Financial news on July 26th, 2006

Business and Financial news
BP Chief Will Retire (No Demurrers)

Lord Browne announced the news as BP reported a record profit in the second quarter, the equivalent of more than $900 a second. Read more..

By HEATHER TIMMONS - The New York Times

H.P. to Pay $4.5 Billion to Acquire Mercury

Hanging over the deal is the investigation into Mercury Interactive’s possible involvement in the backdating of options. Read more..

By DAMON DARLIN - The New York Times

McDonald’s Net Up Sharply

By Bloomberg News. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Sales Slow for Homes New and Old

A variety of experts say the housing industry appears to be moving from a boom to something that is starting to look a lot like a bust. Read more..

By JEREMY W. PETERS - The New York Times

S.E.C. Chief Looks to Regain Power Over Hedge Funds

Christopher Cox told the Senate Banking Committee that the regulatory framework governing hedge funds was inadequate. Read more..

By JENNY ANDERSON - The New York Times

Strong Results for AT&T and BellSouth Ahead of Deal

The two companies are continuing to add high-speed Internet customers, and Cingular is still on top and getting stronger. Read more..

By KEN BELSON - The New York Times

Sun Microsystems Posts a 4th-Quarter Loss

By Bloomberg News. Read more..

By BLOOMBERG NEWS - The New York Times

Teen People Magazine Closes, but Web Site Will Continue

The shutting of Teen People, once a pioneer in the young adult market, could signal a contraction of an overstuffed category. Read more..

By KATHARINE Q. SEELYE - The New York Times

TiVo Is Watching When You Don’t Watch, and It Tattles

TiVo is starting a research division to sell data about how its 4.4 million users watch commercials — or, more often, skip them. Read more..

By SAUL HANSELL - The New York Times

Trade Focus Now Shifts to Regional Deals

Regional deals moved to the forefront after the collapse for the foreseeable future of efforts to reach a global trade pact. Read more..

By TOM WRIGHT - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

StockTicker symbolOpenHighLowCloseVolume
AmazonAMZN28,7629,0025,9626,2677M
IntelINTC17,5917,7417,2517,5058.2M
MicrosoftMSFT24,1224,5324,1024,3754.9M
Oracle Corp.ORCL14,9415,1914,7615,0235.8M
Cisco SystemsCSCO17,9818,1817,8617,9433.6M
AppleAAPL62,0064,6461,6863,8732.1M
ExxonMobilXOM65,5167,1865,4766,6031M
PfizerPFE24,9025,2624,8825,1128.4M
AT&T Inc.T28,9729,7028,7629,5026.7M
General ElectricGE32,7432,7732,4832,6821.3M
HP Inc.HPQ30,5732,1930,5731,7521M
Abbott LaboratoriesABT47,5047,9946,9747,1020.4M
ConocoPhillipsCOP67,7069,9367,1068,2417.5M
AmgenAMGN68,1570,1367,5769,6114.4M
JPMorgan ChaseJPM44,5044,8444,3744,6514.2M
Verizon CommunicationsVZ32,7633,5932,6633,4313.7M
MerckMRK39,1640,2639,1540,1813.4M
Wal-Mart StoresWMT44,4544,4743,6343,6712.3M
AlphabetGOOGL388,20391,91383,00385,5011.1M
SchlumbergerSLB65,4567,1164,3366,7810.3M
AltriaMO79,9580,9879,7079,799.38M
Home DepotHD35,0035,0034,5134,709.33M
3MMMM68,1169,8367,3569,069.17M
ComcastCMCSA32,4432,8332,2732,529.15M
Bristol-Myers SquibbBMY25,9026,1125,8425,999.14M
ChevronCVX66,9668,0166,7567,508.37M
Coca-ColaKO44,1044,6444,0444,458.32M
Walt Disney & Co.DIS29,4529,6529,2229,348.28M
Procter & GamblePG56,6556,7756,3156,677.22M
McDonald'sMCD34,4934,7734,3934,456.8M
BoeingBA82,1882,3679,6079,906.63M
Johnson & JohnsonJNJ61,7562,1561,6562,055.66M
UnitedHealth GroupUNH51,2551,4250,2850,535.5M
PepsicoPEP62,8763,9862,8263,634.8M
Wells Fargo & Co.WFC70,4871,0870,3570,864.8M
United TechnologiesUTX62,0462,2061,2061,774.16M
International Business MachinesIBM75,4876,3075,3675,833.87M
Gilead SciencesGILD61,5962,9661,5962,363.49M
Union PacificUNP84,0084,0181,9483,102.61M
Berkshire HathawayBRK.B3024,003047,003015,003035,0017.2K
Exchange Rates of July 26th, 2006
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US DollarJapanese Yen1 USD = 116,300 JPY1 JPY = 0,009 USD
US DollarCanadian Dollar1 USD = 1,135 CAD1 CAD = 0,881 USD
US DollarSwiss Franc1 USD = 1,240 CHF1 CHF = 0,806 USD
US DollarChinese Yuan1 USD = 7,982 CNY1 CNY = 0,125 USD
EuroJapanese Yen1 EUR = 147,890 JPY1 JPY = 0,007 EUR
EuroPound Sterling1 EUR = 0,686 GBP1 GBP = 1,459 EUR
EuroAustralian Dollar1 EUR = 1,670 AUD1 AUD = 0,599 EUR
EuroCanadian Dollar1 EUR = 1,443 CAD1 CAD = 0,693 EUR
EuroSwiss Franc1 EUR = 1,577 CHF1 CHF = 0,634 EUR
Pound SterlingAustralian Dollar1 GBP = 2,435 AUD1 AUD = 0,411 GBP
Pound SterlingCanadian Dollar1 GBP = 2,105 CAD1 CAD = 0,475 GBP
Pound SterlingSwiss Franc1 GBP = 2,300 CHF1 CHF = 0,435 GBP
Australian DollarCanadian Dollar1 AUD = 0,864 CAD1 CAD = 1,158 AUD
Australian DollarSwiss Franc1 AUD = 0,944 CHF1 CHF = 1,059 AUD

See what else happened on July 26th, 2006