Financial News

LONDON (ShareCast) - US markets remain lower but they are recovering. The fall on the day remains modest when compared with recent gains.

The Dow is seven points lower at 10,399, while the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) dropped four points to 2,194. The S&P is down five points at 1,105.

US industrial production rose 0.1% in October, well below an expected 0.4% rise and compared to an increase of 0.6% the prior month.

US producer prices rose by 0.3% in October. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PPI fell 0.6% slightly above expectations.

Home improvement retail giant Home Depot (NYSE: HD - news) remains the worst performer in the Dow. The retailer saw third quarter earnings fall to $689m from $756m a year earlier. Home Depot forecast full year earnings of $1.55 a share.

Jacobs Engineering Group (NYSE: JEC - news) reported fourth quarter earnings of 63 cents a share, against expectations of 65 cents a share. This made Jacobs the worst performer in the S&P.

Shares in Playboy Enterprises slumped following the departure of finance director Linda Havard and Golden Gate Capital's denial that it is involved in a buyout.

Auto and home lender GMAC Financial Services has announced that its chief executive Alvaro de Molina is stepping down with Michael A. Carpenter named as his successor.

Despite splashing out $44bn in cash and shares to buy the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad at the beginning of the month, the spending has not stopped at Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK-A - news) , the investment vehicle of investment guru Warren Buffett.

Filings to the US Securities and Exchange Commission reveal that Berkshire Hathaway has taken stakes in Swiss foods group Nestle (4707.KL - news) and US oil colossus Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM - news) . The company, which likes to invest in old school businesses, also virtually doubled its stake in WalMart, the US supermarket group that owns Asda (NYSE: WMT - news) in the UK.

Berkshire Hathaway bought 3.4m American depositary receipts (ADRs) in Nestle and 1.28m shares in Exxon. The value of the Nestle stake is currently around $144m while the Exxon stake is valued at around $87m.

S&P 500 - Risers M B I A Inc (NYSE: MBI - news) . (MBI) $3.48 +6.39% Ciena Corp (NASDAQ: CIEN - news) . (CIEN) $13.77 +5.36% Sprint Nxtel Corp. (S) $3.68 +5.14% State Street Corp (NYSE: STT - news) . (STT) $42.01 +3.24% Suntrust Banks (NYSE: STI - news) (STI) $21.51 +2.87% Expedia Inc (NASDAQ: EXPE - news) . (EXPE) $24.50 +2.42% Regions Financial Corp (NYSE: RF - news) . (RF) $5.04 +2.23% Monsanto Company (NYSE: MON - news) (MON) $76.65 +2.16% Genzyme Corp (NASDAQ: GENZ - news) . (GENZ) $50.52 +2.08% Motorola Inc (NYSE: MOT - news) . (MOT) $8.86 +1.84%

S&P 500 - Fallers Jacobs Engineerng Group (JEC) $39.47 -13.23% Smith International Inc. (SII (SII.NX - news) ) $27.95 -9.13% Coach Inc (NYSE: COH - news) . (COH) $34.28 -4.75% Target Corp. (TGT) $47.96 -4.63% Penney J C Co Holdin (JCP) $29.65 -4.63% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $65.46 -4.45% Office Depot Inc. (ODP) $6.61 -3.92% Owens-Illinois Inc. (OI) $32.50 -3.87% Home Depot Inc. (HD) $26.58 -3.87% Gamestop Corp (NYSE: GME - news) . (GME) $23.58 -3.36%

Dow Jones I.A - Risers Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) . (MSFT) $29.84 +1.02% Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) $53.50 +0.64% Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) $74.87 +0.59% Merck (MERK.JK - news) & Co. Inc. (MRK) $33.95 +0.41% Travelers Company Inc. (TRV) $53.14 +0.38% United Technologies Corp. (UTX (A045880.KQ - news) ) $69.57 +0.33% Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) $62.43 +0.26% Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) $50.93 +0.24% Du Pont E I De Nemours and Co. (DD) $35.01 +0.20% 3M Co. (MMM) $78.17 +0.19%

Dow Jones I.A - Fallers Home Depot Inc. (HD) $26.58 -3.87% Caterpillar Inc (NYSE: CAT - news) . (CAT) $59.20 -1.98% Bank Of America Corp (NYSE: IKJ - news) . (BAC) $15.63 -1.51% American Express Inc. (AXP) $40.89 -1.33% Alcoa Inc (NYSE: AA - news) . (AA) $13.44 -1.25% Boeing Co (NYSE: BA - news) . (BA) $51.95 -1.01% McDonald's Corp. (MCD) $63.95 -0.90% JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) $42.81 -0.53% Pfizer Inc. (PFE) $17.87 -0.39% General Electric Co. (GE) $15.94 -0.34%

Nasdaq 100 - Risers Expedia Inc. (EXPE) $24.50 +2.42% Genzyme Corp. (GENZ) $50.52 +2.08% Steel Dynamics Inc. (STLD) $15.88 +1.73% FLIR Systems Inc (NASDAQ: FLIR - news) . (FLIR) $30.13 +1.38% Echostar Communications Corp. (DISH) $21.97 +1.20% Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) $29.84 +1.02% Directv Group Inc. (DTV) $30.59 +0.92% Infosys Technologies Ltd. (INFY) $52.36 +0.86% Warner Chilcott Plc (WCRX) $24.17 +0.83% First Solar Inc (NASDAQ: FSLR - news) . (FSLR) $124.30 +0.72%

Nasdaq 100 - Fallers Joy Global Inc (NASDAQ: JOYG - news) . (JOYG) $56.01 -4.81% Wynn Resorts Ltd. (WYNN) $65.46 -4.45% Hologic Inc (NASDAQ: HOLX - news) . (HOLX) $15.14 -3.38% Comcast Corp. (CMCSA) $15.33 -3.26% Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: SHLD - news) . (SHLD) $75.25 -3.03% Urban Outfitters Inc. (URBN) $33.53 -2.98% Ryanair Holdings Plc Adr (RYAAY) $27.19 -2.26% Seagate Technology (NASDAQ: STX - news) (STX (011810.KS - news) ) $16.68 -1.94% Electronic Arts Inc. (ERTS) $17.71 -1.88% Liberty Global Inc (NASDAQ: LBTYA - news) . Series A (LBTYA) $21.39 -1.88%