Category: Stock Market News

Hurricane Harvey will be the most expensive natural disaster in U.S. history, AccuWeather said Wednesday, estimating the full cost at close to $160 billion. That would be similar to the combined cost of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy, the weather service said in a report. The cost will shave 8/10 of 1% off GDP, said the report. “Business leaders and the Federal Reserve, major banks, insurance companies, etc. should begin to factor in the negative impact this catastrophe will have on business, corporate earnings and employment,” said Dr. Joel Myers, founder and chairman of AccuWeather. “The disaster is just beginning in certain areas.” The city of Houston, which took the brunt of the storm damage, will likely be uninhabitable for weeks and possibly even months, due to water damage, mold and disease-ridden water. The worst flooding is still to come as rivers and bayous continue to rise putting levees at risk of breaches, he said. The meteorologist forecasting community did a good job warning people ahead of the storm, but public officials were slow to react, he said. “AccuWeather cautions that the negative impact from the storms are far from over. There will be more flooding, damage, fatalities and injuries,” said Myers.

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Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Inc. said Wednesday they are collaborating on a project that will allow Amazon’s Alexa, its personal assistant for its Echo devices, communicate with Microsoft’s Cortana, personal assistant for its devices, later this year. “You will be able to turn to your Echo device and say, “Alexa, open Cortana,” or turn to your Windows 10 device and say, “Cortana, open Alexa”, the companies said in a joint statement. Alexa customers will be able to access Cortana’s features, including booking meetings, accessing calendars and reading email. Cortana customers will be able to shop on Amazon and control smart home devices. Amazon shares were slightly higher premarket and have gained 27% in 2017. Microsoft has gained about 18%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 10.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 9%.

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Dara Khosrowshahi is officially the new chief executive of Uber Technologies Inc., Uber’s board of directors announced Tuesday night.”We’re really fortunate to gain a leader with Dara’s experience, talent and vision,” the board said in a statement. The board reportedly offered him the job Sunday, but he did not immediately accept. Khosrowshahi was chosen after a contentious two-month search for a new leader to replace former CEO Travis Kalanick, who was ousted in June after a shareholder revolt over a series of scandals. Earlier Tuesday, Khosrowshahi indicated to the Wall Street Journal that Kalanick would remain involved with the company

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Defense Secretary James Mattis on Tuesday announced a freeze in President Donald Trump’s new ban against transgender service members, and said transgender troops can continue serving in the military pending further study by a review panel. “Once the panel reports its recommendations and following my consultation with the secretary of Homeland Security, I will provide my advice to the president concerning implementation of his policy direction,” Mattis said in a statement. “In the interim, current policy with respect to currently serving members will remain in place.” On Friday, Trump directed the military to stop admitting transgender people, and gave Mattis authority over how to handle active-service transgender troops. it was not immediately clear if the ban on new transgender recruits remains in place.

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Israeli dermatology company Sol-Gel Technologies Ltd. on Tuesday filed for an initial public offering of up to $86.25 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The company focuses on branded and generic topical drug products for the treatment of skin diseases, including acne and rosacea. The company would trade on the Nasdaq under the symbol SLGL. “Our primary uses of cash have been to fund working capital requirements and research and development. We expect to continue to incur net losses for the foreseeable future as we continue to invest in research and development and seek to obtain regulatory approval for and commercialize our product candidates,” the company said in the filing.

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The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday that U.S. crude supplies dropped 5.8 million barrels for the week ended Aug. 25, but gasoline stockpiles unexpectedly edged higher by 476,000 barrels, according to sources. The API data also showed that inventories of distillates fell 486,000 barrels, sources said. Supply data from the Energy Information Administration will be released Wednesday morning. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the EIA to report a decline of 1.5 million barrels in crude inventories, along with declines of 1.9 million barrels for gasoline and 600,000 barrels for distillate supplies. October crude was at $46.39 a barrel in electronic trading, down from the settlement of $46.44 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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AeroVironment Inc. shares surged in the extended session Tuesday after the drone maker’s quarterly results topped Wall Street estimates. AeroVironment shares rallied 9% to $42.90 after hours. The company reported a fiscal first-quarter loss of $4.4 million, or 19 cents a share, compared to $11.6 million, or 51 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $43.8 million from $36.2 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated a loss of 34 cents a share on revenue of $42.4 million. For the year, AeroVironment estimates earnings of 45 cents to 65 cents a share on revenue of $280 million to $300 million. Analysts expect earnings of 56 cents a share on revenue of $293.3 million.

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Shares of H&R Block Inc. fell 5% late Tuesday after the tax preparer posted a slightly wider-than-expected loss in the fiscal first quarter. H&R Block said it lost $131 million, or 63 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $124 million, or 56 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose 10% to $138 million, from $125 million a year ago, primarily on increased U.S. assisted tax preparation fees and revenues from the company’s Peace of Mind service plan, H&R Block said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected a loss of 62 cents a share on sales of $129 million. The company usually reports a fiscal first-quarter loss due to the seasonality of its tax business, and the quarter typically represents less than 5% of annual revenues and less than 15% of annual expenses. The shares ended the regular session down 1.3%.

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Oil prices finished Tuesday with a modest decline, pressured by expectations that refinery shutdowns due to storm system Harvey will prompt a rise in U.S. crude supplies. Prices, however, pared much of their earlier losses as traders looked ahead to U.S. supply data due Wednesday from the Energy Information Administration covering the week ended Aug. 25. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts expect the government to report a fall of 1.5 million barrels in crude stockpiles, along with drawdowns of 1.9 million and 600,000 barrels for gasoline and distillate inventories, respectively. October West Texas Intermediate crude fell 13 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at a more than one-month low of $46.44 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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The euro gave up some gains on Tuesday afternoon, slipping below the $1.20 mark to $1.1991, after breaking through the psychological barrier earlier. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index , which measures the buck against six rival currencies, clawed back some of its losses, moving to 92.2450, leaving it flat on the session. The euro represents more than half of the weighting of the ICE’s dollar index. Currencies considered havens, such as the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc , surged against the buck in flight-to-safety bids following North Korea’s first missile launch in Japanese airspace since 2009, rattling investors’ nerves and heightening already simmering tensions between the Pyongyang and U.S. allies near the Korean Peninsula. The greenback most recently bought ¥109.45, compared with an intraday low of ¥108.27, the lowest point since November 2016, while it fetched 0.9536 francs versus a low of 0.9429 earlier.

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