Category: Stock Market News

Progress Software Corp. shares dropped in the extended session Wednesday after the software company reported an outlook and quarterly results that fell short of Wall Street estimates, and announced its financial chief was retiring. Progress Software shares fell 12% to $22.50 after hours. The company expects adjusted second-quarter earnings of 26 cents to 29 cents a share on revenue of $93 million to $96 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 36 cents a share on revenue of $102.5 million. Progress Software reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of 27 cents a share on revenue of $90.2 million. Analysts had forecast earnings of 28 cents a share on revenue of $93.1 million. Separately, the company said its chief financial officer, Chris Perkins, plans to retire following a transition period while a replacement is found.

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Shares of Micron Technology Inc. climbed in Wednesday’s extended session after ​the chip maker turned in a narrower-than-expected loss. Micron reported it swung to a loss of $97 million, or 9 cents a share, in the second quarter from a year-earlier profit of $934 million, or 78 cents a share. On an adjusted basis, the company would have posted a loss of 5 cents a share. Revenue fell 12% to $2.93 billion. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast Micron to report a loss of 9 cents a share on revenue of $3.05 billion. Micron is the last U.S. supplier of dynamic random access memory chips used in personal computers. Shares rose 4.8% in after-hours trading.

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U.S. stocks finished higher Wednesday for the third straight session, driven higher by dovish comments from Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen and a rise in oil prices. The S&P 500 closed 8.99 points, or 0.4%, higher at 2,063.97. The Dow industrials gained 83.90 points, or 0.5%, to 17,716.80, led by strong gains from Apple Inc. and Visa Inc. The Nasdaq Composite closed 22.67 points, or 0.5%, higher at 4,869.29.

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BlackRock Inc. intends to reduce its workforce over the coming weeks, according to Bloomberg News Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. Bloomberg said 400 jobs are expected to be eliminated, which would be the largest round of layoffs in BlackRock’s history. The cuts will be broad-based with an aim at streamlining operations, but hiring will continue as the money manager expects total headcount to be higher by the end of the year. BlackRock representatives were not immediately available to comment on the report.

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Gold futures retreated on Wednesday, giving back more than half of what they gained a day earlier when U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen reiterated a cautious stance on interest-rate hikes. June gold lost $8.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,228.60 an ounce. The dollar-denominated metal gained $15.50, or 1.3%, on Tuesday as Yellen’s remarks pressured the greenback .

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Gold futures retreated on Wednesday, giving back more than half of what they gained a day earlier when U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen reiterated a cautious stance on interest-rate hikes. June gold lost $8.90, or 0.7%, to settle at $1,228.60 an ounce. The dollar-denominated metal gained $15.50, or 1.3%, on Tuesday as Yellen’s remarks pressured the greenback .

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it stands by the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s determination that a material distress at Metlife Inc. [s:MET] could pose a threat to the financial system. In a statement, a spokesman for the agency said Treasury “strongly disagree” with afederal judge’s decision to rescind the FSOC determination that MetLife is a systemically important financial institution. “We are confident that FSOC’s determination was lawful and will continue to defend the Council’s designations process vigorously,” the Treasury spokesman said.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission settled charges Wednesday with G. Steven Burrill, and his firm Burrill Capital Management, for allegedly siphoning money from a fund managed by the firm in order to prop up his other struggling businesses and finance a lavish lifestyle. The SEC investigation found Burrill concealed his theft from investors by calling the misappropriation “advanced” management fees and spent it on family vacations as well as jewelry, gifts, car service, and private jets. Burrill and his firm will pay back $4.785 million to investors plus pay a $1 million penalty. Burrill also agreed to be permanently barred from the securities industry. Burrill Capital Management’s chief legal officer Victor A. Hebert and controller Helena C. Sen also settled charges they enabled the scheme and paid penalties of $185,000 and $90,000, respectively. They also are barred from the securities industry. Burrill, his firm, Hebert, and Sen agreed to the settlements without admitting or denying the findings. Burrill, a former audit partner, and Sen are also permanently suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as accountants. Hebert is permanently suspended from appearing and practicing before the SEC as an attorney.

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MetLife Inc.’s stock shot up 5.1% in active morning trade, after a federal judge granted the insurer’s wish by rescinding the government’s determination that the company was a systemically important financial institution (SIFI), according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. Volume topped seven million shares about 90 minutes after the open, compared with the full-day average of 6.2 million shares, according to FactSet. Details of the judge’s decision, which could be appealed by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, were not immediately available, the WSJ report said. MetLife has been pushing to overturn the SIFI designation, because that comes with increased regulatory oversight and higher capital requirements.

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Oil futures gained more ground on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 2.3 million-barrel rise in crude-oil supplies for the week ended March 25. That was below than the 2.6 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, and close to the climb of 2 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies fell by 2.5 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles edged down by 1.1 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. May crude was at $39.75 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up $1.47, or 3.8%. Prices traded at $39.46 before the data.

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