Financial news on July 28, 2009

Business and Financial news
As Profit Falls 21%, Verizon Plans to Slash 8,000 Jobs

The company reported a 21 percent decline in net income for the second quarter. Read more..

By SAUL HANSELl - The New York Times

European Union Puts Out the Welcome Mat for Once-Aloof Iceland

The blessing by European foreign ministers of Iceland’s application raised questions about whether the bloc was losing the will to incorporate nations in the Balkans. Read more..

By STEPHEN CASTLE - The New York Times

How the Driving Tests Were Conducted

Two hundred truckers took part in a study that covered three million miles. Read more..

By MATT RICHTEL - The New York Times

In First Class, but Treated Otherwise

A trip to Dubai featured cold shoulders, until a little fib brought fear to the flight attendants. Read more..

By ANJULA ACHARIA-BATH - The New York Times

Netflix Competitors Learn the Power of Teamwork

A contest with a $1 million prize for improving on Netflix’s movie recommendations ended in a dead heat, but has already produced an impressive legacy. Read more..

By STEVE LOHR - The New York Times

New-Home Sales Jump as Prices Fall Sharply

New home sales posted the largest monthly gain in nearly eight years in a sign that the market is bottoming. Read more..

By JACK HEALY - The New York Times

Regulator Weighs Limits on Some Energy Trades

The top commodity market regulator said that the U.S. should consider limiting some energy futures trading. Read more..

By EDMUND L. ANDREWS - The New York Times

What Citigroup Should Say to Us, Its Shareholders

Surely the bank’s chairman has some welcoming remarks for the American taxpayers, who will soon own the company. Read more..

By ANTONY CURRIE - The New York Times

Young Japanese Women Vie for a Once-Scorned Job

Once derided as immodest, hostessing, a job in which young women lavish attention on affluent men, has become a popular and respected profession. Read more..

By HIROKO TABUCHI - The New York Times

Stock Markets

Values are reported in US Dollars

Stock Ticker symbol Open High Low Close Volume
General Electric GE 12.25 12.70 12.18 12.52 106M
Pfizer PFE 16.49 16.66 15.96 16.03 75.4M
Microsoft MSFT 22.99 23.55 22.90 23.47 70.3M
Wells Fargo & Co. WFC 23.99 24.64 23.90 24.52 62.7M
Intel INTC 19.29 19.46 19.05 19.37 60M
Cisco Systems CSCO 21.62 21.99 21.37 21.93 40.1M
JPMorgan Chase JPM 37.74 38.20 37.65 38.08 29M
Oracle Corp. ORCL 21.86 22.32 21.72 22.24 26.4M
AT&T Inc. T 25.62 25.80 25.39 25.52 24.6M
ExxonMobil XOM 71.88 72.50 71.11 71.89 23M
Merck MRK 30.71 30.91 29.77 30.02 22.5M
Amgen AMGN 62.71 62.84 61.42 62.42 18.8M
Comcast CMCSA 14.86 14.96 14.72 14.89 18.8M
ConocoPhillips COP 44.75 45.09 44.16 44.43 18.4M
Verizon Communications VZ 30.88 31.42 30.76 31.40 18M
UnitedHealth Group UNH 27.78 29.71 27.46 29.08 17.7M
Abbott Laboratories ABT 44.96 45.60 44.90 45.43 15.3M
Altria MO 17.42 17.75 17.26 17.58 14.1M
Apple AAPL 158.88 160.11 157.60 160.00 13M
Wal-Mart Stores WMT 48.76 48.99 48.66 48.92 11.8M
Home Depot HD 25.08 25.40 24.96 25.39 11.7M
HP Inc. HPQ 41.68 41.98 41.20 41.98 11.6M
Bristol-Myers Squibb BMY 21.27 21.50 20.98 21.18 11.4M
Schlumberger SLB 55.81 55.81 53.40 54.60 11M
Walt Disney & Co. DIS 26.57 26.59 26.09 26.37 10.8M
Chevron CVX 68.21 68.53 67.54 68.34 10.8M
Johnson & Johnson JNJ 61.03 61.57 60.60 60.92 9.03M
Amazon AMZN 83.84 85.64 82.60 84.98 8.77M
McDonald's MCD 55.90 56.70 55.80 56.47 8.74M
Procter & Gamble PG 55.60 55.96 55.28 55.71 8.14M
Coca-Cola KO 49.43 49.75 49.00 49.39 8.04M
Boeing BA 41.99 43.35 41.80 43.25 7.83M
Gilead Sciences GILD 49.00 49.82 48.80 49.73 7.75M
Pepsico PEP 56.05 56.66 55.70 55.97 7.15M
International Business Machines IBM 116.63 117.52 116.34 117.28 5.78M
Visa V 67.71 68.30 66.13 66.30 5.66M
United Technologies UTX 51.84 52.62 51.64 52.44 5.26M
Alphabet GOOGL 441.00 442.81 436.10 439.85 5.06M
3M MMM 69.65 70.19 69.26 69.88 4.39M
Union Pacific UNP 57.24 57.77 55.85 56.56 3.69M
Berkshire Hathaway BRK.B 3125.00 3135.00 3096.00 3135.00 33K
Exchange Rates of July 28, 2009
CurrenciesExchange Rates
US Dollar Japanese Yen 1 USD = 94.490 JPY 1 JPY = 0.011 USD
US Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 USD = 1.081 CAD 1 CAD = 0.925 USD
US Dollar Swiss Franc 1 USD = 1.075 CHF 1 CHF = 0.930 USD
US Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 USD = 6.831 CNY 1 CNY = 0.146 USD
Euro Japanese Yen 1 EUR = 133.900 JPY 1 JPY = 0.007 EUR
Euro Pound Sterling 1 EUR = 0.863 GBP 1 GBP = 1.159 EUR
Euro Australian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.714 AUD 1 AUD = 0.583 EUR
Euro Canadian Dollar 1 EUR = 1.531 CAD 1 CAD = 0.653 EUR
Euro Swiss Franc 1 EUR = 1.524 CHF 1 CHF = 0.656 EUR
Euro Chinese Yuan 1 EUR = 9.680 CNY 1 CNY = 0.103 EUR
Japanese Yen Pound Sterling 1 JPY = 0.644 GBP 1 GBP = 1.553 JPY
Japanese Yen Australian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.280 AUD 1 AUD = 0.781 JPY
Japanese Yen Canadian Dollar 1 JPY = 1.143 CAD 1 CAD = 0.875 JPY
Japanese Yen Swiss Franc 1 JPY = 1.138 CHF 1 CHF = 0.879 JPY
Pound Sterling Australian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.986 AUD 1 AUD = 0.503 GBP
Pound Sterling Canadian Dollar 1 GBP = 1.775 CAD 1 CAD = 0.564 GBP
Pound Sterling Swiss Franc 1 GBP = 1.766 CHF 1 CHF = 0.566 GBP
Pound Sterling Chinese Yuan 1 GBP = 11.213 CNY 1 CNY = 0.089 GBP
Australian Dollar Canadian Dollar 1 AUD = 0.893 CAD 1 CAD = 1.120 AUD
Australian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 AUD = 0.888 CHF 1 CHF = 1.126 AUD
Australian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 AUD = 5.646 CNY 1 CNY = 0.177 AUD
Canadian Dollar Swiss Franc 1 CAD = 0.995 CHF 1 CHF = 1.006 CAD
Canadian Dollar Chinese Yuan 1 CAD = 6.319 CNY 1 CNY = 0.158 CAD
Swiss Franc Chinese Yuan 1 CHF = 6.352 CNY 1 CNY = 0.157 CHF

See what else happened on July 28, 2009