Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) downgraded Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) by two notches — from buy to underperform, saying the company would need to nearly triple its subscriber base by 2015 to justify the current share price of nearly $70. Shares dropped 3.8% before the bell. In other news, Hovnanian Enterprises (NYSE:HOV) on Tuesday posted its first profit since 2006, helped by a tax benefit. Excluding a $291.3 million tax gain, the home builder lost about $55.1 million, or 69 cents a share as revenue fell 14.5% to $319.6 million, reflecting continued weakness in the housing market. Shares advanced 5% in premarket trading. –Daily Finance
Ford Motor (NYSE:F) beating General Motors in U.S. sales in February may signal a new automaker atop the industry as Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally pares operating costs and refreshes the vehicle lineup. Monthly results released yesterday showed Ford topping GM in deliveries for the first time since 1998. Before that, the company’s last win was in 1970, based on Ford data. Both triumphs came when strikes idled GM, which has been No. 1 in U.S. annual sales since 1931. “Ford’s advantage over GM could be the new normal,” said Shelly Lombard, a debt analyst for more than two decades who is now at Gimme Credit LLC in New York. “GM is still in turnaround mode and Ford is six steps ahead. Ford has the products, a new reputation for solid quality and management focus.” –Bloomberg
The Greek government on Wednesday announced a new austerity plan that will yield €4.8 billion euros in savings. The government decided at a cabinet meeting to move ahead with steep cuts in civil-service salaries and entitlements, and to raise Greece’s sales tax by two percentage points. The measures effectively include slashing more than 60% of one month’s pay for public-sector workers by cutting 30% of their current Christmas, Easter and holiday bonuses, the official said. Greek civil servants get an extra salary at Christmas and another through bonuses during the Easter holiday and the month of August. –The Wall Street Journal
AT&T (NYSE:T) Chief Executive Randall Stephenson on Tuesday said wireless customers who are heavy Internet users will eventually pay more than those who use less. Another way to protect the network, Stephenson said, is to adopt new pricing models that require intensive Internet users to pay higher monthly fees than other customers. Other top executives at AT&T, including wireless chief Ralph de la Vega, and Verizon Wireless have recently argued in favored of tiered pricing models similar to how most consumers pay for gas or water usage. Right now most U.S. mobile customers pay flat monthly rates for unlimited data and Internet access. -MarketWatch
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