Facebook makes sexual harassment policy public

Facebook Inc. released its sexual harassment policy Friday, including its reporting procedures and steps the company will take to investigate a complaint. Facebook stock is down a fraction to $180.10 in afternoon trading. In a blog, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wrote that the company decided to make the policy public “not because we think we have all the answers, but because we believe that the more companies are open about their policies, the more we can all learn from one another.” Sandberg said that the company goes beyond what is required by law and the policies prohibits “intimidating, offensive, and sexual conduct even when that conduct might not meet the legal standard of harassment.” The company published the policy in full on its “People Practices” website. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Facebook stock has gained 57% this year, as the S&P 500 index rose 18%.

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Gold prices suffer third-straight weekly decline

Gold fell on Friday, as strength in the U.S. dollar and stocks, and a recent rally in bitcoin, combined to lure investors away from the yellow metal and push prices to their lowest finish since July. December gold lost $4.70, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,248.40 an ounce. That was the lowest finish since July 20, according to FactSet data. Futures prices fell roughly 2.6% for the week.

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Trump national security aide Powell to leave White House: report

Deputy national security adviser Dina Powell plans to leave the White House and return to New York early next year, the Washington Post reported Friday. Administration officials told the Post Powell is exiting on good terms with President Donald Trump. Powell, previously a Goldman Sachs partner, has had a particular focus on Middle East issues.

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These 2 Dow stocks account for half the Dow’s gain

While 22 of the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s 30 components are contributing to the Dow’s rise Friday into record territory, more than half the gain is coming from just two stocks. UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s stock rose $3.93, or 1.8%, in afternoon trade, to add about 27.1 points to the Dow’s price, while the $2.60, or 0.9%, climb in Boeing Co. shares would add 17.9 points. The combined add of 45 points was a little more than half the Dow’s current gain of 85 points. The next biggest contributor was Microsoft Corp.’s stock , which was up $1.67, or 2.0%, to contribute about 11.5 points. The biggest weight were the shares of 3M Co. , which fell $2.25, or 0.9%, to shave about 15.5 points off the Dow.

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Baker Hughes reports a third-consecutive weekly rise in the U.S. oil-rig count

Baker Hughes on Friday reported that the number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil was up 2 at 751 this week. The number of U.S. oil rigs has now climbed for three weeks in a row. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, added 2 to 931, according to Baker Hughes. January West Texas Intermediate crude was up 57 cents, or 1%, from Thursday, to $57.26 a barrel–little changed from shortly before the rig data.

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Elon Musk says Tesla working on its own AI chip: report

Tesla Inc. Chief Executive Elon Musk told academics and researchers at an event Thursday that the Silicon Valley car maker is working on its own artificial-intelligence chip, according a report on CNBC that cited one person at the event. Software related to Tesla’s Autopilot, a suite of advanced driver assistance systems, runs on supercomputers by Nvidia Corp. in Tesla vehicles. Musk last month hinted that Tesla could sever that relationship, on grounds that the hardware might not be robust enough to satisfy future regulation on driverless cars. Musk then promised news on the “hardware front” soon. Nvidia shares have gained nearly 80% this year, while Tesla shares have risen 47% and the S&P 500 index is up 18%.

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Mortgage Staffing Drops Despite Strong Jobs Report

Although U.S. employers in all industries saw robust hiring last month, the latest statistics for the mortgage industry indicate that staffing contracted again.

Nonfarm payrolls increased by a preliminary 228,000 positions during November, according to data released Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That was slightly less than the downwardly revised 244,000 jobs added the prior month but an increase from the downwardly revised 164,000 a year prior.


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From:: Financing

Biotech Denali Therapeutics shares surge more than 20% in trading debut

Shares of biotech Denali Therapeutics Inc. soared more than 20% in their trading debut Friday, after the company priced its initial public offering at the midpoint of its $17 to $19 price range. The company sold 13.9 million shares at $18 each to raise $250 million, giving it a valuation of $1.7 billion, according to Renaissance Capital, a manager of IPO-focused ETFs like the Renaissance IPO ETF . Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan were lead managers on the deal. The stock is trading on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DNLI”.

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Wells Fargo near highs of the day, following Trump tweet about possible increased fines

Wells Fargo & Co. was trading near highs of the day, up 0.7%, after a tweet from the president saying fines could be “substantially increased.” President Trump was pushing back against a report from Reuters, citing three sources, which said that fines pursued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are being reviewed by Interim Director Mick Mulvaney. Under the CFPB’s prior director, the report said Wells Fargo had agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars in fines over alleged mortgage lending abuse. “Fines and penalties against Wells Fargo Bank for their bad acts against their customers and others will not be dropped, as has incorrectly been reported, but will be pursued and, if anything, substantially increased. I will cut Regs but make penalties severe when caught cheating,” the president tweeted.

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Finisar stock gains after Apple hopes outweigh disappointing earnings

Shares of Finisar Corp. gained 3.7% in Friday morning trade even though the company’s earnings fell short of expectations and several analysts slashed their price targets. The company, which reported fiscal second-quarter earnings late Thursday, also delivered a lower-than-expected earnings outlook for the current quarter. Finisar, which makes products that help enable 3D-sensing technology, said on its earnings conference call that it had acquired a new plant in Texas and would expand manufacturing capacity. “This was a mixed quarter, with gross margin weakness from the low 3D utilization, but with shipments ramping, the trajectory suggests Finisar received certification to sell to Apple ,” wrote Raymond James analysts led by Simon Leopold. The firm lowered its price target to $22 from $27 but maintained a strong buy rating. Finisar shares, which closed at a 17-month low earlier this week, have fallen 38% so far in 2017, compared with an 18% gain for the S&P 500 .

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