Yahoo Finance Stocks step back from records; AmEx may raise rates; Why Buffett loves Germany
Stocks are not making any big moves in either direction this morning after yesterday's record run.
The S&P (^GSPC) and the Dow Industrials (^DJI) both hitting record highs on Tuesday following Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s testimony to Congress that indicated the Fed was not in any rush to raise interest rates.
The Fed Chair giving her second day of testimony to Congress this morning.
Yahoo Finance’s Aaron Task says Yellen’s biggest job today is to not make any big headlines.
Investors also weighing a fresh batch of corporate earnings.
Target (TGT) reporting a beat on both its top and bottom line for the holiday quarter as sales grew more than 4% from a year earlier. The company has been trying to win back customers by changing up its merchandise and even lowering its free shipping minimum this week.
Related: Target tops estimates; Lowe's builds up profits; Apple ordered to pay up
Lowe's (LOW) posting earnings and revenue that topped estimates thanks to strong sales growth during the holiday quarter. This comes a day after rival Home Depot also reported better-than-expected results.
Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) stock taking a big hit this morning. The PC maker that's splitting into two separate companies is warned the stronger dollar will weigh on its results this year. And it reported sales fell nearly 5% from a year earlier, missing analysts’ estimates.
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DreamWorks (DWA) shares are also sharply lower. The animation studio which is in the midst of a major restructuring swung to a loss in the fourth quarter and reported revenue that missed estimates as it took a write-down on some films after a string of disappointments at the box office.
Apple (AAPL) needs to pay up. A federal jury has ordered the tech giant to pay nearly $533 million for using Texas based Smartflash’s patented inventions on its iTunes software without permission. Apple said it will appeal the ruling and that the outcome is another reason patent reform is needed.
American Express (AXP) is reportedly increasing credit card rates for more than a million customers. Bloomberg says rates will rise by an average of 2.5 percentage points for customers.
Task says AmEx is looking to ways to make up for lost revenue after it said last week its partnership with Costco is ending and it lost an antitrust suit.
Meantime, in TV land. A Southern cable company, Suddenlink, is doing pretty well despite dropping Viacom (VIAB) networks, including Comedy Central, MTV, and Nickelodeon. The company announced it managed to retain 99.7% of its customers since the move last October.
Related: No cable network? No problem
And we're also following reports that Warren Buffett is bullish on Germany. The Oracle of Omaha announced interest in acquiring more German companies, due to the country's regulatory and legal framework.
