Category: Stock Market News

Herc Holdings Inc. said Tuesday Chief Financial Officer Barbara Brasier will retire, effective April 30, for personal reasons, after about 2 1/2 years with the company. The equipment rental company said Chief Accounting Officer Mark Humphrey will serve as interim CFO until a replacement is found. Brasier joined Herc in November 2015 from Mondelez International Inc. . Herc shares, which were still inactive in premarket trade, have rallied 5.7% over the past three months while the S&P 500 has lost 0.9%.

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JA Solar Holdings Co. Ltd. said Chief Financial Officer Herman Zhao has resigned, effective Tuesday, to pursue other interests. The Beijing-based solar power products maker said there are not issues involving financial statement, internal controls or reporting procedures that led to Zhao’s departure. Zhao was appointed CFO in December 2013. “We respect his decision and wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Chief Executive Baofang Jin. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has lost 7.7% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 0.9%.

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Francesca’s Holdings Corp. shares sank 5.8% in Tuesday premarket trading after it reported a 15% fourth-quarter same-store sales decline and gave weak guidance. Net income totaled $3.7 million, or 10 cents per share, down from $14.6 million, or 39 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 20 cents. Revenue totaled $138.5 million, down from $146.3 million last year. Same-store sales dropped 15% for the quarter, which the company blamed on traffic declines and the merchandise’s failure to resonate with customers. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 19 cents, sales of $138.0 million, and a same-store sales decline of 5.5%. The apparel and accessories retailer expects first-quarter sales in the range of $100 million to $103 million, a same-store sales decrease of 13% to 15% and a loss per share in the range of 10 cents to 13 cents. The FactSet consensus is for sales of $111.1 million, a same-store sales decline of 5%, and EPS of 14 cents. Francesca’s shares are down nearly 70% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 13.5% for the period.

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Shares of Lam Research Corp. are up 2.1% in premarket trading Tuesday after Mizuho analyst Vijay Rakesh initiated coverage of the stock with a buy rating and a $250 price target. “The best is probably yet to come as we believe 2019 could see multiple new mega-fabs and potential China spend,” Rakesh wrote. He has an upbeat outlook on growth in wafer fabrication equipment (WFE) given heightened memory spending. Lam is “benefitting from increasing capital intensity in NAND and DRAM and increased 10nm logic spend,” Rakesh wrote. Shares of Lam Research closed up 6.1% in Monday’s session and are up 68% over the past 12 months, compared with a 14% gain for the S&P 500 .

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Australia on Tuesday announced plans to expel two Russian diplomats, matching the moves made by the U.S., U.K. and other allies that are part of a coordinated response to the presumed Russian attack on a spy on British soil. “Two Russian diplomats identified as undeclared intelligence officers will be expelled by the Australian government for actions inconsistent with their status, pursuant to the Vienna Conventions,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, according to multiple published reports. Turnbull also blasted the March 4 attack as “a reckless assault on the sovereignty of nations.” The U.S., Canada and more than a dozen European countries ejected scores of Russian diplomats and intelligence officers on Monday, in a coordinated action that deepens the breach between Moscow and the West. The U.S. alone will eject 60 Russians believed to be intelligence officers.

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U.S. stock futures pointed to more gains for markets Tuesday, as concerns about a global trade war continued to dissipate. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 122 points, or 0.5%, to 24,313, while S&P 500 futures gained 11.75 points, or 0.4%, to 2,670.75. Nasdaq-100 futures added 37.75 points, or 0.6%, to 6,810.50. All three major benchmarks logged their best one-day gains since August 2015 on Monday, with the Dow climbing 669.40 points. Those gains were on the heels of the biggest weekly decline in more than two years. Stocks also saw sizeable gains across Asia, led by a 2.3% gain for the Nikkei 225 index . Across other assets, gold prices slipped modestly, while oil prices rose and the ICE Dollar Index was flat.

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Novartis AG said Tuesday that has entered into an agreement to sell its 36.5% stake in a consumer-healthcare venture with GlaxoSmithKline PLC to the pharmaceutical group for $13 billion in cash. The sale will allow Novartis to focus on its core business, the company said in a press release. “This will strengthen our ability to allocate capital to grow our core businesses, drive shareholder returns, and execute value-creating bolt-on acquisitions as we continue to build the leading medicines company, powered by digital and data,” said Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis. The venture was originally formed in 2015.

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The questionnaire for the 2020 Census will ask people if they are U.S. citizens, the Commerce Department said Monday night, despite the objections of Democrats. The inclusion of that question has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, and in a statement the Commerce Department said it had been added at the request of the Justice Department. The question is controversial because it may scare undocumented immigrants from filling out the Census form. The Census is meant to count all U.S. residents, not just citizens. Undercounting the population of undocumented immigrants could have major repercussions as Census data is used to redraw House districts, decide the number of House seats each state gets and the number of electoral votes for each state. That could reduce the influence of urban areas and traditionally Democratic strongholds. Nearly 20 Democratic state attorneys general had appealed to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross to keep the question off the Census form, saying it would manipulate the count. Monday’s statement said Ross “determined that obtaining complete and accurate information to meet this legitimate government purpose outweighed the limited potential adverse impacts.” The final wording of the Census form is due Saturday.

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Brookfield Property Partners L.P. said late Monday that it had inked a deal to acquire GGP Inc. for $9.25 billion in cash, as well as 254 million shares. Brookfield stock is down less than 1% in late trading, while GGP shares rose 3.3%. GGP shareholders can elect to receive $23.50 per share in cash, a share of Brookfield, or a share of a new U.S. real estate investment trust. Brookfield stock has fallen 13% this year, as the S&P 500 index has fallen less than 1%.

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Teflon maker Chemours Co. late Monday upped its 2018 profit outlook thanks to heightened demand for products including its pigments, propellants and resins. The chemical company, spun off from DuPont in 2015, said it expects 2018 adjusted earnings at the high end of a previously announced range between $1.7 billion and $1.85 billion. Adjusted per-share earnings are expected to be at the high end of a previously expected range of $4.95 and $5.60. “We ended 2017 with incredible momentum in all of our businesses and strong demand signals for both fluoroproducts and titanium technologies,” Chief Executive Mark Vergnano said in a statement. “With nearly one quarter behind us, we continue to see robust demand” for titanium dioxide products alongside “a more favorable than expected demand and pricing backdrop for our fluoroproducts segment,” he said. Chemours also said it will report first-quarter earnings after the market closes on May 3. Shares were flat in late trading after ending the regular session up 0.8%.

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