Russell 2000 ready to rise
The Russell 2000 (NYSE: IWM) futures are pointing up and the small-cap index is likely to open in positive territory following news of earnings and corporate deals.
Houston-based offshore driller GlobalSantaFe Corp. (NYSE: GSF) and city rival Transocean Inc. (NYSE: RIG) have agreed to a merger, according to an announcement this morning.
The combined company will have a market capitalization of about $38 billion. The deal, which the two companies are calling a merger of equals even though Transocean is twice as large, will pay shareholders $15 billion through a recapitalization. The merger is slated to close by the end of 2007.
In earnings news, pharmaceutical giant Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) reported unexpectedly positive second-quarter results. The Whitehouse Station, N.J.-based company saw its quarterly profit climb 12% to $1.68 billion, or $0.77 per share, compared with $1.5 billion, $0.69 per share, a year earlier. Nineteen analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $0.72 per share.
There is no major economic news coming out today.
