Category: Stock Market News

Raymond James Financial Inc. said Friday that it will pay $150 million as part of a settlement of all investor claims related to the Jay Peak EB-5 visa matter, subject to court approval. The settlement is related to an alleged fraudulent EB-5 U.S. government visa program, created by third parties in 2007, and offered to foreign investors, in which the foreign investors and their immediate families could obtain permanent residency green cards by making a capital investment in a U.S. business. “Raymond James did not act as placement agent or in any other capacity for the program and none of the investors in the program purchased their investments through Raymond James,” the company said in a statement released overnight. “A Raymond James financial advisor for the brokerage accounts of the related investment partnerships is no longer employed by the firm.” Raymond James’ stock has gained 4.8% year to date through Thursday, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has lost 1.5% and the S&P 500 has gained 4%.

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Finish Line Inc. disclosed Friday that U.K. sporting good retailer Sports Direct International PLC has acquired 3.2 million shares, or 7.9% of the athletic shoe retailer’s shares outstanding. The stake would make Sports Direct the fifth-largest shareholder of Finish Line, according to FactSet. Finish Line’s stock plunged to a 6 1/2-year low in March in the wake of disappointing quarterly results, before paring some losses to be down 23% year to date. Meanwhile, Sports Direct shares have climbed 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 4%.

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Abbott Laboratories announced Friday an agreement to lower the price it will pay for Alere Inc. by nearly 9%, with the expected equity value of the deal falling to $5.3 billion from $5.8 billion. Under terms of the amended merger agreement, Abbott will now pay $51 a share for each Allere share outstanding, a 21% premium to Thursday’s closing price of $42.31. When the merger deal was originally announced on Feb. 1, 2016, Abbott said it would pay $56 a share. The amended merger agreement comes in the wake of a tough year for Alere, which was highlighted by a report in The Wall Street Journal that the diagnostic-testing company was facing a criminal probe over Medicare and Medicaid billing practices. Alere’s stock has tumbled 16% over the past 12 months, while Abbott shares have slipped 1.9%, the SPDR Health Care Select Sector ETF has tacked on 5.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 12%.

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The “Mother of All Bombs” dropped by the U.S. military in Afghanistan killed 36 Islamic State group members, Afghan officials said, according to media reports Friday. No civilians were hurt and several ISIS ammunition caches were destroyed in the Thursday attack, the Afghan defense ministry said. The U.S. Air Force targeted an ISIS tunnel network with the 21,000-pound MOAB, the largest nonnuclear bomb.

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Apple Inc. is considering joining iPhone manufacturer Foxconn in a bid to buy Toshiba Corp.’s memory chip business, according to a report by Japan’s NHK early Friday. NHK said Apple may invest several billion dollars and is seeking more than a 20% stake. Foxconn , also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., would take a 30% stake, and Toshiba would maintain a partial stake, the report said. Toshiba is trying to sell its chip business to raise cash after massive cost overruns from its U.S. nuclear power unit, Westinghouse, which filed for bankruptcy last month. The Apple report helped Toshiba stock rebound; after being down 8.1% early Friday, it was down just 2.8% by the afternoon, according to Dow Jones.

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General Motors Co. plans to invest $14 million and create more than a thousand jobs in a California facility to advance its self-driving car interests, according to reports late Thursday. GM intends to make that investment in Cruise Automation, which it acquired last year for $1 billion, with plans to add more than 1,100 jobs over the next five years, according to Reuters. Under the plan, GM will get $8 million in state tax credits. Shares of GM were down less than 0.1% at $33.38 after hours.

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Omega Healthcare Investors Inc.’s board raised the company’s quarterly dividend by a penny to 63 cents a share, the real estate investment trust said late Thursday. The dividend will be payable on May 15 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 1.

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U.S. stocks slid for a third session on Thursday as weak oil weighed on the energy sector while financial shares fell following earnings from major banks. The deployment of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as “bunker buster,” on an ISIS complex in Afghanistan also heightened investors’ concerns about geopolitical uncertainties. The S&P 500 dropped 15 points, or 0.7%, to close at 2,328, down for 1.1% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 138 points, or 0.3%, to end at 20,453, closing out the week 1% lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 31 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,805 for a weekly fall of 1.2%. The market is closed on Good Friday and will resume trading on Monday.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks slid for a third session on Thursday as weak oil weighed on the energy sector while financial shares fell following earnings from major banks. The deployment of the Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as “bunker buster,” on an ISIS complex in Afghanistan also heightened investors’ concerns about geopolitical uncertainties. The S&P 500 dropped 15 points, or 0.7%, to close at 2,328, down for 1.1% for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 138 points, or 0.3%, to end at 20,453, closing out the week 1% lower. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 31 points, or 0.5%, to close at 5,805 for a weekly fall of 1.2%. The market is closed on Good Friday and will resume trading on Monday.

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Oil futures tallied a slight gain on Thursday, ending the holiday-shortened trading week higher. Traders found support after the International Energy Agency said the global oil market was “very close” to reaching a balance between supply and demand. A thirteenth straight week rise in the number of active U.S. oil rigs, however, implied that domestic production was poised to continue its climb. May West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 7 cents, or 0.1%, to settle at $53.18 a barrel. Prices were up about 1.8% from last Friday’s close. Oil trading will be shut for Good Friday.

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