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Gold futures settled higher on Friday, with a slump in global stock markets boosting the metal’s investment appeal. February gold settled at $1,090.70 an ounce on Comex, up $17.10, or 1.6%, for the session. For the week, however, prices lost 0.7% after a rally in the first full week of the new year lifted prices by 3.6%.
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From:: Stock Market News
After a recent announcement from the company that it is exiting the distributed retail lending channel due to changes in the market, Ditech announced it is eyeing different area of the lending market to expand in, correspondent lending. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
Oil prices continued to drop after data from Baker Hughes showed that the number of active U.S. oil-drilling rigs fell by 1 to 515 as of Friday. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes natural-gas rigs, was down 14 at 650. Compared to last year, the total rig count has fallen by 1,026, with the oil rig count down 851. February crude was at $29.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down $1.85, or 5.9%. It was at $29.37 before the data.
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From:: Stock Market News
Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. was a surprise stock-market gainer in a sea of red Friday, trading up about 2% early afternoon. The stock is now up about 12% on the week, after it announced plans to win back customers after outbreaks of E.coli and norovirus sickened customers. Executives at an investor conference in Florida this week said they expect the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to declare it free of E.coli soon, as there have been no reports of the illness since late November. Chipotle is working to restore confidence in the safety of its food and has hired experts to help with a cleanup and reorganization of its food preparation. The stock is still down 34% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has lost just 6%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Less than two years into the mortgage industry and SoFi is already breaking a lot of ground. The lender announcing it has officially secured more than $7 billion in funding. …read more
From:: Real Estate Wire
The Treasury Department is closely watching market movements, the White House said Friday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled more than 400 points. “Market indices closed somewhat higher yesterday, and now they’re down again today. Obviously these are market movements that are closely watched at the Treasury Department,” White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. He said the Treasury watches world financial markets and evaluates what kind of impact they could have on the broader U.S. economy.
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From:: Stock Market News
Aeropostale Inc. said on Friday that the New York Stock Exchange had accepted the company’s plan for continued listing, subject to quarterly review. The mall-based retailer received notice on Oct. 30 that it was not in compliance with the NYSE’s listing requirements, because average global market capitalization for 30 consecutive trading days was less than $50 million and stockholder equity was less than $50 million. Aeropostale had previously received notice from the NYSE that the closing price of its stock over 30 consecutive trading days had fallen below the $1 minimum. Shares of Aeropostale climbed 8% in morning trade to 29 cents. It last closed above $1 on Sept. 1, 2015.
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From:: Stock Market News
Hyatt Hotels Corp.’s stock tumbled 6.4% in morning trade Friday to the lowest level since November 2012, after Goldman Sachs downgraded the hotel chain to sell from neutral. Analyst Steven Kent slashed his stock price target to $33, which is 8.8% below current levels, from $47. Kent wrote in a note to clients that he has three primary reasons for the downgrade: 1) Hyatt has more operating leverage than its peers, “making it more vulnerable to an industry downturn;” 2) “Hyatt does not have the corporate finance levers that offset investor concern around weak hotel fundamentals;” and 3) “Hyatt is overexposed to urban markets where we are seeing the biggest surge in supply.” Regarding No. 2, Kent said while rivals Marriott and Starwood are dealing with industry weakness by merging, and Hilton may spin off its timeshare and owned hotels business, Hyatt doesn’t appear to have this option. Regarding the weak hotel industry, Kent wrote: “We are in the downward leg of the hotel cycle, which will be characterized by rising supply, weakening demand, downward estimate revisions and multiple contraction. Hyatt’s stock has plunged 28% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has lost 7%.
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From:: Stock Market News
Wal-mart Stores Inc. shares were down 1.7% in morning trading after it said it will close 269 stores in the U.S. and abroad. Of the closures, 154 locations will be in the U.S., including the 102 Walmart Express locations, the company’s smallest stores, which had been in pilot since 2011. The company will also close 23 Neighborhood Markets, 12 Supercenters, seven stores in Puerto Rico, six discount centers, four Sam’s Club stores and 115 stores internationally. The closures represent less than 1% of both global square footage and revenue, the company said in a Friday release. The closures will impact 16,000 associates, 10,000 of them in the U.S. More than 95% of the closing stores are located within 10 miles of another Walmart, and the company said affected associates will be given priority for open positions. Associates who aren’t relocated will receive 60 days pay and, if eligible, severance and job training skills. The financial impact will be 20 cents to 22 cents per share from continuing operations, with 19 cents to 20 cents expected to impact the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016. Wal-Mart will report fourth-quarter and full-year earnings on Feb. 18. The move is part of the growth plan unveiled during the company’s October investor event. Wal-Mart shares are up 4.6% for the past three months, but down 29% for the past 12 months. The S&P is down 5.7% for the past 12 months.
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From:: Stock Market News
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Friday, as oil prices resumed their slide, tumbling below $30. The S&P 500 opened with the biggest loss since late August, while the Dow industrials opened with a 300-point drop. The main indexes erased all of their gains from the previous session. The S&P 500 opened 43 points, or 2.2%, lower at 1,879. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 342 points, or 2.2%, to 16,064. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite began the day down 144 points, or 3.12%, at 4,471.
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