Category: Stock Market News

Barnes & Noble Inc. said it is offering a 15% discount on an entire online order as part of its Cyber Monday promotion. The offer applies to books, as well as toys and games, gift items, music and DVDs and more, the company said in a statement. The book seller is also offering its new 7 inch Nook tablet at $49.99. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 49% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 8%.

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The rough fiscal-stimulus outline offered by President-elect Donald Trump could lift U.S. economic growth to 2.3% in 2017, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday. That’s up from the Paris-based OECD’s projection for 1.9% growth in 2017 sans Trump plans. The OECD projected a growth boost to 3%, from 2.2%, in 2018. Trump pledged to add $1 trillion to U.S. infrastructure but has yet to provide details on how those proposals would be financed. He has also promised corporate and personal income-tax cuts. The OECD now pegs global economic growth at 3.3%, up from 3.2%, in 2017, and lifted its outlook to 3.6%, from 3.3%, for 2018. The OECD said the biggest risk to its outlook hinges on a shift toward protectionism, especially pledged U.S. tariffs on imports from China and Mexico, which could offset the boost from higher government spending and lower taxes. The OECD is the first international economic policy agency to publish an estimate of the likely impact of Trump’s proposals.

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Under pressure from an activist investor, South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics is considering splitting itself into two companies, according to a new report. Based on a report by Seoul Economic Daily, Reuters reported early Monday that Samsung’s board of directors would meet Tuesday and announce a decision. Hedge fund Elliott Management last month proposed the spinoff, Reuters reported, and Samsung said it would respond to the proposal by the end of November.

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Cuban leader Fidel Castro, who reigned over the island nation for nearly a half-century following a communist revolution that culminated in victory in 1959, is dead at the age of 90, according to multiple reports early Saturday. The Miami Herald cited Cuban President Raul Castro, his brother’s successor, as having announced the death.

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Green Party Presidential candidate Jill Stein officially filed a request for a recount of the vote in Wisconsin on Friday, the state’s elections commission announced less than a half-hour before the deadline for a filing. Stein raised funds to pay for the recount after computer scientists publicly called for the Democratic candidate, Hillary Clinton, to file for the move due to irregularities they claimed to find in the vote totals. Wisconsin announced just ahead of its deadline of 5 p.m. Friday that it had received two recount petitions, from Stein and Reform Party nominee Rocky De La Fuente. “The Commission is preparing to move forward with a statewide recount of votes for President of the United States, as requested by these candidates,” Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Michael Haas said in a news release Friday. The campaigns will have to pay for the recount, which Haas said would have to be complete by Dec. 13 because of federal rules. “The recount process is very detail-oriented, and this deadline will certainly challenge some counties to finish on time,” Haas said in Friday’s announcement.

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Crude oil futures prices fell Friday ahead of next week’s potential production cut at a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. West Texas Intermediate crude fell $2.02, or 4.2%, at $45.93 a barrel. Expectations for an output cut have been building, with Saudi Arabia backing a reduction of over 1 million barrels to 32.5 million barrels a day, but uncertainty for broader agreement persists. Even with Friday’s price drop, the contract recorded a 0.5% weekly gain, marking back to back weekly gains.

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U.S. stocks finished higher on Friday, with the three main indexes closing at record highs, as defensive stocks led the market higher in quiet postholiday trade. The S&P 500 gained 8.53 points, or 0.4%, to 2,213.30, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 68.69 points, or 0.4%, to 19,152,14 as shares of Cisco Systems Inc. and Coca-Cola Company led the blue-chip gauge higher. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 18.24 points, or 0.3%, to 5,398.92. The Russell 2000 , the small-cap benchmark, also closed at a record high and notched its 15th straight session of gains — its longest winning streak since February 1996. The Russell gained 3.24 points, or 0.2%, to 1,345.32.

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Gold futures for December delivery closed down $9.90, or 0.8%, to $1,179.50 an ounce. Gold fell even as the dollar paused its strong run this week, a move that cut demand for dollar-priced precious metals. The gold contract finished the week down around 2.3%, according to FactSet data. Silver futures [S: SIZ6] ended the session up modestly, trimming their weekly loss to 0.2%.

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Johnson & Johnson confirmed Friday that it is holding preliminary talks with Swiss drug company Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd. regarding a potential deal, as reported earlier by Bloomberg News. The company said there can be no assurance a deal will materialize. “Johnson & Johnson does not intend to make any additional comments regarding these discussions unless and until it is appropriate to do so, or a formal agreement has been reached,” it said in a statement. Actelion has a market cap of about $17 billion. Shares of Actelion were last up almost 17%. Johnson & Johnson shares rose 0.9%, and have gained 11% in the year so far, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 9.8%.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 reaching fresh record highs, as the holiday-shortened session kept trading volume thin. The S&P 500 climbed 3 points, or 0.2%, to 2,207, while the Dow advanced 50 points, or 0.3%, to 19,135. The Nasdaq Composite gained 5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,385. Trading closes at 1 p.m. Eastern.

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