1. Swiss franc rises 14 percent: On Thursday, the Swiss Franc appreciated considerably after Switzerland's central bank said it would allow its currency to float, rather than maintain a minimum exchange rate. Following the move, shares of currency brokers fell sharply on Friday, with FXCM Inc. FXCM leading the way lower, down roughly 80 percent.
2. Big bank earnings: Beginning on Wednesday, Wells Fargo & Co WFC and JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM reported financial results for the fourth quarter; results were worse than expected. The weak earnings were a sign of things to come, as Bank of America Corp BAC, Citigroup Inc C and Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS reported soft earnings as well.
3. Retail sales weaker than expected: On Wednesday morning, S&P 500 and Dow Jones Futures each fell more than 1 percent following disappointing retail sales news. December retail trade sales were down 1.1 percent from November 2014.
4. Blackberry takeover rumors: On late Wednesday, reports surfaced that Samsung was interested in buying the tech company. Amid the rumor, shares of BlackBerry Ltd BBRY quickly rose 30 percent. Gains were erased, though, after BlackBerry denied talks with Samsung.
5. Tesla shares drop after-hours: Late Tuesday, shares of Tesla Motors Inc TSLA dropped roughly 10 percent amid comments from CEO Elon Musk that China sales had “declined significantly."
6. Intel earnings: On Thursday, Intel Corporation INTC reported fourth quarter financial results. The company beat top and bottom line estimates, and offered a first quarter revenue outlook.
7. GoPro shares tumble: On Wednesday, shares of GoPro Inc GPRO fell roughly 12 percent following news that Apple Inc. AAPL had been granted a patent for for a wearable camera.
Image credit: Rafael Matsunaga, Wikimedia
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
