logo-loader

EARLY MOVERS: Uber and Lyft attracting web hits before the New York bell, while CBS-Viacom merger could be on again

Last updated: 08:04 27 Sep 2018 EDT, First published: 03:04 27 Sep 2018 EDT

1538050101_uber3

US stocks are poised to head higher after yesterday's Fed rate rise.

One of the biggest companies trending before the  New York bell though is unlisted taxi app giant Uber.

It looks like the past has caught up with the group as it emerged it is to pay $148 million to US state authorities to settle the data breach two years ago, which saw hackers steal information on an eye-watering 57 million people.

Uber covered up the breach for almost a year, but under the new leadership it confessed late last year and was hit with various lawsuits and investigations.

There was also other Uber news today - concerning its initial public offering.

The firm, along with rival Lyft, is planning floats on the public market next year.

Uber has said it was “on track” for a listing in the second half of 2019, while Lyft is reportedly targeting March or April.

In other pre-market news, the merger between CBS Corp (NYSE:CBS) and Viacom (NASDAQ:VIAB) could be back on, it was reported in various media outlets.

CBS has a new board now that chairman Les Moonves was forced to resign following allegations of sexual harassment. It may be more open to the deal, with Dick Parsons as chair.

Shari Redstone’s National Amusements controls the majority of voting interest in both companies.

Moonves had refused to support a deal unless he could run the post-merger company and install his own deputy, while Shari Redstone favored Viacom chief executive Robert Bakish for that role.

CBS shares are unchanged at $56.50 in pre-market, while Viacom shares are also flat at $33.74.

Chip maker Qualcomm Inc (NASDAQ:QCOM) saw shares nudge up 0.056% in pre-market deals to $71.80 as its CEO Steve Molenkamp said he reckons tech behemoth Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) will become a customer again.

It comes, ironically, as Qualcomm yesterday upped the ante in the legal case against the iPhone maker, accusing it of stealing source code and giving it to Intel.

Apple shares added 1.47% to stand at $223.67 in pre-market deals.

Last but not least, drugstore chain Rite Aid Corp (NYSE:RAD)  saw shares slump 1.56% in pre-market deals to $1.26 as it unveiled a surprise second-quarter loss, but sales surpassed Wall Street expectations

The firm swung to a net loss for the quarter to September 1 of $359.1 million, or $0.34, versus a profit of $170.7 million or $0.16 per share, in the same period a year ago.

Revenue rose to $5.42 billion from $5.35 billion, beating the consensus of $5.36 billion.

BenevolentAI advances novel ulcerative colitis treatment through Phase 1a trial

BenevolentAI (OTC:BAIVF) chief scientific officer Dr Anne Phelan joins Proactive's Stephen Gunnion with positive safety data from the Phase 1a, first-in-human, clinical study of BEN-8744 in healthy volunteers. Phelan explained that BEN-8744 is a potent, selective PD10 inhibitor, uniquely...

44 minutes ago