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The euro fell Thursday after European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said the bank will “reexamine” its monetary easing program in December. The shared currency fell to $1.1239 from $1.1315. It also weakened to 72.88 pence from 73.56 pence late Wednesday. Investors have been anxious to hear more about the central bank’s plans for its stimulus program. Draghi has previously suggested that disinflation in Europe and weak growth across the developing world might warrant an expansion of the central bank’s program of bond purchases. Earlier this year, the central bank committed to buying 60 billion euros {$78 billion) of public and private debt a month, through September 2016.

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Caterpiller Inc. said it had net income of $368 million, or earnings per share of 62 cents, in the third quarter, down from $1 billion, or $1.63 for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 75 cents compared to the FactSet consensus estimate of 78 cents. Sales for the quarter were $11 billion, down from $13.5 billion the previous year and below the FactSet consensus of $11.3 billion. Caterpillar incurred $101 million in restructuring costs, compared with $81 million during the third-quarter 2014. The cost is expected to lower operating costs by $1.5 billion annually, with about $750 million expected in 2016. They now expect restructuring costs to total $800 million from $250 million. Sales outlook for 2015 remains unchanged at $48 billion. EPS outlook is $3.70 down from $4.70 announced in late July. Caterpillar stock is down 24.7% for the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.7% for the same period.

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Freeport-McMoRan Inc. reported a net loss of $3.8 billion for the third quarter, or a loss of $3.58 per share. In the same period a year ago the company had net income of $552 million, or 53 cents per share. The adjusted loss per share was 15 cents; FactSet consensus was for a loss of 9 cents per share. Revenue came to $3.68 billion, compared with $5.69 billion a year ago. The FactSet revenue consensus was $3.97 billion. The company said it took a series of aggressive actions to reduce costs and capital expenditures. “We remain focused on managing our production, costs and capital expenditures under volatile market conditions as we seek to strengthen our balance and build value for shareholders,” Chief Executive Richard Adkerson said in a statement. Shares fell 3% in premarket trade on Thursday.

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From:: Stock Market News

Caterpiller Inc. said it had net income of $368 million, or earnings per share of 62 cents, in the third quarter, down from $1 billion, or $1.63 for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 75 cents compared to the FactSet consensus estimate of 78 cents. Sales for the quarter were $11 billion, down from $13.5 billion the previous year and below the FactSet consensus of $11.3 billion. Caterpillar incurred $101 million in restructuring costs, compared with $81 million during the third-quarter 2014. The cost is expected to lower operating costs by $1.5 billion annually, with about $750 million expected in 2016. They now expect restructuring costs to total $800 million from $250 million. Sales outlook for 2015 remains unchanged at $48 billion. EPS outlook is $3.70 down from $4.70 announced in late July. Caterpillar stock is down 6.6% for the year so far. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down 3.7% for the same period.

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3M Co. reported on Thursday a third-quarter profit that beat expectations, but sales that missed expectations and said it would cut 1,500 jobs as part of a cost-cutting plan. Earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 came in at $1.3 billion, or $2.05 a share, compared with $1.3 billion, or $1.98 a share, in the same period a year ago, and above the FactSet earnings-per-share consensus of $2.02. Revenue fell 5.2% to $7.71 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $7.84 billion, as unfavorable currency movements reduced sales by 7.4%. The maker of adhesives, abrasives and coatings lowered its full-year 2015 adjusted EPS outlook to a range of $7.73 to $7.78 from $7.73 to $7.93. 3M said it would cut 1,500 jobs as part of a restructuring plan aimed at cutting costs by $130 million in 2016. 3M has about 89,800 employees worldwide, according to FactSet. The cuts will focus on overhead, and be largely in the U.S. “We are building a stronger, more streamlined and more focused company that can compete and win for years to come,” said Chief Executive Inge Thulin. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 8.8% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has slipped 3.7%.

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The European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged Thursday. Policy makers, meeting in Malta, left the interest rate on the bank’s main refinancing operation at 0.05%, while the rate on the ECB’s marginal lending facility stands at 0.3% and the rate paid on deposits parked overnight at the bank remains at minus 0.2%. The main event will be ECB President Mario Draghi’s news conference at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Draghi is expected to signal that the ECB remains willing to provide additional stimulus if needed to boost inflation back toward the bank’s target of near but just below 2%.

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United Airlines shares fell 3% Thursday after the company missed third-quarter earnings expectations. The company reported net income of $4.82 billion, or $12.82 per share, up from $924 million, or $2.37 per share in the year-earlier period. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of $4.53, below the FactSet consensus of $4.55. United reported revenue of $10.3 billion, below $10.6 billion in the year-earlier period and in-line with the FactSet consensus of $10.3 billion. Addressing the fact that the new United CEO, Oscar Munoz recently suffered a heart attack, Brett Hart, the acting CEO said, “With Oscar Munoz on medical leave, this leadership team and I are working to push forward the agenda we laid out over the past six weeks by focusing on our employees, improving our processes and investing in our systems to further improve our margins.”

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Volkswagen AG company is investigating whether emissions-cheating software was installed on a second engine, according to a report from German newswire DPA International and The New York Times. The car maker is looking at an early version of the EA 288 diesel engine, which was introduced in 2012, as spokesman told DPA, adding that the current EA288 diesel engine isn’t affected. Volkswagen last month admitted to using software in 11 million of its vehicles worldwide to cheat on emissions tests. The Volkswagen spokesman didn’t give any specifics about how many engines could be affected in the second probe. Volkswagen could not be reached for comment. In Frankfurt, shares of Volkswagen rose 1.1%.

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Dow Chemical Co.’s stock surged 7.4% in premarket trade, after the chemical and agrosciences company beat third-quarter profit expectations, raised its dividend and said it planned to accelerate its share repurchase program. Earnings rose to $1.29 billion, or $1.09 a share, from $852 million, or 71 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Operating earnings per share came in at 82 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 69 cents. Revenue fell to $12.04 billion from $14.41 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $12.36 billion, amid lower pricing and unfavorable currency moves. The company said it was increasing its quarterly dividend 10% to 46 cents a share, payable Jan. 29 to shareholders of record on Dec. 31. Dow said it will accelerate its three-year, $5 billion stock buyback program, by repurchasing $1 billion worth of its stock in the fourth quarter and the rest in 2016. “We are operating from a position of financial strength as we continue to execute disciplined portfolio management, as well as start up our large growth investments on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in Saudi Arabia,” said Chief Executive Andrew Liveris. The stock has gained 4.1% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.9%.

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Southwest Airlines Co. posted an 83% jump in third-quarter profit, boosted by lower fuel prices and cost controls, the company said in a release on Thursday. The cut-rate airline posted third-quarter earnings per share of 88 cents, compared to 48 cents in the year-ago period. Total operating revenue for the period rose 10.8% to $5.32 billion, compared to $4.8 billion in the year-ago period. But earnings still fell short of the 92 cents that analysts polled by FactSet were expecting. The company edged past revenue expectations of $5.13 billion. Gary C. Kelly, chief executive officer of SouthWest, said solid overall revenue performance, helped by the company’s Rapid Rewards program, also helped the quarter. The company recorded an all-time quarter record load factor of 85.4% for the third quarter. Fuel costs in the third quarter fell nearly $300 million on an annual basis, he said. And he expects full-year fuel costs to fall $1.3 billion, year over year. Southwest is expecting an increase to fourth-quarter 2015 unit revenue of around 1%, year over year.

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From:: Stock Market News