San Francisco-based wearable device maker Fitbit Inc. posted estimate-beating first quarter results, as well as reaffirming its full-year revenue forecast from $1.52 billion to $1.58 billion as its sales of smart watches and other wearable health tracking devices elevated shares by 1.5% to $5.45. As smartphone sales doubled in the quarter, analysts believe it is the newly launched Inspire Line that alone made up 67% of the revenue in the said quarter. The company sold 2.9 million devices in the first quarter, 36% higher than the sales in the same quarter a year ago.However, average selling prices declined by 19% to $91 per share as the company shifted focus to cheaper devices to compete tech giants like Apple and Samsung.

Joining the cohort of IPO debutants this year like Lyft (LYFT) and Uber, plant-based manufacturer of meat substitutes, Beyond Meat, has priced its initial public offering at $25 per share targeting the top end of the company’s expected range of between $23 to $25 a share.The company also confirmed an offer of 9.625 million in common shares. At the said IPO price, Beyond holds an implied market valuation of $1.46 billion. In a previous filing with SEC, Beyond said that it expects to raise $183.8 million through its IPO, the proceeds of which will go towards investments in manufacturing facilities, research and development, and sales and marketing. Last year, the company clocked in a revenue of $87.9 million along with a net loss of $29.9 million. Other companies underwriting their IPO this year include Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Credit Suisse (CS), Merrill Lynch (MERI), Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Jefferies and William Blair.

Besides Microsoft Corp (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN), Apple is the next contender for the title of the most valuable U.S. company crossing the symbolic trillion dollar mark. Apple has been concerned over weak iPhone demand, especially in China, which is world’s biggest smartphone market, and saw a 17% drop in sales in the second fiscal quarter.However, the company’s services revenue beat estimates, making the third quarter look optimistic. During Q1, Apple spent a record-setting $24 billion on buybacks, topping last year’s $70 billion, or around five times its own spending on research and development.

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. confirmed that it has committed to invest $10 billion in Occidental Petroleum Corporation, contingent upon the latter’s entry and completion of its proposed acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation. As part of an investment, Berkshire will receive 100,000 shares of a cumulative perpetual preferred stock valued at $100,000 a share.This support is very much essential for Occidental, as it is up against another oil giant, Chevron (CVX), who has fives time bigger market cap and a larger balance sheet. 

Google’s parent company Alphabet’s stock fell more than 8% on Tuesday, and the company blames YouTube -- which saw a fall in ad revenue growth of just 15% versus 24% last year. In Q1 2018, Google began making changes to YouTube’s algorithms that were designed to prevent toxic content from appearing in the recommended videos feed.Additionally, YouTube has removed millions of channels and videos from its platform that are detrimental to its content policies, for example Alex Jones. But this proved to potentially be counter-productive, as all the negative content kept engagement high.

American auto-making giant General Motors clocked higher-than-expected first quarterly profit by cutting costs and selling more expensive trucks, like SUVs and crossover vehicles. However, investors are not quite happy as revenue dropped by 3.4% to $34.88 billion from $36.1 billion during the same quarter a year ago and also missed the Wall Street estimate of $35.28 billion amidst falling vehicle sales and sliding market share.The company’s total market share slid from 17% to 16.1%. On the other hand, adjusted earnings came-in at $1.41 per share against estimate of $1.11 per share.

Kellogg Co is replacing its chief financial officer, and the cereal, breakfast foods and snacks-maker reported a 36.5% decline in first-quarter earnings, citing a strong U.S. dollar and higher costs. CFO Fareed Khan will be replaced on July 1 by Amit Banati, who heads the company’s Asia Pacific, Africa and Middle East business. In addition to the stronger dollar, quarterly earnings were hit by higher spending on divestitures, transportation and commodities costs. Excluding items, Kellogg’s earnings were $1.01 per share, topping analysts’ estimates of 95 cents, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

Tesla is launching new shares and debt worth more than $2 billion, with Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk pitching-in $10 million as the electric carmaker gave-in to Wall Street pressure to bolster its cash reserves. The company said in the filing that it would seek to raise $650 million in new shares and $1.35 billion in debt, with underwriters having the option to buy an additional 15% of each offering, potentially raising the proceeds to $2.3 billion.

U.S.worker productivity increased at its fastest pace in more than four years in the first quarter, depressing labor costs and suggesting inflation could remain benign for a while. Read more...

Oil prices fell on Wednesday after U.S. crude inventories in the United States soared more than expected to their highest since September 2017 as production hit a record high. Read More...

Snack company Mondelez International Inc MDLZ 1.55% reported Tuesday with first-quarter results that arrived better than expected.On Wednesday, CEO Dirk Van de Put was a guest on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" segment to discuss the company's performance and outlook. Read More...

Square (NYSE: SQ) slumps 5.6% after Q2 adjusted EPS guidance of 14 cents-16 cents trails the consensus estimate of 18 cents and guidance for Q2 adjusted revenue of $545M-$555M trails the consensus of $555.3M.Read More...

Qualcomm said on Wednesday that it expects to receive $4.5 billion to $4.7 billion from its royalty settlement with Apple.  Read More...

U.S.mortgage applications fell to their lowest levels in six weeks even as home borrowing costs turned cheaper as a result of lower bond yields, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.  The seasonally adjusted index on mortgage activity to buy a home and to refinance one declined 4.3% to 407.2 in week ended April 26, which was the lowest reading since 390.0 in the week of March 15.

U.S.manufacturing activity slowed to a 2-1/2-year low in April as new orders dropped while construction spending unexpectedly fell in March, suggesting economic growth was moderating after surging in the first quarter. One of the reports from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) showed businesses increasingly anxious that President Donald Trump’s threats to close the U.S.-Mexico boarder would further disrupt the supply chain. The Federal Reserve kept U.S. interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, noting solid economic growth in the first quarter, and also holding out hope that inflation will rise toward the U.S. central bank’s 2% target.

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady and signaled little appetite to adjust them any time soon, taking heart in continued job gains and economic growth and the likelihood that weak inflation will edge higher. Read more...

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powered market predictions every day * Learn the secrets pro traders use to find great trades * Research historical statistics * Become a better trader with our optimized A.I. And more!Coinbase CEO Weighs In Cryptocurrency has endured its fair share of ups and downs in recent years.

Long before he became a billionaire, Ray Dalio was a successful investor as a pre-teen. Dalio now heads Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund with roughly $160 billion in assets.But when he was only 12 years old in the early 1960s, Dalio just wanted somewhere to invest the money he’d earned caddying on a golf course and everyone he knew was talking up the stock market.

Brett Arsenault, the top-ranking cybersecurity executive at Microsoft, had fallen asleep on top of his cell phone when it shocked him awake with a buzz. A cyberattack, later dubbed NotPetya, had begun locking down computers and shutting down businesses in Ukraine.READ MORE...