After Yesterday’s Rally, Markets End Mostly Flat; BAC and HPQ Revert Prior Announcements
After a strong showing yesterday, the major indices ended today’s session mostly flat. The Nasdaq showed only a 0.05% loss, with the S&P 500 gaining only 0.04%. The Dow was the only major index to post even a moderate change, rising only 22 points, or 0.18%. The European debt crisis talks hit some bumps today, as the yields on government bonds rose unexpectedly high in Italy and Spain. In corporate news, some companies pleased investors with recent announcements, including Bank of America with plans to scale back debit card fees, and Hewlett-Packard as they decided to keep their PC division. Other companies, however, disappointed investors, such as Coinstar with its decision to hike prices at Redbox kiosks. Crude oil futures fell 64 cents to close at $93.32 per barrel. Read more…
Investors love dividends and that is being proven yet again when you look at LyondellBasell Industries NV (NYSE: LYB) today. The chemical company is far from its days of bankruptcy reorganization and now on top of refinancing debt it plans to pay out as much as a $2.6 billion special dividend by the end of the year.