Stocks slip, Facebook's questionable numbers
Wall Street is taking a step back after a three-day rally. All three major averages (^GPSC, ^DJI, ^IXIC) are in the red as investors keep close tabs on oil prices (CL=F) and mull over a fresh batch of economic data and speeches form Fed officials.
Takeover talk
Twitter (TWTR) shares soared in early trading after CNBC reported that the social media firm is in talks with potential suitors that include Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL) and Salesforce.com (CRM). The stock was initially lower in the pre-market after RBC Capital Markets downgraded it to underperform from outperform late yesterday amid concerns about Twitter’s advertising revenue based on a recent survey. The firm also cut its price target to $14 a share. That’s a 25% drop from where the stock closed yesterday.
Done deal
Marriott’s (MAR) stock is in the spotlight after the company completed its $13 billion purchase of Starwood Hotels. Marriott is now the biggest hotel operator in the world. Members of the hotel’s two loyalty programs will be able to link their accounts together starting today.
Major hack at Yahoo
Yahoo (YHOO) confirmed that hackers stole information from at least 500 million user accounts in late 2014, including names, phone numbers and some passwords. The company is blaming “state-sponsored” hackers for what may be the largest theft of personal data ever. What will this mean for Verizon’s (VZ) proposed $4.8 billion acquisition of Yahoo?
Facebook angers advertisers: WSJ
Facebook (FB) vastly overestimated the time viewers watched video ads on the site, according to the Wall Street Journal. That means advertisers may have misjudged the performance of ads they purchased from Facebook over the past two years. Should Facebook give more access to its data to third parties to improve measurement metrics?
Clinton wants to raise estate tax
Hillary Clinton unveiled a proposal to slap a 65% tax on the largest estates, up from the current rate of 40%. That 65% rate would affect only estates with assets exceeding $500 million for a single person. How will this play in the first debate with Donald Trump?
