This stems from an administration proposal that would require drugmakers to show full prices of medicines in TV ads. Johnson & Johnson has taken up the call and will start stating prices with ads for blood thinner Xarelto by March.Big pharma generally opposes the idea, arguing that list prices are meaningless to most Americans because health plans often negotiate huge discounts with drugmakers and consumers usually pay only a portion of a lower price themselves.

Facebook is banned in China, but the company generated at least $5 billion in sales there last year by one estimate.READ MORE...

The beauty company reported adjusted earnings of  24 cents a share for the three months ending December, beating analysts’ estimate of 22 cents a share.However, the adjusted per-share earnings were lower compared to the year-ago quarter’s 32 cents a share. The company’s total revenue of $2.51 billion for the fiscal second quarter, beating Wall Street's forecast of $2.47 billion. Coty CEO Pierre Laubies said in a statement, "I must stress that while we are confident that we can return Coty to a path of sustainable growth, we are also realistic that it will take time to achieve this outcome.

Tyson Foods managed to beat earnings estimate, while substantially falling short of revenue expectations. The meat processing company’s adjusted earnings for fiscal first quarter was $1.58 a share, compared to analysts’ estimate of $1.57 a share.The adjusted earnings-per-share for the quarter was -12% lower from the year-ago period. Tyson’s beef sales grew to $3.93 billion, and its chicken sales increased to $3.12 billion. However, The firm’s revenue declined -0.3% from a year earlier to $10.19 billion – lower than analysts’ expectations of $10.37 billion. The company experienced strong adjusted operating margin at 12.5% for the quarter. Tyson completed its acquisition of packaged foods firm Keystone Foods in the fiscal first quarter, and expects the merger to boost growth and global market expansion.

India could lose a vital U.S. trade concession, under which it enjoys zero tariffs on $5.6 billion of exports to the United States, amid a widening dispute over its trade and investment policies, people with close knowledge of the matter said. Read More...

When it comes to industry competition, executives at Delta Air Lines Inc. have never been accused of jabbing with soft elbows.That ferocity was on full display Thursday as the carrier launched its first Airbus SE A220 flights from Boston, Dallas and New York, deploying the technologically advanced aircraft in hotly contested business routes at large hubs that are critical to its rivals.

Revenue of $2.6 billion exceeded Wall Street estimate of $2.5 billion, and were also +10% higher compared to the year-ago quarter. The online travel platform had total gross bookings (by customers on rooms, flights and other travel across Expedia’s brands) of $21.96 billion - which indicates a year-over-year growth of +11%.Annual revenue of $11.2 billion was +12% higher, compared to 2017. The company projects that its adjusted earnings (before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) will increase in the range of +10% to +15% in 2019.

iRobot Corp. posted record high earnings for the fourth quarter, while also beating analyst expectations. The consumer robot maker raked in adjusted earnings of 84 cents per share in the fourth quarter, surging past the year-ago quarter’s 54 cents a share.Full-year revenue rose +24% to $1.09 billion – compared to $883.9 million in 2017.  iRobot CEO Colin Angle indicated that the company could efficiently weather the impact of tariffs in the U.S., and also added that strong demand for Roomba i7 and i7+ robots bolstered holiday sales for the company.

However the EPS was -17.5% lower compared to the same quarter the prior year. Revenue of $1.558 billion fell short of analysts expectations, and also was slightly less than the year-ago quarter’s figure.However, worldwide same-store sales increased +3%, exceeding analysts' estimate of +2.48% (based on Refinitiv data). CEO Greg Creed said, "Focus on our four growth drivers, increased collaboration and a new mindset are fueling strong results."

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. CMG 13.4% reported fourth-quarter results that handily exceeded expectations from a growth in comparable sales and total transactions.Here is a summary of how some of the Street's top analysts reacted to the print. Read More...

A meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping is "highly unlikely" before the March 2 deadline for reaching a trade deal, according to a senior administration official. While Trump and Xi are still expected to meet, there's too much work to do to flesh out a deal with China and prepare Trump for a high-stakes meeting with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Trump's summit with Kim is set for Feb. 27-28.READ MORE...

Sealed Air Corp. shares jumped more than 8% on Thursday after the food safety and security product solutions company topped analysts' fourth-quarter earnings and revenue expectations.READ MORE...

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.