Month: September 2015

Yahoo Inc. disclosed in a filing Tuesday that it has dropped its efforts for a tax-free spin-off of the Web company’s remaining stake in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. The company said that it was informed by the Internal Revenue Service on Sept. 2 that the government entity did not plan to grant Yahoo’s February request for tax-free spin-off, which had sparked big gains in Yahoo stock from investors hungry to access the cash pile locked up within struggling Yahoo. Yahoo, which announced the departure of its chief accounting officer late Friday afternoon, saw shares fall more than 4% at times in after-hours trading Tuesday after the stock closed with 2.2% decline at $30.90.

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Macy’s Inc. announced plans Tuesday to close 35 to 40 underperforming stores in early 2016. The store closures represent about 1% of the company’s sales. “Each year, we prune some stores that are our weakest performers so that we can concentrate our resources on the best locations and maintain a strong physical presence,” said Terry Lundgren, Macy’s chief executive officer. Lundgren said the opening of new shopping centers shifts consumer habits, prompting closures. The stores that are closing haven’t yet been determined. Macy’s operates 770 stores. Earlier Tuesday, the retailer announced a partnership with Best Buy that will bring consumer electronics departments to 10 test locations. Macy’s closed up 1.3% at $59.17.

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United Continental Holdings, Inc. said Tuesday that its chief executive and two other senior executives had stepped down amid a federal investigation into dealings with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. CEO Jeff Smisek will be replaced on a permanent basis by Oscar Munoz, most recently the chief operating officer of CSX Corp. United said Smisek and two other executives — the airline’s vice president of communications and government affairs and senior vice president of corporate and government affairs — are departing in connection with an internal investigation into allegations of attempts to woo the former Port Authority chairman to grant United funding for several projects as it completed its merger with Continental. United shares fell 0.4% in late trading after closing with a 1.5% gain at $57.53.

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TiVo Inc. on Tuesday reported net income of $8.3 million, or 9 cents per share, down from $9.3 million, or 8 cents per-share in the year prior period. Per share earnings were in line with the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue increased to $119 million from $112 million a year ago, and was just above the FactSet consensus of $117 million. TiVo Chief Executive Tom Rogers said the company benefited from a number of deals and partnerships, including Vodafone Spain’s efforts to significantly market its TV offering including TiVo as a bundled package to mobile customers. Earlier Tuesday TiVo said it would partner with the National Cable TV Cooperative to provide technology and services to cable operators. Shares of TiVo are down more than 23% in the year to date. The S&P is down 4%.

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Electronics manufacturer Flextronics International Ltd. said Tuesday it has agreed to buy NEXTracker, which designs and manufactures solar-panel tracking systems, for about $245 million in cash. The acquisition is expected to close in early December, and contribute between $80 million to $120 million in revenue for Flextronics’ December quarter, the company said. Once the deal is completed, NEXTracker will operate as a subsidiary, retaining its existing brand. Shares of Flextronics fell 0.3% in after-hours trading Tuesday after ending the regular session up 2.5%.

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U.S. stocks staged a broad-based rally Tuesday with the main indexes closing with their second-largest gains this year. Stocks found relief after last week’s rout and as investment funds repositioned their portfolios in the wake of the Labor Day holiday. The S&P 500 closed 48.18 points, or 2.5%, higher at 1,969.40. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 390.30 points, or 2.4%, to 16,492.68. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day up 128 points, or 2.7% at 4,811.93.

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The MillerCoors board of directors has named Gavin Hattersley chief executive officer, effective immediately. Hattersley, who is the chief financial officer of Molson Coors, has been serving in the role on an interim basis since July 1. He succeeds Tom Long, who retired June 30. MillerCoors is a joint venture between SABMiller plc, a beer and soft drinks company traded on the London Stock Exchange, and Molson Coors Brewing Co. , which includes brands like Coors Light and Molson Canadian. Molson Coors has begun the search for a CFO. In the meantime, Hattersley will serve in dual roles. Molson Coors Brewing stock is up 3% in trading on Tuesday, but down 4.8% over the past three months.

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Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries saw their first monthly decline since February, according to a Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts released Tuesday. OPEC production in August fell by 140,000 barrels per day from a month earlier, to 31.26 million barrels per day. In a statement, Margaret McQuaile, senior correspondent for Platts, said while it is the first output decline in six months, “it shouldn’t be over-interpreted.” The total still puts OPEC production 1.26 million barrels a day above the group’s official ceiling, she said. October crude settled at $45.94 a barrel, down 11 cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange before the news.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Consumer credit grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.7%, for a gain of $19.1 billion, in July, the Federal Reserve said Tuesday. Credit growth in June was revised up sharply, to a $27.1 billion gain from the prior estimate of $20.7 billion. In July, credit-card debt rose at a 5.7% rate, down from 10% in the prior month. Non-revolving debt, mainly car and student loans, which has powered credit growth in recent years, expanded at a 7% rate in July, a bit below the 9.4% gain in June.

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Pimco’s CEO Douglas Hodge on Tuesday raised concerns about the current pace of growth in the world economy, saying it isn’t strong enough to support the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate projections. “If you look at the Fed Blue dots, the expectation is that real interest rates will rise to 1.5-2%, and nominal interest rates go up to 3.5-4%,” he said at a speech at the PRI in Person conference in London. “At Pimco, we simply do not adhere to this view. We do not see the catalysts for growth across the global economy that will support this rate structure.” A key reason, the world economy will struggle to grow is because developed markets are faced with the “three Ds” – debt, deficit and demographics, Hodge said. “With aging populations, there seem to be a tipping point where creating organic growth becomes increasingly difficult,” he said. His comments on interest rates come as investors are counting down to the closely watched Federal Open Market Committee on Sept. 16-17. Economists are split as to whether the central bank will move to hike rates for the first time in nine years or hold off until later this year or next. Some market observers say the recent bout of China-fueled market turmoil will keep the Fed from increasing rates, while others argue the U.S. economy is strong enough to cope with its first rate increase in nearly a decade.

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