Tag: stock market

The No. 1 ranked and undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide beat the No. 4 Washington Huskies 24-7 in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Saturday, earning a berth in college football’s championship game on Jan. 9. Alabama, seeking its second straight title, will play the winner of the matchup between No. 2 Ohio State and No. 3 Clemson in Saturday night’s other semifinal playoff game being played at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. Alabama, 14-0 this season, has not lost since falling to Mississippi on Sept. 19, 2015, running its winning streak to 26 games. Alabama coach Nick Saban is looking to add a fifth national title to his Alabama resume and his sixth overall (he won in 2003 as head coach of LSU).

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Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc. revealed Friday afternoon that founder Thomas Sullivan is leaving the company after 22 years. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sullivan resigned as a director after learning that the company had terminated his active employment to make him a non-employee director. Sullivan founded the building-materials retailer in 1994 and served as its chief executive until 2006, maintaining a role with the company since. He defended the company and eventually took back the reins as interim CEO amid a scandal involving formaldehyde in Chinese flooring sold by Lumber Liquidators. The CEO who replaced him, John Presley, lasted just a year before being replaced in November. Lumber Liquidators, which avoided a complete recall of the formaldehyde-tainted flooring but still faces class-action litigation, was steady in late trading Friday after closing with a 1.8% decline at $15.74.

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U.S. stocks ended the final trading session of 2016 with small losses, but logged solid annual gains. The S&P 500 declined 0.5% to end at 2,238.85, according to preliminary figures, but finished with a yearly gain of more than 9.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended with a decline of around 57 points, or 0.3%, to 19,763. On a yearly basis, the blue-chip gauge advanced more than 13%. The Nasdaq Composite ended the day off 0.9% but saw a 7.5% annual rise.

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U.S. oil futures ended slightly lower in light trade in the final session of 2016, but notched a nearly 45% annual gain for the first calendar-year rise since 2013. West Texas Intermediate crude for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange fell 5 cents, or 0.1%, to close at $53.72 a barrel. Oil logged an 8.5% rise in December, with recent strength pegged in large part to expectations major oil producers inside and outside of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries will abide by agreements to limit production in an effort to end a persistent crude glut.

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Gold futures fell Friday but snapped what had been the longest weekly losing streak in more than 12 years with a 1.5% weekly gain. Gold logged a some 9% gain for all of 2016, owed to its early-year move. Gold is off more than 15% from its 2016 best, which was the settle high of $1,364.90 hit July 6.

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Signs that the U.S. agricultural market will bottom in 2017 are bullish for Deere & Co. and suggest the stock has room for further gains in 2017 even after a strong fourth quarter. That’s the conclusion of Baird Equity Research analyst Mircea Dobre in a note Friday. Dobre rates the stock outperform and has a stock price target of $117, or about 13.5% above current trading levels.”Our view is that a bottom in 2017 appears likely as North American large Ag equipment volumes are approaching prior cyclical bottoms, high horsepower equipment sales/planted acres are near 40-year lows, large Ag new equipment inventories have destocked near historical lows and while auction used equipment prices are still pressured, deterioration is nowhere near 2013-15 as selling conditions seem to be improving into 2017,” Dobre wrote. Deere shares were slightly higher Friday, but have gained 35% on the year, while the S&P 500 is up 10%.

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HBO, owned by Time Warner Inc. , said Friday it’s decided to move up the debut of “Bright Lights,” a documentary on the relationship between Carrie Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds. Both actresses, iconic figures in Hollywood, died a day apart less than a week after the Christmas holiday. “Bright Lights,” set to air at 8 p.m. Eastern Jan. 7 exclusively on HBO, has received critical acclaim during the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Festival and New York Film Festival. The premium cable network announced earlier in the week it will air an encore presentation of Fisher’s 2010 special “Wishful Drinking,” an adaptation of her one-woman stage show which she later adapted into a best-selling book. The special will air at 9 p.m. Eastern Jan. 1. The special is also available on HBO’s online platform. In the year to date, Time Warner shares have gained 49%, outperforming the S&P 500 Index , up nearly 10%.

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U.S. stocks opened slightly higher in what is expected to be a subdued finish to a solidly positive year for equities. The S&P 500 rose 0.1% to 2,250.69, leaving it on track for an annual gain of more than 10%. The Dow industrials gained 19 points, or 0.1%, to 19,839, and were on pace for a calendar-year rise of nearly 14%. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.1% and is set for an annual rise of nearly 9%.

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Opko Health Inc. said Friday a late-stage trial of a human growth hormone product failed to meet its main goal, but said multiple outliers may have affected the result and pledged to further review the patients. The Phase 3 trial of hGH-CTP, an investigational long-acting human growth hormone product failed to produce a statistical difference from placebo, the company said. The safety profile was consistent with other studies of human growth hormone, however. Opko said it has now started a Phase 3 study of the product in children to measure its efficacy versus daily injections of Genotropin, a prescription therapy for children and adults with growth issues. Shares were halted premarket, but have gained 14% on the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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Iconix Brand Group Inc. said Friday it has agreed to sell the rights to the Sharper Image brand and related intellectual property to ThreeSixty Group for $100 million in cash. The company said ThreeSixty Group is the brand’s largest licensee. The deal is expected to close on Dec. 30 and the company will use the proceeds plus additional cash to pay down about $115 million of debt. Iconix expects to post a gain on the sale that is not reflected in its current guidance. Shares were not yet active premarket, but are up 30% on the year, while the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

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