The U.S. Treasury intends to unload its 27 percent stake in bailed-out bank Citigroup (NYSE:C) using a preset trading plan that will lock the government into a schedule for selling its shares, people with direct knowledge of the matter said. The program, which may be announced next month, is similar to those used by executives to protect themselves against accusations of insider trading, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process isn’t final. –Bloomberg
Best Buy (NYSE:BBY) reported fourth quarter earnings rose 37% to $779 million, or $1.82 per share, on better sales of notebook computers and flat-panel TVs. This was better than the $1.79 per share analysts had expected. Revenue increased 12% to $16.55 billion, again, better than estimates of $16.08 billion. Same-store sales rose 7% and even the outlook was above that of analysts. In other news, Oracle (NASDAQ:ORCL) is reporting results after the close and investors will look specifically at revenue from new software licenses. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect Oracle will earn about 38 cents per share and revenue of $6.4 billion. –Daily Finance
In a positive sign for the labor market, the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week by more than expected and continuing claims fell to their lowest level since December 2008.The Labor Department said in its weekly report Thursday that initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 14,000 to 442,000 in the week ended Mar. 20. The previous week’s level was revised to 456,000 from 457,000. Total claims lasting more than one week, meanwhile, fell by 54,000 to their lowest level since Dec. 20, 2008. –The Wall Street Journal
Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) raised its fiscal second-quarter profit forecast on Thursday because of higher projected revenues in its licensing and chipset businesses. For the period ending March 28, the San Diego technology company predicted earnings in a range of 56 cents to 58 cents a share, versus a prior range of 49 cents to 53 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet Research were expecting a profit of 53 cents a share, on average. -MarketWatch
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