The Nasdaq Composite closed in bear market territory todayThe Dow once again erased intraday gains to finish lower, ultimately collecting its third straight daily loss. The blue-chip index explored a range of over 858 points today, with losses accelerating in the afternoon as the prospect of a government shutdown loomed large ahead of the weekend. The Nasdaq Composite, meanwhile, closed in officia...Read More
MET is among the worst performing stocks after the Fed tightens up on ratesShares of Metlife Inc. (NYSE:MET) are down 0.6% at $39.11, after the company on Thursday reached a settlement with the state of Massachusetts over claims that it failed to pay pensions to thousands of retirees it improperly "presumed dead." The insurance provider will have to pay $1 million fine to resolve the claim filed l...Read More
Ireland is demanding $1.9 billion in back taxes from PerrigoPerrigo Company (NYSE:PRGO) said it has been ordered by Ireland to pay $1.9 billion in back taxes for 2013. The bill comes after it was found that intellectual property sales of Elan Pharma -- which Perrigo acquired in 2013 in a corporate tax inversion -- were taxed incorrectly. In reaction, PRGO stock is down 26.5% to trade at $38.47, ea...Read More
AAPL and BB are pacing for their lowest closes in over a yearStocks are struggling the week before Christmas. Three names taking part in the widespread weakness are iPhone maker Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), tech name BlackBerry Ltd (NYSE:BB), and e-commerce services provider Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP). Let's take a look at the damage shares of AAPL, BB, and SHOP have experienced today. Apple Stock Flir...Read More
BMO Capital Markets' metals and mining division faced upheaval this year after losing its two veteran co-heads during an already tough time for the resource industry. Its new leaders aim to prove the investment bank remains as strong as ever in the sector.The Bank of Montreal unit is accelerating lending and adding more bankers, including a sales-and-trading team poached from Bank of Nova Scotia,...Read More
Gold futures pulled back from a six-month high Friday, but bullion finished the week higher as a recent downturn in the stock market - underpinned by the Federal Reserve's policy message - helped to drive demand to so-called haven assets. Gold for February delivery on Comex GCG9, -0.69% lost $9.80, or 0.8%, to settle at $1,258.10 an ounce, with the contract marking a weekly increase of about 1.4...Read More
Barrick Gold Corp has laid off more than half of its staff at the company's Toronto head office, while its long serving director Anthony Munk is stepping down, the Globe and Mail reported on Friday.Munk, who is Barrick Gold founder Peter Munk's son, has tendered his resignation, the report said.The laying off of nearly 95 employees comes as the Toronto-based company expects to complete its purchas...Read More
Oil prices also fell to annual lows this weekIt's been a brutal December for Wall Street, and this week was no exception. The Dow and S&P 500 are all staring at their worst week s since March, while the Nasdaq is headed toward its biggest weekly loss since January 2016. Plus, all three indexes remain deep in correction territory, and sport month-to-date deficits of 11% or more. The sell-off starte...Read More
Getty ImagesPeople shop at the Macy's flagship store last month in New York City. The numbers: Consumer spending grew faster than incomes in November, leading to an erosion in the savings rate, the Commerce Department said Friday. Consumer spending rose 0.4% in November, in line with the MarketWatch forecast. However, spending in October was revised up to 0.8% from the prior estimate of 0.4%...Read More
Congress has yet to pass a spending bill to avoid a partial government shutdown at midnightThe Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) was last seen modestly higher -- getting help from a post-earnings bull gap for Nike (NKE) -- overcoming a brief turn lower as a potential government shutdown looms. Traders are also reacting to a round of lackluster economic data, with the personal consumption expendit...Read More
JOHANNESBURG - A court has found that a strike by a union representing just under half of all workers at Sibanye-Stillwater's South African gold operations is legal, despite the company declaring otherwise last week.South Africa's Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) said on Friday that the court disagreed with Sibanye's reason for judging the strike unprotected, and ordered Si...Read More
It's easy to prepare your retirement savings for the New Year.It's that time of year again.Yes, the holiday season is filled with shopping and Christmas parties, but we still have to squeeze in a little time for end-of-year portfolio housekeeping. Because let's face it, life isn't exactly going to slow down once we hit the first of the yearIt's particularly important to take a good look at your 40...Read More
The shares are trading near a historically bearish trendlineThe shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) gapped dramatically higher on Nov. 29 in reaction to the retailer's blowout earnings report. The positive momentum quickly cooled as the stock ran into its 80-day moving average. ANF is trading near this trendline once again, suggesting the retail shares could be headed on their next leg lo...Read More
Nike stock is leading the Dow higher after its Q2 earnings beatShares of Nike Inc (NYSE:NKE) are up nearly 9% at $73.48 in early trading, after the company announced its fiscal second-quarter earnings results last night. The Dow component reported strong online sales in North America, as well as quarterly revenue and profit that beat analyst expectations. J.P. Morgan Securities and Pivotal Researc...Read More
* Gold discounts narrow in India* Activity quiet in China, Singapore, Hong Kong* Prices in Japan on par with benchmark gold for 14th weekMUMBAI/BENGALURU - Demand for physical gold was tepid across major buying centres in Asia this week as higher prices curbed purchases, with buying also impacted by the arrival of the year-end holiday season.Benchmark spot gold scaled a near six-month peak on Thur...Read More
DZ Bank downgraded FB stock to "sell"In the latest Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) news cycle, the company, along with rival Twitter (TWTR), said it's removing fake news sites in Bangladesh ahead of elections there. Bloomberg has also reported that the tech giant is working on a cryptocurrency to be used in its WhatsApp application. Meanwhile, back on Wall Street, FB stock was just hit with a downgrade...Read More
Where in the world is Peter Schiff, as the stock market entered an apparent unraveling phase? Find the chief executive of Euro Pacific Capital, a longtime market pundit and well-known gold bug, on a beach in Puerto Rico, where he's taken up residence as he watches the equity market get rocked. "I'm watching the U.S. economy implode from the beach," Schiff told MarketWatch during a recent phone in...Read More
The used car retailer said comparable store unit sales slumped in the third quarter, thoughThe shares of CarMax, Inc (NYSE:KMX) were lower in premarket action, after the used car retailer said unit sales slumped 1.2% on a comparable store sales basis in the third quarter. However, the company also said total unit sales rose 2.3% over the three-month period, and reported a third-quarter earnings be...Read More
JAKARTA - A special mining permit given to Freeport McMoRan unit PT Freeport Indonesia on Friday is valid up to 2031, and could be extended to 2041, an energy ministry official said.* Copper ore output from Freeport's Grasberg mine is expected to decline in 2019 once open pit mining ends this year, Freeport Indonesia chief executive Tony Wenas said* Output from the mine is expected to increase onc...Read More
A shift in sentiment could spark more headwinds for the struggling tobacco nameThe shares of Altria Group Inc (NYSE:MO) are down 3.1% in early trading at $48.89, after Citigroup downgraded the stock to "sell" from "neutral," while trimming its price target $45 from $47. In addition, Independent Research downgraded MO to "sell" from "hold" and slashed its price target to $47 from $59, and Stifel ch...Read More