Month: April 2012

Omega Healthcare Investors Incorporated (OHI) announced its quarterly dividend of 42 cents per share, an increase of about 2% over its prior dividend in January of 41 cents. The dividend is payable May 15 to stockholders of record as of April 30.

In trading on Wednesday, diagnostics shares were relative leaders, up on the day by about 0.4%. Leading the group were shares of Catalyst Health Solutions (CHSI), up about 31.2% and shares of Cardionet (BEAT) up about 1% on the day.

NATO defence and foreign affairs ministers meet in Brussels to discuss their financial commitment to Afghanistan after foreign troops withdraw in 2014. Simon Hanna reports.

Halliburton (HAL) announce on Wednesday that first-quarter profit increased by 22.7 percent. Net income was $627 million, or 68 cents per share versus $511 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.

ConocoPhillips’ (NYSE:COP) CEO Ryan Lance said the firm expects to fund about $5 billion in buybacks in the first half of the year, using proceeds form its planned asset sales.The company expects cash flow to rise to $232 billion by 2016 from $16 billion this year and wants to spend approximately 20% – 25% of its annual cash flow on dividends.

Another American has secured the presidency at the World Bank, extending the United States’ hold over the 187-nation development agency.Jim Yong Kim, the former president of Dartmouth College, will succeed Robert Zoellick, who is stepping down after serving five years as the President of the World Bank. Kim was a nominee of President Barack Obama and was selected Monday in a vote by the World Bank’s 25-member executive board.Kim has vast experience with the third world, having traveled to many developing countries to help improve health and stability. He is a physician and pioneer in treating HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis in the developing world. He was picked over two other candidates that were nominated by developing countries. Kim will start in July.

The result of today’s World Bank decision doesn’t surprise us. Jim Yong Kim, who was nominated by President Obama, will begin his 5-year term on July 1. However, there are details of this World Bank leadership transition that are worth highlighting.First up, this is the first time in history where the voting was not unanimous. Nigerian finance minister Okonjo-Iweala became the first candidate to challenge a US nominee. Looking at her CV, we can only get impressed: she served at the World Bank for 20 years and holds economics degrees from Harvard and MIT. Emerging countries are calling for voting based on the candidate’s merits instead of nationality and her experience addresses exactly where Kim lacks: finance.That’s right, Kim is breaking the stereotype set forth by the previous 11 World Bank presidents. He does not have a background in finance or government. Then what is he? Well, I guess I can safely call him a multi-faceted overachiever. A native of South Korea, Kim was raised in Iowa. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Brown University, earns his MD from Harvard Medical School and then his Ph.D. in anthropology also from Harvard. He co-founded and worked 16 years with the non-profit organization Partners in Health, which spends its resources curing tuberculosis in developing countries like Peru and Haiti. He is a specialist in HIV prevention and served 3 years at the World Health Organization designing HIV care programs that later treated more than 7 million people in Africa. So you see, he is a doctor. Or as I would like to say, a scientist with understanding of humanity. To all the voices out there who believe his lack of finance experience takes away his candidacy, I would like to ask, why is that such a big deal? I happen to believe a leader is a leader, and a leader who understands science and people is better than a leader who understands income statement. His experience doesn’t necessarily make him more superior than the other candidates, but it should not diminish his qualification for this post.Also I would like to point out that running a college is a complicated task and it involves some finance. Kim became the 17th president of Dartmouth College in 2009. He’s also the first Asian American to assume the position of president at an Ivy League Institution.Please share your thoughts with me, whether or not you think the appointment is well-supported. Send in your comments to our show or tweet me @juliasun_onair. I’m Julia Sun reporting for the Financial News Network in New York City, we’ll be right back.

State Street (NYSE:STT) reported Q1 EPS of $0.84, vs. estimates of $0.87.Revenues in the quarter came in at $2.40 billion, vs. estimates of $2.33 billion.The company reported operating NIM of 1.52% vs. 1.40% quarter-over-quarter.The bank reported Tier 1 capital of 19.1% vs. 18.8% q/q.

School Finances More Secure after Embezzlement Case

This is what’s in the news for Tuesday, April 17, 2012. The Wall Street Journal reports Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) meteoric stock price rise is showing signs of faltering, threatening to take down much of the market down with it. The Wall Street Journal also reports Domino’s Pizza (DPZ) won’t reinvent themselves in China, India and other emerging markets: It’s going in strong with traditional pizza delivery. Reuters reports IBM (IBM) reports earnings tonight and investors hope strong software demand means the company will increase its full year forecast. Reuters also reports Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) may look to sell its units in Britain and the Netherlands next year, according to Financial Times Deutschland. Bloomberg reports Freeport-McMoran (FCX) offers the best deal in copper for mining companies willing to bet big on the metal, and could attract Rio Tinto (RIO), BHP Billiton (BHP), or Anglo American (AAUKY). Finally, Bloomberg also reports Standard Chartered (SCBFF) and Barclays (BCS) are expanding in Saudi Arabia as rising oil prices and record bond sales bolster earnings.