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Two-thirds of retail shoppers are now heading to off-price price retailers, according to research by The NPD Group. Off-price outlets include Burlington Stores Inc. and T.J. Maxx, a TJX Cos. brand. These off-price consumers represent 75% of apparel purchases across all of retail, NPD said Thursday. Visits to off-price retailers increase 4% for the year ending Apirl 2016. For that same period, off-price retailers converted half of all shopping visits to their brick-and-mortar locations to a purchase.

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Dannon Co., a subsidiary of Danone S.A , announced Thursday that it is introducing Dannon and Oikos branded yogurts with more natural and non-GMO ingredients. GMOs, or genetically modified organisms, are those whose genetic material has been altered. In addition, over the next several months the company will label all Dannon products that contain GMO ingredients. Beginning in 2017, Dannon will source milk for its Dannon, Oikos and Danimals brands from cows fed non-GMO feed. The move, which is expected to be complete by the end of 2018, will include the conversion of 80,000 acres of farmland to produce non-GMO crops for feed. Danone shares are up 6% for the year so far, while the S&P 500 is up 5.3% over the same period.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said on Thursday that former chief executive J. Michael Pearson “remains a significant Valeant shareholder” with more than 3.5 million shares, and is required to hold 1 million shares for two years following his termination. The company made the announcement in response to reports out Wednesday that Pearson sold a large chunk of his holding in the drug maker. Valeant said it understands that Pearson exercised and sold options representing about 4.4 million shares, which would expire within the next 12 months. Pearson also sold about 411,000 common shares in June and July to satisfy tax obligations, the company said. “While I trimmed my ownership position for personal reasons, I plan on holding my remaining shares until the company recovers and returns to being traded on fundamentals,” Pearson stated. The stock surged 2.6% in premarket trade, after falling 6.9% on Wednesday. Year to date, the stock has plunged 79% through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.3%.

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Shares of Arena Pharmaceuticals Inc. surged 8.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the company said its weight management drug was granted approval for commercialization in Mexico by Eisai Laboratories. Arena will receive a $1 million milestone payment as a result of the approval. The U.S. brand name for Arena’s weight management drug is Belviq. The product is expected to be available later this year. “Currently more than 70% of the Mexican population is either overweight or obese,” said Eisai Chief Operating Officer Shaji Procida. “Without intervention, these numbers are projected to increase.” Arena’s stock had tumbled 16% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.3%.

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Delta Air Lines said Thursday it had net income of $1.546 billion, or $2.03 a share, in the second quarter, compared with $1.485 billion, or $1.83 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.47, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.42. Revenue fell 2% to $10.447 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $10.479 billion, hurt by currency moves. “With the additional foreign currency pressure from the steep drop in the British pound and the economic uncertainty from Brexit, Delta has decided to reduce 6 points of U.S.-U.K. capacity from its winter schedule,” the company said in a statement. That move and other planned actions will reduce system capacity by about one point in the December quarter. “While the revenue environment remains challenging, with persistent headwinds from close-in domestic yields and geopolitical uncertainty, we remain focused on achieving our goal of positive unit revenues by year end,” said Glen Hauenstein, Delta’s president. Shares rose 2.4% premarket, but are down 22% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500, which has gained 5%.

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The Bank of England on Thursday unexpectedly left unchanged its key interest rate at a record low of 0.5%. It also made no changes to its 375-billion-pound ($495 billion) asset-purchase program. Markets had overwhelmingly priced in chances of a rate cut, which would’ve been the first since March 2009. The decision marked the first after the June 23 referendum in the U.K. that set the country on course to exit the European Union. The rate-setting policy makers voted 8-1 to leave policy unchanged. “In the absence of a further worsening in the trade-off between supporting growth and returning inflation to target on a sustainable basis, most members of the Committee expect monetary policy to be loosened in August,” the BOE said in a statement. The pound jumped to $1.3424 from $1.3221 before the BOE’s policy decision was announced.

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Coach Inc. said Wayne Kulkin is stepping down as chief executive officer of its Stuart Weitzman brand, and will become a consultant to the company. The luxury accessories company said Wendy Kahn will become CEO and brand president of Stuart Weitzman, effective Sept. 13. Kahn was previously at Valentino Fashion Group, where she was CEO of Valentino USA. “Wendy’s success in developing global luxury brands and extensive general management experience make her the ideal candidate to lead Stuart Weitzman, building on the brand’s strong foundation,” said Coach Chief Executive Victor Luis. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has soared 28% year to date while the S&P 500 has gained 5.3%.

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The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock Inc. on Thursday reported a drop in second-quarter revenue and profit, with clients facing “unprecedented challenges”. Profit for the quarter fell 4% to $789 million, or $4.73 a share, down from $819 million, or $4.84 a share, in the year-ago period. On an adjusted basis, earnings per share fell to $4.78 from $4.96. Revenue dropped to $2.80 billion from $2.91 billion last year. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expected earnings of $4.77 a share on revenue of $2.79 billion. Meanwhile, assets under management grew 4% to $4.9 trillion. “Our clients are facing unprecedented challenges as they attempt to navigate the current investment environment,” Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink said in the earnings release. “Political and macroeconomic uncertainty, historically low yields and elevated market volatility are leading clients to pause, as evidenced by more than $55 trillion in bank deposits in the U.S., China and Japan alone,” he added.

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From:: Stock Market News