Check out the companies making headlines before the bell:
Boeing – Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg was stripped of his chairman’s title, in a move the company said was designed to allow Muilenburg to focus on returning the grounded 737 Max jet to service.
Facebook – Facebook’s planned libra cryptocurrency is seeing more defections, with Visa and MasterCard pullout out of their planned participation. PayPal, eBay, and Stripe previously announced they would no longer participate in Libra.
Nike – The stock was upgraded to “neutral” from “underperform” at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, The firm said new sportswear apparel and growth of sub-$100 footwear is helping offset challenges of the past few years including a more competitive marketplace.
ConocoPhillips – ConocoPhillips announced the sale of its northern Australian business for $1.4 billion to Australian business partner Santos.
Lyft, Uber – The ride-hailing services are suing New York City over a new rule that limits the time its drivers are allowed to cruise in Manhattan without passengers.
General Motors – GM and the United Auto Workers Union are still trying to reach an agreement on a new contract as a strike enters its fifth week. The union said it will boost strike pay for 48,000 hourly workers by $25 per week to $275 as the walkout continues.
PG&E – PG&E rejected an offer by the city of San Francisco to buy its power lines and other infrastructure within the city for $2.5 billion. The bankrupt utility said the offer undervalues its assets.
Kohl’s – Kohl’s named Executive Vice President Jill Tim as its new chief financial officer. She will succeed Bruce Besanko, who will step down from that role at the retailer on Nov. 1.
Blackstone – Blackstone has held talks about buying a stake in Ken Griffin’s Citadel, according to The Wall Street Journal. The private-equity firm is said to have considered investing in both Citadel’s hedge fund operations as well as in its securities trading unit.
AECOM – AECOM announced a deal to sell its management services unit to a consortium of private-equity firms for $2.4 billion. The engineering and design firm had announced plans to spin off the unit in June.
Toll Brothers – The home builder’s stock was downgraded to “neutral” from “positive” at Susquehanna Financial in a valuation call, following outperformance since the beginning of the year. With that gain, Susquehanna said Toll Brothers shares are now at their historical average forward price-to-earnings ratio.
Planet Fitness – Imperial Capital upgraded the fitness center operator to “outperform” from “in-line,” calling Planet Fitness a “best in class” fitness operator and a premium consumer growth stock.