Category: Stock Market News

Data from Baker Hughes Friday revealed that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil rose by 8 to 591 rigs this week. That marked the fourth weekly increase in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose by 12 to 741, according to Baker Hughes. March West Texas Intermediate crude held onto earlier gains after the figures, trading up 90 cents, or 1.7%, at $53.90 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks opened higher on Friday, putting major indexes on track for a week of solid gains after President Donald Trump said he would soon announce a “phenomenal” tax plan. Markets had rallied in the wake of Trump’s election, in large part on hopes for corporate tax cuts and deregulation, but the move higher stalled after his inauguration as investors grew frustrated that his focus turned to measures like the travel ban rather than economic policy. Financial stocks, which are expected to be among the biggest beneficiaries of Trump’s economic policies, rose 0.3%. Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley were among the biggest gainers in the sector, with both rising 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 42 points, or 0.2%, to 20,219. The S&P 500 gained 3 points to 2,311, a gain of 0.2%. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 11 points, or 0.2%, to 5,726.

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A bomb plot that French police described as an imminent terror attack was reportedly foiled Friday morning in the southern city Montpellier. Home-made explosives that shared characteristics with those used in the Paris attacks of November 2015 were discovered in an anti-terror raid of an apartment in the city, according to the BBC. Three men and a 16-year-old girl, who was reported to have made jihadist declarations online, were arrested, according to the report. A France 24 report cited an anonymous police source as having said one of the suspects was believed to be plotting a suicide attack.

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Catalyst Biosciences Inc. will do a reverse stock split of one-for-fifteen effective Friday in order to maintain its Nasdaq listing, the company said. Catalyst stock was priced at 55 cents per share as of Thursday’s close, and Nasdaq requires a minimum bid price of $1 for at least 10 consecutive days, which Catalyst must meet by May 30. The split will transition about 13 million pre-split shares to under 900,000 post-split shares on Feb. 13. Catalyst shares have sunk 17.9% over the last three months, compared with a 6.5% rise in the S&P 500 .

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Sears Holdings Corp. shares soared 19.3% after the company announced a restructuring plan that aims to cut costs by $1 billion on an annualized basis and improve operating performance. Among the plans, Sears and Kmart corporate and support functions will be consolidated and data analytics will be used to optimize the product assortment at both Sears and Kmart. Sears plans to use the proceeds from the announced Craftsman and real estate transactions and operating performance improvements to reduce obligations and expenses, said Chief Executive Edward Lampert in a statement. And the company will continue to evaluate options, including partnerships and joint ventures, for the Kenmore and DieHard brands, as well as the Sears Home Services and Sears Auto Centers businesses. The company has initiated the 150 store closures it previously announced, with the expectation that they will be completed during the first quarter. And the company has partnered with Eastdil Secured to sell at least $1 billion in real estate properties. On Friday, the company entered into an agreement to amend its existing asset-based credit facility to provide a $140 million increase to the company’s available borrowing capacity, and the aggregate revolver commitments have been reduced to $1.5 billion from $1.971 billion. For the fourth quarter, Sears sees revenue of $6.1 billion, beating the FactSet consensus of $5.68 billion. Net loss is expected to range between $535 million and $635 million, and same-store sales fell 10.3%. Sears shares have fallen more than 63% over the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 24.6% for the same period.

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Advertising giant Interpublic Group said Friday it is raising its quarterly dividend by 20% to 18 cents a share. The company said the new dividend will be payable March 15 to holders of record as of March 1. The company also unveiled a new $300 million share buyback program. Shares rose 3% premarket and are up 14% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 25%.

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Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC will acquire U.S. baby-food producer Mead Johnson Nutrition Co. for $16.6 billion in cash, the British consumer goods company said in a statement Friday. Reckitt Benckiser will pay $90 a share, compared with a closing price Thursday of $83.96. Including debt, the deal is worth $17.9 billion. The acquisition of Mead Johnson, which makes Enfamil infant formula, will allow Reckitt Benckiser to bolster its consumer health business, said the U.K. company. It will also let Reckitt Benckiser, whose brands include Durex condoms and Lysol cleaning spray, to build its presence in developing markets such as China, it said. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter, it said.

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President Donald Trump spoke on the phone with China’s President Xi Jinping for the first time Thursday, telling him that the United States will respect the “One China” policy, the Financial Times reported late Thursday. The move is hoped to reduce tensions between the U.S. and China. Trump drew outrage from China after talking to Taiwan’s Prime Minister Tsai Ing-wen soon after his November election victory. Trump has also railed against China’s trade and monetary policies, threatening stiff tariffs that could lead to a trade war. According to the FT report, Trump will follow the diplomatic formula that has been the decades-long cornerstone of Sino-American relations, in which the U.S. maintains formal ties with China, not Taiwan. Trump reportedly broke the ice and extended an olive branch to China earlier this week, when he wrote a Lunar New Year’s greeting to Xi.

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The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to delay implementation of the controversial fiduciary rule that is set to take effect April 10. Reuters reported Thursday that the Labor Department is preparing two documents, one proposing a 180-day delay from when the rule takes effect, and one to start another round of public comments. The fiduciary rule would require financial advisers to follow a fiduciary standard and put the investor’s best interests first. It was first proposed in 2010 under the Obama administration, but was not approved until April 2016. On Feb. 3, President Donald Trump asked the Labor Department to re-examine the rule and its effects on the financial industry. Industry critics say the rule would have unintended consequences and force higher prices.

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A federal appeals court refused to reinstate President Donald Trump’s executive order temporarily banning immigrants from seven mostly Muslim countries late Thursday. While not ruling on the legality of the ban, the 9th District Court of Appeals in San Francisco unanimously said it should not go into effect until its legality is actually decided. The Justice Department is likely to appeal the ruling, which is likely to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court, though the appeals process could take over a year to get there.

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