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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Consumer spending rose in September by the smallest amount since the start of the year, but mostly because Americans spent less on gasoline after another drop in prices. Spending rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, the Commerce Department said Fri​day. Outlays on durable goods such as new cars jumped 0.6% and spending on services increased 0.3%, while purchases of “nondurable” goods such as gas dropped 0.3%. Meanwhile, personal income also rose 0.1% last month, the smallest increase since March. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast 0.2% increases in both ​spending and incomes​. The amount of money individuals save in September rose a notch to 4.8% and hit a five-month high. Inflation as gauged by the PCE price index declined 0.1% – the first drop since January – in a reflection of lower gas prices. The PCE index has risen a scant 0.2% in the past 12 months. The core PCE index that excludes food and energy rose 0.1%, and it’s up a mild 1.3% over the past year.

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Target Corp. said it has launched an international version of its website that will serve customers in 200 countries and territories. The site will also allow U.S. customers to ship purchases globally. Target partnered with Pitney Bowes Inc.’s Borderfree e-commerce platform to create the site. The site has half of the merchandise available on the U.S. site, and can be shown in nearly 60 currencies. Target shares are up 0.5% for the year so far. The S&P is up 1.49% for the same period.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker on Friday issued a statement explaining why, for the second decision in a row, he dissented from his Federal Reserve colleagues in calling for a rate hike. “My reasoning was based on my belief that with the steady growth in output and household spending that we have been observing – and expect to continue – the real (inflation adjusted) rate of interest should be higher than its current level of less than negative 1%,” he said. “My assessment was also supported by labor markets that had tightened considerably and my confidence that inflation will return to our 2% objective after the temporary effects of low energy and import prices have passed.” He added that the data received since the September meeting have strengthened his confidence that global economic developments, namely in China, were not likely to impact the U.S. medium-term outlook.

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AbbVie Inc. shares rose 4.8% in premarket trade Friday, after the drug maker beat profit and sales estimates and raised its full-year outlook. The company said it had net income of $1.24 billion, or 74 cents a share, up from $506 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, the company had adjusted EPS of $1.13, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.08. Revenue climbed to $5.94 billion from $5.02 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $5.89 billion. Sales were bolstered by a 19.6% rise in global sales of Humira, a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other diseases. The company said it is now raising its adjusted EPS outlook for 2015 to $4.26 to $4.28, compared with the current FactSet consensus of $4.24. Shares are down 17.3% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.5%.

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Imax Corp. and Twentieth Century Fox said they have signed a multi-picture agreement. The deal includes a number of Twentieth Century Fox tentpole films including Maze Runner: The Death Cure and an untitled Wolverine project. Each release will be digitally remastered into Imax image and sound quality. Imax shares are up 23.9% for the year so far. Twentieth Century Fox is a division of 21st Century Fox Inc. That company’s shares are down 20.9% for the year-to-date. The S&P is up 1.5% for the same period.

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Bill Ackman, founder of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management L.P., will host a conference call with investors at 9 a.m. Eastern on Friday to discuss his investment in embattled drug company Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. . Ackman announced the call in a short statement on Pershing’s website. The activist investor owns about 21.5 million Valeant shares, based on a regulatory filing from June 30 and confirmation from a source close to Pershing last week that he had retained all of those shares and taken advantage of a steep decline in the stock last week to buy another 2 million shares. That makes Pershing the second-biggest Valeant shareholder, according to FactSet. Valeant came under heavy selling pressure last week, after a short selling firm published a report that alleged that the company was using specialty pharmacies to juice revenue. The company defended itself against the allegations at an investor meeting on Monday and said it’s forming a special committee to investigate claims made by the report and other media articles. Valeant shares are down 5% in premarket trade, and have fallen 37% in the month so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.8%.

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Colgate-Palmolive Co. said Friday it had net income of $726 million, or 80 cents a share, in the third quarter, up from $542 million, or 59 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Excluding special items, the consumer goods company said adjusted EPS came to 72 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Sales fell 8.5% to $3.99 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $4.07 billion. Chief Executive Ian Cook said sales were buoyed by emerging markets, while the company expanded its share of the global toothpaste market to 44.7%, up 0.7 points. The company’s board has approved the reinvestment of the proceeds of the sale of its laundry detergent business in the South Pacific to expand a restructuring program launched in 2012 and extend it through 2017. It now expects full-year EPS to fall in the low to mid-single digits, excluding charges from restructuring. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 0.1% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.4%.

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CVS Health Corp.’s stock slumped 4.1% in premarket trade Friday, after the drugstore chain beat third-quarter sales expectations, but provided a downbeat profit outlook for next year. The company reported third-quarter earnings of $1.24 billion, or $1.10 a share, up from $948 million, or 81 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, such as acquisition-related costs, adjusted earnings per share of $1.29 matched the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose to $38.64 billion from $35.02 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $37.9 billion, boosted by better-than-expected results in the drugstore chain’s pharmacy services business. The company said it expects 2016 adjusted EPS of $5.68 to $5.88, below the FactSet consensus of $5.99. “The third quarter included the closing of the Omnicare acquisition in mid-August, and we are very optimistic about the potential that this long-term care business creates for us,” said Chief Executive Larry Merlo. The stock has gained 7.8% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has tacked on 1.5%.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said Friday that it’s “severing all ties” with Philidor Rx Services, adding that Philidor has told Valeant that it will “shut down operations as soon as possible.” The announcement follows news on Thursday that the two largest pharmacy-benefit managers in the U.S. — CVS Health Corp. and Express Scripts Holding Co. — were ceasing work with Philidor, dealing another blow to Valeant. Valeant and Philidor have come under close scrutiny in part due to the aggressive tactics Philidor has used to ensure that PBMs and insurers pay for Valeant drugs. “The newest allegations about activities at Philidor raise additional questions about the company’s business practices,” said J. Michael Pearson, Valeant’s chairman and CEO, in a news release Friday. “We have lost confidence in Philidor’s ability to continue to operate in a manner that is acceptable to Valeant and the patients and doctors we serve.” Shares in Valeant were down 6% in premarket trading in New York on Friday. The stock is down 37.5% so far this month as of Thursday’s close.

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The Bank of Japan made no changes to its stimulus program at a meeting on Friday, saying it will maintain its current pace of asset purchases, The Wall Street Journal reported. The central bank’s current stimulus program aimed at boosting the economy, worth around ¥80 trillion ($660 billion) annually, has been underway two and half years. Many economists had expected the BOJ to expand the asset-purchase program, as the inflation target remains elusive. BOJ Governor Haruhiko Kuroda will hold a news conference later in Tokyo. The BOJ cut its price projections and pushed back on a loose deadline to achieve stable 2% inflation, in its twice-yearly outlook report released Friday.

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From:: Stock Market News