Yahoo Finance Stocks aim for a rally; Jamie Dimon buys JPMorgan stock; Kayne West gets $10M offer from Shkreli
Wall Street is in rally mode after a gut-wrenching week. Stocks (^DJI, ^GSPC, ^IXIC) were solidly higher across the board ahead of the three-day President's Day weekend, as bargain hunters stepped in and bought some of the battered financial shares and oil (CLH16.NYM ) prices bounced back on chatter of a possible OPEC production cut.
On the economic front, consumers continued to open up their wallets last month for things like cars, clothing, and online merchandise. The Commerce Department reported that retail sales increased 0.2% last month.
Get the Latest Market Data and New with the Yahoo Finance App
JPM shares get Dimon boost
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) shares are getting a nice bump this morning following news CEO Jamie Dimon bought half a million of the bank's shares yesterday. That cost him about $26 million, almost all of his compensation from last year.
AIG (AIG) is avoiding a potential proxy fight by giving activist investors Carl Icahn and John Paulson seats on the company's board. This comes as the insurance giant reported a much wider-than-expected fourth quarter loss and revenue that also missed estimates. The company also said it would buy back an additional $5 billion of its shares and boosted its quarterly dividend.
Pandora (P) delivered mixed quarterly results. Earnings per share that came in short of forecasts due to a dip in monthly listeners, while revenue topped expectations. Upstaging the results was news on Thursday that Pandora was putting itself up for sale and is working with Morgan Stanley to meet with potential buyers, according to the New York Times.
Groupon (GRPN) soared in early trading. The struggling online daily deal service posted a beat on both its top and bottom lines for its holiday quarter, as strong sales in North America and restructuring of its businesses helped boost margins.
Activision Blizzard (ATVI) shares were sharply lower this morning. The video game maker reported fourth- quarter earnings and revenue that missed estimates, as robust sales of its latest "Call of Duty" failed to offset weak demand of its new "Skylanders" and "Guitar Hero Live."
Alphabet working on new VR glasses
Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL) is apparently ramping up the battle for the virtual reality market. The Wall Street Journal says the company is working to develop "stand alone" virtual reality glasses that won't need a smartphone or computer to work.
Shkreli wants Kayne’s new album
The bad boy of pharma is at it again. Martin Shkreli, the former drug company CEO accused of price gouging and securities fraud, now wants Kanye West's upcoming rap album. In a message on Twitter (TWTR), Shkreli is offering West $10 million for exclusive release rights. You may recall, Shkreli earlier paid $2 million for Wu-Tang Clan's album, "Once Upon a Time in Shaolin."
