General Market News

FedEx Corp. (NYSE: FDX) reported earnings of $0.76 per diluted share for the third quarter ended February 28, compared to $0.31 per diluted share a year ago. Analysts average $0.72. FDX beats by $0.04.

Third quarter revenue of $8.70 billion, up 7% from $8.14 billion a year ago.

Stocks are having little reaction to the events in Greece. Treasury Bonds are also under pressure after a slew of stronger-than-expected U.S. economic reports on Thursday triggered a reversal top. April Gold is trading lower because of the stronger Dollar, but could turn around if the Greek situation worsens.

Once again risk aversion is taking center stage as traders are buying the Dollar and shedding higher risk currencies. The main concern driving the Dollar higher overnight is Greece’s ability to obtain financial aid. Traders are pricing in the strong possibility that Greece will not receive aid from the European Union and be forced to turn to the International Monetary Fund for help.

The growth of illegal file-sharing could cost European countries 1.2m jobs and 240bn euros (£215bn) by 2015, an industry report claims.The study, commissioned by an industry body and endorsed by trade unions, studied the impact of web piracy in Germany, UK, France, Italy and Spain.

As a boy in Ireland, Francis Markey dreamed of becoming a priest and serving parishioners all over the world. His dream of ordination came true, but his relationship with parishioners has become the object of international scrutiny.

The U.S. Dollar finished higher versus most major currencies with the exception of the New Zealand Dollar. Fear that Greek fiscal problems may flare up once again sent investors scurrying out of the Euro and into relatively safer currencies. Nervous investors removed risk from the equation overnight and continued this trend throughout the day.

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE: NKE) reported net income was $1.01 per diluted share, compared to $0.50 per diluted share in the same period last year. analysts average $0.89. NKE beats by $0.12.

Third quarter revenues increased 7 percent, from $4.4 billion last year to $4.7 billion in the current year.

U.S. stock indices are trading flat overnight. Traders have largely ignored the weakness in the Euro over Greece concerns. This may mean that today’s menu of U.S. economic reports will have a bigger influence on stock prices.

The U.S. Dollar is trading better against most major currencies with the exception of the Japanese Yen as investors removed risk from the equation overnight. The Dollar was under pressure on Wednesday as traders reacted to the previous day’s FOMC statement. In its statement the Fed said that interest rates would remain low for a prolonged period.

U.S. stock indices soared to the upside and finished sharply higher driven by greater demand for higher yielding assets. Tuesday’s decision by the FOMC to keep interest rates low for an extended period was the catalyst behind Wednesday’s rally. Because of the low interest rates the world is using the Dollar and the Yen as funding currencies.

The U.S. Dollar finished down against most major currencies. From the start it was under pressure as trader demand for risk pressured lower yielding currencies. The early morning weakness in the Dollar helped to drive up demand for high risk equities and commodities. Tuesday’s move by the Fed to leave interest rates unchanged for a prolonged period of time set the tone for today’s weakness.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE: DFS) reported a net loss -$0.22 per share compared with earnings from the same period last year of $0.25. analysts average $0.12. DFS misses by $0.34.

The company reported a net loss for the first quarter of 2010 of $104 million, as compared to net income of $120 million for the first quarter of 2009.

March VIX options expired today with a settlement price of 16.68. Though the fear index gave a valiant effort in trying to remain elevated long enough for the naked put play mentioned in last week's Fading Complacency post to come out profitable, the incredibly low realized vol of the market won out in the end.

The markets are all hovering higher today. Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 up over half a percent on the day. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE:SPY) is higher by .60%. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSE:DIA) is up the same. Since the February 5th bottom, the markets have

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged and reiterated that interest rates would remain low for “an extended period”. In its statement, it also mentioned that inflation remains subdued, and that the weak employment situation seems to have stabilized.