Time Warner and AT&T shares fall following Donald Trump’s win

Shares of Time Warner Inc. fell nearly 3% in premarket trade and AT&T Inc. shares declined slightly in the wake of Donald Trump winning the 2016 presidential election. The two companies agreed to a $85.4 billion merger in October, which Donald Trump vowed to block if he won the presidency. A statement from his campaign at the time read: “Donald Trump will break up the new media conglomerate oligopolies that have gained enormous control over our information… Donald Trump would never approve such a deal.” The deal has already faced stark criticism and potentially rigorous regulatory review down the road. Time Warner shares are up nearly 36% in the year to date, outperforming AT&T shares, which are up 7.5% and the S&P 500 Index , up nearly 5%.

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Cloud networking provider GTT Communications to acquire Hibernia Networks

GTT Communications Inc. , a cloud networking provider, said Wednesday that it has agreed to acquire Hibernia Networks, a high-speed network connectivity solutions provider, in a $590 million transaction. The deal includes $515 million in cash and about 3.3 million shares of GTT stock, valued at $75 million, to be issued to sellers at closing. The deal expands GTT’s portfolio of cloud networking services and grows the companies international client base, among other benefits, GTT Chief Executive Rick Calder said in a statement. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2017 and, according to Calder, the integration is expected to be complete within two to three months after the close. GTT shares are inactive in premarket trading, but up 24.3% for the year so far. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for 2016 to date.

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Wendy’s earnings beat expectations, lifts dividend

Wendy’s Co. shares were indicated up 0.2% in Wednesday premarket trading after the fast-food company reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. Net income was $48.9 million, or 18 cents per share, up from $7.6 million, or 3 cents per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 11 cents, beating the 10-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $364.0 million, down from $464.6 million, but ahead of the $351 million FactSet consensus. Same-restaurant sales across the North American system were up 1.4%. The company has 433 fewer company-operated restaurants compared to last year, said Chief Executive Todd Penegor in a statement, and it’s on track to reduce company-operated ownership to about 5% of the total system by the end of 2016. Wendy’s plans to sell about 315 restaurants to franchisees by the end of 2016, the company said. As part of a previously authorized $1.4 billion share buyback program, the company intends to accelerate the repurchase of $150 million of its common stock. The board has approved an increase of 0.5 cents per share of its quarterly dividend rate. The new rate of 6.5 cents will be effective with the next dividend payment on Dec. 15, 2016 to shareholders of record as of Dec. 1. Wendy’s is increasing its 2016 outlook to adjusted EPS of 40 cents to 41 cents from 39 cents to 40 cents. It now expects same-restaurant sales growth of about 1.5% for the North American system. Wendy’s shares are up 3.3% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the same period.

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Energy stocks tumble premarket, led by solar sector

Energy stocks tumbled in premarket trade Wednesday, led by solar stocks, as investors braced for an administration that is expected to favor traditional energy sources over alternatives. “Trump would allocate more resources to traditional energy sectors (oil, gas and coal) than would Clinton, but allocate less to alternative energy industries,” Dr. Mickey Levy, chief economist for the Americas and Asia at Berenberg, wrote in an early note. Vivint Solar Inc. was the biggest decliner, tumbling 14% in premarket trade. SolarCity Corp. slid 7% and SunPower fell 11%. Exxon Mobil Inc. was down 0.7% and Chevron Corp. lost 1.1%. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF lost 0.9%. S&P 500 futures were down 2.4%.

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Prison stocks rise in the wake of Trump win

Shares of companies that operate in the prison industry rose in Wednesday premarket trading in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election win. Shares of Corrections Corporation of America soared 19.7%, while GEO Group Inc , a real estate investment trust (REIT), were up 9.1%. Shares of both companies have sunk in the year to date. Corrections Corp. is down 46.4% for that period and GEO Group is down 17.4%. The S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the year to date.

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Financial stocks fall, but outperform broader market

Financial stocks are falling in premarket trade Wednesday, in the wake of Donald Trump being elected president, but are outperforming the broader market as both the Senate and House of Representatives retained republican control. The SPDR Financial Select Sector ETF shed 1.5% ahead of the open, but that’s less the 2% decline in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF . Among the financial ETF’s most heavily weighted components, shares of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. dropped 1.6%, Bank of America Corp. slipped 0.3%, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. gave up 0.8%, Wells Fargo & Co. lost 0.6% and Citigroup Inc. fell 1.1%. Analyst Keith Horowitz at Citigroup wrote in a note to clients Tuesday that a Trump victory increases uncertainty about policy, but republicans retaining the Senate would be a positive for the sector. The XLF has gained 3.3% year to date through Tuesday, while the S&P 500 has climbed 4.7%.

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Viacom earnings beat, but revenue misses

Viacom Inc. shares indicated down about 1% in Wednesday premarket trading after the media company reported a fourth-quarter revenue miss. Net income was $254 million, or 64 cents per share, down from $884 million, or $2.21 per share, for the same period last year. Adjusted earnings per share were 69 cents, beating the 66-cent FactSet consensus. Revenue was $3.23 billion for the quarter, down from $3.79 billion last year and below the $3.30 billion FactSet consensus. The company reported an 11% revenue decline in the media networks division to $2.48 billion, due to a drop in advertising. And the filmed entertainment division revenue declined 24% to $774 million, owing to lower theatrical revenue due to the strong international performance of “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” a year ago, the company said. Viacom shares are down 9.3% for the year so far while the S&P 500 Index is up 4.7% for the same period.

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Gunman found dead after shooting, standoff in Southern California

The suspect in a mass shooting that left one person dead and three wounded near a polling place in Azusa, California, was found dead Tuesday night. The shooting occurred around 2 p.m. in the Los Angeles suburb. Responding police were reportedly shot at, and two nearby polling places were locked down for hours with voters inside. The shooting, however, “had nothing to do with the ballot or voting,” said Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Corina. Police had surrounded the heavily armed gunman in a home in a residential neighborhood and a standoff ensued for several hours. Police said it was unknown whether the suspect died from wounds inflicted by officers, or committed suicide.

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California is fifth state to legalize recreational marijuana

California voters approved a ballot measure that allows residents to possess and use recreational marijuana, according to projections. In early returns, California voters approved Proposition 64 by a margin of 54.3% to 43.7%. The Associated Press projected that the proposition would pass less than 15 minutes after polls closed in the state. California was the third state in the nation to approve a marijuana measure Tuesday night, after Florida and North Dakota efforts for medical marijuana passed. Four other states have voted to declare recreational marijuana use and possession legal: Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon.

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Bitcoin price soars as Trump pulls ahead

Bitcoin prices soared as Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump pulled ahead of his rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton, rattling stocks and sending safety plays like gold sharply higher. Bitcoin was up 2.6% at $724 in recent trade. The bulk of trading volume was conducted in U.S. dollars, according to CoinMarketCap.com, suggesting that U.S.-based investors were responsible for the surge.

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