Stock Roundup

VIMPELCOM, the parent company of mobile operator Beeline, saw its shares drop 4.68 percent last week on the New York Stock Exchange, from US$19.44 on Monday morning down to US$18.14 at Friday’s close.

The Moscow-based firm’s lacklustre week comes despite a number of positive recent announcements.

With most telecoms cutting capital expansion in advance of an uncertain year for profits, Vimpelcom CEO Boris Nemsic told Reuters on Wednesday that he saw “2010 as a normal year with capex at 15-18 percent of sales”, and profits closely following those of 2009.

Nemsic also said that Vimpelcom’s merger with Ukraine’s Kyivstar was “on track”. And on Thursday, analysts at the US-based brokerage EVA Dimensions LLC upgraded the stock to “overweight” from “hold”, although the market reacted to the news Friday by docking shares 1.88 percent, or $0.35.

US energy giant Chevron Corporation, which announced Wednesday the renewal of its offshore Block A exploration deal with the government, saw its shares on the New York Stock Exchange fall 3.31 percent last week, or $2.47.

America’s second-largest energy firm Friday announced a 37 percent drop in net income for the fourth quarter, attributing the drop to a sag in consumer demand and refining. The shortfall was not matched by new production, it added.

On Friday, the Cambodia-based Grand Lion Group announced it had reached a management agreement and related agreements with Marriott International to operate the hotel chain’s Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap from its launch sometime next year.

Marriott shares fell 1.65 percent last week on the New York Stock Exchange to close at $26.23.