Finances

Apple Inc. (AAPL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of personal computers and mobile devices, reported its quarterly earnings on October 25.

The company reported revenue of $35.97 billion for the quarter. This was an increase of 27.2% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $28.27 billion.

Apple reported quarterly net income of $8.22 billion. This was an improvement from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $6.62 billion.

"We're pleased to have generated over $41 billion in net income and over $50 billion in operating cash flow in Fiscal 2012," said Peter Oppenheimer, Apple's CFO. "Looking ahead to the first fiscal quarter of 2013, we expect revenue of about $52 billion and diluted earnings per share of about $11.75." Apple CEO Tim Cook added, "We're very proud to end a fantastic fiscal year with record September quarter results. We're entering the holiday season with the best iPhone, iPad, Mac and iPod products ever, and we remain very confident in our new product pipeline."

The Cupertino-based company was founded in 1976 and employs more than 60,000 people at over 350 retail stores around the globe.

Apple Inc (AAPL) shares ended the week at $604.23.

Coke Settles Lower

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE), well-known producer and distributor of beverages, reported its quarterly earnings on October 25.

Coca-Cola Enterprises reported quarterly revenue of $2.07 billion. This was a slight decrease from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $2.14 billion.

The company reported net income of $263 million for the quarter. This represents a decrease of 7.4% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $284 million.

"Despite difficult operating conditions, we believe the third quarter was an important success as CCE employees responded in an exceptional way to the significant opportunities and demands of the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games," said Hubert Patricot, Executive Vice President and President, European Group. "We will build on the long-term benefits of our involvement with the Games while working diligently to enhance efficiency and maximize effectiveness in ways that sustain customer service and drive value for customers, consumers, and our shareowners."

Coca-Cola Enterprises was founded in 1986 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia.

Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. (CCE) shares ended the week at $30.99.

Facebook Bouncing Back

Facebook Inc. (FB), the world-renowned social networking site, reported its quarterly earnings on October 23.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $954 million. This represents a decrease of 24.4% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $1.26 billion.

Facebook reported net income of $227 million for the quarter. This is an improvement from last year when the company reported a net loss of $59 million.

"As proud as I am that a billion people use Facebook each month, I'm also really happy that over 600 million people now share and connect on Facebook every month using mobile devices," said Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and CEO. "People who use our mobile products are more engaged, and we believe we can increase engagement even further as we continue to introduce new products and improve our platform. At the same time, we are deeply integrating monetization into our product teams in order to build a stronger, more valuable company."

Facebook was founded in 2004 in Menlo Park California and has about 845 million monthly users. The company employs around 3,200 people.

Facebook Inc. (FB) shares ended the week at $21.95.

The Dow started the week at 13,104 and closed at 13,107. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,413 and ended at 1,412. The NASDAQ started the week at 2,986 and finished at 2,988.

The sale of corporate bonds in the United States fell 53% this week according to data compiled by Bloomberg. This news follows reports that 59% of S&P 500 companies missed analysts' revenue projections for third-quarter earnings. Corporate bonds have returned 10.3% this year.

These disappointing quarterly earnings reports only add to the economic uncertainty already present in the market. "It's a bit of a wait-and-see with what happens with Spain, the U.S. election, the fiscal cliff and China," says Thomas Chow, a money manager at Delaware Investments in Philadelphia. Just today, Spain's unemployment rate was at a record high igniting fear that the country's debt crisis may worsen. "The big 'C' and 'E' words, China and Europe, are really what's creating this challenging environment," said Jody Lurie, a corporate credit analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia. "It's causing weakness in the equity markets and it's translating over to the bond market."

Total sales of investment-grade debentures reached $9.9 billion this week led by tobacco company Reynolds American Inc., which raised $2.55 billion this week. Total sales are significantly less than last week when sales reached $31.5 billion. Sales of speculative grade bonds reached $10.7 billion compared to $12.8 billion last week.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.75% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.92%.

Freddie Mac released its latest Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on October 25, 2012. The results show that average fixed mortgage rates moved only slightly higher remaining largely unchanged.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.41% for the week. This is an increase from last week when it averaged 3.37%. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.1%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.72%. This is a slight increase from last week when it averaged 2.66%. One year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.38%

"Mortgage rates remained relatively unchanged this week and should continue to support the housing market and mortgage refinance," stated Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. "Existing home sales in September eased slightly to 4.75 million but was the second strongest annualized pace since May 2010. Moreover, new home sales rose to the most since April 2010. In addition, low rates and strong demand have already pushed the FHFA purchase-only home price index in August to its highest level (seasonally adjusted) since June 2010. And not surprisingly, the Federal Reserve in its October 24th monetary policy announcement acknowledged the further signs of improvement in the housing sector, albeit from a depressed level."

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