By Stockpickr Staff
Posted on June 24, 2009
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Monsanto (MON), which reported quarterly earnings on Wednesday morning, will lay off 900 of its 22,000 employees . The company reported a 14% drop in third-quarter profit to $694 million, or $1.25 per share, compared with analyst estimates for $1.17 a share. Revenue fell 11% to $3.16.
In other job-cut news, General Motors (GMGMQ) plans to eliminate 4,000 jobs by October, up 600 from a previous announcement.
Oracle (ORCL) also reported earnings, after Tuesday's market close, with revenue down to $6.9 billion from $7.2 billion in the year-ago quarter and earnings dipping to 38 cents per share, from 40 cents a share in last year's quarter.
Despite bonus cuts, most Citigroup (C) employees will earn the same in 2009 that they earned in 2008 because the company plans to increase salaries by as much as 50%.
Research In Motion's (RIMM) Blackberry might come to China, according to reports that the handset maker is in talks with China Telecom (CHA).
With this in mind, we thought we'd take a look at what Jim Cramer's had to say lately about some of the stocks making headlines today.
These stocks could be in the news for a number of reasons. Some require immediate attention; others may not. Regardless, it never hurts to hear what Cramer (or any professional investors) has to say about them. The key is to gather as much information as you can in order to make the most informed investment decisions you can.
In a recent post to his RealMoney blog, Cramer wrote:
"If we are only as good as our last tech data point, then we have to like what Oracle's (ORCL) saying. Remember that the tech funk started with Research In Motion (RIMM), which put a crimp on just about everything as people started wondering whether the end was here for smartphones. I know that was just a really dumb judgment but so what? It prevailed.
"It will be hard for it to prevail tomorrow, though, with Oracle beating the numbers.
All day today I searched for a catalyst that could be a reason for this market to rally.
Could Oracle be it?
"If you are searching for a catalyst, as the end of the quarter markers are, you've just been given one.
"It might be enough.
"Random musings: Bummed that Darden (DRI) wasn't so hot -- ouch, that was a key component of the big recovery story... And I'm still smarting from how bad Boeing (BA) is and how the company, frankly, has gotten out of control because it was very clear they said they were ready for lift-off... Oh boy did Oracle hammer Salesforce.com (CRM) tonight -- brutal!"
(Editor's note: At the time of publication and/or original publication of his posts and shows, Cramer had no positions in stocks mentioned for his Action Alerts PLUS charitable trust.)
