Mortgage Market Index Down, Purchases Lead

With his appointment of Mick Mulvaney as acting director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Donald J. Trump is undoing much of what Richard Cordray put in place.

Among leading Republicans and the White house, President Barack H. Obama’s appointee to bring the bureau to life represents so much of what they are trying to change.

Mulvaney referred to Cordray’s excessive regulation in a memo last week to the bureau’s staff in stating, “the days of aggressively ‘pushing the envelope’ of the law in the name of the ‘mission’ are over.”


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From:: Financing

S&P Global revises outlook on Wynn Resorts to negative after allegations against Steve Wynn

S&P Global Ratings revised the outlook on its BB-minus rating on Wynn Resorts to negative from stable on Tuesday, and said the allegations of sexual misconduct against founder and CEO Steve Wynn could hurt the company’s ability to maintain or renew gaming licenses. The move “reflects the significant uncertainty surrounding the resolution of various investigations into the misconduct allegations against the company’s CEO,” the rating agency said in a statement. “This includes the extent to which these allegations impair Wynn Resorts’ brand and hurt cash flow, whether the company is able to maintain its gaming licenses, whether there will be a transition in leadership, and–if so–what form that might take.” Adding to the uncertainty, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission is investigating the issue and other regulators may follow suit, said S&P. Wynn shares were slightly higher Tuesday, but are down 9% on the week, while the S&P 500 has lost 1.5%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Stock market internals show broad selling, but nowhere near panic levels

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbles toward the biggest price decline since May 2017, market internals suggest the selling may be broad-based and heavy, but is still no where near panic levels. The number of stock declining outnumber advancers by a 2,316-to-574 margin on the NYSE and by a 1,924-to-754 score on the Nasdaq exchange. Volume of declining stocks made up 87.1% of the total volume on the Big Board and 70.5% of the total on the Nasdaq. The Arms Index, a volume-weighted measure of breadth that tends to rise above 1.000 as the stock market falls, rose to 1.718 on the NYSE but was nearly flat at 0.958 on the Nasdaq. Many who follow the Arms believe it takes a rise above 2.000 to imply panic selling, or capitulation by bulls, which could suggest a bounce could be coming. At current readings, the Arms Indexes suggest the selling isn’t quite at capitulation levels, particularly on among Nasdaq stocks. The Dow was down 235 points, or 0.9%, while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.5% and the S&P 500 lost 0.7%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

GrubHub stock drops after Barclays cautions on valuation, competitive pressures

Shares of GrubHub Inc. fell 3.8% in Tuesday morning trading after analysts at Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight. The analysts, led by Deepak Mathivanan, like GrubHub’s prospects in the long run but worry about the stock’s high valuation relative to internet peers and the “incremental competitive risks” brought upon by Uber Technologies Inc.’s and Amazon.com Inc.’s efforts in food delivery. GrubHub shares have performed better than the S&P 500 Index over the past three months, Mathivanan wrote. The stock now trades at 21 times estimates for 2019 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, making it more expensive on that metric than several other internet stocks that Mathivanan tracks. He also thinks that competitor UberEats has been growing nicely over the last year or two. GrubHub shares are up 75% over the past 12 months, with the S&P 500 up 24% in that time.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

GrubHub stock drops after Barclays cautions on valuation, competitive pressures

Shares of GrubHub Inc. fell 3.8% in Tuesday morning trading after analysts at Barclays downgraded the stock to underweight from equal weight. The analysts, led by Deepak Mathivanan, like GrubHub’s prospects in the long run but worry about the stock’s high valuation relative to internet peers and the “incremental competitive risks” brought upon by Uber Technologies Inc.’s and Amazon.com Inc.’s efforts in food delivery. GrubHub shares have performed better than the S&P 500 Index over the past three months, Mathivanan wrote. The stock now trades at 21 times estimates for 2019 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, making it more expensive on that metric than several other internet stocks that Mathivanan tracks. He also thinks that competitor UberEats has been growing nicely over the last year or two. GrubHub shares are up 75% over the past 12 months, with the S&P 500 up 24% in that time.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

HelloFresh stock soars after preliminary revenue numbers beat estimates

Shares of European meal-kit firm HelloFresh SE are up 4.9% in Tuesday trading after the company, which trades in Germany, announced preliminary revenue for its December quarter ahead of analysts’ expectations. HelloFresh said it generated between €250 million and €253 million in revenue for the December period. The FactSet consensus estimate, which consists of figures from two analysts, called for €238 million. The company also said that it grew its active-customer base by 69%, to 1.45 million, during the quarter. HelloFresh went public just a few months after fellow meal-kit firm Blue Apron Holidings Inc. sputtered following its own IPO. With shares of HelloFresh up 22% from their November IPO price, European investors have been more receptive to the meal-kit listing than U.S. investors have been to Blue Apron’s public debut. Whereas Blue Apron’s revenue is projected to have contracted during the December quarter, HelloFresh grew revenue by about 58% during the latest period. Blue Apron’s stock is down 70% from its June IPO price, including a 2.2% drop in Tuesday morning trading. The S&P 500 Index is up 18% since Blue Apron went public in June.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Treasury’s Mnuchin extends special measures to stay below debt limit into February

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Tuesday that he will extend a debt issuance suspension period “into February” in order to be able to keep using extraordinary measures that allow the U.S. government to stay below the debt ceiling. The suspension period had been scheduled to expire on Jan. 31 but Congress has not yet acted to raise the debt limit. Mnuchin did not give a specific date for the end of the suspension period. In testimony to the Senate Banking Committee, Mnuchin urged Congress to act “as soon as possible” to raise the debt limit. Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP, said he thinks Congress must act by early March to allow the Treasury to continue to borrow.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

WWE’s stock jumps toward record high after Morgan Stanley turns bullish

Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. rallied 1.9% toward a record high in morning trade Tuesday, bucking the sharp selloff in the broader market, after Morgan Stanley turned bullish on the company, citing an upbeat outlook for revenue growth and margins. Analyst Benjamin Swinburne raised his rating to overweight from equal weight, and boosted his stock price target by 74% to $40, which is 15% above current levels. Swinburne said the battle for eyeballs across TV and online has led to a rapid increase in content spending, particularly in the area of sports rights, which should accelerate WWE’s revenue growth over the next 2-to-3 years. And as WWE’s costs continue to grow at a “controlled pace,” Swinburne expects the increased revenue to boost margins and operating leverage. In addition, he believes WWE represents “a potentially interesting strategic asset in a rapidly consolidating media landscape.” While WWE’s stock rallied, the S&P 500 fell 0.8% in morning trade. Over the past three months, WWE shares have shot up 38%, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Permanent Mortgage Chief Named at Wells Fargo

More than two months after firing its mortgage chief, Wells Fargo & Co. has named a permanent replacement from within the organization.

In November, Franklin Codel was fired as head of the San Francisco-based bank-holding company’s mortgage business.

Codel, who had been in the job since August 2015, was reportedly dismissed because of disparaging comments made to a former employee about the regulatory system and golden parachute payments.


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From:: Financing

GE’s stock falls after analyst cuts price target in wake of ‘messy, underwhelming’ results

Shares of General Electric Co. shed 1.1% in morning trade Tuesday, putting it for the lowest close in over six years, after Stifel Nicolaus cuts its price target, citing the industrial conglomerate’s “messy, underwhelming” results reported last week. Analyst Robert McCarthy kept his rating at hold, which he’s had on the stock for the past three months, but lowered his price target to $17 from $18. McCarthy said the continued challenges in GE’s core power business and continued headline surprises, such as the disclosure of an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, should weigh on the stock for a long time. “Clearly, the fundamental turnaround of the core power biz is no easy quick fix, and the limited upside and transaction costs, and implicit GE Capital liability drag with a breakup are not compelling at all at these price levels in the $16 range…,” McCarthy wrote in a note to clients. The stock was trading at $16.10, which puts it in danger of the lowest close since Dec. 2, 2011. the stock has tumbled 21% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 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.

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From:: Stock Market News