CORRECTED: Big Rock Partners Acquisition prices IPO at $10 a share

Big Rock Partners Acquisition Corp. priced its initial public offering at $10 a share late Monday, after upsizing the deal to 6 million units from 5 million, according to Renaissane Capital, a manager of IPO exchange-traded funds. The blank check company will list on the Nasdaq, under the ticker symbol BRPAU, and shares will start trading later Tuesday. Each unit sold consists of one share of common stock and one-half of one warrant, exercisable at $11.50.

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KSS enters definitive agreement to buy troubled Takata’s assets in $1.588 billion deal

Privately-held Key Safety Systems said Tuesday it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire almost all of the assets of Japanese car safety systems maker Takata Corp. in a deal worth $1.588 billion. The parties had already signed a memorandum of understanding in June. Takata has been battered by problems with its airbags, that have led to what the NHTSA has called the biggest and most complex recalls in the U.S. Sterling Heights, Michigan-based KSS will acquire all of Takata’s assets apart from certain operations related to manufacturing and sales of phase-stabilized ammonium nitrate (PSAN) airbag inflators, the companies said in a statement. Takata’s PSAN operations will remain with a reorganized Takata and eventually be wound down. KSS will become a business with pro forma sales of about $7 billion and about 60,000 employees in 23 countries. The deal will be financed with a mixture of debt and equity and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. Takata ADRs have fallen 6% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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Campbell Soup shares fall after earnings miss and profit warning

Campbell Soup Co. shares fell 8.1% in Tuesday premarket trading after the food company reported fiscal first quarter earnings miss and a full-year profit warning. Net income was $275.0 million, or 91 cents per share, down from $292.0 million, or 94 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted EPS was 92 cents. Sales totaled $2.16 billion, down from $2.2 billion last year. The FactSet consensus was for EPS of 97 cents and sales of $2.17 billion. Income was hurt by cost inflation, higher carrot costs and higher transportation and logistics costs tied to the hurricanes, according to Chief Executive Denise Morrison. The sales decline was due largely to Americas Simple Meals and beverages, which included a 9% decrease in soup sales. Pepperidge Farm Goldfish and cookies saw increases. Campbell still expects full fiscal year sales to be flat to down 2%, and full-year EPS to fall 1% to 3%. Previously, the company expected EPS to be flat to up 2%, or $2.95 to $3.02. The change is due largely to gross margin performance. Campbell shares are down 9.3% for the past year while the S&P 500 index is up 17.5% for the period.

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Signet Jewelers shares sink after earnings miss and profit warning

Signet Jewelers Ltd. shares sank 16% in Tuesday premarket trading after the retailer reported a third-quarter earnings miss and issued a profit warning. Net loss totaled $12.1 million, or 20 cents per share, compared with income of $14.8 million, or 20 cents per share, for the same period last year. The FactSet EPS consensus was 13 cents. Sales totaled $1.16 billion, down from $1.19 billion last year and just below the $1.17 billion FactSet estimate. Same-store sales fell 5%, also below the FactSet consensus for a 3.2% decline. Aside from weather-related impacts, the company said results were hurt by “systems disruptions” and changes associated with outsourcing its credit portfolio, particularly with the Kay brand. Signet expects this to continue to be a drag on fourth-quarter and full-year results, Chief Executive Virginia Drosos said in a statement. Signet sees fourth-quarter same-store sales down low-to-mid-single digits. For the full year, the company expects same-store sales down mid-single digits, and EPS of $6.10 to $6.50. Previous full-year same-store sales guidance was down low-to-mid-single digits and EPS of $7.16 to $7.56. The FactSet consensus is for a full-year same-store sales decline of 3% and EPS of $7.05. Signet shares are down 19.5% for the year so far while the S&P 500 index is up 15.3% for the period.

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Burlington Stores shares slide 6% premarket as sales fall slightly short of views

Burlington Stores Inc. shares fell 6% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the company’s third-quarter sales number came in slightly short of expectations and the company offered a fourth-quarter EPS outlook that was below consensus. The discount retailer said it had net income of $44.9 million, or 65 cents a share, in the third quarter, compared with $32.4 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-earlier period. Adjusted per-share earnings came to 70 cents, ahead of the FactSet consensus of 66 cents. Sales rose 7.1% to $1.438 million, a touch below the FactSet consensus of $1.439 billion. Same-store sales rose 3.1%, matching the FactSet consensus. The company said it now expects fourth-quarter sales to rise 11% to 12% and same-store sales to rise 2% to 3%. Adjusted EPS is expected to range from $2.02 to $2.06. The FactSet consensus is for same-store sales of 2.9% and EPS of $2.10. For the full year, the company expects sales to rise 8.1% to 8.4% and for same-store sales to be up 2.3% to 2.6%. Adjusted EPS is expected to range from $4.23 to $4.27. The FactSet consensus is for full-year same-store sales of 2.6% and EPS of $4.25. Shares have gained 26% in 2017, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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DSW’s stock tumbles after profit and sales miss, lowered outlook

Shares of DSW Inc. sank 12% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the footwear retailer reported fiscal third-quarter profit and sales that missed expectations and cut its full-year earnings outlook. Net income for the quarter to Oct. 28 fell to $4.0 million, or 5 cents a share, from $39.0 million, or 47 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 45 cents, below the FactSet consensus of 53 cents. Revenue rose to $708.3 million from $696.6 million, but missed the FactSet consensus of $709.6 million. Same-store sales declined 0.4%, missing expectations of a 0.5% rise, with hurricanes estimated to reduce sales by 0.5 to 0.6 percentage points. The company cut its 2017 EPS guidance range to $1.40 to $1.45 from $1.45 to $1.55. Chief Executive Roger Rawlins said results were negatively impacted by an “unusually severe hurricane season,” and as cold weather-related products “struggled to gain the traction we had anticipated.” The stock has run up 44% over the past three months through Monday, but has lost 0.5% year to date. In comparison, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has lost 4.5% this year and the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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Hormel Foods beats profit and sales expectations

Shares of Hormel Foods Corp. were indicated up over 1% in premarket trade Tuesday, after the branded food company, which brands include Skippy, Hormel and Spam, beat fiscal fourth-quarter profit and revenue expectations. Net income for the quarter to Oct. 29 fell to $218.2 million, or 41 cents a share, from $243.9 million, or 45 cents a share, in the same period a year ago. The FactSet consensus for earnings per share was 40 cents. Revenue declined to $2.49 billion from $2.63 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $2.42 billion. Refrigerated foods revenue fell 5.7% to $1.17 billion, just shy of the FactSet consensus of $1.18 billion, while grocery products revenue declined 0.5% to $489.2 million, but beat expectations of $429.3 million. Jennie-O Turkey Store sales declined 10.4% to $484.9 million, beating the FactSet consensus of $408.4 million. The company said it has merged its grocery products business with its specialty foods business. Looking ahead, Hormel expects 2018 EPS of $1.60 to $1.70, which surrounds expectations of $1.63, and revenue of $9.40 billion to $9.80 billion, compared with the FactSet consensus of $9.65 billion. The stock has lost 4.1% year to date through Monday, while the S&P 500 has gained 15%.

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Judge permanently blocks Trump’s order targeting sanctuary cities

President Donald Trump cannot block federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that shield undocumented immigrants, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Monday in a permanent and nationwide injunction. U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick made permanent a temporary hold against Trump’s executive order targeting sanctuary cities, which he called unconstitutional. The president cannot set new conditions on funding already approved by Congress, the judge said. The case involved Santa Clara County, Calif., and the city and county of San Francisco, who jointly sued the Trump administration in February.

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Judge rules Trump can’t cut off funding to sanctuary cities: report

President Donald Trump cannot block federal funding for so-called sanctuary cities that shield undocumented immigrants, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Monday, according to the Associated Press. U.S. District Court Judge William Orrick made permanent a temporary hold against Trump’s executive order, which he called unconstitutional. The president cannot set new conditions on funding already approved by Congress, the judge said.

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FCC’s Ajit Pai to lay out plan to scrap net-neutrality rules Tuesday: report

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai will seek to entirely scrap current net-neutrality regulations, Politico reported late Monday. Politico said Pai is expected to lay out his plans Tuesday. Current rules require internet providers to treat all web traffic equally. Repealing the Obama-era rules would allow internet providers to slow down competing companies’ content and negotiate deals to create “fast lanes.”

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