Disney ends its Los Angeles Times blackout after backlash

Walt Disney Co. ended it’s Los Angeles Times blackout on Tuesday, after facing harsh criticism and backlash, according to the New York Times. Disney had barred the LA Times from film screenings after the newspaper wrote an investigative series detailing the company’s business ties with the city of Anaheim, where its Disneyland and California Adventures theme parks are. Film critic organizations came out against Disney, disqualifying the studio from their award considerations after the LA Times made the blackout public last week. Disney said in a statement to the New York Times that it decided to restore the LA Times’ access to early film critic screenings after having productive discussions with the paper’s new leadership about its concerns. Disney shares are down nearly 3% in the year, while the S&P 500 index is up close to 16% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 19%

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From:: Stock Market News

Oil prices mark first decline in four sessions

Oil prices inched lower Tuesday to mark their first session decline since the first day of the month. Prices pulled back after logging three-consecutive settlements at levels not seen since July 2015. Traders await weekly data on U.S. petroleum supplies from the American Petroleum Institute later Tuesday and early Wednesday from Energy Information Administration. Analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a fall of 2.7 million barrels in crude stockpiles. December West Texas Intermediate crude , the U.S. benchmark, lost 15 cents, or 0.3%, to settle at $57.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Nvidia stock options traders brace for some post-earnings volatility

Traders of Nvidia Corp.’s stock options are anticipating a little more than average volatility in the stock after the graphics chip maker reports fiscal third-quarter results Thursday, after the closing bell. An options strategy known as a “straddle,” which involves the simultaneous buying of bullish call and bearish put options at the same price, is pricing in a one-day post-earnings move of 7.5% in either direction on Friday. That compares with an average move of 7.3% over the past eight years. Over the past 32 quarters, the stock rose the day after earnings 20 times and fell 12 times. The average move for the stock on an up day was 8.8% while the average decline has been 4.8%, according to an analysis of FactSet data and SEC filings. The day after rival Advanced Micro Devices Inc. reported third-quarter results, after the Oct. 24 close, its stock had tumbled 13.5%. On Tuesday, Nvidia’s stock was up 1.1% in afternoon trade. It has run up 23% over the past three months, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has climbed 20% and the S&P 500 has gained 4.3%.

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Yellen says ethics, transparency essential for central bank

Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said Tuesday that ethics and transparency is essential for the U.S. central bank. In a speech receiving the Paul H. Douglas Award for Ethics in Government, Yellen said the public must believe the Fed is acting only in its interest. She didn’t discuss monetary policy.

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From:: Stock Market News

Gold retreats as dollar index taps highest levels since mid-July

Gold settled lower Tuesday, with dollar-denominated prices giving back nearly half of what they scored a day earlier as a key index tracking the dollar reached its highest levels since mid-July. “Gold is actually showing some resiliency here, holding to its recent range in the face of new 15-week highs in the dollar index,” said Peter Grant, chief market analyst with gold broker USAGOLD. The ICE U.S. Dollar Index rose to as high as 95.149 Tuesday, with the strength “limiting the upside for gold, amid persistent expectations of further monetary policy divergence,” said Grant. “The market still expects the Fed to hike in December, while most of the other central banks are maintaining dovish tones.” December gold fell $5.80, or 0.5%, to settle at $1,275.80 an ounce.

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Mortgage CFOs, CIOs and Presidents Appointed

Several recent C-Suite appointments within the mortgage industry were peppered with a host of mid-level manager hirings and promotions. Impacted departments include warehouse lending, information technology and sales.

Mike Roemer has been named chief compliance officer of Wells Fargo & Co., a statement last month said. He held the same position at is prior job with Barclays. Roemer starts his new job in January 2018.

Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. disclosed last week that its president, William S. Ashmore, will be stepping down at the end of this year. He’s been with the Irvine, California-based company since 1995.


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From:: Financing

Inflation targeting still makes sense: Bank of Canada’s Poloz

Bank of Canada Gov. Stephen Poloz said consumer price inflation targeting was still a useful mechanism for central banks, even though inflation has been notoriously low in developed economies of late. “The fundamental drivers of inflation, along with identifiable short-term factors, can explain inflation to a degree that is well within normal statistical tolerance,” said Poloz in a speech to CFA Montreal and the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations. The recent weakness in inflation data was no reason to stop using it, as it has worked for more than 25 years, he said. Canada’s CPI for September came in below expectations, as prices increased 1.6% on the year, compared with the FactSet consensus forecast of 1.7%. The U.S. dollar retreated from a two-day high against its Canadian rival but remained firmly higher after the speech was released. The greenback last bought C$1.2787, up from C$1.2704 late Monday.

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From:: Stock Market News

Goldman, J.P. Morgan stocks knock Dow industrials lower in afternoon trade

The Dow Industrial Average saw its losses firm in afternoon trade on Tuesday, with shares of banks leading the charge. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was off about by 35 points, or 0.2%, at 23,513, the S&P 500 index retreated 0.1% at 2,587, while the Nasdaq Composite Index gave up 0.4% at 6,762. The financials sector, as measured by the exchange-traded Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF , was down 1.3%, on pace for its worst daily decline since Sept. 8, according to FactSet data. Among Dow components, shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. were cutting a combined 33 points from the price-weighted, blue-chip benchmark.

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From:: Stock Market News

Myomo’s stock more than doubles on heavy volume after reporting big jump in revenue

Shares of Myomo Inc. more than doubled in active midday trade Tuesday, to get back above its IPO price, after the medical-robotics maker reported results for its first full quarter as a public company. The stock was up 134% at $9.92, above its IPO price of $7.50. Volume topped 5 million shares, compared with the full-day average of about 82,000 shares. Late Monday, the company reported third-quarter revenue that rose 165% from a year ago to $489,000, as gross margin improved to 75% from 58%. The net loss of $1.26 million was slightly above last year’s $1.21 million, but per-share losses narrowed to 21 cents from $1.09. The stock had closed its first day of trade at $7.40 on June 12, then rose to a high close of $19.31 on June 19, before tumbled to its lowest close of $2.57 on Oct. 24. Myomo made history by becoming the first company to list on a major exchange as a Reg A+ company, which allows the company to pitch its IPO to all investors, not just those with a minimum net worth or income. The stock has now gained 34% since June 12, while the Renaissance IPO ETF has gained 10% and the S&P 500 has tacked on 6.5%.

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From:: Stock Market News

Apple’s stock comes up a nickel short of reaching the $900 billion market-cap level

Apple Inc.’s rallied to a fresh all-time intraday high of $175.25 earlier Tuesday before paring some gains, coming just short of the level needed to push the technology giant’s market capitalization above $900 billion for the first time. With 5,134,312,000 shares outstanding as of Oct. 20, the stock would have to rise to $175.30 to break the $900 billion level. The stock was last up 0.2% at $174.54, giving Apple a market cap of $896.14 billion. That’s over $170 billion more than the second most valuable company, Google parent Alphabet Inc. , which is worth $721.82 billion. Apple shares have now gained 3.8% since the company reported fiscal fourth-quarter results after the Nov. 2 close. The stock has climbed 51% year to date, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 19%.

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From:: Stock Market News