000 breakup fee if its bid
loses.
Also on Monday, the judge will consider approving a committee to
represent the interests of Kodak's retirees as the company gears up
to slash a heavy load of debts related to retiree health and
pension benefits.
World Bank Expected To Name Kim President
The World Bank board is expected to name its new president on
Monday.
While global public-health expert Jim Yong Kim remains on track
to win the World Bank presidency within days, he is the first U.S.
nominee to face competition for the job.
His chief rival, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Nigerian finance
minister and former senior World Bank official, is shaking up the
process. This year's race is the first time any countries have
nominated a challenger to the U.S. pick.
Kim, Dartmouth College President and an American physician who
was born in South Korea and raised in Iowa, built his career
working on public-health threats such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
in developing countries. He would become the first nonwhite
president of the World Bank if he is approved by the bank's
board.
Conferences
Among the significant conferences next week are the Deutsche
Bank Bridging the Gap Conference Monday through Wednesday in
Washington, D.C.; IPAA's Oil & Gas Investment Symposia Monday
through Wednesday in New York and the BioCentury and Thomson
Reuters Future Leaders in the Biotech Industry Conference on Friday
in New York.
-By Nathalie Tadena, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-3287;
nathalie.tadena@dowjones.com
--Gregory Zuckerman, Alison Tudor, Tennille Tracy, Jacqueline
Palank, Drew Hinshaw, Sudeep Reddy and Dow Jones Newswires staff
contributed to this report.
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