Business Blog Posts

The Commerce Department said on Wednesday durable goods orders dropped 2.1 percent, weighed down by weak receipts for transportation equipment, after a 1.9 percent increase in May.

Excluding transportation, orders edged up 0.1 percent after gaining 0.7 percent in May.

Durable goods are items ranging from toasters to aircraft that are meant to last three years or more.

Economists had expected overall orders to rise 0.3 percent.

"It is indicative of the lingering effects of this soft patch that we've had here recently where businesses remain very cautious with regard to building any kind of stocks in anticipation of increasing final sales," said Mark Luschini, chief investment strategist at Janney Montgomery Scott in Philadelphia.

Treasuries prices pared earlier losses on the data, while the dollar extended losses against the yen.

Durable goods orders are a leading indicator of manufacturing. Though orders tend to be volatile, last month's unexpected decline could add to fears of a slowdown in factory activity.

Manufacturing has been the bright spot in the economy, whose recovery has faltered since the start of the year.

Data on Friday is expected to show the economy grow at a 1.8 percent annual rate in the second quarter, according to a Reuters survey, after expanding 1.9 percent in the January-March period.

Orders last month were pulled down by an 8.5 percent drop in orders for transportation equipment. That reflected a 28.9 percent plunge in aircraft orders.

Boeing received 48 aircraft orders, up from 27 in May, according to information posted on the plane maker's website. However, the bulk of the orders were for its less expensive models.

Motor vehicle orders dropped 1.4 percent as manufacturers continue to deal with disruptions to production following the earthquake in Japan. Motor vehicle orders rose 0.3 percent in May.

Outside of transportation, orders for machinery fell 2.3 percent, while primary metals rose 1.0 percent. Capital goods orders fell 4.1 percent, while computers and electronic products edged up.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending, slipped 0.4 percent last month after a revised 1.7 percent rise in May.

Economists had expected a 0.8 percent gain from a previously reported 1.6 percent increase.

Shipments of non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, which go into the calculation of gross domestic product, rose 1.0 percent after increasing 1.7 percent in May.

A separate report showed demand for loans to purchase houses fell for a third straight week to the lowest since late February, suggesting home sales will remain weak.

The Mortgage Bankers Association said its mortgage purchase index fell 3.8 percent last week.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani, Editing by Andrea Ricci)

Declining issues solidly outpaced advancing ones, even though major averages showed mostly modest declines.

A failure to raise the U.S. debt limit by an August 2 deadline could roil markets and hurt the economy if the United States puts off paying bills. Democrats and Republicans continued to joust on Tuesday over which side's plan has the better chance of passage.

"Investors believe that there's going to be a resolution at the 11th hour, but many of those investors are starting to get cold feet," said Hugh Johnson, chief investment officer of Hugh Johnson Advisors LLC in Albany, New York.

Just 6.53 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex and Nasdaq, below the daily average of 7.49 billion.

Technology stocks again outperformed after Broadcom Corp (BRCM.O) reported strong results on Monday night, the latest in a string of chip companies to delight investors. The stock jumped 9.4 percent to $38.20.

Shares of top Chinese search engine Baidu Inc (BIDU.O) rose 5 percent to $164.36, a day after it forecast revenue well ahead of Wall Street expectations.

The SPDR Technology Select Sector Index exchange-traded fund (XLK.P) up 0.3 percent.

Second-quarter earnings that have been mostly stronger than expected have offered protective armor for a market battered by the debt debate.

At the close, the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was down 91.50 points, or 0.73 percent, at 12,501.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was down 5.49 points, or 0.41 percent, at 1,331.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was down 2.84 points, or 0.10 percent, at 2,839.96.

The CBOE Volatility Index .VIX, Wall Street's gauge of investor anxiety, rose 4.6 percent and broke above a 20 reading. The index could be pricing in a U.S. debt downgrade, according to optionMonster analyst Chris McKhann.

Among investors, retail clients appear more anxious than institutional ones over the failure of lawmakers to reach a deal on the debt ceiling, said Charles Lieberman, chief investment officer of Advisers Capital Management, LLC in Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey.

"Retail investors I think are more easily scared, and they expressed concern," he said. "When we discussed the various options with them, they typically come to the conclusion there isn't a whole lot we can do to deal with the circumstances. Anything we can do could backfire."

Weighing on the Dow were shares of 3M Co (MMM.N), the conglomerate whose products range from Post-It Notes to specialty films for computers and televisions. Its share dropped 5.4 percent to $89.93, hurt by softness in some divisions even though its results met estimates.

It exerted a 38-point drag on the Dow, accounting for more than half of losses of the 30-component index on the day.

Industrial stocks were among the worst performers, with the S&P industrials index .GSPI down 1.9 percent.

Also, Ford Motor Co (F.N) fell 1.8 percent to $12.93, even after the automaker's second-quarter earnings beat expectations. Ford remained cautious about consumer demand going forward.

Among other decliners, Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) slid 5.2 percent to $266.91, a day after the movie rental company warned its red-hot subscriber growth would cool in the third quarter.

On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners outweighed advancers by about 2-to-1, while Nasdaq losers beat winners also by about 2-to-1.

After the close, tech results were mixed, with shares of Amazon.com (AMZN.O) gaining more than 6 percent after it reported a surge in quarterly revenue. Shares of Juniper Networks Inc (JNPR.N), however, declined 12.9 percent to $27.15 after its preliminary results disappointed.

(Additional reporting by Doris Frankel; Editing by Leslie Adler)

The largest Internet retailer reported a jump in quarterly revenue on sales of its Kindle electronic reader and other electronics and forecast better-than-expected revenue for the current quarter, sending its shares up more than 6 percent late on Tuesday.

Amazon benefited from growth in e-commerce, though margins continued to be pressured by heavy spending on distribution, technology and digital content.

The company is investing to build warehouses and distribution to support rapidly growing e-commerce, its main business.

It's also spending heavily on servers and data centers for its cloud computing business Amazon Web Services, while buying more digital content to bolster media offerings, such as streaming video.

This spending has dented profit margins in recent quarters. Analysts and investors are mostly happy to see such investment by the company -- as long as it winds down at some point and lays the foundation for future profit increases.

"They're sacrificing near-term profitability for longer-term revenue growth," said Michael Souers, specialty retail analyst at S&P Equity Research. "As long as they are able to transform growth into profits in the future, investors will be satisfied. The chances are strong."

Amazon on Tuesday reported a 51 percent rise in second-quarter revenue to $9.91 billion, surpassing Wall Street's expectations for $9.4 billion.

The company forecast third-quarter sales of $10.3 billion to $11.1 billion, compared with the average forecast for $10.35 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Second-quarter net income fell to $191 million, or 41 cents per share, from $207 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts expected 35 cents per share for the latest second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The operating profit margin fell to 2.0 percent from 4.1 percent a year earlier.

Operating income is expected to be between $20 million and $170 million in the third quarter, the company estimated. The guidance includes about $180 million of stock-based compensation expense and amortization of intangible assets. It also assumes no other acquisitions or investments will close in the quarter.

That forecast suggests Amazon's third-quarter pro-forma operating margin will be 1.8 percent to 3.2 percent, according to Aaron Kessler, an analyst at ThinkEquity. That's below his previous estimate.

"Amazon's willing to give up short-term profits for long-term growth and more market share," Kessler told Reuters. "But ultimately they are managing the business for shareholders. We're expecting modest margin expansion next year. Investors would like to see some return on these investments starting next year."

The company is expected to introduce a tablet computer later this year that would compete with Apple Inc's iPad.

Souers reckons thin third-quarter margins suggest Amazon is spending heavily on this new tablet.

"Longer term this is the best move they can make. The world is shifting toward digital from physical media and a tablet will help them cement a position in streaming content like movies and music," the analyst said.

Amazon Chief Financial Officer Tom Szkutak declined to comment on whether the company was working on a new tablet computer. However, he pledged to keep spending and investing to support growth and new businesses.

Amazon said it spent $941 million on so-called "fulfillment centers" -- warehouses or logistics centers -- in the second quarter, compared to $582 million a year earlier. Technology and content costs totaled $698 million in the latest period, versus $408 million in the same period of 2010.

"We're investing in the conversion from physical to digital and we feel very good about the traction we're getting there," he said.

Szkutak also stressed that the company is focused on cash flow and high returns on investment, rather than profit margins.

Amazon's main online retail business is growing so fast that the company needs to spend on a lot of new distribution capacity, he explained during a conference call with analysts.

Amazon has announced 15 new fulfillment centers so far in 2011 and the company will unveil more before the end of this year, he noted.

Amazon Web Services -- which hosts computing for corporate clients over the Internet -- accounts for a "big piece" of Amazon's current and future spending, because it's growing so fast, the CFO added.

Amazon shares, which have risen about 18 percent since the start of 2011, gained 6.1 percent to $227.35 in after-hours trade.

The company said sales in Worldwide Electronics and Other General Merchandise, which includes the Kindle e-reader, computers, cameras and other consumer electronics, jumped 69 percent to $5.89 billion in the second quarter.

Excluding currency fluctuations, sales rose 62 percent.

"That's very strong," said Scot Wingo, chief executive of ChannelAdvisor, a software provider that helps retailers sell more online through channels including Amazon and eBay Inc.

"E-commerce in general is growing at 10 percent to 14 percent, so Amazon continues to gobble up market share." Wingo owns Amazon shares, and eBay is an investor in ChannelAdvisor.

At some point, such growth will taper off and this is when Amazon will be able to cut back on spending and increase profitability, S&P's Souers said. He's expecting margins to increase "significantly" in coming years.

(Writing by Brad Dorfman; Additional reporting by Eunju Lie in Chicago and Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Bernard Orr, Phil Berlowitz)

The largest Internet retailer benefited from growth in e-commerce, though margins continued to be pressured by heavy spending on distribution, technology and digital content.

But the market reaction focused more on sales growth than profits.

"If you look at top-line growth it was extremely strong," Dan Geiman, analyst at McAdams Wright Ragen, said. "At this point it's a question of how long the company is going to continue to invest at their current levels. Presuming these investments don't go on forever, earnings should grow going forward."

The world's largest web retailer reported a 51 percent climb in revenue to $9.91 billion, surpassing Wall Street's expectations for $9.4 billion.

Operating margin fell to 2.0 percent from 4.1 percent a year earlier.

Amazon forecast third-quarter sales of $10.3 billion to $11.1 billion, compared with the average forecast for $10.35 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Shares of the company, which have risen about 18 percent since the start of 2011, gained 6.3 percent to $227.57 in after-hours trade.

Second-quarter net income came in at $191 million, or 41 cents per share, versus $207 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier. Analysts expected 35 cents per share for the latest second quarter, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

(Writing by Brad Dorfman, editing by Bernard Orr)