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BUSINESSSaturday 27 February 2016
Wall Street ends strong week on flat note Halliburton to cut
another 5,000 jobs
KEN SWEET on whether the U.S. econ- Coca-Cola was the big- 1.72 percent the day be- amid slump in oil
AP Business Writer omy is heading toward re- gest decliner in the Dow, fore. Gold prices also fell,
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks cession,” said Quincy Kros- slipping 2.3 percent, fol- closing down $18.40 to HOUSTON (AP) — Hallibur-
ended a strong week on a by, a market strategist with lowed by Wal-Mart and $1,220.40 an ounce. ton Co., which provides
flat note as lower oil pric- Prudential Financial. IBM. All three stocks have a Oil was unable to hold gains well-drilling services for oil
es and utility stocks offset Voya Market Strategists dividend yield of 3 percent it had early in the day, and companies, is cutting 5,000
encouraging economic Douglas Cote and Karyn or more. closed down 29 cents, or 1 more jobs as the industry
news. continues to struggle with
Still, the market ended Fri- Traders gather at a post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Feb. 26, 2016. Stocks slumping oil prices.
day with a second straight ended a strong week on a flat note as lower oil prices and utility stocks offset encouraging eco- A company spokeswom-
weekly gain. nomic news. Still, the market ended Friday with a second straight weekly gain. an said late Thursday that
The Dow Jones industrial (AP Photo/Richard Drew) the latest cuts will amount
average closed down to about 8 percent of the
57.32 points, or 0.3 percent, Cavanaugh, in a note to The Dow Jones utility index, percent, to $32.78 a bar- Houston-based compa-
to 16,639.97. The Standard investors, said the GDP a basket of 15 utility com- rel. Brent crude, the global ny’s global workforce.
& Poor’s 500 index lost 3.65 data could increase the panies, fell nearly 3 per- benchmark, fell 19 cents to Oil prices have tumbled
points, or 0.2 percent, to likelihood of an interest cent, and the sector was close at $35.10. In other en- about 70 percent since
1,948.05 and the Nasdaq rate increase at the Fed- the biggest loser in the S&P ergy commodities, heating peaking above $100 a
composite added 8.27 eral Reserve’s meeting in 500. Utility stocks tend to oil fell 1.9 cents to $1.051 barrel in mid-2014. That
points, or 0.2 percent, to March. do better at times of low a gallon. Wholesale gaso- has led to less drilling ac-
4,590.47. But the stronger economic interest rates or economic line futures fell 3.9 cents to tivity and to widespread
All three indexes finished news kicked interest rates uncertainty because their $1.017 a gallon and natural layoffs in the oil fields. Hal-
the week up by 1.5 per- up sharply. That in turn hit business is relatively stable gas rose 0.6 cents to $1.791 liburton rival Schlumberger
cent or more. Oil, despite relatively safe investments and they pay a high divi- per 1,000 cubic feet. cut 10,000 jobs in the fourth
Friday’s decline, was up 3.6 like government bonds dend. In other metals, silver fell 49 quarter.
percent for the week. and stocks that are attrac- Government bond prices cents to $14.71 an ounce Benchmark U.S. crude set-
On Friday the market was tive for their dividends, like fell, pushing the yield on and high-grade copper tled at $33.07 a barrel on
buoyed early by a strong utilities and consumer sta- the 10-year Treasury note rose 5 cents to $2.125 a Thursday, up 92 cents or
rally in overseas stocks trig- ples, hard. up to 1.76 percent from pound.q nearly 3 percent.
gered by word from China Halliburton spokeswoman
that it would not devalue Emily Mir said the company
its currency to make its im- was reducing its workforce
ports more competitive. “due to ongoing market
Also, the Commerce De- conditions.” Mir said the
partment said U.S. gross do- company regretted the
mestic product, the broad- decision, “but unfortunate-
est measure of economic ly we are faced with the
health, grew at an annual difficult reality that reduc-
rate of 1 percent in the tions are necessary to work
fourth quarter, an improve- through this challenging
ment from the first estimate market environment.”
of 0.7 percent. Economists When the layoffs are com-
were expecting a reading pleted, Halliburton will
of 0.4 percent growth. have reduced its work-
“We are finally seeing force by between 26,000
some stabilization in the and 27,000 employees
economic data — du- since the peak in 2014, she
rable goods numbers, re- said.
tail sales, and this second Halliburton grew from
reading on GDP — that will 58,000 employees in 2010
hopefully end this debate to more than 80,000 during
2014. It slashed that num-
Honeywell offer for United Tech worth over $90B ber to 65,000 by the end of
2015, according to regula-
NEW YORK (AP) — Honey- responded Friday by send- Inc. said Friday that it of- ceive $42.63 for each share tory filings.
well offered more than $90 ing a letter to shareholders, fered to pay $108 in a mix they own, plus 0.614 of Halliburton declined to say
billion to acquire United telling them that the pro- of cash and stock for each Honeywell stock. The com- where the layoffs would
Technologies, revealing for posal “grossly undervalues” share of United Technolo- bined company would fall, saying that such de-
the first time to company United Technologies and is gies last week. It’s the first have $97 billion in annual tails were competitive in-
shareholders the details of not “an attractive deal.” time Honeywell publicly sales. formation. The company’s
a proposed deal to com- United rejected Honey- confirmed what it offered Honeywell CEO David Cote operations stretch from the
bine the industrial con- well’s offer, saying that a to pay for United Technolo- would run the combined U.S. through Africa and the
glomerates. tie-up it would face tough gies Corp., which is based company, according to Middle East to Asia.
Honeywell may need the regulatory obstacles due to in the Farmington, Con- the proposal. Last month, CEO David
support of investors if Unit- anti-trust issues. Both of the necticut. United Technologies shares Lesar said that when the
ed continues to turn away companies are big players Honeywell International slipped 38 cents to close at company began looking
its approaches to create in the aerospace sector. Inc. is based in Morris Plains, $97.69 on Friday while Hon- to cut costs, “it started with
a mammoth, single com- Honeywell dismissed those New Jersey. eywell shares fell $1.16, or where we work.” Hallibur-
pany. concerns this week. Shareholders of United 1.1 percent, to $103.03. q ton consolidated facilities
United CEO Gregory Hayes Honeywell International Technologies would re- in more than 20 countries
and closed operations in
two, he said. q
