Weekly Wrap: January 6, 2012
Friday, January 6, 5:11 PM ET

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Hi. I'm Sayoko Murase. Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday Jaunary 6, 2012.

The S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the Nasdaq were all higher this week.

Crude oil futures are higher this week, trading around $101.55 per barrel on Friday afternoon.

Gold futures are higher this week, to around $1616.75 an ounce.

In notable economic news this week, the economy created 200,000 jobs in December, according to a report issued by the Labor Department. The unemployment rate now stands at 8.5 percent, the lowest in nearly three years.

In corporate news this week, General Mills (NYSE:GIS) reported on Tuesday that net income fell 28 percent during the second quarter. The company earned $444.8 million, or 67 cents per share, for the quarter, down from $613.9 million, or 92 cents per share, a year earlier.

ConAgra Foods (NYSE:CAG) reported on Tuesday that fiscal second quarter net income fell 15 percent mainly due to higher ingredient costs, but results beat expectations. Net income fell 15 percent to $171.8 million, or 41 cents per share, versus earnings of $200.9 million or 46 cents per share a year ago.

Winemaker Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) today announced that third-quarter profit fell 25 percent to $104.8 million, or 52 cents per share. Revenue dropped 27 percent to $700.7 million.

Macy's (NYSE:M) this morning reported that it same store sales climbed 6.2 percent in December, and that it is raising its fourth quarter earnings outlook to $1.55 to $1.60 per share, and full year earnings outlook to between $2.70 and $2.75 per share versus analyst expectations of $1.62 for the quarter and $2.78 for the year.

Costco Wholesale (NASDAQ:COST) this morning reported that same store sales increased by 7 percent in December, missing analyst forecasts of 7.6 percent, largely a result of a drop in online sales. Total revenue for the five weeks ended January 1 increased by 9 percent to $10.05 billion. Year to date, same store sales increased by 9 percent.