Category: Stock Market News

Wells Fargo & Co. said it plans to refund mortgage rate lock extension fees that were inappropriately charged during the period from Sept. 16, 2013 through Feb. 28, 2017. The planned refunds follows an internal review that determined some borrowers were charged fees, although the bank was primarily responsible for delays that made the extensions necessary. Wells said a total of $98 million in rate lock extension fees were assessed to 110,000 borrowers, although a “substantial number” of those were believed to be appropriately charged. The announcement comes as Wells Chief Executive Tim Sloan faced a Congressional hearing over a massive scandal that incentivized opening accounts fraudulently. The stock slumped 0.7% in premarket trade. It had gained 0.9% year to date through Tuesday, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF had rallied 12.6% and the S&P 500 had climbed 13.2%.

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Puerto Rico general obligation bonds, as well as bonds issued by the utility Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority were trading at alltime lows early Wednesday, after President Donald Trump said the island’s debt may need to be wiped out. “They owe a lot of money to your friends on Wall Street and we’re going to have to wipe that out. You’re going to say goodbye to that, I don’t know if it’s Goldman Sachs , but whoever it is you can wave goodbye to that,” Trump said in a pre-recorded interview with Geraldo Rivera that aired on Sean Hannity’s show Tuesday night. The 8% GO bonds due 2035 were trading below 48 cents on the dollar, according to research firm CreditSights, while the Prepa 5% notes due 2037 were trading at 42 cents on the dollar.

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Shares of Real Goods Solar Inc. more than doubled on heavy volume in premarket trade Wednesday, after the company said it entered into an exclusive license agreement with Dow Chemical for its Powerhouse solar shingles system. Trading volume topped 1 million shares more than a half-hour prior to the open, compared with a full-day average of about 131,000 shares. Real Goods, also known as RGS Energy, will lead all commercial activities for the product, including supply chain management, marketing, sales and installation. The stock, which rose 118% premarket, had plunged 88% year to date through Tuesday. DowDuPont Inc.’s stock had climbed 23% and the S&P 500 had gained 13%.

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Shares of Acuity Brands Inc. plunged 8.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the lighting and building management company beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit expectations but missed on sales. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 31 rose to $90.5 million, or $2.15 a share, from $82.9 million, or $1.89 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $2.55, above the FactSet consensus of $2.41. Revenue rose to $957.6 million from $925.5 million, but was below the FactSet consensus of $974.6 million. The company said the 3.5% growth in revenue resulted from a 4.5% increase in volume, which was partially offset by a 1% change in product prices and sales mix. Looking ahead, Chief Executive Vernon Nagel said he expects to see some “volatility in demand” among certain sales channels and geographies, due to the recent hurricanes that hit Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico. The stock had tumbled 16.5% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 had gained 4.4%.

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Shares of Monsanto Co. climbed 1% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the agriculture products company reported a surprise fiscal fourth-quarter profit and sales growth. Net income for the quarter to Aug. 31 was $20 million, or a nickel a share, after a loss of $191 million, or 44 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 20 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 41 cents. Revenue rose to $2.69 billion from $2.56 billion, while the FactSet consensus was for a decline to $2.50 billion. Corn seed and traits sales rose 16% to $928 million, above the FactSet consensus of $804 million, while soybean seed and traits sales increased 22% to $304 million to top expectations of $246 million. Given the pending merger with Bayer, which is expected to close in early 2018, the company said it would not provide fiscal 2018 guidance. The stock has climbed 13.8% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has advanced 13.2% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has rallied 14.6%.

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Amazon.com Inc. said Wednesday that Alexa, the Echo, Echo Plus and the Echo Dot voice-controlled speakers are available in India by invitation. The devices will start shipping in India later this month. And both Alexa and the Echo will be available in Japan later this year. Amazon is also expanding its Alexa Skills Kit and the Alexa Voice Service, said Tom Taylor, senior vice president of Amazon Alexa in a statement, making it possible for developers and hardware creators to make localized Alexa experiences for Indian and Japanese customers. Amazon shares are down 0.4% in premarket trading, and up 27.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 13.2% for 2017 to date and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 14.6% for the period.

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Shares of Catabasis Pharmaceuticals Inc. rocketed 49% in premarket trade Wednesday, putting them on track to open at the highest level seen during regular session hours since January, after the biopharmaceutical company reported positive phase-2 trial data for its treatment for Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The company said MoveDMD demonstrated improved efficacy across all key assessments. In addtion, supportive changes in measures of muscle health were seen. Based on the results, Catabasis plans to initiate a phase 3 trial in the first half of 2018, with top-line results expected in 2020. The stock had already doubled in the past three months through Tuesday, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF had climbed 8.7% and the S&P 500 had gained 4.4%.

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Shares of PepsiCo Inc. edged up 0.5% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the beverage and snack giant beat fiscal third-quarter profit expectations, which offset a sales miss and a lowered sales growth outlook. Net income for the quarter to Sept. 9 rose to $2.14 billion, or $1.49 a share, from $1.99 billion, or $1.37 a share, from the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to $1.48, above the FactSet consensus of $1.43. Revenue increased to $16.24 billion from $16.03 billion, but missed the FactSet consensus of $16.35 billion. Frito-Lay North America sales increased 3% to $3.79 billion, missing the FactSet consensus of $3.83 billion, while North America beverages sales fell 3% to $5.33 billion, below expectations of $5.50 billion. The company lowered its 2017 sales growth outlook to about flat from a year, compared with its previous estimate of 3% growth. Adjusted EPS is now expected to be $5.23, above the FactSet consensus of $5.16. The stock has lost 5.5% over the past three months, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has slipped 1.7% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.4%.

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Shares in Mylan NV rose 15% in premarket action after the maker of generic drugs late Tuesday announced that the Food and Drug Administration had approved its generic versions for Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd.’s Copaxone, a drug for people with relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis. Teva’s stock fell 9% in premarket trading.

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The European Commission has ordered Luxembourg to recoup €250 million ($294 million) from Amazon.com Inc. in back taxes, saying the U.S. e-commerce giant has received illegal state aid. The EU’s antitrust body said Wednesday Luxembourg had granted Amazon “undue tax benefits” that allowed the company to pay substantially less tax than other businesses. “As a result, almost three quarters of Amazon’s profits were not taxed,” said Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition commissioner. “This is illegal under EU state aid rules. Member states cannot give selective tax benefits to multinational groups that are not available to others,” she said. Amazon shares were down 0.3% in thin premarket trade. The Amazon ruling comes amid a renewed crackdown by the EU to scrutinize tax arrangements between its various member states and big multinationals operating in Europe. Last August, the commission ordered Apple Inc. to repay Ireland €13 billion in uncollected taxes. Both Ireland and Apple have contested the ruling. Also on Wednesday, the EU said it had referred Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failing to recover the alleged illegal state aid from Apple.

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