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Gold prices climbed Tuesday to recoup more than a third of what they lost a day earlier. Prices found some support on the back of weakness in the U.S. dollar, as investors awaited Wednesday’s release of the Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the November meeting for clues on the Federal Reserve’s stance on the path for interest-rate hikes. December gold climbed $6.40, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,281.70 an ounce after losing 1.6% on Monday.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission charged the town of Oyster Bay and its highest elected official on Tuesday with allegedly defrauding municipal bond investors when it failed to disclose side deals with a local businessman who had contracts with the town. This businessman allegedly cultivated the relationship with the town, then-town supervisor John Venditto and other officials with gifts, bribes, kickbacks, and political support. In return the town of Oyster Bay, New York allegedly agreed to indirectly guarantee four private loans-totaling more than $20 million-for this vendor and failed to disclose the indirect guarantees in connection with any of the 26 securities offerings the town issued between Aug. 2010 and Dec. 2015. The SEC’s complaint alleges that Oyster Bay and Venditto deliberately concealed the indirect loan guarantees, including one that could have required the town to make a termination payment of approximately 16% of the town’s operating budget -$16 million-within 60 days had the vendor defaulted on the loans. The SEC’s investigation is continuing. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York also filed an indictment on Tuesday that included securities fraud charges against Venditto.

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CBS News said on Tuesday that it has fired TV host, and journalist Charlie Rose, effective immediately. The news, announced in a memo to staff from CBS News President David Rhodes, comes after eight women accused Rose of sexual harassment and sexual assault. In the memo Rhodes said that “Despite Charlie’s important journalistic contribution to our news division, there is absolutely nothing more important, in this or any organization, than ensuring a safe, professional workplace–a supportive environment where people feel they can do heir best work. We need to be such a place.”

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Federal prosecutors on Tuesday charged an Iranian man with the hack into Time Warner Inc.-owned HBO’s computer system, that led to unaired episodes of the network’s hit show “Game of Thrones” being leaked online, according to news reports. HBO’s systems were hacked over the summer, and handfuls of TV episodes, documents and company emails were leaked online. The hacker, Behzad Mesri, according to reports, demanded $6 million in bitcoin at the time. According to reports, Mesri is a member of the Turk Black Hat Security hacking team and has ties to the Iranian military, however, it’s not believed that the HBO hack was on behalf of the Iranian government. Shares of Time Warner have declined nearly 8% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up close to 19%.

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In the wake of a September investor presentation from Goldman Sachs , Instinet analyst Steven Chubak remains tepid on the stock, and prefers Morgan Stanley , he said in a note Tuesday. It will take Goldman time to realize higher earnings from its new strategies, Chubak noted, and about half of the anticipated revenue lift comes from segments that face long-term, structural headwinds, such as the shift from active asset management to passive. Goldman’s businesses are now skewed toward “lower-multiple areas,” such as fixed income, commodities and currency trading and consumer lending, while Morgan Stanley’s earning mix is “higher quality.” Goldman shares are down about 0.6% for the year to date, while Morgan Stanley’s are up 16.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 18.6% in that time and the S&P 500 is up 15.9%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Stocks opened higher higher Tuesday, with the Nasdaq hitting an all-time high and the Dow rising triple digits as investors focused on upbeat corporate earnings. The S&P 500 rose 0.4%, while the Dow advanced 112 points, or 0.5%. The Nasdaq rose 0.5%.

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Stone Energy Corp. said Tuesday it will merge with privately held Talos Energy LLC, creating a company with an equity market capitalization $1.9 billion. The combined oil and gas exploration and production company will be named Talos Energy Inc., and is expected to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange with a stock ticker symbol of “TALO.” Under terms of the deal, each Stone share outstanding will be exchanged for one share of Talos Energy Inc., and current Talos stakeholders will be issued a total of 34.2 million common shares. Talos stakeholders will own 63% of the combined company while Stone shareholders will own 37%. Talos Chief Executive Timothy Duncan will be CEO of the combined company. Stone’s stock was halted for news. It has soared 40.6% over the past three months, but has shed 12.5% year to date. In comparison, the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has lost 10.7% this year and the S&P 500 has rallied 15.3%.

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Cytokinetics Inc. shares dropped 31% in premarket trade Tuesday after the company said its lead product candidate failed to meet primary or secondary endpoints in a late-stage clinical trial. The drug, tirasemtiv, was being developed for the progressive neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS); Cytokinetics said on Tuesday that it plans to suspend tirasemtiv’s development. The company said it believes tirasemtiv’s limitations “may be addressed with our next-generation fast skeletal muscle activator, CK-2127107,” which is currently in mid-stage clinical trials, with phase 2 results expected next year. CK-212710, which is also called CK-107, is being developed to improve muscle function and physical performance for individuals with ALS, spinal muscular atrophy, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and for elderly adults with limited mobility. Cytokinetics shares have declined 11.6% over the last three months, compared with a 6.3% rise in the S&P 500 and a 8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

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Medtronic plc said Tuesday it had net income of $2.01 billion, or $1.48 a share, in its fiscal second quarter through Oct. 28, up from $1.12 billion, or 80 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to $1.07, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 98 cents. Sales fell to $7.05 billion from $7.35 billion, but were also ahead of the FactSet consensus of $6.98 billion. The revenue decline was driven by the company’s sale of its Patient care, Deep Vein Thrombosis and Nutritional Insufficiency businesses to Cardinal Health that took place at the beginning of the quarter. Hurricane Maria shaved another $55 million to $65 million off revenue. “Our second quarter financial results are very encouraging, when considered in the context of a quarter in which we faced three hurricanes and the California wildfires,” chief Executive Omar Ishrak said in a statement. The company reiterated guidance that is based on a comparable, constant currency basis. Shares jumped 3% premarket, and have gained 11% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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From:: Stock Market News