Thursday brought modest losses to the stock market, as the Dow dropped 72 points and other major market benchmarks fell between a quarter-percent and a third of a percent. Strong economic data suggested that the U.S. economy continues to fire on all cylinders, but that led to higher bond yields and fears that tightening monetary policy from the Federal Reserve could pose threats to growth during the rest of the year.
Month: January 2017
Top Fast Food Stocks to Buy in 2017
As the dining industry has evolved in recent years, fast-food chains have endured more than their fair share of challenges. But despite the proliferation of competing concepts, changing consumer preferences, and even food-quality scares, fast food always seems to find a way to survive and thrive thanks to its unrivaled value and relative convenience.
How Netflix, Inc. Plans to Balance Big Investments and Growing Profits
Not only did the company report better-than-expected earnings per share in every quarter of 2016, but the company’s outlook for the trajectory of its profitability looks optimistic, too. However, near-term profitability is far from Netflix’s primary focus.
Why San Fernando Valley home sales dipped in 2016
The San Fernando Valley’s resale housing market flirted with record low level sales in 2016, because inventory remained scant and prices climbed out of reach for many potential buyers, a trade association said Thursday. Last year sales of previously owned homes fell 4 percent from 2015 to 5,863 transactions, the second lowest level since full-year record keeping began in 1985, according to the Van Nuys-based Southland Regional Association of Realtors.
States press Trump to open Yucca Mountain for nuclear waste
A group representing the nation’s state energy regulators is urging President-elect Trump ahead of Friday’s inauguration to move as soon as possible to restart the process to build the nation’s nuclear waste dump at Yucca Mountain in Nevada. The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners was a major litigant in fighting the Obama administration’s attempt to scuttle the nuclear waste site after years of states funneling money into a trust fund to build it.
President Donald Trump May Cringe While Watching This Guy’s Senate Hearing
Restaurant industry executives may not want to readily admit that they love Donald Trump’s choice of polarizing CKE Restaurants CEO Andrew Puzder as Secretary of Labor, but they definitely appreciate having one of their own in the key cabinet position during a time of rising worker outrage over sub-par hourly wages and after years of battling endless regulations from the Obama Administration. “My immediate thought is that it is very fortunate that for the first time, someone in our industry is in a position to represent us not only as Secretary of Labor, but even in a high level cabinet position,” says Don Fox , CEO of Firehouse Subs and current National Restaurant Association board member, on the nomination of the controversial Puzder.
Google Maps wants to make your inauguration weekend in D.C. a little less crazy
Bridge and road closures have already started in Washington. To help with the potential chaos, Google Maps is reworking its D.C.-area guides this week to reflect all of the madness — and, one could hope, Road closures: Google is actively updating its maps in the D.C. area to reflect those many bridge and road closures that are sure to gum up the flow of traffic this weekend.
Uber pays $20 million over claims about driver earnings
Uber will pay $20 million to settle federal charges that the ride-hailing company promised higher earnings than it could deliver in an effort to lure as many drivers as possible to the platform, the Federal Trade Commission said Thursday. San Francisco-based Uber advertised that drivers made a median income of more than $74,000 a year in San Francisco, but drivers’ actual median income was $53,000, according to the federal agency.
Netflix Says It Won’t Be Hurt By …
Netflix has long been one of the most prominent supporters of net neutrality, and for good reason: Internet service providers could very quickly put a crimp in Netflix’s business by degrading its traffic, or by imposing the kinds of data caps that discourage people from streaming video. So it stands to reason that Netflix’s business could be jeopardized if the new Federal Communications Commission makes good on threats to scrap the net neutrality rules.
Inauguration Rental Hosts May Get Tax Break
Big events bring big money to host cities. Free-spending visitors flock to the sites of Super Bowls, art and music festivals and, every four years, presidential inaugurations.
Soros: Trump is an imposter
“An imposter, a [political] conman and a would-be dictator,” is the verdict of billionaire investor George Soros on Donald Trump. Speaking to a packed audience at his annual dinner at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Soros said he was confident Mr Trump’s powers would be limited by Congress.
Soros Says U.K. Prime Minister May Unlikely to Stay in Role
Billionaire investor George Soros said it’s unlikely that U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will remain in power as the nation prepares to secede from the European Union. “It is, in my opinion, unlikely that Prime Minister May is actually going to remain in power,” Soros said in an interview on Bloomberg Television from Davos on Thursday.
Soros Says Markets to Slump With Trump, EU Faces Disintegration
America has elected a would-be dictator as president, the European Union is disintegrating, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May won’t last long as her nation prepares to secede from the EU, and China is poised to become an even more repressive society, the investor told Bloomberg Television’s Francine Lacqua from the World Economic Forum in Davos. “It is unlikely that Prime Minister May is actually going to remain in power,” Soros said.
Uber to Pay $20 Million to Settle FTC Suit Over Driver Pay
Uber Technologies Inc. said it agreed to pay $20 million to settle a U.S. Federal Trade Commission lawsuit over driver compensation claims and its auto leasing program. The FTC sued the San Francisco-based ride-hailing startup Thursday, saying Uber made false, misleading or unsubstantiated claims about how much drivers could earn on the service.
IBM Margins Narrow While Sales Struggle to Return to Growth
IBM fourth-quarter sales declined and margins narrowed, indicating that its newer businesses still need to grow more to offset development costs. Revenue slipped for the 19th consecutive quarter to $21.8 billion and operating margins shrank year-over-year for the fifth quarter in a row to 51 percent, a concerning metric of the company’s overall health.
Sigh of Relief for Self-Driving Cars as Tesla Cleared in Probe
The push to bring self-driving cars to American roads got a significant boost on Thursday when the nation’s chief auto safety regulator essentially cleared Tesla Motors Inc.’s Autopilot system of fault in a fatal 2016 crash. The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that the owner of a Tesla Motors Inc. Model S sedan that drove itself into the side of a truck in May had ignored the manufacturer’s warnings to maintain control even while using the driver-assist function.
Ex-Visium Manager Found Guilty of Fraud in About 90 Minutes
A onetime portfolio manager for hedge fund firm Visium Asset Management LP was convicted of federal securities-fraud charges in the culmination of a three-year case that included the suicide of a fellow executive who was also charged. The jury deliberated for a little more than 90 minutes before finding Stefan Lumiere guilty on all three counts related to inflating the price of bonds in the firm’s credit fund to hide losses from investors.
American Express Profit Falls 8.2% as Expenses Top Estimates
American Express Co., the largest U.S. credit-card issuer by purchases, said fourth-quarter profit fell 8.2 percent as expenses exceeded analysts’ estimates and the firm set aside more money to cover bad loans. Net income dropped to $825 million, or 88 cents a share, from $899 million, or 89 cents, a year earlier, the New York-based company said Thursday in a statement.
Naples Winter Wine Festival Set to Deliver Robust Rewards at Auction
One of the more lucrative charity wine events is the upcoming Naples Winter Wine Festival , whose mission is to help underprivileged and at-risk kids in Collier County, Fla. This year’s event is January 27 to 29 at The Ritz-Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Fla, and the event is limited to 580 guests, with tickets starting at $10,000 per couple .
A Wyndham-Choice Hotels Merger Could Unleash Value, Analyst Says
Wolfe Research analyst said Wyndham Worldwide could return 19% more value to shareholders if it merges with Choice Hotels . Wyndham Worldwide has deep value to unlock and if the Parsippany, N.J.-based hospitality company wants to unleash it, they should merge with Choice Hotels Int.’
IBM Just Blew It Out of the Sky With Cloud Sales Results
IBM beat on its top and bottom line for the fourth quarter of 2016 and issued upbeat earnings guidance for 2017 after Thursday’s market close. For the fourth quarter, the technology giant posted adjusted earnings of $5.01 per share, exceeding analysts’ expectations of $4.88 per share.
Cramer: HPE’s Pullback Is Just a ‘Bump in the Road’
Hewlett Packard Enterprises has seen its share price stumble recently on foreign-exchange concerns and two stalled spin-offs, but Jim Cramer calls the stock’s pullback a mere “bump in the road.” HPE has fallen some 8% from nearly $25 a share in early December to around $22.75 today.
Why Telecom Equipment Giants Are Struggling, but Their Suppliers Are Thriving
Optical component makers are enjoying the best business conditions they’ve arguably seen since the halcyon days of the dot-com bubble. But the same clearly can’t be said for many of the companies that have traditionally been their biggest clients.
Cramer: Trump Tariffs Will Slam Chain Stores
Jim Cramer says President-elect Donald Trump’s proposed tax on imported goods will hurt U.S. department-store stocks “very much,” but that two of his favorite picks — TJX Cos. and Costco — should weather the storm.
7 Techie Kitchen Gadgets That’ll Make You Never Want to Leave Your House
We’re already more than well aware that the price of going out to eat is only going up , which should inspire even the most cooking-averse to try out their culinary chops. Keeping some top-of-the-line appliances in your kitchen only adds to the accountability of forcing yourself to cook, considering you already blew cash on the gadgets in question.
AmEx Profit Lags Estimates as Chenault Invests 35% More in Marketing
American Express posted lower profit in the last three months of 2016 than analysts expected as CEO Kenneth Chenault boosted spending on marketing and promotion by 35% to replace some of the revenue lost with the Costco portfolio. net income dropped 8% from a year earlier to $825 million, the New York-based company said in a statement .
May Insists Banks of – Huge Value’ as They Step Up Plans to Exit
Theresa May offered her strongest support yet for London’s financial district, insisting that banks are of “huge value” to the U.K. economy as executives signaled they were accelerating plans to move staff abroad after Brexit. “I value financial services in the City of London, and I want to ensure that we can keep financial services in the City of London,” the prime minister said in an interview with Bloomberg editor-in-chief John Micklethwait at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Thursday.
Qualcomm’s Lucrative Licensing Model Jeopardized by FTC Scrutiny
Qualcomm Inc. built itself into the world’s biggest and most profitable smartphone chipmaker by using a simple formula: selling billions of dollars worth of semiconductors while raking in fat profits from licensing fees tied to the underlying technology. That lucrative model is under siege on a growing number of fronts — most recently this week when the U.S. Federal Trade Commission accused Qualcomm of using its dual businesses to thwart competition in the $100 billion market for phone chips.
Jim Cramer — Don’t Expect Breakout Quarter From Procter & Gamble
While Procter & Gamble is a very good company, a rising U.S. dollar will weigh on its bottom line, says Jim Cramer. After a big rebound from its sub-$70 prices in the second half of 2015, shares of Procter & Gamble have cooled off, falling 2% over the past six months.
Popeyes Ad With Football Legend Jerry Rice Being Fried on Social Media for Racial Overtones
An advertisement that resonates with consumers can do wonders for a company, but the opposite also holds true for ads that miss the mark as fried chicken fast-food chain Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen is finding out this week. An ad from the company, which features NFL Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice wearing a helmet with a rotating face mask made of fried chicken, is causing a stir on social media.
Jim Cramer — GE Is a Great Long-Term Stock
Jim Cramer says because of the company’s positioning in long-term industries, the stock is a great holding for the next five years. Shares of General Electric are up about 10% over the past year.
Jim Cramer: CSX Needs to do ‘Something,’ or Else
Investors seem to be all abroad the CSX train on Thursday, as shares of the railroad corporation were spiking over 19% this afternoon. Despite reporting weaker-than-expected earnings results after Wednesday’s bell, the stock jumped after news broke of the departure of Canadian Pacific CEO Hunter Harrison is stepping down.
Trump Era Begins One Day Early in Davos
The heads of a thousand global leaders were already hanging in resignation as British Prime Minister Theresa May laid out her plans to make the U.K. more global by withdrawing from the European Union. Then she dug in the knife.
Buy Panera Bread Stock Over Bloomin’ Brands, Goldman Says
Goldman Sachs has swapped its rating on Panera Bread and Bloomin’ Brands , sending shares of the restaurants in opposite directions Thursday afternoon. “Estimate uncertainty remains an ongoing concern; however, we view valuation as increasingly compelling,” analysts Karen Holthouse and Gregory Lum said.
European Stock Markets Fall Despite Easy ECB
The European Central Bank held rates steady and kept its stimulus plan in place, but that wasn’t enough for markets to gain. European stock markets fell on Thursday despite a continued commitment from the European Central Bank to keeping monetary policy loose for the foreseeable future, as company news pushed the continent’s benchmarks lower.
Sell Target Stock on Weak Holiday Sales, Amazon Competition: Goldman
Target’s stock rating was cut to “sell” from “neutral” at Goldman Sachs on Thursday following the retailer’s disappointing holiday sales report and competition concerns. The stock dropped 1.45% to $65.88 in mid-afternoon trading.
Low Toronto temps didn’t stop a warm welcome for SHAK
Judging by the response to a “one day only” pop-up store Wednesday in Toronto, Shake Shack really needs to think about opening a restaurant in Canada. Hundreds of Torontonians withstood frigid temperatures and stood in line for hours at a Shake Shack that opened at 12:30 p.m. and closed around 6:30 p.m. At one point, the location had over 1,000 people in line, according to an Instagram post from Shake Shack’s CEO Randy Garutti .
What Happens When GE Earnings Meet Donald Trump’s Corporate Tax Plan
A wild card that may drive higher growth at GE and reposition manufacturers as drivers of the U.S. economy is President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to cut corporate taxes. For now, investors gauging General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt’s progress toward delivering $2 of profit per share in 2018 can monitor benchmarks such as fourth-quarter shipments of a But there’s a wild card that may deliver much more spectacular growth, though on a longer and fuzzier timeline: President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to cut corporate tax rates to 15% from as much as 35%.
BofA Management Admits It Can’t Turn a Profit on Invested Capital
Chief Executive Brian Moynihan has only produced a 6.7% return on shareholder’s equity since taking over in 2010 and thus is returning capital through stock buybacks Brian Moynihan has been chief executive of Bank of America for seven years, and when he took the helm in 2019, return on shareholder equity wasn’t positive. Last year, stock buybacks amounted to $5.1 billion.
How to Tackle the High Costs Of Long-Term Credit Card Debt
It takes 13 years to pay off a $5,000 credit card bill, if one pays the minimum monthly amount. How can cardholders cut that timetable down to size? That’s the sentiment from a study by CreditCards.com, which shows the states with the highest credit card burdens are: Buried in the report data is something even more revealing about credit card holders wrestling with high card debt, especially in the Sunshine State.