Yum! Brands Takes a Hit and Barclay’s Big Legal Bill: Morning Buzzers

Tuesday morning seems to be forgiving Monday’s tremendous losses as the markets push for early gains. With collars turned against the headwinds blowing out of Europe, investors have turned their attention to the battery of earnings reports due out today.

Futures at the bell: DJIA: +0.44%, S&P 500: +0.45%, NASDAQ: +0.44%.

Here’s what’s buzzing on Tuesday morning:

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) took a hit in the pre-market following its fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results. As expected by many observers, same-store sales in China took a sharp dive following an investigation into suppliers of chicken to its KFC brand, which pulls nearly half of its revenue from the country.

BP (NYSE:BP) released fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results before the markets opened. Adjusted underlying RPC profit fell 20 percent to $4.0 billion for the quarter, and fell 18.9 percent to $17.6 billion for the year. Upstream production was flat in 2012 compared with 2011, in line with guidance and expectations, while downstream operations delivered record profits of $6.4 billion for the year, a 7.2 increase.

Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) reported fourth-quarter and full-year 2012 results that underlined the ongoing struggles of many American coal companies. Net loss of $1.39 per share for the fourth quarter accompanied a 21.2 percent decline in revenues to $968.2 million. The upside is that metallurgical sales volume is expected to grow in 2013 versus 2012, and a cash and liquidity position of $1.2 billion will help serve as a cushion for near-term headwinds.