Financial Breakfast: Morning News Summary for August 1, 2012

Benzinga's Top News

Comcast CMCSA Reports Q2 EPS $0.50 vs $0.48 Est; Revenues $15.2B vs $15.20B Est

Garmin GRMN Reports Q2 EPS $0.98 vs $0.67 Est; Revenues $718.2M vs $686.45M Est

Domestic Pre-Market Trading

• U.S. Equity Markets trade up as Dow futures trade higher about 43 points.
• U.S. Dollar trades about 0.02% lower.

Overseas Trading

• European markets are mixed in afternoon trading. Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.77%, Germany's DAX slid 0.21% and France's CAC 40 advanced 0.56% on the session.
• Asian stocks ended the session mixed. China's Shanghai gained 0.94%, Japan's Nikkei 225 slid 0.61%, and the Hong Kong's Hang Seng Market added 0.12%.
• Spanish and Italian manufacturing PMI's beat expectations while French, German, and British PMI's missed expectations, showing that the global slowdown is now affecting the core European nations.

Upgrades/Downgrades

• Wells Fargo Upgrades Arkansas Best ABFS from Underperform to Market Perform

• Jefferies & Company Downgrades Coach COH from Buy to Hold, Lowers PT from $92 to $55

On the Economic Calendar

• 08:15 ET - ADP Nonfarm Employment Change
• 09:00 - Manufacturing PMI
• 10:00 - Construction Spending (MoM)
• 10:00 - ISM Manufacturing Index
• 10:30 - Crude Oil Inventories
• 14:15 - FOMC Statement
• 14:15 - Interest Rate Decision

Earnings

• Comcast CMCSA Reports Q2 EPS $0.50 vs $0.48 Est; Revenues $15.2B vs $15.20B Est
• Harley-Davidson HOG Reports Q2 EPS $1.07 vs $1.05 Est; Revenues $1.57B vs $1.63B Est
• Garmin GRMN Reports Q2 EPS $0.98 vs $0.67 Est; Revenues $718.2M vs $686.45M Est
• Avon Products AVP Reports Q2 EPS $0.20 vs $0.21 Est; Revenues $2.59B vs $2.66B Est
• Time Warner TWX Reports Q2 EPS $0.59 vs $0.58 Est; Revenues $6.74B vs $6.95B Est

Corporate News

• Pharmacyclics PCYC Triggers Significant Milestone Payment

Commodities

• Precious metals are trading higher, with gold posting early gains of about 0.22%
• Energy futures are trading higher, with crude oil posting early gains of about 0.42%
• Natural Gas futures are trading down about 1.03% and copper is trading down by about 0.29%

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