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SolarCity Corp. said late Wednesday it would take restructuring charges this year primarily in the form of paying out severance benefits, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The solar-panel maker did not say how many workers would be affected but the action was to “realign the company’s operating expenses to match the company’s reduced guidance for megawatts installed.” SolarCity said it plans to spend $3 million to $5 million on the restructuring, with most of the charges in the second half of this year. The company also said that co-founders Lyndon Rive and Peter Rive, SolarCity’s respective chief executive and chief technology officer, will have their annual salaries reduced to $1 from $250,000. SolarCity shares were unchanged at $23.59 after hours.

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J. C. Penney Co. Inc. announced late Wednesday a slew of initiatives to improve profit and growth in the next few years, saying it will focus on special-size clothing; home goods, including appliances showrooms and flooring in some markets; and expand the number of Sephora stores inside JCPenney stores and its fine jewelry selection. The retailer also signaled a larger push into e-commerce. J. C. Penney said it expects a compounded annual comparable-store sales growth of 3%, and net income between $450 million and $500 million by 2019. It also set a goal of per-share earnings between $1.40 and $1.55 within three years. “Although we’ve sharpened our priorities for the next three years, our strategic framework remains the same,” Chief Executive and Chairman Marvin E. Ellison said in a statement. “Under this framework, we are taking market share, outpacing competitors and improving the long term profitability of our business.”

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Agilent Technologies Inc. shares declined in the extended session Wednesday after the laboratory equipment maker’s revenue results and forecast fell shy of Wall Street targets. Agilent shares fell 5.2% to $45.89 after hours. The company reported adjusted third-quarter earnings of 49 cents a share on revenue of $1.04 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast 47 cents a share on revenue of $1.05 billion. For the year, Agilent reaffirmed its guidance of $1.89 to $1.91 a share in adjusted earnings on $4.14 billion to $4.16 billion in revenue. Analysts expect $1.91 a share on revenue of $4.18 billion.

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NetApp shares rose late Wednesday after the Sunnyvale, Calif., data management and storage company swung to a profit in the fiscal first quarter. NetApp said it earned $64 million, or 23 cents a share, in the quarter, versus a net loss of $30 million, or 10 cents loss a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $129 million, or 46 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $89 million, or 29 cents a share, a year ago. Revenue reached $1.29 billion in the quarter, down from $1.34 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 36 cents a share on sales of $1.26 billion. NetApp said it expects fiscal second-quarter revenue between $1.27 billion to $1.42 billion, and per-share earnings between 51 cents to 56 cents. NetApp shares had ended the regular Wednesday session down 0.4%.

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Cisco Systems Inc. finished off its fiscal year with an earnings beat, the networking giant announced Wednesday, but it also announced a restructuring that will include the elimination of 5,500 jobs. Cisco reported quarterly earnings of $2.8 billion, or 56 cents a share, on sales of $12.64 billion; after adjusting for share-based compensation and other costs, the company claimed profit of 63 cents a share. Analysts on average predicted adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share on sales of $12.57 billion, according to FactSet. Cisco also announced a restructuring that will eliminate about 7% of the company’s global workforce, with cuts focused on “lower growth areas of our portfolio,” a return to a pattern of layoffs at the end of the fiscal year that Cisco skipped in 2015. Cisco has seen growth in its leading networking-equipment business stall in recent quarters, and has looked to cloud software and other efforts to make up for it. Cisco stock fell about 1% in immediate late trading after closing with a 1.3% decline at $30.72.

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Barnes & Noble Inc.’s stock plunged 12% in active afternoon trade, after the bookseller’s surprise ousting of its chief executive officer prompted a downgrade at Gabelli & Co. Volume of 2 million shares was more than triple the full-day average. The company said late Tuesday that it determined Ronald Boire, who became CEO effective Sept. 8, 2015, was “not a good fit.” Gabelli analyst John Tinker cut his rating to hold from buy. “The firing is a major surprise, as Mr. Boire hosted Barnes & Noble investor meeting on June 23 at which a new store strategy was officially announced with enhanced restaurants including table service and alcohol,” Tinker wrote in a note to clients. He noted that the next CEO named by the company would be the fifth in four years. Despite Wednesday’s selloff, the stock is still up 44% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.4%.

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U.S. stocks were trading mostly in the green Wednesday, after paring losses following the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting minutes, which suggested that the U.S. policy-setting committee members were inclined to hike rates sooner than later. However, investors appeared to dismiss the view that the central bank would hike rates as early as its next meeting in September. After paring losses immediately after the minutes were released at 2 p.m. Eastern Time, the S&P 500 index was trading flat at 2,180, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points, or 0.1%, to 18,570, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was at break-even at 5,228.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — In addition to a discussion over the near term direction of interest rates, Federal Reserve officials debated what they called the monetary policy implementation framework for the longer term, according to minutes released Wednesday. These issues, like the selection of counterparties or types of collateral to accept, and the overall size and composition of the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet, may both be influenced by, and themselves influence, incentives and activity in financial markets, the Fed said. The Fed also had a desire to reduce the perceived stigma associated with borrowing at the discount window, particularly in periods of financial strain. No decisions were made at the meeting, and Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen asked the staff to continue its work and noted that policymakers would review further analysis at a future meeting.

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Gold futures settled lower Wednesday, pulling back from the two-week high they settled at a day earlier. Prices initially extended their decline in electronic trading after the settlement, then rose as minutes from the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee’s July meeting showed that the central bank officials were split over the need for further interest-rate hikes in the near future. Gold for December delivery settled at $1,348.80 an ounce Wednesday, down $8.10, or 0.6%, from Tuesday. It was at $1,354.90 in electronic trading shortly after the release of the Fed minutes.

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From:: Stock Market News