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Shares of Cisco Systems Inc. fell more than 1% late Wednesday after the networking company reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings in line with expectations but predicted another drop in revenue in the next quarter. Cisco said it earned $2.4 billion, or 48 cents a share, in the fiscal fourth quarter, compared with $2.8 billion, or 56 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted for one-time items, the company earned $3.1 billion, or 61 cents a share, in the quarter, compared with $3.2 billion a year ago. Revenue fell 4% to $12.1 billion in the quarter, from $12.6 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 61 cents a share on sales of $12.1 billion. Cisco said it expects fiscal first-quarter revenue to fall between 3% and 1% year-over-year, and GAAP per-share earnings of 48 cents to 53 cents and adjusted per-share earnings between 59 cents and 61 cents for the quarter. The analysts surveyed by FactSet expect adjusted earnings of 60 cents a share in the fiscal first quarter. Cisco shares ended the regular session up 0.8%.

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From:: Stock Market News

The Securities and Exchange Commission charged seven individuals on Wednesday with insider trading in what it said was a wide-ranging scheme that generated millions in profits by trading on confidential information about dozens of impending mergers and acquisitions.

The SEC says Daniel Rivas, a former IT employee of a large bank, allegedly misused his access to his former employer’s computer system to tip four individuals who traded on confidential information about upcoming transactions and others who also traded and passed along the tips. According to the SEC, the traders profited on market-moving news related to 30 impending corporate deals from October 2014 to April 2017.

Rivas also allegedly tipped his girlfriend’s father, James Moodhe, who traded on the information and used coded conversations and in-person meetings to relay the tips to his friend, Michael Siva, a financial advisor at a brokerage firm. Siva allegedly used the confidential information to make profitable trades for his brokerage firm clients, earning commissions for himself in the process, and he passed numerous tips along to a client who traded on them. Siva also allegedly traded on behalf of himself and his wife based on two of the tips he got from Moodhe, a former financial services company treasurer.

Two of Rivas’s friends in Florida, Roberto Rodriguez and Rodolfo Sablon, allegedly discussed tips on an encrypted, self-destructing smartphone messaging application and used shell companies to carry out their insider trading. Rodriguez and Sablon allegedly converted less than $100,000 into more than $2 million in profits by making aggressive options trades based on the confidential information. Rodriguez also is alleged to have passed several tips to one of his friends who also traded.

A third alleged trading ring involved Jhonatan Zoquier who profited by trading on inside information communicated through the encrypted messaging application. New Jersey-based Zoquier allegedly passed confidential information to Jeffrey Rogiers of Oakland, California more than once. Rogiers allegedly placed several illegal trades for himself and tipped others to trade.

The traders allegedly attempted to evade detection by using shell companies, code words, and an encrypted, self-destructing messaging application. However, the SEC Market Abuse Unit’s Analysis and Detection Center used data analysis tools to detect suspicious patterns such as the improbably successful trading across different securities over time.

The SEC’s investigation is continuing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York also filed criminal charges on Wednesday against the same seven individuals.

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From:: Stock Market News

NetApp Inc. shares edged up over 1% in the extended session Wednesday after the company’s first-quarter earnings beat expectations. The data-storage company’s net income rose to $136 million, or 49 cents a share, compared to $64 million, or 23 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Adjusted earnings were 62 cents a share. Revenue rose 2% to $1.33 billion from $1.29 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated 37 cents a share on revenue of $1.32 billion. Executives issued second-quarter sales guidance of $1.31 billion to $1.46 billion. Analysts model second-quarter sales of $1.37 billion. NetApp stock has gained 20% year-to-date, while the S&P 500 index has gained 10.2%.

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From:: Stock Market News

U.S. stocks ended a volatile session slightly higher on Wednesday, following what might have seemed to some like a torrent of political drama, economic reports and minutes from the Federal Reserve that showed that the central bank is contending with sluggish inflation. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.1% at about 22,025, marking its fourth straight advance, the S&P 500 index closed 0.1% higher at 2,468, and the Nasdaq Composite Index advanced 0.2% to end at 6,345. Markets traded unsteadily Wednesday afternoon, reflecting uncertainty about the strategic path for the central bank and political tensions facing President Donald Trump that could upend his pro-growth agenda. President Trump announced the dissolution of a pair of business advisory panels following a wave of high-profile departures of corporate leaders after widespread criticism over the president’s reaction and late-Tuesday remarks to violence in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend. Meanwhile, the Fed adopted a dovish posture, indicating that some members are concerned about sluggish inflation. In economic news, housing starts fell 5.6% in July weaker than expected. In corporate news, shares of retailing giant Target Corp. rose after it reported an increase in same-store saales and lifted its guidance for the full-year 2017. The Fed’s minutes had a pronounced effect on the yields of 10-year Treasurys, driving prices higher and yields down by the most in 3 weeks, while the ICE U.S. Dollar Index , which measures the buck against a basket of six rivals, declined precipitously due to a combination of shaky economic reports and news about turmoil in Washington.

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From:: Stock Market News

Walt Disney Co. TV network ABC said on Wednesday it’s signed a multi-year deal with former “Lost” co-showrunner Carlton Cuse to create and produce new shows across all network, cable and streaming platforms. The news comes days after “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal” creator Shonda Rhimes was poached by Netflix Inc. from ABC, which was expected to be a blow to the network. “Forming a partnership with a writer/producer/director as talented and prolific as Carlton Cuse is a major victory for ABC Studios,” president of ABC Studios Patrick Moran said in a statement. The Hollywood Reported wrote that the deal is said to be a worth more than $20 million, plus a percentage of the back-end on programming created under the partnership. Cuse spent six years at ABC with “Lost” and has since created shows such as “Bates Motel” and “The Strain.” His current show “The Colony” was recently renewed for a second season on USA, and he also wrote the screenplay for “San Andreas,” starring Dwayne Johnson. This new partnership comes as Disney gears up to launch its own stand alone streaming service to house its content by 2019. “I am very excited to be working alongside wonderful and iconic Disney brands like Marvel, Pixar and Lucasfilm to create and bring entertaining and compelling stories to the screen.” Cuse said in a statement. “The very best part of my job is working with other writers to come up with cool ideas, solve story problems and get stories made.” Shares of Disney are down 2% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 10%.

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From:: Stock Market News

A popular gauge of the dollar reversed course on Wednesday, turning negative, following afternoon news that a pair of advisory council’s to President Donald Trump was being disbanded amid a wave of high-profile CEO departures. The ICE dollar index , which measures the buck against six major currencies, dropped 0.3% to 93.5170, falling into negative territory as reports of the dissolution of the advisory panels, consisting of top Wall Street executives, broke. CEOs, including Merck & Co.’s head Kenneth Frazier, quit one of the president’s manufacturing panels in reaction to Trump’s Saturday response to a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., over the weekend, which resulted in the death of one woman. Late Tuesday, the president placed blame on “both sides” for the violent clashes, fomenting concerns that he is implicitly advocating for white nationalists and leading to additional departures on Wednesday. Trump announced that both the manufacturing council and the strategy & policy forum will be terminated in a tweet, after reports that suggested that discussions about their dissolution were already in the works. The dollar gauge’s losses accelerated after Fed minutes were released on at 2 p.m. Eastern, suggesting that the central bank was hesitant to commit to dollar-boosting policy amid sluggish inflation.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold prices settled higher Wednesday after a late-session turn to gains amid the disbanding of two White House business advisory groups. Several chief executives have announced their departure from an advisory forum following President Donald Trump’s remarks about the violence at a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. December gold rose $3.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,282.90 an ounce. Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting late Wednesday hinted that officials may wait until the September meeting to unveil a selloff of the central bank’s $4.5 trillion in bond holdings. Gold prices edged up from the settlement after the minutes to $1,284.30 in electronic trading.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold prices settled higher Wednesday after a late-session turn to gains amid the disbanding of two White House business advisory groups. Several chief executives have announced their departure from an advisory forum following President Donald Trump’s remarks about the violence at a white-supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va. December gold rose $3.20, or 0.3%, to settle at $1,282.90 an ounce. Minutes from the U.S. Federal Reserve’s July meeting late Wednesday hinted that officials may wait until the September meeting to unveil a selloff of the central bank’s $4.5 trillion in bond holdings. Gold prices edged up from the settlement after the minutes to $1,284.30 in electronic trading.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News