White House condemns assassination of Russian envoy to Turkey

The Obama administration on Monday condemned the assassination of Andrey Karlov, Russia’s ambassador to Turkey. “This heinous attack on a member of the diplomatic corps is unacceptable, and we stand united with Russia and Turkey in our determination to confront terrorism in all its forms,” National Security Council spokesman Ned Price said in a statement. A senior Turkish official identified the gunman as Turkish police officer Mert Altinbas, according to the Wall Street Journal.

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Costco’s stock rallies toward 4-month high after Citigroup turns bullish

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. climbed 2.2% toward a four-month closing high in afternoon trade Monday, after Citigroup upgraded the membership-based warehouse retailer, citing expectations that industry headwinds should abate. Analyst Kate McShane raised her rating to buy, after being at neutral since Nov. 9, 2015. She raised her stock price target to $184, which is 12% above current levels, from $167. McShane said she now sees a “clear path” to accelerating same-store sales next year, given that the headwinds from gasoline price deflation, food price deflation and reductions in tobacco shop keeping units (SKUs) should start are expected to diminish in the near term. She said she also believes new co-branded credit card deals and the potential for tax changes could be “particularly favorable” to Costco’s more affluent customers. The stock has tacked on 1.5% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 6.9% and the S&P 500 has run up 11%.

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Costco’s stock rallies toward 4-month high after Citigroup turns bullish

Shares of Costco Wholesale Corp. climbed 2.2% toward a four-month closing high in afternoon trade Monday, after Citigroup upgraded the membership-based warehouse retailer, citing expectations that industry headwinds should abate. Analyst Kate McShane raised her rating to buy, after being at neutral since Nov. 9, 2015. She raised her stock price target to $184, which is 12% above current levels, from $167. McShane said she now sees a “clear path” to accelerating same-store sales next year, given that the headwinds from gasoline price deflation, food price deflation and reductions in tobacco shop keeping units (SKUs) should start are expected to diminish in the near term. She said she also believes new co-branded credit card deals and the potential for tax changes could be “particularly favorable” to Costco’s more affluent customers. The stock has tacked on 1.5% year to date, while the SPDR S&P Retail ETF has gained 6.9% and the S&P 500 has run up 11%.

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Lam Research’s stock surges toward record high after Goldman upgrade

Shares of Lam Research Corp. rallied 3.2% toward a record-high close in afternoon trade Monday, after Goldman Sachs turned bullish on the chip equipment maker, citing continued strength in the 3D NAND market and signs of market share gains in logic. Analyst Yoshiya Hari upgraded the stock to buy from neutral, and added it to Goldman’s conviction list, given that it had 20% upside potential to Hari’s stock price target of $125. “Lam has strong and growing market share in deposition and etch–two of the fastest growing segments in [wafer fab equipment],” Hari wrote in a note to clients. Lam’s increasingly diversified end-demand outlook, given it has less exposure to PCs and more exposure to cloud, and the potential emergence of China should lead to less downside volatility over the next two-to-three years, Hari said. The stock has soared 36% year to date, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has run up 37% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Gold settles slightly higher after touching multimonth lows

Gold futures settled higher Monday following a drop to their lowest levels in more than 10 months last week. Gold for February delivery settled up $5.30, or 0.5%, at $1,142.70 an ounce as the U.S. Dollar index was largely unchanged. Silver for March delivery settled down 12.6 cents, or 0.8%, at $16.09 an ounce.

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Turkish lira, stocks tumble after Ankara shooting

The Turkish lira declined against the U.S. dollar on Monday after the Russian ambassador to Turkey was shot by a lone gunman at an art gallery in Ankara. The dollar rose 0.7% to trade at 3.52 lira, compared with 3.51 lira late Friday in New York. Turkish stocks also sank, with the iShares MSCI Turkey ETF , a popular vehicle for U.S. investors to gain exposure to Turkish stocks, down 2% at $31.91 in recent trade. Russia has deemed the shooting a terrorist attack. Russia’s currency, the ruble, as well as the country’s stock markets were only marginally impacted by the attack. The dollar weakened modestly against the ruble, declining 0.3% to 61.89 rubles, compared with 62.07 late Friday in New York. Meanwhile, Russian stocks were little-changed.

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Platinum Funds founder, executives charged in alleged $1 billion fraud

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said they are charging the founder of Platinum Partners, other executives and two of its flagship hedge fund advisory firms with conducting a fraudulent scheme to inflate asset values and illicitly move investor money to cover losses and liquidity problems. The SEC said it found suspicious activity during an examination of the firms as it alleged using misrepresentations to attract new investors during what internal documents described as “Hail Mary time.” Founder and Chief Investment Officer Mark Nordlicht and the Platinum funds overstated the value of an oil company that was among their largest assets, the SEC alleged. The U.S. Attorney called it a $1 billion investment fraud.

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Carl Icahn’s Icahn Enterprises to sell American Railcar Leasing for up to $3.36 billion

Billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s investment arm, Icahn Enterprises L.P. announced Monday a deal to sell its American Railcar Leasing LLC subsidiary for up to $3.36 billion to SMBC Rail Services, which is a susidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Under terms of the agreement, Icahn Enterprises will receive cash based on an enterprise value of $2.78 billion and a fleet of 29,000 railcars. SMBC will have an option, lasting three years after the expected closing of the deal in the second quarter of 2017, to buy an additional 4,800 railcars for $586 million. Icahn Enterprises’ stock shed $1.82, or 3%, in midday trade. Since Carl Icahn owns 127.1 million shares of Icahn Enterprises, or an 89.7% stake, according to FactSet, the stock price decline is costing Icahn about $231.3 million. Icahn Enterprises shares have shed 3.1% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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Clovis Oncology’s ovarian cancer treatment gets FDA OK

Shares of Clovis Oncology Inc. soared 15% Monday to a 13-month high prior to a trading halt, with the Food and Drug Administration approving the company’s treatment for ovarian cancer, Rubraca. A trade resumption time for the stock has not yet been posted. “This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on objective response rate and duration of response,” the FDA said in a statement. “Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials.” Prior to the halt, the stock had rallied 22% year to date, while the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF has tumbled 19% and the S&P 500 has gained 11%.

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