IBM installs new CFO

International Business Machines Corp. said late Thursday that it has installed James Kavanaugh as chief financial officer, and former CFO Martin Schroeter will take a new role as senior vice president of global markets. Kavanaugh was senior vice president, finance and operations, the company said. IBM has not yet made any decisions about the executives’ compensation. Both executives will participate in the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call on Jan. 18. IBM stock is down a fraction to $164.04 after hours. Over the past 12 months IBM stock has lost 2%, as the S&P 500 index rose 21%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average , of which IBM is a component, has gained 27%.

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Apple, HP lead PC shipment growth in fourth quarter

PC makers saw their first holiday quarter rise in shipments in six years, according to the International Data Corp. on Thursday. Fourth-quarter shipments rose 0.7% to 70.58 million units, with the largest gains at HP Inc. with a 8.3% rise, and Apple Inc. , with a 7.3% rise. For the year, however, PC shipments declined 0.2% to 259.53 million units, but HP and Apple led gainers. Gartner, however, showed slightly different numbers with PC shipments declining 2% to 71.56 million units for the fourth quarter, and falling 2.8% to 262.54 million units for the year. HP and Apple also led PC shipment growth for the fourth quarter and the year in the Gartner data.

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Stocks end at records, driven by rally in energy shares

U.S. stock-market indexes closed at records on Thursday, driven by a rally in energy and materials sectors, which followed rising oil prices higher. The rally comes a day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq suffered the first down day of the year on anxieties about appetite for Treasurys from the world’s second-largest economy, China. The S&P 500 gained 19.33 points, or 0.7%, to 2,767.56. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index advanced by 58.21 points, or 0.8%, to 7,211.78. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 205.60 points, or 0.8%, to 25,574.73. Among the best performers on Wall Street, shares of Xerox rose 5.2%, after The Wall Street Journal reported that the company is in talks to potentially do a major deal with Japan’s Fujifilm Holdings Corp.

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Group of senators say they have reached an agreement on immigration

Six senators — Republicans Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake and Cory Gardner, and Democrats Dick Durbin, Michael Bennet and Robert Menendez — said they have reached an agreement on immigration that, they say, addresses border security, the diversity visa lottery, chain migration/family renunification and the Dream Act. The senators say they are working to build support for that deal in Congress.

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NBC expects to garner $1.4 billion in ad revenue from Super Bowl, Winter Olympics

Comcast Corp. expects NBC’s advertising revenue for Super Bowl LII to be as much as $500 million. Shares of Comcast were up more than 3% during intraday trade on Thursday. NBC’s head of ad sales, Dan Lovinger, told reporters during a conference call on Thursday that NBC is taking in $5 million per 30-second ad spot during the Super Bowl on Feb. 4, and that a handful of open spots remain, according to media reports. Lovinger said the network expects it to set the single-day record for advertising generated by a single media company. The Super Bowl telecast will be followed by a special broadcast of one of TV’s most popular shows, “This Is Us,” which is expected to have added to demand. Lovinger also said the network is expecting to bring in roughly $900 million in ad revenue from the upcoming Winter Olympics, which would put the total ad revenue for both events at $1.4 billion. Comcast shares have gained more than 18% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 21% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 27%.

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Oil prices up a fourth session; natural-gas futures at 6-week high

Oil prices settled higher Thursday for a fourth session in a row. Prices got a boost as recent data showed U.S. crude supplies falling for eight straight weeks. Traders awaited the Trump administration’s decision on whether to extend temporary waivers on sanctions against Iran. February West Texas Intermediate crude rose 23 cents, or 0.4%, to settle at $63.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest finish since Dec. 9, according to FactSet data. Natural-gas futures, meanwhile, rose to a six-week high after a record weekly drop in U.S. supplies of the commodity. February natural gas rose 17.8 cents, or 6.1%, to settle at $3.084 per million British thermal units.

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HBO signs journalist Ronan Farrow to exclusive 3-year production deal

HBO said on Thursday that it has finalized an exclusive three-year deal with investigative journalist Ronan Farrow. The news of a potential deal was first reported in a Hollywood Reporter profile of Farrow, who back in October wrote a detailed account of disgraced former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual harassment and abuse. HBO, owned by Time Warner Inc. said that Farrow’s TV deal will begin later this year, but he will continue his reporting for the New Yorker magazine. Farrow will be responsible for developing and fronting a series of investigative documentary specials that will document abuses of power by individuals and institutions. “Ronan Farrow’s extraordinary, revelatory reporting for the New Yorker has helped to propel a string of other investigations, breakthroughs and overdue conversations,” said HBO head of programming Casey Bloys. “We are excited to provide a platform for this dogged reporter to pursue projects that continue to speak truth to power.” Shares of Time Warner have declined more than 2% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 index is up more than 21% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 27%.

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Gold prices score highest settlement since mid-September

Gold prices climbed Thursday for a second session to settle at their highest since mid-September as weakness in the U.S. dollar prompted the greenback to turn a bit lower for the week. February gold rose $3.20, or 0.2%, to settle at $1,322.50 an ounce–the highest since Sept. 15, according to FactSet data.

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Treasury yields erase climb after better-than-expected 30-year bond auction

Treasury yields retreated Thursday afternoon following a successful 30-year bond auction. Bond yields rose earlier after minutes from the European Central Bank’s December meeting showed senior officials were looking to change its policy guidance to reflect the strengthening eurozone, drawing speculation the ECB would stop its bond purchases earlier than expected. The 30-year bond yield was down 1.9 basis point to 2.872%, according to Tradeweb. The 10-year note yield fell 0.9 basis point to 2.540%. The 2-year note yield was at 1.977%. The bid-to-cover ratio stood at 2.74, the highest since Dec. 2014. Treasurys trading can be influenced by sales of government paper. The bid-to-cover gives a sense of appetite for the auction, a number showing the ratio of total bids received to bids accepted. “This depth of demand should allay some concerns about a runaway increase in yield,” wrote Aaron Kohli, fixed-income strategist for BMO Capital Markets.

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Dropbox files confidential IPO document: report

Dropbox Inc. has filed confidential initial public offering documents with the Securities and Exchange Commission and aims to list its stock in the first half of the year, according to a Bloomberg report Thursday. Dropbox shares are worth between $8.15 and $12.63, with the last private fundraising round valuing the business at $10 billion as of January 2014, according to a Wall Street Journal report. Unlike last year’s IPOs of Snap Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc. , investors will be able to compare it with an already public direct competitor: Box Inc. . And the bankers reportedly leading the deal, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan, will have an easier time assessing the company’s value and share price ahead of its listing.

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