Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) said Thursday that its fiscal fourth-quarter net earnings fell to $223.5 million, or 62 cents a share, from $273.2 million, or 75 cents a share, in the year-earlier quarter. On an adjusted basis, earnings from continuing operations were 50 cents a share in the latest quarter. Revenue at the Dublin, Ohio-based health-care-services company rose to $24.46 billion from $24.35 billion. On average, analysts were expecting earnings of 49 cents a share on revenue of $24.64 billion. The company also raised its adjusted fiscal 2011 profit forecast to a range of $2.38 to $2.48 a share from its prior range of $2.35 to $2.45 a share. Analysts were looking for $2.45 a share for the year. In other news, Macy’s (NYSE:M) said Thursday that its July sales at stores open at least one year rose 7.3%. Analysts, on average, had expected same-store sales to rise 5.9%, according to Thomson Reuters. Total sales for the four weeks ended July 31 rose 11% to $1.53 billion. –MarketWatch
More Americans than projected filed applications for unemployment insurance last week, indicating employers kept cutting staff as the recovery showed signs of slowing. Initial jobless claims climbed by 19,000 to 479,000 in the week ended July 31, the most since April and exceeding the highest estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits dropped, while those getting extended payments rose. A cooling economy means employers will resist taking on more staff in coming months, raising the risk consumer spending will weaken further. The jobless rate rose last month as payroll increases weren’t large enough to keep up with gains in the labor force, economists forecast a government report tomorrow will show. –Bloomberg
European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet said Thursday the euro-zone economy strengthened in the second quarter and is proving to be better than expected in the current period. At a press conference following the ECB’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 1.0%, Mr. Trichet said the central bank is retaining a moderate outlook for price inflation, cautioning that the economic recovery remains uneven and overshadowed by uncertainty. –The Wall Street Journal
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