Category: Stock Market News

President Donald Trump and White House Chief of Staff John Kelly have settled on a truce after Kelly suggested to colleagues he could be the next to be pushed out of the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report said Trump told advisers after a Thursday meeting with Kelly that Kelly was “100% safe.” Kelly was reportedly jarred by the firing of former Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.

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The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index hit the highest level since 2004 in March, helped by a record favorable assessment of current economic conditions. The index rose to 102 in March from 99.7 in February, topping the 99.5 economist forecast. All of the gain in the sentiment index was among households with incomes in the bottom third, the report said.

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Former Qualcomm Inc. Chairman Paul Jacobs is trying to put together funding to buy the chipmaker and take it private, the Financial Times has reported. Jacobs has approached “several global investors,” including Japan’s SoftBank , in his efforts to set up a buyout of the $89 billion company co-founded by his father Irwin Jacobs, the Thursday report said. His efforts come after President Donald Trump on Monday blocked a hostile bid by Singapore-based Broadcom Ltd. to take over Qualcomm, citing national security concerns. Just days before Trump’s intervention, Jacobs stepped down as executive chairman of Qualcomm, though he kept his place on the chipmaker’s board.

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Johnson & Johnson said Friday it has received a binding offer from Platinum Equity to acquire its LifeScan business for about $2.1 billion. LifeScan is a blood glucose monitoring system with 2017 revenue of about $1.5 billion. If the offer is accepted by a June 15 deadline, the company expects to close the deal before year-end. Shares were flat in premarket trade, but have gained 3.8% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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Perry Ellis International Inc. shares fell 3.8% in Friday premarket trading after the fashion brand gave guidance that is below consensus. Net income for the quarter was $39.7 million, or $2.56 per share, up from $9.0 million, or 59 cents per share, last year. Adjusted EPS was 88 cents. Revenue totaled $227.3 million, up from $204.2 million year-over-year. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 88 cents and revenue of $226.0 million. Perry Ellis expects fiscal 2019 sales in the range of $855.0 million to $865.0 million and EPS in the range of $1.80 to $1.90. For comparison purposes, the company adjusted its 2018 revenue and earnings results to account for the transition of the Laundry business to a license model and the elimination of Bon-Ton Stores Inc. sales. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $1.17 billion and EPS of $2.99. Perry Ellis shares are up 16.1% for the past year, outpacing the S&P 500 index , which is up 15.4% for the period.

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The Buckle Inc. shares shot up 6.6% in premarket trade Friday, after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. The retailer said it had net income of $42 million, or 87 cents a share, in the quarter, up from $36 million, or 75 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales rose 0.4% to $281.2 million, while same-store sales fell 3.2%. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 75 cents, sales of $281 million and for a same-store sales decline of 3.4%. Shares are down 3.7% in the last 12 months through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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Hibbett Sports Inc. shares rose nearly 1% in Friday premarket trading after fourth-quarter results met expectations. Net income totaled $9.7 million, or 51 cents per share, down from $12.1 million, or 54 cents per share, for the same period last year. The company said the tax overhaul did not have a significant impact on quarterly earnings, however results included a one-time gain of 7 cents per share due to the sale of the Team division and 8 cents per share due to an additional week. Revenue totaled $266.7 million, up from $246.9 million year-over-year. Same-store sales rose 1.6% for the quarter. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 44 cents, sales of $267.0 million and same-store sales growth of 1.6%. The company said e-commerce accounted for 7.6% of sales for the quarter. It launched its e-commerce site in 2017. For fiscal 2019, the company sees EPS in the range of $1.65 to $1.95 and same-store sales in the range of a 1% decline and 2% growth. The FactSet consensus is for EPS of $1.97 and same-store sales growth of 2.1%. Hibbett shares are up 7.7% for the last three months, but down 23.2% for the past year. The S&P 500 index is up 15.4% for the last 12 months.

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Germany’s DAX 30 index opened 0.4% higher at 12,395.55 in a delayed start on Friday, after failing to kick off trade at the usual time. Trading was delayed due to a connectivity issue, with prevented stable access for market participants to the trading system, a spokesperson from Deutsche Boerse said. “Equal access for all traders could not be guaranteed, so that was the reason [for the halt]”, he said. “Why exactly, cannot be assessed yet. They are still looking into this and analyzing… An investigation is standard procedure and we need to know exactly what went on so this can be prevented in the future,” he added. Trading across Europe — including Germany — usually starts at 9:00 a.m. Central European Time, or 4:00 a.m. Eastern Time.

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Germany’s DAX 30 index is set to reopen for trading around 9:40 a.m. local time, or 4:40 a.m. Eastern Time, after being failing to open at the usual time earlier on Friday. A spokesperson from Deutsche Boerse said trading would start again at 9:30 a.m local time with an auction, which usually takes about 10 min. That means regular trade will commence at 9:40-9:45 a.m., he said. “We can’t say anything yet about the reasons for this or the background, but we are checking in to this of course,” he said.

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