Rite Aid’s 138% December Surge Costs Short-Sellers $187 Million

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Rite Aid Corp. short-sellers have had a tough December as better-than-expected earnings spurred the stock’s largest monthly gain since April 2009.

With Rite Aid’s heavily shorted stock up 138% this month, their mark-to-market loss amounts to $187 million, according to data provided by S3 Partners research head Ihor Dusaniwsky. The shares were up as much as much as 24% on Friday, extending gains for a seventh session.

Things could get worse for Rite Aid bears if the earnings-fueled rally turns into a long-term advance rather than just a brief surge driven by short-sellers unwinding their bearish bets, Dusaniwsky warned.

“If RAD’s stock price continue its rally or its price stabilizes at these levels I would expect a dramatic short squeeze next week as shorts have been hit with both large mark-to-market losses and expensive stock borrow costs,” he said in an email.

The surprise rally has spooked some bears already as Ride Aid’s short interest has declined to 26% of the free-floating shares, after peaking at 32% in mid-October, S3 data show.

The next catalyst for the stock is company’s investor day in March.

Treasuries Move To The Upside Amid Light Trading

After ending the previous session nearly flat, treasuries moved to the upside over the course of the trading day on Friday.

Bond priced moved higher in early trading and remained firmly positive throughout the session. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, fell by 3.1 basis points to 1.874 percent.

The strength among treasuries came as traders prepare for the New Year, with some looking to the safe haven of bonds amid concerns about an eventual pullback by stocks.

Nonetheless, many traders remained away from their desks following the Christmas holiday on Wednesday and the New Year’s Day holiday next Wednesday.

A lack of major U.S. economic data also kept traders on the sidelines as they attempt to deduce what is in store for the economy in the New Year.

Trading activity is likely to remain relatively subdued next week, although reports on pending home sales, consumer confidence, and manufacturing activity may attract some attention.

Drake talks Rihanna, feud with Kanye and Pusha T in 2-hour interview

WARNING: This story contains explicit language that may offend some readers. Discretion is advised. 

After releasing and re-releasing the music video for War due to the “Chair Girl” controversy, Drake sat down for a two-hour interview with Rap Radar to discuss his feuds and his past with Rihanna.

During the candid interview, Drake was asked about his recent collaboration with Chris Brown for No Guidance.

Wawa facing lawsuits over data breach at all of its stores

PHILADELPHIA — The Wawa convenience store chain is facing a wave of lawsuits over a data breach that affected its 850 locations along the East Coast.

Wawa Inc. discovered malware on its payment processing servers this month before stopping the breach Dec. 12, the company has said. Officials with the company, based in Wawa, Pennsylvania, believe the malware had been collecting card numbers, customer names and other data since as early as March.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday that at least six lawsuits seeking class-action status have been filed in federal court in Philadelphia.

“The data breach was the inevitable result of Wawa’s inadequate data security measures and cavalier approach to data security,” said one suit, filed by the law firm Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith, of Haverford.

A Wawa spokesman declined to comment on the pending litigation.

The breach affected all stores, which stretch along the East Coast from Pennsylvania to Florida. In-store payments and payments at fuel dispensers were affected, but cash machines were not.

Wawa has said it will offer free credit card monitoring and identity theft prevention services to anyone whose information might have been collected.

Police are investigating, and the company has also hired a forensics firm to conduct an internal investigation.

Gold Extends Gains, Settles At 3-month High

Gold prices moved higher on Friday, extending gains to a fourth straight session, as the dollar slipped below the 97 mark, and equities turned somewhat flat as investors looked for direction amid a lack of triggers.

The dollar index dropped to 96.95, losing about 0.6%.

Gold prices stayed a bit sluggish till around mid morning, but gained in strength as the session progressed.

Gold futures for February ended up $3.70, or about 0.2%, at $1,518.10, the highest close since September 24.

On Thursday, gold futures for February ended up $9.60, or 0.6%, at 1,514.40, after having gained 1.1% a session earlier.

For the week, gold futures gained 2.5%, the best weekly rise in about four months.

Silver futures for March ended down $0.047 at $17.943 an ounce, while Copper futures for March settled lower by $0.0195 at $2.8295 per pound.

Gold also found support on news Russia might consider a part-investment of its National Wealth Fund in gold.

California mulls electric-car requirement for ride shares

Uber may be on the brink of another clash with California lawmakers.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Friday said that he was considering instituting a requirement that would force ride-share services to use electric vehicles.

“We have the power to regulate car share,” Garcetti told the Financial Times. “We can mandate, and are looking closely at mandating, that any of those vehicles in the future be electric.”

The measure would be a part of LA’s effort to slash its greenhouse gas emissions and reach carbon neutral status by 2050.

If the requirement was implemented, it would be a major blow to Uber in one of its top five largest markets. Uber was already hit by a major setback in the Golden State when lawmakers passed legislation that classified drivers like employees instead of contractors — making them eligible for minimum wage and paid time off.

Last month, the ride-hail giant was also stripped of its license to operate in London — which represented close to 4 percent of its business — over its failure to ensure passenger safety.

“I think there’s going to be more asks like this from cities and states, especially when it comes to California, which has two of its top five cities worldwide,” Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told The Post, referring to Los Angeles and San Francisco.

“It speaks to a trend that the regulatory environment and Uber’s relationships with cities and states are starting to get uncomfortably complex,” he added.

A spokesperson for Uber did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.