Madison Square Garden’s stock turns lower after Chairman Dolan assumes interim CEO role

Shares of Madison Square Garden Co. turned lower in afternoon trade Monday, after the live sports and entertainment company (MSG) said Chief Executive David O’Connor was stepping down, effective immediately, after 2 1/2-years in the role. The company did not give an explanation. MSG said Executive Chairman James Dolan has assumed the additional role of interim CEO. Dolan has been executive chairman of MSG since March 2015, and is also executive chairman of MSG Networks Inc. , since July 2009. MSG’s stock was down 0.9% in recent trade; it was about flat just before the CEO transition announcement. MSG’s stock has run up 33% year to date, while MSG Networks shares have tumbled 22% and the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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CME CEO says futures exchange for bitcoin will be ready 2nd week of December

CME Group CEO Terry Duffy said futures contracts pegged to bitcoin on its exchange could be ready as soon as the second week of December. The CME boss made his comments during a Monday interview on CNBC, where he also discussed the inherent volatility in the worlds’ No. 1 digital currency, which has seen its value soar in value in 2017, fueling outsize interest from average investors and Wall Street players alike. Bitcoin has soared more than 500% year to date, compared with a roughly 15% climb for the S&P 500 index , an 18% rally for the Dow Jones Industrial Average , so far in 2017, and a nearly 26% return for the Nasdaq Composite Index over the same period. The CME kicked off a product to reference bitcoin prices a year ago, and late last month announced a plans to launch futures contracts, which could pave the way for investment funds and other investors to make big bets on the vagaries of the popular, and very volatile, cybercurrency.

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Amazon acquires television rights to ‘Lord of the Rings’

Amazon.com Inc. said Monday that it has acquired the television rights to J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” fantasy stories for a multi-season series. “The Lord of the Rings” have been made into award-winning movies directed by Peter Jackson. The series will delve into new storylines that precede “The Fellowship of the Ring,” and the deal could include spin-offs. Amazon shares are up 1.2% in Monday trading, and up 54% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 19.4% for the last 12 months.

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Dow, S&P 500 gains belie bad market breadth

Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 are gaining ground, internal market data shows breadth is fairly negative, particularly on the NYSE. The number of declining stock outnumbered advancers by a 1,643-to-1,184 score on the NYSE and by a 1,486-to-1,210 margin on the Nasdaq exchange. The volume of declining stocks was represented 63.2% of total volume on the NYSE, according to FactSet, and 465.9% of the total volume on the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, the Dow was up 14 points and the S&P 500 was up 0.1%. The Nasdaq Composite was also up, but less than 0.1%.

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Lyft announces plan to launch in Toronto in December

Ride-sharing service Lyft said Monday it is planning to launch in Toronto in December in its first foray outside of the U.S. The company and Uber rival announced the news in a blog posting. “We’ve been looking forward to taking our brand of ridesharing international for some time,” said the blog post, titled “Canada, here we come.” In October, Lyft raised $1 billion in funding in a round led by the venture-capital fund of Google parent Alphabet Inc., that gave it a valuation of $11 billion. Lyft has raised $3.6 billion in funding since it launched in 2012, compared with the roughly $15 billion raised by Uber, which has a valuation of about $68 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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Dow industrials pivot higher as P&G, Home Depot outweigh GE’s stock slump

The Dow Jones Industrials Average made a morning break into positive territory, powered by shares of Procter & Gamble Co., Home Depot Inc., and Boeing Co., helping to counter a slide in General Electric’s stock. Shares of P&G , Home Depot and Boeing combined to contribute about 25 points–the bulk of the price-weighted blue-chip index’s morning gains. Meanwhile, GE’s stock was only cutting about 5 points from the Dow, even though it is the benchmark’s worst percentage performer. A $1 move in anyone of the Dow’s 30 components equates to a 6.89-point swing, making a component’s share price more influential than, say, its overall market value. GE was under pressure as it sought to deliver a raft of changes under new CEO John Flannery to revamp its 125-year-old business. Elsewhere, the S&P 500 index was gaining some traction in the green at 2,582. The Nasdaq Composite Index was also edging higher at 6,752. All three benchmarks cut losses from a firmer decline earlier Monday.

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Mexican economy ‘resilient’ given macro environment, says IMF

The International Monetary Fund’s executive board called Mexico’s economy resilient “in the face of a complex external environment,” on Monday, adding that its “flexible exchange rate is playing a key role in helping the economy adjust to external shocks.” Mexico’s reduction of debt, shrinking deficit, and improving financial regulation were cited as among the factors that contributed to the IMF’s review. This year, the Mexican economy is expected to grow 2.1% driven mainly by private consumption, while 2018 growth is projected to slow slightly before picking up steam again. The Mexican peso spiked briefly against the dollar upon the release of the report. One dollar last bought 19.1536 pesos, up 0.2% from Friday.

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Roku shares jump another 10% to extend gains made after blowout earnings

Shares of Roku Inc. surged another 10% Monday, extending gains made last week after better-than-expected earnings. Roku last week reported earnings for the first time as a public company, sending its stock price soaring. Roku believes its TV operating system – known as its platform business in filings – is the key to growth, and platform revenue reached 46% of total sales. Shares were last up $2.40 at $35.65, a full 155% above the company’s IPO issue price of $14. The S&P 500 was flat Monday.

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Trump says he’s nominating former Eli Lilly executive to head HHS

President Donald Trump said Monday he is nominating Alex Azar as the next health and human services secretary. Azar, who formerly ran Eli Lilly & Co.’s U.S. operations, would replace Tom Price at the department if confirmed. Price resigned in September amid reports he spent more than $1 million in taxpayer dollars on private plane travel. “He will be a star for better healthcare and lower drug prices!” Trump tweeted.

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GE sees biggest percentage drop in Dow, but Goldman biggest overall drag in industrials

Shares of General Electric were down about 3% in early Monday trade, representing the biggest weight on the Dow industrials, but Goldman’s stock exacted the biggest point toll on the price-weighted gauge. Shares of GE were cutting only about 5 points from the Dow Jones Industrial Average , off 75 cents, or 3.5%. A $1 move in anyone of the Dow’s components equates to a 6.89-point swing in the average. By comparison, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. shares were down 0.8% but off more than $2.00, translating to a point decline of about 14 points. Most recently, the Dow was off 34 points, or 0.1%, at 23,388, the S&P 500 index was down 0.2% at 2,577, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was down about 0.3% at 6,734.

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