Clorox revenue rises above expectation as noncash charge weighs on profit

Clorox Co. reported fiscal second-quarter earnings of $149 million, or $1.14 a share, compared with $149 million, or $1.13 a share, in the same period a year ago. The consumer and household products giant’s results include an 11-cents-per-share noncash asset impairment charge related to the Aplicare skin antisepsis business. The FactSet earnings-per-share consensus was $1.22. Revenue rose to $1.41 billion from $1.35 billion, topping the FactSet consensus of $1.40 billion, as better-than-expected household and international sales offset misses in cleaning and lifestyle sales. Volume grew 8%. The company cut its fiscal 2017 EPS outlook to $5.23 to $5.38 from $5.23 to $5.43. “As we look to the remainder of fiscal year 2017, incremental investment behind our brands remains a priority, with promising innovation launching across our portfolio,” said Chief Executive Benno Dorer. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 8.3% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has gained 5% and the S&P 500 has rallied 19%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Banco Popular shares tumble 5% after reporting massive loss

Shares of Banco Popular Espanol SA fell 5% on Friday after the Spanish lender swung to a net annual loss of €3.48 billion ($3.75 billion) in the fourth quarter from a €104 million profit in the year-ago period. The company attributed the massive loss to bad loans and higher provisions in the period. The bank said that the results reflected provisions it had to take that totaled €5.69 billion, including non-recurring provisions for credit and real estate and goodwill writedowns on its Targobank unit, among other items.

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From:: Stock Market News

Global gold investment demand for 2016 hit highest level in 4 years: report

Global investment demand for gold jumped 70% year on year in 2016 to the highest level in four years, buoyed in part by the uncertain path of future interest-rate increases and the U.S. election, according to a report from the World Gold Council released Friday. Investment demand of the yellow metal rose to 1,561.1 metric tons in 2016, from 918.7 metric tons a year earlier, and inflows of gold into exchange-traded funds for the year were at their strongest since 2009, the WGC said. Overall, global gold demand climbed by 2% in 2016 to 4,308.7 metric tons, which was the highest since 2013. “2016 saw an unprecedented degree of political upheaval, which underpinned huge institutional investor flows into gold,” said Alistair Hewitt, head of market intelligence at the WGC, in a statement. April gold was last down $4.30, or 0.4%, at $1,215.10 an ounce in electronic trading after settling Thursday at $1,219.40.

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From:: Stock Market News

Mortgage Rates Unchanged, Could Hold Longer

Over the past week, there was hardly any change in fixed rates on residential loans. More of the same is likely during the upcoming week.

In Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week that ended on Feb. 2, thirty-year fixed rates averaged 4.19 percent.

Long-term rates were the same as in the previous week’s report. But the 30 year was higher than 3.72 percent in the same week last year.


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From:: Financing

Fitch: Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac reform may be put on back-burner

While the Democrats in the Senate fight the confirmation of Steve Mnuchin, the Trump administration’s choice to lead the Department of the Treasury, the fate of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac continues to reside in suspended animation. But how much longer will the government-sponsored enterprises float in the conservatorship ether? According to a new report from Fitch Ratings, those waiting for comprehensive GSE reform may have to wait a little longer. …read more

From:: Real Estate Wire

Snapchat parent Snap files to go public

Snapchat parent Snap Inc. filed to go public Thursday. The social media company reported revenue of $404.5 million for the year-ended Dec. 31, 2016, up from $58.7 million in the previous year. Snap reported net losses of $514.6 million for 2016, compared to a net loss of $372.9 million in the year-earlier period. It reported global average revenue per user in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016 of $1.05, up from 31 cents in the year-earlier period. The company said it has an average of 158 million daily users, with 2.5 million “snaps” made a day. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “SNAP.” It did not yet disclose the terms of its offering. Morgan Stanley, Goldman, Sachs & Co, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the offering.

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From:: Stock Market News

Snapchat parent Snap files for IPO

Snapchat parent Snap Inc. filed to go public Thursday. The social-media company reported revenue of $404.5 million for the year ended Dec. 31, up from $58.7 million in the previous year. Snap reported a net loss of $514.6 million for 2016, compared with a net loss of $372.9 million in the prior year. It reported global average revenue per user in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2016, of $1.05, up from 31 cents in the year-earlier period. The company said it has an average of 158 million daily users, with 2.5 million “snaps” made a day. The company plans to list on the New York Stock Exchange under the proposed symbol “SNAP.” It did not yet disclose the terms of its offering. Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Deutsche Bank Securities are the lead underwriters on the offering.

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From:: Stock Market News

Deckers shares drop more than 20% on earnings miss, weak outlook

Deckers Outdoor Corp. shares plunged in the extended session Thursday after the maker of Ugg boots missed Wall Street targets for the quarter and issued a weak outlook. Deckers shares dropped 23% to $43.01 after hours. The company reported adjusted fiscal third-quarter earnings of $4.11 a share on revenue of $760.3 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated $4.22 a share on revenue of $789 million. For the fourth quarter, Deckers expects a per-share loss of 10 cents to break-even with a 5% to 6% decline in revenue for the quarter, which works out to an estimate of $355.9 million to $359.7 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 42 cents a share on revenue of $383 million.

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From:: Stock Market News