Opening View: National Semiconductor and Take-Two Interactive Report Earnings

Turning to equities, the banking sector is under fire once again, as The Wall Street Journal reported that National City (NCC: sentiment, chart, options) will be more heavily scrutinized by federal regulators. NCC's banking division has entered a memorandum of understanding with federal regulators, which effectively puts the bank on probation, according to the Journal. The terms of the agreement with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are confidential.

Elsewhere in financials, UBS (UBS: sentiment, chart, options) and Credit Suisse (CS: sentiment, chart, options) moved lower after Societe Generale downgraded the Swiss banks to "sell" from "hold," saying it expects "hard times" for the banking industry. SocGen said investment banking revenues are likely to fall toward their 2005 level and invested assets in wealth management will be flat through the end of 2009.

In the semiconductor sector, ASM International (ASMI: sentiment, chart, options) announced that Applied Materials (AMAT: sentiment, chart, options) has made an unsolicited offer of $400 million to $500 million for 2 of the company's units. ASM International's management board and supervisory board will review the proposal.

Turning to earnings, National Semiconductor (NSM: sentiment, chart, options) reported a fourth-quarter net income of $83.2 million, or 34 cents per share, compared with $90.1 million, or 28 cents per share, last year. Revenue was $462 million, up 1% from $455.9 million. Analysts were looking for a profit of 26 cents per share on revenue of $449.7 million.

Finally, controversial video-game manufacturer Take-Two Interactive Software (TTWO: sentiment, chart, options) reported second-quarter earnings of $98.2 million, or $1.29 per share, compared to a loss of $51.2 million, or 71 cents per share, last year. Excluding charges, the company would have earned $115.4 million, or $1.52 per share. Sales for the period rose 160% to $539.8 million. Analysts were expecting earnings of $1.13 per share on revenue of $499.1 million. Take-Two attributed the gain to the 8.5 million Grand Theft Auto IV units sold through to consumers as of May 31.

Opening View: National Semiconductor and Take-Two Interactive Report Earnings