Category: Stock Market News

In his investigation of Uber Technologies Inc., former Attorney General Eric Holder recommended that the company “review and reallocate the responsibilities” of its chief executive Travis Kalanick as part of several steps the company should take to reformulate its culture. “The Board should evaluate the extent to which some of the responsibilities that Mr.Kalanick has historically possessed should be shared or given outright to other members of senior management,” the report says. The board agreed to adopt all recommendations as part of the probe and Kalanick announced Tuesday that he was taking a leave of absence from the company. The report comes after a former engineer at Uber detailed sexual and workplace harassment she had faced there. The report recommended that Uber hire a chief operating officer to work with the CEO and who has a background in diversity and experience dealing with “complicated labor and operational structures.” The report also suggested performance reviews for executives, a restructured and more independent board with an oversight committee, a rewrite of Uber’s cultural values and mandatory leadership training for leaders in the organization. It also suggested increased support of Uber’s human resources department.

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Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick is taking a leave of absence from the company, according to media reports. The move comes as the findings of an investigation conducted by former U.S. Attorney Eric Holder was released to Uber employees Tuesday. The investigation began after a former female engineer at Uber reported sexual and workplace harassment she had faced at the company.

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S&P Global Ratings affirmed Tuesday’s Apple Inc.’s AA+ corporate credit rating, which is just below the highest triple-A rating. The current rating indicates the technology giant’s “financial risk profile is considered minimal.” The outlook for the rating is stable, suggesting changes are not expected in the near term. “We view [Apple’s] periodic debt issuances as a form of synthetic cash repatriation and expect the company to maintain a significant net cash position over time,” S&P said. Apple had $84.5 billion in long-term debt as of April 1, according to recent filings. In comparison with other “FAANG” companies, Facebook Inc. isn’t rated by S&P because it doesn’t have any debt; Amazon.com Inc. is rated two notches lower at AA- with a stable outlook; Netflix Inc. has a “junk” rating at B+ with a stable outlook; and Google parent Alphabet Inc. has a similar AA+ rating with stable outlook. The U.S. is rated AA+ with a stable rating. Apple’s stock edged up 0.1% in midday trade, after shedding 6.2% the past two sessions. It has rallied 25.7% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 7.8%.

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Cheesecake Factory Inc.’s stock was suffering its worst day in over eight years, as the stock plunged in active trade in the wake of the restaurant chain’s sales warning. The 9.2% tumble in morning trade, to a 7-month low, put the stock on track to suffer its biggest one-day percentage decline since it lost 12.4% on Feb. 13, 2009. Volume spiked to 3.2 million shares, already nearly triple the full-day average. The stock was currently trading at $52.96, or 21.1% below its May 3 record close of $67.09. A close at or below $53.67 would kick off a new bear market, which many on Wall Street define as a decline of at least 20% from a significant peak. Earlier, the company cut its second-quarter same-store sales outlook to a decline of about 1% from and expected rise of 1% to 2%. The stock has shed 11.5% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 8.7%.

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The Neiman Marcus Group confirmed Tuesday that talks with Saks Fifth Avenue parent Hudson’s Bay Company have ended. The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that talks between the two luxury retail companies had stalled. “We previously announced that the company was exploring potential strategic alternatives,” said Neiman Marcus Chief Executive Karen Katz on the company’s earnings call. “However, at this time, any conversations regarding a partial or full sale of the company have terminated.” Hudson’s Bay announced last week that it would cut 2,000 jobs as part of a reorganization that will focus on the company’s digital capabilities. Neiman Marcus reported a 4.9% decline in third-quarter revenue to $1.11 billion from $1.17 billion last year. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF is down 1.3% for the past three months while the S&P 500 index is up 2.5% for the period.

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Verizon Communications Inc. on Tuesday said it’s named former AOL Chief Executive Tim Armstrong as the CEO of its new subsidiary, Oath. On Tuesday Verizon closed its acquisition of Yahoo Inc.’s operating business. Verizon has combined the assets from the acquisition with its existing AOL business to create Oath, which will house more than 50 media and technology brands, including HuffPost, Tumblr and Yahoo Sports and Yahoo Finance. “We’re building the future of brands using powerful technology, trusted content and differentiated data,” Armstrong said in a statement. Armstrong will also be tasked with leading efforts to continue building advertising technologies and platforms such as ONE by AOL and BrightRoll that work across mobile, video, search, native and programmatic ads. Shares of Verizon are down more than 12% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index has gained close to 9%.

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Verizon Communications Inc.’s acquisition of Yahoo Inc. is complete, meaning the new company Altaba Inc. will emerge Friday and register with the SEC as a publicly traded investment company. Verizon bought Yahoo for $4.48 billion and the acquisition is still subject to certain adjustments. Marissa Mayer, chief executive of Yahoo, has resigned from its board, as have other directors including Richard Hill, Jane Shaw and Maynard Webb. Thomas McInerney, a current board member, will become chief executive of Altaba, with Alexi Wellman as chief financial officer. After the sale, Yahoo’s assets will include a 15% equity stake in in Alibaba Group Holding Ltd and about a 36% equity stake in Yahoo Japan. Yahoo’s stock will continue trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “YHOO” until Friday. Altaba’s stock will begin trading June 19 under the symbol “AABA.” Shareholders do not need to take any action. Shares of Verizon were down 1% Tuesday and shares of Yahoo were down 0.6%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday carved out an all-time high in intraday trade, supported by a jump in shares of Goldman Sachs and Visa, as the market tries to bounce back from a technology-fueled slump. The gains also come ahead of the start of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee, which is expected to result in a quarter-point rise in benchmark interest rates and an update to the central bank’s outlook for the U.S. economy. Against that backdrop, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s shares were adding about 15 points to the price-weighted Dow , helping it set an intraday record of 21,307.41. The Dow last set an intraday record and closed at an all-time high on June 9 and has ended higher in four of the past five sessions. Shares of Visa Inc. , which is viewed as a tech company rather than a financial company by some, also added about 10 points to the index. The moves come as the tech sector, as measured by the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , attempts to rebound from its worst two-session tumble in months. The S&P 500 index , meanwhile, is up 0.3% at 2,435, while the battered tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% at 6,207.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Tuesday carved out an all-time high in intraday trade, supported by a jump in shares of Goldman Sachs and Visa, as the market tries to bounce back from a technology-fueled slump. The gains also come ahead of the start of a two-day meeting of the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting committee, which is expected to result in a quarter-point rise in benchmark interest rates and an update to the central bank’s outlook for the U.S. economy. Against that backdrop, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s shares were adding about 15 points to the price-weighted Dow , helping it set an intraday record of 21,307.41. The Dow last set an intraday record and closed at an all-time high on June 9 and has ended higher in four of the past five sessions. Shares of Visa Inc. , which is viewed as a tech company rather than a financial company by some, also added about 10 points to the index. The moves come as the tech sector, as measured by the Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF , attempts to rebound from its worst two-session tumble in months. The S&P 500 index , meanwhile, is up 0.3% at 2,435, while the battered tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.5% at 6,207.

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Imax Corp.’s plans to cut its workforce and increase its share buybacks demonstrate two key inflection points, according to B. Riley analyst Eric Wold: “The potential for more efficient network growth (even with a projected total addressable market twice the current network size) and the network shifting from a net cash flow investment to one that more consistently generates cash flow (up and beyond any normal box office volatility),” Wold wrote. Imax said after hours on Monday that it plans to cut 14% of its workforce, or about 100 employees, including some at Imax China, of which Imax owns about 68%. The premiere film exhibitor expects the cost cutting measure to generate about $20 million in annual operating cost savings. The Hollywood box office, which has been disappointing but is still up 3.2% compared with the same time frame last year, is always going to be volatile. Film results are unpredictable. Imax’s recent moves will help eliminate as much as 8% in box office risk during 2018, Wold wrote. Shares of Imax opened on Tuesday up 5%, but have declined nearly 24% in the year to date. During the same time frame the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 9%.

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From:: Stock Market News