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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s freedom as an independent agency to enact regulation could soon change due to a new bill working its way through Congress. This bill, “OIRA Insight, Reform, and Accountability Act,” has already made its way through the House and has moved onto the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. Will the industry finally get the regulatory relief it’s been asking for if the bill passes? …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Oil prices fell a fifth straight session Friday to tally a weekly loss of 9.1%. Concerns that growing U.S. production will offset output declines by other major producers aimed at rebalancing the market have pulled prices to their lowest settlement since late November. April West Texas Intermediate crude fell 79 cents, or 1.6%, to settle at $48.49 a barrel.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
President Donald Trump is expected to nominate conservative health policy expert Dr. Scott Gottlieb to head the Food and Drug Administration, media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Gottlieb, a former FDA deputy commissioner, is a partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and a fellow at the conservative-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute. Gottlieb writes widely about health care issues, and has advocated for reducing the FDA’s regulatory role in various areas, including stem cells and medical devices. A survey done by Mizuho asking 53 drug companies which candidate they preferred found that the vast majority — 72% — liked Gottlieb. Gottlieb is a former “academic affiliate” of a group that defends pharmaceutical companies’ high drug prices, ProPublica reported late last month. SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF shares have surged 6.8% over the last three months, compared with a 4.8% rise in the S&P 500 .
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
President Donald Trump is expected to nominate conservative health policy expert Dr. Scott Gottlieb to head the Food and Drug Administration, media outlets including Bloomberg, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. Gottlieb, a former FDA deputy commissioner, is a partner at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and a fellow at the conservative-leaning think tank American Enterprise Institute. Gottlieb writes widely about health care issues, and has advocated for reducing the FDA’s regulatory role in various areas, including stem cells and medical devices. A survey done by Mizuho asking 53 drug companies which candidate they preferred found that the vast majority — 72% — liked Gottlieb. Gottlieb is a former “academic affiliate” of a group that defends pharmaceutical companies’ high drug prices, ProPublica reported late last month. SPDR S&P Pharmaceuticals ETF shares have surged 6.8% over the last three months, compared with a 4.8% rise in the S&P 500 .
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Shares of aircraft parts maker TransDigm Group Inc. fell another 4.5% Friday to lead the S&P 500 decliners, extending recent losses in a continued response to a report that the government is looking at ownership disclosures by subsidiaries. Short seller Citron Research added to the pressure with a comment piece Thursday saying the stock may be the new Valeant , referring to the troubled drug company. Citron assigned TransDigm stock a $140 price target, or about 40% below its current trading level, and said its “days of exploiting and deceiving the Federal Government are numbered”. Citron cited the report by “The Capitol Forum” that said the Defense Logistics Agency is evaluating disclosures from TransDigm subsidiaries after 12 of them provided inaccurate ownership information in a filing that is updated annually. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment from MarketWatch. But Citron said the company may be hiding its ownership to artificially inflate gross margins while avoiding price scrutiny from the government. TransDigm shares have fallen 7% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6%.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Viacom Inc.-owned Paramount Pictures could lose its $1 billion slate financing deal with China’s Huahua Media and Shanghai Film Group, according to a report by industry publication The Wrap. Huahua has been a financial and marketing partner for past Paramount films, such as “Transformers: Age of Extinction.” The Chinese company had agreed to be acquired by Oriental Time Media for about $158 million, but regulatory concerns reportedly caused OTM to withdraw its offer on March 9. Sources told The Wrap this would most likely prevent Huahua from funding Paramount’s film slate. That is a major blow to the studio that is in dire straits after a disappointing 2016 at the box office, coming in behind all of the Hollywood major studios in revenue for the last five years. Paramount Chief Executive Brad Gray announced in February he would step down as Viacom’s new CEO Bob Bakish laid out a plan to turn around the company that includes focusing on getting Paramount Pictures back on track. Shares of Viacom’s publicly-owned class B shares were down more than 2% in afternoon trade on Friday, but have gained nearly 14% in the trailing 12-month period. The S&P 500 index is up almost 19% during the same time frame.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News
Experts explain that the stronger-than-expected jobs report solidifies the chance of a rate hike in March. In fact, one expert even predicted there will be a total of four rate hikes in 2017. However, experts point out the report was not all good news, and are concerned with the tepid wage growth. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Home Depot agreed to pay $25 million to a number of banks in a settlement over the home improvement retailer’s 2014 data breach that impacted more than 50 million consumers. The settlement is just the latest in a string of settlements over the massive data breach, which Home Depot confirmed back in September 2014. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
A federal judge granted Quicken Loans Inc.’s motion to dismiss on a portion of loans in the government’s case based on the statute of limitations.
The Department of Justice’s lawsuit is tied to loans originated by the Detroit-based lender that are insured by the Federal Housing Administration.
The complaint, filed in April 2015, alleges that Quicken Loans engaged in “reckless disregard” when underwriting of FHA-insured mortgages.
From:: Financing
The euro and European bond yields surged on Friday after Bloomberg reported that the European Central Bank is said to have discussed whether they could raise interest rates before ending their program of monthly asset purchases. The euro was up nearly 0.8% in recent trade at $1.0671, its highest level since Feb. 17. The yield on the German 10-year note , considered the European benchmark, rose five basis points to 0.479%, its highest level since Feb. 1. If true, this would suggest that the central bank is seriously considering a further rollback of its expansionary monetary policy. ECB President Mario Draghi played down such concerns during a news conference on Thursday by saying that the recent improvements in euro-area growth and inflation were largely due to transient factors like rising food and energy prices, and that, though he is “more optimistic” about the outlook for the eurozone, the risks to growth remain tilted toward the downside. When asked if rates could rise before the end of QE, Draghi replied that policy makers wanted to see further evidence of a sustainable rise in growth and inflation before they remove policy accommodation.
Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.
From:: Stock Market News