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U.S. stocks tumbled at the open Wednesday, as worries about China’s intervention in its currency roiled global markets for a second day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 193 points, or 1.2%, at 17,206,and is looking to post a decline for nine out of the last 10 days. The S&P 500 shed 19 points, or 0.9%, to 2,065, while the Nasdaq Composite Index retreated 57 points, or nearly 1.2%, at 4,977, moving off the psychological significant 5,000 level hit back in March.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Wednesday that ITG Inc. and its affiliate AlterNet Securities will pay $20.3 million to settle charges they operated a secret trading desk and misused the confidential trading information of dark pool subscribers. It’s the SEC’s largest settlement to date against an alternative trading system. Despite telling the public that it was an “agency-only” broker whose interests don’t conflict with its customers, the SEC complaint says ITG operated an undisclosed proprietary trading desk known as “Project Omega” for more than a year and accessed live feeds of order and execution information of its dark pool subscribers for its own high-frequency algorithmic trading strategies, including one in which it traded against the subscribers in its dark pool called POSIT. ITG agreed to admit wrongdoing.

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From:: Stock Market News

Google Inc. was upgraded to overweight at Morgan Stanley Wednesday morning. Analyst Brian Nowak also raised his price target on the company to $820, which implies a 19% improvement from Tuesday’s closing price. The analyst attributed the improved outlook to Google’s restructuring plan, which will increase accountability and sharpen long-term capital discipline, ultimately leading to higher EBITDA and cash flow, said Nowak. He has also grown more bullish on YouTube. Shares of Google ticked up 0.8% in premarket trade, putting them on track to open around $696. Google announced plans earlier this week to create an umbrella company called Alphabet that will oversee its core Internet properties, experimental projects and venture-capital arm as separate business subsidiaries. The move has been hailed by analysts. Two banks, Stifel Nicolaus and Monness Crespi Hardt, upgraded Google to buy on Tuesday.

Also See: 5 things to know about Google’s new boss

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From:: Stock Market News

Yahoo Inc.’s spinoff of its large stake in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. can’t happen fast enough for investors, as that 384 million share stake is worth about $1.4 billion less in premarket trade Wednesday. Alibaba’s stock slumped 5.8% in premarket trade after the Chinese e-commerce giant reported fiscal first-quarter results. Since Yahoo announced it’s plan to spin off of its Alibaba stake, the value of that stake has dropped by more than $11 billion, from $39.53 billion at the Jan. 27 closing price of $102.94, to $27.97 billion at the recent premarket price of $72.85. Yahoo’s stock shed 4.6% in premarket trade. It has tumbled 25% since Jan. 27 through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.7%. The spinoff was originally expected to occur in the fourth quarter. Alibaba’s stock is set to open Wednesday at the lowest price in its 11-month history.

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From:: Stock Market News

Macy’s Inc.’s stock slumped 1.8% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the retailer reported fiscal second-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations. For the quarter ending Aug. 1, earnings fell to $217 million, or 64 cents a share, from $292 million, or 80 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. That missed the FactSet earnings-per-share consensus of 76 cents. Sales fell 2.6% to $6.1 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $6.22 billion, as same-store sales on an owned plus licensed basis declined 1.5%. On an owned basis, same-store sales fell 2.1%. The FactSet consensus was for a same-store sales decline of 0.2%. The company now expects full-year 2015 same-store sales to be in line with last year, compared with its previous expectation of about 2% growth. “We are disappointed in our second quarter results, which were impacted by a variety of factors, both internal to the company and in the macroeconomic environment,” said Chief Executive Terry Lundgren. Separately, Macy’s announced sales growth initiatives, including beginning e-commerce sales in China and plans to redevelop its Brooklyn space. The stock has gained 2.7% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 1.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Macy’s Inc. on Wednesday unveiled two new ventures, one in China and one in Downtown Brooklyn, as it reported second-quarter earnings. The department store chain said it has formed a joint venture with Hong Kong-based Fung Retailing to test e-commerce opportunities in China. From late 2015, the company will start selling on Alibaba’s Tmall Global site. “We have had initial success in partnering over the past year with Alibaba on various projects, including accepting Alipay on macys.com and conducting a special promotion during Black Friday 2014,” chief innovation and business development officer said in a statement. The company is not planning to have any physical stores in China for the time being, he said. Separately, the company said it is planning a major redevelopment of its Downtown Brooklyn store in collaboration with property developer Tishman Speyer. Tishman will purchase part of the current Macy’s site that is not planning to retain and develop into about ten floors of office space. Macy’s will receive $170 million in cash and another $100 million over three years. Shares were down 2.3% in premarket trade and are down 2.7% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Alibaba Group Holdings Inc. shares slumped almost 5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the Chinese e-commerce giant reported weaker-than-expected revenue for its fiscal first quarter. Alibaba said it had net income of $4.97 billion, or $1.92 a share, in the quarter, with the net number up 148% from the year-earlier quarter. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 59 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 56 cents. But revenue of $3.265 billion was up 28% from a year ago, and below the FactSet consensus of $3.320 billion. Gross merchandise volumes on China retail marketplaces came to $109 billion, up 34%. Mobile GMV climbed 125% to $60 billion and accounted for 55% of total GMV transacted on China retail marketplaces. Mobile revenue came to $1.288 billion, exceeding 50% of total China commerce retail revenue for the first time, the company said. The company said its board has approved a share buyback of up to $4 billion, primarily to offset dilution caused by share-based compensation programs. Shares are down 26% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Show everyone who the master of the grill is with these clever tricks …read more

From:: DIY this old house

This Old House general contractor Tom Silva shows how to install an efficient rain-handling gutter system …read more

From:: DIY this old house

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday estimated that U.S. crude-oil inventories declined by 847,000 barrels last week, news reports said. The Energy Information Administration’s more closely watched inventories report is due Wednesday. A survey of analysts by oil-data firm Platts produced a consensus forecast for a decline of 1.9 million barrels. Nymex oil futures on Tuesday posted their lowest settlement in more than six years after China devalued the yuan.

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