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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch)– Federal Reserve officials at their July meeting were relieved their worst fears about the economy did not materialize but disagreed this meant they should resume lifting interest rates in the near future, according to minutes released Wednesday. Worries about the impact of the vote by the U.K. to leave the European Union proved unfounded, and the June employment report relieved concerns about the weaker numbers in May. Many officials said it was appropriate to wait for additional information before deciding another rate hike was warranted, while two pushed for an immediate increase.

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AT&T Inc. said Wednesday that it will launch new data plans that end data overage charges for wireless customers on August 21. Customers that use all of their high-speed data will have their data usage reduced to a maximum of 128 kbps for the rest of their billing cycle. The new Mobile Share Advantage Plans will include features of the previous Mobile Share Value Plans, including unlimited domestic talk and text, but include more data at a lower cost per megabyte than some other AT&T plans. New plans start at 1 GB for $30 per month and go up to 30 GB at $135 per month. AT&T now also offers a new 25GB plan for $190 per month for four smartphone lines, down from $235 per month. And the 30GB plan is now $215 per month for four lines, down from $285 per month. AT&T shares are down 0.6% in Wednesday trading, but up 21.8% for the past year. The S&P 500 Index is up 3.4% for the same period.

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From:: Stock Market News

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The U.S. economy looks like it has slowed to a steady state where growth is below a 2% trend rate, the unemployment rate doesn’t fall much and inflation is tame, St. Louis Fed President James Bullard said on Wednesday. This “new narrative” suggests rate can stay low, Bullard said in a speech at Washington University in St. Louis. He said this “new narrative” calls for short-term interest rates to rise only to 0.63%. The Fed presently targets rates in a range between 0.25% and 0.5%.

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Mobileye N.V.’s stock slumped 1.3% toward a six-week low in afternoon trade Wednesday, after shedding 2.7% the previous session. Analyst Alexander Potter at Piper Jaffray said some of that decline could be blamed on Ford Motor Co. , which announced Tuesday its plans to deliver fully autonomous vehicles for ride sharing in 2021. “[Mobileye] was a notable absence from the company’s press release…,” Potter wrote in a note to clients. He reiterated his overweight rating on the stock, saying the news only seems like a negative at first glance. “We would be buying any pullback, as we believe the window remains open for Ford to base its eventual self-driving platform at least partially–if not fully–on [Mobileye’s] approach,” Potter wrote. “Despite Ford’s interest in circumventing [Mobileye], Ford remains a [Mobileye] partner for lower-level automation; there’s nothing precluding a deeper relationship.” The stock is now trading below where it closed on July 26, after Mobileye said it would no longer work with Tesla Motors Inc. . The stock has soared 24% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.3%.

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Monsanto Co. said Wednesday it still expects fiscal 2016 adjusted earnings per share to be a the “low-end” of the expected range of $4.40 to $5.10. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $4.43. The seeds and farming services company said expectations for free cash flow for the year remains $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion. For 2017, Monsanto said it still believes EPS will return to growth, while current FactSet consensus estimates implies 12% growth to $4.96 a share. The company said Chief Executive Hugh Grant will be speaking at company’s eighth Whistle Stop tour event for investors. “Monsanto has the right strategic plan in place to create significant shareowner value over the long term, built on strong business fundamentals,” Grant said in a statement. The stock was shedding 1.7% in midday trade, putting it on course to suffer its seventh loss in eight sessions. It has gained 5.2% year to date, while the S&P 500 has advanced 6.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News