Category: Uncategorized

Oil prices settled lower on Monday for the first time in three sessions. A second-straight weekly rise in the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs, reported by Baker Hughes last week, fed concerns over rising U.S. crude production, offsetting support from OPEC’s decision last week to extend its output-cut deal with other major producers to the end of next year. January West Texas Intermediate oil lost 89 cents, or 1.5%, to settle at $57.47 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The staff of the Los Angeles Times has voted in favor of joining the NewsGuild, the labor union that represents nearly 25,000 media workers at The New York Times , Reuters , The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post and the Associated Press, among others. The staff has now filed for a union election with the National Labor Relations Board and for voluntary recognition from management. Shares of the paper’s parent company, Tronc Inc., were up 0.6% Monday, and have gained 29% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Gold prices ended lower on Monday, pressured as the U.S. Senate over the weekend passed a tax reform proposal. The passage helped strengthen the U.S. dollar and fueled a rally in most U.S. benchmark stock indexes, dulling haven investment demand for gold. February gold fell $4.60, or 0.4%, to settle at $1,277.70 an ounce.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said they will meet with President Donald Trump and their Republican counterparts on Thursday. The pair had cancelled a White House visit after Trump had tweeted that he didn’t expect the meeting to produce an agreement. “We’re glad the White House has reached out and asked for a second meeting. We hope the President will go into this meeting with an open mind, rather than deciding that an agreement can’t be reached beforehand,” the two Democrats said in a statement. The cooperation of Senate Democrats in particular is needed to keep the government open and reach a deal to keep so-called Dreamers in the country.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Standard & Poor’s on Monday placed its BBB-plus ratings on CVS Health Corp. on Creditwatch negative after the drugstore chain said it is buying Aetna Inc. for $69 billion, the bulk of which will be paid for with debt. “In our view, CVS’ financial risk profile will weaken considerably as a result of the significant increase in debt, given the scale of the acquisition as well as execution risks that could affect operating performance,” S&P wrote in a note. The rating agency said it expects to resolve the Creditwatch by lowering the rating by one notch, as soon as more information on the deal and financing becomes available. It expects the company’s adjusted debt-to-EBITDA to be in the 4.5 times to 4.8 times range after the deal closes and to remain above 4.0 times for at least a year. CVS said it plans to suspend its share buyback program and use the funds to reduce debt. CVS and Aetna’s most active bonds were little changed on Monday, according to MarketAxess. CVS shares were trading down 5%, and are now down about 10% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 18%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The largest exchange-traded fund to track the technology sector fell on Monday, diverging from the broad market’s strong upward bias as semiconductor and large-capitalization internet stocks tumbled on the day. The fund fell 1.3%, compared with the 0.4% rise of the S&P 500 . Chipmakers were among the biggest drags within the sector, with the PHLX Semiconductor index down 2.9%. Every component of the semiconductor index fell on Monday amid valuation concerns and fear that supply of memory chips was catching up with demand. Advanced Micro Devices fell 7.1% while Micron Technology shed 5.8%. Nvidia Corp lost 5.7% on the day. The group has been one of the strongest sectors of the market this year, with the index up about 35% in 2017. Separately, some of tech’s biggest 2017 gainers were also lower on the day. Facebook fell 1.9% while Microsoft Corp. was down 2.1%.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News