Tag: stock market

Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said Friday she would like to see the central bank raise interest rates more than the three quarter-percentage-point moves favored by the majority of her colleagues. In an interview with Fox Business, Mester said she would like to see a steeper path of rate hikes because she expects “a little bit more inflation” than many of her colleagues. Mester said that three hikes this year was a good benchmark forecast at the moment. The Cleveland Fed president said she expects inflation to reach the central bank’s goal of 2% within the next two years, sooner than many of her central bank colleagues project. In the interview, Mester said the December jobs report was “decent” and “in line with an economy on a good track.” The Labor Department reported the economy added 156,000 new jobs in December and the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.7%. Mester is not a voting member of the Fed’s policy committee this year.

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Treasury yields rose on Friday after official data showed the U.S. economy added 156,000 jobs in December. The yield on the 10-year note rose 2.1 basis points to 2.371%, while the two-year yield rose 1.6 basis point to 1.182%. The yield on the 30-year bond 2.1 basis point to 2.966%. Though the headline number was marginally below expectations, fixed-income investors focused on a stronger-than-expected reading on average hourly earnings, which rose 0.4%. “It’s still a fairly solid number and the wage component is definitely the focal point,” said Tony Bedikian, managing director and head of global markets at Citizens Bank. Rising wages typically boost inflation, and when inflation expectations rise, bond investors demand a higher return on their investments to compensate for the corrosive impact of higher consumer prices.

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WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) – The U.S. added 156,000 jobs in December to cap off the sixth straight year in which the economy created more than 2 million new jobs. Economists polled by MarketWatch had predicted a 180,000 increase in new nonfarm jobs. The unemployment rate rose a tick to 4.7% from 4.6% as more people entered the labor force in search of work, the government said Friday. Average hourly wages jumped 0.4% to $26 last month. Hourly pay increased 2.9% from December 2015 to December 2016, marking the fastest 12-month increase since a recovery that began in mid-2009. Hours worked were unchanged at 34.3. Combined employment gains for November and October, meanwhile, were 19,000 higher than previously reported. The government said 204,000 new jobs were created in November instead of 178,000. October’s gain was trimmed to 135,000 from 142,000, however.

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Momenta Pharmaceuticals Inc. shares rose 3.6% in pre-market trade Friday after the company provided a corporate update, including a Thursday announcement about a research collaboration with CSL Limited , from which Momenta will receive $50 million. The company’s latest update said that its biosimilar for Humira, an anti-inflammatory that is the world’s top-selling treatment, could be up for regulatory submission in mid-2017. A 40 mg product for generic multiple sclerosis drug Glatopa, part of a collaboration with Novartis’ Sandoz , could be approved and launched by the first quarter of 2017, Momenta said. Momenta shares have risen 36.0% over the last three months, compared with a 5.0% rise in the S&P 500 . Momenta shares were trading at $15.50 as of Thursday’s close.

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Shares of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries fell more than 5% in premarket trade on Friday after the company issued 2017 guidance that is below Wall Street expectations. Teva forecasts per-share earnings to range from $4.90 to $5.30. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect EPS of $5.40. Revenue for 2017 is expected to be in the range of $23.8 billion to $24.5 billion, Teva said, while analysts surveyed by FactSet expect revenue to hit $24.8 billion for the year. Teva said compared to 2016, currency fluctuations are expected to reduce revenue by $800 million. Shares of Teva are down more than 41% over the last 12 months, underperforming the S&P 500 Index , which is up 14%.

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J.C. Penney Co. Inc. said Friday its same-store sales fell 0.8% in the nine-week holiday period, as strength in appliances, outerwear, boots, toys, Sephora and fine jewelry was offset by weakness in women’s apparel. The department store chain said it is still targeting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of $1 billion for 2016. “We are also encouraged by a very strong performance in our e-commerce business, evidenced by double-digit growth,” Chief Executive Marvin Ellison said in a statement. The company is expecting to deliver a fourth straight quarter of positive operating profit, he said. Shares slid 3.6% premarket, but are up 12.3% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained 14%.

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Penske Automotive Group said Friday it has reached an agreement to acquire CarShop, a U.K. retailer of used vehicles for an undisclosed sum. Penske said it expects the deal to add 7 cents to 9 cents to per-share earnings and generate $340 million in revenue on an annualized basis. CarShop has five large-scale retail locations in Cardiff, Swindon, Northampton, Norwich and Doncaster, as well as a 15-acre vehicle preparation center in Leighton Buzzard, a town in Bedfordshire. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter. Penske shares were not yet active in premarket trade, but have gained 41.8% in the last 12 months, while the S&P 500 has gained about 14%.

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Shares of Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. were halted in the extended session Thursday while shares of Amgen Inc. rallied after a federal judge said Regenron had to pull its competing cholestrol drug off the market as a penalty in a patent lawsuit. Regeneron shares were halted at $376.61, down 1.1% after hours, while shares of Amgen jumped 4.6% to $160. On Thursday, a federal judge blocked sales of Regeneron’s cholesterol treatment Praluent, stating that “irreparable harm” had been done to Amgen’s Repatha.

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Enbridge Inc. said late Thursday its board of directors has authorized a 10% dividend increase, setting the dividend at 58.3 cents a share and payable March 1 to shareholders of record Feb. 15. The increase is independent of the company’s planned acquisition of Spectra Energy Corp. and as previously announced Enbridge expects to increase its dividend by about 15% once the deal closes, the company said. “The merger with Spectra Energy brings together the highest quality liquids and natural gas infrastructure franchises in North America with the largest and most diversified growth projects in the industry,” CEO Al Monaco said in a statement. “The strength of this opportunity set gives us confidence that, following a 15 percent increase in 2017, we will be able to extend our industry leading dividend growth rate of 10-12 percent per annum through 2024.” Enbridge and Spectra Energy announced their intention to merge in September, and the deal is expected to close in the first quarter.

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Stemline Therapeutics Inc. shares surged in the extended session Thursday after the microcap drug developer said it has progressed in its bid to get its leukemia drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration. Stemline shares rose 15% to $13.11 after hours. The company said it entered an agreement with the FDA to support the filing of a marketing application in the second half of 2017 for SL-401, a treatment candidate for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, an aggressive form of leukemia, which currently has no approved treatment. Stemline said it hopes to launch the treatment in 2018.

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