US Stock Market News Page 3

As reported by the BBC, US stocks ended higher after Ben Bernanke, US Federal Reserve chairman, hinted that the central bank would maintain its supportive monetary policy. Bernanke told economists in Virginia that the job market was still weak despite strong hiring for three months. The Fed must "remain cautious", said the bank...

As reported by the BBC, Fedex shares dropped 4% after the firm said its financial recovery is not as positive as it had initially hoped. The delivery company giant said that rising fuel costs were prompting customers to send goods via land rather airfreight. However, the company showed a strong performance during the third quarter,...

As reported by the BBC, Apple has announced its plans to start paying shareholders a dividend to buy back many of its shares. The tech giant stated that it would offer a quarterly dividend to investors of $2.65 per share. The firm will purchase up to $10 billion (£6.3 billion) of its own shares during the next financial year, starting on...

As reported by Reuters, the U.S. stock market has posted its best day for 2012, with JP Morgan Chase & Co bringing on Tuesday's late spark after it announced it would raise its dividend. The news from JP Morgan preceded the Federal Reserve's announcement of figures from its most recent stress tests of American banks. The majority of...

As reported by the BBC, shares in clothing company Gap went up 7% after reporting strong sales for February. Abnormally warm weather has persuaded American shoppers and the company said its spring items have been selling very well. With sales growing 12%, the firm’s Banana Republic chain also had a particularly strong month. After a...

As reported by the BBC, Apple's stock market value finished above $500 billion for the first time, solidifying its position as the globe’s most valuable company. Only six American firms have ever reached a value of over $500 billion. In 2007, oil giant Exxon was worth this much, while Microsoft was temporarily worth $600 billion in...

As reported by the BBC, for the first time ever, shares in technology firm Apple have exceeded $500 per stake. This marks an astonishing turnaround for the company, whose shares were in 1997 worth as low as $3.19, when it confronted the possibility of bankruptcy. The firm is now worth $460 billion. The firm’s revival by Steve Jobs, who...

As reported by the BBC, media group News Corporation watched its net revenues rise 65 per cent in the three months up to the end of December 2011, comparing positively to the same time period in 2010. The growth is the first time the firm’s profits have risen compared to 2010 since New Year 2011. The media group made $1.06 billion (£888...

Internet retailer Amazon has announced a dramatic drop in profits and warned of worse than anticipated results this year. For the three months ending 31 December, net income at the online giant was $177m (£144m), plummeting from $416m a year earlier. The fall came despite revenues during the period increasing by 35 per cent to $17.43bn....