Spain Considers Ban on Sale of Gas and Diesel Cars by 2040

Spain’s government is eyeing ambitious steps to tackle climate change, including a ban on the sale of gas and diesel cars from 2040 and more in today’s Markets In Brief.

The government presented a blueprint Tuesday that foresees an end to state financial subsidies for fossil fuels and a prohibition on fracking.

The working document, obtained by The Associated Press, contains plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 37 percent by 2030 and to feed the national energy grid exclusively from renewable sources by 2050.

Other European Union countries are assessing similar groundbreaking measures as they look to combat climate change.

The minority Spanish government’s goals for its climate policy will need the support of other parties to win approval in parliament. It wasn’t immediately clear when a vote on the measures might take place.

MARKETS IN BRIEF

Minnesota Man to Pay $140K for Snooping, Insider Trading

A Minnesota man snooped in his wife’s work papers and used information about UnitedHealth Group’s upcoming acquisitions to profit from insider trading, according to regulators.

The Securities and Exchange Commission sued James Hengen for allegedly stealing information about two pending UnitedHealth acquisitions, The Star Tribune reported . The complaint alleged Hengen used the information to make about $60,000 from buying and selling stocks, and to provide information to his brother and three co-workers, who used the pending deal information to buy shares.

Hengen has agreed to pay about $140,000 to resolve civil charges stemming from the allegations. He declined to comment on the case, but he filed a consent to final judgment last week that says he doesn’t admit or deny the allegations against him.

UnitedHealth Group declined also declined comment to the newspaper.

The complaint said Hengen breached “his duty of trust and confidence” to his wife, who isn’t named in the documents. She also isn’t accused of wrongdoing.

The SEC said Hengen bought more than 8,000 shares of USMD Holdings in the summer 2016, after hearing his wife talking about the company while on a work conference call. WellMed, a subsidiary in UnitedHealth’s OptumCare division, announced in September 2016 that it planned to acquire USMD. The company’s stock rose 8 percent after the announcement.

The SEC said Hengen also purchased more than 3,100 shares of Surgical Care Affiliates in December 2016 after looking at his wife’s notebook. OptumCare announced in January 2017 that it would purchase SCA. The company’s shares increased by 16 percent.

Amazon to Split Second HQ Between New York, Virginia

A person familiar with the plans says Amazon will split its second headquarters between Long Island City in New York and Crystal City in northern Virginia.

The online retailer is expected to make an official announcement later Tuesday. The person was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of that announcement and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The decision will end an intense competition between North American cities to win Amazon and its promise of 50,000 new jobs. Some locations tried to stand out with stunts, but Amazon made clear that it really wanted incentives, like tax breaks and grants.

Amazon also had sought to be near a metropolitan area with more than a million people, among other criteria.

The company received 238 proposals before narrowing the list to 20 in January.

Gov: Amazon ‘Largest Jobs Commitment’ in Tennessee History

Gov. Bill Haslam’s office says Amazon’s plans for a Tennessee operations hub expected to create 5,000 jobs represent “the single largest jobs commitment made by a company in Tennessee’s history.”

A Haslam news release Tuesday says Amazon will invest $230 million-plus to locate its Operations Center of Excellence in Nashville Yards, a 15-acre (6-hectare), mixed-use downtown development. Holly Sullivan of Amazon Public Policy says Nashville will become the eastern U.S. hub for its retail operations division.

Amazon’s new 1 million square-foot Nashville office space will host tech and management functions.

Amazon says it will receive up to $102 million in performance-based incentives based on the creation of 5,000 jobs with an average wage exceeding $150,000 in Nashville.

The state says Amazon currently has six Tennessee facilities employing more than 6,500 people.

Homeowners Are Spending, Home Depot is Winning

Home Depot breezed past all expectations in the third quarter and raised its annual profit expectations again as Americans plow money into their homes, even with hints that the housing market is cooling.

Comparable-store sales, a key indicator of a retailer’s health, rose 4.8 percent, but it jumped 5.4 percent in the U.S., its dominant market.

Home Depot on Tuesday issued new profit projections, saying that it now expects -year earnings to climb about 33.8 percent, or $9.75 per share. Its previous outlook was for a 29.2 percent increase. Analysts surveyed by FactSet expect earnings of $9.56 per share.

For the period ended Oct. 28, the Atlanta company earned $2.87 billion, or $2.51 per share, far exceeding per-share projections for $2.27 on Wall Street, according to a survey of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research.

A year earlier Home Depot earned $2.17 billion, or $1.84 per share.

Revenue climbed to $26.3 billion from $25.03 billion, beating Wall Street’s $26.21 billion prediction.

Revenue is now expected to rise approximately 7.2 percent, up slightly from its prior forecast for an increase of about 7 percent. Comparable-store sales are now anticipated to climb approximately 5.5 percent. Home Depot previous outlook was for the metric to increase about 5.3 percent.

Shares of The Home Depot Inc. rose more than 2 percent before the opening bell.