Toys 'R' Us Is Considering Closing All of Its U.S. Stores Amid Bankruptcy

Toys “R” Us Inc. is making preparations for a liquidation of its bankrupt U.S. operations after so far failing to find a buyer or reach a debt restructuring deal with lenders, according to people familiar with the matter. While the situation is still fluid, a shutdown of the U.S. division has become increasingly likely in recent days, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Hopes are fading that a buyer will emerge to keep some of the business operating, or that lenders will agree on terms of a debt restructuring, the people said.

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  Toys R Us preparing for liquidation, sources say

  Cincinnati.com
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  Toys 'R' Us Stock Doesn’t Exist: Here Is Why

  Investopedia

Rule Changes at Fannie, Freddie Could Add $400 to Monthly Mortgage Payments

Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) , two government-sponsored enterprises that finance more than 45% of U.S. mortgages, could raise monthly mortgage payments by $400 based on new rules being discussed in Congress.  Government officials have been looking to limit the exposure U.S. taxpayers have to the lenders in case the housing market crashes again, and an analysis by Zillow Group Inc.  (Z) suggested that those rules changes could result in mortgage bills that are hundreds of dollars steeper per month. Based on Zillow's analysis, the typical borrower would pay an additional $390 per month on the median U.S. home for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage. A 30-year non-conforming loan would cost

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  Why It’s Now Harder to Get a Mortgage With a Small Down Payment

  ValuePenguin
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  U.S. Fed buys $3.4 bln of mortgage bonds, sells none

  Reuters

This Must Happen for Apple to Finally Explode Beyond $1 Trillion Valuation

For Apple's (AAPL) stock to explode beyond a $1 trillion market cap, not just hover around it, a couple key things have to happen.  First, Action Alerts Plus holding Apple has make good on its promise to aggressively spend its $285 billion plus in cash. If it does, the payoff could be huge.  Researcher BDVD said this week Apple may increase stock buybacks to $65 billion a year and boost dividends by 15% annually for the next five years. The firm estimated the buyback will be worth a whopping 98 cents a share in fiscal 2019 and 30% cumulatively by 2023. Price target from BDVD on Apple: $368, or up 109% from current levels. Second consideration is that Apple's service revenue has to accelerate

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  March Top Industrial Dividend Payers

  Simply Wall St.
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  Best Healthcare Dividend Stock Picks

  Simply Wall St.

Aging Oil Fields Defy Gravity to Pump More Crude

Bob Dudley, in his 38 years in the oil industry, has never seen anything like what happened with BP Plc’s old fields last year: They gushed more crude. “I cannot remember ever in my career having seen a negative decline rate,” the British oil-giant’s chief executive officer said in an interview on the sidelines of the CERAWeek by IHS Markit energy conference in Houston.  The fact that Dudley isn’t alone in seeing mature fields dwindling less than expected -- and in BP’s case surprisingly increasing -- means the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries has one more thing to worry about. As if the shale boom wasn’t enough of a headache. Better results from legacy fields, also observed by producers

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  Electric vehicles are coming and utilities are getting ready

  Houston Chronicle
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  Oil Companies Agree on a Climate Change Solution That Would Help Their Bottom Line

  Time

Wynn Resorts to pay $2.6 billion to settle lawsuit with Japan's Universal

Wynn Resorts Ltd has agreed to pay $2.6 billion to settle a lawsuit brought by Japan's Universal Entertainment Corp and its U.S. unit, ending a six-year old dispute that pitted casino mogul Steve Wynn against his former associate Kazuo Okada. The size of the compensation was lower than market expectations and sent shares in Universal, a maker of Japanese-style slot machines and the operator of a casino in the Philippines, plunging 16 percent in Thursday trade in Tokyo. The lawsuit relates to Wynn Resorts' 2012 forced redemption of a stake held by Universal's unit Aruze USA at a 30 percent discount after an internal investigation by former FBI director Louis Freeh alleged Okada had violated U.S. anti-corruption laws.

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  Jim Cramer: Las Vegas Sands or MGM Resorts Could Buy Wynn Resorts

  The Street
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  Wynn Resorts settles lawsuit for $2.4B with Tokyo company

  Associated Press

Cramer: Kroger's latest quarter made all the supermarket ...

Jim Cramer explains why shares of Kroger were obliterated after the supermarket chain reported earnings.

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  Why Party City Stock Is Jumping Today

  Motley Fool
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  Kroger Shares Slip More Than 5% Even After Meeting All Its Marks

  The Street

The Sky Is the Limit for Weibo Corp (ADR)

Weibo Corp (ADR) (NASDAQ:WB) isn’t always the first company that Americans think of when they think of the online juggernauts in China. But they should. Source: Shutterstock Usually in American press, WB is said to be “the Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) of

More than 40% of Americans may be at risk of going broke in retirement

When it comes to retirement and money, we usually hear mostly bad news. But a recent survey on retirement saving trends serves up a bit of good news. The number of people who expect to retire “broke”, meaning they have less than $10,000 saved for retirement fell, to 42% from 55% last year, according to a survey by GoBankingRates. This also means that more than half of Americans have more than $10,000 saved for retirement. Now, knowing that estimates for out-of-pocket health care in costs in retirement are around $275,000 and climbing, having $10,000 saved up isn’t exactly comforting, but assuming the savers have awhile to go before retirement, it’s a start. (Look, we said it was good news, not

The stock market hit its financial-crisis bottom 9 years ago — here's how much you'd have made if you started investing then

The S&P 500 hit its financial-crisis low nine years ago. Buying into the stock market at that time would have been a very lucrative investment. It has been nine years since the S&P 500 hit its lowest point of the 2008 financial crisis.

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  Happy Birthday Bull Market: TheStreet Takes a Look Back ... and a Look Ahead

  The Street
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  Bull market ageing but still has juice to break record

  Reuters

Will Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. Stock Be Acquired?

At one point Wednesday, shares of Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMD) were up 9%. While AMD stock only ended the day with gains of 4.1%, it was still a respectable gain. Word on the Street is that someone is looking to buy Advanced Micro Devices.

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  Why II-VI Inc. Stock Popped 8%

  Motley Fool
• Insider Selling: Catalyst Biosciences Inc (CBIO) Major Shareholder Sells 52,461 Shares of Stock

  The Cerbat Gem

Toys R Us Liquidation: What Consumers Can Expect

A recent report claims that the toy retailer is considering liquidation plans for its U.S. business. If a Toys R Us liquidation occurs, there will likely be a period of time where it will be selling items for heavy discounts as it goes out of business. The liquidation will likely include Babies R Us as well.

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  Toys 'R' Us Is Said to Prepare for Shutdown of U.S. Operations

  Bloomberg Video
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  Toys R Us Might Close Down All Its Stores in America

  Good Housekeeping

This chart created by Merck's CEO helps the pharma giant set its long-term strategy

Merck & Co. CEO Kenneth Frazier spoke at the CECP's CEO Investor Forum in February, stressing the importance of creating long-term value. This post is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on Better Capitalism. When Kenneth Frazier became CEO of Merck & Co. in 2011, he knew from the outset that consideration of all the company's stakeholders — customers, investors, employees, and society at large — was going to be crucial to the success of his tenure.

GE explores sale of electrical engineering unit: Report

CNBC's Courtney Reagan reports General Electric is looking to sell its electrical engineering unit, according to Reuters.

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  Exclusive: GE explores divesting electrical engineering business - sources

  Reuters
• Smucker's baking brands business may soon be up for sale - Bloomberg

  Reuters

Steel Stocks Hammered After Tariffs

After a wild ride in recent weeks, markets finally settled up on news of the final tariff plan out yesterday: As expected, steel imports will face a 25% tariff, and aluminum 10%, although Canada and Mexico will be excluded for now. So that's good news for steel stocks right? You wouldn't know to look at the market today, as  U.S. Steel (X), AK Steel Holding (AKS), Nucor (NUE), and Steel Dynamics (STLD) are all falling Friday. The shares took a hit yesterday too, and even their initial rally last week didn't last long. Nonetheless, the tariffs are expected to support higher steel prices. Cowen & Co.'s Novid Rassouli writes that he sees upside for the entire steel group, given that the stocks are

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  Steel stocks are getting smoked after Trump's tariffs turn out weaker than expected (X, AKS)

  Business Insider
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  Wall Street rises as Trump softens tariff plan

  Reuters

Chart analysts are getting worried about bitcoin: 'No touch'

Bitcoin's drop this week paints a pretty discouraging picture for the near future, technical market analysts say. Critically, bitcoin failed Monday to break above a key level close to $12,000, they said. The cryptocurrency has fallen more than 20 percent since amid a slew of negative headlines that have raised worries about regulatory crackdown on exchanges. If bitcoin is to retest its highs soon, it must first top $11,500 and $14,300, said Frank Cappelleri, executive director, institutional equities at Nomura Instinet. "Longer term, bitcoin is now back below a key uptrend line," Cappelleri said. "The last time it tested this support line, demand flooded the cryptocurrency. If that doesn't happen

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  Bitcoin Drops to $8,300 as Mt. Gox Trustee Sell Off Continues, Market Drops

  CCN
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  Bitcoin drops over increased scrutiny of exchanges, now down 16% from high this week

  CNBC.com

After the Bell: Dow’s 440-Point Gain Caps a Week to Remember

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 440 points—count 'em, 440—today. In today's After the Bell, we... •...wonder whether the markets rally can continue; •...consider whether tariffs are really the nonissue they appear to be; •...explain how the potential liquidation of Toys 'R' Us could hit a company that isn't Hasbro or Mattel. Now That's What We Call a Rally It wasn't the week that changed the world, but it'll do for now. Last week, the market tumbled 3%, and on Monday we were still worried about what the Trump administration's tariff plan might look like, and whether February's payrolls report would show a big increase in wages. The tariffs proved to be fairly benign, however, and wages

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  10 Best Stocks Under $10

  InvestorPlace
• S&P 500 breaks above a short-term line in the sand for first time since late February

  MarketWatch

Can Paw Patrol Save Spin Master? At Least One Analyst Thinks So

Investors toying with the idea of dumping Spin Master Corp. stock on some bad news about one of its biggest customers may want to think again. Shares of the Canadian toymaker are under pressure after Toys ‘R’ Us was said to liquidate its bankrupt U.S. operations, sending other toy stocks like Mattel Inc. and Hasbro Inc. reeling. Spin Master has some of the “hottest” toys in the business, Raymond James analyst Kenric Tyghe wrote in research note following the news. “While potential liquidation sales could be modestly disruptive for a period of time in 2018, we believe that it is important to remember that a single (albeit large) retailer going out of business will not shrink the market, given

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  Game Over? Toys ‘R’ Us Liquidation Fears Sink Hasbro, Mattel

  barrons.com
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  Toys ‘R’ Us May Be Going Out of Business, 10 to 15 Percent of All Toy Sales Could Disappear Forever With It

  Newsweek

Oil prices rise more than 2 percent amid broad market optimism

Oil prices rose more than 2 percent on Friday, rebounding from two days of declines as Wall Street climbed on strong U.S. jobs data, while investors also grew hopeful that a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong Un could ease geopolitical tensions. Brent crude (LCOc1) futures rose $1.54 to $65.15 a barrel, a 2.4 percent gain, by 1:20 p.m. EST (1820 GMT). West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude (CLc1) futures rose $1.63 to $61.75 a barrel, a 2.7 percent gain.

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  Donald Trump Going To North Korea For Talks With Kim Jong-un

  Deadline
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  SKorea official: Trump will meet NKorea's Kim by May

  The Columbus Dispatch

Netflix in Talks With Former President Obama to Create Exclusive Shows

Netflix Inc. (NFLX) shares were marked higher in pre-market trading Friday after reports that former U.S. President Barack Obama is in 'advanced' talks to produce a series of exclusive programs for the online video streaming group. The New York Times reported late Thursday that the former President and his wife, Michelle Obama, would partner on a series of "inspirational" programs for Netflix''s 118 million global subscribers. While not designed to directly attack the polices of President Donald Trump, the Times reported that the programs would focus on issues such as healthcare, voting rights, foreign policy and immigration. The paper also reported that Apple Inc. (APPL) and Amazon Inc. (AMZN)

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  Barack and Michelle Obama May Get Their Own Netflix Shows, but How Much Will They Earn?

  Newsweek
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  The Obamas Might Be Headed to Netflix: What Kind of Shows Will They Make?

  Vanity Fair

Corporate America Makes Its Case That Trump Tariffs Don't Apply

Across corporate America, the race is on to dodge the tariff. Just as President Donald Trump left the door open for countries to apply for exemptions to the 25 percent levy on steel and 10 percent on aluminum, his official proclamations Thursday also offer some workarounds for companies. Under the new rules, an importer can ask the Commerce Department for a waiver if there’s a limited supply of the product in the U.S. or if national security is at stake. How that’ll be interpreted is anyone’s guess, but aluminum can makers, pipeline builders and car companies are now building their cases for why the tariffs shouldn’t apply to them. “The can industry relies on imported metal to make up for shortfalls

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  US jobs surge 313,000 in February, unemployment steady

  AFP
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  What are tariffs and why have Trump's steel tariffs sparked anger?

  Daily Mail

Senate banking bill would make credit freezes free

At last count — the total was revised upward by 2.4 million last week — as many as 147.9 million consumers were affected by the cyberattack at Equifax, which was revealed last September. The personal information compromised in the breach include names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, addresses and some driver's license numbers. The congressional effort to require free freezes is part of a larger measure, S. 2155, which rolls back some banking regulations put in place after the financial crisis that rocked the U.S. economy a decade ago. While consumer advocates have long sought free credit freezes, they are opposed to this provision being part of a bill that eases regulatory requirements and oversight of banks and mortgage lenders.

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  A Provision Hidden in the Banking Bill Could Hurt Black Homeowners

  The Atlantic
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  Senate set to approve bill that would make credit freezes free

  Engadget

Stocks, oil rally on U.S. jobs data, Korea news

By Rodrigo Campos NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets across the globe rose the most in two weeks on Friday after U.S. job growth posted a sharp, unexpected increase, while a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korea's Kim Jong

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  E-mini S&P 500 Index (ES) Futures Technical Analysis – March 9, 2018 Forecast

  FX Empire
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  Over hotpot and soju, North Korea's Kim Jong Un joked about himself - South Korea officials

  Reuters