10Oct2017 Market Close: Wall Street Closes Higher, But Gains Were Limited By Declines In Amazon And Technology Stocks, Small Caps Flat, WTI Crude Index Settles Higher At 50.92, US Dollar Index Slides To 93.06

Exclusive: Symantec CEO says source code reviews pose unacceptable risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S.-based cyber firm Symantec is no longer allowing governments to review the source code of its software because of fears the agreements would compromise the security of its products, Symantec Chief Executive Greg Clark said in an interview with Reuters.

Wal-Mart helps Wall Street to new records, but techs curb gains

(Reuters) – Wall Street hit fresh record intraday highs on Tuesday, helped by a jump in Wal-Mart and energy stocks, but the gains were limited by declines in Amazon and technology stocks.

Procter & Gamble foresees proxy war victory, Peltz refuses to concede

(Reuters) – Procter & Gamble Co said on Tuesday activist hedge fund manager Nelson Peltz lost his fight to win a seat on the company’s board, according to a preliminary tally of shareholder votes in the biggest and most expensive proxy contest ever.

U.S. top court asks Justice Department for views in Apple antitrust case

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Trump administration for its views on whether to hear Apple Inc’s bid to avoid a class-action lawsuit accusing the tech giant of inflating consumer prices by charging illegally high commissions on iPhone software sales through its App Store.

Wal-Mart sees 40 percent online sales growth next year, shares jump

(Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc on Tuesday forecast that its U.S. online sales would soar about 40 percent in the fiscal year ending January 2019, sending its stock up 4.7 percent to the highest in more than two years.

Some U.S. businesses urge caution in China intellectual property trade push

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. businesses and trade groups are split over how forcefully to crack down on China over intellectual property theft, with some arguing the country is making progress on its own in enforcing protections and urging the Trump administration to use negotiation instead of punishment.

Honeywell seeks M&A as it keeps aero, spins off two units

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Honeywell International Inc said Tuesday it will focus on fewer business lines, including aerospace, and use spin offs of two other businesses to help fund acquisitions.

Pfizer weighs $15 billion sale of consumer healthcare business

(Reuters) – Pfizer said on Tuesday it was considering the sale or spin-off of its consumer healthcare business, shaking up the industry and potentially putting a headache pill to lip balm operation worth some $15 billion up for grabs.

Business jet sales have not taken off with soaring corporate profits

LAS VEGAS (Reuters) – Two quarters of soaring U.S. corporate profits have not yet produced the “Trump bump” in orders for new business jets that some industry executives had been hoping for, analysts said as a major business aviation gathering opened on Tuesday.

“Melt Up”

Google searches for “melt up” are melting up…

Source: Google Trends

h/t @hmeisler

Matt Damon And Russell Crowe Fingered For Pressuring Journalist To Kill Weinstein Sex Story

Content originally published at

White House Slams Corker, Escalating ‘Surreal” Feud As NYT Releases Part Of Phone Recording

The “surreal” feud between president Donald Trump and Senator Bob Corker – as defined yesterday by Cowen analyst Chris Krueger – escalated on Tuesday, when the White House said the outgoing GOP senator was partially responsible for the Obama administration’s nuclear deal with Iran but refused to say whether the retiring Corker should resign immediately. “Senator Corker worked with Nancy Pelosi and the Obama administration to pave the way for that and rolled out the red carpet for the Iran deal,” White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said during today’s briefing.

As The Hill adds, reporters pressed Sanders on the claim, noting that Corker originally opposed the deal and that he led a bipartisan effort on Capitol Hill to have the deal reviewed by Congress, against Obama’s wishes.

“He worked with them on the legislation that rolled that out,” Sanders responded. “That’s what helped I think put things in motion. He may have voted against the deal ultimately, but he not only allowed the deal to happen, he gave it credibility. I stand by my statement.”

Adding fuel to the fire, Sanders criticized Corker throughout the press conference. Asked if Corker should resign, as former Trump chief strategist Stephen Bannon suggested previously, Sanders responded “I think that’s a decision for Sen. Corker and t …

Jack Bogle Slams Wall Street’s “Unrealistic” Earnings Guesses, Says Market Valuations “Rather High”

88-year-old investing icon John “Jack” Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, says that the market seems to be “fully valued,” and suggests investors adjust their asset allocation.

In an interview with The Street, Bogle said:

“The valuations of stocks are, by my standards, rather high,” adding that “my standards, however, are high.”

When considering stock valuations, Bogle’s method differs from Wall Street’s. For his price-to-earnings multiple, Bogle uses the past 12 months of reported earnings by corporations, GAAP earnings, which include “all of the bad stuff,” to get a multiple of about 25 or 26 times earnings.

“Wall Street will have none of that,” said Bogle. “They look ahead to the earnings for the next 12 months and we don’t really know what they are so it’s a little gamble.”

He also noted that Wall Street analysts look at operating earnings, “earnings without all that bad stuff,” and come up with a price-to-earnings multiple of something in the range of 17 or 18.

“If you believe the way we look at it, much more realistically I think, the P/E is relatively high,” Bogle said.

Bogle added that earnings growth in the years ahead might be “as low as 4% or 5%, maybe 6% lower than traditionally and historically.”

Liquor Makers Need to Sober Up to the Decline in Teenage Drinking

Move over millennials: Today’s smartphone-obsessed teens, Generation Z, are the consumers of the future. Worryingly for liquor producers, they’re shaping up to be an antisocial lot.

How Nvidia Keeps Driving Higher

Richly valued chipmaker Nvidia benefits from a consolidated industry with more diverse growth opportunities ahead.

P&G Shares Look Expensive, With or Without Nelson Peltz

Procter & Gamble is the world’s biggest marketing company, so investors shouldn’t be too surprised if it managed to shout down Nelson Peltz’s efforts to win a board seat.

Key Words: Nobel Prize winner Richard Thaler says this could be ‘the riskiest moment of our lives’

But when it comes to the current state of the stock market, he’s just as confused as anybody else.

Does rent control impact crime rates? These economists have the answer…

A new report adds to the growing literature concerning the effects of rent control.

This is what happens when women can’t afford birth control

A new study found a slew of consequences beyond just an increase in the fertility rate.