Foreclosures | Mortgages | Financing
Home lenders were more flexible with loan approvals last month than at any time since the financial crisis. Jumbo conditions eased most as investor offerings expanded.
A standardized quantitative index for mortgage credit, the Mortgage Credit Availability Index, landed at 182.4 for the month of November 2017.
Historical data for the index indicate that last month’s level turned out to be the most flexible period for mortgage credit since at least 2008.
From:: Financing
Biotech Denali Therapeutics Inc. increased the size of its planned initial public offering Thursday, saying it now intends to say 13.9 million shares priced at $17 to $19 a pop. The company would raise $250 million at the midpoint of that range, up from a previous plan to raise $150 million. The company is planning to list on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol “DNLI”. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and J.P. Morgan are underwriters on the deal with Evercore ISI acting as co-manager.
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From:: Stock Market News
Oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries fell to the lowest level in six months in November, according to an S&P Global Platts survey released Thursday. OPEC output declined by 220,000 barrels a day in November from a month earlier, to 32.35 million barrels a day. The decline was driven by “steady” crude production falls in Angola, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Venezuela, Libya and the UAE, S&P Global Platts said. Saudi Arabia’s output fell by 50,000 barrels a day to a four-month low of 9.97 million barrels a day. Output from Nigeria and Algeria, however, climbed. January West Texas Intermediate crude held onto earlier gains, trading 50 cents, or 0.9%, higher at $56.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
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From:: Stock Market News
Shares of General Electric Co. rallied 2.1% in morning trade Thursday, enough to pace the Dow Jones Industrial Average gainers, after the industrial conglomerate announced job cuts at its power division. The stock was on track for the biggest one-day percentage gain since Nov. 10, which was the day before new Chief Executive John Flannery’s unveiling of his turnaround plan triggered a plunge in price. The stock was still down 1.4% this month, and 25.5% since the end of September, while the Dow has slipped 0.4% this month and gained 8.0% this quarter.
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From:: Stock Market News
Shares of SecureWorks Inc. sank 4.2% toward a seven-month low in morning trade Thursday, after J.P. Morgan abandoned its bullish stance on the cybersecurity company for the first time, citing concerns over lingering sales transition and productivity issues. Analyst Sterling Auty downgraded the stock to neutral, after being at overweight since he started covering it in May 2016, a month after the IPO. He lowered his stock price target to $12, which was below the $14 IPO price for the first time, from $15. Although the company beat fiscal third-quarter loss-per-share and sales expectations, the company provided a downbeat outlook for the current quarter, which Auty said might reflect caution following the departure of Chief Revenue Officer Jason Capitel in October. Auty said the company is still the “best positioned” of the managed security service providers (MSSPs), but “changes in sales leadership has the potential to undo some of the work down and cause disruption near term.” The stock, which has closed below its IPO price since Sept. 6, 2016, has tumbled 21.5% the past three months while the S&P 500 has gained 6.9%.
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From:: Stock Market News
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Thursday that domestic supplies of natural gas edged up by 2 billion cubic feet for the week ended Dec. 1. Analysts surveyed by S&P Global Platts forecast a decrease of 1 billion, while the five-year average withdrawal is 69 billion. Total stocks now stand at 3.695 trillion cubic feet, down 264 billion cubic feet from a year ago, and 36 billion cubic feet below the five-year average, the government said. January natural gas fell 14.9 cents, or 5.1%, to $2.773 per million British thermal units, down from $2.789 before the data. A settlement around these levels would be the lowest for a front-month contract since late October, according to FactSet data.
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From:: Stock Market News
Apple Inc. (s: aapl) shares are up 0.3% in Thursday morning trading after analysts at KeyBanc Capital Markets wrote that gross margin upside was likely for the company, while iPhone unit upside seemed less probable. The analysts, led by Andy Hargreaves, analyzed web-search data and concluded that search volume for the iPhone X is similar to what it was for the iPhone 6S shortly after launch. iPhone X search volume is lower than iPhone 6 and 7 search volume, they added. The trends suggest “waning consumer interest in new hardware features,” Hargreaves wrote, and he thinks they’re “likely to prevent meaningful upside to high-end iPhone units going forward.” That said, the firm is upbeat about Apple’s ability to drive gross margin upside based on higher iPhone prices and increasing revenue for the company’s services segment. Apple shares have gained 47% so far in 2017, compared with an 22% gain for the Dow Jones Industrial Average .
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From:: Stock Market News
Starbucks Corp. said Thursday that it has launched a limited-time Christmas Tree Frappuccino beverage, available from Dec. 7 through Dec. 11. The drink tops a Peppermint Mocha Crème Frappuccino with a Matcha whipped cream “tree” decorated with a caramel drizzle garland, candied cranberry ornaments and a strawberry topper. The drink is available in the U.S. and Canada. Starbucks shares are up nearly 6% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 17.5% for the period.
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From:: Stock Market News
Johnson Controls International PLC said Thursday it has approved a $1 billion increase to its stock repurchase program. The diversified industrial technologies company said it had $200 million remaining in its previous share buyback program. The announcement comes a day after the company raised its quarterly dividend by 4%. The stock gained 0.8% in morning trade. It has lost 8.9% year to date, while the SPDR Industrial Select Sector ETF has rallied 18.6% and the S&P 500 has gained 17.5%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Stocks saw a mixed start Thursday as investors kept an eye on progress on tax legislation working its way through Congress and awaited Friday’s November employment data. The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.2% as tech stocks continued to recover from a selloff last week and Monday. The S&P 500 was off 1.22 points at 2,628.05, a decline of less than 0.1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gave up 23 points, or 0.1%, to 24,118.
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From:: Stock Market News