Finances

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE), a leader in digital marketing and media solutions, released its most recent quarterly earnings on September 19.

Adobe reported quarterly revenue of $1.08 billion. This represents an increase of 6.6% over the same period last year when the company reported sales of $1.01 billion. This sales number was within the company's targeted range for the most recent quarter of $1.075 to $1.125 billion.

Much of the increase in sales can be attributed to subscriptions to Adobe's Creative Cloud website. Adobe received $29 million more in subscription revenue for the quarter than anticipated. Adobe Creative Cloud is a website that allows subscribers to access many of Adobe's applications and services for a set monthly fee. Members can download and install the applications and use the website to create, publish and share their work.

The company's net income was $201.4 million for the quarter. This represents an increase of 3.2% over the same period last year when Adobe reported net income of $195.1 million.

"Customers globally are adopting our new Creative Cloud subscription offering more quickly than we projected," stated President and CEO of Adobe, Shantanu Narayen. "We are the leader in the fast-growing Digital Marketing category with 40% year-over-year Digital Marketing Suite revenue growth this quarter."

Adobe Systems is headquartered in San Jose, California. It is one of the largest software companies in the world, achieving revenue of $4.2 billion in 2011. They are best known for their programs Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Photoshop.

Adobe Systems Inc. (ADBE) shares ended the week at $33.81.

FedEx Corp Announces Quarterly Earnings

FedEx Corporation (FDX), well-known supplier of shipping, e-commerce and business services, reported its first-quarter results on September 18.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $10.79 billion. This is an increase of 3% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $10.52 billion.

FedEx reported net income of $459 million. This represents a decrease of 1% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $464 million.

"Earnings for the first quarter were below our expectations as weak global economic conditions dampened revenue growth, drove a shift by our customers to our deferred services and outpaced our near-term ability to reduce FedEx Express operating costs to match demand levels," stated Alan B. Graf, Jr., FedEx Corp. Executive Vice President and CFO. "We plan to provide additional information on our forecast and long-term opportunities at our Investors and Lenders Meeting on October 9-10 in Memphis."

FedEx reports annual revenues of $43 billion and employs over 300,000 people worldwide.

FedEx Corporation (FDX) shares ended the week at $84.44.

Bed Bath & Beyond Announces Quarterly Earnings

Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. (BBBY), purveyor of a wide assortment of domestic merchandise, reported its quarterly earnings on September 19.

The company reported total sales of $2.6 billion. This is an increase of 12.1% over the same period last year when net sales totaled $2.3 billion.

Bed Bath & Beyond reported net income of $431.2 million for the most recent quarter. This is an increase of 5.2% over the same period last year when net income was $410 million.

The AP reports that big-box stores like Bed Bath & Beyond are facing increased competition from discounters and online retailers. Oppenheimer analyst, Brian Nagel, stated "We are increasingly concerned that the potential for consistent and meaningful sales and earnings upside at Bed Bath & Beyond is beginning to wane."

Bed Bath & Beyond operates 1,449 stores throughout the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada with consolidated store space of 41.4 million square feet.

Bed Bath and Beyond Inc. (BBBY) closed the week at $61.57 per share.

The Dow started the week at 13,597 and closed at 13,580. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,460 and ended at 1,460. The NASDAQ started the week at 3,176 and finished at 3,180.

Texas bonds have performed well this year, returning 6.22% through September 19. This level outperforms states with a top general-obligation rating from S&P's or Moody's Investors Service. Florida reported a return of 6.16% and Delaware a return of 5.17%.

Texas bonds continue to perform well even though it is likely that defense spending cuts will threaten as many as 160,000 jobs in the state. Texas's military employment as a percentage of total jobs is 1.3%.

California is the only state with a larger economy than Texas according to GDP data. The Sunshine State has an S&P rating of A-, the lowest of any state. Even with this low rating, investors have continued to purchase California securities since municipal interest rates have been at record lows. California bonds have returned 6.8% so far this year, coming out ahead of Texas.

However, Bloomberg reports that Texas has several characteristics that are in its favor going forward. First, as the largest US oil producer, Texas benefits from the fact that crude futures prices have risen 18% since June. Second, Texas has a younger population than the U.S. average. Finally the rate of job growth in Houston and Austin areas is projected to double the national average in 2012 and 2013, while Dallas and San Antonio are above the national average. The jobless rate in Texas was 7.2% in July, compared with the 8.3% national average and 10.7% in California.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.76 % while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.96%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on September 20, 2012. The results show that fixed rate mortgages (FRM) remain near their record lows.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.49% for the week. This is a decline from the week prior when the 30-year mortgage averaged 3.55%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.09%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.77%. This is a decline from last week when it averaged 2.85%. Last year at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.29%.

"Following the Federal Reserve's announcement of a new bond purchase plan, yields on mortgage-backed securities fell bringing average fixed mortgage rates to their all-time record lows which should aid in the ongoing housing recovery," said Freddie Mac's Vice President and Chief Economist, Frank Nothaft. "New construction on one-family homes rebounded in August, rising by 5.5% to the fastest pace since April 2010. In addition, existing home sales increased by 7.8% in August to its strongest pace since May 2010."

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