Hess (NYSE:HES) stated that its second-quarter net income nearly quadrupled to $375 million, or $1.15 a share, from $100 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-ago period, as the company benefitted from higher crude oil prices and increased production. Hess said its average realized price for oil rose to $64.81 a barrel, from $49.27 a barrel. Production rose 2% to 415,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day. Revenue rose to $7.8 billion, from $6.8 billion. Wall Street analysts expected Hess to earn $1.14 a share. In other news, General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) said its second-quarter earnings were $648 million, or $1.67 a share, compared to $618 million, or $1.60 a share, in the year-ago period. Revenues at the Falls Church, Va., military contractor were flat, at $8.1 billion. Analysts had expected, on average, earnings of $1.61 a share and revenue of $8.36 billion. General Dynamics also raised its full-year 2010 earnings guidance, to between $6.60 and $6.65 a share. –MarketWatch
Moody’s Investors Service on Tuesday lowered the outlook to negative from stable on supported ratings for three of the nation’s largest banks – Bank of America (NYSE:BAC), Citigroup (NYSE:C), and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) – because of a new law that will likely lower the possibility of government bailouts. In a note to investors, analyst Sean Jones wrote that since early 2009, the three banks have benefited from "an unusual amount of support," which resulted in ratings that are three to five notches above what’s appropriate for the banks’ financial strength. –Daily Finance
S&P 500 index futures turned negative on Wednesday after an unexpected month-over-month decline in June durable goods orders. New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods fell for a second straight month, posting their largest decline since August, according to a government report that was further evidence economic growth cooled in the second quarter. S&P 500 futures fell 3.4 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures dropped 28 points and Nasdaq 100 futures shed 3.5 points. -Reuters
Another attempt by the euro to establish itself over $1.30 struggled on Wednesday as investors appeared keen to take profits on any gains. With U.S. economic data remaining soft and the outlook for the global recovery remaining uncertain, investor confidence is fragile. In midmorning trading in London, the euro had fallen back to $1.3005 from $1.3006 late on Tuesday in New York, according to EBS. –The Wall Street Journal
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