Finances

Bed, Bath & Beyond, Inc. (BBBY), provider of home furnishings and domestic merchandise, announced its quarterly earnings on December 19. Along with the report of its quarterly earnings the company also announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new $2.5 billion share repurchase program.

The company reported net sales of $2.7 billion for the quarter. This represents an increase of 15% from the same period last year when the company reported net sales of $2.34 billion.

Bed, Bath & Beyond reported net income of $232.75 million. This represents an increase of 1.8% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $228.54 million.

"Our Board authorized this new share repurchase program based upon its continued confidence in our Company's long-term growth potential, financial outlook and cash flow generation," said Steven Temares, CEO and Member of the Board of Directors. "It is anticipated that this $2.5 billion share repurchase program will be funded from current cash and future cash flows. That said, our Company's Board of Directors continues to review our capital structure on an ongoing basis. In addition to providing value to our shareholders through share repurchase programs, our strong operations should allow us to continue to invest in our infrastructure and maintain our flexibility to take advantage of opportunities as they may arise."

Bed, Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Union, New Jersey. The company has 48,000 full-time employees.

Bed, Bath & Beyond, Inc. (BBBY) shares ended the week at $54.91.

Walgreen Reports Quarterly Earnings

Walgreen Co. (WAG), a well-known drugstore, reported its quarterly earnings on December 21.

The company reported quarterly net sales of $17.32 billion. This represents a decrease of 4.6% from the same period last year when the company reported net sales of $18.16 billion.

Walgreens reported net income of $413 million for the quarter. This represents a decrease of 25% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $554 million.

"During a quarter that included a number of non-operational items, as well as the ongoing Express Scripts impact, we saw the underlying performance of our business strengthen with improved gross profit margins and an upswing in comparable prescriptions filled in the quarter," said Walgreens President and CEO Greg Wasson. "We also were pleased with the business performance of our strategic partner, Alliance Boots, and are on track to meet our first-year synergy targets with them. As I have said before, Walgreens and Alliance Boots both perform well in historically tough economic climates, and together we now are better positioned for growth."

Walgreen Co. was founded in 1901 in Deerfield, Illinois. The company has 171,000 full-time employees.

Walgreen Co. (WAG) shares ended the week at $36.56.

Nike Reports Quarterly Earnings

Nike, Inc. (NKE), an international manufacturer and retailer of apparel and accessories, announced its quarterly earnings on December 20.

The company reported net sales of $5.96 billion for the quarter. This represents an increase of 7.4% from the same period last year when the company reported net sales of $5.55 billion.

The company reported quarterly net income of $384 million. This represents a decrease of 18.1% from the same quarter last year when the company reported net income of $469 million.

"Our strong second quarter results show that our growth strategies are working, even under challenging macroeconomic conditions," said Mark Parker, President and CEO of Nike. "We have a focused and flexible portfolio that allows us to target the biggest growth opportunities at all levels - brand, category and product. We stay connected with our consumers and that enables us to deliver innovations that excite the marketplace, grow the business and deliver more value to shareholders."

Nike currently has 44,000 full-time employees and is headquartered in Beaverton, Oregon.

Nike, Inc. (NKE) share ended the week at $50.99.

The Dow started the week at 13,190 and closed at 12,938. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,430 and ended at 1,402. The NASDAQ started the week at 3,014 and finished at 2,960.

"The Treasury market remains beholden to the progress on the budget debate, or more accurately the lack thereof," said Ian Lyngen, government-bond strategist at CRT Capital Group LLC.

Treasuries rose for the third consecutive day on December 28 as negotiations on Capitol Hill to avoid the fiscal cliff stalled. The 10-year Treasury note fell four basis points to 1.7%, the lowest level since December 14. The yield on 30-year bonds also decreased four basis points to 2.87%. "The probability that we are going over the cliff is over 50% and rising, which will continue to strengthen bonds," said Adrian Miller, director of global market strategy at GMP Securities LLC.

President Obama met on December 28 with House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to continue negotiations to resolve the fiscal cliff.

With all the attention on Washington D.C., a positive economic report went all but unnoticed. The National Association of Realtors ("NAR") reported that home sales in the U.S. rose for a third consecutive month in November. The NAR's index rose 1.7% to 106.4, the highest since April 2010. This positive trend is evidence that the U.S. economy continues to improve. However, the looming fiscal cliff and the specter of recession have all but drowned out other economic indicators.

On the year, U.S. government securities returned 2.3% according to Bloomberg. This is the worst performance since a 3.7% loss in 2009. At the end of 2011 most economists predicted that 10-year bond yields would reach 2.5% by the end of 2012. The decline in yields has surprised many analysts.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.71% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 2.88%.

On December 27 Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey. The survey showed mortgage rates continuing to hover near record lows.

The 30-year FRM averaged 3.35% this week. This represents a decrease from last week when it averaged 3.37%. One year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.95%.

The 15-year FRM this week averaged 2.65%. This is the same as last week when it averaged 2.65%. Last year at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.24%.

"Mortgage rates ended this year near record lows," said Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. "The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.66% for 2012, the lowest annual average in at least 65 years. Rates on 30-year fixed mortgages were nearly 0.6 percentage points below that of the beginning of the year, which translates into an interest payment savings of nearly $98,600 over the life of a $200,000 loan. Moreover, opting for a 15-year fixed mortgage at today's rates, a homeowner could save an additional $138,400 in interest payments."

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