A durable mix
The Russell 2000 is up but the overall picture on Wall Street is mixed following news of a larger-than-expected drop in May orders of durable goods. At 11:42 a.m. ET the Russell 2000 was up 0.91 points, or 0.11%, to 827.04. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25.20 points, or 0.19%, to 13,312.46.
Shares of Herley Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: HRLY) are sagging following news that two of its manufacturing facilities have been shut down by the U.S. government. The facilities are suspended from receiving new government contracts until the completion of a full investigation of equipment deliveries under a program with a U. S. defense contractor, the Lancaster, Pa.-based maker of microware products said before the start of trading. The stock is down $2.81, or 16%, to $15.02.
Video compression technology provider On2 Technologies Inc. (AMEX: ONT) is licensing its Flash video encoding technology to media encoding firm ViewCast Corp. Consequently, advanced real-time live capture, programming, and broadcasting capabilities will be available on a number of streaming media appliances, the Tarrytown, N.Y.-based company said before the opening bell. ViewCast’s products supporting live Flash from On2 are planned for release in the third quarter of 2007. Shares are up $0.04, or 1%, to $2.98.
Shares of Trump Entertainment Resorts Inc. (Nasdaq: TRMP) are down $2.11, or 15%, to $11.76, following news that the sale of the casino operator to a private equity group has encountered problems. Trump has asked for $2.2 billion, or more than $22 per share, for the three Atlantic City casinos, but the would-be buyers is not willing to pay that much, according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer before the market open. The mismatch could put the deal in jeopardy.
Orders for durable goods fell 2.8% to $213.02 billion in May, the U.S. Commerce Department said before the opening bell. Economists were forecasting a drop of 1.1%, coming on the heels of a rise of 1.1% in April.
Specifically, orders in the transportation sector stumbled 6.8%, while demand for electronics and computers added 1.8%.
Goods referred to as “durable” are intended to last at least three years.
