Finances

H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ) reported its most recent earnings last week. The company reported that it had delivered its twenty-ninth consecutive quarter of "organic sales growth" (which is volume plus price).

In the first quarter, Heinz reported that while its sales had declined 1.5%, to $2.79 billion, its gross profit had increased to $1.0 billion (up from $983.6 million in Q1-2011). Heinz reported that its organic sales had grown 4.8%, led by emerging markets.

On an earnings per share (EPS) basis, Heinz reported an increase of 24.3%. EPS was reported at $0.87, up from $0.70 at the same time last year.

"Heinz delivered strong results and our twenty-ninth consecutive quarter of organic sales growth, despite the difficult economic environment, higher commodity costs and headwinds from foreign currency," said Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer William R. Johnson. "Heinz is off to a good start in Fiscal 2013, led by our trio of growth engines - Emerging Markets, Global Ketchup and our Top 15 Brands."

Shares of H.J. Heinz Company (HNZ) ended the week at $55.80 per share.

Investors Turned Off by TiVo's Earnings

TiVo Inc. (TIVO) reported its second-quarter earnings last week. For the quarter, the company reported a loss per share and revenue fell short of consensus.

For the second quarter, TiVo's revenue increased 6.7%, to $65.3 million. The company added 230,000 net subscriptions in the quarter.

The company reported an operating loss of $26.5 million for the quarter. In the comparable quarter in the prior year, TiVo reported a loss of $18.3 million.

Tom Rogers, President and Chief Executive Officer of TiVo, commented on the company's earnings. Rogers stated, "This was another solid quarter for TiVo as we achieved our financial guidance, gained more subscriptions within our current distribution relationships, signed new distribution deals, deepened our capabilities in the audience research business, and showcased the benefits of our R&D investment through the delivery of the TiVo experience via virtually any kind of operator infrastructure and through tablets, smartphones, and computers. The number of TiVo subscriptions across the globe grew 41% year-over-year this quarter, highlighted by continued success at Virgin Media, which recently reached one million TiVo subscriptions."

TiVo Inc. (TIVO) ended the week trading at $9.07 per share.

Zale Corp Reports Latest Earnings

Dallas-based jewelry store chain Zale Corporation (ZLC) reported its latest earnings. For the fourth quarter, the company saw increased revenue and its losses narrowed.

In the fourth quarter, Zale reported revenue of $407 million, an increase of $30 million or 7.9% from the same period last year. The company reported a net loss of $20 million for the quarter, or $0.61 per share. In the same period last year, Zale reported net losses of $33 million, or $1.02 per share.

For the full fiscal year, Zale reported revenue of $1.87 billion, an increase of $124 million or 7.1% compared to the previous fiscal year. For the year, Zale reported a net loss of $27 million, or $0.84 per share. This is a significant improvement from last year in which the company reported operational losses of $112 million, or $3.49 per share.

Zale Corporation Chief Executive Officer and Director, Theophlius Killion, commented on the earnings report, stating: "As we announced last month, we significantly improved our capital structure by refinancing our debt. This increased our liquidity, modified our covenants and will substantially lower our annual interest expense. We believe that these results are a clear affirmation of our accomplishments over the past 2.5 years. Essentially the same constituents that evaluated our business in 2010, our bank group and Golden Gate Capital concluded that our business is now stronger, healthier and that we've made important progress towards returning the business to profitability."

Zale Corporation (ZLC) stock ended the week at $5.52 per share.

The Dow started the week at 13,158 and closed at 13,091. The NASDAQ started the week at 3,070 and finished at 3,067. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,411 and ended at 1,407.

Sales of corporate bonds worldwide reached an all time record in August. Issuers were locking in on record-low borrowing costs.

For the month, bond sales topped $237.6 billion in total value on unprecedented low rates. Yields fell to 3.72% on August 28. Last month's sales exceeded the previous record of $235.3 billion from August 2010.

U.S. sales reached $94.6 billion with sales of $63.9 million in investment-grade date and $30.7 billion in junk bond debt. In Europe, sales totaled $42 billion in debt led by Siemens AG which sold $3.3 billion in debt.

"Siemens wants to create the scope for further acquisitions," stated Ernst Neff of Helaba Invest GmbH. He noted Siemens was not "desperate for cash."

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.56% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.68%.

On August 30, 2012, Freddie Mac released the most recent results of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS). The PMMS revealed that after a month of rising fixed rate mortgage (FRM) rates, the average FRM had fallen headed into the Labor Day Weekend.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.59% for the week. This is down from an average of 3.66% in the week prior. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.22%.

The 15-year FRM average also fell, down to 2.86% from 2.89% in the prior week. Last year at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.39%.

"Treasury bond yields fell, allowing mortgage rates to follow, after the release of the July 31st and August 1st minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy committee," stated Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's Vice President and Chief Economist. Nothaft also noted that the members of the Fed's monetary policy committee saw a greater decline in economic activity than had been anticipated at their last meeting in June.

The money market fund finished this week at 0.5%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.7%.