Financial news on July 26, 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

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
Amazon AMZN 28,76 29,00 25,96 26,26 77M
Intel INTC 17,59 17,74 17,25 17,50 58.2M
Microsoft MSFT 24,12 24,53 24,10 24,37 54.9M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 14,94 15,19 14,76 15,02 35.8M
Cisco Systems CSCO 17,98 18,18 17,86 17,94 33.6M
Apple AAPL 62,00 64,64 61,68 63,87 32.1M
ExxonMobil XOM 65,51 67,18 65,47 66,60 31M
Pfizer PFE 24,90 25,26 24,88 25,11 28.4M
AT&T Inc. T 28,97 29,70 28,76 29,50 26.7M
General Electric GE 32,74 32,77 32,48 32,68 21.3M
HP Inc. HPQ 30,57 32,19 30,57 31,75 21M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 47,50 47,99 46,97 47,10 20.4M
ConocoPhillips COP 67,70 69,93 67,10 68,24 17.5M
Amgen AMGN 68,15 70,13 67,57 69,61 14.4M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 44,50 44,84 44,37 44,65 14.2M
Verizon Communications VZ 32,76 33,59 32,66 33,43 13.7M
Merck MRK 39,16 40,26 39,15 40,18 13.4M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 44,45 44,47 43,63 43,67 12.3M
Alphabet GOOGL 388,20 391,91 383,00 385,50 11.1M
Schlumberger SLB 65,45 67,11 64,33 66,78 10.3M
Altria MO 79,95 80,98 79,70 79,79 9.38M
Home Depot HD 35,00 35,00 34,51 34,70 9.33M
3M MMM 68,11 69,83 67,35 69,06 9.17M
Comcast CMCSA 32,44 32,83 32,27 32,52 9.15M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 25,90 26,11 25,84 25,99 9.14M
Chevron CVX 66,96 68,01 66,75 67,50 8.37M
Coca-Cola KO 44,10 44,64 44,04 44,45 8.32M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 29,45 29,65 29,22 29,34 8.28M
Procter & Gamble PG 56,65 56,77 56,31 56,67 7.22M
McDonald's MCD 34,49 34,77 34,39 34,45 6.8M
Boeing BA 82,18 82,36 79,60 79,90 6.63M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 61,75 62,15 61,65 62,05 5.66M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 51,25 51,42 50,28 50,53 5.5M
Pepsico PEP 62,87 63,98 62,82 63,63 4.8M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 70,48 71,08 70,35 70,86 4.8M
United Technologies UTX 62,04 62,20 61,20 61,77 4.16M
International Business Machines IBM 75,48 76,30 75,36 75,83 3.87M
Gilead Sciences GILD 61,59 62,96 61,59 62,36 3.49M
Union Pacific UNP 84,00 84,01 81,94 83,10 2.61M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3024,00 3047,00 3015,00 3035,00 17.2K
Exchange Rates of July 26, 2006
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 116,300 JPY 1 JPY = 0,009 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1,135 CAD 1 CAD = 0,881 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1,240 CHF 1 CHF = 0,806 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 7,982 CNY 1 CNY = 0,125 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 147,890 JPY 1 JPY = 0,007 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0,686 GBP 1 GBP = 1,459 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,670 AUD 1 AUD = 0,599 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1,443 CAD 1 CAD = 0,693 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1,577 CHF 1 CHF = 0,634 EUR
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 2,435 AUD 1 AUD = 0,411 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 2,105 CAD 1 CAD = 0,475 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 2,300 CHF 1 CHF = 0,435 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0,864 CAD 1 CAD = 1,158 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0,944 CHF 1 CHF = 1,059 AUD

See what else happened on July 26, 2006