Sears REMOVED From S&P 500 and 2 HOT Stocks Making Waves

After 55 years of being a constituent,  Sears Holdings (NASDAQ:SHLD) is removed from the S&P 500 Index. “Sears’ public float has been well below the 50% threshold for inclusion for an extended period of time and is no longer considered representative of the index,” S&P said. Sears’ will be replaced by chemical and polymer maker LyondellBasell Industries NV.

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Reinsurer Validus (NYSE:VR) is to acquire Flagstone Reinsurance (NYSE:FSR) for $600M in cash and stock, paying $8.43 per share at a premium of 19 percent to Flagstone’s yesterday’s closing price. The deal is expected to boost Validus’ property reinsurance operations.

State-owned Argentine energy company Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (NYSE:YPF) CEO Miguel Galuccio is scheduled to hold talks with Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Apache (NYSE:APA) in September at a Houston conference as YPF looks for joint venture partners in shale-oil exploration, according to a Bloomberg report. Galuccio may also meet CNOOC (NYSE:CEO) and Sinopec (NYSE:SNP) in China next month.

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