The uptick came on the back of a number of potential factors.
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cut crude output by 460,000 barrels per day in December (according to a Reuters survey revealed on Thursday), which could have been a factor in pushing crude prices up.What potentially bolstered the crude price increase was China's announcement to hold vice-ministerial trade talks with U.S. counterparts in Beijing on Jan. 7-8 – something that probably creates some hope, given that a large part of 2018 was laden with U.S.-China trade tensions.
Having collapsed to the lowest level since April 2017, the GBP/USD pair recovered swiftly and rallied around 250-pips intraday to finally end the day with modest gains.The early flash crash was on the back of safe haven-fueled interest in the US Dollar, which came after Apple lowered its revenue guidance due to slowing iPhone sales and weakness in China.
There are “lots of indications” that some managers discussed “the reputational risks” of Deutsche Bank’s involvement in a share-trading scheme that is the subject of Germany’s biggest post-war fraud investigation, according to a conclusion in one of five internal audits seen by Reuters.READ MORE...
The unemployment rate, however, spiked a bit to 3.9% for the month, compared to November’s record low 3.7%.
Average hourly earnings rose by +0.4% over last month – edging past expectation of +0.3%.On a year-over-year basis, wages increased by +3.2%, which is higher than estimates of +3%.
The figures seems to suggest that the U.S. labor market continues to show strength amidst potential headwinds like trade uncertainties alongwith concerns related to monetary tightening and stock market correction/volatility.
Payments & financial services company Square, Inc. has chosen Amrita Ahuja its new Chief Financial Officer (CFO).Ahuja has had also served as SVP of Investor Relations and VP of Finance and Operations among other roles during her eight-year long tenure at Activision Blizzard.
Ahuja will take over from Sarah Friar, who announced that she was stepping down from her position as Square CFO in October. CEO Jack Dorsey indicated in a press release that Square has found a new leader in Ahuja.
for 2018 “Black Panthers” grossed around $700 million, while "Avengers: Infinity War" and “Incredibles 2” raked in roughly $678 million and $608 million respectively in the U.S. (based on data from Box Office Mojo).Within that, Disney's "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Black Panther were the top two contributors.
In 2018, Disney announced one of its biggest acquisitions – that of the entertainment assets of 21st Century Fox for more than $71 billion.
In one of the biggest pharmaceutical deals in history, U.S. drugmaker Bristol-Myers Squibb announced last Thursday its plans to acquire Celgene in a cash and stock deal valuing the rival drugmaker at roughly $90 billion, including debt.
As the news of the deal hit the market, shares of Celgene jumped 28% in midmorning trading to ~$85 per share, while shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb tumbled 11% to trade at $47 per share.
Under the terms of the deal, Celgene shareholders will receive $50 in cash for each share held along with one Bristol-Myers Squibb share or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7% to Celgene's Wednesday close.
Both companies have faced investor wariness about their growth prospects in the recent past.But once the deal goes through, it is expected to create a company which would be a pharmaceutical leader in cancer and immunologic disease treatments, with huge growth prospects.
According to analysts, the deal is a big win for Celgene, which had just overc
According to J.P Morgan’s head of Asia Pacific oil and gas, Scott Darling, if OPEC members do not continue with their production cut for the entirety of 2019 -- promised at 1.2 million barrels off the oil market per day -- then Brent crude prices could find it extremely difficult to rise again.
In an early December meeting, OPEC members and non-OPEC allies had come to an agreement that 1.2 million barrels a day would be removed from the oil market for the first six months of the new year, starting January 2019.The goal of the move is to address the growing imbalance between global supply and demand.
Warren Buffett may just have lost $4 billion – as Apple shares took a hit following a downward revision in expected sales.
Holding about 252.5 million shares of Apple, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is the iPhone maker’s second-largest investor.
Last August, Buffett told CNBC that he was not too concerned about iPhone "sales in the next quarter or the next year", compared to the fact that there are "hundreds millions of people who practically live their lives" by the iPhone – a reason why he was so fond of the company.Buffett also felt that the iPhone was "enormously underpriced". Berkshire began investing in Apple in early 2016.
According to a letter from Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday, Apple might experience lower sales from the holiday quarter than what was possibly expected.
The social networking company’s stock price declined -20% during the quarter, amidst a correction in the broad market.
In September 2017, Zuckerberg announced that he would offload 35 million to 75 million Facebook shares over the following 18 months as part of his pledge to give away almost all of his fortune during his lifetime.He has sold around 30.4 million shares worth $5.6 billion since then.
Facebook was mired in controversies in 2018, regarding issues like inadequate handling/protection of user data against a major incident of hacking and the Cambridge-Analytica scandal.
Delta Airlines stock price plunged -10% on Thursday, following the U.S. carrier’s statement that fourth-quarter unit revenue would slightly fall short of its prior forecast.
Delta now projects total revenue per available seat mile to rise about 3 percent, compared with the 3.5 percent growth it forecast earlier.Lower-than-expected improvement in last-minute fares booked by travellers was cited by the airline as a reason behind the less-than-expected unit revenue.
Delta said, "While close-in yield momentum continues, the pace of improvement in late December was more modest than anticipated" .
Chipotle, eager to promote itself as a healthy choice, tweaked its menu to fit with trendy diet plans.
Beginning Wednesday, the Mexican food chain will begin offering "Lifestyle Bowls," a new collection of meals that fit into paleo, ketogenic and Whole30 diets.READ MORE...
What's the price of censoring one episode of a Netflix show in Saudi Arabia?
Though Netflix has not released specifics on the number of subscribers in the country, the recent controversy over its removal of an episode of comedian Hasan Minhaj's show "Patriot Act" is throwing a sharp spotlight on how media and tech companies balance artistic freedom against local laws, and their business.READ MORE...
Now the country's economic slowdown is putting their earnings at risk.
Apple (AAPL) on Wednesday said that it expected a weaker Chinese economy to hurt its holiday sales numbers, prompting its stock to plunge up to 8% in after hours trading.CEO Tim Cook said in a letter to investors that the company had been blindsided by "the magnitude of the economic deceleration" there.
It isn't the only company that could suffer.
In one the first large mergers of 2019, Bristol-Myers Squibb announced it is buying Celgene Corp, for about $74 billion.The merged company will have many so-called blockbuster cancer drugs under its umbrella.
The deal will create a company with nine treatments bringing in more than $1-billion in annual sales and a significant potential for growth in oncology, immunology and inflammation and cardiovascular disease. Talks opened in September, with Bristol-Myers approaching Celgene, according to a Rueters report. Celgene shareholders will receive one Bristol-Myers Squibb share and $50 in cash for each share held, or $102.43 per share, a premium of 53.7 per cent to Celgene’s Wednesday close.
More than 250 prescription drugs will have price increases, according to a Reuters report.The news agency says that during a White House meeting with members of his Cabinet, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he expected to see a tremendous decrease in drug prices.
The overall number of price increases was down by around a third from last year, when drugmakers raised prices on more than 400 medicines, according to data provided by Rx Savings Solutions, which helps health plans and employers seek lower cost prescription medicines.
CoreLogic is now projecting a smaller, 4.8 percent gain in November 2019.
"The rise in mortgage rates has dampened buyer demand and slowed home-price growth," said Dr. Frank Nothaft, chief economist for CoreLogic."Interest rates for new 30-year fixed-rate loans averaged 4.9 percent during November, the highest monthly average since February 2011.
On the other hand, Tesla’s share price rose 7%, but it’s difficult to draw a conclusion on that basis alone -- if the year had ended a week earlier, Tesla’s price would have dropped by 5%.Volatility surrounding Tesla has been an area of concern.
Perhaps a more useful way to look at the two companies is by their respective growth strategies.
While FCAU’s growth story is an impressive one with an ever expanding SUV brand boosting the company’s margins, Tesla is yet to report a full year profit.
According to one Morgan Stanely analyst, however, Tesla has the potential of an eventual addressable market at $15 trillion – nearly 20% of the entire world's GDP.
Middleby Corporation, a global leader in the foodservice equipment industry, declared on Monday the acquisition of EVO America Inc. – another global leader in the same industry specializing in design and ventless cooking equipment, which generates approximately $8 million in revenues annually.
The chairman and the CEO of Middleby Corporation explained that this latest acquisition will help add to the diversity of the company’s portfolio of ventless cooking solutions.This acquisition is timely because operators are increasingly becoming aware of the significant costs attached to installation of traditional ventilation.
Customers are also recognizing the restrictions imposed by externally vented hoods and duct work as they acquire new and more kitchen equipment with time.
The vision behind this acquisition is that EVO’s patented ventless technology can be integrated with quality designs that will empower Middleby’s customers with cooking versatility and flexibility, along with he
Growing trade tensions, slowing growth in China and long order backlogs made 2018 a difficult year for aircraft manufacturers in terms of winning new commercial aircraft orders.And it's highly unlikely that Airbus, which has captured 380 net firm orders in the same time period, will be able to muster another December surprise just like 2017.
Furthermore, with Boeing’s two late December noteworthy aircraft orders from Nigeria-based airline start-up Green Africa Airways and Saudi Arabia's Flyadeal, the chances of Airbus making a comeback have become even more difficult.