Last week Airbus announced the termination of A380 jumbo jet production by 2021, in favor of smaller wide bodies such as Boeing 787 Dreamliner that could enable airlines operate more point-to-point routes bypassing the most congested hubs. However, there can still be a market for large wide body aircrafts if they can offer a unit cost advantage over their smaller counterparts.Boeing’s new 777X aircraft family, an updated version of Boeing’s highly successful 777, that will hit the market next year is likely to dominate it. Its new wing and state-of-the-art engines will guarantee additional range and better fuel efficiency.

London headquartered HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, recently published its full-year report revealing several forecast misses primarily due to a challenging fourth quarter. The bank’s pre-tax profit for 2018 stood at $19.89 billion, 15.9% higher than the previous year, versus a forecast of a 23.8% jump to $21.26 billion.Reported revenue was 4.5% higher than 2017 to $53.78 billion versus a forecast of 6.28% higher to $54.674 billion. Other financial metrics include: Net interest margin, a measure of lending profitability, stood at 1.66% as of December 31, 2018 – higher than the 1.63% seen in 2017; earnings per share for 2018 was $0.63 compared to $0.48 in 2017; and common equity tier 1 ratio — a proportion of the bank's core capital to assets — as on December 31 2018 stood at 14 % compared to 14.5% at end-2017.

Amazon is fast becoming a player in the logistics and shipping industry, as the company recently expanded Amazon Air to include 50 new planes and several new regional hubs, including a $1.5 billion hub opening in northern Kentucky in 2021. The move is to handle 26% of the Company’s shipping of online orders through its dedicated air network.By bringing shipping in-house, this will be reduced to about $6 per box which means even cheaper products along with faster deliveries. Currently Amazon Air has planes at 21 U.S. airports and it's opening new regional hubs this year in Fort Worth, Texas, Wilmington, Ohio, and expanding one in Rockford, Illinois.

This may be seen to mark Google's entry into the Asian renewable energy market. Although this project is in a pretty small scale, Google became the first company to make a purchase under the 2017 Taiwan Electricity Act for the 10-megawatt solar array in Tainan City, Taiwan.‘Flotovoltaics,’ or building solar projects sited on water, is fast gaining popularity following the lead of Japan that built its first photovoltaic installation in 2007. The Company is currently focusing on poles that will hold the solar panels, a concept known as a "canopy" system.

After publishing PepsiCo's (PEP) recent fourth quarterly report, the new CEO Ramon Laguarta reiterated he is satisfied with the Company’s product and geographic portfolios and, therefore, has no plans to divest its operations by shedding or acquiring any significant businesses. However, the company has put into motion a new restructuring program that may lead to an unspecified number of job losses and factories closures over the coming years.In its FY 2018 results, the company allocated $138 million towards these restructuring costs with a further projected expense of $800 million in related charges during the current year. PEP is optimistic about its future growth anticipating organic revenue to rise 4% this year over last year’s 3.7%.

Amazon is apparently upping the ante against video streaming leader Netflix. Planning to release 30 original movies every year and having splurged a record $47 million for the rights to stream Sundance Film Festival’s five independent films, Amazon seems gung-ho on beefing up content and boosting subscriber growth for its video streaming portal Prime. Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke, who joined the company in May, indicated (in an interview to The Hollywood Reporter) that expanding Prime membership and attracting new members were among her primary goals for the streaming platform.Apple Inc. has reportedly invested more than $1 billion into producing original content this year, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Recro Pharma, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on therapeutics for the hospital and other acute care settings, posted revenue of $77.3 million and $71.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively.The increase of $5.5 million in 2018 revenue versus 2017 revenue was due to an increase in product sales to various commercial partners and increased profit sharing, including the impact from the new revenue recognition standard, recognized from one of our commercial partners. “As we await the upcoming review decision from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for intravenous (IV) meloxicam, we are building our commercial infrastructure and preparing for our first potential product launch during 2019,” said Gerri Henwood, President and Chief Executive Officer of Recro Pharma.

This exceeded all forecasts, as lower mortgage rates and a strong labor market help stabilize demand. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index rose to 62 from 58 amid broad improvement on gauges of sales, expectations and buyer traffic, data released Tuesday showed. “Ongoing reduction in mortgage rates in recent weeks coupled with continued strength in the job market are helping to fuel builder sentiment,” NAHB Chairman Randy Noel, a custom-home builder from Louisiana, said in a statement.“In the aftermath of the fall slowdown, many builders are reporting positive expectations for the spring selling season.”

After several rounds of discussion, the United States and China are set to start fresh talks in Washington today with follow-up sessions planned for Thursday. Read more...

Its  minimally invasive therapies business, which makes surgical instruments and endoscopy products, was a major contributor to the sales performance. Medtronic projects its full-year earnings to be in the range of $5.14 and $5.16 per share – that’s higher compared to its previous predicted range of $5.10 to $5.15 per share.Analysts are expecting  earnings of $5.12 per share.  The company also revised its 2019 organic revenue growth forecast range upwards to 5.25% - 5.5 %, albeit with a caveat that a strong dollar would affect its full-year revenue by about $425 million to $475 million. Omar Ishrak, Medtronic chairman and chief executive officer indicated that the company’s business diversification was an advantage in generating the strong sales figures.

TreeHouse Foods, Inc. managed to edge past earnings expectations for the fourth quarter 2018, but failed to show the same strength in its top-line numbers. The food processing company’s adjusted earnings for the quarter came in at $1.03 per share, beating Zacks Consensus Estimate of 96 cents per share.Divestiture of McCann's business and foreign currency headwinds were among factors that apparently hurt revenues. Nevertheless, the company’s gross margin was 17.6%, which is 240 basis points higher from the year-ago quarter’s figure. 

With the reporting season being over for social media companies, it may be time to take stock of how the major platforms performed through the lens of key metrics. Read More...

For years, rumors have been building of Amazon.com's (NASDAQ:AMZN) intentions in logistics and delivery.The company has added fulfillment and logistics services to the list of competitors in its 10-K report, and has unveiled a program called Amazon Shipping, whereby the company picks up and delivers other shippers' packages. In recent earnings calls, CFO Brian Olsavsky has also begun talking more about the company's ambitions in logistics. Read More...

Cloud software company Nutanix (Nasdaq: NTNX) has performed better than 92% of stocks over the past year, on a price basis that is.In January, the stock broke above the $47 area and has continued higher. The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction tool generated a bullish signal for Nutanix on February 14.

The stock rallied on Wednesday and moved back above the trend line. We also see that the stochastic readings were in oversold territory and just made a bullish crossover.These two factors should be good signs for the stock. The Tickeron AI Trend Prediction Tool generated a bullish signal on Marathon Petroleum on February 11.

Retirement is the time to enjoy the fruits of many years of laboring away at a job. However, if you aren’t careful, Uncle Sam can reach in and pluck away your hard-earned savings bit by bit, year after year. READ MORE...

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (MarketWatch) — Sentiment conditions on Wall Street are flashing short-term danger signs. That’s because the mood has shifted from the extreme pessimism that prevailed in late December to nearly as extreme optimism today.Some call current conditions a “slope of hope.” READ MORE...

Sam Jadallah, the former CEO of a smart lock company that shut down just over a year ago, has a new job: He'll be leading the home initiatives at Apple, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC. Hiring Jadallah is the latest signal that Apple plans to get serious about its own efforts in the home.That purchase could help the smartphone maker become the center of a connected living room.

The world economy is headed for a period of "dull, low" growth, according to fund manager Janus Henderson, but the risk of an outright recession remains small.READ MORE...

A top Apple analyst who has correctly outlined the company's product launches in the past has a new forecast for Apple's 2019 releases. TF Securities' Ming-Chi Kuo predicts Apple will launch "three all-new design products," including a new MacBook Pro laptop with either a 16-inch or 16.5-inch display, a new 31.6-inch 6k3k monitor and a Mac Pro, according to the Feb. 17 note.READ MORE...