Month: September 2015

Josh Miller, a former Facebook product manager, was hired as the White House’s first director of product, Miller announced Tuesday. Miller founded Branch, a messaging startup, which was acquired by Facebook in January 2014. In a blog post, Miller said he would be overseeing White House digital products such as WhiteHouse.gov and the We the People Petition site. ” I’m as giddy, wide-eyed, and determined as ever,” he wrote. Miller is the latest executive from Silicon Valley to join the White House. The White House hired Megan Smith, a former vice president at Google as the United States Chief Technology Officer.

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The energy sector topped the S&P 500 losers on Tuesday, dragging on the large cap index as crude-oil prices slumped in the wake of weak data out of China. All energy stocks in the S&P 500 were in the red with Noble Energy Inc. and Ensco Plc among notable decliners. October West Texas Intermediate crude dropped $2.79, or 5.7%, to $46.43 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The S&P 500 slid 1.7% to 1,938.71 as of mid-day.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Outlays for U.S. construction projects rose 0.7% in July to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.08 trillion, the highest level since May 2008, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. The gain was in line with expectations. But there was significant strength beneath the headline with June’s gain revised up to a 0.7% increase compared with originally reported 0.1% gain in June. Private-construction spending rose 1.3% in July, fueled by a 1.1% increase for residential projects. There was also a 1.5% gain for nonresidential projects. Meanwhile, public-construction spending fell 1.0% in the month.

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American Airlines Group Inc. and Delta Air Lines Inc. were upgraded at Deutsche Bank on Tuesday, which cited attractive valuation and optimism over the recent drop in energy prices. Analyst Michael Linenberg raised his ratings on American and Delta, as well as on Copa Holdings , to buy from hold. American’s stock slipped 0.9% while Delta shares gave up 0.8% in morning trade. Linenberg has a $50 stock price target for American, which is 29% above current levels, and a $50 target for Delta’s stock, or 15% above current levels. Linenberg said he believes the share prices “represent an attractive entry-point compared to our 12-month price targets.” He said the recently decline in energy prices, “if sustained, could spell upside for EPS estimates.” Continuous crude oil futures were down 4% in morning trade. Although they soared 27% over the previous three sessions, there were still down 21% since the end of June. With this in mind, Linenberg said he believes any micro and macro concerns have been “more than fully discounted in share prices.” American’s stock has tumbled 28% year to date and Delta shares have dropped 12%, compared with a 6.4% decline in the S&P 500.

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​WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – U.S. manufacturers grew at the slowest pace in August in more than two years, a survey of executives found. The Institute for Supply Management said its manufacturing index dropped to 51.1% last month from 52.7% in July, falling short of the 52.2% forecast of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. Readings over 50% indicate more companies are expanding instead of shrinking. The ISM’s new-orders index dropped 4.8 points to 51.7%, the lowest since May 2013. The employment gauge slipped 1.5 points to 51.2%. And the exports index fell 0.5 points to 46.5%, reflecting a tougher climate for U.S. companies that sell into the world market.

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All 10 of the S&P 500’s key sectors were falling in morning trade Tuesday, adding to the losses they all suffered in August. The biggest loser on Tuesday was energy, as the SPDR Energy ETF shed 2.4%. The XLE had soared 12% over the past four sessions, as oil prices logged a historic rally over the last three days, but still dropped 4.3% for the month. Elsewhere, the SPDR Financial ETF dropped 2%, the SPDR Health Care ETF lost 1.9% and the SPDR Utilities ETF slid 1.9%.

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Consumer stocks tumbled in early trade Tuesday, falling with the broader market after another set of weak data from China sent global markets lower. Dollar Tree Inc. led the declines, shedding 4.5%. The company earlier reported a loss in its latest quarter as it moves to integrate the recently acquired Family Dollar. Netflix Inc. was down 5.2%, Wynn Resorts Ltd. fell 3% and Michael Kors Ltd. was down 2%. Coach Inc. shares fell 2%. The S&P 500 Multiline Retail sub-index fell 2.4%.

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The technology sector suffered a broad selloff in early trade Tuesday, mirroring a broader market selloff. GoPro Inc. led the decliners, tumbling nearly 8% shortly after the open. Shares of Microsoft Corp. fell more than 3%, while Netflix Inc.’s slid more than 4%. The tech-heavy PowerShares QQQ Trust fell 1.9%, while the Technology Select Sector SPRD Fund declined 2%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, of which Apple Inc. , Intel Corp. . IBM , Cisco Systems Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. are members, dropped more than 300 points.

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General Electric Co. said Tuesday it has won more than $1 billion in orders from customers in the Asia Pacific region, as generators look for ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs and environmental damage. GE is providing six new aeroderivative gas turbines in Thailand, two steam turbines and generators for Petrovietnam’s Long Phu 1 coal-fired power plant, and starting a large-scale replacement project in Japan at its Tepco Yokohama Thermal Power Station, among others. The company made the announcement at the start of the Power-Gen Asia conference. GE shares were down 1.9% in premarket trade, and are down about 1.8% for the year through Monday’s close, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost about 7%.

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NetEase Inc. said it will launch a new program to buy back up to $500 million worth of its U.S.-listed stock, to be completed within the next 12 months. The China-based Internet technology company plans to fund the repurchases from available working capital. The stock slumped 5.7% in premarket trade Tuesday, as broad losses in overseas markets spills over into U.S. trade. The stock has gained 12% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has lost 4.2%.

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