Category: Stock Market News

Gold futures on Wednesday finished at their highest level in three weeks as the U.S. dollar weakened and fears of an interest-rate rise, which might diminish the appeal of the metal, faded. August gold gained $15.30, or 1.2%, to settle at $1,262.30 an ounce, marking its best close since May 18, according to FactSet data. Precious metals enjoyed a bump as a weaker dollar , boosted the appeal of dollar-priced commodities, making them cheaper for buyers using other monetary units. July silver also soared, rising 60 cents, or 3.7%, to close at $16.99 an ounce, marking its best daily advance since April 19.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission fined Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC , the broker-dealer and investment adviser, $1 million on Wednesday for allegedly failing to protect customer information. Morgan Stanley agreed to settle the charges without admitting or denying them. Between 2011 and 2014 a then-employee, Galen J. Marsh, accessed and transferred data regarding approximately 730,000 accounts to his personal server, which was ultimately hacked by third parties. Some of the data was offered for sale online. Morgan Stanley did not audit or test policies that would have restricted access to the data and did not monitor or analyze employees’ access to and use of the internal websites. Marsh was criminally convicted for his actions last year and must serve 36 months of probation and pay $600,000 in restitution. He is also barred from the industry with the right to apply for reentry after five years.

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Tesla Motors Inc. appears to be on track to deliver 80,000 to 90,000 vehicles this year, although it has to climb a steep production ramp in the second half of 2016, analysts at Pacific Crest said in a note released late Tuesday. The analysts remained neutral on the stock, however, saying that while shares could benefit from the near-term optimism, Tesla’s potential cash burn “continues to concern us, and we believe the 2018 plan laid out by management for half a million deliveries could prove overly ambitious,” they said. That plan carries “extreme financial risk if production missteps were to occur again,” the analysts said. Tesla shares have gained nearly 17% in the last three months, compared with gains of around 7% for the S&P 500 index. So far this year, however, the stock is down 1.5% versus gains of 3.5% for the index.

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The U.K. government is allowing people more time to register to participate in the June 23 Brexit referendum. Applications to vote must now be submitted before midnight on Thursday, June 9, to the U.K. Electoral Commission. The commission’s registration portal was hit with technical issues as people tried to meet a Tuesday, June 7 deadline, prompting the agency to ask lawmakers to approve a sign-up extension. Voters are being asked whether the U.K. should cut membership ties with the European Union. “No one should miss out on voting in this historic referendum because of the problem with the Government’s registration website last night,” said Alex Robertson, director of communications at the Electoral Commission, in a statement.

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The U.K. government is allowing people more time to register to participate in the June 23 Brexit referendum. Applications to vote must now be submitted before midnight on Thursday, June 9, to the U.K. Electoral Commission. The commission’s registration portal was hit with technical issues as people tried to meet a Tuesday, June 7 deadline, prompting the agency to ask lawmakers to approve a sign-up extension. Voters are being asked whether the U.K. should cut membership ties with the European Union. “No one should miss out on voting in this historic referendum because of the problem with the Government’s registration website last night,” said Alex Robertson, director of communications at the Electoral Commission, in a statement.

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Oil futures maintained healthy gains, trading at nearly 11-month highs Wednesday after data from the Energy Information Administration showed that inventories fell by 3.2 million barrels last week, roughly in line with expectations. Analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast the data to show a 3.1 million barrel fall. Late Tuesday, the American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, said that U.S. crude supplies decreased by 3.6 million barrels last week. West Texas Intermediate oil futures for July delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 77 cents, or 1.7%, at 51.13 a barrel.

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U.S. stocks opened higher Wednesday, extending gains from the previous two sessions, partly due to jump in oil prices to above $51 a barrel. The S&P 500 opened up 2 points, or 0.1%, to 2,114. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 26 points, or 0.1%, to 17,962. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the session up 6 points, or 0.1%, at 4,968.

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Shares of DryShips Inc. ran up 6.2% in premarket trade Wednesday, in the wake of an announcement of a registered direct share offering, a day after they suffered their biggest-ever decline. The Greece-based ocean shipping company said overnight that it entered into an agreement with an institutional investor for the sale of 5,000 new Series C convertible preferred shares, warrants to buy 5,000 convertible preferred shares and about 150,000 common shares. The company expects net proceeds of $5 million, or up to $10 million if all warrants are exercised. On Tuesday, the stock plunged 45%, the biggest one-day percentage decline since the company went public in February 2005, after the company disclosed that it has defaulted on three bank loans. The stock has plummeted 70% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 3.3%.

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Shares of Skullcandy Inc. shot up 22% in premarket trade Wednesday, after a regulatory filing disclosed that the headphones maker’s founder was exploring a potential “going private” deal. The rally puts the stock on track to open at the highest level since Dec. 31, 2015. Founder Richard Alden, through a family trust, controls 12.7% of Skullcandy’s shares outstanding. “Given the recent selloff in shares of [Skullcandy], and subsequent sharp discount multiple on the stock, such a transaction could indeed look attractive,” analyst Rommel Dionisio at Wunderlich Securities wrote in a note to clients. He said the potential takeout value for the stock would be in the range of $5.50 to $6.50, which is 40% to 65% above Tuesday’s closing price of $3.93. The stock has tumbled 17% year to date through Tuesday, and 48% over the last year, while the S&P 500 has gained 1.6% over the past 12 months.

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Vimeo Chief Executive Kerry Trainor on Tuesday stepped down from his post atop the IAC/InterActiveCorp. internet video website. Trainor, who has served as Vimeo CEO for more than four years, sent a memo to staff with the news. “Vimeo is now one of the most valuable companies within IAC, and behind only Youtube as the largest video-sharing marketplace worldwide. Not bad for a still scrappy team of 200 going up against-and never fearing-the biggest players on the web.” Trainor said in the memo. He mentioned in his time with Vimeo, the company more than tripled its monthly users to 280 million and bolstered paying subscribers to 710,000. “As the video world continues to unbundle for consumers, Vimeo is poised to take its next major leap as the largest, open destination for premium, ad-free video, direct from creators worldwide,” he said. IAC Chief Executive Joey Levin will serve as Vimeo’s interim CEO, while Trainor stays on as an advisor and assists in the company’s search for a permanent CEO. IAC shares are down nearly 9% in the year to date, underperforming the S&P 500 Index, which is up 3%.

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