Wednesday Morning’s Top Stories

The European Central Bank will loan a total of EUR $489 billion ($641 billion) to 523 banks in an effort to increase liquidity and decrease the potential of a sovereign default by euro zone members. This amount came in higher than a Reuters consensus for EUR $310 billion.

The ECB’s bank-funding operation, called longer-term refinancing operation (LTRO), is available for euro area banks. The loans will run for three years with the funds borrowed at the ECB’s average benchmark interest rate, currently at 1 percent.

Don’t Miss: ECB Lends Banks €489 Billion in First Day of 3-Year Loan Offering.

Investigators looking for the missing MF Global Holdings Ltd.(MFGLQ) customer money are reviewing about $200 million transferred to a corporate account at  J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) three days prior (October 28) to the firm filing for bankruptcy protection, according to The Wall Street Journal. The transaction piqued investigators’ interest in part because the bank inquired about the action in a letter to MF Global on the next day, affirming the funds transfer didn’t violate regulations protecting customer funds.

Susquehanna Financial Group analysts have increased estimates for Apple Inc.’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) fiscal 2012 iPhone sales based on supply chain constraints being resolved. The firm now sees Apple shipping 30.3 million iPhones in fiscal 2012, rising from the previous 27.1 million estimate.

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In a research note to clients, the firm said, “Based on our revised iPhone shipments, we are increasing our fiscal 2012 first-quarter EPS estimate from $9.40 to $10.17, and our fiscal year 2012 EPS forecast from $35.10 to $36.66.”

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) shares jumped 11.9 percent in premarket trading from reports that the company has possible takeover interest from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), while Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had discussed a possible joint bid. RIM allegedly turned down Amazon because it wants to fix its own problems which led Forbes’ Eric Savitz to write, “I’m actually not sure what is more shocking: the idea that Amazon was interested in buying RIM, or the fact that RIM cut them off and said no.”

Don’t Miss: Oracle Earnings Cheat Sheet: Profits Climb By Double Figures Again.

Wednesday Morning Hot Stocks

Shares of Oracle Corp. (NASDAQ:ORCL) dropped more than 11 percent early Wednesday.  The software giant missed quarterly estimates.  Oracle reported adjusted net income of 54 cents per share. By that measure, the company fell short of mean estimate of 55 cents per share. It also fell short of the average revenue estimate of $9.23 billion.  Tech competitors such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) are trading slightly lower.

Investing Insights: Oracle Earnings Cheat Sheet: Profits Climb By Double Figures Again.

Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (NASDAQ:TEVA) is trading down almost 2 percent in early trading.  The drug company expects adjusted earnings of $5.48 to $5.68 per share for 2012.  A survey of analysts by FactSet Research produced consensus estimates of $5.67 a share of profit on $22 billion of revenue.

Despite a 20% decline in fourth quarter earnings, shares of KB Home (NYSE:KBH) is trading more than 2% higher.  New home deliveries rose 4% to 1,995 homes, while the cancellation rate decreased to 34% from 37% a year earlier. The average selling price rose 2.5% to $238,400.

Shares of Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) are down about 6 percent after reporting its results for the first quarter.  Net income for the drug store fell to $554 million (63 cents per share) vs. $580 million (62 cents per share) a year earlier. This is a decline of 4.5 percent from the year earlier quarter.  Shares of rival drugstore CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS) are trading .43 percent higher.

Research in Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM) shares are jumping more than 9 percent early Wednesday.  Reports surfaced that the struggling company turned down a takeover bid from Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).

After officially spinning off online travel research firm TripAdvisor Inc. (TRIPV), shares of Expedia Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE) dropped 52 percent. Shareholders approved the spinoff on December 6.

Nike Inc. (NYSE:NKE) shares are trading 1.7 percent higher after announcing second quarter results.  Net income for Nike Inc. rose to $469 million ($1 per share) vs. $457 million (94 cents per share) in the same quarter a year earlier. This marks a rise of 3% from the year earlier quarter.

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Wednesday’s Trending Stocks

As the markets cool off after a big Santa rally yesterday, here are the hottest stock driving buzz among investors and traders on Wall Street today:

Delphi Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:DFG): Shares of Delphi Financial Group, Inc. are trading higher 72% today. Tokyo Marine announced it will by Delphi Financial for $2.7 billion today. Delphi Financial Group, Inc., through its subsidiaries, offers a diverse portfolio of group employee benefit products, including life, disability, workers’ compensation, and personal accident insurance. The Company also offers asset accumulation products, primarily annuities, to individuals and groups. Delphi offers its insurance products throughout the United States.

Oracle Corporation (NASDAQ:ORCL): Shares of Oracle Corporation are trading lower 13% today. Oracle’s latest earnings report disappointed investors. Oracle Corporation supplies software for enterprise information management. The Company offers databases and relational servers, application development and decision support tools, and enterprise business applications. Oracle’s software runs on network computers, personal digital assistants, set-top devices, PCs, workstations, minicomputers, mainframes, and massively parallel computers.

CarMax, Inc (NYSE:KMX): Shares of CarMax, Inc are trading lower 6.95% today. CarMax’s recent earnings release caused shareholders to sell shares. CarMax, Inc. sells at retail new and used cars and light trucks. The Company purchases, reconditions, and sells new and used vehicles in its superstores and franchises throughout the United States.

Walgreen Company (NYSE:WAG): Shares of Walgreen Company are trading lower 1% today. The company reported earnings today and delivered lower margins on the latest quarter. Walgreen Company operates retail drugstores that offer a wide variety of prescription and non-prescription drugs as well as general goods. The Company operates stores in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. Walgreen’s also offers health services, including primary and acute care, wellness, pharmacy and disease management services and health and fitness.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE): Shares of NIKE, Inc. are trading higher 3% today. Shareholders were very impressed with the company’s latest earnings release. NIKE, Inc. designs, develops, and markets athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, and accessory products for men, women, and children. The Company sells its products worldwide to retail stores, through its own stores, subsidiaries, and distributors.

Actuant Corporation (NYSE:ATU): Shares of Actuant Corporation are trading higher 7% today. The company beat forecasts in its latest earnings release. Actuant Corporation manufactures and markets a broad range of industrial products and systems. The Company sells branded, specialized electrical and industrial tools to hydraulic and electrical wholesale distributors, to catalog houses, and through retail distribution channels. Actuant also designs and markets customized motion control systems for original equipment manufacturers.

Jabil Circuit, Inc. (NYSE:JBL): Shares of Jabil Circuit, Inc. are trading lower 5% today. The company missed earnings and shareholders sold stock today. Jabil Circuit, Inc. is an electronic manufacturing services provider for international electronics companies in the communications, personal computer, peripheral, consumer, and automotive markets. The Company offers circuit design, board design from schematic, prototype assembly, volume board assembly, system assembly, repair, and warranty services.

Cintas Corporation (NASDAQ:CTAS): Shares of Cintas Corporation are trading higher 9% today. The company beat on revenues and profits in its latest earnings report to shareholders. Cintas designs, manufactures and implements corporate identity uniform programs. The Company also provides entrance mats, restroom supplies, promotional products, document management, fire protection, and first aid and safety services.

The Shaw Group Inc. (NYSE:SHAW): Shares of The Shaw Group Inc. are trading higher 15% today. The company impressed shareholders with its latest earnings release. The Shaw Group Inc. provides engineering, procurement, construction, maintenance, fabrication, manufacturing, consulting, remediation, and facilities management services for government and private sector clients in the power, process, environmental, infrastructure, and emergency response markets.

Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. (NYSE:PNY): Shares of Piedmont Natural Gas Company Inc. are trading flat today. Piedmont Natural Gas Company, Inc. is an energy and services company that primarily transports, distributes, and sells natural gas. The Company serves residential, commercial, and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. Piedmont also, through subsidiaries, markets natural gas to customers in Georgia, and distributes propane in various states.

Market Recap

Markets closed mixed on Wall Street today: Dow +0.03%, S&P+0.19%, Nasdaq -0.99%, Oil +1.64%, Gold +0.05%.

On the commodities front, Oil (NYSE:USO) climbed to $98.83 a barrel. Precious metals were mixed, with Gold (NYSE:GLD) climbing slightly to $1,618.40 an ounce while Silver (NYSE:SLV) fell 0.53% to settle at $29.38.

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Today’s markets were mixed because:

1) Existing home sales. A report on existing home sales in November came in well below forecasts, while the National Association of Realtors also downwardly revised its existing home sales figures for the last four years by an average of 14.3 percent. The previously reported figures were inaccurate because of flawed data analysis, which artificially made it appear as though more homes were being sold than was in reality the case.

2) ECB. Ahead of opening bell in New York on Wednesday, markets in Europe and stock futures in the U.S. climbed higher after the European Central Bank announced it had injected 489 billion euros into the region’s banks as part of its new three-year loan program, which is meant to shore up lenders’ finances and address the euro-zone debt crisis. Investors initially read the figure, which was well above an expected 300 billion euros, as a positive sign, but later began to question whether the large sum means banks could be in more trouble than initially expected, using the money to stay afloat as other sources of lending dry up.

3) Software. Software dragged the Nasdaq lower today, as investors grew concerned that the sharp fall-off in earnings at Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) could signal a broader slowdown in consumer spending and in the technology sector. Oracle was by far the Nasdaq’s biggest drag, falling 11.66 percent, but competitors including Fortinet (NASDAQ:FTNT), TIBCO Software (NASDAQ:TIBX), and Teradata (NYSE:TDC) dropped more than 5 percent.

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After Hours Radar Stocks

After closing 3.08 percent lower on Wednesday, share of International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM) are edging slightly higher in late trading. The tech giant is the largest weighted Dow (NYSEARCA:DIA) component.  Other tech names such as Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HPQ) also closed lower.

Shares of Micron Technology Inc. (NASDAQ:MU) are falling 1.6 percent in late trading.  The company announced a 7 percent drop in revenue, when compared to last year.  Furthermore, weak memory pricing caused a decrease in gross margins.

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Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) shares dropped more than 3 percent after releasing third quarter results. The company reported a profit of $228.5 million (95 cents per share), compared to $188.6 million (74 cents) last year.

Walgreen Co. (NYSE:WAG) continues to edge lower after the closing bell. Earlier in the day, the drugstore announced first quarter results. Net income for the drug store fell to $554 million (63 cents per share), compared to $580 million (62 cents per share) last year.  Shares of rival drugstore CVS Caremark Corp. (NYSE:CVS) are up .20 percent after the closing bell.

Shares of Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) closed 5.8 percent higher on Wednesday, and continue to climb .70 percent higher in extended hours.  After the closing bell, the WSJ reported that the internet portal king is discussing a plan to reduce its Alibabe Group Holding stake to about 15 percent, and dispose of its Yahoo Japan holdings.  The transaction is expected to be valued at $17-$18 billion.  Shares of Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) are trading slightly lower on the news.

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