Master electrician for Ask This Old House Scott Caron helps a homeowner install heat cables on his roof to stop ice dams …read more
From:: DIY this old house
How to Install Ice-Melting Roof Cables
Zillow: Mortgage rates drop to lowest level since 2013
Despite some predictions that mortgage interest rates would rise in the aftermath of the Federal Open Market Committee’s December announcement of an increase to the federal funds rate for the first time since June 2006, the exact opposite has happened, with interest rates falling to a two-year low, according to a new report from Zillow. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
VirnetX shares soar on award from Apple’s patent infringement
VirnetX Holding Corp. shares jumped in the extended session Wednesday after a federal jury in Texas ordered Apple Inc. to pay the Internet security software company more than $625 million for patent infringement. VirnetX shares surged 80% to $8.60 following reports of the award. According to court documents, Apple did not contest infringement of VirnetX patents for use in its VPN on Demand feature, FaceTime system, and iMessage system. The award was more than $532 million than what VirnetX had asked for going into the trial, according to Reuters.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
GoPro shares rebound slightly after new products detailed
GoPro Inc. shares rebounded slightly from a 16% drop Wednesday afternoon, after the company outlined new hardware and software offerings set to arrive in 2016. GoPro Chief Executive Nicholas Woodman said on a conference call that GoPro “is doubling down” after a disappointing holiday quarter, while detailing a revamp of GoPro’s video editing software and announcing a new Hero 5. Much of GoPro’s downfall has been focused on disappointing results for the Hero 4 Session camera that launched in 2015 and had its price cut twice, and analysts have said GoPro’s software offerings were holding it back. GoPro executives also revealed that GoPro’s first consumer drone offering, the Karma, will arrive in the first half of the year and a virtual-reality camera rig will launch in the summer. GoPro shares, which fell to a new low of $9 in immediate late trading after earnings were announced, nearly halved those losses after those announcements, recently trading down about 9.5%, near $9.70. That price would still be an all-time low for the company’s stock.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Zillow Group bolsters New York real estate business, buys Naked Apartments
Zillow Group, the parent company for online real estate portals Zillow and Trulia, is growing its operations in New York City with the acquisition of Naked Apartments, which bills itself as “New York City’s largest rentals-only platform.” Naked Apartments is “dedicated to simplifying the rental process” for renters, brokers and landlords in New York City, where, according to Zillow-provided data, approximately 70% of the population rents their home. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Harley-Davidson increases dividend, ups share buyback plan
Harley-Davidson Inc. said Wednesday its board of directors approved a dividend increase to 35 cents a share for the first quarter, an increase of nearly 13% compared with a fourth-quarter dividend of 31 cents a shares. The dividend is payable March 4 to shareholders of record on Feb. 17. The board also authorized the motorcycle company to buy back up to 20 million shares, which is in addition to an existing share buyback authorization approved in June. As of late 2015, 9 million shares remained on that buyback plan. Shares of Harley-Davidson fell 0.5% in late trading Wednesday after ending the day up 0.9%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
GoPro shares fall 16% to new low, sales and forecast even worse than expected
GoPro Inc. revealed losses in the holiday quarter and named a new chief financial officer, while providing a forecast well short of Wall Street expectations. The action-camera company revealed a loss of $34.4 million, or 25 cents a share, on sales of $436.6 million; after adjustments, GoPro said it lost 8 cents a share. Analysts polled by FactSet on average predicted a break-even quarter for adjusted profit on sales of $435 million, after GoPro warned of a disappointing holiday quarter in January. Analysts had expected more than $500 million in sales before GoPro’s warning, which also included news of layoffs. GoPro said it expects sales of $160 million to $180 million in the current quarter, far below average analyst expectations of $291 million, according to FactSet, and the company’s full-year guidance of $1.35 billion to $1.5 billion was below analysts’ expectations of $1.6 billion. GoPro also said that Brian McGee, previously of Qualcomm Inc. , would take over as CFO on March 11 for the retiring Jack Lazar. After being halted ahead of the news, GoPro shares fell 16% in after-hours trading to $9, which would be an all-time low for the stock.
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.
From:: Stock Market News
Oil futures add to sharp rise in electronic trading
Oil futures gained more ground in electronic trading late Wednesday, with West Texas Intermediate crude prices trading at $32.74 a barrel, up from the $32.28 settlement on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rose 8% during Wednesday’s regular session. The Petroenergy Information Network, or SHANA, which stands for its Persian acronym, reported Wednesday that Venezuela’s oil minister said six oil producing countries have agreed on a plan to hold an emergency meeting of members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and non-OPEC members. “Iran has agreed to take part in the meeting and Russia has already announced its agreement,” SHANA quoted Venezuela’s Eulogio del Pino as saying. The report made no mention of oil heavyweight Saudi Arabia, whose participation would be essential to any plan to cut output.
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From:: Stock Market News
Allstate shares tick higher after earnings beat
Allstate Corp. shares ticked higher in the extended session Wednesday after the insurer topped Wall Street estimates for the quarter. Allstate shares rose 0.6% to $60 after hours. The company reported fourth-quarter operating earnings of $1.60 a share on $7.68 billion in premiums written. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast operating earnings of $1.34 a share on premiums written of $7.6 billion.
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From:: Stock Market News
Yum Brands beats expectations as sales rise
Yum Brands Inc. on Wednesday beat Wall Street sales and earnings expectations in the fourth quarter and said its China division system sales rose 7% in the quarter and worldwide system sales grew 6%. Yum said it earned an adjusted 68 cents a share in the fourth quarter, up from 61 cents in the year-ago period. Sales reached $3.95 billion, down slightly from $3.99 billion a year ago, the company said. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 67 cents a share on sales of $2.69 billion. The company added more than 2,300 restaurants globally in 2015, and said it expects to open nearly 2,400 restaurants this year. “We are confident in our ability to deliver 10% operating profit growth in constant currency in 2016,” the company said in a statement. Yum shares fell 1.6% in late trading Wednesday after ending the day up 0.2%.
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.
From:: Stock Market News