Tag: stock market

Federal prosecutors are gearing up to charge Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. executive Gary Tanner and former Philidor Rx Services LLC Chief Executive Andrew Davenport with engaging in a multi-million-dollar fraud and kickback scheme, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday. The move comes after a probe of the Canada-based drug company and its ties to Philidor, a mail-order pharmacy that boosted sales of its drugs, the paper said. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara is scheduled to announced the charges at a noon press conference. Valeant didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Shares fell 6.7% in early trade, and are down 84% in the year so far, while the S&P 500 has gained 6.8%.

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Director of National Intelligence James Clapper has submitted his resignation, reports said Thursday. Clapper’s resignation comes just over a week after Donald Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in the presidential election.

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Shares of Microsoft Corp. tacked on 1% in morning trade, after Goldman Sachs turned bullish on the technology giant, citing accelerating growth in the companies cloud business. Analyst Heather Bellini raised her rating to buy, after being at neutral since Dec. 18. She raised her stock price target to $68, which is 13% above current levels, from $60. Bellini said Microsoft’s Azure is the number two market share vendor in the cloud space, and has at least doubled in size year-over-year in eight of the last 10 quarters. “With a large Microsoft customer base and strong C-level relationships, we believe Azure can continue to grow revenue and improve margins over time,” Bellini wrote in a note to clients. The stock is still down 0.3% since the election and down 1.2% from its Oct. 24 record close of $61. It has climbed 8.6% year to date, while the SPDR Technology Select Sector ETF has rallied 10% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 8.4%.

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Stocks opened little changed Thursday, struggling for direction in early trade ahead of congressional testimony by Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. Ahead of an appearance before the Joint Economic Committee, Yellen said an interest-rate hike could come “relatively soon,” doing little to dispel exepctations the central bank could deliver a rate increase as soon as next month. The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to 2,176.85 while Dow industrials fell 9 points to 18,858. The Nasdaq Composite declined 0.1% to 5,291.48.

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Shares of Wells Fargo & Co. fell 0.6% in premarket trade, after the banker reported October new account openings that fell sharply from a year ago in the wake of the sales-practices scandal. Consumer account openings fell 44% from a year ago, and 27% from September, while new credit card applications tumbled 50% year-over-year and 35% from last month. The bank said the declines were “primarily” due to a full-month impact of the sales practices settlement (Sept. 8) and reduced marketing activities. Customer-initiated account closures increased 3% from last year. Customer interactions with tellers declined 10% from a year ago, amid a 7% increase in digital dealings. Average consumer deposit balances were up 8% from a year ago, and the number of checking account customers grew 3.9%. “As expected, we continued to see declines in new account openings,” said Chief Executive Tim Sloan. “We remain focused on meeting our customers’ financial needs by providing great service and quality products and will provide our next update in mid-December.” The stock has lost 4.9% year to date through Wednesday, while the SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF has run up 13% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.5%.

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A Veterans Affairs whistleblower named Brian Smothers told the Associated Press he has quit his job at the VA in Colorado after, by his account, facing punitive action for having called attention to the alleged existence of secret waiting lists for mental-health care, according to an AP report. The secret lists, he claimed, created the impression that demand for such care was lower and wait times were briefer than they were in reality, according to the report.
According to the AP report, Smothers went to Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Cory Gardner of Colorado, both Republicans, in September, saying he had uncovered the unauthorized lists on spreadsheets in the VA computer system. Smothers left his position on Tuesday, the AP reported. The VA had no immediate comment, according to the AP.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — The Philadelphia Fed said its manufacturing index eased in November to a reading of 7.6 from 9.7 in October. That was close to the MarketWatch economist consensus for a reading of 8. It marked the fourth month above the zero level indicating improving conditions, and measures of general activity, new orders, and shipments all remained positive.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Ahead of an appearance before the Joint Economic Committee, Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen on Thursday repeated the central bank’s contention that an interest-rate hike could come “relatively soon.” She said progress in the labor market has continued and that economic activity has picked up from the modest pace seen in the first half of this year. Inflation, while still below the central bank’s 2% objective, has increased somewhat, Yellen said. Yellen added the central bank continues to expect that the evolution of the economy “will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate over time to achieve and maintain maximum employment and price stability.” Current policy was only “moderately accommodative” because the federal funds rate currently is only somewhat below estimates of the neutral rate, Yellen added.

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Oil prices pushed higher on Thursday, sparked by reports of upbeat comments over a production deal from Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih. The minister said he was optimistic that the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will make good on a preliminary production-cut deal reached in Algeria in September, in an interview with Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya TV, according to reports from Reuters and Bloomberg. OPEC will meet in Vienna on Nov. 30. WTI crude rose 63 cents, or 1.4%, to $46.23 a barrel and January Brent crude shot up 81 cents, or 1.8%, to $47.46 a barrel. Oil prices fell late Wednesday and into Thursday’s session in Asia after U.S. supply data showed a sharp inventory jump.

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Universal American Corp.’s stock jumped 4.8% in light premarket trade Thursday, after the health benefits company said it agreed to be acquired by WellCare Health Plans Inc. in a deal valued at $600 million, or about $800 million including debt. As part of the agreement, WellCare will pay $10 in cash for each Universal American share outstanding, which represents a 12.5% premium to Wednesday’s closing price of $8.89. The deal is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017. WellCare expects the acquisition to boost adjusted earnings per share by 60 cents to 70 cents in first year after closing. Synergies are expected to be $25 million to $30 million a year by 2019. “With approximately 114,000 Medicare Advantage members, and nearly 70 percent enrolled in a 4.0 or higher Star Rating plan, the transaction strengthens WellCare’s Medicare Advantage business in two key local markets – New York and Texas – and gives us a Medicare Advantage presence in Maine,” said WellCare Chief Executive Ken Burdick. WellCare’s stock has soared 64% year to date through Wednesday, while Universal American shares have run up 27% and the S&P 500 has gained 6.5%.

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