Facebook delays preview of smart speaker in wake of data scandal: report

Facebook Inc. will delay the unveiling of its upcoming smart speaker with a digital assistant, Bloomberg News reported late Tuesday. The device was set to be previewed at Facebook’s upcoming developers conference in May, but will be put on hold in the wake of the recent scandal involving Cambridge Analytica’s unauthorized mining of Facebook users’ data. Facebook will now take extra time to ensure the new device will sufficiently protect users’ data, Bloomberg said. Facebook still plans to launch the device, which will compete with Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo and Alphabet Inc’s Google Home, later this year, Bloomberg reported.

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From:: Stock Market News

Facebook delays preview of smart speaker in wake of data scandal: report

Facebook Inc. will delay the unveiling of its upcoming smart speaker with a digital assistant, Bloomberg News reported late Tuesday. The device was set to be previewed at Facebook’s upcoming developers conference in May, but will be put on hold in the wake of the recent scandal involving Cambridge Analytica’s unauthorized mining of Facebook users’ data. Facebook will now take extra time to ensure the new device will sufficiently protect users’ data, Bloomberg said. Facebook still plans to launch the device, which will compete with Amazon.com Inc.’s Echo and Alphabet Inc’s Google Home, later this year, Bloomberg reported.

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From:: Stock Market News

In surprise trip to China, North Korean leader says he’s still open to U.S. summit: report

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is still willing to meet with the U.S., Chinese state media reported late Tuesday, confirming reports that he was in Beijing on a surprise trip. According to multiple reports, state TV network CCTV said Kim and his wife were in Beijing for the past four days, his first trip outside his country since taking power in 2011. Kim and Chinese President Xi Jinping reportedly discussed proposals to improve relations, and Kim apparently said he was committed to the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. Earlier this month, President Donald Trump surprisingly accepted Kim’s invitation to meet later this year, although there has been no official response from North Korea since then.

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From:: Stock Market News

Business Sinks to Nearly 4-Year Low at Freddie Mac

It has been nearly four years since secondary activity at the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. was as slow as it was last month. Delinquency, meanwhile, dipped.

In its Monthly Volume Summary: February 2018, McLean, Virginia-based Freddie Mac reported a total mortgage portfolio of $2.0994 trillion.

The Feb. 28 book of business was comprised of an $0.2467 trillion investment portfolio and $1.8527 trillion in outstanding mortgage-related securities and guarantees.


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From:: Financing

AMD: Crypto mining isn’t as big a part of our business as reported

Advanced Micro Devices Inc. reiterated Tuesday that cryptocurrency mining was less than 10% of its revenue last year in response to reports that a change in Ethereum mining would damage its business. “Yesterday a report was published on AMD which hypothesized very high revenue for Ethereum-related GPU sales,” the company wrote in an unsigned blog post. “As a reminder, on our Q4’17 earnings conference call we stated that the percentage of annual revenue related to Blockchain was approximately mid-single digit percentage in 2017.” While the post did not name any names, Susquehanna analyst Christopher Rolland downgraded the stock to negative from neutral on Monday, and wrote that “the proliferation of Ethereum mining ASICs have the ability to impact ~20% of AMD’s total company revenue.” AMD and Nvidia Corp. are thought to have benefited from the use of their GPUs to mine on the Ethereum blockchain last year, but that cryptocurrency is believed to be almost ready to move beyond GPU mining and require ASIC chips. AMD’s blog post focused on the company’s core businesses and their ability to grow, specifically mentioning its inclusion in some Apple Inc. products. AMD stock fell a combined 5.9% Monday and Tuesday; in late trading Tuesday after the blog post hit, shares gained about 0.3%.

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From:: Stock Market News

RH shares jump 14% on EPS beat

Shares of RH jumped more than 14% late Tuesday after the home-goods company, formerly known as Restoration Hardware, reported fourth-quarter earnings above Wall Street expectations and forecast better profits in the first quarter. RH said it earned $261,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with $9.4 million, or 23 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, RH earned $43.3 million, or $1.69 a share, in the quarter, compared with $28 million, or 68 cents a share, a year ago. Sales rose 14% to $670.3 million, from $587 million a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of $1.56 a share on sales of $672 million. “In 2018, we will continue our focus on execution, architecture and cash,” the company said in a statement. For the year, RH said it expects sales between $2.53 billion and $2.57 billion, and adjusted per-share earnings between $5.45 and $6.20. Shares of RH ended the Tuesday session down 4.1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

$34 Mil in Nonperforming GSE Loans Trading Hands

The sale of more than $34 million in government-sponsored enterprise-backed residential loans that are not performing has closed. The loans are secured by Florida properties.

Winning bidders have been announced for a portfolio of 182 Fannie Mae mortgages with a collective outstanding unpaid principal balance of $34.25 million.

The non-performing loans are broken up into two pools; one of the pools has an Orlando, Florida, concentration, while the second pool is concentrated in Tampa, Florida.


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From:: Financing

Sonic shares fall after weak guidance

Sonic Corp. shares fell 5% in the extended session Tuesday after issuing a weaker than expected full-year guidance. Sonic shares closed up more than 2% to $25.34 during the regular session. The company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $19.5 million, or 51 cents a share, compared with $11 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 17 cents a share. Revenue fell to $88.1 million from $100.2 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $94.2 million. Sonic said it expects full-year earnings of $1.43 a share to $1.50 a share; analysts model earnings of $1.52 a share. Sonic stock has fallen 7.8% this year, with the S&P 500 index falling less than 1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Sonic shares fall after weak guidance

Sonic Corp. shares fell 5% in the extended session Tuesday after issuing a weaker than expected full-year guidance. Sonic shares closed up more than 2% to $25.34 during the regular session. The company reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $19.5 million, or 51 cents a share, compared with $11 million, or 25 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 17 cents a share. Revenue fell to $88.1 million from $100.2 million in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated adjusted earnings of 15 cents a share on revenue of $94.2 million. Sonic said it expects full-year earnings of $1.43 a share to $1.50 a share; analysts model earnings of $1.52 a share. Sonic stock has fallen 7.8% this year, with the S&P 500 index falling less than 1%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Is the Economy Fostering Optimism in Real Estate? Not Yet

By Susanne Dwyer

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Confidence in the economy is high, but optimism about ownership is not, according to the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR).

The amount of buyers who are confident about their prospects shrank to 68 percent in NAR’s quarterly Housing Opportunities and Market Experience (HOME) survey, a decline from 72 percent last quarter. Fifty-five percent of renters have the same sentiment—also a decline, from 60 percent in the quarter prior.

“The critical shortage of listings in most markets continues to spark a hike in home prices that is not easy for many buyers—and especially first-time buyers—to overcome,” says Lawrence Yun, chief economist at NAR. “Adding more fuel to the affordability fire is the fact that mortgage rates have shot up to a four-year high in just a few months. Many house hunters are telling REALTORS® that they are dispirited by the stiff competition for the short number of listings they can afford.”

There is a brighter outlook among sellers. More than three-quarters (74 percent) of homeowners are positive about selling today—the highest proportion since December 2015, and up from 71 percent last quarter.

“There’s no question that a majority of homeowners have amassed considerable equity gains since the downturn,” Yun says. “Home prices have grown a cumulative 48 percent since 2011 and are up 5.9 percent through the first two months of this year. Supply conditions would improve measurably, and ultimately lead to more sales, if a growing number of homeowners finally decide that this spring is the time to list their home for sale.”

More Americans (60 percent this quarter, versus 52 percent last quarter) are encouraged by the growth overall, believing the economy is progressing. The HOME Personal Financial Outlook Index, a gauge of whether or not Americans expect their finances to improve in the next six months, climbed to 63.8, from 59.1 last quarter.

“The jump in optimism to start the year can be attributed to the robust job creation in most of the country, as well as the larger paychecks households are enjoying because of faster wage growth and the recent tax cuts,” says Yun. “These three positives should further ignite buyer demand; however, several metro areas with the healthiest labor markets also have the most severe supply and affordability pressures. This troublesome reality is what’s dampening moods and keeping many would-be buyers at bay.”

NAR also assessed the hurdles keeping non-owners on the sidelines:

  • 47 percent cited limited income;
  • 30 percent cited debt from student loans;
  • 28 percent cited growing rents; and
  • 14 percent cited health/medical obligations.

Additionally, there are concerns about the mortgage process: credit, debt and income unknowns, according to the survey. Almost 30 percent of non-owners, notably, are unaware of what is needed to qualify.

“It’s never too early for those wanting to own a home in the future to sit down with a lender to discuss their current financial situation,” says NAR President Elizabeth Mendenhall. “Homeownership could be a more attainable goal once an interested buyer finds out how much they can afford to buy, as well as what steps, if any, are needed …read more

From:: Finance and Economy