Here's what happened on Wall Street on Thursday, Nov. 16.
Tax reform helped lift the major averages well into the green Thursday after the House of Representatives voted to pass their version of the tax reform bill.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed trading up nearly 200 points, snapping out of a recent funk that saw all three major indices give back all the gains they've made in November.
The Nasdaq closed at a record high after climbing 1.3% in the session. The S&P 500 gained 0.82%.
FCC Rolls Back Rull Designed to Prevent Media Consolidation
The Federal Communications Commission repealed a 42-year old ruled preventing one company in a single market from owning both a daily newspaper and television station.
The FCC panel voted 3-2 to repeal the rule.
Another rule that was tossed prohibited the owner of one television station from merging with another in the same market if there are fewer than eight stations in the market.
Amazon Collaborates With Calvin Klein to Sell Underwear
Calvin Klein will sell a new line of underwear exclusively on Amazon (AMZN) this holiday season. Calvin Klein is owned by PVH Corp. (PVH) .
"We want to reach consumers wherever they are shopping. Digital is one of our fastest-growing channels, and Amazon is a really important part of what is happening in digital," said Cheryl Abel-Hodges, president of PVH's underwear group.
PVH shares were up 1.75% Thursday afternoon.
American Express Launches Blockchain Payment Option Using Ripple
American Express (AXP) announced the launch of a new service that will allow U.S. corporate customers to send instant blockchain-based payments to U.K.-based businesses that bank with Santander using technology from fintech Ripple.
"American Express has a long history of integrating new technologies. This collaboration with Ripple and Santander represents the next step forward on our blockchain journey, evolving the way we move money around the world," American Express CIO Marc Gordon said in a statement.
Goldman CEO Wants U.K. to Reconsider Brexit
Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein doesn't tweet often, but when he does his statements are usually a doozy.
Blankfein took to Twitter to suggest that the U.K. hold a second vote on its decision to leave the European Union.
Here in UK, lots of hand-wringing from CEOs over #Brexit. Better sense of the tough and risky road ahead. Reluctant to say, but many wish for a confirming vote on a decision so monumental and irreversible. So much at stake, why not make sure consensus still there?
— Lloyd Blankfein (@lloydblankfein) November 16, 2017
Siemens to Layoff 6,900 Employees
Siemens (SIEGY) announced plans to close two factories in Germany and lay off 6,900 workers around the world, about 2% of its workforce, in the company's largest round of reductions in years.
Half of the job cuts will come from Germany as the European engineering company says that there is a global overcapacity for power and gas turbines.
The move comes as the company goes forward with plans to merge its renewables unit with that of a rival and a planned listing of its healthcare division.
Unencumbered by Hurricanes, U.S. Factories Roar Back to Life
U.S. factory output jumped in October as manufacturing recovered from one of the worst hurricane seasons the U.S. has experienced in years. Factory output rose 0.2% in the month while total industrial production climbed 0.3%, according to the Federal Reserve.
Motor vehicle production rose 1% and utility output climbed 2% after falling 1% in September.
Overall, factory production made its biggest monthly leap since 2010.
T-Mobile to Float Share Buyback After Sprint Deal Falls Through
T-Mobile U.S. (TMUS) will propose a share buyback plan that could begin as early as December, CFO Braxton Carter said Thursday. Carter said that Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's 64% stakeholder, would not tender any shares and may buy back some shares itself.
The move comes just days after the company's merger with rival Sprint (S) fell through, sending the stock tumbling about 10%.
T-Mobile has already briefed credit ratings agencies on its plan and received an upgrade from Moody's last week as a result.
Emerson Ups Rockwell Bid for Third Time
Emerson Electric (EMR) plans to raise its bid for Rockwell Automation (ROK) to $225 per share, or $29 billion, sources told the Wall Street Journal. This is the third time the company has upped its offer -- the last bid was for $215 per share.
The offer is for 60% cash and 40% stock.
The last offer was for $27.5 billion, with half being paid in cash and half in stock. Emerson is hoping the additional money and cash consideration will be enough to sway Rockwell.
Twitter Overhauls Verification System
Twitter (TWTR) will review the accounts it has verified based on a new series of guidelines. Accounts that don't meet these new standards will have their verification (blue check mark) revoked.
The move is a response to public outcry after the social media company verified the account of a white supremacist. Twitter first responded to the backlash by saying that people misunderstood what a verification actually meant. The company also promised to review the process.
5 / We are conducting an initial review of verified accounts and will remove verification from accounts whose behavior does not fall within these new guidelines. We will continue to review and take action as we work towards a new program we are proud of.
— Twitter Support (@TwitterSupport) November 15, 2017
Premarket
U.S. futures were trading in the green for the first time in several sessions, indicating a strong opening for markets once the opening bell rings at 9:30 a.m. ET.
Markets gave back most of their November gains over the past week, suffering multiple losing sessions as trepidation over tax reform heightens.
House leaders are expected to vote on their version of the tax reform bill Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET. Markets have been in a downward spiral since the Senate version of the tax bill was leaked last week, containing numerous differences from the House version.
U.S. futures were also getting a bump from world markets, which also turned around after a couple of sessions of declines.
In Asia, the Nikkei and Hang Seng closed trading up 1.47% and 0.74%, respectively. In Europe, the three major averages were rising with the CAC 40 in France climbing 0.62%.
