Paul Ausick

Recent Articles

Commercial Lending Still a Problem – RF, USB, GS

By Paul Ausick

Today, Wall Street titan Goldman Sachs (GS) reported net income of $3.3 billion and EPS of $5.59 on revenue of $12.78 billion for the first quarter. Over on Main Street, meanwhile, Regions Financial Corp. (RF) posted an EPS loss of -$0.21. Another regional bank, U.S. Bancorp (USB) also reported earnings this morning, and did much better. U.S. Bancorp reported diluted EPS of $0.34 on revenue of $4.3 billion.

Weatherford WFT Earnings Hurt Amid Oil Field Consolidation

By Paul Ausick

Swiss-based oil field services company Weatherford International Ltd. (WFT) reported first quarter earnings this morning. The company reported diluted EPS of $0.06, excluding a loss of -$0.11 attributed to devaluation of the Venezuelan Bolivar, a charge to the company's suplemental executive retirement plan, and what it calls severance and investigation costs.

Coal Prices Hurt Earnings for ACI, MEE and BTU; Outlook Improves

By Paul Ausick

As prospects for a carbon cap and trade mechanism diminished over the last quarter, coal miners have seen share prices rise to near or above 52-week highs. Arch Coal Inc. (ACI), Massey Energy (MEE), and Peabody Energy (BTU) set new highs in January, and Massey even recorded a second high in April before the disaster at its West Virginia mine that killed 29 miners.

Crude Oil Price Rises Didn’t Help HAL, MMR Earnings

By Paul Ausick

Over the past few weeks crude oil prices have jumped to a high of over $87/b before pulling back. Oil fell more than $2/b on Friday, and it is down nearly another $2/b so far today. Halliburton Co. (HAL) and McMoRan Exploration Co. (MMR) both put up weak numbers.

Auto Makers Want Federal More Support for Electric Cars

By Paul Ausick

The automotive industry spent just over $60 million on lobbying in 2009. General Motors alone spent $8.4 million of that, even though the firm is bankrupt. Ford Motor Co. (F) spent $7.23 million, Toyoto Motors (TM) spent about $5.3 million, and the Alliafnce of Automobile Manufacturers, a trade group, spent nearly $5.8 million. Honda (HMC) was surely in the hunt as well. The total spend is actually lower than the industry's peak year of 2007 when it spent nearly $70 million.

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