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Drug company Perrigo Co. Plc said Friday it is relocating more jobs to Ireland, including in supply chain and global operations, procurement, enterprise risk management and corporate finance and IT. The Dublin-based company said low-tax Ireland remains its gateway for expansion into Europe. Shares were down 1.5% early Friday, and are down 15% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 is down about 9%.

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Drug company Perrigo Co. Plc said Friday it is relocating more jobs to Ireland, including in supply chain and global operations, procurement, enterprise risk management and corporate finance and IT. The Dublin-based company said low-tax Ireland remains its gateway for expansion into Europe. Shares were down 1.5% early Friday, and are down 15% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 is down about 9%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Friday as lower oil prices weighed on sentiment. However, the main indexes were on track to finish the week higher. The S&P 500 opened 6 points, or 0.3%, lower at 1,911. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 45 points, or 0.3%, to 16,368 shortly after the open. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 14 points, or 0.3%, at 4,472.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Yahoo Inc.’s stock climbed 2.5% in premarket trade Friday, after the Internet company said it formed a committee to explore strategic alternatives. The company has engaged Goldman Sachs & Co. Inc. , J.P. Morgan and PJT Partners Inc. as financial advisors. The committee and advisors are reaching out with potentially interested strategic and financial partners. The company said it will still pursue a separation of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. . The announced in early February that it was pursuing strategic alternatives. Some analysts have speculated that a major media company might be interested in Yahoo’s Web properties if they came up for sale. Yahoo’s stock has tumbled 34% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 8.6%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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Choice Hotels International Inc. was upgraded to neutral from underweight at J.P. Morgan on the assumption that the company will add a significant of number rooms. J.P. Morgan raised the price target to $46 from $43. Choice Hotels had 720 hotels in the pipeline at the end of the fourth quarter, up from 638 hotels at the end of the third quarter, J.P. Morgan wrote in a Friday note. The domestic new contruction pipeline is up 22% year-over-year, led by the Comfort and Cambria brands. “[W]e believe Choice Hotels is at a point where it can sustain positive, low-single-digit growth,” analysts wrote. The company reported fourth-quarter earnings of 51 cents per share on Thursday, topping the FactSet estimate of 47 cents. Revenue of $211 million also exceeded the FactSet estimate of $195 million. Choice said it sees earnings for the first quarter of at least 38 cents per share, just below the 39 cents FactSet estimate. The company sees full-year 2016 earnings between $2.30 and $2.36, also below the FactSet estimate of $2.38. Choice shares are inactive in premarket trading and down 20.6% over the past year. The S&P 500 is down 8.6% over the past 12 months.

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Bebe Stores Inc. said Friday it was cutting 45 jobs, or about 15% of its corporate workforce, as it implements a restructuring that includes bringing back its former chief executive officer, Manny Mashouf, to run the company. The troubled apparel retailer said Walter Parks is rejoining as president, chief operating officer and interim chief financial officer. Former CEO Jim Wiggett and former CFO Liyuan Woo are no longer with the company. Bebe said it is streamlining its design and merchandising areas as part of the restructuring, while cutting support functions, as it looks to cut costs by $6 million. Bebe said it expects to take a one-time severance charge of $3.7 million in the third quarter. “We believe the changes we are implementing will enable us to become a leaner and more nimble organization, allowing us to increase our focus on profitability while enhancing our product offering,” said CEO Mashouf. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has closed below $1 ever since Nov. 11, 2015. It has plunged 88% over the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has slipped 8.7%.

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Citigroup Inc. said Friday it is planning to sell its consumer banking businesses in Brazil, Argentina and Colombia, while maintaining its service for corporate clients. The bank said it will transfer the businesses to Citi Holdings from Citicorp, and will report their earnings as part of Citi Holdings starting in the first quarter of 2016. The businesses comprise retail banking plus credit card operations valued at about $6 billion in assets. They did not have a material impact on Citi’s net income in 2015, said the bank. Shares were up 1.5% in premarket trade, but are down 24% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 is down about 9%.

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Deere & Co. said Friday it had net income of $254.4 million, or 80 cents a share, in its first fiscal quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $386.8 million, or $1.12 per share, in the year-earlier period. Revenue fell 13% to $5.53 billion, while sales of equipment fell to $4.78 billion from $5.61 billion. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 71 cents and revenue of $4.89 billion. “John Deere’s first-quarter results reflected the continuing impact of the downturn in the global farm economy as well as weakness in construction equipment markets,” Chief Executive Samuel R. Allen said in a statement. Looking ahead, Deere is expecting full-year equipment sales to fall about 10%, and to be down about 8% in the second quarter. Full-year net income is forecast at about $1.3 billion. Shares were down about 2% in premarket trade, and are down 12% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 is down about 9%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

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