Shares News

By Risa Maeda TOKYO (Reuters) - The Nikkei average edged up 0.30 percent by midday on Friday after comments the previous day by Bank of Japan Governor Toshihiko Fukui eased concerns about higher interest rates, prompting buying of recently battered property shares. Shares with bright earnings and dividend outlooks, such as silicon wafer maker SUMCO Corp. and Marusan Securities Co. Ltd., also ros ...

By Alan Raybould SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asian technology shares fell on Friday, pushing stock markets outside Japan lower despite tame U.S. inflation data that reinforced the view U.S. interest rates may not go much higher and depressed the dollar. Tokyo's Nikkei average ended the morning session up 0.3 percent, with brokerage Nomura Holdings adding another 2.7 percent after raising its dividend  ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) -- General Motors Corp. late Thursday said its 2005 loss will be $2 billion steeper than it originally reported. The news only adds to the automaker's woes as it struggles to right itself in the face of dwindling North American market share and soaring costs. The automaker revised its reported loss for 2005 to $10.6 billion, or $18.69 a share, vs. the $8.6 billion,  ...

By Jason Bennert SAN JOSE, California (Reuters) - Hynix Semiconductor Inc. (000660.KS: Quote, Profile, Research) should not have to pay royalties on billions of dollars worth of computer memory chips because patents held by Rambus Inc. (RMBS.O: Quote, Profile, Research) are invalid, a lawyer for the South Korean company argued on Thursday. Hynix, defending itself against claims that it ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Insurance giant American International Group said Thursday its fourth quarter 2005 profit fell 72% after booking more than $2 billion of charges for regulatory settlements and increased reserves. The company (AIG) said it earned $444 million, or 17 cents a share in the quarter compared to $1.61 billion, or 62 cents a share a year ago. The latest quarterly results incl ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Insurance giant American International Group said Thursday its fourth-quarter profit fell 72% after booking more than $2 billion of charges for regulatory settlements and increased reserves. The company (AIG) said it earned $444 million, or 17 cents a share in the quarter compared to $1.61 billion, or 62 cents a share a year ago. AIG said 2004's results were restated, ...

NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Altria Group Inc. said Thursday it plans to record roughly $1 billion in tax benefits in the first quarter following the conclusion of an examination of its tax returns running from 1996 through 1999 by the Internal Revenue Service. The Dow component (MO) also lifted its financial outlook for the year to reflect the positive impact of the benefits. The gains will stem ...

Blue chip stocks muscled their way higher on Thursday on fading interest rate concerns, but the Nasdaq Composite stumbled after a late surge in crude prices sent investors scrambling out of the technology sector and into energy stocks. // Wall Street received an early boost after a benign inflation report raised hopes that the Federal Reserve might be close to ending its cycle of monetary tighten ...

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones) - Shares of defense contractors moved broadly higher on Thursday with the Pentagon's two largest contractors -- Dow component Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin - at all time highs. Boeing (BA) reached a peak of $77.05 while Lockheed Martin (LMT) touched $ 76.03 at one point. General Dynamics (GD) also set an all-time high of $129.85 as did L-3 Communications (LLL) , at $86 ...

U.S. stocks closed mixed Thursday, after a spike in oil prices due to political tensions in Iran took some of the shine off inflation data that suggested the Federal Reserve could stop raising interest rates sooner rather than later. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) closed up 43.47 points at 11,253.24, off a session high of 11,282.45. The S&P 500 (SPX) rose 2.31 points to 1,305.33, ...