Stocks fell sharply on Thursday after CNBC reported that a meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is unlikely before a key March deadline. Read More...

Many analysts raised their price targets for Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc.'s stock, following the company’s solid earnings and sales report. On Wednesday, the fast-food chain of restaurants reported fourth quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.72, which far outpaced the $1.37 a share figure expected by analysts (based on Refinitiv data). Revenues of $1.23 billion for the quarter beat estimate of $1.194 billion.Chipotle is reportedly upping the ante on its online market, by upgrading its kitchens, boosting pickup shelves for displaying online orders, and testing out its drive-through windows services that allow customers to pick up what they ordered online. Several analysts seem to believe that there’s strong potential in the restaurant chain’s recent performance.

In a mission to becoming the world’s leading audio platform, Stockholm-based music streaming provider Spotify is all set to acquire podcast companies Gimlet and Anchor to compete with Apple’s popular iTunes’ podcasting platform.Spotify plans to spend $400 million to $500 million on acquisitions in 2019. Gimlet Media has a podcast studio with dedicated intellectual-property development, production and advertising capabilities. Anchor has a platform of tools for podcast creators as well as an established and rapidly growing creator base. This move is an effort on the part of Spotify to branch out and differentiate its musical offerings in a nascent but burgeoning podcast industry that promises opportunities for growth.

In its latest third quarter earnings report, SoftBank, the Japanese multinational holding conglomerate, released information about its withdrawal of entire its stake in chipmaker Nvidia - worth $3.63 billion. This is yet another setback for the Silicon Valley based Nvidia, which has recently witnessed its share price slash by half in the past four months as demand for its crypto-mining chips dried up.Despite the stake sell, Nvidia shares were up by 1.5% after the market opening on Wednesday.

Philip Morris International beat earnings and revenue expectations for the fourth quarter, leading to its shares jumping +1.9% early Thursday. The tobacco & cigarette company reported fourth-quarter earnings of $1.25 per share, which exceeded analysts’ expected $1.17 per share.Its cigarette and heated-tobacco-unit shipment fell -4.6% year over year. Revenues still increased from the year-ago period. The company’s projected earnings for 2019 is $5.37 a share – which represents around +5.7% growth.

Most of the strong profitability apparently came from the North American market. Tailwinds came in the form of solid market for pickup trucks whose average transaction prices reached a record of nearly $36,000 (as indicated by the company).Sales of Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickups and the midsize Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickups, increased +3% from the fourth quarter of 2017. GM is in the process of slashing 14,000 jobs, which that company expects would save about $6 billion in cash by 2020.

Third-party logistics (3PL) companies are attractive investments for private equity firms, enabling new companies in the space to grow faster than ever before. Read more...

U.S.mortgage applications are down for a third week, despite 30-year home borrowing costs at their lowest levels since April 2018. The Mortgage Bankers Association says the adjusted index on mortgage activity fell 2.5% to 378.9 as of February 1. Three weeks earlier, it reached an 11-month high at 411.8. Interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $484,350 or less averaged 4.69 percent, which was the lowest since mid-April of last year. “Despite more favorable borrowing costs...(purchase applications) are now almost 2 percent lower than a year ago,” Joel Kan, MBA’s associate vice president of industry surveys and forecasts said in a statement. “However, moderating price gains and the strong job market, including evidence of faster wage growth, should help purchase growth going forward,” Kan said.

Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi SA say their CEOs will join Merck & Co. to testify at a Senate hearing on rising prescription drugs. Senate Finance Committee members invited the drug makers to testify as Congress looks into the high cost of drugs, where costs in the US are higher than in other developed countries. Congress has been targeting the pharmaceutical industry over the rising cost of prescription drugs for U.S. consumers, particularly since Democrats took over the House of Representatives in January.Other companies invited to testify include AstraZeneca and AbbVie Inc. Is a reckoning for pharmaceutical drug companies in the offing?

Consumer staple giant Kraft Heinz (Nasdaq: KHC) has been trending lower for the last six months and a trend line has formed that connects the highs from August and October.Earnings reports have been a mixed bag in recent years with average EPS growth of 23% per year over the last three years.

The parent company of Standard & Poor’s, S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), is at a critical juncture on its chart and the company is getting ready to report earnings later this week.This rally has brought the stock back up to the $195 level and the company will report fourth quarter earnings results on Thursday, February 7. S&P Global’s fundamentals have been strong over the last few years.

Cigarette and e-cigarette manufacturer British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) dropped by over 50% during 2018 before rallying slightly in the past month.However, if Tickeron’s AI Prediction tool is accurate, the stock could be getting ready for another leg down. The prediction model generated a bearish signal three days ago with an 84% confidence level.

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said on Tuesday it would recall 882,000 pickup trucks worldwide in two new recalls to address steering and pedal issues. The Italian-American automaker said it was recalling about 660,000 heavy duty Ram 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks from the 2013 through 2017 model years, including 574,000 in the United States, as drivers could potentially experience steering loss. READ MORE...

The video game company reported earnings of 86 cents a share for its fiscal third quarter, falling short of analysts expectation of $1.94 a share (based on FactSet data).Revenue of $1.3 billion also fell below estimate of $1.8 billion. The firm’s full-year revenue guidance of $4.9 billion was less than the expected $5.2 billion.  Electronic Arts CEO Andrew Wilson indicated that the third quarter was challenging for the company and that they did not perform to their expectations, and also warned that the current period might not be a smooth ride either.

6%, the carrier reported a massive 11.4% gain in its total operating revenue per available seat mile ("TRASM") in Q4. Q4 proved to a productive period for the carrier as earnings reached $1.38 per share versus an estimated $1.39.While revenue reached $862.8 million versus an expected $852 million, an increase of 29.5% compared to the fourth quarter 2017. However, GAAP adjusted net income (excluding special items) for the fourth quarter 2018 stood at $91.9 million verses an estimate of $94.7 million.

But, the entertainment giant expressed caution against a possible dent in profit as the company launches its own streaming service Disney+ and therefore potentially lose some of its licensing revenues. The company’s earnings during the three months ending December came in at $1.84 per share, outpacing analysts’ expected $1.55 a share.They were, however, -3% lower compared to the year-ago quarter. Revenue at $15.303 billion was higher than analysts’ estimate of $15.1 billion. In April, Disney will launch its streaming platform Disney+ which will show movies and its original content.

After several months of dismal performance, Snap Inc.'s latest report confirmed forecast-beating fourth quarter earnings -- sending the beleaguered stock soaring back with gains of more than 20% in Tuesday’s after-hours trading. The adjusted earnings loss for the fourth quarter stood at 4 cents per share, beating estimates by 4 cents.Revenue increased 36% to a record $390 million, while operating loss improved $166 million to ($195) million.

Disney’s latest fiscal quarter report confirms forecast-beating earnings per share ($1.84 per share versus an estimate of $1.55 per share) and revenue ($15.30 billion versus $15.14 billion expected).Revenue in Disney's media networks business, which includes ESPN, rose 7% to $5.92 billion in the first quarter, compared to the year-earlier period, while its parks business was up 5% to $6.82 billion. This impressive outcome may be attributed to Disney’s increased sales in media networks like the ESPN+, which has doubled its subscriber count in the last five months to stand at 2 million paid subscribers, as well as its theme parks businesses. The company’s CEO reiterated that Disney’s foray into online streaming services amid growing competition from streaming giants like Netflix (NFLX) remains their top priority, as they will continue to strengthen their direct-to-customers offerings. The number of consumers preferring streaming services at a cheap cost to traditional cable packa

If Volkswagen realizes its ambition of becoming the global leader in electric cars, it will be thanks to a radical and risky bet born out of the biggest calamity in its history. Read More...

Sometimes too powerful. Last year, a spate of lynchings triggered by viral hoax messages on its service put the company at the center of a debate about misinformation in the country, where it has more than 200 million users.READ MORE...