Brazilian real soars to 6-month high after former president detained

The Brazilian real jumped to a six-month high against the dollar Friday after Brazilian authorities said they had detained former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The dollar sunk to 3.68 real, compared with 3.80 real late Thursday in New York. Authorities say they have evidence that da Silva profited from a bid-rigging and bribery ring involving state-owned oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, The Wall Street Journal reported. No formal charges have been filed against da Silva.

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SunEdison’s stock soars after settlement with Latin America Power shareholders

SunEdison Inc.’s stock shot up 15% in active premarket trade Friday, after the renewable energy company and TerraForm Power Inc. announced a settlement, in which the actions filed by shareholders of Latin American Power Holding against the companies will be dismissed without prejudice. The deal resolves all disputes regarding the termination of SunEdison’s acquisition of Latin America Power. As part of the deal, SunEdison will pay $28.5 million, while TerraForm has no payment obligation. TerraForm’s stock was still inactive in premarket trade. Shares of SunEdison had tumbled 70% year to date through Thursday, while TerraForm’s had dropped 25% and the S&P 500 had slipped 2.5%.

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Staples quarterly results miss expectations

Staples Inc. on Friday posted quarterly results that fell short of expectations set by Wall Street analysts. The office supplies retailer in the fourth quarter swung to a profit of $86 million, or 13 cents. A year ago, Staples lost $260 million, or 41 cents a share. Adjusted earnings for the most recent period were 26 cents a share. Sales fell 6.9% to $5.23 billion from $5.66 billion a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had expected adjusted earnings of 28 cents a share, on sales of $5.4 billion. Staples, which is working on its merger with Office Depot, said quarterly same-store sales fell 2%. Sales at the Staples.com site rose 1%, the company said. “While our Q4 results came in at the lower end of our expectations, we continued to make good progress on many of our key initiatives, and we have a solid plan to get back to earnings growth in 2016,” said Staples Chief Executive Ron Sargent in a statement. Shares of Staples were inactive ahead of the opening bell Friday.

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Big Lots profit tops forecasts, but revenue misses

Closeout retailer Big Lots Inc. on Friday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $94.5 million, up from its year-ago result of $94.4 million. Adjusted income from continuing operations came in at $2 per share, above the $1.98 expected by analysts polled by FactSet. Quarterly revenue fell to $1.58 billion, down from $1.59 billion and below forecasts for $1.60 billion. Big Lots also announced a $250 million stock buyback program and an 11% increase in its quarterly cash dividend. Shares were inactive in premarket action.

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Messaging app Line plans IPO in New York, Tokyo: report

Line Corp. is hoping to achieve a dual-listing in New York and Tokyo before the summer, said an International Financing Review report on Friday citing unnamed sources familiar with the deal. Line runs a messaging app and is owned by South Korean Internet company Naver Corp. The initial public offering, which could raise between $2 billion and $3 billion, is likely to be a dual-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, IFR’s sources said.

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Messaging app Line plans IPO in New York, Tokyo: report

Line Corp. is hoping to achieve a dual-listing in New York and Tokyo before the summer, said an International Financing Review report on Friday citing unnamed sources familiar with the deal. Line runs a messaging app and is owned by South Korean Internet company Naver Corp. The initial public offering, which could raise between $2 billion and $3 billion, is likely to be a dual-listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and on either the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq, IFR’s sources said.

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Facebook set to pay millions more in U.K. tax: BBC

Facebook Inc. is likely to see its U.K. tax bill rise by millions of pounds after an overhaul by the social media company of its tax structure, the BBC reported Friday. Citing unnamed sources, the BBC said Facebook will stop funneling sales for its big U.K. advertisers via its international headquarters in Ireland. Instead, that revenue will be booked in the U.K., meaning Facebook will be liable for a higher level of corporation tax on related profits, the report said. Facebook is one of several Silicon Valley companies under fire for using a tax structure that allows them to book revenue in low-taxation countries, rather than where the ad is shown.

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Gap Inc. reports year-over-year February sales, same-store sales decline

Gap Inc. said sales for the four weeks ending Feb. 27 totaled $888 million, down from $918 million a year before. Same-store sales for the month were down 2%. Same-store sales for the Gap global brand and for the Old Navy brand were flat, while Banana Republic had an 11% same-store-sales drop for the month. Gap reported quarterly earnings last week along with the announcement of a new $1 billion share-buyback program. Gap’s stock in inactive in after-hours trading. Shares are up 15.6% for the year so far but are down 32% in the past year. The S&P is down 2.5% in 2016.

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Cooper Cos. climbs on better-than-expected earnings

Shares of Cooper Cos. gained in Thursday’s extended session after the contact lens company posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Cooper reported its first-quarter earnings fell to $51.4 million, or $1.05 a share, from $61.2 million, or $1.25 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned $1.83 a share. Revenue rose 1% to $449.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.58 a share on revenue of $442 million. For the full year, Cooper projected adjusted EPS of $8 to $8.30 and revenue of $1.87 billion to $1.91 billion versus the Street’s average estimates of $7.83 a share and $1.87 billion. Shares climbed 3.4% in after-hours trading.

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Cooper Cos. climbs on better-than-expected earnings

Shares of Cooper Cos. gained in Thursday’s extended session after the contact lens company posted quarterly results that beat Wall Street’s expectations. Cooper reported its first-quarter earnings fell to $51.4 million, or $1.05 a share, from $61.2 million, or $1.25 a share, a year earlier. On an adjusted basis, the company would have earned $1.83 a share. Revenue rose 1% to $449.6 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had forecast earnings of $1.58 a share on revenue of $442 million. For the full year, Cooper projected adjusted EPS of $8 to $8.30 and revenue of $1.87 billion to $1.91 billion versus the Street’s average estimates of $7.83 a share and $1.87 billion. Shares climbed 3.4% in after-hours trading.

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