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Oil futures turned lower Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that domestic crude supplies declined by 2.2 million barrels for the week ended July 1. The American Petroleum Institute late Wednesday had reported a 6.7 million-barrel drop, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expected a decline of 2.6 million barrels. The data were delayed by a day following the Independence Day holiday on Monday. Gasoline supplies edged down by 100,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 1.6 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. August crude was at $46.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 53 cents, or 1.1%, from Wednesday’s settlement. Prices traded at $47.85 before the data.

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From:: Stock Market News

Natural-gas futures gained more ground Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity rose 39 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 1. That was below the average rise of 42 billion cubic feet expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.179 trillion cubic feet, up 538 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 599 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. August natural gas was up 3.6 cents, or 1.3%, at $2.822 per million British thermal units from Wednesday’s settlement. It traded at $2.805 before the data.

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From:: Stock Market News

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said Thursday it is raising its quarterly dividend to 55 cents a share from 51 cents. The new payment will be made Aug. 5 to shareholders of record as of July 18. Shares rose 1% in early trade, but are down about 16% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Spending by companies on technology is expected to be flat in 2016, with currency fluctuations and Brexit weighing on some of the growth, according to a new forecast from Gartner. The impact of the British exit from the European Union will “quickly affect” IT spending in the U.K. and Europe, the research company said. It believes the impacts on staffing and hiring will be the biggest near-term issue, with long-term uncertainty in work status making the U.K. less attractive to new foreign workers. Brexit could give U.K. IT departments less access to international talent, Gartner said. Offsetting some of that impact will be the continued growth of software, services and data centers. The largest increases in IT spending this year are expected to come from enterprise software, which is on pace to grow 5.8% year-over-year to $332 billion. Spending on services is projected to accelerate by 3.7% to $898 billion, while spending on data centers is forecast to grow 2% to $175 billion.

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Four former traders who worked for Barclays PLC have been sentenced to prison for conspiring to illegally fix global benchmark interest rates, news reports said Thursday. The sentences, ranging from 33 months to six-and-a-half years, were handed down by a judge in London. Jay Merchant, a 45-year-old former derivatives trader, received the longest sentence. The four men will serve half of their sentences in prison and then be released on parole, said Judge Anthony Leonard, according to a Reuters report. The men were accused of trying to fraudulently influence the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. That benchmark is used to set interest rates on trillions of dollars in financial contracts. The U.K.’s Serious Fraud Office is seeking a retrial of two former Barclays employees charged alongside three of those sentenced, after a jury earlier failed to reach verdicts for the pair.

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Three U.K. firms on Thursday slashed the value of their property funds, as the Brexit vote continues to hammer the country’s real-estate sector. Legal & General cut the value of a £2.3 billion fund ($3 billion) by 10%, and Foreign & Colonial took down a £290 million fund by 5%, a Guardian report said. And investment manager CCLA cut the value of three institutional property funds holding a total of £1.3 billion in assets by 4.5%, a Reuters report said. This news comes after Aberdeen Fund Management reduced a property fund’s value by 17% and said it would suspend trading, and six other U.K. property funds also were frozen Wednesday.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday as investors balanced a pair of stronger-than-expected employment reports against the implications of the U.K.s vote to leave the European Union. Investors are waiting for the official non-farm payrolls report due on Friday. In corporate earnings, PepsiCo Inc. shares rose 2% after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings on Thursday. The S&P 500 opened 3 points, or 0.2%, higher at 2,102. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 23 points, or 0.1%, to 17,941. The Nasdaq Composite was up 11 points, or 0.2% at 4.871.

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From:: Stock Market News

Paychex Inc. said Thursday it is raising its quarterly dividend by 10% to 46 cents a share. The new payment will be made August 25 to shareholders of record as of August 1. The payroll software company said its board has approved a share buyback program of up to $350 million. Shares were slightly higher in premarket trade and are up 15% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%.

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Kellogg’s got a brand new bag — of cereal. The breakfast and snack company on Thursday said it’s updating its classic Raisin Bran with granola. The new Raisin Bran Granola is offered in two flavors: Raisin & Honey Granola and Cranberry Almond Granola. The company said in a news release the updated Raisin Bran cereals, meant to capture adult tastes, are available in stores at a suggested $3.99 retail price. Kellogg’s recently opened a cafe in New York’s Times Square in a move to transform the simple breakfast staple into a dining event and join the fast-casual dining trend.

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KaloBios Pharmaceuticals Inc. [otc:kbioq] said Thursday it has signed a definitive agreement with biotech investor Martin Shkreli regarding his ownership of the company’s common stock. The company said the agreement includes an option for the company to repurchase his shares, and restricts his action as a shareholder. Shkreli was arrested last December and charged with securities fraud relating to another company. Under the terms of the agreement, for 180 days following June 30, the day the company emerged from bankruptcy protection, Shkreli is not allowed to sell his shares to any third party at a price per share that is less than the greater of (x) $2.50 and (y) a 10% discount to the prior two-week volume-weighted average price, defined as the market discount price, the company said in a statement. KaloBios has the right to purchase any of all of Shkreli’s shares at a purchase price equal to the market discount price for 180 days following the 61st day after June 30. The company also settled class action litigation related to Shkreli’s tenure with the company.

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From:: Stock Market News