Category: Stock Market News

Allstate Corp. said Thursday it estimates catastrophe losses of $516 million for the month of October. The insurer said five wildfires in California accounted for about 90% of the losses for the month. Earlier in November, fellow insurer Travelers Companies Inc. estimated catastrophe losses related to the California wildfires of $525 million to $675 million. Allstate’s stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has rallied 6.4% over the past three months, while the PowerShares KBW Property & Casualty Insurance ETF has slipped 0.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.9%.

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The rallies in shares of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Cisco Systems Inc. were accounting for more than half of the gain in Dow Jones Industrial Average futures ahead of Thursday’s open. Wal-Mart’s stock ran up 4.2% in premarket trade after better-than-expected fiscal third-quarter results, putting it on course to open above the Nov. 13 all-time intraday high of $91.98. The price gain of $3.42 ahead of the open would add about 26 points to the Dow’s price. Cisco’s stock shot up $2.51, or 7.4%, in premarket trade after reporting fiscal second-quarter results late Wednesday, which would add about 17 points to the Dow. The combined gain of about 43 Dow points accounted for more than half of the Dow futures rise of 71 points.

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Anadarko Petroleum Corp. on Thursday unveiled its capital spending program for 2018, saying it expects to make capital investments ranging from $4.2 billion to $4.6 billion. The company is planning to allocate about 80% of that sum toward the Delaware and DJ basins, including Anadarko midstream, and the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The company is aiming to generate “material” free cash flow at current strip prices and breaks even in a $50 oil and $3 natural gas price environment. “Further, we plan to return substantial cash to shareholders by executing the remaining $1.5 billion of our $2.5 billion share-repurchase program during the coming year,” Chief Executive Al Walker said in a statement. Shares were not yet active premarket.

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Shares of Rockwell Automation Corp. jumped 7.6% toward a record high in premarket trade Thursday, after Emerson Electric Co. raised its unsolicited buyout bid to buy the industrial automation company to $225 a share from $215 a share. Under terms of the new deal, Emerson would pay $135 a share in cash and the equivalent of $90 a share in Emerson stock for each Rockwell share outstanding. That represents a 19% premium to Wednesday’s stock closing price of $188.73, and 12% above the Nov. 7 record close of $200.82, and would give Rockwell a market capitalization of about $28.91 billion. Rockwell had rejected Emerson’s previous bid in October, which consisted of $107.50 a share in cash and the equivalent of $107.50 share in Emerson stock, saying it was not in the best interest of its shareholders. Emerson shares fell 1.0% in premarket trade. Year to date, Rockwell’s stock has soared 40.4%, Emerson shares have gained 6.0% and the S&P 500 has climbed 14.6%.

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Best Buy Co. Inc. shares fell 4.3% in Thursday premarket trading after the consumer electronics retailer reported a third-quarter revenue miss and gave weak earnings guidance. Net income for the quarter was $239.0 million, or 78 cents per share, up from $194.0 million, or 61 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 78 cents. Revenue totaled $9.32 billion, up from $8.95 billion last year but below the $9.36 billion FactSet consensus. Enterprise same-store sales rose 4.4% while domestic same-store sales increased 4.5%. The FactSet consensus was for a 4.9% increase. Best Buy Chief Executive Hubert Joly said results were hurt by lower-than-expected mobile revenue and natural disasters. The retailer raised its fourth-quarter guidance, and now sees sales of $14.2 billion to $14.5 billion, domestic and enterprise same-store sales growth of 1% to 3% each, and adjusted EPS of $1.89 to $1.99. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $14.35 billion, a 1.9% same-store increase, and EPS of $2.03. For the full-year, the company now sees revenue of $41.0 billion to $41.3 billion. The FactSet consensus is $41.23 billion. Best Buy shares are down 5.6% for the last three months, but up 41.7% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is up 17.8% for the period.

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J.M. Smucker Co. shares surged 2.3% in premarket trade Thurday, after the maker of Folgers, Dunkin’ Donuts and Cafe Bustelo coffee beat earnings estimates for its second fiscal quarter. Smucker said it had net income of $194.6 million, or $1.71 a share, in the quarter, up from $177.3 million, or $1.52 a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $2.02, ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.90. Sales rose 1% to $1.924 billion from $1.914 billion, also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.900 billion. Chief Executive Mark Smucker said earnings were driven by the pet food business, as well as Dunkin’ Donuts coffee and Jif peanut butter. The company said it is adjusting its fiscal 2018 guidance to reflect “industry-wide headwinds,” and now expects adjusted EPS of $7.75 to $7.90, compared with prior guidance of $7.75 to $7.95. Sales are expected to be flat to down slightly.

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Four more women came forward Wednesday describing unwanted sexual advances from Roy Moore — three of them when they were teenagers. Two women described their experiences to the Washington Post. One woman said when she was about 18, Moore — then about 30 — unexpectedly called her at her high school. The two eventually went out on a date, and she said Moore gave her an unwanted, “forceful” kiss that left her afraid. Another woman said she complained to her supervisor over Moore’s behavior toward that same woman when he entered the Sears store that both teens worked at in Gadsen, Ala. “Watch out for this guy,” a store manager reportedly told new hires. Separately, another two women told their stories to Alabama’s AL.com. One woman said Moore groped her in 1991, when she was married, and the other said Moore asked her out when she was 17. “I just kind of said, ‘Do you know how old I am?'” she told AL.com. “And he said, ‘Yeah. I go out with girls your age all the time.'” Earlier in the day, Moore’s legal team attempted to discredit other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, calling them part of a partisan attack against his U.S. Senate campaign.

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The billionaire Koch brothers are backing an effort by Meredith Corp. to buy Time Inc. , the New York Times reported Wednesday night. Sales talks between the two companies collapsed earlier this year, but the Kochs’ offer of a $500 million equity injection could reinvigorate new negotiations, the Times reported. It was unclear how much influence the Kochs, known for supporting conservative causes, would have if a deal is made. The Times said a deal may be announced after Thanksgiving. In addition to Time magazine, Time Inc. publishes People, Sports Illustrated, Entertainment Weekly and more than 100 other magazines. Iowa-based Meredith publishes Better Homes and Gardens and Martha Stewart Living, among others.

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From:: Stock Market News

Two more women have come forward describing unwanted sexual overtures from Roy Moore when they were teenagers, the Washington Post reported Wednesday night. One woman said when she was about 18, Moore — then about 30 — unexpectedly called her at her high school. The two eventually went out on a date, and she said Moore gave her an unwanted, “forceful” kiss that left her afraid. Another woman said she complained to her supervisor over Moore’s behavior toward that same woman when he entered the Sears store that both teens worked at in Gadsen, Ala. “Watch out for this guy,” a store manager reportedly told new hires. Earlier in the day, Moore’s legal team attempted to discredit other women who have accused him of sexual misconduct, calling them part of a partisan attack against his U.S. Senate campaign.

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Shares of L Brands Inc. fell 3.5% late Wednesday after the parent company of Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works reported third-quarter earnings in line with expectations but falling comparable-store sales, including a 4% decline at flagship Victoria’s Secret brand in the quarter. L Brands said it earned $86 million, or 30 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $122 million, or 42 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Sales reached $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared with $2.58 billion a year ago. The company’s exit of the swim and apparel categories had a negative impact of about 2 percentage points to both total company and Victoria’s Secret comparable sales, it said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected earnings of 30 cents a share on sales of $2.62 billion. The company said it expects fourth-quarter per-share earnings between $1.95 and $2.10, and between $3.05 to $3.20 for the full year 2017. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect fourth-quarter earnings of $2.02 a share and EPS of $3.12 for the year.

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