Only 49.8 percent of shareholders voted for Apache’s resolution to approve executive compensation, commonly known as Say on Pay. As with many other such failed votes, this one was largely inspired by the company’s faltering stock price. Apache spokesman John Roper said the company sees the vote as a comment on share performance. Apache shares fell by around 18 percent during 2012. The share price fell again on Thursday, the day of the meeting, by 1.2 percent to $80.89.

Chevron may be making a pact with the devil.  On Thursday, Argentine energy producer YPF announced it had reached a “final agreement” with the global oil giant to develop the Vaca Muerta basin, considered by Chevron the second largest reservoir of unconventional oil in the world.  The second largest U.S. oil and gas producer has pledged to invest $1.5 billion in the first phase of the project, which the Argentine government desperately needs after being forced to import energy for the first time in 17 years in 2012.

Energy stocks fall Wednesday as investors book profits a day after the sector was among the top gainers in the S&P 500 Index.

Morgan Stanley reported on Wednesday that it has increased its price target on energy company, Apache Corporation (APA). The firm has maintained an “Equal Weight” rating, and has raised the company’s price target from $76 to $87. This price target suggests a 6% upside from the stock’s current price of $81.70. An analyst from the [...]

The U.S. dollar is on the rise, helping to contain oil prices. But it could also be problematic for oil companies - several of which have seen revenue crimped by flat oil prices.

In a report published Tuesday, Morgan Stanley analyst Evan Calio reiterated an Equal-Weight rating on Apache Corporation (NYSE: APA), and raised the price target from $76.00 to $87.00.

In the report, Calio noted, “Restructuring club: shrink to grow with $4 billion divestiture plan and share buybacks. APA announced a

With its earnings release this week the Houston oil company announced that it had a plan to goose its lackluster share value. Apache will sell at least $4 billion in noncore assets, pay down $2 billion in debt and use the other $2 billion to buy back shares (equal to about 7% of its $32 billion market cap).

Energy stocks trade lower Friday, but look set to end the week marginally higher after gains early in the week.

The directors of a company tend to have a unique inside view into the business, so when directors make major buys, investors are wise to take notice. Presumably the only reason a director of a company would choose to take their hard-earned cash and use it to buy stock in the open market, is that they expect to make money maybe they find the stock very undervalued, or maybe they see exciting progress within the company, or maybe both.

Futures Slightly Higher On Yen Weakness

U.S. equity futures rose slightly in early pre-market trade although the story was all about the yen overnight. The yen continued to weaken against the dollar overnight as the USD/JPY rose above 101 on new reports that Japanese citizens are starting to buy foreign assets,

Bloomberg Consumer Confidence Index remains near multi-year highs.

A roundup of the latest corporate earnings reports and what companies are saying about future quarters.

Apache Corp. (NYSE: APA) reported Thursday its first quarter profit fell 10.3 percent compared to the same period last year to $698 million, driven down by lower commodity prices. The Houston exploration and production company also said it hit a total revenue of $4 billion in the first quarter, down from $4.5 billion in the same quarter the year before. Apache also said it is aiming to sell up to $4 billion in assets by the end of the year, and to use about $2 billion in proceeds to ratchet down…

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Some of the stocks that may grab investor focus today are:

Groupon (NASDAQ: GRPN) shares surged yesterday once the Daily deals site released its Q1 results after the closing bell on Wednesday. The Q1 results were at par with the Wall Street estimates. Groupon stocks rose 11.09% to $1.27

Agrium (NYSE: AGU) is expected to report its Q1 earnings at $1.08 per share per share on revenue of $3.47 billion.

Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC) is projected to report its Q1 earnings at $0.05 per share on revenue of $1.64 billion.

Dish Network (NASDAQ: DISH)