North America

In recent AlphaNow articles, we have discussed the plight of resource companies that have invested heavily in new energy or mining operations only to find that the high commodity prices on which the economics of these projects were based have fallen sharply. That’s bad news for earnings at mining companies or oil and gas exploration [...]

As the dollar rises against the euro, companies in the S&P 500 are cutting their forecasts for second-quarter earnings. The U.S. dollar appears to be unsinkable. Despite the country’s undeniable economic problems, the greenback has gained about 15% against the euro over the course of the last year, perhaps because global investors, in light of [...]

The slump in crude oil prices may spell trouble for Chevron’s earnings, especially when combined with the company’s high capital spending. Oil prices have plunged during the second quarter, with both West Texas Intermediate and Europe’s benchmark Brent crude losing more than 25% from their highs early in the year. That may be good for [...]

It’s early days, but the turnaround at Yahoo! seems to be boosting the company’s bottom line already, with StarMine models signaling a positive surprise for the second quarter. Yahoo! (YHOO.O) has spent recent years in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. With 20/20 hindsight, when its board rejected Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) $33 a share offer [...]

StarMine models accurately predict earnings surprises for all ten first-quarter candidates. Toward the end of each quarter, the StarMine research team at Thomson Reuters scrutinizes earnings forecasts in search of companies that it believes are most likely to beat the consensus forecast for earnings for the period — or that are likely to fall short [...]

As summer arrives, casual dining stocks like Sonic and Darden offer some intriguing long-term prospects, even though their short-term outlooks may vary. Investing in the restaurant sector during summer can be tricky. As one highly-rated analyst recently noted, warm, dry summer weekends tend to drive potential patrons to fire up their own home grills instead [...]

Whether it’s colored denim at Gap Inc. (GPS.N) or the latest lingerie at Victoria’s Secret, the quest for the latest fashions made apparel retailers the strongest part of the retail universe and helped propel the Thomson Reuters Same Store Sales Index to a 3.9% gain in May, higher than the gain of 3.6% increase that [...]