U.S. stock futures rose Monday, as investors reacted to last week's robust jobs data and a report that Dow Chemical Co. could be the target of a $50 billion buyout offer.
April 9, 2007 (Press Release) --
The Labor Department reported Friday, a stock market holiday, that nonfarm payrolls rose by 180,000 in March, above forecasts of 135,000. The unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, a five-month low.
Should the economy be stronger than some analysts estimated, it could dissuade the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates in the near term. The report caused the bond market to fall sharply during a shortened trading day on Friday.
Meanwhile, it was reported by British tabloid The Sunday Express that a consortium of Middle Eastern investors and American buyout firms will launch a bid to acquire Dow Chemical. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., one of the biggest U.S. private equity firms, is said to be among the bidders.
Dow's shares surged $4.31, or 9.7 percent, to $48.78 in premarket electronic trading.
The bidding price would mark the biggest leveraged buyout, dwarfing recent deals like the $32 billion takeover of energy company TXU Corp. that was announced in February. That deal—led by buyers KKR and Texas Pacific Group—will go down as the largest private equity deal to date if it is approved by regulators and shareholders.
Ahead of Monday's market opening, Dow Jones industrial average futures expiring in June were up 46.00, or 0.38 percent, at 12,668. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 4.60, or 0.32 percent, to 1,457.30, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.75, or 0.42 percent, to 1,836.00.
In other corporate news, Citigroup Inc. said it will acquire Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese for about $426 million. The deal is part of a continued push by U.S. financial institutions to broaden their operations in Asia, and particularly in the greater China region.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. fell 15 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $3.66 in premarket electronic trading after cutting its second-quarter revenue forecast. The contract electronics manufacturer said it was seeing weaker demand in the communications and the high-end computing markets.
Wall Street finished a holiday-shortened week on Thursday with muted gains. For the week, the major indexes rose each day and returned to positive territory for the year.
Most major European markets were closed Monday for an extended Easter holiday.
Author: JOE BEL BRUNO
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
Should the economy be stronger than some analysts estimated, it could dissuade the Federal Reserve from lowering interest rates in the near term. The report caused the bond market to fall sharply during a shortened trading day on Friday.
Meanwhile, it was reported by British tabloid The Sunday Express that a consortium of Middle Eastern investors and American buyout firms will launch a bid to acquire Dow Chemical. Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., one of the biggest U.S. private equity firms, is said to be among the bidders.
Dow's shares surged $4.31, or 9.7 percent, to $48.78 in premarket electronic trading.
The bidding price would mark the biggest leveraged buyout, dwarfing recent deals like the $32 billion takeover of energy company TXU Corp. that was announced in February. That deal—led by buyers KKR and Texas Pacific Group—will go down as the largest private equity deal to date if it is approved by regulators and shareholders.
Ahead of Monday's market opening, Dow Jones industrial average futures expiring in June were up 46.00, or 0.38 percent, at 12,668. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures added 4.60, or 0.32 percent, to 1,457.30, and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 7.75, or 0.42 percent, to 1,836.00.
In other corporate news, Citigroup Inc. said it will acquire Taiwan's Bank of Overseas Chinese for about $426 million. The deal is part of a continued push by U.S. financial institutions to broaden their operations in Asia, and particularly in the greater China region.
Sanmina-SCI Corp. fell 15 cents, or 3.9 percent, to $3.66 in premarket electronic trading after cutting its second-quarter revenue forecast. The contract electronics manufacturer said it was seeing weaker demand in the communications and the high-end computing markets.
Wall Street finished a holiday-shortened week on Thursday with muted gains. For the week, the major indexes rose each day and returned to positive territory for the year.
Most major European markets were closed Monday for an extended Easter holiday.
Author: JOE BEL BRUNO
Source: http://www.mercurynews.com/
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