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Morgan Stanley’s stock surged 1.7% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the investment bank was upgraded at RBC Capital Markets, which was upbeat on the growth outlook for the wealth management business. Analyst Fiona Swaffield raised her rating to outperform from sector perform, while keeping her stock price target at $39, which is 21% above Tuesday’s closing price of $32.36. “We expect wealth management to remain a source of EPS growth driven by the deposit deployment strategy independent of the timing of U.S. rate rises,” Swaffield wrote in a note to clients. She said she believes Morgan Stanley will benefit from any rise in interest rates, saying a one percentage-point increase could add 7% to annual profit. The stock has slumped 16% over the past three months, while the SPDR Financial ETF has lost 6.2% and the S&P 500 has slipped 4.9%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Pure Storage , an enterprise storage company, priced shares in its initial public offering at $17 each, the middle of its $16 and $18 price range. The company is expected to start trading Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. In its prospectus, Pure Storage said it would offer 25 million shares and seek to raise $400 million to $450 million. The company said Tuesday it had also granted its underwriters a 30-day option to buy up to 3.75 million additional shares of class A common 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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Pandora Media Inc. has agreed to acquire TicketFly, a ticket-selling and marketing software company, for about $450 million in nearly equal parts cash and stock. Founded in 2008, Ticketfly serves about 1,200 venues and event promoters across North America, including Burning Man and the Pitchfork Music Festival. In 2014, the company sold 16 million tickets to more than 90,000 live events and generated more than $1 billion in cumulative transaction volume. Pandora has nearly 80 million monthly active users. Pandora also plans to use the combined data from the two companies to create money-making tools for musicians and improve recommendations for users. Pandora stock is up 46.9% over the past three months. The S&P is down 4.9% for the same period.

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

Tesla Motors Inc.’s stock dropped 1.9% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the electric car maker was downgraded at RW Baird, which cited uncertainty over the timing of Model X deliveries and lack of near-term catalysts. Analyst Ben Kallo lowered his rating to neutral, after being at outperform since January 2014. He slashed his stock price target to $282, which is 17% above Tuesday’s closing price of $241.46, from $335. “It remains unclear…when initial [Model] X deliveries will occur (besides launch event deliveries), and production ramp could take longer than expected,” Kallo wrote in a note to clients. “With limited visibility to positive catalysts until the release of the Model III prototype, we are moving to the sidelines.” Tesla unveiled itsnew Model X SUV last week. The stock has lost 9.9% over the past three months, but was still up 8.6% year to date, while the S&P 500 has declined 3.8%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Monsanto Co. shares fell 2.3% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the agriculture giant missed profit and sales expectations and unveiled a restructuring plan as it struggles to cope with a downturn in the sector. Monsanto said it had a net loss of $495 million, or $1.06 a share, in its fiscal fourth quarter, after a loss of $156 million, or 31 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Sales fell to $2.4 billion from $2.6 billion. The FactSet consensus was for a loss of just 2 cents a share and sales of $2.8 billion. “We will continue to focus on executing on key milestones within our core seeds and traits business, and we plan to remain disciplined in our agricultural productivity strategy, drive further optimization in spend through strategic restructuring actions and accelerate our progress toward our targeted capital structure,” Chief Executive Hugh Grant said in a statement. The company is planning a series of cost cuts, including 2,600 job cuts over the next 18 to 24 months. The first phase of the restructuring aims to save $275 million to $300 million by end fiscal 2017, at a cost of about $850 million to $900 million. The company is also planning a $3 billion accelerated share buyback program. Shares have fallen 27% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 is down 3.4%.

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

Constellation Brands Inc. shares surged almost 4% in premarket trading Wednesday, after the wine, beer and spirits distributor beat profit estimates for its fiscal second quarter. The company said it had net income of $302 million, or $1.49 a share, in the quarter, up more than 50% from the same period a year ago. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.56, well ahead of the FactSet consensus of $1.32. Sales rose 8% to $1.73 billion, in line with the FactSet consensus. Sales were driven by the beer business, which is also behind an increase in the full-year EPS outlook, Chief Executive Rob Sands said in a statement. “Our wine and spirits business posted improved margins, strong sales growth for our spirits portfolio and excellent financial results for our Canadian business,” he said. The company is still expecting full-year sales to grow about 10%, and now expects adj. EPS of $5.00 to $5.20. Shares have gained 34% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has lost 3.8%.

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.

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From:: Stock Market News

Holiday retail sales are expected to increase 3.9% from year ago levels, according to FTI Consulting Inc., which is below the the 5.2% increase seen a year ago. FTI said seasonal hiring plans for retailers this year are mostly in line or less than during the last holiday season. The company said consumer confidence is still fairly high, but well off the eight-year highs seen earlier this year, as year-over-year wage gains have remained weak. “Despite the glimmer of hope the market had for the U.S. retail sector as we entered 2015, today’s retail environment still lacks vigor,” said Bob Duffy, global leader at FTI’s retail and consumer business. “Our 2015 holiday sales forecast is in line with a year of continued weak consumer spending.”

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

By Nina Lincoff

When it comes to disbursing federal foreclosure aid to homeowners, the Sunshine State lags all others states in the nation, according to a report released Tuesday by federal regulators.

Florida has $1 billion in Troubled Asset Relief Program funds, a federal relief pool funded by taxpayers. The federal government created the Hardest Hit Fund — a pool of $7.6 billion in TARP funds – in 2010, after the financial crisis, to help families in the states that were hardest hit when the housing bubble… …read more

From:: biz journal foreclosures

Never lose your keys again! Leave them right at the door with these handy hooks …read more

From:: DIY this old house

14 smart electronic gadgets that help streamline your home and reduce energy costs …read more

From:: DIY this old house