What’s new

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Philadelphia Fed’s manufacturing index was in negative territory in January for the fifth month in a row. The index rose to negative 3.5 from negative 10.2, and the index of new orders rose 10 points to negative 1.4. The headline index came in slightly ahead of the MarketWatch-compiled forecast for negative 6.

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

Apple Inc. suffered another blow on Thursday in regards to quarterly iPhone estimates after Credit Suisse cut its estimate on shipments for at least the second time. Since December, analyst Kulbinder Garcha has been calling for a “subdued iPhone 6s cycle” through the next few quarters. He now expects March-quarter iPhone shipments of 48 million, down from 55 million previously, and calendar-year 2016 shipments of 207.2 million, versus an earlier 222 million. The analyst also lowered estimates on earnings per share by 2% to $9.22 for the year, which he attributed to items such as the iPhone 6s cycle and currency headwinds that are affecting gross margin. However, he reiterated an outperform rating and $140 12-month price target on the stock, which implies 45% upside. Shares of Apple rose 0.6% to $97.35 in premarket trade. They have fallen 15% over the last three months, versus an 8% decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is due to report its next quarter earnings after the market close on Tuesday.

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

Yelp Inc. may face pressure from the expansion of food delivery services from Uber Technologies Inc., according to B. Riley analysts. A Wall Street Journal article reported that UberEats, a service where Uber couriers deliver food from restaurants, would grow to include 10 large U.S. cities and more delivery hours. There are other venture-backed competitors, but the analysts say Uber could curtail the growth of Eat24, Yelp’s food delivery service. “Our concern is from deep pocketed, win-at-any-cost competitors such as Uber and [Amazon] ,” the analysts wrote. That pressure may drive Yelp to to increase advertising for Eat24, along with advertising for its own core business, which will hurt its operating leverage, the analysts wrote. The analysts have a sell rating and $21 price target for Yelp. Shares of Yelp have fallen 6% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s drop of 8%.

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

IAC announced a corporate restructuring of its reporting segments on Thursday and said that it will begin trading under a new ticker symbol: IAC. The five segments will include Match Group Inc. , which owns the dating app Tinder and completed its initial public offering in November; HomeAdvisor, a digital marketplace for homes; video, which is headlined by Vimeo and CollegeHumor; publishing, which includes its online media properties, such as about.com and ask.com; and apps, such as SlimWare, which offers subscription desktop software. Shares of IAC were inactive in premarket trade, but they have fallen 25% over the last three months, versus an 8% decline for the S&P 500. Match’s shares have fallen 19% since their IPO.

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

General Motors reported an increase in global sales for the third year in a row. Global sales, amounting to 9.8 million vehicles sold in 2015, increased 0.2%. Cadillac sales grew 8% globally, largely driven by sales in China. Total U.S. sales were up 5%, due to sales from vehicles such as the Chevrolet Silverado and Colorado. “GM continued to grow in 2015 as our focus on the customer and successful new vehicle launches more than offset the challenging conditions in South America and the curtailment of our presence in certain markets such as Russia,” said GM President Dan Ammann in a press release. Shares of General Motors have fallen 13.5% year to date, compared to the S&P 500’s decline of 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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Alaska Air Group said Thursday that it would increase its quarterly dividend by 38% to pay 27.5 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on March 8, 2016 to shareholders as of Feb. 23, 2016. Alaska Air Group shares were up 1% in pre-market trade Thursday. Shares of Alaska Air Group have fallen 10% in the past three months, compared to the S&P 500’s decline of 8%.

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

United Continental Holdings Inc. shares are down 1.4% in premarket trading after it missed on both profit and sales. The company said it had net income of $823 million, or $2.24 per share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, up from $28 million, or 7 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings were $2.54 per share, missing the FactSet consensus of $2.59 per share. Revenue for the fourth quarter totaled $9.03 billion, down 3% from $9.31 billion for fourth quarter 2014. The FactSet consensus was $9.08 billion. Total passenger revenue was $7.73 billion, down 4.4% from $8.08 billion last year. United Continental said it will add 40 new Boeing 737-700 aircraft to its fleet starting mid-2017, replacing aircraft used by the company’s regional partners. The airline will reduce the number of 50-seat aircraft in its fleet by 50% by 2019. United Continental shares are down 34.8% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 is down 8.5% for the past year.

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 European Central Bank, as expected, left interest rates unchanged Thursday. The bank’s refi rate stands at 0.05%, while the rate paid on deposits held overnight at the ECB remains at minus 0.3%. The rate on the bank’s marginal lending facility remains at 0.3%. ECB President Mario Draghi will hold a news conference at the ECB’s Frankfurt headquarters at 2:30 p.m. local time, or 8:30 a.m. Eastern. Draghi isn’t expected to announce any further easing measures but is widely expected to signal the ECB is prepared to take further steps if necessary to boost inflation.

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

Verizon Communications Inc. shares saw a slight uptick after the company reported better-than-expected earnings for its fiscal fourth quarter. Net income was $5.51 billion, or $1.32 earnings per share, after a net loss of $2.14 billion, or per-share loss of 54 cents in the same quarter a year ago. Adjusted earnings per share were 89 cents, just above the FactSet consensus of 88 cents. The wireless internet, phone and cable provider reported revenue hit $34.25 billion during the quarter, up more than 3% compared with last year’s $33.18 billion. The FactSet consensus for revenue was $34.11 billion. Verizon said it added 99,000 new Fios Internet customers and brought in 20,000 new video customers.

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

Travelers Companies Inc. reported Thursday fourth-quarter earnings that fell to $866 million, or $2.83 a share, from $1.04 billion, or $3.11 a share, in the same period a year ago. Operating earnings per share came to $2.90. The FactSet EPS consensus was $2.67. Total revenue fell 2% to $6.67 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $6.79 billion. Net premiums were little changed at $5.86 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $5.94 billion. The insurer said earnings declined from a year ago due primarily to the impact of low interest rates and lower energy prices. “Underwriting results for both the quarter and the year, which were strong across all of our businesses, continued to benefit from our superior execution in risk selection and pricing, as well as lower than expected catastrophe losses,” said Chief Executive Alan Schnitzer. The stock, which edged up 0.7% in light premarket trade, has lost 6.4% over the past three months while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has dropped 8.2%.

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.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News