BEFORE THE BELL 16 JUL 09

RESULTS

BAXTER INTL (BAX, Health care equipment) +0.9% before the opening
$0.96 ($0.94 exp.) $0.85 n-1. Sales -2% at $3.123bn ($3.118bn exp.) , ex forex +8%, US +7% Net +7.9% at $587m ($544m n-1)GM ups from 51% to 52.4%Sees Q3 sales +7/8% before forex, EPS at $0.95-0.97Raises FY09 EPS at $3.76-3.80 ($3.77 exp.) from $3.72-3.78
BIOGEN (BIIB.O, Biotechnology) +2.8% before the opening
$0.75 ($0.68 exp.) $0.91 n-1. Revenue +10.1% at $1.093bn ($1.076bn exp.)Net -30.3% at $144.9m ($208m n-1), Ebit -18.8%Reaffirms FY revenue growth in high single digit Sees FY09 EPS topping $3.85 ($3.80 exp.)
JP MORGAN CHASE (JPM, Investment bank) -1% before the opening
$0.28 ($0.06 exp.) $0.54 n-1. Revenue +40.8% at $27.709 ($25.909bn exp.)Net +35.8% at $2.721bn ($2.003bn n-1) with $1.1bn non cash reduction for TARP repayment Tiers 1 = 9.7% (7.7% common), repaid in full the $25bn TARP preferred capAdd $2bn credit reserve, now at $30bn, provision for credit losses at $9.7bn (+$4.29bn from n-1 but -$0.4bn from previous quarter).Revenue/ Net : Intl bank +32.7%/+373%, Retail financial +55.9%/-97%, Card services +28.9%/loss $672m, Consumer bank +31.8%/falt, Asset management +0%/-10.9%Sees credit costs elevated for foreseeable future, approved 138k trial mortagage modifications in the Q.High Q2 credit costs in consumer lending, card services : card services provision for credit losses $4.6bn

After the close :IBM ($2.01), GOOGLE ($5.08).

Results are for companies with a capitalization above $10bn and EPS is given with NON GAAP whereas Net Income is given with GAAP.

NEWS

CITIGROUP (C, Bank) +0.9% before the opening
Citigroup and the FDIC are near an agreement that will increase scrutiny of the bank (FT). The proposed deal would strengthen Citi's board and governance, improve asset quality and expense management and increase information on capital and liquidity level reported to the government. (Results tomorrow)
BANK OF AMERICA (BAC, Bank) -1.4%before the opening
Bank of America is operating under a secret regulatory sanction requiring it to overhaul its board and address other problems or face harsher penalties. (Results tomorrow)
NORTHROP GRUMMAN (NOC, Aerospace & defense) No pre-opening
Northrop Grumman expects to keep gaining from shifts in US national security priorities that are helping the company challenge Boeing (BA) as the nation's N°2 defense contractor.
BOEING(BA,Aerospace & defense)-0.9% before the opening
Boeing is expected to announce it has won a contract potentially worth nearly $1bn to build satellites for telecommunication group Intelsat (Los Angeles Times)
CIT GROUP (CIT, Specialized finance) No pre-opening
CIT a lender to hundreds of thousands of small and mid-sized US businesses, said bailout talks with the government had ended, a development that could ultimately drive the company into bankruptcy. There is no appreciable likelihood of additional government support being provided over the near term said the company. It also showed the possible limits of Washington’s ability and willingness to rescue companies, after multiple bailouts engineered by Treasury.
MARRIOTT INTL (MAR,Hotel & resorts) -4.4% before the opening
$0.23($0.21 exp.) $0.51 n-1, net –76.4% at $37m ($157m n-1) adjusted $84m
Revenue –18.8% at $2.562bn ($2.54bn exp.), comp revpar –23.6%
Sees FY09 EPS at $0.76, Q3 EPS at $0.09-0.14
Investment spending down 50% in 2009
PPG INDUSTRIES (PPG,Diversified chemicals) No pre-opening
$0.91($0.74 exp.) $1.62 n-1, net –41.6% at $146m ($250m n-1), Ebit –35.8%
Sales –30.4% at $3.115bn ($3.284bn exp.)
Expects overall market demand to improve but only midly
Geithner :Sees biggest impact of US stimulus in H2 2009, support strong dollar, insuring recovery will require sustained program of support for demand.

BROKER RATINGS

ORACLE : Raised to Buy by Société Générale.
YUM! BRANDS : Price target raised to $38 from $34 by Barclays, rated Equalweight.
AMERICAN EXPRESS : Price target raised to $25 from $16 by JP Morgan, rated Hold.
AMERICAN EXPRESS : Raised to Neutral from Underweight by JP Morgan.
DISNEY : Raised to Outperform from Neutral by Bernstein.