U.S. Stocks Advance on Earnings; Shares of IBM, Energy Producers Lead Gain

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks gained, led by
technology companies, after International Business Machines
Corp. reported earnings that topped analysts' estimates.

IBM, the world's biggest provider of computer services,
gained the most since 2003 after saying acquisitions boosted
results. Exxon Mobil Corp., the world's largest energy
producer, rose to a record after crude oil climbed to an 11-
month high.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

US STOCKS-Earnings top estimates, send indexes higher

(Reuters) - NEW YORK, July 19 - U.S. stocks rose sharply on
Thursday as multinational companies such as IBM and
Juniper Networks Inc. reported earnings that beat
forecasts, shifting investors' focus back to corporate profits
and away from subprime credit worries.




The Nasdaq Composite index hit a 6 1/2-year intraday high.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

US STOCKS-Futures rise before wave of earnings; IBM gains

(Reuters) - Shares of International Business Machines Corp.
rose in extended-hours trading on Wednesday after the world's
largest computer services company reported earnings that beat
Wall Street expectations. For details, see [ID:N18415715].




"IBM shows the weak dollar is having a very positive effect
on some multinational companies. Their overseas revenues are
really helping the bottom line very strongly, that's the
bullish part of the day," said Rick Meckler, president of
investment firm LibertyView Capital Management in Hoboken, New
Jersey.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

Big employers propose health benefits overhaul

(Reuters) - The committee, which includes executives from IBM and Tyco International Ltd., spent more than a year studying how to overhaul corporate health and retirement benefits to rein in soaring employer costs.




"Deficiencies in the current system clearly are challenging employers and, in some cases, the viability of the benefits system in general," the committee said in its report.


Read more at Reuters.com Government Filings News

IBM saved about $1.6 billion in tax maneuver: WSJ

(Reuters) - Neither IBM nor the Internal Revenue Service was immediately available to comment.




The IRS announced plans to issue regulations making companies pay U.S. taxes when they buy back their stock on May 31, two days after IBM's transaction, the Journal reported. Its new regulations would treat funds used for buybacks as repatriated earnings.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

SEC says IBM misled investors on expenses

(Reuters) - The securities regulator made the statement as it reached a settlement with International Business Machines Corp., in which the company agreed not to commit future disclosure violations.




The SEC did not impose any monetary penalties and IBM, the world's largest technology services company, did not admit or deny the SEC's findings in the settlement announcement.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News

Fitch cuts IBM's credit rating on stock buybacks

(Reuters) - Fitch lowered IBM's "AA-minus" issuer default and senior
unsecured debt ratings one notch to "A-plus," the fifth highest
rating.




The downgrades "reflect IBM's shift in financial policies
to a more aggressive long-term capital structure with a higher
degree of core financial leverage," Fitch said in a release.


Read more at Reuters.com Bonds News

'Sex addict' sues IBM for $5m

A man who was fired by IBM for visiting an adult chat room during the workday is suing the computer company for $5m, claiming he is an internet addict who deserves treatment and sympathy rather than dismissal.

James Pacenza, 58, says he visits chat rooms as treatment for traumatic stress incurred in 1969 when he saw his best friend killed during an Army patrol in the Vietnam War.

Read more at FIN24.co.za