Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

Phone Merger Partners Qwest, CenturyTel Up After Earnings (Q, CTL, S)

By Paul Ausick

Less than two weeks ago, Qwest Communications (NYSE: Q) and CenturyTel, Inc. (NYSE: CTL) announced a merger that would result in CenturyTel owning 50.5% of the combined company for a deal valued at around $22 billion once Qwest's debt was included. Qwest shares jumped on the news, and CenturyTel shares fell. Both stocks are up today following their earnings announcements this morning.

Retail Sales Fall in April (COST, LTD, TJX, TGT, KSS, SKS, JWN, ARO, GPS, ANF)

By Paul Ausick

Cool, wet weather in April combined with an earlier Easter and one less shopping day conspired to reduce sales for the month. The news is not all bad, though, as some retailers are still projecting a profitable quarter as they have been able to stem discounting and work through inventories. Among the April retail sales winners were Costco (COST), Limited Brands (LTD) and TJX Corp. (TJX). Among the retail stock losers were Target (TGT) and Kohls (KSS).

Media Stocks News Corp., Time Warner May Slip After Earnings (NWS, TWX, AAPL)

By Paul Ausick

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

Beazer Homes Hammered after Earnings, News (BZH, PHM, LEN, TOL, XHB)

By Paul Ausick

When Beazer Homes (BZH) reported earnings this morning, the dramatic rise of homebuilders' share prices came to a screeching halt. Beazer earnings and related BZH stock news is weighing on the entire homebuilding industry today. Beazer is down about 15%, Pulte Group (PHM) is down nearly 5%, Lennar Corp. (LEN) is down about the same amount, and Toll Brothers, Inc. (TOL) is down more than 5%. The SPDR S&P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is also down about 4%.

Baker Hughes Earnings Show Crude Oil Field Services Woes (BHI, SLB, HAL, NOV, WFT)

By Paul Ausick

Since the beginning of the year, the best performing oil field services stock has been Baker Hughes Inc. (NYSE:BHI). Shares are up about 25%, compared with a 10% rise at Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB), about a 4% rise at Halliburton Co. (HAL), and essentially flat performance at both National Oilwell Varco, Inc. (NOV) and Weatherford International, Ltd. (WFT)

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