9:00am (EST)
Shares of Hewlett Packard (HPQ, $46.30, down $0.05) fell 10% in extended trading on Friday as Wall Street and traders dumped the stock after hearing the company’s CEO, Mark Hurd, was stepping down.
The resignation caught everyone off-guard, but what was shocking is that Mr. Hurd resigned in the wake of a sexual harassment probe. The claims against him were already settled on Thursday, the day before the news came out, but it was certainly a blow to the company’s image.
It didn’t end there. The investigation by HP’s head brass found that their boy also fluffed his expense reports and had people on payroll for work they didn’t do.
The company immediately named Chief Financial Officer, Cathie Lesjak, as its temporary CEO and HP said it would look for a permanent replacement. Here’s the kicker though. Despite his “mistakes” and breach of conduct, Mr. Hurd, manage to negotiate a “severance” package that could be worth more than $35 million, including a cash payment of $12 million. Wow.
HP shares are at $43+ in pre-market action.
Earnings for the week:
MONDAY – American Dairy (ADY, $12.88, down $0.23), Assisted Living Concepts (ALC, $31.52, down $1.23), Baltic Trading Limited (BALT, $11.46, up $0.21), Blackboard (BBBB, $37.26, down $0.38), China Automotive Systems (CAAS, $20.66, up $0.86), Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (CCO, $11.65, up $0.01), Clean Energy Fuels (CLNE, $16.84, down $0.03), Ctrip.com International (CTRP, $42.45, up $0.45), EchoStar (SATS, $20.32, up $0.16) and Tyson Foods (TSN, $17.13, up $0.35).
TUESDAY – Bob Evans Farms (BOBE, $25.72, down $0.19), Fossil (FOSL, $41.6, up $0.15), Learning Tree International (LTRE, $10.82, down $0.13), Neenah Paper, (NP, $18.00, down $0.09), Piedmont Office Realty Trust (PDM, $17.89, down $0.31), STR Holdings (STRI, $24.73, up $0.23) and Sysco (SYY, $30.61, down $0.27).
WEDNESDAY – Advance Auto Parts (AAP, $52.75, down $1.12), Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC, $46.05, down $0.32), Cisco Systems (CSCO, $24.08, down $0.09), Macy’s (M, $19.44, down $0.34) and Pan American Silver (PAAS, $23.79, up $0.04).
THURSDAY – Briggs & Stratton (BGG, $18.08, down $0.68), DeVry (DV, $47.83, down $3.13), Brinker International (EAT, $15.71, down $0.22), Estee Lauder Companies (EL, $63.46, up $0.15), Nordstrom (JWN, $33.96, down $0.16), Kohl’s (KSS, $48.63, down $0.37), Royal Gold (RGLD, $46.76, up $0.92), Red Robin Gourmet Burgers (RRGB, $20.95, down $0.18) and Sara Lee (SLE, $14.84, down $0.17).
FRIDAY – Dillard’s (DDS, $22.13, down $0.57) and J. C. Penney (JCP, $21.81, down $0.31).
Futures are pointing towards a slightly higher open despite the HP news this morning. Dow futures are up 43 points to 10,656 while the S&P 500 futures are higher by 5 points to 1,125. The Nasdaq 100 futures are showing an 8 point advance and are at 1,910.
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