United Tech’s Kidde recalls 425,000 sensor smoke alarms due to risk of failure

United Technologies Corp.’s Kidde unit said Wednesday it is recalling 425,000 sensor smoke alarms, because of the risk that they will fail to alert their owners to a fire. “A yellow cap left on during the manufacturing process can cover one of the two smoke sensors and compromise the smoke alarm’s ability to detect smoke, posing a risk of consumers not being alerted to a fire in their home,” the company warned in a statement. Customers are advised to remove the alarm and check whether a yellow cap is visible through the opening on the side. They are advised not to take the alarm apart or attempt to remove the yellow cap themselves, but rather to immediately contact the company and request a replacement. Kidde has set up a toll-free number at 833-551-7739 that will be available from 8.30 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET Monday to Friday, and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the weekend. An additional 40,000 units were sold in Canada, the company said. The units in question were sold at stores from Sep. 10, 2016 through Oct. 13, 2017, including Menards, The Home Depot Walmart . They were sold on ShopKidde.com and other websites through Jan. 2018 for $20 to $40 a piece. United Tech shares were slightly lower Wednesday, but have gained 13% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 19%.

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Oil prices extend gains as weekly U.S. crude supplies unexpectedly decline

Oil prices extended earlier gains on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration said crude supplies fell by 2.6 million barrels for the week ended March 16. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts had forecast a climb of 2.6 million barrels, while the American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a decline of 2.7 million barrels, according to sources. Gasoline stockpiles fell by 1.7 million barrels for the week, while distillate stockpiles decreased by 2 million barrels, according to the EIA. The S&P Global Platts survey forecast supply declines of 1.8 million barrels each for gasoline and distillates. May crude rose $1.01, or 1.6%, to $64.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, up from $64.23 before the supply data.

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Deutsche Bank slides 6.2% after warning of $550 million Q1 headwind

Shares of Deutsche Bank AG slumped 6.2% on Wednesday after the lender’s finance chief warned that headwinds will reduce first-quarter revenue by 450 million euros ($550 million). The bank’s chief financial officer James von Moltke said a stronger euro would shave off about 300 million euro in revenues, while higher funding costs would be a 150-million-euro drag, according to media reports. Deutsche Bank shares are now down 25% year-to-date and off 7.3% for the week so far. In comparison, the wider Stoxx Europe 600 Banks Index has lost 3% on 2018 so far and slipped 1.6% this week.

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Micron stock jumps after BMO raises price target ahead of earnings

Shares of Micron Technology Inc. rose 0.5% in Wednesday morning trading after analysts at BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on the stock to $63 from $43 in a note titled “We Are Playing Catch Up.” The analysts, led by Ambrish Srivastava, now have an enhanced view of the memory-price landscape. “Memory industry fundamentals, especially for DRAM, remain strong,” Srivastava wrote, raising his estimates for Micron’s fiscal second quarter, which the company is due to report results for on Thursday afternoon. Earlier this week, Susquehanna analyst Mehdi Hosseini raised his target price to $80 from $60. Micron shares are up 38% in the past month, compared with a 0.5% gain for the S&P 500 and a 6.5% rise for the PHLX Semiconductor Index . Shares of Micron have jumped 141% over the past 12 months.

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General Mills’ stock plummets toward 5-year low, paces S&P 500 losers

Shares of General Mills Inc. plunged 9.6% toward a 5-year low in morning trade Wednesday, enough to pace the S&P 500’s decliners, after the consumer foods company reported a fiscal third-quarter profit that beat expectations but slashed its outlook. The stock hit an intraday low of $44.79, the lowest level seen since Feb. 19, 2013. A close at current levels would mark the biggest one-day percentage decline since it shed 11.2% on March 18, 2009, also following fiscal third-quarter results. The stock has now plummeted 24.5% over the past 12 months, while the SPDR Consumer Staples Select Sector ETF has lost 5.4% and the S&P 500 has climbed 15.9%.

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Dropbox raises IPO price range

Dropbox said in a filing Wednesday morning that it was raising the expected range for its IPO pricing to between $18 and $20 a share. The prior range was between $16 and $18 a share. Reuters reported Monday that demand was strong and that Dropbox’s IPO was oversubscribed. Dropbox is expected to price late Thursday and begin trading on Friday. Cloud-based security firm Zscaler Inc. priced its own public offering above its elevated range last week, and shares proceeded to double in their first day of trading Friday. Spotify Technology is expected to complete its public listing in early April.

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Stock market opens little changed as investors brace for Fed; Facebook’s stock trades lower a 3rd session in a row

U.S. stock-indexes traded slightly weaker at the open on Wednesday, with traders hesitant to make any big moves ahead of the end of an important policy update from the Federal Reserve due at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. The Fed is widely expected to deliver a rate rise, and its forecasts could give investors clues to the pace of future increases. The Dow Jones Industrial Average [: DJIA] was trading flat at 24,727, the S&P 500 index retreated about 2 points or less than 0.1% at 2,715. The technology-laden Nasdaq Composite Index declined 12 points, or 0.1, at 7,354. Meanwhile, Facebook Inc. was trading lower, down 1.5%, for a third straight day amid mounting concerns about how the social network has managed user data. The co-founder of WhatsApp, Brian Acton, said late Tuesday it was now time to delete Facebook because of its failures to guard user information. Facebook has shed about $50 billion in market value this week alone.

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Pandora stock rises after company announces ad-tech acquisition

Pandora Media Inc. shares rose 1.4% in premarket trading Wednesday after the company announced its acquisition of ad-tech firm AdsWizz. Pandora will pay $145 million in cash and stock for the company, with a minimum of 50% of that to be paid in cash, according to the company’s release. “With our scale in audio advertising and AdsWizz’s tech expertise, we will create the largest digital audio advertising ecosystem, better serving global publishers and advertisers – while improving Pandora’s own monetization capabilities,” CEO Roger Lynch said in the release. Lynch took over the CEO role at Pandora last fall and has been trying to bulk up the company’s ad technology to better compete with the titans of digital advertising. Pandora shares are down 59% over the past 12 months, compared with a 16% gain for the S&P 500 .

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Nordstrom partners with Stadium Goods to bring rare sneakers to new men’s store

Stadium Goods, a sneaker and streetwear marketplace, said Wednesday that it has partnered with Nordstrom Inc. to bring rare sneakers and top brands like Air Max 1s and Yeezy Boosts to the floor of the retailer’s new Manhattan men’s store. “Sneakers are the fastest growing category in men’s footwear,” according to a statement from Kristin Frossmo, executive vice president and general merchandise manager for shoes at Nordstrom. “Sneakers have disrupted fashion and are now being mixed with everyday looks from desk to dinner,” Frossmo said. Nordstrom shares are down 2.7% in premarket trading after news that the company ended talks to go private. Shares are up 18% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 16% for the period.

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Philip Morris ceases all cigarette production at Greek facility, to make only smoke-free products

Philip Morris International Inc. said Wednesday it has ceased all cigarette production at the facility of its Greek affiliate Papastratos, which will now only produce HEETS, the tobacco units used with its smoke-free product IQOS. This follows the company’s announcement a year ago that it was investing 300 million euro, which at the time was the equivalent of about $323.7 million, to convert the facility to a plant that can make tobacco sticks for IQOS. The company said it expects the facility to be fully operational by the end of 2018. “Papastratos is the first of our factories to end cigarette production and fully shift to manufacturing our smoke-free alternatives,” said Chief Executive Andre Calantzopoulos. “We will continue to convert existing sites and invest in new facilities to answer global adult smoker demand for better alternatives to cigarettes.” The stock slipped 0.3% in premarket trade. It has shed 12.6% over the past 12 months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 15.9%.

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