Tag: stock market

Halliburton Co. shares rose 1.2% in premarket trade Monday after the company reported higher-than-expected fourth-quarter profit and revenue. The company reported a loss of $825 million, or a loss of 94 cents per share, after a loss of $153 million, or a loss of 17 cents per share, in the year-earlier period. The latest results include charges relating to tax reform in the U.S. and Venezuela receivables, the company said. Adjusted earnings-per-share were 53 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus of 46 cents. Revenue rose to $5.9 billion from $4.0 billion, above the FactSet consensus of $5.6 billion. Halliburton said it recorded an aggregate $882 million in non-cash discrete tax charges in the fourth-quarter as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which is a provisional amount that is subject to change. The company also said it continues to have delays in collecting payments on receivables from its primary customer in Venezuela. Halliburton shares have risen 22% over the last three months, compared with a 9% rise in the S&P 500 and a 11.8% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average .

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

American International Group, Inc. on Monday announced it was buying insurance firm Validus Holdings Ltd. in an all-cash deal for $5.56 billion. The transaction gives Validus shareholders $68 per share, a hefty premium over its Monday trading level of $46.25. For AIG, the acquisition adds a “leading reinsurance underwriter, a highly regarded operation at Lloyd’s, an enhanced offering in the U.S. domestic market, and an insurance-linked securities asset manager,” the company said in a statement. The deal has been approved by the boards of both firms and is likely to close in mid-2018. AIG believes the acquisition will be immediately accretive to its per-share earnings and return on equity. AIG in late 2017 was released from the U.S. government’s “systemically important financial institution” designation, freeing up more capital for operations, rather than regulatory costs. Still, shares have lost about 7.5% over the past 12 months.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Celgene Corp. on Monday said it’s reached a deal to buy Juno Therapeutics Inc., a biotech company developing cancer treatments, for $9 billion, or $87 a share in cash. Juno shares in premarket trade Monday jumped 26% to $86.10 each, after ending Friday’s session at $67.81. Celgene said the deal, expected to close in the first quarter of this year, should add 50 cents a share to adjusted per-share earnings in 2018. Juno’s JCAR017 treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma should “be a significant growth driver beyond 2020 with potential global peak sales of approximately $3 billion,” said Celgene. “Juno’s advanced cellular immunotherapy portfolio and research capabilities strengthen Celgene’s global leadership in hematology and adds new drivers for growth beyond 2020,” said Celgene.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

A mall in Lake Wales, Fla. was evacuated on Sunday night after two improvised explosive devices (IED) detonated, according to media reports. The devices went off just inside a J.C. Penney, where the fire department discovered smoke, and an IED that had detonated, along with a bag with what they believed could be more devices, the Associated Press reported. There were no reported injuries and police are seeking a person of interest — a middle-aged white man of heavy build, Fox News reported.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The U.S. government shutdown will continue for a third day after the Senate failed to reach a deal Sunday night. The Senate plans to vote at noon Monday on a temporary spending measure that will keep the government open through Feb. 8. There had been hopes that a deal could be reached before the work week started, preventing federal workers from being furloughed, but negotiations were unsuccessful. It’s also far from certain that the procedural vote to end debate Monday will get the 60 votes it needs to pass.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Germany’s Social Democratic Party voted in favor to start official coalition negotiations with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats on Sunday. The vote, which took place at a special party convention, was tight with 362 party members voting in favor and 279 against the coalition, according to local reports. Chancellor Merkel was handed another term by the German people in the September election but has been unable to form a majority government since. The SPD and CDU have a history of coalition governing but butted heads on topics like immigration and taxes this time around.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

President Trump remains in regular contact so far on Saturday with congressional Republicans, including several conversations with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and a discussion with House Speaker Paul Ryan, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement. She said Trump will not negotiate on immigration until the Democrats “stop playing games and reopen the government.” Lack of a funding bill agreement overnight pushed the U.S. into its first government shutdown since 2013. Both chambers reconvened Saturday afternoon. Trump, who is marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration on Saturday, had so far postponed a trip to his Florida resort Mar-a-Lago, where supporters are meeting for a $100,000-a-couple fundraising gala. CNN reports the party will go on even if the president remains in Washington as he has pledged to do until a funding agreement can be reached.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

The Senate will take a vote at about 10 p.m. Eastern on a House-passed bill to keep the government open through Feb. 16. Without a new funding bill the federal government would partially shut down at midnight for the first time since 2013. It’s unclear if the bill will be able to pass in the Senate, where Republicans control 51 votes.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

In a blog post released Friday afternoon, Twitter Inc. provided updated information on the use of its platform by a Russian government-linked group to spread misinformation during the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Twitter said that it would email more than 677,000 U.S. users of its social-media platform to inform them that they had interacted with accounts now linked to the Internet Research Agency. Twitter said it had identified 3,814 accounts–1,062 more than previously reported–linked to the IRA that sent more than 175,000 tweets in the ten weeks leading up to the election. In addition, Twitter said it had identified more than 50,000 automated accounts used to spread the information. “Any such activity represents a challenge to democratic societies everywhere, and we’re committed to continuing to work on this important issue,” the company said. Twitter said it would improve machine-learning capabilities to detect and deal with such accounts, limit some abilities within Tweetdeck and on Twitter’s API to combat the spread of misinformation, and work with politicians to ensure more trustworthy information in this year’s mid-term elections. Twitter stock fell about 0.3% in after-hours trading.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News

Apple Inc. has filed new documents with the Federal Communications Commission that suggest its HomePod speaker launch may be approaching. Made public Friday, the documents include a diagram of the bottom of a “wireless speaker” that includes the location of an FCC label required on such devices and a series of reports about the radio emissions dated Nov. 8, 2017. Apple stock is up a fraction to $178.56 in late trading. Already a late entrant, behind tech titans such as Amazon.com Inc. and Alphabet Inc. [s:goog], Apple delayed its smart speaker launch in November, and said it would ship in early 2018. Apple stock is up 49% in the last 12 months, as the S&P 500 index has gained 24%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which Apple is a component, gained 32% in the past 12 months.

Market Pulse Stories are Rapid-fire, short news bursts on stocks and markets as they move. Visit MarketWatch.com for more information on this news.

…read more

From:: Stock Market News