Financial news on October 31, 2006
Business and Financial news
Schneider Electric, a French manufacturer, said Monday that it would buy American Power Conversion for $6.1 billion. Read more..
The closing of the fund highlights how sensitive hedge fund investors have become to weak performance after last month’s blow-up of Amaranth Advisors. Read more..
Zillow.com, which provides free home valuations, has been accused of undervaluing the homes in black and Latino neighborhoods. Read more..
Free condoms from the International AIDS Conference in Toronto, stuffed into all my bags as gifts for friends, turned the routine trip home to New York into an adventure. Read more..
The Pentagon runs a little-publicized giveaway and tag sale program to clean out excess equipment that ranges from jets to battleships, often free to America's allies. Read more..
BUSINESS TRAVEL IN 2007 Get ready to hear more from your corporate travel manager next year. As airlines fill more seats and raise fares and hotels in business centers continue raising already high rates, companies are being advised by American Ex... Read more..
Merck & Company will pay $1.1 billion to acquire Sirna Therapeutics, one of the leading companies pursuing technology to inactivate particular genes. Read more..
The decline, one of the steepest on record, adds to the woes of a mature industry beset by layoffs and the possible sale of some of its flagships. Read more..
Verizon Wireless overtook Cingular Wireless as the nation’s largest mobile phone carrier ranked by revenue. Read more..
The civil fraud charges were filed against nine former executives, but the Delphi Corporation itself will not be fined because of a settlement reached with the S.E.C. Read more..
Stock Markets
Values are reported in US Dollars
| Stock | Ticker symbol | Open | High | Low | Close | Volume |
| Pfizer | PFE | 26.94 | 27.06 | 26.38 | 26.65 | 80.7M |
| Microsoft | MSFT | 28.66 | 28.85 | 28.56 | 28.71 | 61.9M |
| Intel | INTC | 21.32 | 21.43 | 21.19 | 21.34 | 55.5M |
| Cisco Systems | CSCO | 24.16 | 24.39 | 24.02 | 24.13 | 45.2M |
| Verizon Communications | VZ | 37.36 | 37.41 | 36.20 | 37.00 | 31.7M |
| Oracle Corp. | ORCL | 18.54 | 18.68 | 18.41 | 18.47 | 28.3M |
| General Electric | GE | 35.28 | 35.35 | 34.92 | 35.11 | 26.6M |
| AT&T Inc. | T | 34.10 | 34.31 | 33.57 | 34.25 | 24.7M |
| ConocoPhillips | COP | 59.73 | 60.35 | 58.83 | 60.24 | 21.4M |
| ExxonMobil | XOM | 70.70 | 71.48 | 70.01 | 71.42 | 20.3M |
| Apple | AAPL | 81.45 | 81.68 | 80.23 | 81.08 | 17.9M |
| Wal-Mart Stores | WMT | 49.60 | 49.78 | 49.12 | 49.28 | 17.6M |
| Procter & Gamble | PG | 62.38 | 63.53 | 62.21 | 63.39 | 14.9M |
| Home Depot | HD | 37.25 | 37.47 | 36.95 | 37.33 | 14.5M |
| HP Inc. | HPQ | 38.93 | 39.10 | 38.50 | 38.74 | 12.6M |
| JPMorgan Chase | JPM | 47.78 | 48.08 | 47.43 | 47.44 | 12.6M |
| Alphabet | GOOGL | 478.06 | 482.16 | 473.84 | 476.39 | 12.6M |
| Johnson & Johnson | JNJ | 67.80 | 67.80 | 67.23 | 67.40 | 12M |
| Comcast | CMCSA | 40.55 | 40.75 | 40.11 | 40.67 | 11.7M |
| Merck | MRK | 45.50 | 45.64 | 45.13 | 45.42 | 11.5M |
| Wells Fargo & Co. | WFC | 36.49 | 36.73 | 36.18 | 36.29 | 11.5M |
| Abbott Laboratories | ABT | 47.50 | 47.60 | 47.08 | 47.51 | 11.4M |
| Chevron | CVX | 66.10 | 67.35 | 65.76 | 67.20 | 10.7M |
| McDonald's | MCD | 42.18 | 42.24 | 41.60 | 41.92 | 10M |
| Bristol-Myers Squibb | BMY | 24.41 | 24.81 | 24.25 | 24.75 | 9.8M |
| International Business Machines | IBM | 91.50 | 92.68 | 91.50 | 92.33 | 9.27M |
| Schlumberger | SLB | 61.62 | 63.15 | 61.33 | 63.08 | 9.21M |
| Altria | MO | 81.90 | 82.20 | 81.20 | 81.33 | 8.13M |
| Walt Disney & Co. | DIS | 31.83 | 31.88 | 31.33 | 31.46 | 7.54M |
| Amgen | AMGN | 76.28 | 76.50 | 75.39 | 75.91 | 7.53M |
| UnitedHealth Group | UNH | 49.10 | 49.29 | 48.55 | 48.78 | 6.35M |
| Amazon | AMZN | 38.22 | 38.59 | 37.80 | 38.09 | 6.21M |
| Coca-Cola | KO | 46.82 | 46.94 | 46.51 | 46.72 | 6.08M |
| United Technologies | UTX | 65.82 | 66.11 | 65.53 | 65.72 | 4.16M |
| Boeing | BA | 80.60 | 80.60 | 79.31 | 79.86 | 3.94M |
| Pepsico | PEP | 63.71 | 63.74 | 63.06 | 63.44 | 3.63M |
| Gilead Sciences | GILD | 69.20 | 69.85 | 68.51 | 68.90 | 2.88M |
| 3M | MMM | 78.99 | 79.60 | 78.11 | 78.84 | 2.68M |
| Union Pacific | UNP | 90.93 | 91.52 | 90.06 | 90.63 | 2.08M |
| Berkshire Hathaway | BRK.B | 3510.00 | 3522.00 | 3496.00 | 3515.00 | 16K |
Exchange Rates of October 31, 2006
| Currencies | Exchange Rates | ||
| US Dollar | Japanese Yen | 1 USD = 116.960 JPY | 1 JPY = 0.009 USD |
| US Dollar | Canadian Dollar | 1 USD = 1.122 CAD | 1 CAD = 0.891 USD |
| US Dollar | Swiss Franc | 1 USD = 1.244 CHF | 1 CHF = 0.804 USD |
| US Dollar | Chinese Yuan | 1 USD = 7.879 CNY | 1 CNY = 0.127 USD |
| Euro | Japanese Yen | 1 EUR = 149.260 JPY | 1 JPY = 0.007 EUR |
| Euro | Pound Sterling | 1 EUR = 0.669 GBP | 1 GBP = 1.495 EUR |
| Euro | Australian Dollar | 1 EUR = 1.649 AUD | 1 AUD = 0.607 EUR |
| Euro | Canadian Dollar | 1 EUR = 1.432 CAD | 1 CAD = 0.699 EUR |
| Euro | Swiss Franc | 1 EUR = 1.588 CHF | 1 CHF = 0.630 EUR |
| Japanese Yen | Pound Sterling | 1 JPY = 0.448 GBP | 1 GBP = 2.232 JPY |
| Japanese Yen | Australian Dollar | 1 JPY = 1.104 AUD | 1 AUD = 0.906 JPY |
| Japanese Yen | Canadian Dollar | 1 JPY = 0.959 CAD | 1 CAD = 1.043 JPY |
| Japanese Yen | Swiss Franc | 1 JPY = 1.063 CHF | 1 CHF = 0.940 JPY |
| Pound Sterling | Australian Dollar | 1 GBP = 2.465 AUD | 1 AUD = 0.406 GBP |
| Pound Sterling | Canadian Dollar | 1 GBP = 2.140 CAD | 1 CAD = 0.467 GBP |
| Pound Sterling | Swiss Franc | 1 GBP = 2.372 CHF | 1 CHF = 0.422 GBP |
| Australian Dollar | Canadian Dollar | 1 AUD = 0.868 CAD | 1 CAD = 1.152 AUD |
| Australian Dollar | Swiss Franc | 1 AUD = 0.962 CHF | 1 CHF = 1.040 AUD |
| Canadian Dollar | Swiss Franc | 1 CAD = 1.108 CHF | 1 CHF = 0.902 CAD |
See what else happened on October 31, 2006