Morgan Stanley announced plans to repurchase up to $12 billion in stock over the following 12 months.
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Bloomberg News/Jeenah Moon
By
Close to Francesca Fontana
Fontana, Francesca
Biography
@francescamarief
francesca.fontana@wsj.com
6:55 p.m., July 2, 2021 ET
Morgan Stanley is a financial services firm based in
0.01 percent MS
Now that they have recovered from last year’s Covid-19-induced economic difficulties, America’s largest banks are increasing dividend payouts to stockholders. Five of the six largest banks increased their dividends on Monday after the Federal Reserve said they were healthy enough to do so. Morgan Stanley took the lead, raising its quarterly dividend to 70 cents per share and announced intentions to buy back up to $12 billion in stock over the following year. Morgan Stanley’s stock increased by 3.4 percent on Tuesday.
Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. is a chain of drugstores based in the United States.
WBA is down 1.11 percent.
At the pharmacy, sales are improving.
Walgreens,
WBA is down 1.11 percent.
Thanks to Covid-19 for the images. The drugstore chain reported $1.2 billion in net earnings in the most recent quarter, with vaccinations helping to boost store visitation and pharmacy and nonpharmacy revenues. Covid-19 immunizations have now been provided to almost 25 million people, according to the drugstore chain. Walgreens claims that walk-in appointments, employer collaborations, and mobile clinics have all aided their efforts. In recent weeks, the vaccination effort in the United States has cooled as Americans who were most eager to obtain the doses were able to do so. Walgreens’ stock dropped 7.4% on Thursday.
Southwest Airlines Company is a commercial airline based in Dallas, Texas.
-0.37 percent LUV
Airlines may have staffing issues during the Fourth of July holiday. Southwest is raising overtime compensation, including offering double-time pay for flight attendants, in order to avoid traffic jams over the holiday travel weekend. This is the latest setback for airlines as they try to keep up with the summer’s sharp increase in travel demand. Executives at the airline said they hoped the increased pay would inspire employees to pick up extra shifts or travel during the first week of July. Ground-operations agents and cargo agents who work extra shifts during the same time period will receive double pay. Southwest’s stock dropped 2.4 percent on Monday.
Lordstown Motors Corp. is a company based in Lordstown, Ohio.
RIDE -10.82 percent RIDE -10.82 percent RIDE -10.82 percent
Lordstown Motors, an electric-truck company, is being investigated by the Justice Department. The investigation is the latest setback for the company, which has been plagued by bad news for months as it prepares to begin limited production of the Endurance, a full-size electric pickup truck. The US attorney’s office in Manhattan is leading the investigation, and the Securities and Exchange Commission is also looking into the corporation. The SEC first requested information from Lordstown Motors in February and has since issued subpoenas for documents related to the company’s decision to go public last year and its statements about preorders. Lordstown, according to a spokeswoman, is dedicated to cooperate with any investigations or inquiries. Lordstown Motors’ stock dropped 11% on Friday.
General Mills, Inc. is a company that manufactures cereals.
Prepare to spend a lot more money on Cheerios and Betty Crocker cake mix. General Mills announced price increases in nearly all of its grocery categories around the world on Wednesday, citing the company’s highest costs in a decade. General Mills’ overall expenses would rise around 7% in the next year or two due to more expensive ingredients, packaging, trucking, and labor, according to officials. The food company intends to counteract increased expenses by making internal savings and running its operations more efficiently, as well as other measures such as price hikes and less discounts. Meanwhile, the business claims that pandemic-related phenomena such as the rise of online grocery shopping would have long-term consequences that will help its brands. The stock of General Mills increased by 1.5 percent on Wednesday.
Facebook, Inc. is a social media company based in
0.09 percent FB
In its legal battles with the US government and most states, Facebook has prevailed. Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
Boasberg, James
A federal judge concluded on Monday that a complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission was legally insufficient, saying the regulator didn’t provide enough evidence that the social media business was a monopoly and that its activities hurt competition. The judge also dismissed a lawsuit filed by 46 states against Facebook, claiming that the attorneys general took too long to file their claims, among other factors. Meanwhile, lawmakers are debating how to proceed following a bruising battle to advance laws aimed at tightening antitrust enforcement in the internet sector. Facebook’s stock rose 4.2 percent on Monday.
Exxon Mobil Corporation is a multinational oil and gas company headquartered in Houston, Texas.
XOM is down 0.14 percent.
CEO of Exxon Mobil
Woods, Darren
two of the company’s senior Washington lobbyists apologized and disavowed their views. Greenpeace released a video recording of the lobbyists denying Exxon’s public positions on climate change on Wednesday, prompting the move. The lobbyists were duped into thinking they were conducting video interviews with a recruiter by the environmental group, and in the recording, Keith McCoy, Exxon’s senior director of federal relations, called the company’s support for a carbon tax to help address climate change a “easy talking point” because it is unlikely to be implemented. Exxon’s stock rose 0.3 percent on Thursday.
Francesca Fontana can be reached at francesca.fontana@wsj.com.
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‘.’ appeared in the print edition of the July 3, 2021, issue./n
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