Page 24 - ARUBA TODAY

Wednesday 19 april 2017 BUSINESS
A24

Johnson & Johnson, Goldman sneeze and stocks catch a cold

MARLEY JAY points, close to 0.1 per-
AP Markets Writer cent, to 1,361.89.
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. On Monday stocks made
stocks fell Tuesday after their biggest gain in six
weak first-quarter reports weeks. But over the last
from Johnson & Johnson few weeks they’ve mostly
and Goldman Sachs frus- drifted lower while bond
trated investors who hope yields have fallen to five-
that company earnings month lows.
are on the rise. Health care Johnson & Johnson stum-
companies lost the most. bled after investors were
Wall Street has high hopes disappointed with its sales.
for company earnings Revenue from its biggest-
this spring, and weak re- selling drug, the Crohn’s dis-
sults from the world’s larg- ease treatment Remicade,
est health care products fell 6 percent. Meanwhile
company and one of the growth for many consumer
biggest financial firms had health products slowed,
them concerned. John- and payers demanded
son & Johnson took its bigger rebates on treat-
biggest one-day loss in a ments for cardiovascular
year. Investors also looked ailments, diabetes, and pri-
for safety after the British mary care products.
government called for a Traders John Santiago, left, and Gordon Charlop confer on the floor of the New York Stock Ex- The maker of Tylenol and
surprise early election next change. U.S. stocks fell Tuesday after weak first-quarter reports from Johnson & Johnson and Band-Aids lost $3.90, or 3.1
month. Bond prices and Goldman Sachs frustrated investors. percent, to $121.82.
the pound rose and Euro- (AP Photo/Richard Drew) Prescription drug distribu-
pean stock indexes tum- tor Cardinal Health also
bled. S&P Global Markets Intel- growth is likely to support or 0.6 percent, to 20,523.28. dropped after it gave
Kate Warne, an investment ligence, investors expect higher stock prices even in Goldman Sachs was re- weak profit forecasts for
strategist for Edward Jones, first-quarter earnings for the absence of pro-growth sponsible for most of that this year and next as drug
said Goldman Sachs and S&P 500 companies to rise policies from the Trump ad- loss. prices continue to fall. It will
Johnson & Johnson had a almost 10 percent com- ministration,” she said. The Nasdaq composite fell also pay $6.1 billion to buy
dramatic effect on stocks pared to last year. That The Standard & Poor’s 500 7.32 points, or 0.1 percent, a group of businesses from
because investors expect would be the biggest jump index shed 6.82 points, or to 5,849.47. The Russell 2000 medical device maker
a very strong round of since 2014. 0.3 percent, to 2,342.19. index of small-company Medtronic. Cardinal Health
company earnings reports “The reason it’s so impor- The Dow Jones industrial stocks recovered from an sank $9.44, or 11.5 percent,
this month. According to tant is that the stronger average lost 113.64 points, early loss and rose 0.71 to $72.39. q

Bank of America profits jump, helped by interest rates

KEN SWEET rates as well as a strong compared with $3.47 billion “The U.S. economy con- ment and trading divi-
AP Business Writer performance in its invest- in the same period a year tinues to show consumer sions, which includes Merrill
NEW YORK (AP) — Bank of ment banking division. earlier. On a per-share ba- and business optimism, Lynch, also had a strong
America’s first quarter prof- The Charlotte, North Car- sis, Bank of America earned and our results reflect that,” quarter, in line with the
its grew nearly 40 percent, olina-based consumer 41 cents per share, beating BofA’s CEO Brian Moynihan bank’s competitors. Global
the bank said Tuesday, banking giant reported the 35 cents that analysts said in a prepared state- investment banking had
helped by higher interest net income of $4.86 billion, were looking for. ment. net income of $1.73 billion
Like its major competitors, compared with $1.09 billion
JPMorgan Chase, Citi- in the same period a year
group and Wells Fargo, earlier. Bank of America’s
Bank of America ben- desks did much better than
efited from higher interest Goldman Sachs, who also
rates. The Federal Reserve reported its results on Tues-
raised interest rates once day which missed analysts’
in December and again in expectations.
March, which has allowed Revenue from trading rose
the big retail banks to to $3.9 billion from $3.4 bil-
charge more for their loans. lion. Overall, Bank of Amer-
The bank said it had net in- ica had revenue of $22.49
terest income of $11.06 bil- billion compared with
lion, compared with $10.49 $20.79 billion in the same
billion in the same period a period a year earlier. The
year earlier. The bank ex- bank was able to keep its
pects that if interest rates expenses flat as well, at
continue to move higher, $14.84 billion, which helped
Bank of America could see bolster the bank’s bottom
its net interest income grow line. Bank of America’s
by $3.3 billion over the next stock fell 31 cents, or 1.4
12 months. percent, to $22.47 in mid-
Bank of America’s invest- day trading.q