Category: Stock Market News

Several Democratic senators on Thursday sent a letter to Labor Secretary Tom Perez asking for an investigation of Wells Fargo . In the wake of revelations about the bank’s consumer fraud, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found stringent quotas and inappropriate incentives, the letter said, and “threats of termination; mandated hours of unpaid overtime; harassment; and other forms of retaliation.”

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Natural-gas futures fell Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of the commodity rose 52 billion cubic feet for the week ended Sept. 16. That compared with the average rise of 51 billion cubic feet expected by analysts polled by S&P Global Platts. Total stocks now stand at 3.551 trillion cubic feet, up 140 billion cubic feet from a year ago and 268 billion cubic feet above the five-year average, the government said. October natural gas was down 2.3 cents, or 0.8%, from Wednesday’s settlement to $3.034 per million British thermal units. It traded flat at $3.057 before the data.

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Spending on things like candy, decorations and costumes for Halloween is expected to reach $8.4 billion this year, according to the National Retail Federation, the highest in the organization’s survey history. Americans are expected to spend an average of $82.93, up from $74.34 last year. Shoppers plan to spend $3.1 billion on costumes, $2.5 billion on candy, $2.4 billion on decorations, and $390 million on greeting cards, the survey found. Nearly half of consumers (47%) said they’ll go to discount stores for Halloween goods, while 36% said they’d go to a Halloween specialty store, 26% will go to supermarkets, 23% will shop in department stores, and 22% said they’ll shop online. The survey, conducted by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics, polled 6,791 shoppers between Sept. 6 and Sept. 13.

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Moody Investors Service on Thursday cut Viacom Inc.’s long-term debt rating to Baa3, which is one notch from junk, from Baa2. The credit downgrade comes a day after the beleaguered company said it would cut its quarterly dividend in half to improve financial flexibility, and issued a profit warning for the fiscal fourth quarter that, at the time, was about 23.1% below estimates. Viacom’s revised forecast is for earnings in the 65 cents to 70 cents range and the revised FactSet consensus is 77 cents. “Today’s rating action reflects the continued weaker than anticipated rebound in the company’s operating performance and cash flow contributions, and our expectation for higher near-term adjusted leverage which is well beyond levels commensurate with a Baa2 senior unsecured rating,” Moody’s analysts wrote in a release.

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U.S. stocks opened higher on Thursday, as investors continued to digest recent comments from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, who didn’t raise interest rates at the Fed’s September meeting but expressed confidence in the state of the economy. Markets were also lifted by a rise in the price of crude oil, which supported energy shares. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [S: DJIA] rose 0.4%, or 70.1 points, to 18,360.61, with Exxon Mobil [S: XOM] its top supporter, up 1.5%. The S&P 500 [S: SPX] rose 0.4%, or 9.15 points, to 2,172.40, with energy its top-performing sector of the day. The Nasdaq Composite Index [S: COMP] rose 0.5%, or 28.1 points, to 5,323.34.

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Performance Food Group Co. said Thursday that Tom Ondrof has been named chief financial officer, effective Oct. 1. Ondrof joins from Compass Group North America, where he spent 24 years serving in a number of positions including chief financial officer and chief development officer. Compass Group North America is a subsidiary of U.K.-based Compass Group plc . Ondrof succeeds Bob Evans, who’s retiring after seven years in the position. Performance Food shares are inactive in premarket trading and up 4.2% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index [s:spx] is up 5.8% for 2016 so far.

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InterDigital Inc. said Thursday it will raise its quarterly dividend by 50% to 30 cents a share from 20 cents a share. The mobile technology company’s new dividend will be payable Oct. 26 to shareholders of record on Oct. 12. Based on Wednesday’s stock closing price of $77.73, the new annual dividend implies a dividend yield of 1.54%, compared with the aggregate S&P 500 dividend yield of 2.12%, according to FactSet. “InterDigital’s continuing growth and strong visibility of future cash flows puts us in a great position to return increased value to shareholders,” said Chairman S. Douglas Hutcheson. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, had soared 59% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.8%.

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Scripps Networks Interactive Inc. and AT&T Inc. have agreed to a multi-year, multi-platform agreement that continues the distribution of Scripps Networks channels both live and on-demand on DirecTV and AT&T U-verse. The channels involved include HGTV, Food Network and Travel Channel. The companies also agreed to expanded digital rights for the DirecTV Now and DirecTV Freeview streaming services that will launch later this year. Scripps shares are inactive in premarket trading, and up 17.2% for the past year. AT&T shares are also inactive in premarket trading, and up 25.7% for the past year. The S&P 500 Index is up 11.3% for the last 12 months.

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AutoZone Inc. reported Thursday earnings that rose to $426.8 million, or $14.30 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter to Aug. 27, from $401.1 million, or $12.75 a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was $14.25. Revenue increased to $3.40 billion from $3.29 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $3.42, as domestic same-store sales grew 1.0%. The FactSet same-store sales consensus was 2.0%. Inventory increased 6.1%, as 71 new stores were opened and product placement increased. Separately, the auto parts retailer increased its stock repurchase program by $750 million. The stock, was indicated slightly higher in premarket trade, has tacked on 1.3% year to date through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.8%.

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Rite Aid Corp. said Thursday it had net income of $14.8 million, or 1 cent a share, in its second fiscal quarter to Aug. 27, down from $21.5 million, or 2 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 3 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 2 cents. Revenue rose 4.8% to $8.0 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $8.2 billion. Same-store sales rose 2.5% to beat the FactSet consensus of 1.9%. Chief Executive John Standley said the company’s pharmacy services business had a good quarter at the front end. “We also saw improvements in prescription drug costs, but these improvements were more than offset by the challenging reimbursement rate environment, which we expect to continue through the remainder of the fiscal year,” he said. The company will continue to pursue growth opportunities in its flu immunization campaign and convert additional stores to its Wellness format. It is expecting its takekover by Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. to be completed in the second half. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are up 3.3% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 5.8%.

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