Author: admin

Shares of online-travel businesses Priceline Group Inc. and TripAdvisor Inc. are down 2.6% and 1.9%, respectively, in premarket trading Friday after Expedia Inc. reported weaker-than-expected earnings and delivered a disappointing outlook for the full year ahead. Expedia said it would be investing heavily in marketing and working to increase its hotel inventory. All three companies have discussed ramps in ad spending in recent months. Expedia shares are down 15% in premarket trading. TripAdvisor is due to report December-quarter results on Feb. 14, while Priceline is set to report on Feb. 27. TripAdvisor shares are down 24% in the past 12 months, compared with a 12% gain for Priceline shares. Expedia’s stock is little changed over that time, as the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. Postal Service reported Friday that it swung to a first-fiscal-quarter net loss of $540 million, compared with a profit of $1.44 billion a year ago, as operating expenses increased 11%. Controllable income, which excludes items outside of management’s control and nonrecurring items, was $353 million, down from $522 million last year. The increase in expenses was primarily driven by an increase in worker-compensation expenses and a rise in unfunded retirement-benefit costs and retiree health benefits. Revenue for the quarter ending Dec. 31 slipped to $19.16 billion from $19.20 billion, as a 7% rise in package volume was offset by a 5% decline in mail volume. On Dec. 18, the USPS said it delivered 37 million packages, the most delivered in a single day in its 240-year history. “Although we continue to win customers and grow our package business, these gains are not sufficient to offset continuing declines in our mail business, which is our main source of revenue and contribution,” said Chief Executive Megan Brennan.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

GrubHub Inc. shares are up 2% in premarket trading Friday after a judge ruled that a driver for the company was an independent contractor, not an employee. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said that GrubHub didn’t have “all necessary control” over a driver’s work so it was therefore justified in deeming the driver a contractor. “This ruling is the first-of-its kind on the issue at the Federal level, and is notable because California has the strictest standards for contract labor,” Mizuho analyst Jeremy Scott wrote. Should GrubHub have to treat drivers as employees rather than independent contractors, Scott estimates that the average cost per order delivered would increase by 50% to 60%. GrubHub shares jumped 27% Thursday after the company reported better-than-expected revenue for its most recent quarter and announced a new partnership with Yum Brands Inc. . GrubHub’s stock has soared 133% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 Index has gained 12%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of Viacom Inc. were upgraded to sector perform from underperform on Friday by RBC Capital Markets analyst Steven Cahall. The upgrade comes on the heels of Viacom’s fiscal first-quarter earnings results, in which the media and entertainment company reported profit that was above Wall Street expectations and news that it continues to follow through on its turnaround strategy. Cahall upgraded the stock on the likelihood that Viacom merges with CBS Corp. . “While there are signs of improvement [at Viacom] we still think getting to long-term operating income growth is a bit of a leap of faith. However, arguing about it is a fool’s errand because the merger with CBS is back on,” Cahall wrote in a note to investors. “We believe CBS and Viacom leadership will hash this out and probably merge at or near market prices since the market is a reasonably honest broker of valuations.” Both Viacom and CBS have formed committees to review a potential merger. Viacom said there are some uncertainties and risks looking forward due to a potential combination with CBS. Shares of Viacom were trending down in premarket trade on Friday, and have declined more than 25% in the last 12 months. By comparison, the S&P 500 index is up roughly 12% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 18%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of CBOE Global Markets Inc. tumbled 5.5% in premarket trade Friday, after the futures and trading exchange holding company reported fourth-quarter profit and revenue that missed expectations. Net income rose to $254.6 million, or $2.26 a share, from $44.7 million, or 55 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as a one-time $191.5 million benefit from the recent tax legislation, adjusted earnings per share came to 87 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 88 cents. Total net revenue rose to $265.6 million from $143.0 million, but missed the FactSet consensus of $267.0 million. “We delivered on our key strategic initiatives and achieved record trading in our highest-margin proprietary products, including VIX futures and options and SPX options, while continuing to launch new innovative products such as Cboe Bitcoin Futures,” said Chief Executive Edward Tilly. Bitcoin futures begain trading in December, while CBOE said 2017 trading volume in futures on the VIX for 23% from 2016. The stock has shed 2.6% over the past three months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has eased 0.1%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of online travel service Expedia Inc. tumbled 17% in premarket trade Friday, after Benchmark downgraded the stock to hold from buy after disappointing earnings. “We were concerned after the management transition that the apparent inventory war brewing between Priceline (PCLN:Buy) and Expedia would weigh on the space similar to what happened in China with Qunar,” analyst Daniel Kurnos wrote in a note. “However, we believed management had taken their lumps in the initial guidance, which, unfortunately, proved not to be the case.” Kurnos slashed his estimates for the company and said it expects earnings to come in at the low end of the revised guidance range, “with not enough growth to offset the increased investment near-term.” Expedia reported fourth-quarter profit of $55.2 million, or 35 cents a share, on sales of $2.32 billion, up from $2.09 billion a year ago. After adjustments for stock-based compensation and other effects, Expedia claimed earnings of 84 cents a share, down from $1.17 a year before. Analysts on average expected adjusted earnings of $1.15 a share on sales of $2.36 billion. Shares are down 0.2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Shares of mail delivery services slid in premarket trade Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon.com Inc. is gearing up to launch its own delivery service for businesses, putting it in direct competition with the industry’s two big players. FedEx Corp. shares slid 4.7% and United Parcel Service Inc. fell 5.8%. The journal said the new service will be called “shipping with Amazon,” or SWA, and will involve the e-commerce giant picking up packages from businesses and shipping them to customers. Amazon will in the coming weeks pilot the program in Los Angeles with third-party merchants that sell goods on its site, before expanding to more cities later this year. Amazon has worked for the past few years on creating its own freight network, leasing up to 40 aircraft. Amazon shares were slightly higher premarket, but have gained 64% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Dow and S&P 500 stock futures moved higher early Friday, on the heels of a severe bout of late selling, which pushed both indexes into correction territory. Dow futures rose 134 points, or 0.6%, to 24,107, while S&P 500 futures added 15.10 points, or 0.6%, to 2,609. Nasdaq-100 futures gained 36.5 points, or 0.6%, to 6,353. On Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 1,032.89 points, or 4.2%, to close at 23,860.46, its second-worst point decline ever on Thursday. The S&P 500 index slumped 100.66 points, or 3.8%, to 2,581. The Dow and the S&P 500 are each down just over 10%, respectively, from their all-time highs. A correction is normally defined as a pullback of at least 10% from a peak. Wall Street’s bruising session pushed Asian stocks into the red, with the Shanghai Composite slumping as much as 6% at one point. European stock futures also pointed to opening losses.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

A brief government shutdown appeared all but certain as the Senate recessed until 12:01 a.m. Eastern Friday morning. Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, has protested a two-year budget deal that would also keep the government operating past midnight. Unless the situation changes, federal funding would lapse at midnight Eastern time. A shutdown could be short-lived, however. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters a vote would be at 1 a.m. The House would also need to act.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Newell Brands Inc. stock increased by more than 5% in late trading Thursday after a report that activist investor Starboard Value LP will launch a proxy fight that seeks to replace the entire board. According to The Wall Street Journal, Starboard is working with three former executives from Jarden Corp., which Newell acquired in a multibillion-dollar 2016 deal, to oust Chief Executive Michael Polk and the rest of the board and take control of the company. Jarden’s former chairman, Martin Franklin, and CEO, Jim Lillie, are among the group working with Starboard, the Journal reported, based on anonymous sources. Franklin resigned his seat on the board last month after failing to wrest control, the Journal previously reported. After closing at $27.91, Newell shares topped $29 in late trading Thursday after the report was released.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News