wall street

GOOGLE INC., $681.79, Nasdaq symbol GOOG, reported lower-than-expected earnings this week, mainly due to higher costs following its acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility in May 2012. The company is also earning less per online ad. These factors caused the stock to fall 8%. In the three months ended September 30, 2012, earnings fell 20.3%, to $2.2 billion, or $6.53 a share. It earned $2.7 billion, or $8.33 a share, a year earlier. If you exclude costs to integrate Motorola and other unusual items, earnings per share would have fallen 7.1%, to $9.03 from $9.72. That missed the consensus estimate of $10.63 a share. Revenue in the quarter jumped 45.1%, to $14.1 billion from $9.7 billion. Motorola accounted for 59% of the increase....

ALCOA INC., $8.69, New York symbol AA, reported better-than-expected revenue and earnings this week. However, aluminum demand in China is slowing. That caused the stock to fall 4%. In the three months ended September 30, 2012, Alcoa lost $143 million, or $0.13 a share. That’s partly because the company agreed to pay $85 million to settle a lawsuit that accused it of overcharging for raw materials. If you exclude all unusual items, Alcoa would have earned $0.03 a share in the latest quarter. That beat the consensus estimate of nil per share. A year earlier, the company earned $172 million, or $0.15 a share. Revenue fell 9.1%, to $5.8 billion from $6.4 billion. Aluminum shipments rose 3.1%, but average prices dropped 17.4%. The company also cut its production by 1.5%. But even so, the latest revenue figure beat the consensus estimate of $5.5 billion....

HEWLETT-PACKARD CO., $14.73, New York symbol HPQ, fell 14% this week after the company cut its earnings forecast for its 2013 fiscal year, which ends October 31, 2013. Hewlett now expects to earn between $3.40 and $3.60 a share during the year. These figures exclude costs related to the company’s recent restructuring plan, which includes merging its personal computer and printer divisions, simplifying its product lines and cutting 8% of its workforce. The new forecast is well below the consensus estimate of $4.18 a share. The company’s enterprise services division, which sells server computers and services to businesses, recently lost four major customers; this is the main reason for the lower earnings forecast. Consumers are also holding off on computer and printer purchases due to the slow global economy....

FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS, $376.90, symbol FFH on Toronto, owns 43.2% of Cunningham Lindsey, one of the world’s largest insurance claims management companies. Private-equity firm Stone Point Capital LLC holds a 51% interest. Cunningham Lindsey’s services include claims adjusting, appraisal and claims and risk management. Its customers include insurance and reinsurance companies, insurance brokers and multinational corporations....

In September 2011, gold hit an all-time high of $1,900.30 U.S. an ounce. It now trades at around $1,772.50. Gold could well regain its highs and move up even further over the longer term, although it will likely remain volatile. Higher prices would arise from investor fears that inflation or global political and economic instability will hurt key currencies, such as the euro or the U.S. dollar. We feel that it’s okay to hold some gold or silver stocks as part of the Resources component of a well-balanced portfolio, but you’ll want to keep them to a reasonable part of that portfolio....

CONAGRA FOODS INC., $27.51, New York symbol CAG, rose 8% this week after it reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. The company also raised its earnings forecast for its full fiscal year and increased its dividend. ConAgra makes a wide variety of packaged foods, including Chef Boyardee canned pasta, Hunt’s tomato sauce, Peter Pan peanut butter and Orville Redenbacher popcorn. In its fiscal 2013 first quarter, which ended August 26, 2012, ConAgra’s earnings soared 166.6% to $250.1 million, or $0.61 a share. A year earlier, it earned $93.8 million, or $0.23 a share....

APPLE INC., $691.28, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, unveiled the latest version of its hugely popular iPhone martphone this week. The new iPhone 5 features a larger touchscreen, faster processor and a longer-lasting battery. As well, the new model is compatible with long-term evolution (LTE) wireless networks, which are roughly five times faster than current networks. As well, Apple has upgraded iOS, the software that powers its mobile devices. It has also improved some of its other products, including its iPod music players....

FEDEX CORP., $87.38, New York symbol FDX, fell 2% this week after it warned that its earnings in its 2013 first quarter, which ended August 31, 2012, will fall short of its earlier forecast. That’s because FedEx’s international air transport business is shipping fewer packages. As well, more of this division’s industrial clients are switching to cheaper—but slower— methods, like ships and trains. As a result, FedEx now expects to report earnings of $1.37 to $1.43 a share in its first quarter, down from its earlier prediction of $1.45 to $1.60....

In general, if you already hold as many stocks as you do now, and you want to add money to your portfolio, you would buy more of the stocks you already own. But if you spot a particularly attractive new buy, like Google Inc., a recommendation of Wall Street Stock Forecaster, you may consider selling one of your current holdings to buy the new stock. To decide what to sell, you would of course start by checking to see if you hold any stocks that we view as sells. After that, you could eliminate one or more stocks we view as holds. While we obviously see these companies as worth holding, we think they are less attractive than our buys, such as Google. So our holds could be among your choices when you look for stocks to sell. That’s especially so if you own a lot of stocks we see as holds....

APPLE INC., $665.24, Nasdaq symbol AAPL, has won a patent-infringement lawsuit against South Korea-based Samsung Electronics. The jury decided that Samsung copied some features of Apple’s popular iPhone smartphones and iPad tablet computers. As a result, it will have to pay Apple $1.05 billion in damages. To put this award in context, Apple held cash and investments of $117.2 billion, or $125.07 a share, on June 30, 2012. In addition to the damages, Apple wants the court to ban certain Samsung products in the U.S. The ruling could help boost Apple’s market share, at least temporarily. However, this decision mainly applies to older Samsung products, and the company will likely modify its current devices to avoid violating Apple’s patents....