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Charles Schwab Corp.’s stock gained 0.9% in premarket trade Friday, after the discount brokerage giant reported first-quarter profit and revenue that rose from year ago levels, with revenue beating expectations. Earnings increased to $412 million, or 29 cents a share, from $302 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same quarter a year ago, matching the FactSet consensus for earnings per share of 29 cents. Revenue grew 16% to $1.76 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $1.75 billion. Profit margin improved to 37.1% from 31.7%, while return on average common stockholders’ equity increased to 13% from 10%. Total client assets at the end of the quarter was $2.56 trillion, up 1% from last year. “The ongoing effect of the Fed’s initial interest rate hike in December has provided a glimpse of Schwab’s earnings power as rates normalize, with our diversified revenue streams generating strong first quarter revenue growth and our steady expense discipline continuing,” said Chief Financial Officer Joe Martinetto. The stock has dropped 13% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Sears Canada Inc. said Friday that its chief financial officer, E.J. Bird, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities, effective June 30. He has been CFO since March 2013. A search is underway for a successor. Billy Wong, senior vice president of finance, will work with Bird until his departure to aid in the transistion. Sears Canada shares are inactive in premarket trading, and down 63% over the past year. The S&P 500 is down 1.1% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of Polycom Inc. soared 8.8% in premarket trade Friday, after the business communications company agreed to be acquired by Mitel Networks Corp. in a cash and stock deal valued at $1.96 billion. Under terms of the deal, Polycom shareholders will receive $3.12 in cash and 1.31 Mitel shares for each Polycom share they own. Based on Thursday’s closing prices, the bid values Polycom shares at $13.44 each, or a 9.5% premium. On Thursday, Polycom’s market capitalization was $1.64 billion, while Mitel’s was $951.9 million. Mitel expects the deal, which is expected to close in the third quarter, to add to earnings in 2017. After closing, the combined company will be based in Ottawa, Canada. Elliott Management, which owns 6.6% of Polycom’s outstanding shares and 9.7% of Mitel’s stock, said it supported the deal. Polycom’s stock has dropped 2.5% year to date, while Mitel’s stock has gained 2.5% and the S&P 500 has advanced 1.9%.

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Five people have been arrested in Birmingham and at Gatwick Airport on suspicion of being involved in terror activities, the West Midlands Police said on Friday. Three men — aged 26, 40 and 59 — and a 29-year-old woman were detained in Birmingham Thursday night, while a 26-year old man was arrested at Gatwick, a major London airport, early Friday. “There was no risk to the public at any time, and there is no information to suggest an attack in the U.K. was being planned,” said Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale in a statement. The detentions came after cooperation with international partners, including Belgium and France.

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Oil prices erased earlier gains and moved firmly lower in Friday morning trade, after a report the Iranian oil minister won’t attend a highly anticipated meeting in Doha, Qatar, on Sunday.Crude oil lost 1.3% to $40.99 a barrel, while Brent oil dropped 0.9% to $43.46. Oil prices have been volatile this week in the run-up to the Sunday meeting when major oil producers will discuss whether to freeze oil production. Reports across Twitter citing Bloomberg said on Friday Iran would send its OPEC governor instead of its oil minister, which triggered a slump in prices. Iran has rejected calls for an output freeze, arguing it wants to return to pre-sanction levels before reining in production. The world’s largest oil producer Saudi Arabia has signaled it won’t agree to any deal in Doha unless Iran also signs. “We are running out of news to support a further appreciation ahead of the meeting on Sunday. Following a strong rally this past couple of weeks it makes sense to take some chips of the table ahead a meeting which has been high on promises but could end up being low on delivery,” said Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, in emailed comments.

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Super Micro Computer Inc. divulged Thursday afternoon that its quarterly earnings will come in well below its earlier projections. The computer-server company said that it now expects revenues of $530 million to $533 million, after previously providing a range of $530 million to $580 million, and said adjusted profit would be 33 cents a share to 35 cents a share, much lower than the company’s previous estimate of 43 cents a share to 53 cents a share. “Results for this quarter were weaker than forecasted due to weaker demand with some large customers and the channel than we anticipated,” Chief Executive Charles Liang said in the company’s news release. Analysts had expected the company to report adjusted profit of 49 cents a share on sales of $557 million, according to a FactSet survey. Super Micro shares were stopped in after-hours trading ahead of the announcement, and fell 5.9% once the halt was lifted.

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From:: Stock Market News