Among the companies with shares expected to actively trade in
Friday's session are Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA), Home Depot
Inc. (HD) and ITT Educational Services Inc. (ESI).
Alibaba will list on the New York Stock Exchange Friday. The
Chinese company's shares priced Thursday at $68 apiece, putting it
on track for an initial public offering that will raise at least
$21.8 billion.
Home Depot said Thursday that 56 million cards may have been
compromised in a five-month attack on its payment terminals, making
the breach much bigger than the holiday attack at Target Corp.
(TGT). Home Depot's shares edged down 0.4% to $91.69 in premarket
trading.
The Securities and Exchange Commission sent ITT Educational a
so-called Wells notice, which indicates the regulator may pursue a
cease-and-desist order and fines, among other things, ITT said in a
regulatory filing. Shares sank 19.9% to $6.13 premarket.
German software giant SAP SE (SAP.XE, SAP) on Thursday agreed to
buy Concur Technologies Inc. (CNQR), which makes software to help
employees manage their expense accounts, in a deal valued at $8.3
billion. Concur shareholders would receive $129 per share, a 20%
premium over Wednesday's closing price of $107.80. Concur's shares
jumped 19.1% to $128.40 premarket.
Larry Ellison, a college dropout who built Oracle Corp. (ORCL)
into one of America's largest and most prominent technology
companies, is stepping down as chief executive in a momentous
Silicon Valley handover. Mark Hurd and Safra Catz, two of Mr.
Ellison's deputies, will take over as co-CEOs. Oracle also said
Thursday its fiscal first-quarter earnings edged 0.3% lower as
higher expenses offset revenue growth. Shares fell 2.6% to $40.46
premarket.
GlaxoSmithKline PLC (GSK, GSK.LN) said Friday a Chinese court
found its subsidiary in the country guilty of bribing nongovernment
personnel and fined the company close to $491.5 million.
Apple Inc. (AAPL) began sales of its newest iPhones Friday, with
consumers in Australia becoming the first globally to get their
hands on them.
Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL) said Friday an improved outlook for
the 2015 fiscal year led the company to expand its stock-buyback
program by $500 million.
PepsiCo Inc. (PEP) said Friday it plans to phase out equipment
with hydroflourocarbons, as part of its effort to fight climate
change.
Telefonica SA (TEF, TEF.MC) sealed its deal to buy Vivendi SA's
(VIV.FR) Brazilian unit GVT for about $9.3 billion, cementing the
Spanish telecommunications giant's position in Latin America's
largest market.
Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) said Friday it appointed PepsiCo
executive Debra A. Crew to be the president and commercial chief of
the company's U.S. tobacco company.
Sears Holdings Corp. (SHLD) is selling off assets to raise money
as its operations continue to produce red ink. But even if those
sales go as planned, credit analysts say, the retailer could find
itself short of funds by the end of 2016.
Watchlist:
Dave Barger, the longtime JetBlue Airways Corp. (JBLU) chief
executive who has been criticized this year for the discount
carrier's lagging performance, will step down when his contract
ends in February, the company said. Mr. Barger, 56 years old, will
be succeeded by Robin Hayes, 48, a former British Airways executive
who joined JetBlue in 2008.
American International Group Inc.'s (AIG) longtime head of its
life-insurance and retirement-services unit, Jay Wintrob, is
leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, after being
passed over for the top job in June.
McDonald's Corp. (MCD) increased its quarterly dividend by 5%, a
move the company said reflects "the continued strength and
sustainability of our cash flow."
Red Hat Inc. (RHT) said its fiscal second-quarter profit rose
15% as the software company said strong business from its certified
public cloud providers helped lead to higher-than-expected
revenue.
Eli Lilly & Co.'s (LLY) Type 2 diabetes drug Trulicity has
been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the agency
said Thursday.
Clorox Co. (CLX) Chief Executive Donald R. Knauss is stepping
down, passing the reins to a chief operating officer who beat out
another top executive for the role. Benno Dorer, who had overseen
about half of Clorox's business as operating chief, will be
promoted to CEO, effective Nov. 20.
Hyatt Hotels Corp. (H) said Thursday it agreed to sell 38 of its
select-service Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels for $590 million
to a company organized by private equity firm Lone Star Funds.
Software company Epiq Systems Inc. (EPIQ) said it is exploring
strategic alternatives and has adopted a so-called poison pill to
thwart hostile takeovers.
Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN) said it will boost its quarterly
dividend by 13% after posting improved margins and earnings growth
in recent quarters.
Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) and Linn Energy LLC (LINE) agreed to a
non-monetary asset swap that will expand the presence of Exxon
subsidiary XTO Energy Inc. in the Permian Basin and increase Linn's
interests in California.
Write to Tom Rojas at tom.rojas@wsj.com and Josh Beckerman at
josh.beckerman@wsj.com
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