Finances

Dell, Inc. (DELL), an international information technology company, reported its fourth quarter and annual results on February 19.

Dell reported fourth quarter revenue of $14.3 billion. This represents a decrease of 10.7% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $16 billion. In addition, the company reported annual revenue of $56.9 billion, which represents a decrease of 8.3% from last year when the company reported annual revenue of $62.1 billion.

The company reported net income of $530 million for the fourth quarter. This represents a decrease of 30.6% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $764 million. The company reported annual net income of $2.4 billion. This represents a decrease of 32.1% from last year when the company reported annual net income of $3.5 billion.

"We continued to execute our long-term strategy in Q4, and realized a 6% increase in our enterprise solutions and services business," said Brian Gladden, Dell CFO. "We also continued to generate strong cash flow from operations of $1.4 billion in the quarter. Our strong balance sheet and cash position enabled the company to invest almost $5 billion in new capabilities and intellectual property this fiscal year, including great assets like Quest, SonicWall, Wyse and AppAssure."

Dell, Inc. was founded in 1984 and is headquartered in Round Rock, Texas.

Dell, Inc. (DELL) shares ended the week at $13.91.

Hewlett-Packard Reports Quarterly Earnings

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), a company that provides technology and software solutions, reported its quarterly earnings on February 21.

Hewlett-Packard reported revenue of $28.4 billion for the quarter. This represents a decrease of 5.6% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $30 billion.

The company reported quarterly net income of $1.2 billion. This represents a decrease of 16.1% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $1.5 billion.

"We beat our non-GAAP diluted EPS outlook for the quarter by $0.11 per share, driven by improved execution, improvement in our channel and go-to-market efforts and the impact of the restructuring program we announced in May 2012," said Meg Whitman, HP President and CEO. "While there's still a lot of work to do to generate the kind of growth we want to see, our turnaround is starting to gain traction as a result of the actions we took in 2012 to lay the foundation for HP's future."

Hewlett-Packard was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Palo Alto, California.

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ) shares ended the week at $19.21.

Heinz Reports Quarterly Earnings

H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ), purveyor of food products, reported its quarterly results on February 21.

Heinz reported revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter. This represents a slight increase of 2% from the same period last year when the company reported revenue of $2.87 billion.

The company reported net income of $272.8 million. This represents a slight decrease of 5% from the same period last year when the company reported net income of $287.2 million.

H.J. Heinz Co. announced on February 14 that it would be acquired by Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital. "The Heinz brand is one of the most respected brands in the global food industry and this historic transaction provides tremendous value to Heinz shareholders," said Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson. "We look forward to partnering with Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital, both greatly respected investors, in what will be an exciting new chapter in the history of Heinz. With Heinz stock recently at an all-time high and 30 consecutive quarters of organic top-line growth, Heinz is being acquired from a position of strength. As a private enterprise, Heinz will have an opportunity to drive further growth and advance our commitment to providing consumers across the globe with great tasting, nutritious and wholesome products."

Heinz was founded in 1869 and is based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

H.J. Heinz Co. (HNZ) shares ended the week at $72.69.

The Dow started the week at 13,982 and closed at 14,001. The S&P 500 started the week at 1,520 and ended at 1,516. The NASDAQ started the week at 3,197 and finished at 3,162.

U.S. 10-year treasuries rose for a third consecutive day pushing yields down to a one-week low. The 10-year yield fell one basis point to 1.97% in early trading on Friday, February 22.

Investors were responding to the comments of several policy makers at the Federal Open Market Committee's latest meeting. The meeting was held on January 29-30 and the minutes were released on Wednesday, February 20. In the meeting, several officials indicated that the Federal Reserve should be ready to curb the pace of its $85 billion in monthly bond purchases. Still, other policy makers continued to support the bond-purchasing program as long as inflationary pressure remains low.

On February 21, primary dealers borrowed $21.57 billion in U.S. notes and bonds from the central bank. This represents the highest level of borrowing since March 2012. "What you have is a little speculation entering the market, and the sense is they don't know which way the Fed is going to go," said Michael Franzese, Senior Vice President of fixed-income trading at ED&F Man Capital Markets in New York.

Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke, is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on February 26. The disagreement among Federal Reserve officials regarding the Fed's bond-buying program makes this testimony important in determining the potential for future shifts in monetary policy.

The 10-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 1.97% while the 30-year Treasury note yield finished the week at 3.16%.

Freddie Mac released the results of its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS) on Thursday, February 21. After remaining stable for nearly three weeks, the results showed average 30-year fixed mortgage rates changing slightly. The historically low rates are helping spur home construction.

The 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.56% this week. This represents a slight increase from last week when it averaged 3.53%. Last year at this time the 30-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.95%.

The 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 2.77% this week. This figure is unchanged from last week. One year ago, the 15-year fixed rate mortgage averaged 3.19%.

"Mortgage rates have been relatively stable, hovering near record lows, for the past four weeks which is helping to spur new home construction," said Frank Nothaft, Vice President and Chief Economist at Freddie Mac. "For instance, new construction on single-family houses rose to an annualized rate of 613,000 in January, the most since July 2008. In addition, single-family building permits were up to the highest issuance level since June 2008."

The money market fund finished this week at 0.5%. The 1-year CD finished at 0.6%.