U.S. stocks pulled back slightly on Wednesday as the “Santa rally” that has pushed equities to records stalled for the moment, keeping the Dow Jones Industrial Average just short of the 20,000 milestone.
Existing home sales were 15.4% higher than a year ago, and would have been even higher if there wasn’t somewhat of a housing shortage. Currently there is only a 4 month supply of houses nationally at the current pace of sales, which is pushing prices higher. The median price for a single family home nationally is $234,900 which is 6.8% higher than November of 2015.
FedEx posted profit on an adjusted basis of $2.80 per share for its second quarter, up from $2.58 a year earlier but below analysts forecast of $2.90/share. The company saw operating margins slide in its latest quarter, offsetting gains on expanding volumes tied to an e-commerce boom. Shares of the company, up 35% over the past 12 months, fell 3% to $193.49.
7-Eleven beats Google and Amazon to the first regular commercial drone delivery service in the U.S. 7-Eleven, the world’s largest convenience store chain, shared new numbers from its drone delivery experiment today. Seventy-seven customers in Reno, Nev., have now received items ordered from 7-Eleven delivered to their doorsteps via drone. All 77 flights were from one store to a dozen select customers who live within a mile of the shop. 7-Eleven has partnered with the drone maker Flirtey for its delivery pilot.
