Financial thoughts

U.S. stocks were set for a lower open Tuesday, ahead of another batch of corporate earnings.

Dow Jones industrial average (INDU), S&P 500 (SPX) and Nasdaq (COMP) futures were all down ahead of the opening bell.

Futures measure current index values against perceived future performance.

Stocks ended Monday’s session with gains, although economic worries tempered positive earnings results.

"Earnings are a mixed picture right now, and people are still trying to determine whether we are seeing signs of the economy recovering," said Derek Hoffman, founder of The Wall Street Cheat Sheet. "There’s a lot of uncertainty, so investors are sitting on the sidelines and buying into companies based on these earnings, and that’s really what is moving the market from day to day."

Earnings: Companies due to report their results Tuesday include Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500) and tech heavyweights Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500).

After U.S. markets closed Monday, IBM (IBM, Fortune 500) posted a jump in second-quarter earnings, but the tech bellwether’s sales fell short of estimates.

Economy: A reading on housing starts and building permits from the Department of Commerce comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET.

Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expect permits to have edged down to an annual rate of 572,000 in June from 574,000 in the previous month, while housing starts are forecast to have dropped to a 575,000 rate from 593,000.

A state unemployment report from the Department of Labor is due out at 10 a.m. ET.

World markets: European shares were lower in midday trading. The FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.5%, France’s CAC 40 dropped 1.1% and Germany’s DAX fell 0.9%.

Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite rallied 2.2% but Japan’s Nikkei tumbled 1.2%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong added 0.9%.

Dollar and commodities: The dollar was up against the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil for August delivery edged down 2 cents to $76.52 a barrel.

COMEX gold’s August contract fell $2.60 to $1,179.30 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices rose, pushing the yield on the 10-year note down to 2.95% from 2.96% late Monday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.

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Community Bank of the Bay raised more than $7.7 million and added five directors to its board.

The Oakland bank, which expanded into Danville and San Jose in recent months, raised the money from local residents, primarily in the bank’s new markets in the greater Bay Area. CEO Brian Garrett didn’t mince words in discussing the challenge community banks face in raising money today.

“It was a herculean effort to raise capital in this environment,” Garrett said. “Most of the capital came from the new markets we have entered. This is a confirmation of the reputation of the bankers who have joined us from these markets.”

The new board members are William Purcell, president of Walnut Creek-based Purcell International, a food importer and brokerage; Dr. Eddie Cheung, a clinical professor at the U.C. Davis School of Medicine; Gunter Unruh, president and owner of Metric Design and Manufacturing in Campbell; Arthur Lund, an attorney with the San Jose law firm Hoge Fenton Jones and Appel and a former director of Greater Bay Bancorp, now part of Wells Fargo; (NYSE: WFC) Tracey Enfantino, general manager of Environmental Systems Inc no faxing payday loans. and a founder of Heritage Bank of Commerce, (NASDAQ: HTBK) serving on that bank’s board from 1994 to 2003.

Community Bank of the Bay (OTC BB: CBYAA.OB) plans to use the new capital to boost lending.

“We anticipate that the additional capital will be used to increase lending to small and medium-sized businesses,” said William Keller, president and chief operating officer of the bank.

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New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner has died, Bay News 9 is reporting.

The 80-year-old Steinbrenner had been the owner of the New York Yankees since 1973. During that time, the Yankees won 11 pennants and seven World Series titles. Steinbrenner is also known for his philanthropy in the Tampa Bay area paydayloans.

Earlier Tuesday Bay News 9 reported that Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a call at Steinbrenner's house and that someone was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital.

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North Carolina corporate boards have fewer women and minority members than those of the Fortune 100, a fact that hasn’t escaped the notice of state Treasurer Janet Cowell.

As a remedy, Cowell is encouraging lawmakers, business executives and minority leaders to participate in the Director Diversity Initiative, DDI, at the University of North Carolina School of Law.

It’s a joint project of the Center for Banking and Finance and the Center for Civil Rights at UNC Law.

According to a recent survey conducted by the school, female members, in 2009, held 12 percent of NC board seats and minority members 7.1 percent of seats.

By contrast, woman accounted for 17.6 percent of Fortune 100 boards (in a 2006 study) and minorities, 15 pay day advance.4 percent.

North Carolina’s population is 51 percent female and 32 percent minority according 2008 census data.

Cowell says women currently make up 25 percent, and minorities 18 percent, of the various pension system boards and commissions she manages.

“The Department of State Treasurer continues efforts to diversify our own boards,” says Cowell. “Additionally, as institutional investors, we are encouraging North Carolina corporations to have boards that match the diversity of our state.”

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AirTran Airways reported that passenger traffic grew by 7.4 percent for June and 7.9 percent for the second quarter of 2010, both up from the year-ago periods.

The Orlando-based airline’s traffic and load factor — how full its planes were — represent new all-time records for the month of June and the second quarter, according to an AirTran release. June traffic grew by 7.4 percent to more than 1.8 billion revenue passenger miles. The company’s load factor for the month was 86.4 percent.

For the second quarter, traffic grew by 7 payday loans guaranteed no fax.9 percent to more than 5.2 billion revenue passenger miles, and the airline’s load factor was 83.1 percent.

Enplaned passengers also represent a new second-quarter company record. The airline enplaned more than 6.5 million passengers, a 5.3 percent increase from the second quarter of 2009.

AirTran Airways is a subsidiary of AirTran Holdings Inc. (NYSE: AAI) and a Fortune 1000 company.

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Hawker Beechcraft Corp. has sent out 130 layoff notices, according to paperwork filed with the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Shelly Thompson, adult services coordinator with the department, says the state received the paperwork Friday, but that it was dated Thursday. That means, she says, the 60-day notices will take effect August 31 cash advance flexible payments.

Hawker spokesperson Nicole Alexander confirmed that WARN notices had gone out to hourly employees, but said the company would not offer further details.

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Comedian Chris Rock, hard-edge rockers Nine Inch Nails and alternative pop band Maroon Five have joined the list of artists boycotting Arizona over its new immigration law.

The three were added to the list of boycotting artists compiled by a group called the Sound Strike (www.thesoundstrike.net).

Vocalist Ben Harper and alternative band Throwing Muses also joined the Arizona boycott. Sound Strike was formed in May by Rage Against the Machine singer Zack de la Rocha in protest of Arizona’s immigration law, which gives police more authority to question detain suspected illegal immigrants empire payday loans.

Cypress Hill, Kanye West and Rise Against already previously announced boycotts. Critics of the law say it unfairly targets Hispanics. Supporters, including Gov. Jan Brewer, say it will help police combat Mexican drug cartels and smugglers.

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PokerTek Inc., a Matthews maker of electronic gaming tables, has signed a $5 million stock-purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Funds to provide funding for the company over the next 30 months.

Lincoln Park, a Chicago-based asset-management firm, bought 100,000 shares of stock for $100,000 on signing the purchase agreement Thursday. PokerTek has the right under the agreement to sell Lincoln Park $50,000 worth of stock every two days for the next 30 months. The sale will be based on prevailing stock prices — based on the lowest three closing prices in the 12 days preceding the sale.

Lincoln Park also received 137,500 shares of common stock as a consideration for entering into the agreement. Lincoln Park will be issued up to 180,000 more shares of stock if it buys additional stock.

PokerTek controls the amount and timing of future sales. It does not have to sell any additional stock Lincoln Park.

PokerTek (NASDAQ:PTEK) markets electronic tables for up to 10 players of Texas Hold ’Em.

The company’s PokerPro system deals cards, displays them on private screens to the players and provides general information on a large screen in the center of the table. It also enables customers to set up accounts for betting and keeps statistical information on the games.

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EarthLink, Inc. has filed at the Federal Communications Commission a petition to oppose the proposed $30 billion merger of Comcast Corp. and NBC Universal.

The Atlanta-based Internet service provider argued the merger would lead to Comcast getting involved in anti-competitive actions that would reduce consumer choice, restrict content diversity and interfere with Internet competition.

EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK) proposed the FCC adopt a condition requiring Comcast to offer wholesale standalone broadband access to independent Internet service providers.

"The access condition that EarthLink proposes today for the Comcast-NBCU merger will be a win for consumers and a win for online competition," said EarthLink Chairman and CEO Rolla Huff, in a statement. "The condition essentially enables Comcast customers to 'break the bundle' and purchase only the services they need or want. We look forward to working with the FCC and the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure the transaction results in greater consumer choice and competition."

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Graphic Packaging International Inc. plans to close its beverage-packaging plant in Golden at the end of October.

The plant at 4455 Table Mountain Drive employs about 150 workers. Most are in manufacturing jobs, and Graphic Packaging hopes to be able to move them to its other facilities around the country, said company spokeswoman Cindy Baerman. About 12 research-and-development employees will remain in Golden, she said.

In a statement, Graphic Packaging said the Golden shutdown “reflects the company’s ongoing efforts to align its manufacturing footprint to the changing needs of its beverage customers and improve its cost structure and margins to better position it for future growth.” It said the plant’s business and equipment will be moved to the company’s other U.S. locations.

“While closing the Golden facility is a difficult decision, it is necessary to ensure that we are able to consistently serve our customers and meet their changing needs from a solid network of efficient, low-cost manufacturing facilities, even in the face of the ongoing economic challenges of today’s marketplace,” David Scheible, the company’s president and CEO, said in the statement.

Graphic Packaging International is a unit of Graphic Packaging Holding Co. (NYSE: GPK), of Marietta, Ga. The company, which has about 15,000 workers worldwide, makes paperboard packaging for food, beverages and other consumer products and is a major producer of folding cartons, coated-recycled boxboard and specialty bag packaging.

The company is a descendant of Coors Paper Packaging, a packaging arm of Coors Brewing Co. that was launched in the 1970s.

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