US stocks held near unmoved Thursday as Wall Street stayed on watch for any developments associated to negotiations to stay away from spending trims and tax hikes from starting in the New Year.
Wall Street offered just brief response to moves by international central banks and a slew of US economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained almost 1 point to 13,246.06. The S&P 500 index remained unchanged at 1,428.25, as did the Nasdaq Composite, previously off a point at 3,012.60. [article_detail_ad_1]
However Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY) shares soared nearly 18% to $14.35 on Thursday following Minneapolis Star Tribune stated that the firm’s founder Richard Schulze will make a fully financed offer to purchase the electronics retailer by the close of the week.
The offer will expected be at least $5 billion to $6 billion, with financing coming from bankers and private equity companies counting Cerberus, Leonard Greene & Partner and the Texas Pacific Group, the Star-Tribune mentioned an anonymous source as saying.
Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) advanced 1.5% to $708 on Thursday early, helping to direct a small gain for tech stocks in early trades.
The Web search heavyweight rolled out a new mapping application for Apple’s iOS mobile OS, which had eliminated Google Maps from its most recent update that released with the iPhone 5. Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) shares declined almost 1.4% to $531 in early trades.
International Paper Company (NYSE:IP) stated Thursday it decided to sell its Temple-Inland Building Products division for $750 million to Georgia-Pacific LLC. The agreement comprises 16 manufacturing facilities in eight states.
The deal is likely to be closed in the first quarter. IP stated it intends to use takings from the sale to decrease debt.