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Twitter layoffs offer ‘little visibility’ around user growth

Twitter Inc. was downgraded to market perform from market outperform at JMP Securities on Wednesday due to “limited visibility” around engagement growth. The downgrade comes a day after Twitter’s new permanent CEO Jack Dorsey announced plans to cut 8% of its workforce, or roughly 350 people. While the company’s new management should stabilize Twitter, analysts at JMP Securities said they continue to see engagement growing below that of industry peers, which they believe will impact monetization longer term. The job cuts, which mostly affect people in engineering roles, suggests that it could take time for the organization to return to growth and begin capitalizing on product innovation, engagement and monetization, the analysts said. While JMP previously had a $43 price target on Twitter’s stock, it believes the company now has an “implied valuation” in the low $30s. Shares of Twitter fell 0.8% in premarket trade, putting the stock on track to open around $28.83. Its shares are down 21% over the last three months, vastly underperforming the S&P 500, down 5%.

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Delta shares rise after company beats second-quarter earnings expectations

Delta Air Lines Inc. shares rose 1.5% in premarket trade Wednesday after the company beat second-quarter earnings expectations. Delta reported net income of $1.3 billion, or $1.65 per share, for the quarter above $357 million, or $0.42 per share, in the year-earlier period. Delta reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.74 above the FactSet consensus of $1.72. The company reported revenue of $11.1 billion, in line with the FactSet consensus of $11.1 billion and a 0.6% increase year-over-year. Delta said currency exchange and “global economic uncertainty” caused a slight decline in revenues. For the December 2015 quarter, Delta estimated a $1.75 to $1.80 impact on fuel price and a 16% to 18% operating margin.

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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China to pick London for first offshore renminbi debt scheme: FT

China is poised to choose London as the first foreign financial center to issue government debt in renminbi, the Financial Times reported late Tuesday, citing officials close to the matter. The details of the debt issuance in the U.K. capital are still unknown, but the sources said a few billion renminbi, or yuan, in short-term notes were likely to be the first step. Renminbi is the official name of the Chinese currency, while yuan refers to the name of a unit of the renminbi currency. The debt would be issued by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank. One of the sources talking to the FT said London had been chosen over other financial centers in Europe and the U.S., showing that Beijing prefers that city to build its offshore investment center. The scheme is likely to be announced next week when China’s President Xi Jinping visits the U.K. It wouldn’t, however, be the first ever renminbi debt program in London. The China Development Bank, a state-owned policy bank, last year issued two billion yuan ($320 million) of renminbi bonds in London. The U.K. government also sold renminbi bonds last year, making it the the first western country to do so.

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Treasury Wine to buy Diageo U.K., U.S. wines

Australia’s Treasury Wine Estates Ltd. agreed to buy the majority of U.K., and U.S. wine assets from Diageo PLC for $600 million, according to media reports Tuesday. Diageo’s U.S. wine assets include labels like Beaulieu Vineyards and Sterling Vineyards.

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Lender seizes Doubletree Hotel in Palm Beach Gardens from Thayer Lodging

By Brian Bandell

The 279-room Doubletree Hotel in Palm Beach Gardens was surrendered to its lender in a $31.42 million deed in lieu of foreclosure.

THI IV PBG, an affiliate of Annapolis, Md.-based Thayer Lodging, was hit with a foreclosure lawsuit in May by a commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) trust over a mortgage with $21.76 million in principal outstanding. The last payment was made in 2012, according to CMBS analyst firm Trepp LLC.

The deed in lieu of foreclosure resolved that outstanding debt in… …read more

From:: biz journal foreclosures

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Neiman Marcus postponing IPO until 2016: report

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. will delay its anticipated initial public offering until 2016 because of market volatility, Reuters reported late Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter. The upscale department store chain filed for a $100 million IPO in August, and recently cut 500 jobs.

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Ingram Micro to acquire Docdata’s e-commerce business

Ingram Micro Inc. said late Tuesday it agreed to acquire the e-commerce business of Docdata NV for $175 million. Ingram said the deal includes the acquisition of Docdata Nederland BV and Docdata International BV, Docdata’s e-commerce fulfillment business. The company said it expects the acquisition to add 5 cents to 7 cents a share to adjusted earnings in 2016.

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