Tag: stock market

Oprah Winfrey could be making over $30 million on her Weight Watchers International Inc. shares on Wednesday, and could be making more than double that if she decides to exercise her options. Winfrey owned 6,367,673 Weight Watchers shares, or about 10% of the shares outstanding, according to January filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. With the stock soaring $4.92, or 34%, to a 14-month high in midday trade, on the heels of better-than-expected earnings and an upbeat outlook, Winfrey’s investment could be worth $31.3 million more than it was on Tuesday. And keep in mind that when the company disclosed in October 2015 that Winfrey bought about 6.4 million shares at $6.79 a share, the company also said it granted her options to buy another 3.5 million shares at an exercise price of $6.97. Based on current share prices, and if she exercised the options, she could be up over $123 million on her investment, including over $43 million on the options alone. Weight Watchers stock has run up 62% over the past 12 months, while the S&P 500 has climbed 21%.

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The lifting of the trading halt in McDonald’s Corp.’s stock has given an 6-point boost to the Dow Jones Industrial Average’s price. When the fast-food giant’s stock had been halted for news, it was up 42 cents, or 0.3%, at $128.07, which added about 3 points to the Dow’s price. After McDonald’s announced a new growth strategy midday Wednesday, the stock resumed trade to be up $1.37, or 1.1%, at $129.02, which tacked about 9 points on the Dow’s price. The Dow was up 319 points in record territory.

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McDonald’s Corp. unveiled a global growth plan at its investor day event on Wednesday that includes delivery and digital enhancements. The company is testing delivery methods, including third-party partnerships for ordering and fulfillment around the world. McDonald’s said nearly 75% of the population in its top five markets – U.S., France, the U.K., Germany and Canada – live within three miles of a McDonald’s. The fast-food giant is also accelerating its “Experience of the Future” restaurant upgrades, which include kiosks to place orders, mobile ordering and table service. McDonald’s will launch mobile order-and-pay in 20,000 restaurants in some of their largest markets, including the U.S. by the end of 2017. McDonald’s is on the path to refranchise 4,000 restaurants by the end of 2017, a year ahead of schedule. And the board has approved a new three-year cash return target of $22 billion to $24 billion. McDonald’s sees systemwide sales growth of 3% to 5% on an average annual constant-currency basis beginning in 2019, and earnings per share growth in the high-single digits. McDonald’s shares are up 1.4% in Wednesday trading after resuming trade, and are up 8.8% for the past year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up 23.4% for the last 12 months.

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Shares of CarMax Inc. took an intraday dive, after a media report that a famed short-seller had made a bearish bet on the used-car retailer. The stock was trading up 2.4% at $66.07 at about 11:15 a.m. ET. CNBC’s Scott Wapner tweeted a few minutes later that Jim Chanos, founder of short-selling firm Kynikos Associates, had recently taken a short position in CarMax’s stock. The stock pulled a sharp U-turn, to trade down as much as 2.9% at an intraday low of $62.64, before bouncing. The stock was recently up 0.6% on volume of 4.2 million shares, which is more than double the full-day average. The stock has now gained 9.6% over the past three months, while the S&P 500 has advanced 9.3%.

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Shares of McDonald’s Corp. have been halted, as investors await news from the company. The stock, halted as of 10:55 a.m. ET, was up 0.3% at $128.07 prior to the halt. The fast-food giant’s stock has rallied 8.1% over the past three months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has climbed 9.8%.

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Ray Dalio said he is stepping down from day-to-day management at Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, but will stay on as a co-chief investment officer with two other senior employees, according to a letter published Wednesday on Dalio’s LinkedIn page. Dalio said he stepped back into the co-CEO role 10 months ago to help with a management transition, adding that his management role was always meant to be temporary. In his stead, David McCormick will step up to join Eileen Murray as co-CEO. Dalio also announced a slew of other management changes, including that co-CEO Jon Rubenstein would leave Bridgewater after serving as co-CEO with Dalio for the past 10 months because Rubenstein “is not a cultural fit for Bridgewater,” Dalio said. Carsten Stendevad, the former CEO of a large Danish pension fund, will join Bridgewater as part of its new senior fellowship program, which will allow outside investing professionals to work at Bridgewater for a year to ” to explore what our culture is like and lend their expertise and insights to our organization.” Dalio founded Bridgewater in his apartment four decades ago. It now manages $150 billion in assets. His transition out of management will be complete by April 15, Dalio said

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The U.S. Energy Information Administration on Wednesday reported an eighth straight weekly increase in domestic crude-oil supplies, but it was smaller than the market expected. Crude inventories rose by 1.5 million barrels for the week ended Feb. 24. The American Petroleum Institute late Tuesday reported a 2.5 million-barrel climb, according to sources, while analysts polled by S&P Global Platts forecast a climb of 2.1 million barrels. Gasoline supplies declined by 500,000 barrels, while distillate stockpiles fell 900,000 barrels last week, according to the EIA. April crude was up 32 cents, or 0.6%, at $54.33 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was trading at $54.28 before the supply data.

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Exchange-traded funds tied to the financial sector jumped on Wednesday, as expectations grew that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its March meeting, which would lift the sector’s net interest margins and boost profits. The Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF rose 2.2% in its biggest one-day advance since Nov. 16. The day’s gain also took the fund to its highest level since December 2007. The Vanguard Financials ETF gained 2.2%, the iShares U.S. Financials ETF is up 1.6%, the iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF is 2.5% higher and the PowerShares KBW Bank Portfolio surged 2.9%. The SPDR S&P Bank ETF rose 2.7% while the regional banking equivalent was 2.7% higher.

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Shares of Tribune Media Co. were up more than 12% early on Wednesday following a Reuters report that the media and entertainment company has been approached by Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. for conversations about a potential deal. Sinclair shares were up nearly 6%. A deal would combine two of the largest local TV station owners in the country. Tribune has a market capitalization of $3.0 billion and Sinclair has a $3.6 billion market capitalization. Tribune Chief Executive Peter Liguori has said he will step down later this month. The company has yet to name a replacement. Tribune also reported earnings for the the fourth quarter on Wednesday in which the company swung to a profit, boosted by political advertising. The company missed Wall Street expectations on per-share earnings and revenue, however, and provided downbeat expectations for 2017, forecasting revenue between $1.87 billion and $1.92 billion, below FactSet’s consensus of $2.10 billion. Shares of Tribune Media are up less than 1% in the trailing 12-month period, underperforming Sinclair, up more than 26% and the S&P 500 index , which is up more than 20% during the same time frame.

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Stocks opened in record territory on Wednesday after President Donald Trump struck a conciliatory tone during his first address to a joint session of Congress. The S&P 500 index climbed 17 points, or 0.7%, to 2,380. The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 195 points, or 0.9%, to 21,003. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 48 points, or 0.8%, to 5,874. Shares of Weight Watchers International Inc. soared after the company said its profit more than doubled in 2016. Shares of Best Buy Co. sank after the consumer-electronics retailer reported fourth-quarter sales that missed expectations. Treasury yields and the U.S. dollar also climbed after Federal Reserve President William Dudley said late Tuesday that the case for raising interest rates has strengthened.

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