Natural-gas futures settle near a six-week low; oil ends higher

Natural-gas futures dropped more than 5% Thursday, with prices marking the lowest settlement for a front-month contract since late October. The Energy Information Administration reported that U.S. supplies of natural gas edged up 2 billion cubic feet last week, defying expectations for a decline. January natural gas fell 15.9 cents, or 5.4%, to settle at $2.763 per million British thermal units. Oil prices, meanwhile, ended higher, but recouped less than half of what it lost a day earlier. January crude tacked on 73 cents, 1.3%, to settle at $56.69 a barrel after falling 2.9% Wednesday.

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From:: Stock Market News

GE’s job cuts not a good reason to buy the stock, yet–analyst

General Electric Co.’s stock rallied as much as 2.3% Thursday, before paring more than half those gains, after the industrial conglomerate said its power division was cutting 12,000 jobs, as traditional power markets, like gas and coal, have slowed. Analyst Jim Corridore at CFRA said he was not certain that the job cuts will be enough to turn around GE Power, which he said has struggled with “poor executive and demand shifts.” He reiterated his hold rating. “We still feel GE has great assets and great technology, but we think that the company faces a long drawn out restructuring, and think it’s best to wait for signs of improvement before adding to positions,” Corridore wrote in a note to clients. Separately, Moody’s Corp. credit officer Rene Lipsch said the magnitude of the jobs cuts reflect the “severity” of the challenges GE Power faces, and that he will be looking, “over the next two years,” the extent to which the move allays his concern about overcapacity and pricing. GE’s stock was up 0.7% in afternoon trade. It has tumbled 26% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 11%.

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From:: Stock Market News

After press conference comments, Sanders now says U.S. ‘looks forward’ to participating in Winter Olympics

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said on Twitter Thursday the U.S. “looks forward” to participating in the Winter Olympics in South Korea, just minutes after leaving open the possibility of not going. She had earlier told reporters that “no official decision has been made” on whether U.S. athletes will participate. Her initial comment followed U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley saying Wednesday U.S. participation is an “open question.” Haley told Fox News the situation with North Korea is “changing by the day.”

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From:: Stock Market News

White House leaves open possibility U.S. won’t participate at upcoming Olympics

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said Thursday that “no official decision has been made” on whether U.S. athletes will participate in the winter Olympics in South Korea. Her comment follows U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley saying Wednesday U.S. participation is an “open question.” Haley told Fox News the situation with North Korea is “changing by the day.”

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From:: Stock Market News

New York Times Co. shares down 5% despite subscriptions rising

Shares of the New York Times Co. were down more than 5% during intraday trade on Thursday. The newspaper publisher said on Thursday that it now has more than 3.5 million paid subscribers and garners more than 130 million monthly readers, which more than doubles its audience compared with a year ago. The New York Times, along with other news outlets this year, has seen a boost in subscriptions tied to the election of President Donald Trump and his contentious relationship with the media. In its most-recent third quarter the Times reported better-than-expected profit, driven by digital subscriptions. At the same time the company has cut staff in a restructuring that led to public displays of frustration from editors and reporters in the newsroom. Shares of the New York Times Co. have gained more than 33% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up nearly 18% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 22%

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold prices settle at lowest since late July

Gold prices fell 1% on Thursday to settle at their lowest since late July. Bitcoin prices soared and U.S. stocks traded broadly higher, dulling demand for haven gold. Gold prices have been weighed down by “elevated risk appetite,” with the market “optimistic that some deal will be struck this week to avert a government shutdown … and that a stimulative tax reform bill will reach the President’s desk by year-end,” said Peter Grant, chief market analyst with gold broker USAGOLD. February gold lost $13, or 1%, to settle at $1,253.10 an ounce.

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From:: Stock Market News

Men’s Wearhouse parent Tailored Brands shares surge after earnings and sales beat, guidance raised

Tailored Brands Inc. shares jumped 11.3% in Thursday trading after the men’s clothing retailer reported third-quarter earnings and sales beat estimates. Tailored Brands’ portfolio includes Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank and K&G. Net income for the quarter totaled $36.9 million, or 75 cents per share, up from $28.4 million, or 58 cents per share last year. Sales totaled $810.8 million, down from $846.9 million last year. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 56 cents and sales of $808.0 million. Retail segment same-store sales were up 0.1%, posting the second consecutive quarter of positive same-store sales, according to a statement from Chief Executive Doug Ewert. Same-store sales rose 4.9% at Jos. A. Bank, but fell at the company’s other retail chains. Tailored Brands expects full-year EPS in the range of $1.80 to $1.85 and adjusted EPS of $2.03 to $2.08. The previous guidance was for EPS of $1.42 to $1.62 and adjusted EPS of $1.65 to $1.85. The company expects full-year same-store sales for Men’s Wearhouse, K&G and Moore’s to be down low-single digits while Jos. A. Banks same-store sales are expected to be up mid-single digits. Tailored Brands shares are down 24.5% for the year so far, but up 1.9% for the last 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 17.7% for the last 12 months.

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From:: Stock Market News

Shake Shack’s stock shoots up to 2-year high after Morgan Stanley upgrade

Shares of Shake Shack Inc. shot up 8.5% toward a two-year high in midday trade Thursday, after the fast-casual burger chain was upgraded at Morgan Stanley, which cited consistent sales beats and valuation, which implies a balanced risk-versus-reward investment profile. Analyst John Glass raised his rating to equal weight and lifted his stock price target to $41. The three factors leading to the upgrade are the company’s outperformance compared with expectations on unit growth, better disclosure on average unit volumes and margins by region and relative valuation, which could get a boost from potential tax reform benefits. Since the company reported third-quarter results after the Nov. 1 close, the stock has run up 22%, while the S&P 500 has gained 2.3%. Shake Shack has beat earnings per share and revenue expectations every quarter since it went public in January 2015. Earlier this week, the company disclosed that private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners acquired a 4.3 million share, or 11.7%, stake in the company.

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From:: Stock Market News

Pandora to buy ad-tech companies within two months: report

Pandora Media Inc. shares rose 1.7% in Thursday morning trading after a Reuters report indicated that the firm was likely to acquire an advertising-technology company within two months. Pandora’s new management team recently admitted that the company needs to make substantial improvements to its ad technology so that marketers can better measure their campaigns and purchase spots on the platform. Pandora has come under pressure as users gravitate toward streaming music services but the company is committed to improving its ad-supported radio product. Shares of Pandora are down 63% so far in 2017, compared with an 18% gain for the S&P 500 .

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From:: Stock Market News

Ginnie Limits VA Refinances to Address Churning

The Government National Mortgage Association has imposed restrictions on refinances of home loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs.

In 2016, Ginnie Mae changed its program rules to address the rapid refinance and churning of VA mortgages. But the problem still persisted.

Then, prompted by criticism from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts), it formed a task force with VA to further address the issue.


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From:: Financing