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Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. said Thursday that Youssef Zakharia has been named chief operating officer, effective Nov.3. Zakharia has been with the company for more than 16 years, most recently as executive vice president. He succeeds Hani El-Naffy, who is transitioning to a consultant position with Fresh Del Monte, a job that will last through Feb. 28, 2017. He will stay on the board of directors. Fresh Del Monte shares are inactive in premarket trading, but up 66.1% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 2.6% for 2016 to date.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Bank of England on Thursday kept interest rates on hold and signaled there would be no further easing in 2016, citing stronger-than-expected economic data. The central bank’s policy makers voted unanimously to maintain the benchmark rate at a record low of 0.25% and keep its quantitative easing program at £435 billion ($542.96 billion). The bank also said it’ll keep its corporate bond purchases at £10 billion. “Indicators of activity and business sentiment have recovered from their lows immediately following the referendum and the preliminary estimate of GDP growth in Q3 was above expectations,” the bank said. “These data suggest that the near-term outlook for activity is stronger than expected three months ago.” In its quarterly inflation report, the BOE lifted its inflation outlook for 2017 to 2.7% from 2% forecast in the August inflation report. It also raised its 2017 economic growth outlook to 1.4% from 0.8%. The pound rallied after the reports, buying $1.2492, compared with $1.2302 late Wednesday in New York. The FTSE 100 index , however, slumped 0.7% to 6,796.22, weighed by the pound rally.

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Shares of Chesapeake Energy Corp. surged 5.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after the oil and natural gas company surprisingly reported an adjusted profit for the first time in six quarters. The net loss for the quarter to Sept. 30 narrowed to $1.2 billion, or $1.54 a share, from $4.7 billion, or $7.08 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding certain non-recurring items, but including a gain from the sale of certain proceeds, adjusted earnings per share came to 9 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of a per-share loss of 3 cents. Total revenue fell to $2.28 billion from $3.38 billion, as oil and gas revenue of $1.18 beat the FactSet consensus of $1.02 billion, and marketing and other revenue of $1.10 billion missed expectations of $1.23 billion. Oil equivalent production slipped to 59 millions of barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe) from 61 mmboe, missing the FactSet consensus of 61.6 mmboe. The stock has run up 18% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has climbed 13% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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Wells Fargo & Co. said Thursday the upper end of the range of “reasonably possible potential litigation losses” stood at about $1.7 billion as of Sept. 30. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank said it is unable to determine whether the current investigations of its sales practices and mortgage-related regulatory probes will have a material adverse affect on its finances. “It is possible that the ultimate resolution of a matter, if unfavorable, may be material to Wells Fargo’s results of operations for any particular period,” the bank cautioned. There is also the risk that regulatory authorities could require admissions of wrongdoing, in addition to monetary penalties, which could limit the bank’s ability to engage in certain business activities. The bank has been embroiled in a scandal in which employees opened millions of unauthorized accounts to meet aggressive sales goals. Chief Executive John Stumpf was forced to forfeit unpaid benefits and resigned from his position. Shares were slightly lower in premarket trade, and are down 17% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. announced Thursday a deal to buy fellow vehicle components maker Metaldyne Performance Group Inc. for $1.6 billion in cash and stock, and the assumption of $1.7 billion in debt. Under terms of the deal, each MPG share will be exchanged for $13.50 in cash and 0.5 share of American Axle. Based on Wednesday’s closing prices, the deal values MPG shares at about $21.81 each, which represents a 52% premium. American Axle expects the deal to add to cash flow and earnings in the first full year after closing. The company expects synergies of $100 million to $120 million by 2018. “MPG’s expertise in complex, highly-engineered powertrain components and its global footprint will be tremendous assets to AAM,” said American Axle Chief Executive David Dauch. Neither stock is active in premarket trade. MPG shares have tumbled 22% year to date, while American Axle’s stock has dropped 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 2.6%.

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A U.K. high court ruled on Thursday that Prime Minister Theresa May can’t trigger Article 50 that starts the Brexit process without a vote in parliament, according to media reports. The case was brought by businesswoman Gina Miller and hairdresser Deir dos Santos, who claimed the prime minister was wrong in refusing members of parliament a vote on whether to trigger Article 50. In response, May had argued the public had already delivered its verdict by voting for an EU exit in the referendum in June and there was no need for a second vote in parliament. May is expected to appeal Thursday’s decision. The pound spiked after the verdict, trading as high as $1.2449, compared with $1.2302 late Wednesday in New York. Sterling has since pared back to $1.2382. Banks also rose, with shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC up 3% and Barclays PLC 1.8% higher.

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From:: Stock Market News