Williams-Sonoma partners with SleepScore Labs on new mattress system

Williams-Sonoma Inc. said Thursday that it has partnered with SleepScore Labs to launch the Robin Sleep System, which combines the Robin Pocket Spring Mattress Set and SleepScore Max, which measures the quality and quantity of sleep without requiring the user to wear a special device or place anything in bed with them. The Robin Sleep System will be available online and in select stores among the Williams-Sonoma portfolio, including the Pottery Barn, West Elm and Williams Sonoma Home. The system is available starting at $629 for a twin size. The SleepScore Max is available separately for about $150, and the Robin Pocket Spring Mattress set is available starting at $519 for the twin size. Williams-Sonoma announced an expansion to their partnership with Leesa Sleep last month to sell that company’s mattresses. Williams-Sonoma shares are up 4.3% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 20.1% for the period.

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Emerging-market ETFs rally to six-year high, on track for fifth straight positive week

Exchange-traded funds tied to emerging-market equities rose on Thursday, extending a rally that has taken the group to their highest level in more than six years. The Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF rose 0.8% on Thursday, on track for its fifth straight daily gain, as well as its ninth of the past 10 sessions. The fund is trading at its highest level since August 2011. Thus far this week, the fund is up 3.5%, putting it on track for its biggest weekly gain since July. The fund is also set for its fifth straight weekly advance, its longest such streak since one ended August 2016. The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF has seen similar strength of late, and it is also trading at its highest level since 2011. The move in emerging-market equities was apace with the move in the U.S. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.6% on Thursday while the S&P 500 was up 0.5% and the Nasdaq Composite Index rose 0.2%. All three were poised for their third straight daily gain.

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Non-Agency RMBS Issuance Doubles in 2017

Last year’s issuance of private-label residential mortgage-backed securities was more than double 2016’s level. Further growth is expected this year.

Overall international structured-finance issuance was roughly $930 billion during 2017, coming in 39 percent higher than in 2016.

This year, the growth of global structured finance volume is expected to continue — with approximately $1 trillion in issuance predicted.


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From:: Financing

President Trump says stock market’s ‘new number’ may be 30,000 for the Dow

President Donald Trump on Thursday suggested that the next milestone for the closely watched Dow Jones Industrial Average after it broke above 25,000 is about 20% higher. Offering comments to media, the Republican president said breaking through the milestone was a “big barrier” because critics didn’t think that it could be achieved soon. On Thursday, the Dow broke through 25,000, and if it ends at that level, it would represent the fastest 1,000-point climb to the round number, 23 days, in the benchmark’s history. Trump, however, intimated that further moves ahead may be his administration’s goal, by way of promoting a raft of fiscal stimulus measures that include corporate tax cuts and increases to spending. “I guess our new number is 30,000,” he told reporters. Trump has more directly, than other presidents, gauged his overall performance in terms of the Dow and jobs. Most recently, the Dow was up 140 points, or 0.6%, at 25,060, the S&P 500 index was up 0.4% at 2,724, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was climbing by 0.2% at 7,076. All three benchmarks, and the Russell 2000 and Dow Jones Transportation Average are trading at or near all-time highs, extending a recent run of repeated records for equity benchmarks that took hold in 2017.

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Trump says Bannon has ‘changed his tune’ after critical comments

President Donald Trump said Thursday his former chief strategist Steve Bannon has “changed his tune” after his reported comments in a forthcoming book were made public. Trump was referring to a comment Bannon made Wednesday night on the Breitbart News Tonight radio show, in which he said “the president of the United States is a great man.” In the book “Fire and Fury” by Michael Wolff, Bannon reportedly calls a meeting between Trump’s son Donald Jr. and a group of Russians “treasonous.” In brief remarks to reporters at the White House, Trump said he doesn’t talk to Bannon. “He called me a great man last night, so he obviously changed his tune pretty quick,” Trump said.

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Continued Growth Expected in CRE Lending

Annual commercial mortgage lending is again expected to expand this year, with the outlook most optimistic for government-sponsored enterprise activity.

Back in October, the Mortgage Bankers Association predicted that commercial real estate loan originations would total $515 billion during all of 2017.

The forecast, which included commercial mortgages and multifamily production, was a nearly 5 percent improvement over CRE loan originations during 2016.


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From:: Financing

Gates Industrial files for IPO with plan to list on NYSE

Gates Industrial Corp. Plc. said Thursday it has filed for an initial public offering. the manufacturer of products used in industrial and consumer markets said it has applied to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “GTES”. The number of shares to be offered and pricing have yet to be determined. Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and UBS Investment Bank are joint book-running managers for the offering, with Barclays, Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and RBC Capital Markets acting as joint bookrunners. Blackstone Capital Markets, Deutsche Bank Securities, Wells Fargo Securities, Current Capital Securities LLC, KeyBanc Capital Markets, Siebert Cisneros Shank & Co., L.L.C., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Academy Securities, BTIG and Guggenheim Securities are acting as co-managers.

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Stocks in Facebook, Amazon lead list of names to hit 52-week highs as Dow breaks above 25K

Shares of a number of tech giants touched fresh 52-week highs on Thursday, including Facebook, Netflix and Amazon, as stocks jumped to records in the third trading session of 2018. Facebook Inc. hit a fresh 52-week peak at $186.21, with a gain of nearly 10% so far this week, Amazon.com Inc.’s shares rose to a peak at $1,215.87, up 3.5% on the week, while shares of Netflix Inc. carved out a new top at $207.05, with a gain of 6.6% so far this year, though prices pulled back somewhat. Google-parent Alphabet class A shares also hit a 52-week top at $1,104.08, while C shares also notched a peak at $1,093.57. Both share classes are up about 4% this week. Those companies represent the components of the so-called FAANG stocks, which have helped to lead the tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index to a psychologically significant move above 7,000 for the first time ever on Tuesday. The Nasdaq was recently up 0.2% at 7,075. Absent from the FAANG cadre hitting fresh highs were Apple Inc. shares , which were up seeing a muted gain, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 0.7%, but last hit a 52-week high on Dec. 18 at 177.20. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average , where Apple is a component, was up 160 points, or 0.6%, at 25,074, breaking above 25,000 for its first time ever, while the S&P 500 index climbed 0.4% at 2,724, notching a record peak of its own in intraday trade, and highlighting a firm start to the year for equity benchmarks that have enjoyed a relentless run-up last year.

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Republican wins contested Virginia race after name drawn from bowl

Republican David Yancey won a hotly contested Virginia House of Delegates race after his name was drawn from a bowl on Thursday. Last month, a recount put Democrat Shelly Simonds ahead of Yancey by just one vote, but the contest was later ruled a tie. With Yancey’s victory, Republicans retain their majority in the chamber. Simonds has indicated she may challenge the result.

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EIA reports bigger-than-expected drop in U.S. crude supply, but gasoline, distillate stocks jump

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration Thursday showed that domestic crude supplies fell by 7.4 million barrels for the week ended Dec. 29. That was larger than the forecast for a decline of 5.7 million barrels from analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts. The American Petroleum Institute on Wednesday had reported a drop of 5 million barrels, according to sources. The EIA report, which was released a day late due to the New Year’s Day holiday, also said gasoline stockpiles climbed by 4.8 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles jumped up by 8.9 million barrels. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast a supply rise of 2 million barrels for gasoline and an increase of 1.3 million barrels for distillates. February crude was up 14 cents, or 0.2%, to $61.77 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, little changed from before the supply data.

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From:: Stock Market News