Category: Stock Market News

General Mills Inc. said Wednesday it had net income of $941 million, or $1.62 a share, in its fiscal third quarter to Feb. 25, up from $357.8 million, or 61 cents a share, in the year-earlier period, boosted by a tax benefit from the December revamp. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 79 cents, a penny ahead of the FactSet consensus of 78 cents. Sales rose 2% to $3.88 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $3.87 billion. The company, which recently announced the proposed acquisition of Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc., said it will continue to pursue a consumer first strategy aimed at boosting profitability. It is also planning actions to offset rising freight costs, further cost cuts and actions aimed at increasing revenue. Chief Executive Jeff Harmening said he was disappointed with the the company’s bottom-line results. “Our third-quarter operating profit fell well short of our expectations, and cost pressures are impacting our full-year outlook,” he wrote. “Like the broader industry, we’re seeing sharp increases in input costs, including inflation in freight and commodities. Because of our improved volume performance, we’re also incurring higher operational costs.” Shares fell almost 4% premarket and are down 16% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16%.

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Southwest Airlines Co. cut its outlook for first-quarter revenue per available seat mile (RASM) to be in line with a year ago from previous guidance of a 1% to 2% increase, primarily because the competitive fair environment continues to pressure passenger revenue yields and lower-than-anticipated travel demand from the timing of the spring-break holidays. the stock slipped 0.6% in light premarket trade Wednesday. The air carrier said the “sub-optimal” flight schedule resulting from the retirement of its Boeing 737-300 classic fleet also hurt passenger revenue yields and load factors. The cost outlook has improved, as the company now expects first-quarter operating expenses per available seat mile (CASM) to be flat to up 1% and fuel costs to be about $2.10 per gallon. In January, Southwest said it expected unit costs, excluding fuel and oil expense and special items, to rise 0.5% to 1.5% and fuel costs of $2.10 to $2.15 per gallon. Separately, Southwest said it has recast certain 2016 and 2017 financial information to reflect the adoption of new accounting rules, but said it expects the impact of the new revenue standard to be “immaterial” to its first-quarter RASM comparisons. The stock has shed 8.1% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has gained 2.6% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 1.2%.

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A suspect in the Austin bombings is dead, according to reports early Wednesday from KVUE and CBS Austin. Austin’s police department had been responding to an officer-involved shooting, according to the report from KVUE, an ABC station in that Texas city. Austin has been on edge over what is believed to be a serial bomber, who has killed two people and injured several in five incidents over the past month, including a blast early Tuesday at a FedEx facility in San Antonio.

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A suspect in the Austin bombings is dead, according to a report early Wednesday from KVUE, which cited law-enforcement sources. Austin’s police department had been responding to an officer-involved shooting, according to the report from from KVUE, an ABC station in that Texas city. Austin has been on edge over what is believed to be a serial bomber, who has killed two people and injured several in five incidents over the past month, including a blast early Tuesday at a FedEx facility in San Antonio.

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HelloFresh SE shares rose 6.6% at the open on Wednesday after the German company late Tuesday said it has acquired privately-held U.S. organic meal-kit startup Green Chef. HelloFresh did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but said the acquistion will drive synergies for operations, logistics and procurement. The company said it will add Green Chef’s organic and gluten-free menus into its offering.

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Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon oversaw the early collection of Facebook user data for Cambridge Analytica in 2014, the Washington Post reported late Tuesday. The 2014 effort apparently tested various anti-establishment messages that later appeared in the Trump camp’s lexicon, including “drain the swamp” and “deep state,” the Post said. Bannon helped launch Cambridge Analytica in 2013 with the financial backing of conservative mega-donor Robert Mercer. Bannon was a top executive for the company until he joined the Trump campaign in August 2016. In an interview with the Post, whistleblower Chris Wylie, a former Cambridge Analytica employee, said Bannon was deeply involved with the company’s data-gathering efforts. “We had to get Bannon to approve everything at this point. Bannon was Alexander Nix’s boss,” Wylie said of the company’s CEO, who was suspended earlier Tuesday. Cambridge Analytica allegedly mined data from 50 million Facebook users without their consent for use during the 2016 presidential campaign. Facebook Inc. shares have tumbled almost 10% this week.

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Authorities in Austin, Texas, were responding to another explosion Tuesday night. According to a tweet from the Austin-Travis County EMS, fire and police units are responding to a “reported explosion with reports of one patient injured.” The severity of the victim’s injuries are not yet known. The ATF later tweeted that the incident was related to an incendiary device, not a package bomb, and was not believed related to the string of recent bombings. The city has been on edge over a serial bomber, who has killed two people and injured several in five incidents over the past month, including a blast early Tuesday at a FedEx facility in San Antonio.

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From:: Stock Market News

Authorities in Austin, Texas, were responding to another explosion Tuesday night. According to a tweet from the Austin-Travis County EMS, fire and police units are responding to a “reported explosion with reports of one patient injured.” The severity of the victim’s injuries are not yet known. While the cause is yet unknown, officials fear it may be the work of a serial bomber, who has killed two people and injured several in five bombings over the past month, including a blast early Tuesday at a FedEx facility in San Antonio.

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Nordstrom Inc. said late Tuesday the special committee of the board has terminated talks with several Nordstrom family members who wanted to acquire the company and take it private. Nordstrom stock was down nearly 5% in late trading, after closing down a fraction to $49.35. The company said it couldn’t agree with the family on a price. Nordstrom stock has gained 4.2% this year, as the benchmark S&P 500 index rose 1.5%.

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GrafTech International Ltd. filed documents late Tuesday signalling it planned to list its initial public offering on the New York Stock Exchange. The Ohio-based graphite manufacturer banked net income of $7.9 million in 2017, compared with losses of $235.8 million in the year-earlier period. Net sales were $550.8 million for 2017 up from $328 million, in the year-ago period. In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company said it plans to raise $100 million, which is often a placeholder amount which it will update. J.P. Morgan and Credit Suisse acting as joint book running managers for the deal. The company plans to list under the ticker EAF.

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