Brown & Brown Completes ABS Acquisition

Brown & Brown, Inc. (BRO), an insurance brokerage firm, Friday announced that it has completed the acquisition of ABS Risk, LLC and ABS Operations, LLC collectively called as ABS.

Financial terms of the deal are not known.

ABS is a warrantor of the automotive aftermarket providing nationwide parts and labor repair warranties, national road hazard programs and component-specific warranties.

The ABS team will continue to be led by CEO Michael Cox.

On Thursday, Brown & Brown shares closed at $73.78, down 0.19% on the New York Stock Exchange.

U.S. Construction Spending Climbs More Than Expected In October

Construction spending in the U.S. rose by more than expected in the month of October, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday, although the report also showed a downward revision to the increase in construction spending in September.

The Commerce Department said construction spending climbed by 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $2.027 trillion in October after rising by 0.2 percent to a revised rate of $2.015 trillion in September.

Economists had expected construction spending to rise by 0.4 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.

The report said spending on private construction advanced by 0.7 percent to an annual rate of $1.579 trillion in October.

Spending on residential construction jumped by 1.2 percent to a rate of $884.4 billion, and spending on non-residential construction inched up by 0.1 percent to a rate of $694.8 billion.

The Commerce Department said spending on public construction also edged up by 0.2 percent during the month to an annual rate of $447.8 billion.

Spending on educational construction rose by 0.4 percent to a rate of $97.2 billion, offsetting a 0.3 percent drop in spending on highway construction to a rate of $132.0 billion.

European Economic News Preview: Germany Final Inflation Data Due

Final consumer price data from Germany is the only major economic report due on Friday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Destatis is scheduled to issue Germany’s final inflation data for November. The initial estimate showed that consumer price inflation eased to 3.2 percent in November from 3.8 percent in October.

In the meantime, GDP, household consumption, industrial output and orders are due from Statistics Sweden.

At 2.30 am ET, the Hungarian Statistical Office is scheduled to issue flash foreign trade and inflation figures. Inflation is forecast to ease to 8.1 percent in November from 9.9 percent in October.

At 4.30 am ET, Bank of England/Ipsos Inflation Attitudes Survey results are due.

At 5.00 am ET, inflation, industrial production and external trade reports are due from Greece.

SigmaTron Intl. Q2 Profit Falls

SigmaTron International, Inc. (SGMA) Friday announced a sharp fall in second-quarter profit, compared to the prior year on lower revenues and discontinued operations.

Revenues from continuing operations were down 9 percent from the previous year.

The quarterly profit was $28.26 thousand or $0.00 per share, compared to profit of $871.87 thousand or $0.14 per share last year.

Net sales for the quarter declined to $98.69 million, from $108.221 million a year ago.

The Company has sold a majority position of its wholly owned subsidiary, Wagz, Inc., effective April 1, 2023.

SigmaTron CEO Gary Fairhead said “As we head into our third quarter, our short-term backlog remains soft as our customers evaluate their inventory levels starting the new calendar year. We expect the third quarter to be difficult and believe revenue levels will start to increase during our fourth quarter. Putting aside the short-term softness, we are excited about our prospects for the first part of fiscal 2025.”

MBIA Shares Surge 76% On "Extraordinary" Dividend

Shares of MBIA Inc. (MBI) are up 76% on Friday following an announcement by the company’s Board regarding the declaration of an extraordinary cash dividend on MBIA common stock of $8.00 per share.

MBI is trading on the Nasdaq at $13.01, up 76.29% or $5.63 per share. It has traded between $6.07 and $14.00 in the past 52-week period.

The dividend is scheduled to be paid on December 22 to shareholders of record as of December 18.

This amount totals approximately $409 million based on the outstanding 51.1 million shares.

In addition, on December 7, 2023, MBIA announced that the New York Department of Financial Services (NYDFS) approved an extraordinary dividend of $550 million to be paid to MBIA by its wholly-owned subsidiary, National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation.

MBIA intends to retain the remainder of the dividends from National for general corporate purposes, including but not limited to future operating expenses and debt service obligations.

Children's Cups Recalled Due To High Lead Content

About 84,000 Tiblue stainless steel children’s cups sold exclusively on Amazon.com have been recalled due to high lead content.

According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the bottom exterior of the stainless-steel cups contains an accessible solder bead with levels of lead that exceed the federal lead content ban. Lead is toxic if ingested by young children and can cause adverse health effects.

In addition, the lid can crack and break during use producing sharp edges and small parts, posing laceration and choking hazards to children.

The recall involves 8 oz and 12 oz models of Tiblue Double-Walled Stainless Steel Children’s Cups sold in pairs. Both sizes of the recalled cups were sold in 11 different color combinations, including a matching straw: Pink+Purple, Blue+Green, Turqouise+Magenta, Coral+Indigo, Lemon+Mint, Gray+Slate, Mint+Blush, Lilac+Baby Blue, Rainbow+Mermaid, Dinosaur+Shark, Unicorn+Dinosaur. “Tiblue” is printed on the front bottom of the cups.

The company has asked its customers to immediately take the cups away from children, stop using them and contact FENGM for a full refund.

The products were sold on Amazon.com from August 2021 through July 2023 for about $20.