Carnival approved to take passengers to Cuba

Carnival Corp. said it has been granted approval to begin travel to Cuba by both the U.S. Department of Treasury and the U.S. Department of Commerce. The cruise ship operator plans to start taking travelers to Cuba in May 2016. “We are excited about receiving U.S. approval as the very important first step to ultimately take travelers to Cuba under the existing 12 criteria for authorized travel,” said Chief Executive Arnold Donald. “We know there is strong demand from travelers who want to immerse themselves in Cuban culture, so this is a historic opportunity for us to enable more people to experience Cuban society.” The stock, which was unchanged in premarket trade, has climbed 8.9% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.5%.

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

Netflix’s stock price target raised well above record levels at Raymond James

Netflix Inc.’s stock price target was bumped up to $730 from $585 at Raymond James, which cited improving usage and content. Analyst Justin Patterson’s new target is 10% above Monday’s closing price of $662, and 7.2% above the stock’s June 23 record close of $681.19. Patterson reiterated his outperform rating, saying his firm’s second-quarter consumer survey showed signs of improving content quality, which supports his view of strong subscriber growth and improving retention–49% plan to keep Netflix and 54% subscribe for original content, compared with 41% and 49%, respectively, in the first quarter. And based on reviews on IMDB, Netflix’s original content ranks ahead of broadcast peers, and in line with Showtime, Patterson said. Since Netflix seems to understand the cloud, Patterson said he believes the video streaming service “will figure out programming faster than media companies can figure out the cloud.” The stock, which edged up 0.2% in premarket trade, has soared 94% year to date, compared with the S&P 500’s 0.5% gain.

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

U.S. trade deficit climbs 2.9% in May to $41.9 billion

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The nation’s trade deficit rose 2.9% in May, mostly because the U.S. exported fewer aircraft and other manufactured goods. The U.S. trade deficit climbed to a seasonally adjusted $41.9 billion from a revised $40.7 billion in April, the Commerce Department said Tuesday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a deficit of $42.1 billion. Exports dipped 0.8% to $188.6 billion, hurt by a strong dollar and weaker growth outside the U.S. Imports slid 0.1% to $230.5 billion. The trade deficit has averaged $41.3 billion in the first two months of the second quarter, down from a $43.4 billion average in the first quarter. So the trade deficit is unlikely to be a big drag on U.S. gross domestic product in the second quarter like it was in the first three months of the year, when the economy contracted. For the first time since 1990 the U.S. ran a surplus with Canada, the result of lower oil imports and a stronger dollar. The deficits with China and the European Union both rose, however.

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

Duke Energy raises quarterly dividend by 4%

Duke Energy Corp. said Tuesday it is raising its quarterly dividend by about 4% to 82.5 cents a share. The new payout will be payable Sept. 16 to shareholders of record as of close of trade Aug. 14. The company is aiming to distribute $2.7 billion of its foreign cash to shareholders by 2022, it said in a statement. Duke is planning to increase future dividends at a rate that is more in line with adjusted per-share earnings targets, it said. Shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 12.8% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 0.5%.

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

AMD’s stock plunges to lowest level in more than 2 1/2 years

Advanced Micro Devices Inc.’s stock plunged 14% in active premarket trade Tuesday, after the semiconductor maker lowered its sales outlook late Monday because of a weaker-than-expected PC market. The stock is currently on track to open at the lowest level Nov. 30, 2012. UBS analyst Stephen Chin reiterated his sell rating, while cutting his stock price target to $2 from $2.20. “We are not surprised with this negative preannouncement given the pervasive data pointing to universal weakness in PC demand, particularly for a company like AMD, which derives roughly 70% of its sales from PCs,” Chin wrote in a note to clients. Wedbush’s Betsy Van Hees also said the warning wasn’t a surprise, but cut her stock price target to $2.25 from $2.50. Meanwhile, Northland Capital’s Gus Richard said he believes the second quarter was the bottom of the PC inventory cycle, as he’s seen some evidence of builds picking up in the current quarter. “We reiterated our outperform [on AMD] and would accumulate the shares on weakness,” Richard wrote.

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

Monthly home prices rise 1.7% in May, annual growth fastest in 10 months: CoreLogic

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. home prices rose 1.7% in May, with buyers during the key spring sales market bidding against each other for a relatively low supply of homes, according to a report released Tuesday by CoreLogic, an Irvine, Calif.-based analysis firm. Year-over-year growth for home prices hit 6.3% in May, the strongest result in 10 months. “Mortgage rates on 30-year fixed-rate loans remained below 4% through May, helping to fuel home-purchase activity,” said Frank Nothaft, CoreLogic’s chief economist. “Our homes-for-sale listing data shows that markets with high demand and limited supply, such as San Francisco, are recording double-digit appreciation rates over the past year.” Gains were “fairly widely distributed across the country,” while 10 states, including the likes of Texas and New York, hit record highs for home prices in May. In April eight states reached record highs.

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

Fitbit’s stock surges on heels of upbeat analyst note

Fitbit Inc.’s stock ran up 4% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the RW Baird issued an upbeat research note on the maker of fitness activity trackers. Analyst William Power initiated coverage of Fitbit with an outperform rating and stock price target of $52, which is 29% above Monday’s closing price, and 2.6 times the $20 initial public offering price. “Our proprietary fitness band survey and other retail channel checks suggest strong ongoing sales momentum,” Power wrote in a note to clients. “While valuation has gotten stretched following strength since the IPO, we believe estimates could prove conservative and expect operating momentum to push the shares higher.” The stock has gained 35% since the first day of trading on June 18, when it closed 48% above its IPO price.

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