Limited Brands Gains On Earnings (WEN, LTD, BIDU, JPM)

The Wendy's Company (NASDAQ:WEN) stock gained 0.67% to $4.51 in the early hour. The company yesterday announced that Wendy's International, Inc., has completed a new senior secured credit facility, which includes a $200 million revolving credit facility and a $1,125 million term loan.Proceeds from initial borrowings of $625.7 million under the new term loan were used to retire approximately $466.7 million of outstanding indebtedness under the existing senior secured credit facility of Wendy's Restaurants, LLC, and Wendy's International's direct parent company to purchase $124.225 million aggregate principal amount of Wendy's Restaurants' 10.00% Senior Notes due 2016 in the tender offer described below, and to pay related fees and expenses.

Limited Brands, Inc. (NYSE:LTD) stock fell 0.69% to $47.61 in the morning hour after the company posted a first quarter profit of $124.6 million, or $0.41 a share, as against $165.2 million, or $0.50 a share, a year earlier. Adjusted earnings a year earlier were $0.40 a share.  Earlier this month, the company said it expected to report adjusted earnings of $0.38 to $0.40 a share. It posted net sales of $2.15 billion, which dropped 2.9% from a year ago.
Looking forward, the company expects second quarter earnings per share (EPS) to be $0.40 to $0.45. For fiscal 2012, it expects earnings per share of $2.63-$2.83.

Baidu.com, Inc. (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU) shares declined 1.32% to $120.65 in the early hour.  The company yesterday said that it will launch a cheap smartphone with Foxconn Technology Group, Sichuan Changhong Electric Co and China Unicom, marking the company's entrance into the mass smartphone market. The Changhong-branded smartphone to be made by Foxconn will use Baidu's mobile Cloud operating system and will retail for less than 1,000 yuan ($160).

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shares declined 2.68% to $34.51 in the morning hour after FINKELSTEIN & KRINSK LLP and MURRAY FRANK LLP announced that a class action has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on behalf of purchasers of JPMorgan Chase common stock during the period between April 13, 2012 and May 10, 2012.