Financial news on October 23, 2007

Business and Financial news
Ailing Firm Gets Tonic From China

Although Bear Stearns investors want to see the firm increase its international exposure, there is uncertainty as to whether the Citic deal will contribute to earnings. Read more..

By LANDON THOMAS Jr - The New York Times

AT&T Profit Up 42% on Wireless Gains

The company also benefited from Apple’s strong sales of the iPhone, for which AT&T is the sole carrier. Read more..

By LAURIE J. FLYNN - The New York Times

Bad Enough Being Shoeless but Just Look at This Décor

Even though we spend about $5 billion a year on airport security, why do airport checkpoints still look like garage sales? Read more..

By JOE SHARKEY - The New York Times

Britain: Troubled Assets to Be Acquired

The Royal Bank of Scotland Group is setting up a fund that will buy the assets of Cheyne Finance, a structured investment vehicle that defaulted last week. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Chrysler Deal in Question as Several Locals Vote No

Workers at all four big assembly plants where voting has taken place have rejected the contract, but the agreement still has a good chance of ratification. Read more..

By MICHELINE MAYNARD - The New York Times

How Apple Can Keep Its Value

With a market value of $162 billion, Apple is now the most valuable computer maker in the world, and it is the fourth most valuable technology company, after Microsoft, Google and Cisco. It will have to battle all of them to stay on top of the tech world. Read more..

By SAUL HANSELL - The New York Times

Japan: Wal-Mart to Take Over a Chain

Wal-Mart will pay up to 100 billion yen ($876 million) to take full control of Seiyu after a five-year investment failed to return the Japanese chain to profit. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Porsche Seen Likely to Realize VW Merger

The European Court of Justice is expected to strike down the so-called Volkswagen Law, created by Germany’s government to protect the automaker from an unwanted takeover. Read more..

By MARK LANDLER - The New York Times

Provision Is Waived in Sallie Mae Merger Case, but Underlying Dispute Remains

Sallie Mae’s would-be buyers say the merger contract allows them to terminate the deal due to recent changes in student lending, which have reduced its potential for future earnings. Read more..

By RITA K. FARRELL - The New York Times

Times Co. Earnings Top Expectations

Bolstered by lower costs for newsprint and strong entertainment and fashion advertising, The New York Times Company reported a 7 percent increase in net income. Read more..

By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
Intel INTC 26.64 26.82 26.16 26.80 67.3M
Apple AAPL 188.56 188.60 182.76 186.16 64.1M
Cisco Systems CSCO 31.35 31.58 30.09 31.54 50.3M
Microsoft MSFT 30.75 31.12 30.71 30.90 50M
Amazon AMZN 95.28 101.09 94.21 100.82 41.8M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 45.25 45.58 43.50 43.93 38.1M
Pfizer PFE 24.13 24.21 23.92 24.05 32.4M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 21.40 21.49 21.12 21.45 30.1M
AT&T Inc. T 41.50 42.15 41.21 42.02 27.7M
General Electric GE 40.26 40.59 40.02 40.48 26.9M
ExxonMobil XOM 91.47 92.40 90.00 91.35 24.1M
Merck MRK 54.85 56.43 54.00 56.36 18.8M
Amgen AMGN 56.17 57.99 55.57 57.70 18.3M
Comcast CMCSA 23.74 23.86 23.41 23.60 16.5M
Home Depot HD 31.20 31.20 30.40 30.92 16.4M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 28.96 29.17 28.27 28.54 15.2M
Schlumberger SLB 97.30 100.06 96.05 99.92 14.7M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 34.10 34.17 33.50 33.76 13.8M
ConocoPhillips COP 83.39 83.93 81.83 83.22 13.6M
Alphabet GOOGL 661.26 677.60 660.00 675.77 13.6M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 45.92 45.99 45.13 45.94 13.5M
Verizon Communications VZ 44.37 44.93 44.25 44.81 10.7M
HP Inc. HPQ 51.78 52.00 51.03 51.86 9.7M
Chevron CVX 88.93 89.71 87.82 88.92 9.63M
McDonald's MCD 56.20 56.97 55.69 56.97 9M
Altria MO 71.92 72.20 71.31 72.09 8.97M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 50.77 52.35 50.77 51.82 8.74M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 64.40 64.60 63.96 64.55 7.73M
Procter & Gamble PG 71.17 71.36 70.64 71.26 7.7M
3M MMM 86.87 87.06 84.39 85.93 7.48M
Gilead Sciences GILD 42.61 43.31 42.29 43.02 6.6M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 48.18 49.14 48.15 48.84 6.57M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 34.82 34.96 34.58 34.89 6.38M
Boeing BA 95.76 95.96 94.16 94.95 6.11M
Coca-Cola KO 59.31 59.78 59.25 59.75 5.83M
International Business Machines IBM 113.78 114.80 113.50 114.68 5.56M
Pepsico PEP 71.27 71.58 70.71 71.53 4.88M
United Technologies UTX 76.45 76.60 75.42 76.02 4.09M
Union Pacific UNP 126.99 130.00 126.99 129.96 3.7M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 4213.00 4268.00 4213.00 4256.00 15.2K
Exchange Rates of October 23, 2007
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 114.690 JPY 1 JPY = 0.009 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 0.966 CAD 1 CAD = 1.036 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.173 CHF 1 CHF = 0.853 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 7.502 CNY 1 CNY = 0.133 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 163.560 JPY 1 JPY = 0.006 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.695 GBP 1 GBP = 1.438 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.588 AUD 1 AUD = 0.630 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.377 CAD 1 CAD = 0.726 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.673 CHF 1 CHF = 0.598 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.425 GBP 1 GBP = 2.353 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.970 AUD 1 AUD = 1.031 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 0.841 CAD 1 CAD = 1.188 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.022 CHF 1 CHF = 0.978 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2.284 AUD 1 AUD = 0.438 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.980 CAD 1 CAD = 0.505 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2.405 CHF 1 CHF = 0.416 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.867 CAD 1 CAD = 1.154 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 1.053 CHF 1 CHF = 0.950 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 1.214 CHF 1 CHF = 0.824 CAD

See what else happened on October 23, 2007