That marks a whopping +48% increase since last year. Apple went ahead with $45 billion worth of buybacks during the first half of 2018, which is triple the amount its spent during the same time period last year.Other companies with substantial share repurchase increases includes Amgen, Cisco, AbbVie and Oracle (as mentioned in the Goldman Sachs report).  For the full year 2018, share buyback authorizations among all US companies will exceed $1 trillion for the first time ever (according to Goldman Sachs projections).

The carmaker said that reducing the number of work days from five to three would help avoid job cuts and allow operation through Christmas. The move is apparently a result of decreasing demand for diesel vehicles.Consumers’ concerns over Brexit uncertainties and regulatory stringency following Volkswagen’s emission scandal might have dampened their appetite for diesel cars. Jaguar Land Rover expressed in July its fears that if Brexit happened without the UK being able to maintain a smooth trading relationship with the European Union, the company would see its profits get reduced by more than £1.2 billion ($1.6 billion)  a year.

Coca-Cola might be interested in ‘taking’ marijuana. According to a report from BNN Bloomberg Television, Coca-Cola is in talks with Canadian marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis Inc. to develop beverages infused with CBD -- the non-psychoactive component in marijuana that treats pain without getting you high. Expressing his thoughts on  CBD’s use in drinks, Coca-Cola spokesman Kent Landers mentions in an emailed statement to Bloomberg New, ““We are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world,” and also said "The space is evolving quickly.For instance, Corona beer brewer Constellation Brands Inc.announced last month that it will invest $3.8 billion to increase its stake in Canadian marijuana producer Canopy Growth Corp.  Also, Guinness beer-maker Diageo PLC is in talks with at least three Canadian cannabis producers about a possible deal, BNN Bloomberg reported last month.

Moller-Maersk A/S’s customers will have to pay separately for fuel from 2020. Environmental regulations are expected to limit sulfur emissions, and that is likely to cause an upgrade to low-sulfur fuel in shipping and therefore higher fuel expenses – something that has apparently led to Maersk's decision to break out the fuel cost when charging its customers for delivering goods across thousands of miles of ocean.Moller-Maersk A/S's fuel cost projections and new billing strategy could potentially have implications for global trade, especially since about 90% of the trade moves by sea, involving goods such as oil, gas, coal and iron ore.  

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and his wife Lynne Benioff are buying Time Magazine for $190 million from Meredith Corp. Time Magazine will be held in the Benioffs' family investment portfolio and will have no connection to Salesforce, according to Time editor in chief Edward Felsenthal.Meredith Corp., which had acquired Time Inc. last November, said that the deal with the  Benioffs will be completed in the next 30 days. Meredith is also planning on selling three other former Time Inc. titles - Fortune, Money, and Sports Illustrated - that Benioffs will not be buying.  

Amazon is reportedly investigating charges that some of its employees are peddling confirdential data. A Wall Street Journal article alleged that the e-commerce giant's staff members are disclosing customer data (such as reviewer email addresses) to merchants/independent sellers and deleting negative reviews on products in exchange for money - something that  can potentially allow merchants to increase their product rankings or sales.Brokers for Amazon employees in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen leaked internal data to independent sellers for payments of between $80 and $2,000, according to the Journal report. An Amazon spokesperson told CNN it has "sophisticated systems to restrict and audit access to information," while adding that the company is investigating into the matter and would take action if anyone has violated the rules.  

BMW seems to be eyeing the self-driving electric car market. The BMW Vision iNext is a concept at present, but the company hopes to transition it towards the production stage in 2021.According to a CNN report, the Vision iNext was unveiled before journalists at four different airports -- in Munich, New York, San Francisco and Beijing -- over the course of five days earlier this week.

Chinese app company Meituan Dianping raised $4.2 billion in its IPO, while pricing its shares near the top of its target range, as suggested by a CNN report citing a person familiar with the matter. Meituan ‘s app offers a range of services including lunch reservations, booking movie tickets and hailing car rides.The company’s IPO price of 69 Hong Kong dollars ($8.79) per share catapults its market value to $53 billion – which, although lower than its previously expected $60 billion, is still higher than the $30 billion valuation the startup received via private funding in October 2017. What makes Meituan ‘s IPO stand out is that it has managed to garner a relatively successful price/market value amidst less-than-remarkable IPOs (such as those of smartphone-maker Xiaomi and electric-car company Nio)  and sell-offs of many Chinese tech stocks in recent times.

The multinational private equity company is aiming distressed properties globally to invest in with this fund, according to people familiar wih the plans (as reported by Bloomberg).An earlier fund  for similar assets gathered $15.8 billion in 2015 for the company. There is an growing trend among institutional  investors (such as public pension plans and insurance companies)  to allocate relatively large amounts among real estate assets, according to a Bloomberg article.

Notwithstanding recent news of a possible U.S.-China negotiation talk on the horizon, U.S. President Donald Trump might go ahead with fresh round of tariffs on China-made goods. A Bloomberg article mentions that Trump met with his top trade advisers on Thursday and expressed his intent of slapping tariffs on an additional $200 billion of Chinese goods imported into the U.S., according to some people familiar with the matter.Not too long ago, there was news of U.S. Secretary Steven Mnuchin sending an invitation to China for talks to resolve the 'trade war' between the two nations. The latest article also reports that when asked in the Thursday meeting whether he was concerned about the new tariffs’ effect on negotiations with China, Trump replied that he was not (as suggested by two people familiar with the matter, according to Bloomberg).

SpaceX will soon be announcing the first private moon traveler to use its spacecraft. The space transportation company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted on Thursday, "SpaceX has signed the world's first private passenger to fly around the Moon aboard our BFR launch vehicle—an important step toward enabling access for everyday people who dream of traveling to space," while also mentioning "Find out who's flying and why on Monday, September 17.It would mark humanity's first visit to the moon since 1972.   

The 123-year old Henri Bendel brand will soon cease to exist.  Parent company L Brands announced Thursday that it is shuttering down all of Henri Bendel ‘s 23 stores  and closing the brand’s website in in January 2019 to boost profitability, as Bendel struggles with poor sales performance.L Brands now wants to focus on its bigger brands such as Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. The Bendel brand, known for its designer purses and shoes, was founded in 1895 by Henri Bendel, and was acquired by L Brands in 1985.  

After a not-so-great initial public offering, Chinese electric car company NIO  had a remarkable surge in its stock price on its second trading day. NIO share price jumped +76% in New York on Thursday.However, NIO recorded just $7 million in sales in the first half of this year, while Tesla  has generated $2 billion in annual sales in China. Alongwith NIO, other Chinese tech companies Pinduoduo, iQiyi and NetEase listed on U.S. stock exchanges also saw sharp rises in their stock prices on Thursday.  

The new 12 megapixel cameras have bigger sensors. A new “lower-end” model, iPhone XR ($749) has a 6.1-inch screen with LCD.It does not have a home button and is activated by swiping up. Starting Monday September 17, customers will be able to download iOS 12 which features new Animojis, customized Memoji and a time management feature to help people use their devices less. The Apple Watch Series 4 will have a 30% larger edge-to-edge display and  curved corners.

On Thursday, Chinese Commerce Ministry spokesman Gao Feng said that governments of the U.S. and China are discussing a new round of trade negotiations.U.S.President Donald Trump's economic adviser, Larry Kudlow, said Wednesday that China has accepted the invitation from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin to pursue talks on trade. Last week, Trump threatened to impose tariffs on additional $200 billion of Chinese goods if he felt the need.

Oh, if we only knew… However, one of the brightest minds on the Wall Street, Dr. Marko Kolanovic (his Ph.D. is in theoretical physics) warns about possibility of such an event (it is part of a very detailed and substantial 168 pages report published by JPMorgan). He thinks that computerized trading and the abundance of passive investments set up the stage for a major calamity.Due to the speed of the trading algorithms, the liquidity in certain underlying instruments can disappear very quickly, and this will lead to the well-known phenomenon of sharp drops in the indices.

Fully insured cars with a full tank of gas will be available for rent at prices ranging from $269 for four hours (the minimum rental allowed) in a Porsche Macan compact SUV or 718 Boxster sports car.Among the customer-owned Porsche cars listed on Turo, the latter will pick the best-rated owners (or "hosts" ) who will receive training on their cars and in customer service at Porsche's Experience Center in Los Angeles. Some other auto majors such as General Motors and Audi also have their own car renting programs.

Pre-market trading on Wednesday saw Intel stock decline by -0.6%. The semiconductor manufacturer has been plagued with chip-supply shortages in recent times.DigiTimes reported Monday that Intel’s overall 14-nanometer chip supply has fallen short of demand by as much as 50%, citing industry sources.

A self-proclaimed Chinese rival to Tesla had a not-so-great initial public offering (IPO). On Wednesday, Chinese electric vehicle startup NIO Inc. priced its IPO in New York at  $6.26 per share, just a cent above the bottom of the range it had expected to get.The 160 million American depositary shares sold raised $1 billion - thereby valuing the company above $6 billion and far below the $20 billion mark it had hoped to achieve in the early stages. The electric carmaker’s ES8 electric SUV sells for about $65,000, which is about half the price of the most basic version of Tesla's Model X in China.

European lawmakers have voted in favor of enforcing tech/internet companies to prohibit users from sharing copyrighted content .The new law could also require tech biggies such as Google and Facebook to share revenue with musicians and writers. While skeptics of the proposed reform feel that internet memes and/or Google News could get restricted, supporters of the rule have praised it for potentially leveling the playing field between tech firms on one side and musicians, filmmakers and news publishers on the other. For the rule to get implemented, it must get final approval from the European Commission and EU member states.