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​WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The leading U.S. economic index fell 0.2% in July after four straight strong gains, largely because of a decline in U.S. permits to build new homes, the Conference Board said Thursday. “Despite a sharp drop in housing permits, the U.S. LEI is still pointing to moderate economic growth through the remainder of the year,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business Cycles and growth research at the board. The coincident index, which measures current conditions, edged up 0.2% in July. The lagging index rose 0.3%. The LEI is a weighted gauge of 10 indicators designed to signal business-cycle peaks and valleys.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home sales set a fresh post-recession high in July as the housing recovery continues, a trade group said Thursday. The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales rose 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.59 million. Economists polled by MarketWatch expected a 5.48 million sales rate. That’s the highest rate since Feb. 2007, marks the third monthly gain in a row, and represents a 10.3% year-over-year gain. There were 2.24 million homes for sales, down 0.4% from last month and 4.7% from last year. The median existing home price was $234,000, a rise of 5.6% from the same month of 2014.

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The Container Store Group Inc. shares surged about 6% in early trade Thursday, after BB&T upgraded the stock to hold from underweight following its recent underperformance. The stock has lost 17% of its value since late march, while the S&P 500 Retail Index has climbed 13% and the S&P 500 is up 1%. “We also believe growing customer interest in TCS Closets, the company’s high-end custom closet and shelving offering, could prove to be a positive catalyst,” BB&T analysts wrote in a note. The bank called “a significant percentage” of stores across the company’s markets to check on recent sales trends and identify any categories that were performing especially well, said the note. A full 73% reported healthy trends, with 27% saying sales were “okay” or “slow”, it said. “Many of the stores we contacted reported broad based strength, with kitchen items and shelving selling particularly well. A few store associates specifically mentioned they believed their locations were gaining market share from local competitors,” said the note.

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Saks Fifth Avenue, which is owned by Hudson’s Bay Company , will open its first Manolo Blahnik boutique at the New York flagship store on August 22. The boutique will be housed in the eighth floor designer shoe salon and span 760 square feet, custom designed by Saks in collaboration with Blahnik. Saks will mark the occasion in the department store’s windows and with exclusive styles at the boutique. Saks will also sell Blahnik’s new book, Fleeting Gestures and Obsessions, in-store and online. And Blahnik himself will make an appearance at the new boutique in September. Blahnik and his designs were made famous on the TV show “Sex And The City.”

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Shares of NetApp Inc. climbed more than 7% in premarket trade Thursday following the data-storage company’s stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings in its first full quarter after the company pushed out Chief Executive Tom Georgens on June 1. Wall Street analysts, however, remained cautious on the stock, saying one strong quarter isn’t enough to subdue concerns regarding customer growth. Cantor Fitzgerald maintained a hold rating and raised its 12-month stock target by a dollar to $36, but said there is “still plenty of uncertainty.” Wells Fargo said that while NetApp appears to be making some progress, with earnings per share topping expectations, product revenues fell short of expectations. Sterne Agee CRT maintained a neutral rating, but lowered its price target to $31 from $33. Shares of NetApp were on track to open around $31.93 on Thursday. The stock has fallen 15% over the last three months, underperforming the broader S&P 500, down 2.2%.

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Discover Financial Services unseated American Express Co. as the credit card with the highest U.S. consumer satisfaction rating, according to J.D. Power’s 2015 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study. Discover card nabbed its highest ever score with 828-out-of-1,000 possible points. The survey grabbed data from more than 20,000 credit card users and looked at credit card terms, billing and payment, rewards, benefits and services, problem resolution and channel activities–Discover ranked the highest in every category, J.D. Power said. This marks the first time since the survey began in 2007 that Amex hasn’t been No. 1. Discover’s new security feature which allows customers to freeze a credit card via the company’s mobile app helped give Discover the edge, said J.D. Power’s Senior Director of banking services Jim Miller. Discover’s rewards program was also a factor he said. Discover shares have slumped 15% in the year to date, while the S&P is up 1%.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The number of people who applied for U.S. unemployment benefits in mid-August rose for the fourth straight week, but initial claims remain at very low levels that indicate the labor market is still improving. New jobless claims rose by 4,000 to a seasonally adjusted 277,000 in the seven days stretching from Aug. 9 to Aug. 15, the government said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected a reading of 271,000. Still, initial claims have clung below the key 300,000 threshold for 24 weeks, the longest stretch in more than 15 years. The average of new claims over the past month, meanwhile, climbed by 5,500 to seasonally adjusted 271,500. The four-week average smooths out sharp fluctuations in the more volatile weekly report and is seen as a more accurate predictor of labor-market trends. Some 2.25 million people were already collecting weekly unemployment benefits, known as continuing claims, in the seven days ended Aug. 8. That’s down 24,000 from the start of August.

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General Electric Co. said Thursday that it will build a 30-megawatt battery energy storage system in California’s Imperial Valley, which is about 100 miles east of San Diego. The system will be built for Coachella Energy Storage Partners (CESP), as part of CESP’s contract with the Imperial Irrigation District. The facility is expected to boost grid flexibility and reliability by providing solar ramping, frequency regulation and power balancing. “We chose GE as the energy storage system provider for this project because they supplied the most comprehensive solution at a competitive price,” said CESP President Mike Abatti. Construction of the system is expected to begin early next year, with the aim of the system becoming operational in the third quarter of 2016. Financial terms were not disclosed. GE’s stock, which slipped 0.7% in premarket trade, has gained 1.8% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 2.7%.

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Madison Square Garden Co. reported Thursday a fiscal fourth-quarter profit that rose to $45.7 million, or 60 cents a share, from $11.6 million, or 15 cents a share, in the same period a year ago, beating the FactSet consensus earnings-per-share estimate of 38 cents. Revenue increased to $387.9 million from $371.7 million, well above the FactSet consensus of $360 million, as better-than-expected revenue from the company’s sports and entertainment divisions offset a slight miss from its media division. “We have made significant progress with respect to the proposed spin-off of our sports and entertainment businesses from our media business, and remain confident that this transaction will set the stage for continued growth and value creation,” said Chief Executive David O’Connor. The stock, which was indicated up nearly 3% in premarket trade, has gained 1.5% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has edged up 1%.

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Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. said it has agreed to buy Sprout Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $1 billion in cash, confirming a story in The Wall Street Journal earlier. Valeant will pay $500 million in cash upon the closing of the deal, and another $500 million in the first quarter, plus a share of future profits upon the achievement of certain milestones. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. Sprout is the maker of the first drug that aims to boost a woman’s libido to receive full regulatory approval in the U.S. Valeant shares are up 92% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained just 1%.

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From:: Stock Market News