Weekly Market Wrap: January 11, 2012
Friday, January 11, 5:43 PM ET

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Hi. I'm Sayoko Murase. Welcome to the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for January 11, 2012.

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

Crude oil futures are higher this week, trading around $93.63 per barrel on Friday afternoon.

Gold futures are slightly higher this week, trading at $1662.95 an ounce in afternoon trading.

In notable economic news this week, the Labor Department announced on Thursday first-time jobless benefits claims rose by 4,000 this week to 371,000 claims. The four-week rolling average for the week was 365,750, an increase of 6,750 last week's revised average of 359,000. There were 646,219 initial claims during the same week in 2012.

In corporate news this week, Verizon (NYSE:VZ) announced on Monday at an investor conference that the company expects to take about $9 billion to $10 billion in one time charges during its fiscal fourth quarter. Of that amount, about $1 billion was due to Hurricane Sandy, of which about a third will be covered by insurance, while about $1.5 billion in charges was related to debt refinance, and the remaining $7 billion related to pension liabilities.

PriceSmart (NASDAQ:PSMT) announced that it earned $20 million, or 66 cents per share, for the most recent fiscal quarter, versus earnings $14 million, or 47 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue was $535.4 million versus $477.5 million last year, while analysts expected $535.4 million.

Tiffany (NYSE:TIF) said that it expects earnings for the fiscal year ending on January 31st to be near the low end of its previous forecast of $3.20 to $3.40 per share. Analysts expected the company to earn $3.29 per share. The company expects earnings growth in 2013 of six to nine percent, a conservative target due to economic uncertainty.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ) announced that third quarter profits increased as a result of marketing activity. The company earned $110 million, or 58 cents per share, up from $105 million, or 52 cents per share in the same period last year. Revenue increased by 9 percent to $767 million.

Shares are higher in early trading.

Alcoa (NYSE:AA) announced that it earned six cents per share during the fourth quarter, versus a loss of 4 cents in the same period during 2011, meeting expectations. Revenue decreased by two percent to $5.9 billion as aluminum prices dipped slightly. Analysts, however, had expected lower revenue of $5.6 billion. The company project an increase in global aluminum demand of seven percent in 2013 versus six percent in 2012.

This is the 'Weekly Market Wrap' for Friday January 11, 2012. Please join us on Monday for the 'Week Ahead Market Report.