WRAPUP 1-Smith 2nd-qtr profit up, BJ Services profit off

(Reuters) - All oilfield service companies with operations in Canada
have seen results hit after a tumble in gas prices and
unfavorable weather sparked a sharp decline in drilling.
Oilfield service companies help energy firms drill for oil and
gas.




So far, market leaders like Halliburton Co. and
Schlumberger Ltd. topped Wall Street expectations due
to strength in international markets.


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Schlumberger profit tops Street view

(Reuters) - Still, Schlumberger cautioned that the short-term outlook for its North American business was uncertain due to record imports of liquefied natural gas and continued weakness in Canada.




Net profit for the Houston-based company, which provides technology and services to help energy companies drill for oil and gas, rose to $1.26 billion, or $1.02 cents per diluted share, from $857 million, or 69 cents per share, a year earlier.


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U.S. Stock-Index Futures Are Little Changed; Google Falls, SanDisk Gains

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stock-index futures were little
changed before Citigroup Inc., the world's biggest financial-
services firm, and Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of
earthmoving equipment, report quarterly earnings.

Citigroup and Caterpillar shares declined in Europe. Google
Inc. tumbled after rising costs at the world's most-popular
Internet-search engine caused second-quarter profit to miss
analysts' estimates. Schlumberger Ltd., the world's largest
oilfield-services provider, advanced after its earnings beat
analysts' estimates.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Massachusetts fund to sell stocks of Sudan-related firms

(Reuters) - Massachusetts' state pension fund, one of America's biggest and most successful, plans to sell some $80 million in holdings of companies that invest in Sudan, becoming the latest investor to protest violence there.

"Money managers who invest for us and own stocks like Schlumberger (Ltd.) and PetroChina (Co. Ltd.) will be selling those holdings," Michael Travaglini, executive director of the $50.3 billion Massachusetts' Pension Reserves Investment Management Board (PRIM) fund, told Reuters. "In total we expect it will be about $80 million," he said.


Read more at Reuters Africa