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A Missouri jury has awarded $72 million to the family of an Alabama woman, who argued that her death from ovarian cancer was caused by using baby powder made by New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. The civil suit was part of a broader case involving nearly 60 people, said the AP. Johnson & Johnson has been targeted in the past by health groups claiming that some of the ingredients in its products are harmful. The company had pledged in 2012 to eliminate two of them, 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde, from all products by 2015. A spokeswoman said the company is considering its next legal move. Shares were trading down 0.8% on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 was down 1.3%.

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Oil futures pared losses on Wednesday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported a 3.5 million-barrel climb in crude-oil supplies for the week ended Feb. 19. That was below the 7.1 million-barrel increase reported by the American Petroleum Institute, but above the rise of 3 million barrels expected by analysts polled by Platts. Gasoline supplies fell 2.2 million barrels, while distillate stockpiles declined by 1.7 million barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was at $31.37 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down 50 cents, or 1.6%. Prices traded at $30.92 before the data.

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Silver Run Acquisition Corporation , the year’s biggest initial public offering in terms of dollars raised, was trading just above its issue price of $10 in its debut on the Nasadaq Wednesday. The company is a special purpose acquisition entity, with no assets of its own, that plans to use the proceeds to buy oil and gas assets. The company sold 45 million units to raise $450 million. Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Citigroup Global Markets Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. underwrote the offering. So far this year, there have only been four other IPOs, according to market intelligence firm Ipreo. In 2015, there were 22 as of Tuesday.

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Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Inc. was upgraded to neutral from sell at Goldman Sachs, citing solid leisure travel trends. The six-month price target was raised to $45 from $41. Goldman Sachs downgraded Norwegian Cruise Line to sell on Dec. 8, 2015, but reversed its decision after the company reported earnings on Tuesday. Norwegian Cruise Line shares opened about flat on Wednesday morning, and are down 2.6% for the past year. The S&P 500 is down 9.2% for the past 12 months.

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U.S. stocks opened lower on Wednesday, building on the previous session’s losses as a slump in oil continued to put pressure on equities. The S&P 500 opened 14 points, or 0.8%, lower at 1,906. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 95 points, or 0.6%, to 16,337 shortly after the open. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 50 points, or 1.1%, at 4,453.

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TJX Cos. shares are up 0.6% in premarket trading after the company announced fourth quarter earnings that beat estimates. The off-price retailer had net income of $666.5 million, or 99 cents per share, up from $648.2 million, or 93 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet consensus was 94 cents. Sales for the quarter totaled $9 billion, up from $8.3 billion last year and beating the FactSet estimate of $8.7 billion. Same-store sales rose across all of the company’s brands, including T.J. Maxx (up 6%), HomeGoods (up 7%) and TJX Cananda (up 14%). The company increased its quarterly dividend by 24% to 26 cents per share. The company also said it would repurchase between $1.5 billion and $2 billion in stock during the fiscal year ending Jan. 28, 2017. TJX sees first quarter 2017 earnings per share between 68 cents and 70 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 74 cents owing to a 2% negative foreign exchange impact and a wage initiative that will have a negative impact of 3%. Company shares are up 8.2% for the past 12 months while the S&P 500 is down 9.2% for the same period.

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Global spending on robotics and related services is expected to reach $135 billion in 2019, up from $71 billion in 2015, according to the International Data Corporation. Spending is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17%, led by purchasing in discrete and processing manufacturing industries, and followed by the resource, healthcare and transportation industries. The Asia/Pacific region makes up more than 65% of robotics spending in the forecast, followed by the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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From:: Stock Market News

Global spending on robotics and related services is expected to reach $135 billion in 2019, up from $71 billion in 2015, according to the International Data Corporation. Spending is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17%, led by purchasing in discrete and processing manufacturing industries, and followed by the resource, healthcare and transportation industries. The Asia/Pacific region makes up more than 65% of robotics spending in the forecast, followed by the region encompassing Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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Power management company Eaton said Wednesday it is raising its quarterly dividend by 4% to 57 cents a share. The new payment will be made March 18 to shareholders of record as of March 7. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 21% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost 9%.

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Macy’s Inc. was downgraded to hold from buy at Stifel on concerns about the growing expenses tied to the retailer’s multiplatform investments. The price target is $48. Macy’s reported a disappointing holiday shopping season on Tuesday, though the company said that online business for the year experienced double-digit growth. “Omnichannel sales have grown rapidly but not without significant cost; the investment in the omnichannel venue and fulfillment capabilities and the cost of sales cannibalized from the bricks and mortar stores, deleverages those assets,” Stifel analysts wrote in a Wednesday note. Macy’s also said it is considering real estate deals, but analysts highlight the uncertain timing and gains on those potential ventures. “What is not reflected in the share price is the possibility of significant one-time gains from one or more real estate transactions, likely related to the flagship locations,” analysts wrote. Macy’s shares are down 1.4% in premarket trading, but up 21% for the year so far. The S&P 500 is down 6% for the year-to-date.

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From:: Stock Market News