Tag: stock market

January sales of semiconductors topped records marking a year and a half of consecutive monthly gains, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association in a statement late Monday. January chip sales rose 22.7% to a record $37.6 billion, SIA said. Year-over-year sales in the Americas saw the largest rise with a gain of 40.6%, followed by Europe with a 19.9% rise, “Asia Pacific/All Other” seeing a 18.6% rise, China gaining 18.3%, and Japan rising 15.1%. “After notching its highest-ever annual sales in 2017, the global semiconductor industry is off to a strong and promising start to 2018, posting its highest-ever January sales and 18th consecutive month of year-to-year sales increases,” said John Neuffer, SIA president and chief executive, in a statement. Over the past 18 months, the PHLX Semiconductor Index has grown 71%, compared with a 24% gain by the S&P 500 index and a 39% gain on the Nasdaq Composite Index

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Gogo Inc. announced Monday that Chief Executive Michael Small has stepped down from his position immediately, by “mutual decision” between the executive and the company. He will be replaced by Oakleigh Thorne, whose family business, Thorndale Farm LLC, is the largest investor in Gogo with about a 30% stake, according to the company. “Oak has made significant contributions to Gogo as a member of our board and has a deep understanding of our business, strategy and operations,” Ronald LeMay, Gogo’s board chairman, said in Monday’s announcement. “On behalf of the Board, we also thank Michael for building Gogo into a global leader and we wish him the best.” Thorne has previously been CEO of two public companies, one of which he led to a $1.9 billion acquisition, and has been on Gogo’s board since 2003, according to Gogo’s announcement. The company, which provides in-flight wireless connectivity, has seen its stock drop 34% in the past six months, while the S&P 500 index has gained 9.5%. Shares rose more than 3% in late trading Monday after the change was announced.

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Nordstrom Inc. said late Monday a special committee of its board of directors has received and rejected as insufficient a proposal to take the company private. Shares of Nordstrom fell more than 2% after the news. The committee had been notified by a group consisting of members of the Nordstrom family, including co-presidents Blake W. Nordstrom, Peter E. Nordstrom, and Erik B. Nordstrom, that the group intended to submit a proposal to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of the company not already owned by the group, and approximately 21% of the shares owned by the Nordstrom family members in the group, for $50 a share in cash, the company said in a statement. The committee has reviewed the acquisition proposal, in consultation with its financial advisor and legal counsel, “and has determined that the price proposed is inadequate,” Nordstrom said. “The special committee has directed its advisors and management not to provide further due diligence information to the group,” the company said. “Furthermore, unless the group can promptly and substantially improve the price it is proposing to pay for the company, the special committee intends to terminate discussions,” it said. Nordstrom shares ended the regular trading session down 2.2%. Similar talks last year fell through after the family struggled to raise enough money for a deal.

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3M Co. announced Monday afternoon that Chief Executive Inge Thulin will move to a newly created executive chairman role and be replaced by Chief Operating Officer Michael Roman. Roman has been COO for 3M since last summer, but has been with the company for three decades, previously serving as chief strategy officer and leading 3M’s largest division. “After a thorough and thoughtful succession planning process, Mike is the clear choice to lead 3M into the future as CEO,” said Thulin, who has served as chairman, CEO and president for 3M since 2012. The switch will take place July 1, the company announced. 3M stock has gained 23% in the past year, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average , which counts 3M as a component, has gained 18.5%. Shares were stable in late trading after the announcement.

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Sen. Thad Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, will resign on April 1, the Associated Press reported. Cochran cited health concerns as his reason for leaving. Cochran leads the appropriations committee and is one of the Senate’s 51 Republicans.

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Ascena Retail Group Inc. shares dropped in the extended session Monday after the Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant parent company reported a wider-than-expected loss and forecast a loss in the next quarter. Ascena shares, which closed down 0.8% at $2.42, were halted after hours and dropped 15% when after-hours activity resumed. The company reported a fiscal second-quarter loss of $39.3 million, or 20 cents a share, compared with $35.2 million, or 18 cents a share, in the year-ago period. The adjusted loss was 12 cents a share. Revenue declined to $1.72 billion from $1.75 billion in the year-ago period. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had estimated a loss of 9 cents a share on revenue of $1.65 billion. For the third quarter, Ascena estimates an adjusted loss of 12 cents to 7 cents a share on revenue of $1.48 billion to $1.562 billion. Analysts expect earnings of 7 cents a share on revenue of $1.49 billion.

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The Federal Trade Commission said Monday that it is challenging J.M. Smucker Co.’s $285 million bid for the Wesson cooking oil brand owned by Conagra Brands Inc. . If Smucker, which owns the Crisco cooking oil brand, succeeded in the acquisition it would control at least 70% of the market for branded canola and vegetable oils sold to retailers in the U.S., the FTC said. “Cooks across the U.S. benefit from the competition between the staple brands Wesson and Crisco,” said Ian Conner, deputy director of the Bureau of Competition. “After attempted price increases by each brand over the last two years were limited by intense competition from the other, this transaction eliminates that restraint and would allow Smucker to raise prices on both brands.” The complaint by the FTC about the acquisition says that allowing the two brands to merge would ultimately drive up the prices for retailers and consumers in the long run. The FTC authorized its staff to seek an injunction in federal court to stop the acquisition, pending an administrative proceeding set to begin Aug. 7. Smucker stock has fallen 7.5% in the past year, as the S&P 500 index has gained 13%. Smucker stock closed up 1.2% to $130.02 during Monday’s regular trading session. The stock was flat after hours.

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Tintri Inc. announced Monday that its chief executive is departing amid a 20% staff cut less than nine months after the flash-storage company’s initial public offering, and shares soared higher. Tintri said that CEO Ken Klein will continue to serve in his position and on the board until a replacement is found, and that an executive search firm has been hired. The flailing young company said three months ago that it was exploring “strategic options,” and announced the results of that review along with fourth-quarter earnings Monday: a 20% staff cut and early termination of a facility lease in an effort to cut $70 million in operating expenses. Tintri also announced that it had sold $25 million in promissory notes to existing shareholders at an 8% annual interest rate. Tintri has struggled mightily since its late-June IPO, in which the company drastically cut its target price and eventually sold shares for $7 apiece. In its fourth-quarter earnings report, the company said it lost $37.4 million, or $1.19 a share, on revenue of $28.9 million, down from $40.8 million a year ago. After adjusting for stock-based compensation and other effects, the company claimed a loss of 72 cents a share. Analysts on average expected an adjusted loss of 80 cents a share on sales of $26.3 million. Tintri stock closed at $5.11 Monday, then rocketed more than 12% higher in late trading following the announcements.

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Shares of Micron Technology Inc. soared 6.3% in active afternoon trade Monday, putting them on course to close at a 17 1/2-year high, boosted by broad strength in the semiconductor sector and the broad-market rally. The stock traded above the $50 mark for the first time since Sept. 28, 2000. Volume of 57.7 million shares was enough to make the stock the most actively traded on the Nasdaq exchange. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meanwhile, the PHLX Semiconductor Index rallied 1.1%, the technology-friendly Nasdaq 100 climbed 1.2% and the S&P 500 rose 1.2%. Micron’s stock has run up 27% over the past three months, while the chip-sector tracker (SOX) has rallied 12% and the S&P 500 has gained 3.6%.

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Oil prices settled higher Monday, getting a lift from reports of a sizable weekly decline in crude stocks at the U.S. oil storage hub in Cushing, Okla. Traders also mulled a report from International Energy Agency, which forecast further growth in U.S. crude production, but also emphasized the need for more investment in the market to avoid a supply shortage after 2020. April WTI crude rose $1.32, or 2.2%, to settle at $62.57 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the largest one-day dollar and percentage rise since Feb. 14, FactSet data show.

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