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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Industrial production rose 0.3% in June and capacity utilization continued to grow, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a 0.1% rise. The gain came despite a 3.7% drop in the output of motor vehicles and parts, as other durable goods and consumer energy products improved. Capacity utilization rose to 78.4% from an upwardly revised 78.2%, faster than the 78.1% expected.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it sees signs that investors in credit markets have shown “some signs of reach-for-yield” behavior, alluding to stronger sales of private debt that offers higher interest rates but also pose more risk. Still, the Fed also said the financial sector is also more “resilient” to systemic breakdowns because of higher capital reserves.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it sees signs that investors in credit markets have shown “some signs of reach-for-yield” behavior, alluding to stronger sales of private debt that offers higher interest rates but also pose more risk. Still, the Fed also said the financial sector is also more “resilient” to systemic breakdowns because of higher capital reserves.

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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LinkedIn Corp. was upgraded to overweight from equal-weight Wednesday at Barclays on the expectation that the fallout from its weak first-quarter earnings report was overblown. Analyst Paul Vogel said the company’s disappointing report and guidance announced in May were reflections of temporary and transitory issues, and not indicative of broader, or longer-term structural challenges within the company. Shares of the professional social network fell 18.6% on May 1 after the company missed revenue consensus estimates for the first time and predicted second-quarter revenue well below projections. However, sales still climbed 35% last quarter, and Barclays believes issues facing the company’s talent, marketing services, and premium subscriptions divisions will blow over. While Vogel doesn’t expect the second quarter to necessarily be a catalyst for shares, he said the upgrade reflects optimism regarding the second half of 2015 and early 2016.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. producer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in June, led by energy, according to government data released Wednesday. June’s result was higher than the 0.2% expected by MarketWatch-polled economists. The price of goods rose 0.7%, while services increased 0.3%, the Labor Department said. Producer prices over the 12 months through June were down 0.7%. Excluding the volatile categories of food, energy and trade, core prices rose 0.3% in June. The core rate has risen 0.7% in the last 12 months.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Wednesday reiterated that the central bank is likely to raise interest rates “at some point this year” if the U.S. economy stays on its current growth path. Yellen did not offer any clues on when and how many rates hikes might come this year, however. Sounding a more upbeat note, Yellen told a U.S. House committee the Fed expects the economy to strengthen over the rest of 2015. She pointed to a pickup in consumer spending, particularly new cars and trucks, that indicates Americans are more confident and U.S. households are in better financial shape. Yet while the U.S. jobs market is “trending in the right direction,” Yellen said in her twice-a-year testimony before Congress, there’s “still some slack” that will warrant keeping rates low for an extended period. The Fed boss also pointed to the latest Greek debt crisis and problems in China, saying they “pose some risk” to the U.S. economy.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Empire State index of manufacturing conditions in the New York area swung back to positive territory in July, the New York Fed said Wednesday. The index rose to 3.9 points from a negative 2 in June, about in line with a MarketWatch-compiled survey for a reading of 4. Any reading above zero indicates improving conditions. However, the internals of the report weren’t hot, with the new orders index actually getting more negative, falling to negative 3.5 from negative 2.1, and the shipments index sliding to 7.9 from 12.

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It now only takes about $100 to buy a Netflix Inc. stock in premarket trade Wednesday, instead of about $700 the day before, as the online video-streaming giant’s 7-for-1 stock split has taken effect. The stock, which closed Tuesday at $702.60, was the second highest-priced stock among S&P 500 components, but the split-adjusted closing price of $100.37 now makes it the 119th highest priced. A stock split doesn’t change anything for the company in terms of fundamentals, except increase the number of shares outstanding, but it does make it easier for investors to buy a typical number of shares, which could boost trading volume. The shares, which inched up 0.3% to $100.63 in premarket trade, have more than doubled (split adjusted) since the start of the year, while the S&P 500 has edged up 2.4%. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results after Wednesday’s close.

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The European Commission has proposed making a bridging loan of 7 billion euros ($7.71 billion) to Greece, to help it make payments due to the European Central Bank in July. “In the absence of a better solution, [the European Commission] has proposed to the Council to grant short-term emergency assistance to Greece from the EFSM,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the commission’s vice president for the euro, said Wednesday, in a post to Twitter. The loan from the European Financial Stability Mechanism would be paid in a single installment and have a maximum maturity of three months, according to the proposal. The bridging funding, which is dependent on Athens adopting agreed reforms, would be later repaid from the European Stability Mechanism, once a bailout program is in place. The proposal to use EFSM will go before all 28 EU member states for discussion and the decision made by the Council of Ministers, Dombrovskis said.

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Delta Air Lines Inc.’s stock surged 3% in premarket trade Wednesday, after the air carrier reported second-quarter profit and sales that beat expectations. Net earnings rose to $1.49 billion, or $1.83 a share, from $801 million, or 94 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, earnings per share came in at $1.27, beating the FactSet consensus of $1.21. Revenue increased 1% to $10.71 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $10.65 billion, as flat revenue from its mainline operations and an increase in other revenue offset declines in regional carrier and cargo revenue. For the third quarter, Delta expects unit revenue to decline 4.5% to 6.5% and operating margin of 19% to 21%. The stock has declined 1.2% over the past three months through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.1%.

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