It's a beautiful time to be alive—if you're a Halliburton shareholder. From Reuters, July 23:

Halliburton Co., the world's second-largest oil services company, said on Monday second-quarter profit from continuing operations rose 19 percent, topping Wall Street views, helped by new international contracts and stronger demand from its customers.

The company, which opened a headquarters in Dubai this year in an effort to grow its business in the Eastern Hemisphere, noted recent contract wins in India and Malaysia that helped offset weakness in its largest market, North America.

Investors, encouraged by the international results, sent shares of Halliburton to $38, the highest level in more than a year. The stock edged down a bit and was trading up $1.25 at $37.82 on the New York Stock Exchange at midday.

[...]

KBR, which is the U.S. Army's largest private contractor in Iraq and has drawn scrutiny from the government for billing claims, was split off from Halliburton earlier this year.

Operating income in North America, which included a $49 million gain from the sale of an investment, rose 9 percent to $526 million. In the Middle East and Asia, 2007 second-quarter operating income rose to $154 million, a gain of 18 percent.

Revenue for the company, which has headquarters in Houston and Dubai, rose 20 percent to $3.7 billion. Analysts had expected about $3.5 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.

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