Finances

FedEx Corp. (FDX), a global courier delivery service, announced its quarterly earnings on December 19.

The company reported second quarter revenue of $11.1 billion. This is an increase of 5% from last year's second quarter revenue of $10.6 billion.

FedEx also reported net income of $438 million for the quarter–a 12% decrease from last year's second quarter revenue of $497 million.

"Operating income for the quarter improved at FedEx Freight and FedEx Ground due to increased volumes and higher yields, while persistent weakness in the global economy and increased demand for lower-yielding international services limited profits at FedEx Express," said Frederick W. Smith, FedEx Corp. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Earnings also were negatively impacted by disruptions caused by Superstorm Sandy. We are hard at work on another record-setting holiday shipping season, driven by the continued growth of e-commerce. I would like to thank all of our team members for their hard work and dedication during our peak season."

FedEx is a global courier of delivery services headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. The company's name is an abbreviation of its original air division, Federal Express.

FedEx Corp. (FDX) shares ended the week at $92.74.

Oracle Sees Second Quarter Revenues and Income Go Up

Oracle Corporation (ORCL), a computer technology corporation, reported its quarterly earnings on December 18.

Oracle reported second quarter revenue of $9.1 billion. This represented a 3% increase from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $8.8 billion.

The company also reported GAAP operating income of $3.5 billion for the quarter. This is a 12% increase from last year's second quarter when the company reported GAAP operating income of $3.1 billion.

"Q2 performance was strong and broad based as all geographies reported double-digit revenue growth in new software license and cloud subscriptions," said Oracle President, Mark Hurd. "Applications, middleware and database all had double-digit growth in new software license and cloud subscriptions, with applications leading the pack with growth of over 30%. Our cloud offering of HCM, CRM and ERP applications plus the Oracle database and Java platform services is the strongest and most complete in the industry. Already approaching a one billion dollar run rate, our Cloud business will become much bigger over time."

Oracle Corporation is headquartered in Redwood City, California. The company is well known for developing and marketing computer hardware systems and enterprise software products.

Oracle Corporation (ORCL) shares ended the week at $33.76.

General Mills Reports Fiscal 2013 Second Quarter Results

General Mills (GIS), a producer of well-known food products, reported its fiscal 2013 second quarter results on December 19.

The company reported second quarter sales of $4.88 billion. This number represents a 5.6% increase from the same period last year when the company reported sales of $4.62 billion.

General Mills also reported operating profit of $829 million. This was a 16% increase from the same period last year when the company reported operating profit of $717 million.

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Ken Powell commented on the second quarter results: "Our U.S. Retail segment posted gains in pound volume, net sales and operating profit. The Bakeries and Foodservice segment generated strong double-digit operating profit growth. And our International segment recorded good sales and profit growth for established businesses in addition to the incremental contributions from Yoki and Yoplait Canada."

General Mills is home to many well-known brands, including Betty Crocker, Yoplait, Green Giant, Cheerios and Lucky Charms.

General Mills (GIS) shares ended the week at $41.10.

The Dow started the week at 13,135 and closed at 13,191. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,414 and ended at 1,430. The NASDAQ started the week at 2,971 and finished at 3,021.

Treasury prices rose Thursday, pushing yields down, as investors and traders became more concerned about stalled fiscal cliff talks in Washington. The rise in treasury prices pared gains from earlier in the week when economic reports indicated continued improvement in the U.S. economy.

The 10-year Treasury note declined 2 basis points on Thursday to 1.79%, whereas the yield on 30-year bonds declined 1 basis point to trade at 2.98%. Both numbers were affected by economic news and stalled fiscal cliff talks in Washington.

A gain in bonds earlier in the week was trimmed down following a pair of U.S. economic reports. A revised reading of third quarter growth in GDP showed growth of 3.1%, higher than the 2.7% previously reported. Separately, the Labor Department reported that first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the U.S. rose to 361,000, which was in line with expectations.

Charles Comiskey, head of Treasury trading for Bank of Nova Scotia, said, "The market is waiting for more information about the fiscal cliff. The market is trading better because people are becoming more pessimistic that a deal will be reached."

In the most recent fiscal cliff negotiations, House Republicans on Thursday moved forward with a vote on "Plan B," a bill to raise taxes on Americans earning more than $1 million a year. The proposal ultimately was tabled when Speaker Boehner was unable to get the votes needed to pass it. Even if the bill had passed, President Obama had vowed to veto the proposal, believing it to be insufficient. The President has called for higher taxes on those making more than $400,000 a year.

"[T]alks have reached a stalemate for now," said Richard Gilhooly, a bond strategist at TD securities. "As we head into what will be a long weekend for many, the prospect of a squeeze higher in bond prices remains high."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.77% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.93%.

Freddie Mac released the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on December 20. The results showed that average fixed mortgage rates continue to remain near their record lows following data reports on inflation and the housing construction market.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.37% this week. That represents an increase from last week when it averaged 3.32%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.91%.

The 15-year FRM averaged 2.65% this week. This represents a decrease from last week when it averaged 2.66%. One year ago, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.21%

Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, said, "Mortgage rates were mixed this week following data reports on stable inflation and a thriving home construction market. The 12-month growth in the core consumer price index has remained between 1.9 and 2.1% for the past five consecutive months ending in November. Meanwhile, housing starts averaged the strongest three months in November since September 2008, and homebuilder confidence rose in December to its highest reading since April 2008."

The money market fund finished this week at 0.5%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.7%.