Top Trump economic adviser says no government shutdown

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The top economic adviser to President Trump said Congress will pass a short-term spending bill that averts a government shutdown. In a televised interview Gary Cohn said he expects a temporary spending bill to keep the government open until early next year, when the two parties will hash out a longer-term solution. “Congress will be on its way home by the weekend,” Cohn predicted at an Axios-sponsored event.

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Nxt-ID stock rockets on heavy volume as Fit Pay sub looks to enter cryptocurrency arena

Shares of Nxt-ID Inc. rocketed 67% in active premarket trade Wednesday, as the provider of secure-payments and encryption company entered the cryptocurrency arena through its Fit Pay Inc. subsidiary. Volume topped 1.4 million shares over an hour before the open, already above the full-day average of about 1.2 million shares. Fit Pay and Cascade Financial Technology Corp. agreed to jointly develop a platform that gives cryptocurrency holders the ability to use the value of their currencies for traditional payment transactions at retail locations worldwide. “As cryptocurrencies increase in value and distribution, the need to create new methods to monetize their value and enabling models for acceptance is the critical last mile,” said Nxt-ID Chief Operating Officer Michael Orlando. Nxt-ID’s stock is on track to open at the highest level seen during regular-session hours since Jan. 19, 2017. Through Tuesday, the stock had plunged 34%, while the S&P 500 had rallied 20%.

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Winnebago beats profit and revenue expectations, boosted by growth in towables business

Winnebago Industries Inc. reported Wednesday fiscal first-quarter net income that rose to $18.0 million, or 57 cents a share, from $11.7 million, or 42 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 52 cents. Revenue rose to $450.0 million from $245.3 million, boosted by the acquisition of Grand Design RV. The FactSet revenue consensus was $384.0 million. Motorized sales fell 2.4% to $190.4 million, missing the FactSet consensus of $198.5 million, but that was offset by the 24% increase in towables revenue, which was well above expectations of $181.5 million. “We remain optimistic about the strength of the RV marketplace as a whole, with overall U.S. shipments expected to exceed 500,000 units in 2017, and a ninth consecutive year of growth projected in 2018,” said Chief Executive Michael Happe. The stock slipped 0.3% in premarket trade. It has soared 81% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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General Mills stock jumps after revenue beat, raised outlook

General Mills Inc. shares jumped 2.4% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the consumer foods company beat fiscal second-quarter revenue expectations and raised its outlook. Net income for the quarter to Nov. 26 fell to $430.5 million, or 74 cents a share, from $481.8 million, or 80 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 82 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Revenue rose 2.1% to $4.20 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $4.09 billion, as better-than-expected convenience stores and foodservice segment sales helped offset a miss in North American retail segment sales. U.S. cereal sales increased 7% and U.S. snacks sales rose 5%. The company raised its fiscal 2018 organic net sales outlook to a range of between flat to down 1% from the previous guidance of a decline of 1% to 2%. The stock has shed 6.7% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has rallied 20%.

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BlackBerry’s stock soars after surprise profit, sales beat

Shares of BlackBerry Ltd. ran up 7.6% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the cybersecurity software company reported a surprise fiscal third-quarter adjusted profit and sales that beat expectations. The net loss for the quarter to Nov. 30 widened to $275 million, or 52 cents a share, from $117 million, or 22 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, the company reported adjusted earnings per share of 3 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of breakeven. Revenue fell to $226 million from $289 million, but was above the FactSet consensus of $212.2 million. Enterprise software and services revenue rose to $190 million from $160 million, while handheld device sales dropped to $9 million from $62 million. The company said it expects “positive” adjusted EPS for the full fiscal year, compared with the FactSet EPS consensus of 7 cents. The stock has soared 58% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 20%.

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U.S. stock futures modestly higher as Senate passes tax bill

U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Wednesday as the Senate passed the Republican tax bill in a late-night vote. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures rose 50 points, or 0.2%, to 24,825, while S&P 500 futures rose 6.1 points, or 0.2%, to 2,690.25. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 15.25 points, or 0.2%, to 6,516.60. The House was expected to approve the tax bill later in the day, and then it would next reach the desk of President Donald Trump for signing. Shortly after the bill was approved in the Senate, he tweeted that a news conference will take place on Wednesday, pending that House approval.

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Mortgage Credit Risk Dips from Prior Quarter

On a quarter-over-quarter basis, mortgage lenders have reduced the amount of risk they took. But there was an increase from a year earlier as refinance share retreated.

The Housing Credit Index for the third-quarter 2017 came in at 111.1. The index reflects six credit-risk attributes for mortgages that were originated from July1 to Sept. 30.

Home lenders cut their risk on single-family loans from the preceding three-month period, when the index was previously reported to be 117.


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From:: Financing

Fannie Updates Lending Requirements

The Federal National Mortgage Association has made changes to its policies on frozen credit reports, premium pricing and Texas home-equity loans.

When premium pricing is utilized, the lender credit can’t be used towards the borrower’s down payment or reserves and shouldn’t exceed the borrower’s closing costs.

Also, lender credits derived from premium pricing aren’t considered an interested party contribution even when the lender is an interested party to the transaction.


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From:: Financing

House to re-vote on tax bill Wednesday

House Republicans will need to vote again on the tax bill they passed Tuesday after hitting a procedural snag. The Senate parliamentarian found three provisions in the GOP tax bill break what’s known as the Byrd Rule, which restricts what can be included in budget legislation. Among the provisions are one allowing the use of 529 savings accounts for home-schooling expenses.

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Red Hat stock falls after company earnings

Shares of Red Hat Inc. fell nearly 5% late Tuesday after the software company reported fiscal 2018 third-quarter earnings and sales above Wall Street expectations and called for full-year and fourth-quarter results that were also above expectations. Red Hat said it earned $101 million, or 54 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $68 million, or 37 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Revenue reached $748 million, compared with $615 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected GAAP earnings of 45 cents a share on sales of $735 million. Red Hat guided for full-year fiscal 2018 revenue between $2.906 billion to $2.911 billion, GAAP earnings per share around $2.02, and non-GAAP EPS around $2.88 per share. For the fourth quarter, the company said it expects revenue between $758 million and $763 million, GAAP EPS around 54 cents a share, and non-GAAP EPS around 81 cents a share. All the estimates are above analyst expectations. The stock ended the regular trading day down 0.5%.

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