Gold settles higher, but logs 7th weekly loss

Gold prices settled higher Friday but it wasn’t enough to save the precious metal from its seventh weekly loss, its longest weekly string of losses in more than 12 years. Gold for February delivery settled up $2.90, or 0.3%, at $1,133.60 an ounce, as the U.S. Dollar index retreated slightly but was still near its highest levels since December 2002. For the week, gold declined 0.3%. The last time gold had a run of seven weekly losses was back in mid-May 2004, according to Dow Jones data. Silver for March delivery settled down 11.2 cents, or 0.7%, at $15.76 an ounce. For the week, silver finished down 2.4% for the week for its second week of losses.

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FBI probing FDIC computer hack linked to Chinese military: report

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing how hackers infiltrated computers at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for several years beginning in 2010, Reuters reported Friday. Senior FDIC officials believe the breach was sponsored by China’s military, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters. Hackers gained access to dozens of computers in the breach, including the workstation of former FDIC Chairwoman Sheila Bair.

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Oil prices trade slightly lower as Baker Hughes rig-count data show weekly climb

The number of active U.S. rigs drilling for oil climbed by 13 to 523 rigs this week. The total active U.S. rig count, which includes oil and natural-gas rigs, also rose by 16 to 653, according to Baker Hughes weekly report. Prices for oil held onto their earlier losses after the rig data. February crude was of 12 cents, or 0.2%, at $52.84 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while Brent crude for February was off 11 cents, or 0.2%, at $54.94 a barrel.

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Trump’s tweet hurts Lockheed’s stock but doesn’t help Boeing’s

Shares of Lockheed Martin Corp. dropped 2.1% in morning trade Friday, after President-elect Donald Trump once again criticized the cost overruns of Lockheed’s F-35 stealth fighter program in a tweet late Thursday. The stock was down as much as 1.8% in intraday trade before bouncing slightly. On Dec. 12, the stock had slumped 2.5% after Trump tweeted that the F-35 program cost was “out of control.” Analyst Robert Stallard at Vertical Research Partners said the F-35 program “has been on schedule and on budget” since 2011. Meanwhile, Boeing Co.’s stock fell 0.4% Trump’s tweet said he asked the company to price-out a comparable F-18 Super Hornet. “Unless the rules of physics have changed, you cannot make a non-stealthy two-engined carrier-based aircraft from the 1980s into a single-engine, multi-role stealth fighter from the 2000s,” Stallard wrote in a note to clients. On Dec. 7, Boeing’s stock had inched higher after a Trump tweeted that costs for Boeing’s Air Force One program were “out of control.” Lockheed shares have climbed 14% year to date and Boeing’s stock has gained 8.4%, while the S&P 500 has rallied 11%.

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Dow opens lower but remains on track for 7th straight weekly gain

U.S. stocks opened marginally lower on Friday as the three main benchmarks struggled to preserve their weekly gains in an environment of intensifying geopolitical uncertainty. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped seven points, or less than 0.1%, to 19,913, but remained on track to notch its 7th straight weekly gain, what would be its longest winning streak in two years. The S&P 500 shed one point to 2,260. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 3.5 points, or 0.1%, to 5,443. Some of Friday’s big movers include uniform-maker Cintas Corp. which fell after releasing its fiscal 2017 forecast. Shares of Prestige Brands Holdings Inc. , known for its line of over-the-counter enemas and laxatives, also fell. Investors were rattled this week by attacks in Turkey and Germany, as well as news that Australian police foiled a terror plot set for Christmas Day.

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Suspected hijackers start to release passengers in Malta

Two suspected hijackers are threatening to blow up an Afriqiyah Airways jet diverted from Libya to Malta on Friday, The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing a local government spokesman. Negotiators are talking to the suspects, the WSJ report said. The Airbus 320 was on a domestic flight from Sabha to Libya’s capital Tripoli, carrying 111 passengers, when a hijacker demanded to be taken to the Mediterranean island. A total of 65 passengers has been released so far, some in groups of 25, Malta’s Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said in a post to Twitter Friday. Of the passengers, 82 are males and 28 females, with one infant, Muscat said. Operations in Malta are being directed by the security services, the Maltese prime minister said, adding that he had spoken to his Libyan counterpart, Faez al Serraj.

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Stonebridge Biopharma raises $35 million by selling shares at a deep discount

Stonebridge Biopharma PLC said Friday that it raised an expected $35 million by selling shares, and warrants to buy shares, at nearly a one-third discount. The biopharmaceutical company, based in Dublin, Ireland and Trevose, Penn., said it will issue 14 million shares to investors at $2.50 a share, and warrants to buy 7 million shares that are exercisable at $2.50 a share. The price is 31% below Thursday’s closing price of $3.60. Stonebridge expects the placement of shares to close on or about Dec. 28. Separately, Stonebridge said it acquired U.S. rights to Keveyis, the only FDA-approved treatment of rare hereditary disorders that could lead to severe muscle weakness. The company also said it expects to initiate a second phase 3 study of its treatment for endogenous Cushing’s syndrome, although recruitment for the first phase 3 trial has been slower than anticipated. The stock, which was still inactive in premarket trade, has tumbled 53% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Suspected hijacker threatens to blow up passenger plane in Malta

The suspected hijacker of an Afriqiyah Airways passenger plane has threatened to blow up the airliner, with 111 passengers on board, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing a person familiar with the matter. The airliner, an Airbus 320, was on flight to Libya’s capital Tripoli from the central city of Sabha, then diverted to Malta after a passenger demanded to be flown to the Mediterranean, the WSJ report said. Malta airport authorities said in a statement that there had been an unlawful interference at the airport and that emergency teams had been dispatched, the WSJ report said.

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Aerie Pharmaceuticals’ stock set to selloff after FDA inspection delay

Shares of Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. were indicated down more than 5% in premarket trade Friday, after the pharmaceutical company said the manufacturing line related to its glaucoma treatment Rhopressa will not be ready in time for inspection by the Food and Drug Administration. As a result, the new drug application that Aerie had withdrawn in October, is not expected to be resubmitted until near the end of the first quarter of 2017. “The delay apparently does not result from any new findings, but rather additional time needed to complete validation of new equipment,” Aerie said in a statement. The stock has run up 53% year to date through Thursday, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Tunisian suspect in Berlin market attack killed in Milan shootout: reports

Police in Milan, Italy, have shot and killed Anis Amri, the Tunisian man suspected of carrying out Monday’s terror attack at a Christmas market in Berlin, media reports said Friday. The 24-year-old suspect, identified via a fingerprint check, died in a shootout at Sesto San Giovanni on Friday, Italian news service ANSA reported. Amri was stopped by police on a routine road check at around 3 a.m. local time, ANSA said. German investigators found Amri’s fingerprints inside the truck used to ram crowds at the Berlin market on Monday, in a suspected terror attack that left 12 dead and dozens injured.

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