Tag: stock market

Amazon.com Inc. said Thursday that it will create more than 100,000 full-time, full-benefit jobs across the U.S. over the next 18 months. The new additions will take the U.S. full-time workforce from 180,000 in 2016 to more than 280,000 by mid-2018. The new jobs will be nationwide and cut across functions from software developers and engineers to entry-level positions, the company said. Most will be in fulfillment centers currently under construction in states including Texas, California and New Jersey. Amazon says it has created more than 150,000 jobs in the U.S. over the past five years. In addition to job creation, the company said more than 9,000 employees have taken advantage of the Career Choice program, which pre-pays 95% of tuition for a variety of courses. Amazon shares are down 0.2% in premarket trading, but are up 29.3% for the past 12 months. The S&P 500 index is up 17.4% for the last year.

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Boeing Co.’s stock fell 0.5% in premarket trade Thursday, after RBC Capital started coverage of the aerospace giant with a rare underperform rating, citing concerns over the average age of the company’s production platforms and that the commercial areo cycle may have peaked. Analyst Matthew McConnell’s stock price target of $136 is 15% below Wednesday’s closing price of $159.40. Only 103, or 6.5%, of the 1,594 companies covered by RBC have underperform ratings. “We believe new commercial platforms create margin pressure due to higher unit production costs in initial accounting blocks, engineering and supply chain risks when ramping up new programs, and slowing production and pricing pressure on high margin legacy platforms in advance of new launches, among other factors,” McConnell wrote in a note to clients. He also said “it is clear” that the strongest part of the commercial aero cycle has passed, given declining commercial orders, headcount reductions and cuts to widebody production rates. Boeing’s stock has run up 20% over the past three months through Wednesday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 10%.

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Hess Corp.’s stock surged 1.6% in premarket trade Thursday, after the oil and gas exploration company said its capital and exploratory budget and production will rise in 2017. The company said the E&P capital and exploratory budget for 2017 will rise 18% from a year ago to $2.25 billion, to fund additional rigs in the Bakken, development activities in Guyana and to restart drilling in the Valhall Field in Norway. Production is expected to increase 8% to 12% from the beginning of 2017 to the end of the year. Separately, Hess said it will record a $3.8 billion noncash charge in the fourth quarter to establish valuation allowances against net deferred tax assets. The company will also take a $700 million fourth-quarter charge to impair the carrying value of interests in Equus, and $140 million in charges for rig exit costs. Hess’s stock has soared 56% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the SPDR Energy Select Sector ETF has run up 36% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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Straight Path Communications Inc.’s stock rocketed 54% toward a 15-month high in premarket trade Thursday, after the wireless spectrum holder announced a settlement with the Federal Communications Commissions that clears the way for the company to review strategic alternatives. The stock was on track to open at the highest level since October 2015. As part of the settlement, the FCC has ended its investigation related to Straight Path’s wireless spectrum licenses, leaving the “vast majority” of its 39 gigahertz spectrum intact, and its 28 gigahertz spectrum unchanged. “With this settlement, we have cleared the way for a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value,” said Chief Executive Davidi Jonas. “To represent us in our endeavors, we have retained Evercore, a premier independent investment banking advisory firm.” The stock had more than doubled over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the S&P 500 had climbed 17%.

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Wendy’s Co. said Thursday it has added the Double Stack burger to the 4 for $4 deal for a limited time at participating locations. The Double Stack is a cheeseburger with two hamburger patties. The deal will include the burger, chicken nuggets, small fries and a small drink. Other sandwich options include the Junior Bacon Cheeseburger and the Crispy Chicken BLT. Wendy’s shares are unchanged in premarket trading, but are up 36.5% for the last year. The S&P 500 index is 17.4% for the past 12 months.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s fiscal policy plans are more a story for 2018-2019 than this year, said St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday. In an interview on CNBC, Bullard said growth in 2017 is pretty much “baked in the cake.” He said he thinks the economy remains in a low interest-rate and slow growth environment that is not going to change by “snapping fingers.” Bullard said he still thinks economic conditions will justify only one interest rate this year and the Fed has time to wait and see what develops. The St. Louis Fed president said he does not believe that a low unemployment rate will necessarily boost inflation. He noted that the market still expects low inflation going forward. The recent pullback in the 10-year Treasury bond yields is the market settling down and waiting to see if Republicans can deliver on their promise of faster economic growth.

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Drug store chain CVS Health Corp. said Thursday it will offer a low-cost version of the authorized generic to the allergic reaction treatment EpiPen, that will be priced at $109.99 for a two-pack. That compares with the $649.99 cash price of an EpiPen and the $339.99 being charged elsewhere for the authorized generic, an epinephrine auto-injector made by Impax Labs . “As a health care company focused on helping people on their path to better health, we recognized that there was an urgent need in the marketplace for a less expensive epinephrine auto-injector for patients with life-threatening allergies,” CVS Pharmacy President Helena Foulkes said in a statement. Mylan Laboratories was widely criticized last summer for hiking the price of the EpiPen sixfold in the last several years. The product is used by many parents whose children are at risk of suffering from anaphylactic shock if they ingest certain allergens. CVS shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but are down 13% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 17%.

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JetBlue Airways Corp.’s stock rose 0.8% in premarket trade Thursday, after the air carrier reported an increase in a key traffic metric during December. Traffic for the month rose 4.5% from a year ago to 3.97 billion revenue passenger miles, while capacity grew 3.1% to 4.72 billion available seat miles. That translated to a 1.1 percentage point increase in load factor to 84.1%. Revenue per available seat mile slipped 1.5% from a year ago. The stock has gained 9.1% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has soared 45% and the S&P 500 has rallied 17%.

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President-elect Donald Trump’s fiscal policy plans are more a story for 2018-2019 than this year, said St. Louis Fed President James Bullard on Thursday. In an interview on CNBC, Bullard said he thinks the economy remains in a low interest-rate environment that is not going to change from a “snapping fingers.” Bullard said he still thinks economic conditions will justify only one interest rate this year and the Fed has time to wait and see what develops. The St. Louis Fed president said he does not believe that a low unemployment rate will necessarily boost inflation. He noted that the market still expects low inflation going forward. The recent pullback in the 10-year Treasury bond yields is the market settling down and waiting to see if Republicans can deliver on their promise of faster economic growth.

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.

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Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 0.7% in premarket trade Thursday, after the air carrier reported fourth-quarter total revenue that beat expectations and provided an upbeat outlook. Earnings fell to $622 million, or 84 cents a share, from $980 million, or $1.25 a share, in the same period a year ago. Excluding non-recurring items, adjusted earnings per share came to 82 cents, matching the FactSet consensus. Total revenue slipped to $9.46 billion from $9.50 billion, but was above the FactSet consensus of $9.40 billion. Passenger unit revenue declined 2.7%, but that was less the Delta’s guidance of a decline of 3% to 5%. Load factor slipped to 85.1%, in line with the FactSet consensus, from 85.2%, as system capacity increased 0.9%. For the first quarter, Delta expects passenger unit revenue to be flat to up 2%, with capacity flat to down 1%. “As we move into 2017, we are seeing our unit revenues turn positive which should return the company to margin expansion by the back half of the year,” said Chief Executive Ed Bastian. The stock has rallied 9.5% over the past 12 months through Wednesday, while the NYSE Arca Airline Index has run up 45% and the S&P 500 has gained 17%.

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.

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