Triple-A reports the average for a gallon of regular is just above three-34, up nearly a penny from yesterday. It's also nearly a nickel a gallon above the average of a week ago.
Yesterday’s big rally put us just below all-time highs on the S&P 500 and levels not seen on the NASDAQ since 2000. For the year markets are essentially flat. (Market Wire)
Home Depot sales dipped a meager 1% in Q4 as weather hampered shoppers. Profits were also flat. The company is raising its dividend 21% and said 2014 is not going to be as good as analysts expect. (Associated Press)
Macy’s sales climbed 1.4% last quarter. Sales were lower than expected due to weather with 244 stores being closed at some time during January. Profits were up 16% in 2013 its fifth straight year of double digit profit growth. (Business Wire)
Hillsboro-based TriQuint Semiconductor is merging with its North Carolina rival RF Micro Devices. The all-stock deal will equally value each company and will result in a new name. TriQuint employees 900 people in Oregon and for the current time those jobs do not appear at risk. (Breifing.com)
DirecTV is buying back $3.5 billion in stock. Sales in Q4 rose 6.7% and profits fell almost 16%. In the US the satellite provider added 93,000 new subscribers and 231,000 in Latin America. (Bloomberg)