Category: Stock Market News

ComScore Inc. disclosed in a regulatory filing Wednesday, that its Chief Executive Serge Matta and Chief Financial Officer Melvin Wesley will step down from those positions in the wake of an internal investigation into accounting matters. The audience measurement company also said it would not be able to file its second-quarter quarterly report in the time required, as it completes the accounting investigation. The company named Co-Founder Gian Fulgoni as CEO and Executive Vice President William Livek as CFO. Matta will remain on the company’s board, while Wesley will remain as EVP. Regarding the accounting investigation, the company said it was “substantially complete.” It has identified ” certain areas of potential concern, including with respect to certain accounting and disclosure practices and controls that the Company, with input from its consultants and counsel, is further analyzing,” the filing stated. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has plunged 37% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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Ralph Lauren Corp. shares are up 4.2% in Wednesday premarket trading after the luxury retail brand reported fiscal first quarter 2017 earnings and revenue that beat estimates. Ralph Lauren reported a loss of $22 million, or 27 cents per share, after net income of $64 million, or 73 cents per share for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings, excluding restructuring, impairment and inventory-related charges, totaled $1.06 per share, beating the 89 cents per share FactSet consensus. Revenue was $1.55 billion for the quarter, down from $1.62 billion for the same period last year, but beating the $1.53 billion FactSet consensus. Same-store sales declined 6%, below the FactSet estimate of 0.9%. Ralph Lauren sees second-quarter revenue down mid-to-high single digits. Restructuring initiatives are expected to have a greater impact in the second-half of the fiscal year than in the second quarter. Ralph Lauren shares are down 21.1% for the past year while the S&P 500 Index is up 3.7% for the same period.

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Exelon Corp. said Wednesday it plans o invest $25 billion in infrastructure, smart grid technology and other improvements at its utilities in the next five years. The company announced the plan in a statement released ahead of an investor day. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but have gained 29% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 is up just 6.8%.

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Wendy’s Co.’s stock dropped 1.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the fast-food restaurant chain reported second-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectation, but missed on same-restaurant sales. Earnings for the latest quarter fell to $26.5 million, or 10 cents a share, from $40.2 million, or 11 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share came to 10 cents, above the FactSet consensus of 9 cents. Revenue fell to $382.7 million from $489.5 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $367 million, but North America same-restaurant sales rose just 0.4%, compared with expectations of 1.9% growth. For 2016, Wendy’s lifted its adjusted EPS guidance range to 39 cents to 40 cents from 38 cents to 40 cents, but cut its North America same-store sales growth outlook to 1% to 2% from a previous forecast of about 3%. The stock had dropped 5.4% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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The yield on the U.K.’s 10-year bond fell to new record lows Wednesday, a day after the Bank of England ran into a shortfall in buying debt under its expanded bond-buying program. The yield on the 10-year bond, or gilt , shed 3 basis points to 0.53%. The BOE said Tuesday it could only buy £1.12 billion ($1.46 billion) in longer-dated government debt, below its £1.17 billion target. It was the second day of the BOE’s expanded purchase plan. The BOE said Wednesday it plans to make up the shortfall in the second half of its six-month bond-purchase program. “The extent of the demand for U.K. government bonds is evident from the refusal of institutions to sell enough to the Bank of England to meet its asset purchase target,” said Jasper Lawler, market analyst at CMC Markets, in a note. Analysts have said institutions such as pension funds and insurers want to hold onto their long-dated bonds as they need the income to meet longer-term liabilities.

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Shares of Michael Kors Holdings Ltd. slumped 2.2% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the luxury accessories seller reported fiscal first-quarter results that beat expectations but provided a downbeat sales outlook. For the quarter ended July 2, earnings fell to $147.1 million, or 83 cents a share, from $174.4 million, or 87 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 88 cents. The FactSet EPS consensus was 74 cents. Revenue rose to $957.3 million from $947.3 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $952 million, as better-than-expected wholesale revenue offset a miss in retail and licensing revenue. The company expects fiscal second-quarter revenue of $1.07 billion to $1.085 billion, below the FactSet consensus of $1.11 billion. For fiscal 2017, the company expects revenue to be flat and same-store sales to decline in the mid-single digit percentage range, compared with the FactSet consensus for a revenue decline of 1% and a same-store sales decline of 2.1%. Chief Executive John Idol said strong first-quarter results were “muted by the continued decline in mall traffic trends as well as a decrease in tourism in certain major cities which negatively impacted our comparable sales performance during the quarter.” The stock has run up 25% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.7%.

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House Speaker Paul Ryan easily defeated challenger Paul Nehlen on Tuesday in Wisconsin’s primary election. While Nehlen never posed a real threat to unseat Ryan — early returns ran about 85% to 15% — he had been given a boost in publicity after winning an endorsement from Sarah Palin and praise from Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who for a while refused to endorse Ryan. Trump eventually changed course and endorsed Ryan last weekend. “I am humbled and honored that Wisconsinites in the 1st Congressional District support my efforts to keep fighting on their behalf,” Ryan said in a statement Tuesday night. Ryan has been in Congress for 16 years.

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The American Petroleum Institute, an industry trade group, late Tuesday reported a 2.1 million barrel rise in U.S. crude-oil inventories last week, news reports said. More closely watched weekly data from the Energy Information Administration is due on Tuesday morning. Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast the report will show an 800,000 barrel drop in crude supplies.

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SunPower Corp. shares dropped in the extended session Tuesday after the solar-energy company reported a larger-than-expected loss and said it was cutting 15% of its workforce. SunPower shares plummeted 22% to $11.55 after hours. The company reported an adjusted second-quarter loss of 22 cents a share on adjusted revenue of $401.8 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast a loss of 19 cents a share on revenue of $345.1 million. SunPower said it was shedding 1,200 employees, mostly associated with closing a facility in the Philippines, and taking a charge of $30 million to $45 million. For the year, SunPower expects adjusted revenue of $3 billion to $3.2 billion, while analysts estimate revenue of $3.28 billion.

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Illinois, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Connecticut have the least capacity to withstand a moderate economic recession that would challenge their heavy, tax-supported debt loads, Standard & Poor’s found in a stress test of 10 states’ 2016-2017 budgets. Washington, Florida and New York are best-positioned among the 10 states included in the report issued Tuesday and titled “Fiscal Resilience Among U.S. States Varies as Economic Expansion Surpasses Seven-Year Mark.” California, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin made up the middle rankings. S&P rates Illinois’ credit at BBB+, three notches above junk. S&P has an A rating on New Jersey’s general-obligation bonds but with a negative outlook, meaning a downgrade could follow. Pennsylvania’s AA-minus rating also carries a negative outlook. S&P cut Connecticut’s rating to AA- from AA in May but maintained a stable outlook.

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