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301
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Investing
| 2018-03-13T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Ackman's Pershing Square trims ADP stake as bet grew in value: filing BOSTON (Reuters) - Billionaire investor William Ackman's hedge fund sold a stake in Automatic Data Processing, the firm's biggest holding, as the value of the investment grew over the last months, a regulatory filing released on Tuesday shows. Pershing Square (NYSE:SQ) Holdings now has a 7.2 percent economic stake in the human resources outsourcing company, down from 8.3 percent previously. The $8.5 billion hedge fund now owns 7.9 million shares of common stock and 23.9 million shares underlying listed and over-the-counter American-style call options, the filing shows. Ackman made the move for "portfolio management purposes," the filing said. Pershing Square bought ADP shares for an average price of $105 in 2017. On Tuesday the shares closed trading at $117.39. The widely followed activist investor last year lost a battle to win three ADP board seats when investors reelected company's entire board.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "SQ"
}
] |
302
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| 2018-03-13T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Spain's Amazon workers call two-day strike over wages, rights MADRID (Reuters) - Over one thousand Amazon (O:AMZN) workers in Spain plan to stage their first strike with a two-day walkout to protest what unions claim are efforts to reduce employees' rights, union Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) said on Tuesday. The strike, which has been called by Spain's largest union CCOO together with other unions, will take place March 21 and 22 and will include 1,100 workers at Amazon's San Fernando logistic warehouse on the outskirts of Madrid, CCOO said. The union claimed the company aims to block salary increases, cut wages and reduce payments for those working weekends or holidays as part of a new contract agreement. Workers at Amazon sites in Italy and Germany held strikes during the busy shopping day of Black Friday last year. Amazon Spain said that it has held direct talks with the unions, adding that the company offers a competitive pay structure.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "AMZN"
}
] |
303
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| 2018-03-13T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Dick's Sporting expects strict gun sales policy to weigh (Reuters) - Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (N:DKS), a U.S. retailer of camping supplies, sporting goods and guns, on Tuesday warned that its decision to tighten gun sales could weigh on 2018 results. Shares of the company, which missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, were down nearly 5 percent at $31. Dick's Sporting said last month it would not sell guns to people under age 21 and would stop selling assault rifles and high-capacity magazines following the massacre at a Florida high school. The company said it expected 2018 consolidated same-store sales to be flat to decline a low single-digit percentage, including the impact of the recent firearm policy changes. Analysts were expecting same-store sales to grow 0.15 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. "It's only been two weeks, and we've seen a bit of a difference in the hunt business, not an awful lot, but it's too early to tell how this is going to be impacted," Chief Executive Officer Edward Stack said on a post-earnings call with analysts. The company forecast 2018 profit in the range of about $2.80 to $3 per share, while analysts were expecting $2.80. Telsey analyst Joseph Feldman said he expected sales in other categories such as golf, athletic wear to make up for sales lost in the hunting gear business, pegging the latter's share in total sales at about 10 percent. The retailer's fourth-quarter net sales rose 7.2 percent to $2.66 billion, but missed estimate of $2.74 billion.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "DKS"
}
] |
304
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Volkswagen brand says profitability drive faces climate cost risks WOLFSBURG, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (DE:VOWG_p) core VW autos division said on Wednesday that EU requirements on curbing emissions and other climate-related demands would cause profitability to stall between 2018 and 2020. Profits would be hit even as earnings, sales and deliveries at the German firm were forecast to hit new records this year, VW brand executives told a media briefing. The European Union has proposed tougher vehicle emissions targets for 2025 and 2030 to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. Carmakers, which are racing to develop electric vehicles (EVs), can be fined for violating the limits. The VW brand shoulders the bulk of Volkswagen group's development spending, as well as costs related to the "dieselgate" emissions scandal. VW finance chief Arno Antlitz said VW faced "heavy financial demands" due to bottlenecks expected from introducing so-called WLTP lab tests related to car emissions and fuel consumption, regulations to curb CO2 emissions and EV development costs. "The CO2 fleet targets will certainly pose the greatest challenge for us as a company until the year 2020," VW brand chief executive Herbert Diess said. Carmakers are working on new EV models to meet emissions goals. VW aims to sell more than 1 million cars powered solely by batteries by 2025, after selling just 43,000 electric models in 2017. The VW brand, Volkswagen's largest division by sales and revenue, more than doubled its return on sales to 4.1 percent on the back of cuts in research and development spending, lower production costs and rising sales of sport utility vehicles, which deliver higher margins. The carmaker said its operating margin might come in between 4 and 5 percent this year, a range it said it would also maintain in 2020, the year before a new lower limit of 95 grams of CO2 per km takes effect. "This year and over the next few years, the brand will face severe challenges despite its improved competitiveness," VW said. But Diess said VW expected to benefit from further cost savings, expansion of modular production and growing demand for its new vehicle models in the Americas.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "VOWG_p"
}
] |
305
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| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Wells Fargo CEO's 2017 pay jumps 35 percent to $17.6 million (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co (N:WFC) Chief Executive Tim Sloan's made $17.6 million in 2017, up 35 percent from the previous year, despite opting out of the bank's annual incentive plan. The third-largest U.S. bank is looking to rebuild its reputation following a 2016 scandal that involved thousands of Wells Fargo employees opening perhaps millions of unauthorized customer accounts. Sloan, who said in January that the bank was not certain it had fully uncovered and fixed all problems related to the scandal, was among the top executives who did not receive cash bonuses for 2016. Earlier this month, Wells Fargo said it was examining its wealth and investment management business for possible customer abuse, including overcharging and inappropriate referrals, after inquiries from government agencies. Sloan took over the top job in October 2016 after former CEO John Stumpf was forced to resign in the wake of the scandal. Some $15 million of Sloan's 2017 pay consists of stock awards, Wells Fargo said in a regulatory filing Chief Financial Officer John Shrewsberry's compensation for 2017 was $11.9 million, compared with $9.3 million in the previous year.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "WFC"
}
] |
306
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| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Italy's Leonardo prime contractor in 3 billion euro Qatari helicopter deal MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's defence group Leonardo (MI:LDOF) said on Wednesday it would act as prime contractor in a 3 billion euro ($3.71 billion) helicopter deal Qatar's Ministry of Defence signed with the NHI Consortium. The accord is to supply 28 twin-engine military helicopters, to be used in both land and naval missions, and for support, maintenance and training services, a statement said. It added that a further 12 units could be added to the deal and that the first deliveries would be before June 2022. ($1 = 0.8077 euros)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "LDOF"
}
] |
307
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Nissan names ex-U.S. chief to lead China expansion TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co (T:7201) on Wednesday announced that its Chief Performance Officer Jose Munoz would become head of its China operations, leading the Japanese automaker's ambitious expansion in the world's largest auto market. The Japanese automaker and its partner Renault SA (PA:RENA) also named key members of senior management teams that will focus on deepening convergence in areas including engineering and purchasing, as the group seeks to leverage its combined scale to raise efficiencies and reduce costs. The closer partnership comes as the two automakers discuss plans for a closer tie-up in which Nissan would acquire the bulk of the French state's 15 percent Renault holding, Reuters reported last week. Munoz, who previously led Nissan's strong growth in the United States, will replace Jun Seki, currently head of China operations. Seki becomes a senior vice president of production engineering, and will join a senior management team focused on increasing cooperation between Nissan and Renault in manufacturing and production operations. Munoz will remain chief performance officer at Nissan. The move follows Nissan's announcement last month that it and its Chinese joint venture partner Dongfeng Group plan to invest 60 billion yuan ($9.50 billion) in China over the next five years to boost sales volumes by more than 70 percent to 2.6 million vehicles a year by 2022. The Nissan-Renault group's organizational change comes into effect on April 1, and is designed to accelerate cooperation between the two automakers and Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (T:7211). Hadi Zablit, who joins the alliance from Boston Consulting Group in Paris, will head a team dedicated to new transportation services, venture projects and the development of a manufacturing platform for ultra-compact cars to be shared across the group. His team will include Ogi Redzic, senior vice president of the alliance's connected vehicles and mobility services operations. Together, the three automakers plan to achieve annual synergies of 10 billion euros by 2022 while boosting global sales by roughly one-third to 14 million units by that date. ($1 = 6.3126 Chinese yuan renminbi)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "RENA"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "7201"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "7211"
}
] |
308
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
KKR aims to raise $280 million in first yen-bond sale: sources By Hiroko Yoneda TOKYO (Reuters) - KKR & Co (N:KKR) is selling its first yen bond, seeking to raise around $280 million in a deal to price on Thursday, bankers close to the deal told Thomson Reuters DealWatch. The U.S. private equity firm is selling 30 billion yen ($281.58 million) worth of five-, seven- and 20-year debt in securities targeted at Japanese investors, said the bankers. Overseas regulations will be applicable to the securities. A KKR representative declined to comment. The bankers asked not to be identified because they are not in a position to speak to media. The firm is likely to keep the bond proceeds in yen and wants to become a regular issuer of debt in the Japanese currency, one banker said. Bankers declined to discuss why the firm is raising money in Japan, but KKR has been expanding its Japanese operations. Last year it bought two units from Hitachi Ltd (T:6501) in deals worth about $3 billion, as the conglomerate tries to streamline operations. KKR bid for the chip unit of Toshiba Corp (T:6502) but lost out to a consortium led by rival Bain Capital. Mizuho Securities and SMBC Nikko Securities Inc are managing the sale. KKR has about $5 billion bonds outstanding, none in yen, according to Thomson Reuters data. ($1 = 106.5400 yen)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "KKR"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "6501"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "6502"
}
] |
309
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Lufthansa extends contract of CEO Carsten Spohr BERLIN (Reuters) - German airline group Lufthansa (DE:LHAG) has extended the contract of its Chief Executive Carsten Spohr for a further five years, with the manager set to report another record year in terms of financial results later this week. Spohr's contract has been extended to December 2023, Lufthansa said in a statement on Wednesday. Spohr has been CEO of Lufthansa since 2014 and has expanded its budget unit Eurowings in the face of low-cost competition, navigated a series of strikes from staff and handled the company's response to the crash of a Germanwings aircraft in 2015. The group is due to report 2017 results on Thursday, with analysts on average forecasting adjusted EBIT of 2.8 billion euros ($3.46 billion). ($1 = 0.8083 euros)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "LHAG"
}
] |
310
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Tesla says Model S, Model X production efficiency much improved (Reuters) - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc said the number of labor hours needed to produce its Model S and Model X cars have decreased considerably, following the latest report of quality problems that could prevent the carmaker from hitting its production targets. The electric car maker told Reuters on Wednesday production of 100,000 Model S and Model X vehicles is now possible in a two-shift cycle with minimal overtime, compared with three shifts and considerable overtime earlier. Tesla was responding to a CNBC report that said the company was churning out a high ratio of flawed parts leading to costly rework and production delays, citing several current and former employees. The company's shares closed down 4.4 percent at $326.63 on Wednesday.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "TSLA"
}
] |
311
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Investing
| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Everything is going exactly right for one group of stocks poised to smash record highs When market sell-offs hit, it's usually the smaller, less liquid stocks that get hurt the most. But last month, when the stock market suffered its first 10% correction in years, the opposite happened. Large-cap companies actually fell more than their small-cap counterparts, bucking conventional wisdom. And if they didn't already have enough going for them, small-caps proceeded to beat their larger peers on the way back up. Now, the group's double dip of resilience and good fortune has it poised to shatter records. So how did small-caps find themselves in this situation The Bank of America Merrill Lynch equity strategist Dan Suzuki has identified three main drivers. First, he notes that the relative illiquidity seen in small-caps actually benefited them during the early-February market meltdown, which was worsened by forced selling in volatility products. Since small-caps are more thinly traded, they weren't as vulnerable to sharp, sudden price movements. Second, Suzuki highlights the new tax law as having an outsize positive impact on small-caps. He says the group, on average, paid higher taxes before the cuts and would therefore see a bigger profitability boost. Third, he argues the escalating prospect of a global trade war will favor more domestically focused companies, such as small-caps. It's a dynamic that has already played out since President Donald Trump first announced tariffs on steel and aluminum, with small-caps outperforming broader indexes. Beyond those three factors and looking forward, Suzuki says small-caps are more appealing on a valuation basis. He bases this on how much small-cap prices have contracted since November, noting that both mid- and large-cap indexes have seen more moderate pullbacks, making them expensive by comparison. Don't believe Suzuki Well, he has company on Wall Street, with Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) also espousing the positive characteristics of small-caps. In the weeks following February's 10% correction, Goldman highlighted small-caps as one of the two best stock market bets, on an investment-factor basis. "We maintain our tactically bullish stance on small-caps over large-caps given the accelerating economic and corporate profit outlook," Suzuki wrote in a client note. "The near-term risks appear firmly to the upside."
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "GS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-14T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Samsung Electronics says to start building new China memory chip line this month By Joyce Lee SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics (KS:005930) Co Ltd plans to begin building a new memory chip production line in China in late March, a spokesman said on Thursday, as the tech giant ramps up efforts to boost NAND flash technology to meet future demand. The tech giant said in August last year that it expected to invest $7 billion over the next three years to expand its NAND memory chip production in China's northwestern city of Xi'an, but had not specified a future schedule. The rapidly growing data center market, which needs more memory capacity to handle increasing data traffic, is expected to underpin revenue growth and margins for Samsung's NAND Flash business in 2018, research provider Trendforce said. Samsung's revenue from NAND in the fourth quarter of 2017 rose 9.8 percent from the previous quarter to $6.17 billion, Trendforce said, as demand from both smartphone and server markets lifted shipments and average price. Samsung will formally begin the process near month-end at Xi'an, earmarked for NAND flash production, the spokesman said, but did not give any other details. Samsung Electronics shares have risen about 13 percent from early March on an improved outlook for the memory chip market, putting to rest concerns that the recent boom might end, analysts said. "Memory chips are solid. For DRAM chips, server demand is very strong," said Kwon Sung-ryul, an analyst at DB Investment & Securities. "NAND flash chip shipments and price movements are moving within expectations, but there's a chance that supply will become tighter again in the second half of 2018 due to rising demand." The expansion is not expected to affect memory chip supply until 2019 at the earliest, analysts said.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "5930"
}
] |
313
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
As U.K. Condemns Russia, Investors Pile Into Gazprom Bond Sale (Bloomberg) -- Just as Prime Minister Theresa May was spelling out the U.K.’s response Wednesday to the poisoning of a former spy on British soil, European investors were helping a state-owned Russian company do brisk business in the bond market. Demand was so high for a 750 million-euro ($927 million) bond sale from Moscow-based Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) PJSC that the energy giant was able to cut its borrowing costs by knocking about 38 basis points off its yield. Most of the demand for the oversubscribed bond came from continental Europe, but there were also some buyers from the U.K., according to VTB Capital, which helped organize the sale. A successful sale may give a lift to President Vladimir Putin’s government as it prepares to come to the market with its own Eurobond before the end of the month. Russian markets retreated on Wednesday, with the nation’s MOEX Russia index of stocks falling the most in two weeks, after May announced measures against Russia that included the expulsion of 23 diplomats. “It would be Putin’s style to place the bond now and declare it as a kind of victory,” said Peter Schottmueller, the head of asset allocation at Deka Investment GmbH in Frankfurt. “Despite the diplomatic issues, the capital markets are still buying Russian assets.” Russia is preparing retaliatory measures against what it has called “crazy accusations” from the U.K. that it played a role in the chemical poisoning of Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia. Russia is likely, at the very least, to expel a similar number of British diplomats, but a statement from the Foreign Ministry suggested it would go further. Russian stocks and the ruble rebounded on Thursday, with the currency climbing the most in emerging markets against the dollar following a three-day slump. The market showed through the Gazprom sale that it hasn’t “fully digested” the geopolitical risks, said Dmitry Gladkov, global head of financing at Renaissance Capital Ltd. in London. “It’s still too early to say whether the market is jittery because events are still developing.”
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GAZP"
}
] |
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
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GM's South Korean union seeks job, plant security in exchange for wage concessions SEOUL (Reuters) - General Motors' (N:GM) South Korean union said on Thursday that it will not demand a pay rise and bonuses this year, but instead wants the U.S. automaker to provide a future production plan and job security. It marked the first time the union hasn't demanded pay increases and bonuses during annual wage talks, a union official said. GM, which last month announced the planned shutdown of one of its factories in South Korea, has proposed a base wage freeze and no bonuses this year as well a suspension of some worker benefits including school tuition for employees' children. In exchange for agreeing wage concessions, the union called on GM to detail a roadmap for new models, and distribute stocks worth 30 million won ($28,214)in GM Korea to each worker after swapping the nearly 3 trillion won of debt owed by the Korean unit to its headquarters into equity. The union also wants an agreement under which GM would not lay off all employees at GM Korea for the next 10 years. GM previously said it is looking to the union to "accept important concessions that can help address a lack of competitiveness in costs and productivity." The U.S. automaker is currently waiting on a final decision by the South Korean government to extend financial support to continue operating in the country. “We make it clear that we are making concessions and sacrifices with unbearable pain, to protect jobs and survival rights of 300,000 workers,” the union said in a statement. A GM Korea spokesman was not immediately available for comment. Almost 2,500 workers at GM Korea, equivalent to 15 percent of its staff, have applied for a redundancy package that the U.S. automaker is offering as part of a drastic restructuring. ($1 = 1,063.3200 won)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "GM"
}
] |
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Bayer faces U.S. antitrust hurdles for Monsanto merger: Bloomberg (Reuters) - Bayer (DE:BAYGN) AG's plan to win antitrust approval to buy U.S. seeds supplier Monsanto (NYSE:MON) Co has not satisfied U.S. officials, who are worried the $62.5 billion merger could hurt competition, Bloomberg reported on Thursday. Shares of Monsanto fell 4 percent in heavy afternoon trading following the news. The U.S. Department of Justice wants Bayer to divest more assets to satisfy its conditions, and does not think the German chemicals company's current proposal is sufficient, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Monsanto spokeswoman Sara Miller declined to comment. A Bayer spokesman said the company would not comment on rumors, but added it remains in talks with regulators to help close the deal in the second quarter of the year. Bayer had pledged to sell certain seed and herbicide assets for 5.9 billion euros ($7.26 billion) to BASF to address EU regulatory concerns and has separately offered to sell its vegetable seeds business to BASF. [nL5N1QP3ET] The company has secured an approval from Brazilian regulators for the merger, while it is in the frame to win conditional antitrust approval from the European Union, Reuters reported this week. [nL3N1QV4EG] Bayer also has conditional approval from China's commerce ministry. ($1 = 0.8121 euros)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BAYGN"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "MON"
}
] |
316
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Nestle chairman calls CEO 'man of action,' praises his first year By Tatiana Bautzer SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Nestle SA's (S:NESN) chairman gave a vote of confidence to Chief Executive Mark Schneider 14 months into his tenure at the helm of the world's biggest packaged food company as it struggles to recover from a sixth straight year of slowing growth. "He has moved a lot of things, and the board is happy with that," Chairman Paul Bulcke told Reuters, in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Sao Paulo late on Wednesday. He said the choice of Schneider, a German who moved to Switzerland to become Nestle's first external leader in nearly a century, was the right one. "His first year was very good, he's a man of action, he sees the need of change," Bulcke said, adding that Schneider is also acting in a "balanced way." Since Schneider took the job, he has sold Nestle's confectionery business in the United States, closed high-cost factories in Europe and focused on expansion into consumer health and high growth businesses, with the acquisition of vitamin maker Atrium Innovations. Schneider reckons the Swiss group, which like other multinational food companies is grappling with slowing growth and greater competition, could buy and sell brands accounting for as much as 10 percent of its sales. Bulcke said the board expects Schneider to stay as CEO for the long term, saying the company did not want "a CEO to stay for two or three years." Bulcke declined to comment on meetings with billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb, saying that Nestle "respects investors' opinions." Loeb's hedge fund, Third Point, made a $3.5 billion investment in Nestle last June. "He has strong opinions, but many of his suggestions are already in our program anyway," Bulcke said. Third Point has demanded that Nestle move faster to overhaul its strategy and sell assets such as its stake in beauty business L'Oreal. Nestlé is starting to see a recovery in Brazilian consumption after its harshest recession in decades, Bulcke said. Brazil, where the food processing giant has more than 30 factories, is Nestle's fourth largest market, after the United States, China and France. Bulcke said Nestle plans to continue investing in expansion in the country.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "NESN"
}
] |
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
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New York fund manager pleads guilty to Ponzi scheme charges By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York hedge fund manager on Thursday pleaded guilty to federal charges that he defrauded investors through a nearly $22 million Ponzi scheme. Michael Scronic, 46, entered his plea to one count of securities fraud before U.S. District Judge Catherine Seibel in White Plains, New York, federal prosecutors announced. A lawyer for Scronic, Rachel Martin, declined to comment. Prosecutors said Scronic, of Pound Ridge, New York, sent investors in his Scronic Macro Fund bogus account statements from 2010 to 2017 showing large positive returns. In fact, they said, he lost or spent all but about $27,000 of the $21.8 million he told investors the fund had. Prosecutors said Scronic spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on himself while managing the fund, including on rent, fees for beach and country club memberships, and mortgage payments for a vacation home near Stratton Mountain in Vermont. Scronic used new money to repay earlier investors, but began refusing to honor some investors’ redemption requests when money became tight in the summer of 2017. They said Scronic blamed a vacation, a relative’s medical condition, email issues, and a new quarterly redemption policy for refusing one investor’s Aug. 8 redemption request, despite having earlier promised that investor "quick and painless" redemptions on demand. Scronic worked for Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) from 1998 to 2005, including on an equities trading desk, and has degrees from Stanford University and the University of Chicago, according to court papers. Morgan Stanley was not accused of wrongdoing in the case. Scronic also faces related civil claims from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "MS"
}
] |
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Investing
| 2018-03-15T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Sky agrees to share information relevant to Fox-Disney deal LONDON (Reuters) - Sky (L:SKYB), the European pay-TV group at the center of a takeover battle, said on Thursday it had entered into a confidentiality agreement with suitor Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox (O:FOXA) and Walt Disney (N:DIS). The agreement, which is required under UK takeover rules, will allow Sky to disclose information to the two companies that could be relevant in Disney's separate attempt to buy Fox assets, including its stake in Sky. U.S. cable company Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) gatecrashed Fox's agreed offer for Sky with a rival $31 billion bid last month.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "DIS"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "CMCSA"
}
] |
319
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Investing
| 2018-03-16T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Goldman Sachs reports gender pay gap of 55.5 percent LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs (N:GS) on Friday reported a mean gender pay gap in Britain for its international business of 55.5 percent and a mean bonus gap for the unit of 72.2 percent. That gulf in pay comes close to the 59 percent gap revealed on Thursday by HSBC (L:HSBA) - the biggest yet reported by a British financial firm according to government data. Thousands of large UK employers have been ordered to disclose their gender pay gaps by April, almost 50 years on from the passage of Britain's equal pay act. Goldman Sachs said its gap reflected the fact that there were more men than women in senior positions at the firm. It also reported a mean gender pay gap of 16.1 percent and a mean bonus gap of 32.5 percent in Goldman Sachs (UK) SVC Limited, which it said employs around 1,600 individuals from non-revenue divisions. The bank employs 6,000 people in London. The remainder of its UK employees work in its international business. Other large banks have also been disclosing their gender pay gaps ahead of the April deadline set last year by Prime Minister Theresa May. The continued gulf in earnings between men and women has attracted significant public attention over the past year or so. The gender pay gap measures the difference between the average salary of men and women, calculated on an hourly basis. In Goldman Sachs' international business, 83 percent of the group earning the highest hourly pay were men, the bank said, while 62.4 percent of those on the lowest hourly pay were women. This compared with 77.4 percent men in the highest paid group in Goldman Sachs (UK) SVC Limited, and 48.9 percent women in the lowest paid group. The Wall Street bank said it is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion at all levels of the firm. On Thursday, it said it wanted women to make up half of its global workforce, starting with a target of 50 percent of its new analysts being women by 2021.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GS"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "HSBA"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-16T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Exclusive: Brookfield Property submits new offer for mall owner GGP - sources By Carl O'Donnell and Greg Roumeliotis (Reuters) - Commercial real estate company Brookfield Property Partners LP (O:BPY) has submitted a new offer to take over GGP Inc (N:GGP), one of the largest owners and operators of U.S. shopping centers, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The new bid comes more than three months after a special board committee of GGP rejected a $14.8 billion cash-and-stock acquisition offer from Brookfield Property, its largest shareholder, as inadequate. Brookfield Property’s new offer has a slightly higher cash component and offers GGP shareholders a new security that will trade as a real estate investment trust, according to the sources. GGP's special committee has not yet agreed to Brookfield Property's new offer, and negotiations are continuing, the sources said. The exact value of Brookfield Property's new bid could not be learned. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Brookfield Property declined to comment, while GGP did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Brookfield Property's efforts to buy GGP come as mall owners across the United States are struggling as many brick-and-mortar retailers lose business to e-commerce firms such as Amazon.com Inc (O:AMZN). Brookfield Property unveiled a $23 per share cash-and-stock offer for the 66 percent stake of GGP it does not already own in November. A combination of Chicago-based GGP and Brookfield Property would create one of the world’s largest publicly traded property companies, giving it more power to negotiate prices with retailers. The equity component of Brookfield's offer has emerged as a point of contention in the deal negotiations, the sources said, while recent U.S. tax reforms have also contributed to the talks being protracted. It is not the first time Brookfield Property’s attempt to buy out a real estate investment trust in which it already owns a big stake has been rejected. In 2016, Rouse Properties Inc, another U.S. mall owner, rejected an offer by Brookfield Property, its largest shareholder, only to subsequently agree to a sweetened $2.8 billion offer.
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[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AMZN"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "BPY"
}
] |
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SunPower likely to expand U.S. manufacturing as tariffs weigh (Reuters) - SunPower Corp (O:SPWR) on Friday said it was strongly considering expanding its solar panel manufacturing in the United States as it grapples with the Trump administration's tariffs on solar imports. The news came as the company filed a request to exempt some of its foreign-made panels from the new 30 percent tariffs. In the filing, SunPower argued that its highly efficient, premium-priced solar panels cannot be compared with the more conventional models that dominate the market. In an interview, Chief Executive Tom Werner said it was not seeking an exemption for its less efficient and expensive "P-series" panels and would likely set up a new U.S. manufacturing plant for that product. An exclusion of its other products from the tariffs "just makes it far easier to make that investment," Werner said.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "SPWR"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-16T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Boeing 737 Max 7 narrowbody jetliner makes maiden flight By Tim Hepher SEATTLE (Reuters) - The smallest member of Boeing Co's (N:BA) upgraded narrowbody jetliner range, the 138-seat 737 MAX 7, began a maiden flight on Friday, the start of several months of trials before entering service next year, the company said. The shortened 737, designed for hot and high conditions or longer journeys than larger narrowbody jets, took off in sunny weather near Seattle at 10:17 a.m. (1717 GMT), watched by Boeing workers and media. The plane was expected to fly for about three hours over Washington state. The aircraft is the third and smallest member of Boeing's 737 MAX line-up, but has posted relatively modest sales with fewer than 100 estimated orders out of 4,000 for the MAX family. Even before taking to the skies, the 737 MAX 7 was thrust into an international dispute when Boeing argued its future was being placed at risk by aggressive discounting by Canada's Bombardier Inc (TO:BBDb), straining U.S.-Canadian trade relations. A U.S. trade tribunal in January overturned steep duties imposed by the U.S. Commerce Department on the Bombardier CSeries, saying Boeing had not been harmed by CSeries prices. Most analysts say demand for such jets, including the competing Airbus SE (PA:AIR) A319neo, is limited as airlines tend to switch to higher-capacity versions to keep up with demand. "I want to put a yet on that," Boeing product marketing regional director Jeff Haber said when asked why the aircraft had not sold as well as larger models. There are about 2,500 aircraft of its size flying that will need to be replaced in future, Haber said. "We see a significant market in Asia ... and South America," he said. Boeing, which does not break down 737 MAX sales by variant, declined to say how many MAX 7s it had sold but said it had eight customers including Southwest Airlines Co (N:LUV) and Westjet Airlines Ltd (TO:WJA). The company is increasing narrowbody production to meet record overall demand for the 737, which last week celebrated its 10,000th aircraft since the 1968 debut of its now largely upgraded design. It faces another milestone when the first 737 MAX 9 is delivered to its first customer next week.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "BA"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AIR"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "LUV"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BBDb"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "WJA"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Majority of French back selling state assets in Renault, Orange, PSA: poll PARIS (Reuters) - A majority of French voters back selling all or some of the state's assets in automakers Renault (PA:RENA) and Peugeot (PA:PEUP), airliner Air France (PA:AIRF) and telecoms group Orange (PA:ORAN), an opinion poll showed on Monday. France announced last year plans to sell some 10 billion euros worth of stakes in state-owned companies in order to raise money for a new fund to finance innovation, an election pledge of President Emmanuel Macron. State stakes in big groups have long had popular backing, and the OpinionWay poll showed two thirds of voters still back it in principle. But the survey stressed that when it comes to individual companies, a majority back selling stakes in companies that are not viewed as public services. Renault, at the heart of a power struggle over its ownership, topped the list, with 56 percent in favour of the state selling at least some of its 15 percent stake. The survey showed, however, that a majority oppose the selling of state assets in mail operator La Poste and electricity provider EDF (PA:EDF). Responses were split about state-owned railway operator SNCF, with 50 percent opposing any asset sale and 47 percent backing it.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "AIRF"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "EDF"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "PEUP"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "ORAN"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "RENA"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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U.S. SEC awards Merrill Lynch whistleblowers a record $83 million By Pete Schroeder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a record $83 million to three whistleblowers tied to a 2016 settlement with Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Corp’s Merrill Lynch brokerage unit, the whistleblowers' attorney said on Monday. The SEC announced the size of the awards on Monday but did not say which case led it to pay two whistleblowers $50 million and a third $33 million. A law firm representing the whistleblowers said their clients tipped off the agency to the misuse of customer funds by the brokerage. "Our clients represent the very best of Wall Street and feel vindicated by the SEC’s determination," Jordan Thomas, a partner at Labaton Sucharow, said in a statement. "By coming forward, these courageous executives protected millions of Merrill Lynch’s customers." Merrill Lynch admitted in the $415 million settlement to wrongdoing in misusing customer cash by holding up to $58 billion a day in a clearing account when it should have been held in reserve. The SEC also said the company engaged in complex options trades to artificially reduce the amount of reserve cash it must hold for customers. The activities, spanning 2009 to 2015, freed up billions of dollars per week and allowed Merrill Lynch to finance the firm’s trading activities for part of that time. Merrill Lynch had said in a statement at the time that no customers were harmed and no losses were incurred, and that it would dedicate significant resources to reviewing and enhancing its processes. A spokesman declined to comment further on Monday. The SEC has awarded more than $262 million to 53 whistleblowers since it began issuing the awards in 2012. Anyone who provides the SEC information that leads to sanctions in excess of $1 million can receive 10 percent to 30 percent of the money collected. "We hope that these awards encourage others with specific, high-quality information regarding securities laws violations to step forward and report it to the SEC," said Jane Norberg, chief of the SEC's Office of the Whistleblower, in a statement on Monday.
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[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BAC"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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United Tech CEO plans exit after Rockwell integration: Bloomberg (Reuters) - United Technologies Corp (N:UTX) Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes is planning to leave following completion of the company's integration with Rockwell Collins Inc (N:COL), Bloomberg reported on Monday. Hayes has discussed a plan with the company's board to leave after the integration, which is expected to take about three years, according to the report. He could stay as long as five years, depending on the pace of the merger and whether United Tech pursues the breakup it promised to explore later this year, Bloomberg reported. United Tech, which makes Pratt & Whitney jet engines, had said last month it was exploring a breakup of its business portfolio, including jet engines, elevators and air conditioners. The company had struck a $30 billion deal to buy avionics and interiors maker Rockwell Collins last year. United Tech shares have lagged the broader market under Hayes as the company spent heavily on developing the new fuel-saving geared turbofan engine and as sales of Otis elevators were pressured due to a supply glut in China. The company's shares were down 1.1 percent at $126.90 in afternoon trade on Monday, compared to a 1.5 pct decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average index (DJI). The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "COL"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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BlackBerry must face revived U.S. lawsuit over BlackBerry 10 By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A U.S. judge on Monday rejected BlackBerry Ltd's request to dismiss a lawsuit claiming it inflated its stock price and defrauded shareholders by painting a misleadingly positive picture of sales prospects for its BlackBerry 10 smartphones. While an earlier version of the case was dismissed in March 2015, Chief Judge Colleen McMahon of the U.S. District Court in Manhattan said the proposed class action can proceed now. She said new information about BlackBerry's alleged conduct had surfaced during the criminal prosecution of an executive at a retailer that sold its smartphones. The judge also cited a new legal standard adopted by the U.S. Supreme Court that could make it easier for some plaintiffs to show that statements of opinion might be misleading. Other defendants include former Chief Executive Thorsten Heins, former Chief Financial Officer Brian Bidulka and Chief Legal Officer Steve Zipperstein. BlackBerry spokeswoman Sarah McKinney declined to comment. A lawyer for the defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The BlackBerry 10 won positive reviews from critics, but never caught on with the public, which preferred Android-based phones and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Inc's iPhone. BlackBerry decided in 2016 to stop making its own smartphones. Shareholders had accused BlackBerry of concealing BlackBerry 10's true sales prospects in public statements during 2013. The amended complaint was based in part on information from the 2015 prosecution of James Dunham, a former chief operating officer at the retailer Wireless Zone. That case revealed how an April 2013 report by Detwiler Fenton showing a high return rate for the BlackBerry 10 was based on data sold by Dunham from some 400 Wireless Zone stores. Dunham pleaded guilty to selling confidential wireless industry information and was sentenced to five months in prison. McMahon said the plaintiffs have made a "plausible showing" that BlackBerry's public response to the Detwiler report, including that customers were "satisfied" and return rates were "at or below our forecasts and right in line with the industry," contradicted data it allegedly had from Wireless Zone. She said she would address later the merits of BlackBerry's arguments that its statements were not misleading.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AAPL"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Zimbabwe changes law limiting majority ownership by the state to diamond, platinum mines HARARE (Reuters) - Zimbabwe has changed its empowerment law to limit majority ownership by state entities to only diamond and platinum mines and not the entire mining sector as in previous legislation, according to a government notice. The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act introduced during the rule of former president Robert Mugabe was designed to increase black Zimbabweans' stake in the sector but were open to abuse. Foreign investor confidence dipped as a result, prompting a promise by new President Emmerson Mnangagwa to change the rules. Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa first announced the proposed changes to scale back the mine ownership in the 2018 budget statement in December. The amendments were included in the Finance Act, which covers the 2018 budget and were signed into law by Mnangagwa on March 14, a government notice seen by Reuters on Monday showed. Only state-owned mining entities will hold majority shares in diamond and platinum companies. However, existing businesses do not need to immediately comply with the law as they can negotiate a timeline of compliance with the authorities. Foreign investors are allowed to have full control in any other mining venture, the notice said. Mnangagwa has said at various forums that "Zimbabwe is open for business" as he seeks to revive an economy that was ruined under Mugabe's near four-decade rule. Zimbabwe has the second largest known platinum deposits after South Africa and the two largest producers Anglo American (LON:AAL) Platinum and Impala Platinum Holdings have operations in the country. The amendments also open up 12 sectors previously reserved for locals such as bakeries, transport and beauty salons to Zimbabweans of all races instead of black Zimbabweans.
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[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AAL"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-19T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Kroger's Fred Meyer plans to phase out firearms business (Reuters) - Kroger Co's (N:KR) superstore chain Fred Meyer said it would exit its firearms business, two weeks after deciding to stop selling guns and ammunition to those under the age of 21. Earlier this month, Kroger joined other U.S. retailers such as Walmart Inc (N:WMT) and Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (N:DKS) to bar the sale of firearms to those under 21, following a deadly shooting at a Florida high school. Fred Meyer said it was working on plans to phase out sales of firearms and ammunition. "This is a victory for communities and for common sense. And it's a positive step for our pension fund beneficiaries and for public safety," New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who oversees the city's public pension funds, said in a statement. Stringer said he had called for Kroger to cease selling firearms last year. Several large money management firms that own shares in gun makers, including BlackRock Inc (N:BLK), the world's largest asset manager, and State Street Corp (N:STT), have felt the heat following the Florida massacre and have sought answers from gun makers and distributors. Fred Meyer said the firearm business generated about $7 million annually, while it also highlighted "softening consumer demand." Fred Meyer operates 133 stores in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington and sells firearms in 43 of them.
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[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "STT"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "WMT"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "KR"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "BLK"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "DKS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Analyst See More Apparel Shopping On Amazon, Ups Price Target Investing.com - Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) has earned another stock-price target increase.This time its Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), which raised its 12-month forecast from $1,700 to $1,755.Wells Fargo made the change after conducting a survey that showed Amazon shoppers were buying more apparel than they were a year ago.That's likely to prompt more clothing retailers to strike deals with Amazon to sell their goods on the ecommerce giant's site.Most Wall Street firms upgraded Amazon' s price target in February, after the company released strong fourth-quarter earnings. Wolfe Research has the highest forecast, at $2,000.Amazon shares are up more than 30% this year.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "AMZN"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "WFC"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Hyundai Motor cautious about self-driving cars after Uber accident SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor (KS:005380) said on Tuesday it is cautious about developing autonomous vehicles because of safety concerns after an Uber [UBER.UL] self-driving car hit and killed a woman in the United States. The accident involving the U.S. technology firm's car in Arizona marked the first fatality linked to an autonomous vehicle and a potential blow to the technology expected to transform transportation. Yoon Sung-hoon, a director at Hyundai Motor, said safety concerns are a big factor in the development of autonomous cars, and as a result the South Korean automaker is "cautious about mass producing self-driving cars." "When we evaluated other companies vehicles, they had more relaxed safety standards," he told reporters, adding that Hyundai is taking more time than rivals to develop autonomous technology to guarantee safety. ”No one knows under what situation accidents will occur.” Hyundai, which has been slow in rolling out self-driving cars, has said it plans commercialise level 4 autonomous vehicles - which can operate without human input or oversight under select conditions - by 2021.
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[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "5380"
}
] |
331
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Investing
| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
BMW searched by German police in emissions swoop FRANKFURT/MUNICH (Reuters) - BMW's headquarters were raided on Tuesday by German prosecutors investigating the suspected use of illegal emissions control software capable of manipulating exhaust levels. About 100 police and law enforcement officials searched the luxury carmaker's Munich headquarters and a site in Austria, prosecutors said, adding they had opened an investigation last month against unknown persons for suspected fraud. Legal sources said the facility searched in Austria was BMW's engine plant in Steyr, where the company employs about 4,500 staff and assembles 6,000 engines a day. "There is an early suspicion that BMW has used a test bench-related defeat device," prosecutors said in a written statement. Rival German carmaker Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) admitted in 2015 to using "defeat device" software in the United States to cheat diesel engine emissions tests, plunging the company into the biggest business crisis in its 100 year history. Since then, emissions irregularities have surfaced at several major carmakers, although none has proved as serious as at Volkswagen. BMW, in a separate statement, said prosecutors were looking into "erroneously allocated" software in about 11,400 vehicles of the BMW 750d and BMW M550d luxury models. Having long denied its cars are equipped with software designed to game emissions tests, BMW said the findings did not reveal a "targeted manipulation" of emissions cleaning. BMW last month recalled 11,700 cars to fix engine management software after discovering the wrong programming had been installed.
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[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "VOWG_p"
}
] |
332
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Exxon eyes Gulf of Mexico plastics plant to meet Asia demand By Nivedita Bhattacharjee (Reuters) - Exxon Mobil Corp (N:XOM) said on Tuesday it was planning to build a plastics plant on the U.S. Gulf Coast to meet the rising demand from Asia. The plant, which is expected to open by 2021, will help increase its manufacturing capacity by up to 450,000 tons a year. The expansion is part of Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods' plans to spend $50 billion in the United States over the next five years. Earlier this month, the world's largest publicly traded oil producer set a goal to double annual earnings by 2025 through heavier investments. The company has been under pressure from investors, some of whom fear that the company's best days may be behind it. A final decision on investment for Tuesday's plans, estimated at several hundred million dollars, is expected later this year, Exxon said. "Abundant supplies of domestically produced oil and natural gas have reduced energy costs and created new sources of feedstock for U.S. chemical manufacturing," ExxonMobil Chemical Co President John Verity said. "Most of our planned investment in the Gulf Coast region is focused on supplying emerging markets like Asia." The project will create more than 600 jobs during peak construction and about 60 permanent jobs when production begins, the company said. Shares of the company were slightly up at $74.42 on Tuesday morning on the New York Stock Exchange.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "XOM"
}
] |
333
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Pimco adds former White House chief of staff Bolten to advisory board NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pacific Investment Management Co has added Joshua Bolten, former White House Chief of Staff to U.S. President George W. Bush, to its Global Advisory Board, PIMCO said on Tuesday in a statement. Established three years ago, Pimco's Global Advisory Board plays a key role in the firm's investment process and is designed to provide a deeper understanding of the policies and institutions that influence financial markets. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is chairman of the board, which is comprised of six members, including Bolten. Bolten, who has previously served as a consultant to Pimco, is president and CEO of the Business Roundtable in Washington, an association of chief executives of leading U.S. companies. He served in the White House under President George W. Bush as chief of staff from 2006 until 2009, director of the Office of Management and Budget from 2003 until 2006, and prior to that, as deputy chief of staff for policy. “Josh’s talents, expertise and invaluable insights into U.S. public policy will enhance this group of renowned macroeconomic thinkers and former policy makers,” Dan Ivascyn, Pimco's Group Chief Investment Officer said in the statement. The other four members of the Pimco Global Advisory Board are Gordon Brown, former British prime minister and former chancellor of the Exchequer; Ng Kok Song, former chief investment officer of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC); Anne-Marie Slaughter, former director of policy planning for the U.S. State Department; and Jean-Claude Trichet, former president of the European Central Bank. Pimco, owned by Allianz SE (DE:ALVG), a global diversified financial services provider, oversaw $1.75 trillion in assets under management as of Dec. 31.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "ALVG"
}
] |
334
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Investing
| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
General Dynamics raises bid for sector peer CSRA to fend off CACI (Reuters) - U.S. defense contractor General Dynamics (N:GD) on Tuesday raised its offer for sector peer CSRA Inc (N:CSRA) to $9.7 billion, including $2.8 billion in debt, in an attempt to top an unsolicited bid from CACI International Inc (N:CACI). General Dynamics' revised offer under a merger agreement with CSRA's board represents an equity value of $6.9 billion or $41.25 per share in cash, compared with the prior $6.8 billion or $40.75 per share. The revised bid from General Dynamics for CSRA, a provider of information technology and related services to the U.S. defense department, is just shy of CACI's $41.79 per share cash-and-stock offer, based on CACI's closing price on Monday. Given the all-cash nature of General Dynamics's offer, it has considerably less risk and may prevail over CACI's bid, analysts have said. "We still think the likelihood of General Dynamics and CSRA deal remains high," CFRA Research analyst David Holt wrote in a note. Shares of CSRA rose as much as 1 percent to $41.44, while those of General Dynamic gained 1.3 percent to $226.90. On Sunday, CACI, which sells information services to national security agencies, offered to buy CSRA for $44 per share, consisting of $15 per share in cash and 0.184 CACI shares for each CSRA share. CACI's stock fell 7.5 percent on Monday, lowering the offer's overall price. The company's shares rose as much as 5 percent to $152.80 in afternoon trading on Tuesday. "The rally in CACI's shares is a reflection of investors thinking that General Dynamics will prevail, and that CACI will not put itself in this leveraged position," Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) analyst Robert Spingarn told Reuters over the phone. "It remains to be seen though if the CACI management sees it differently." CACI said on Tuesday it was reviewing General Dynamics' revised offer. While CACI has been trying to scale up through acquisitions, General Dynamics expects a deal with CSRA to help grab more of the revised defense budget. Federal information technology and services spending, down sharply over the past few years due to cuts in defense budget, is expected to pick up again as President Donald Trump seeks to bolster military spending.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "CSGN"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GD"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "CACI"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "CSRA"
}
] |
335
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Investing
| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Toys 'R' Us says 'making every effort' to pay vendors By Tracy Rucinski (Reuters) - Toys 'R' Us said at a bankruptcy court hearing on Tuesday that it was working hard to maximize payments to suppliers and lenders, as it starts to shutter 735 big-box toy stores across the United States. More than 50 suppliers, including Barbie maker Mattel (O:MAT) and Lego, have objected in some form to the proceedings by the storied toy retailer to liquidate its U.S. business, putting 30,000 jobs at risk. Toys 'R' Us had been trying to reorganize under U.S. Chapter 11 but last week said those efforts had failed and it was quickly running out of cash. It is also winding down its U.K business, but is looking for a buyer for operations in Canada, Europe and Asia. Some trade vendors are demanding the company return any unpaid inventory rather than selling it and using going out of business sales to pay secured lenders and bankruptcy lawyers, at their cost, court papers showed. "We're making every effort to make sure (trade vendors) will be paid in full," Lazard's David Kurtz, who is advising Toys 'R' Us, testified at a hearing at U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Virginia. The company is seeking approval for a March 26 deadline for bids for each of its foreign businesses, minus U.K., followed by an auction on March 29. It is also seeking approval for a series of U.S. liquidation procedures including a halt to more than $450 million in supplier payments as part of a plan that experts told Reuters could cause many small toy makers to disappear. Toys 'R' Us was the last remaining specialty toy retailer in the United States. Hundreds of companies relied on its big-box stores as a showcase for both innovative toys as well as classics. Under trade agreements, vendors were required to ship goods to Toys 'R' Us on unsecured trade credit. In a court filing, Lego said any "wind-down must be implemented in a manner that is fair and equitable to all" of the company's creditors. The U.S. Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog, has also objected, saying that while it is "resigned" to the company's future, it is concerned about certain of the procedures and relief proposed as part of the liquidation. Toys 'R' Us financial advisor Bill Kosturos of Alvarez & Marsal was also testifying at the hearing before U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Keith Phillips, which could run into Wednesday.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "MAT"
}
] |
336
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Pratt & Whitney to deliver spare A320neo engines soon to India's IndiGo: source By Aditi Shah NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Pratt & Whitney will soon begin deliveries of spare engines to India's IndiGo airlines, which was forced to ground eight of its Airbus (PA:AIR) A320neo aircraft last week after engine problems, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. P&W, owned by United Technologies Corp (N:UTX), will deliver two engines on Wednesday and the remaining within the next 40 days, said the source who did not want to identified. A series of in-flight engine failures prompted India's aviation regulator to ground 11 aircraft last week fitted with certain P&W engines and operated by IndiGo, the country's biggest carrier by market share, and rival GoAir. That led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights and about a 5 percent fall in the share price of IndiGo's parent, InterGlobe Aviation (NS:INGL), over the past week. A string of problems has clouded the rollout of P&W's new engines, with the U.S. aviation regulator warning in February that some engines fitted on the narrow-body A320neo planes posed a shutdown risk. IndiGo and GoAir have hundreds of A320neo planes on order but they, among other carriers, are facing delivery delays due to problems with the engines. IndiGo did not immediately reply to an email seeking comment, but said in a statement earlier on Tuesday it had canceled no more than 35 to 45 flights a day, which is around 3 percent of its schedule. "We are mindful of the inconvenience that some of our customers have had due to the cancellation," IndiGo president Aditya Ghosh said in the statement. "We are actively engaged with the engine manufacturer on getting all our aircraft back in the skies in the coming weeks."
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "AIR"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "INGL"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Morgan Stanley wealth customers bring more assets to bank: executive By Catherine Ngai NEW YORK (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (N:MS) is starting to see some wealth management customers bring assets into the bank that they had held at other firms, President Colm Kelleher said on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley's retail investors have put most of their cash balances at the bank to work in the market, and are bringing more money into those accounts, Kelleher said at a financial industry conference in London. "They're bringing money from other sources into Morgan Stanley to invest," he said, "so I don't know if that means they're fully invested, or whether we're getting more share of their business." In the first two months of the year, which were marked by bursts of volatility, Morgan Stanley's wealth unit posted "very high" revenue from accounts whose customers pay per trade rather than a flat fee, he added. That activity has since trailed off. Kelleher did not provide figures to support his comments. Wealth management has been a bright spot for Morgan Stanley, helping to offset declines in businesses like bond trading under a business plan outlined by Chief Executive James Gorman several years ago. Kelleher, who ran Morgan Stanley's trading business before taking on his current role, predicted that first-quarter trading across Wall Street will likely be flat compared to a year ago.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "MS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-20T00:00:00
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Improving Swiss watch exports to help mood at Basel trade fair By Silke Koltrowitz and Sarah White ZURICH (Reuters) - A recovery in Swiss watch exports picked up pace in February, data showed on Tuesday, a shot in the arm for brands grappling with how to stay relevant to younger buyers and set to unveil their latest models at a trade show this week. Shipments of Swiss watches rose by 12.9 percent year-on-year in February, according to the Swiss watch industry federation, a tad better than a month earlier - helped in part by a weak performance last February - and confirmed optimism for 2018 from major watchmakers such as Swatch Group (SIX:UHR). Swiss watchmakers are emerging from a downturn after sales to China crashed following a corruption crackdown in 2012. These are now recovering, fueled by demand from a young generation of Chinese shoppers sustaining a rebound for luxury fashion firms too. But the watch industry is still getting to grips with how to revive demand for some of its products, including the cheapest ranges of timepieces facing competition from smartwatches or even mobile phones as customers lose their watch habit. And U.S. sales remain broadly weak, even if exports to the three biggest markets for Swiss watchmakers, Hong Kong, the United States and China, all recorded double-digit increases in February. Watch exports reflect what brands ship to retail partners -- not what they actually sell to consumers -- so the improvement is only a glimpse into the broader market, suggesting that stock levels in watch stores are normalizing and retailers are confident enough to place new orders. But Swiss watchmakers are still expected to strike a more upbeat tone when they meet in Basel from Thursday for the Baselworld watch and jewelry fair. "Sentiment is positive in general and trends look healthy in China," RBC analyst Rogerio Fujimori said, adding however that the pick-up in the United States should not be overegged. He pointed to strong figures published last week by Hong Kong retailer Emperor Watch & Jewellery Ltd. (HK:0887) that suggested that sales to consumers are also improving. Other underlying challenges also included a gradual switch from stores to e-commerce, Fujimori added. The future of the Basel show itself will likely be fodder for conversation too this year. Many small and mid-sized brands will not be present, put off by high costs, and a few top players have joined January's rival Geneva fair instead.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "UHR"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "887"
}
] |
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Deutsche Boerse could be fined for not updating market on CEO search FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's financial markets watchdog is investigating whether Deutsche Boerse (DE:DB1Gn) should have provided more information to investors during its search for a new chief executive, with a ruling against the company potentially leading to a fine. A spokeswoman for the BaFin watchdog said it was looking into whether the German stock exchange operator should have publicly disclosed that a personnel committee on the supervisory board had on Nov. 13 narrowed its CEO search to two candidates. On Nov. 16, Deutsche Boerse announced that Theodor Weimer would be its new chief executive officer. German law requires companies listed on an exchange to publish information that could affect share prices in a timely fashion. The rules are in place to prevent insider trading. Failure to do so can in theory cost up to two percent of a company's annual revenue, or 48 million euros ($59 million) in this case. A spokesman for Deutsche Boerse said the company took its duties to promptly inform the public very seriously. "These duties were also carefully considered in the selection and appointment of a new chief executive officer," he said. Instead of waiting three days to announce the final decision, Deutsche Boerse could have been required to announce that it had short-listed two individuals, without naming names, said a person familiar with the matter. That could have cleared up concerns about a leadership vacuum, said the person, who was speaking on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing investigation. Separately, BaFin has dropped an inquiry into a July 18 announcement by Deutsche Boerse about the status of an investigation into its previous CEO, the BaFin spokeswoman said. WirtschaftsWoche first reported the news on BaFin's investigations. ($1 = 0.8145 euros)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "DB1Gn"
}
] |
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Ten High-Flying Tech Stocks Vulnerable to U-S.-China Trade War Investing.com - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) and Boeing (NYSE:BA) are usually the first companies mentioned when it comes to vulnerability to a trade war with China, but there are other big companies that are more reliant on sales to the Asian giant.Some of them happen to be among the best performing stocks in the past year.Based on Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) list of companies with sales of 20% or more to China, here are 10 tech stocks and their 12-month gains. Topping the list is Nvidia, which has more than doubled. All of the top five companies are in the semiconductor industry. Among the second five, Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN) and Microchip Technology (NASDAQ:MCHP) are also semiconductor companies. Apple just makes the cut with a 24% gain.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "BA"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "GS"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "MCHP"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AAPL"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "TXN"
}
] |
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ADIC to join Mubadala group as wealthy Abu Dhabi consolidates funds By Stanley Carvalho ABU DHABI (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) and Mubadala Investment Co, two investment arms of the super-rich emirate's government, will join up as Abu Dhabi consolidates hundreds of billions of dollars worth of funds under its control. "An investment vehicle of such scale will enhance the country's competitive position," Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed said as he revealed the plan on his official Twitter account on Wednesday. ADIC will become part of the Mubadala group, with a combined portfolio worth over $200 billion, a source familiar with the deal told Reuters. United Arab Emirates state news agency WAM said ADIC's board would now report to Mubadala's board, with Eissa al-Suwaidi remaining executive director of ADIC. It did not give details of how the funds' strategy might change under the new arrangement. ADIC started operating in 2007 and is responsible for investing worldwide part of the Abu Dhabi government’s surplus financial resources, earned from oil exports. Mubadala, itself formed by a merger last year involving another Abu Dhabi fund, International Petroleum Investment Co, had assets worth 465.5 billion dirhams ($126.8 billion) at the end of last June and made a net profit of 4.2 billion dirhams in the first half of 2017. Abu Dhabi, the richest of the seven emirates that form the UAE, has ridden out the last few years of low oil prices relatively comfortably, but it has been seeking to save money and make many of its assets more efficient by streamlining them or arranging tie-ups. On Tuesday officials announced that Aldar Properties (AD:ALDR), Abu Dhabi's top real estate developer which is about 30 percent owned by Mubadala, would form a joint venture with Dubai's Emaar Properties (DU:EMAR) to develop local and international projects worth as much as 30 billion dirhams. It was not immediately clear whether the ADIC news presaged more mergers or tie-ups for Abu Dhabi funds. The emirate's biggest sovereign fund, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, has an estimated $828 billion of assets and is the third biggest in the world.
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[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "EMAR"
}
] |
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Cautious trade for European shares ahead of Fed LONDON (Reuters) - European shares edged lower in early dealing on Wednesday, with investors cautiously awaiting the conclusion of a U.S. Federal Reserve meeting for signals on the pace of expected interest rate rises. The pan-European STOXX 600 index was down 0.1 percent by 0827 GMT, as more cyclical sectors such as financials, materials and industrials retreated. European tech was among the top sectoral gainers, up 0.3 percent, led be semiconductor makers. The sector has, for now, seen little fallout from the reports of Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) data misuse that have sent the U.S. social media giant's shares down 10 percent over the past two sessions French luxury goods maker Hermes jumped 2 percent after its profit margin reached a record in 2017 and the company increased its dividend. Britain's Kingfisher (LON:KGF) was one of the biggest fallers, down more than 6 percent after beating full-year earnings forecasts but warning that the UK market was "more uncertain". Ubisoft rose more than 4 percent after Vivendi (PA:VIV) sold its entire stake in the video game maker for 2 billion euros ($2.45 billion). Ubisoft has long opposed the French media group's involvement in the company. Vivendi's shares rose 0.9 percent.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "VIV"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "KGF"
},
{
"sentiment": "not stock",
"ticker": "STOXX"
}
] |
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StanChart's head of commercial, private banking to leave HONG KONG (Reuters) - Standard Chartered (LON:STAN) PLC's chief executive of private and commercial banking is leaving the bank to join another financial services company in London, the emerging markets-focused lender said on Wednesday. Anna Marrs, who is also StanChart's chief executive for the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and South Asia, will leave StanChart in September this year, it said. As a result of her departure, StanChart said its commercial banking business unit would now report into Simon Cooper, chief executive for corporate and institutional banking, the bank's biggest unit in terms of its contribution to group revenue.
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[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "STAN"
}
] |
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Yen rises, stocks fall after report China preparing trade tariff retaliation LONDON (Reuters) - The Japanese yen rose, while stocks and government bond yields fell on Wednesday after a report in the Wall Street Journal that China is planning counter measures against U.S. trade tariffs. The yen, which investors tend to buy in times of risk aversion, jumped against the dollar after the report was published. It spiked to as strong as 106.07 yen versus the dollar before settling at 106.25 yen, up 0.3 percent on the day. The Japanese currency briefly rose against the euro (EURJPY=EBS). Safe-haven European bond yields also fell, trimming earlier rises. The 10-year German Bund yield was last up just 1 basis point on the day at 0.59 percent (DE10YT=RR), while British government bond futures pared hefty early losses by around 10 ticks. European stocks fell sharply on the news. The pan-European STOXX 600 (STOXX) was last down 0.2 percent, while U.S. stock futures dropped. U.S. stock futures dropped (ESc1), indicating a lower open on Wall Street.
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[
{
"sentiment": "not stock",
"ticker": "STOXX"
}
] |
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Credit Suisse chairman says Brexit prep 'like open-heart surgery' VADUZ (Reuters) - Credit Suisse Group (S:CSGN) must find alternatives for a fifth of business it does out of England as it prepares for Britain's 2019 exit from the European Union, Chairman Urs Rohner said at an event in Liechtenstein on Wednesday. "We're preparing for Brexit, and it's totally clear that we have to find another solution for 20 percent of our business in England done for customers from European Union countries," Rohner said. "This is like open-heart surgery." Rohner also said the time was right for the Swiss financial centre to review an industry-wide solution for outsourcing middle- and back-office processes, an initiative also backed by some other banks to help reduce costs.
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[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "CSGN"
}
] |
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Target could be the biggest winner in the Toys R Us sweepstakes Target is well positioned to be the biggest beneficiary of the Toys R Us liquidation, according to a Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) note from analyst Seth Sigman. Toys R Us filed for bankruptcy Thursday, and will begin liquidating its stores and inventory. While Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) could compete for those assets, Sigman says Credit Suisse sees Target "benefiting disproportionately" to its peers. The key reason is that most Toys R Us stores are right next to Target stores. With 90% of Toys R Us stores and 96% of Baby R Us stores within five miles of Target stores, "TGT's overlap is higher than in recent case studies, and should be positioned to take a fair share," the note said. Target, it estimated, "captures 15% of addressable Toy R Us store sales, 5% of Baby R Us sales, and 5% of online sales," a total value of $600 million. This visual shows just how many Toys R Us and Baby R Us stores are close to Target stores. The report arrives at its conclusion through a case study that showed when retail stores are liquidated, other retailers with a high number of stores near the liquidating store were the main beneficiaries. When H.H. Gregg closed, Best Buy was able to capitalize on 6-11% of H.H. Gregg sales, Sigman said. Twenty-two percent of Best Buy stores were within five miles of H.H. Gregg stores. Additionally, when Sports Authority closed, Dick's Sporting Goods was able to capture roughly 10% of its sales, the note said. Dick's had 28% of its stores within five miles of a Sports Authority. Comparatively, 52% of Target stores are within five miles of Toys R Us stores, which leads Credit Suisse to believe that Target is the favorite in the Toys R Us asset sweepstakes. But competition may still prove to be thick. Sigman noted 82% of Toys R Us stores have both a Target and a Walmart (NYSE:WMT) nearby. Target is up 5.22% year-to-date.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "CSGN"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AMZN"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "WMT"
}
] |
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JPMorgan says it's found the perfect trade for worried Facebook investors As worries mount around Facebook's ongoing scandal, some traders are likely at a loss for what to do. The company's stock has plummeted 9% in just two days — its biggest such drop in more than two years — and now investors find themselves at a crucial juncture. Do they bet on further turmoil for the tech juggernaut, or do they position for a rebound Lucky for them, the equity derivatives team at JPMorgan has an options strategy that they think is the ideal way to play these uncertain conditions. At the root of JPMorgan's recommendation is a bullish stance on the company's underlying fundamentals. Facebook's business isn't currently being impacted by the scandal, and first-quarter engagement trends are actually improving, according to the firm's internet analyst, Doug Anmuth. Not to mention Facebook's current valuation, which, after its recent rough patch, looks the most attractive it's been in months. So with all of this in mind, it's probably best to just get directionally bullish on Facebook and call it a day, right Not so fast, says JPMorgan, which argues the likelihood of a full rebound will remain low until investors get more clarity on Facebook's relationship with political-research company Cambridge Analytica, and how much liability the tech giant has. Still, JPMorgan has been encouraged by Facebook's willingness to present in front of a judicial committee, and remains confident the company's stock can recover from its recent beating — just not for a little while. That's why JPMorgan's big options recommendation on Facebook is scheduled to expire in May. Not to mention that timing will allow the trade to capture the company's early-May earnings report. Without further ado, here's the derivatives team's top Facebook trade: buy Facebook $185 calls and simultaneously sell $150 puts, both expiring in May. The trade, known as a risk reversal, will be profitable if the stock sees a big recovery. "Clarity on the Cambridge issue and FB’s willingness to self-regulate are likely near-term catalysts that may reduce investor fears, stabilize the stock, and position it for a recovery into Q1 results," Shawn Quigg, an equity derivatives strategist at JPMorgan, wrote in a client note.
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[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "JPM"
}
] |
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EU financing arm ready to boost bloc funding after Brexit BERLIN (Reuters) - The European Union's financing arm, the EIB, on Wednesday offered to help offset a financing gap caused by Britain's departure from the bloc and other emerging needs by leveraging higher budgetary guarantees and other financial instruments. The European Investment Bank (EIB.UL), which is owned by the European Union's member states, uses its capital deposits as security to fund loans for research, infrastructure and environmental projects in Europe and around the world. Britain's exit from the bloc will leave a hole of 10 to 13 billion euros in the EU budget, according to some estimates, reducing funding available for infrastructure and other projects, but the EIB argues that increased use of its financial instruments can help plug that gap. An EIB spokesman said the bank's could "significantly increase" its funding in Europe if the share of resources from the EU budget used as guarantees was raised from 3 percent to 5 percent. The German Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, which first reported the proposed increase, said that would boost the guarantee volume by 3 billion euros to around 7.8 billion euros. "The EIB stands ready to use more financial instruments during the next multiannual financial framework, guaranteed by EU budget resources," a spokesman for the bank said. Alexander Stubb, EIB vice president, told the newspaper: "We will help to ease the pain of Brexit." He said the bank could not completely offset the loss of Britain's funding after 2020, but it could ease the pressure. Any increase in the budgetary guarantees would have to be approved by the European Parliament and EU member states, the EIB spokesman said. The changes, together with or instead of more traditional grants and subsidies, could help the EU "do more with less", he said. Using financial instruments such as loans and equity finance leveraged the EU budget by drawing in private investors, while ensuring the economic viability of projects, because recipients must repay these loans.
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[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "EIB"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-21T00:00:00
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Tension in information sharing over GM's Korea unit audit: South Korea government official SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's vice finance minister said on Thursday there is tension between General Motors' (N:GM) South Korean unit and the Korea Development Bank because the U.S. automaker isn't sharing internal information about the company needed for the bank to carry out due diligence. "My understanding is that there is tension (in the due diligence)," Vice Finance Minister Ko Hyoung-kwon told reporters after a meeting in Seoul. The audit on GM Korea's finances, which started earlier this month, will inform the South Korean government's decision on whether to provide support for the Detroit carmaker's loss-making Korean operations. General Motors has offered to convert debt of around $2.7 billion owed by its ailing South Korean operation into equity in exchange for financial support and tax benefits from Seoul. "In order to carry out due diligence, which is a difficult process, we need company information but I think (GM Korea) finds it difficult to share information about global strategies (with the KDB)," Ko said. The state-run KDB, the second-biggest shareholder of GM Korea with a 17 percent stake, said that it was willing to offer short-term loans to GM Korea after April, should the company cooperate on the due diligence exercise. The restructuring plan will see GM's plant in Gunsan will shut down by May. Among its four plants, only one is running at full capacity and the other two are running at 50 and 70 percent of their capacity. GM Korea, which employs nearly 16,000 people, has previously said that without new funding from its major shareholders it would have a first-quarter "cash crisis".
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[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "GM"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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FedEx Tumbles on Fear China Tariffs Will Batter Global Economy (Bloomberg) -- FedEx Corp (NYSE:FDX). tumbled the most in nearly six weeks as President Donald Trump ordered tariffs on at least $50 billion in Chinese imports. FedEx, which operates the world’s largest cargo airline, has a bigger presence in Asia and China than United Parcel Service Inc (NYSE:UPS)., having gained a major foothold through its 1989 acquisition of Tiger International Inc. The Memphis, Tennessee-based courier also has a larger international air network than its rival. “It’s definitely the tariffs on China impacting” FedEx shares, said Kevin Sterling, a Seaport Global Holdings analyst. “If global trade does contract, they’re going to feel it.” FedEx in January opened an air-cargo hub in Shanghai to handle growing cross-border transactions. Trump’s order sparked a broad market rout on concerns that the levies would trigger a trade war and hurt the broadest global economic recovery in years. FedEx Chief Executive Officer Fred Smith on Tuesday warned that the tariffs could threaten U.S. economic health. Read more: Trump orders tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods “The better approach is to encourage open markets and free exchange of products and services and to reduce barriers to trade,” Smith said on a conference call to discuss quarterly earnings. FedEx fell 3.8 percent to $239.61 at 2:22 p.m. Thursday in New York, after declining as much as 5.2 percent, the most since Feb. 9. UPS slipped 1.8 percent. Results for FedEx’s fiscal third quarter also may have weighed on the shares, said Lee Klaskow, a Bloomberg Intelligence analyst. While the courier’s Freight and Ground operations performed well, “there were some concerns” regarding its Express airline unit, the largest at the company, he said. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer within 15 days will propose a list of products that will carry higher tariffs.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "FDX"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "UPS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Deutsche Bank to reap $1.7 billion from asset management IPO BERLIN (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's asset management arm DWS set the price for its initial public offering on Thursday at a level which is expected to generate proceeds of about 1.4 billion euros ($1.7 billion) for Germany's largest bank. The valuation of 32.50 euros per share is less than Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) had originally hoped for, but the start of trading for DWS in Frankfurt on Friday will mark a tangible milestone in Chief Executive John Cryan's struggle to restructure the lender. The listing of DWS, more than a year in the making, is expected to be one of Germany's biggest this year and is part of a broader overhaul which Deutsche Bank hopes will move it on from a string of lawsuits and trading scandals. The IPO was brought forward to lock in the valuation ahead of any further stock market correction. DWS said on Thursday that 44.5 million shares had been placed with investors, a smaller than expected 22.25 percent of its shares. The placement price gives the asset management business a market capitalization of 6.5 billion euros. Originally, Deutsche Bank had hoped to generate proceeds of up to 2 billion euros by selling 25 percent of DWS, giving the unit a value of 8 billion euros. During the listing process, the bank scaled back its expectations but did find big investors, including insurer Nippon Life of Japan and investment company Tikehau Capital. Nippon agreed to acquire a 5 percent stake. A successful IPO will be a relief for Deutsche, which has been dogged by three years of losses in a row. The bank's shares fell sharply on Wednesday after its finance chief warned of headwinds for its investment bank in the first quarter. But Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke was optimistic about DWS. "It's a revenue stream, it's capital-light, it's higher margin and it's higher growth we think than many of our businesses," von Moltke told an investor conference in London. ($1 = 0.8126 euros)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "DBKGn"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Chipotle wins dismissal of investor lawsuit over foodborne illness By Brendan Pierson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc (NYSE:CMG) on Thursday won the dismissal of an investor lawsuit claiming it concealed food safety risks, causing its stock to drop after widely publicized outbreaks of foodborne illnesses in 2014 and 2015. U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla in Manhattan said that while the outbreaks were cause for concern, the lawsuit failed to support its claim that Chipotle defrauded investors. The judge wrote that she was "as concerned as the parties about foodborne illness outbreaks," but that "not all adverse events are the product of corporate misfeasance or nonfeasance." Failla dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, meaning it cannot be filed again. She had dismissed an earlier version of the case last March. A lawyer for the investors, which include the Construction Laborers Pension Trust of Greater St. Louis and Germany’s Metzler Investment GmbH, could not immediately be reached for comment. A spokesman for Chipotle also could not immediately be reached. Chipotle was linked to a series of outbreaks of salmonella, E. coli and norovirus in 2014 and 2015, causing sales to plummet. Chipotle's share price fell 47 percent in just over five months from its August 2015 peak above $758. In their 2016 lawsuit, the investors claimed that in statements made to investors in 2015 and early 2016 the Denver-based company failed to disclose changes in its food handling practices, recorded cases of customer illness and details about its plans for dealing with the widely publicized outbreaks. The investors had also brought claims against Chipotle's founder and Executive Chairman Steve Ells, former Co-Chief Executive Monty Moran and Chief Financial Officer John Hartung individually. The judge said that although the newer version added more details, it failed to point to any specific instances of Chipotle or the executives knowingly making statements or failing to disclose information that would be material to investors.
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[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "CMG"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Four senior UK politicians urge regulator to block Murdoch-Sky deal LONDON (Reuters) - Four high-profile British lawmakers have called for Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox (O:FOXA) to be blocked from buying Sky (L:SKYB), saying the mogul will be able to influence its news output despite promises to the contrary. Murdoch is locked in a battle with U.S. cable giant Comcast Corp (O:CMCSA) to buy Europe's biggest pay-TV group, with the Australian-born tycoon hampered by his ownership of other assets in Britain including two leading national newspapers. In order to gain regulatory approval Fox has offered to guarantee the independence of the Sky News operation by funding it for 10 years and creating a fully independent board to oversee it, a move that led analysts and competition lawyers to say the deal would likely be cleared. But four lawmakers who have previously criticized Murdoch's influence in Britain, including the former leader of the opposition Labour party Ed Miliband, said in a letter to the regulator that the offers did not go far enough. They noted that the chief executive of Sky would still appoint the head of Sky News. "This is a significant statement because other statements made have tended to imply that the Editorial board will somehow be in charge of the process, not the Sky CEO," they said. Fox agreed a deal to buy the 61 percent of Sky it did not already own in December 2016 but it has been repeatedly delayed by the government and regulators. It is likely to learn whether it can take over Sky in the middle of June. Fox has said it does not agree with the regulator's objections but has offered to protect Sky News to help secure approval. Fox has agreed to sell a string of assets on to Walt Disney Co (N:DIS), including Sky. Comcast has offered 12.50 pounds per share or 22.1 billion pounds for Sky compared with Fox's offer of 10.75 pounds per share, but it has not yet made a formal bid and is trying to secure its own regulatory approval. The four lawmakers are Miliband; Vince Cable, the leader of the small opposition Liberal Democrats party; Ken Clarke, a senior lawmaker from the ruling Conservative Party and Charles Falconer, a former Labour justice minister. "We would urge the panel to come to a clear finding in favor of prohibition, consistent with its powerful provisional findings," the letter said.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "DIS"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "CMCSA"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Telecom Italia investors to vote on new board after most directors resign MILAN (Reuters) - Telecom Italia (TIM) (MI:TLIT) said on Thursday the majority of its board members had resigned following the governance challenge launched by activist investor Elliott and a new board would be voted on by shareholders at a meeting on May 4. Deputy Chairman Giuseppe Recchi resigned, as expected, after having accepted a position at a company earlier this year. Other seven directors stepped down, effective April 24, to allow shareholders to vote a fully new board. Those directors hope "this move would help to clarify and provide certainty to the governance of the company, passing the responsibility of appointing the new board to the shareholders' meeting", the company said in a statement. Earlier this month Elliott Advisors said it had taken a stake in TIM and proposed to replace six board members in a bid to improve strategy, value and governance and shake up the way top shareholder Vivendi (PA:VIV) runs the company.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "TLIT"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "VIV"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Morgan Stanley to hire 80 in Paris after Brexit: source By Lawrence White and Maya Nikolaeva LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) - Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) plans to add 80 jobs in Paris after Britain's exit from the European Union, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday, on top of around 200 the U.S. bank is set to transfer to its Frankfurt hub. The potential transfer or creation of roles by the U.S. bank in France was first reported by French newspaper Les Echos, without giving a timeline for when they might be completed. Morgan Stanley already employs around 120 bankers in Paris, and Reuters reported last July the bank has chosen Frankfurt to be its main base for its EU operations after Brexit. Its move to transfer some staff there follows a similar pattern to other banks which have picked one EU center to be their main regional subsidiary in the bloc, but then locating other parts of their businesses in several countries. Swiss bank UBS earlier this month said it would pursue a decentralized approach, with staff mainly moving to Frankfurt and other locations where their clients are based. U.S. and European banks are starting to execute contingency plans, after British Prime Minister Theresa May ruled out retaining passporting rights for financial services.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "MS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Best Buy cuts ties with China's Huawei: source By Nandita Bose and Sijia Jiang LAS VEGAS/HONG KONG (Reuters) - Best Buy Co Inc (NYSE:BBY), the largest U.S. consumer electronics retailer, will cut ties with China's Huawei Technologies Co Ltd, a person familiar with the matter said, amid heightened scrutiny on Chinese tech firms in the United States. Best Buy will stop selling Huawei's devices over the next few weeks, according to the person with knowledge of the matter, a setback for the Chinese telecommunications giant as it looks to expand in the U.S. market. The move, after similar actions from U.S. carriers including AT&T Inc (NYSE:T), comes as U.S. scrutiny of Chinese tech firms grows amid simmering tensions over U.S.-China trade and concerns of security. A Best Buy spokesman told Reuters the firm could not comment on specific contracts with vendors. "We make decisions to change what we sell for a variety of reasons," he said. Huawei said in emailed comments on Thursday that it valued its relationship with Best Buy but could not discuss details of its partnership with the U.S. firm. "Huawei currently sells its products through a range of leading consumer electronics retailers in the U.S.," the firm said, adding its products met the "highest security, privacy and engineering standards in the industry". Earlier this year, AT&T was forced to scrap a plan to offer Huawei handsets after some members of Congress lobbied against the idea with federal regulators, sources told Reuters. Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE:VZ) also ended its plans to sell Huawei phones last year, according to media reports. Last month two Republican Senators introduced legislation that would block the U.S. government from buying or leasing telecommunications equipment from Huawei or Chinese peer ZTE Corp, citing concern the firms would use their access to spy on U.S. officials. The tougher climate in the United States has forced Huawei to sell its flagship smartphone Mate 10 Pro - its challenger to the iPhone - in the United States only through open channels. U.S tech and electronics website CNET.com first reported the termination of the agreement on Wednesday.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "T"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BBY"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "VZ"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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World's top wealth fund says opposed Musk's $2.6 billion pay deal OSLO (Reuters) - The world's largest sovereign wealth fund opposed Elon Musk's potential $2.6 billion payout from electric carmaker Tesla (O:TSLA), the fund said on Thursday. Shareholders backed the deal for Tesla's CEO on Wednesday. Norway's $1 trillion wealth fund, which owned a 0.48 percent stake in Tesla worth about $253 million as of the start of 2018, did not say why it voted against Musk's package. The fund has said it wants companies it invests in to offer simpler pay packages without long-term incentive plans. The fund declined to comment.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "TSLA"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-22T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Boeing will not appeal trade case against Bombardier: spokesman By Allison Lampert MONTREAL (Reuters) - Boeing Co (N:BA) will not appeal against the U.S. trade commission ruling that allows Canada's Bombardier Inc (TO:BBDb) to sell its newest jets to U.S. airlines without heavy duties, a Boeing spokesman said on Thursday. The decision by Boeing puts the trade challenge to rest. A Canadian government official who spoke on condition of anonymity said Boeing's decision was "good news". The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) unanimously voted in January to reject Boeing's complaint and discarded a Commerce Department recommendation to slap a near 300 percent duty on sales of the 110-to-130-seat Bombardier CSeries jets for five years. The ITC had widely been expected to side with Chicago-based Boeing, the world's largest maker of jetliners, which accused Bombardier of dumping the planes, or selling them below cost, in the U.S. market. However, the ITC said it rejected placing duties on Bombardier jets partly because Boeing had lost no sales or revenue when Delta Air Lines Inc (N:DAL) ordered the aircraft in 2016 from the Canadian planemaker. The ITC ruled the 110-seat CSeries jets ordered by Delta and Boeing's smallest 737 MAX 7 plane do not compete. The smaller end of the jet market is an increasing focus for the major manufacturers. Airbus SE (PA:AIR) has agreed to take a majority stake in the CSeries in a deal expected to close later this year, while Boeing is in tie-up talks with Bombardier's Brazilian rival Embraer SA (SA:EMBR3). The Boeing spokesman declined to elaborate on the decision not to appeal. It was not yet clear how Boeing's decision will impact the planemaker's relationship with the Canadian government, which is holding a competition for fighter jets worth between C$15 billion and $C19 billion. A Bombardier spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "BA"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "AIR"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "DAL"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "EMBR3"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BBDb"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-23T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Union Bank of India shares slump after lender makes fraud complaint (Reuters) - Union Bank of India Ltd (NS:UNBK) shares fell to a more-than 11-year low on Friday after federal police registered a case against a private company for allegedly cheating eight lenders, including Union Bank, out of 13.94 billion rupees ($214 million). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered the case against Hyderabad-based Totem Infrastructure and directors after a complaint from Union Bank, which the CBI said had been cheated out of about 3.14 billion rupees. Reuters could not reach Totem or its directors for comment. The case comes after a more-than $2 billion fraud in state-run Punjab National Bank (NS:PNBK), dubbed the biggest bank fraud in India's history, triggered scrutiny of all soured bank loans for any sign of wrongdoing. Totem Infrastructure, loans to which became non-performing in June 2012, "allegedly diverted the funds by opening accounts outside the consortium (of eight banks) and through payments of wages by showing excess expenditure and huge stocks", the CBI said in a statement late on Thursday. The CBI said in a separate statement that the company concerned was Totem Infrastructure. Union Bank did not respond to requests for comment from either the stock exchange or Reuters. By 0719 GMT, Union Bank shares were trading 8.3 percent down at 86.85 rupees. The stock fell as much as 9.13 percent to touch its lowest price since March 2007.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "PNBK"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "UNBK"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-23T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Tiger Global to buy $50 million worth of Wealthfront stock: source By Anna Irrera NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management is in the process of buying $50 million worth of shares of online asset management startup Wealthfront, a source familiar with deal said on Friday. Tiger Global is acquiring the stock on the secondary market mostly from former Wealthfront employees, the source said. The deal comes a few months after Tiger Global led a $75 million investment into Wealthfront, one of the largest independent companies known as robo-advisers. Bloomberg reported earlier on Friday that Wealthfront's valuation was cut to $500 million through the round announced in January. The source who spoke to Reuters disputed the valuation but could not provide the actual figure. It is unclear how the latest $50 million deal by Tiger Global affects Wealthfront's valuation. Representatives for Tiger Global did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wealthfront and other robo-advisers automatically create and manage portfolios made up of low-cost exchange-traded-funds for clients with as little as a few hundred dollars to invest. They are part of a wave of young companies that take advantage of new digital technologies to offer financial services for clients that were traditionally seen as too expensive to service by established financial institutions and target a new generation of investors. Wealthfront's assets under management have nearly doubled over the past year to more than $10 billion. The model pioneered by Wealthfront and its competitors has prompted established financial institutions to launch similar services over the past few years, including Fidelity Investments Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) Corp and Fidelity Investments. This has led some to question whether the startups can secure enough clients to succeed. This has prompted startups to diversify their offering with added tools and features.
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[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "SCHW"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-23T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein sees 9 percent pay hike in 2017 (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc (N:GS) Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein saw his overall compensation rise 9 percent, despite the investment bank's lackluster performance in 2017. Blankfein's total compensation was about $22 million in 2017, compared with $20.2 million a year earlier, according to a regulatory filing. Top executives at big Wall Street banks have seen their compensation rise in 2017. JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon was paid $29.5 million, a 5.4 percent increase; while Morgan Stanley (N:MS) CEO James Gorman's compensation saw an increase of 20 percent to $27 million. Citigroup Inc (N:C) CEO Michael Corbat's compensation jumped 48 percent to $23 million. Goldman's chief operating officer, David Solomon, was paid $16.4 million in total compensation. The bank said on March 12 Harvey Schwartz, co-chief operating officer, would retire, leaving David Solomon as sole president and chief operating officer. Solomon is now the most obvious successor to Blankfein, who has held the top job for 12 years. Goldman's profit nearly halved in 2017 as it struggled with a steep drop in trading revenue. (Corrects to add $ symbol in second paragraph. Corrects to "March 12" from "Thursday" in paragraph 7)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "C"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GS"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "JPM"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "MS"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-23T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Shares of Deutsche Bank's DWS unit edge higher in market debut FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Deutsche Bank's asset management arm DWS made small gains on Friday in their debut on the Frankfurt stock exchange, a milestone in the German lender's turnaround plan. The shares changed hands at 32.60 euros at 0845 GMT, just above the issue price of 32.50 euros set by the bank on Thursday, a level expected to generate proceeds of about 1.4 billion euros for Deutsche. That was less than the bank originally hoped for, but the listing of DWS, more than a year in the making, is expected to be one of Germany's biggest this year and is part of a broader overhaul which Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) hopes will move it on from a string of lawsuits and trading scandals. "We're happy - in the last few days we never thought of postponing or cancelling the stock market listing," said DWS Chief Executive Nicolas Moreau, referring to recent falls on international stock markets. A company spokesman said the order book for the share offering had been subscribed multiple times over. The IPO was brought forward to lock in the valuation ahead of any further stock market falls. DWS said on Thursday that 44.5 million shares had been placed with investors, a smaller than expected 22.25 percent of its shares. The placement price gives the asset management business a market value of 6.5 billion euros. Originally, Deutsche Bank had hoped to generate proceeds of up to 2 billion euros by selling 25 percent of DWS, giving the unit a value of 8 billion euros. During the listing process, the bank scaled back its expectations but did find big investors, including insurer Nippon Life of Japan and investment company Tikehau Capital.. Nippon agreed to acquire a 5 percent stake. A successful IPO will be a relief for Deutsche, which has been dogged by three successive years of losses. The bank's shares fell sharply on Wednesday when its finance chief warned of headwinds for its investment bank in the first quarter. But Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke was optimistic about DWS. "It's a revenue stream, it's capital-light, it's higher margin and it's higher growth we think than many of our businesses," von Moltke told an investor conference in London.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "DBKGn"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-24T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Apple's Tim Cook calls for calm heads on China, U.S. trade BEIJING (Reuters) - Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) Inc's Chief Executive Tim Cook on Saturday called for "calm heads" and more open trade, amid rising fears of a trade war between the United States and China. Trade tension between China and the United States flared this week when President Donald Trump unveiled plans on Thursday to slap tariffs on potentially up to $60 billion in Chinese goods. China's Commerce Ministry on Friday urged the United States to "pull back from the brink", saying it was not afraid to engage in a trade war. "I'm cognizant that in both the U.S. and China, there have been cases where everyone hasn't benefited, where the benefit hasn't been balanced," Cook said. Speaking at the annual China Development Forum in Beijing, Cook said he hoped "calm heads" would prevail. The sparring has cast a spotlight on hardware makers such as Apple, which assemble the majority of their products in China for export to other countries. Electrical goods and tech are the largest U.S. import item from China. In the past year, Apple and other foreign tech firms have grappled with a string of new regulatory requirements in China, including a controversial law requiring firms to house user data in data centers overseen by Chinese firms. Last month, Apple officially moved to store keys for its iCloud data in China, provoking intense criticism from rights groups who say the decision makes it easier for Chinese officials to tap and collect private data. Despite challenges, the company has sought to expand its services in China, its third-largest market, where roughly 1.8 million developers use its platform. "My belief is that businesses should be engaged with governments in countries where they are doing business, whether they agree or disagree," Cook said. Cook has come to China several times in the past year, and was among executives who met Chinese President Xi Jinping last October. "My belief is that one plus one equals three. The pie gets larger, working together," Cook said. Others attending the three-day forum include the chief executives of IBM (NYSE:IBM) Group , Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Inc. Cook, who this year co-chaired the event, also attended last year when he called for China to increase trade and continue opening itself up to the world.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "GOOGL"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "QCOM"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "AAPL"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "IBM"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GOOG"
}
] |
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| 2018-03-24T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
JCDecaux open to bidding for U.S. peers but nothing planned: CEO PARIS (Reuters) - French outdoor advertising company JCDecaux (PA:JCDX) could consider bidding to take over U.S. competitors Clear Channel (N:CCO) or Outfront Media (N:OUT) but nothing is planned in the short term, its chief executive said on Saturday. A possible bid by the French group for one of its smaller U.S. rivals has been discussed for over a year although it had said there was not yet a reasonable price. Asked about potential acquisition projects for Clear Channel and Outfront Media, JCDecaux CEO Jean-Charles Decaux told finance weekly Les Echos-Investir: "Both could make sense but nothing is planned in the short term." "We have risen to the highest rank in all geographical areas except the United States, the world's largest advertising market, where we are number four. If we had to do a structurally important deal, it would probably be in the United States, which has the potential to become our top geographical area," he said. To fund a merger or acquisition the Decaux family, which owns 64 percent of the group, could take part in a capital increase but would keep a majority share. "We will be very picky, very vigilant, about the financial conditions. This must make sense operationally and strategically, but also from a financial point of view."
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "JCDX"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "CCO"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "OUT"
}
] |
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Investing
| 2018-03-25T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
South Korean firms hit by GM plant shutdown to get $37 million aid: cenbank SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's central bank said on Monday it would grant 40 billion won ($37 million) of aid to mid-to-small sized companies that are hit by the shutdown of a General Motor's (GM.N) plant. "There could be more aid if needed after monitoring the demand and overall impact on the local economy," said BOK in Monday's statement. South Korea began doing due diligence on GM Korea to decide whether to extend financial support to the loss-making operations of GM, after the U.S. automaker announced a restructuring of the unit and a closure of one of the plants. ($1 = 1,080.5000 won)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "GM"
}
] |
366
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Investing
| 2018-03-25T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Blackstone's Indiabulls deal includes two Mumbai office properties: sources MUMBAI (Reuters) - Blackstone Group (N:BX) is buying stakes in two major office properties in central Mumbai as part of a deal with Indiabulls Real Estate (NS:INRL), two sources with knowledge of the transaction said on Sunday. Indiabulls Real Estate said in a regulatory filing over the weekend that it had signed definitive agreements with entities controlled by Blackstone to "indirectly divest" 50 percent of two units at an aggregate enterprise value of about $1.46 billion but did not name the real estate assets. The sources, who declined to be named, told Reuters that Indiabulls Finance Centre and One Indiabulls Centre in central Mumbai were the assets in which Blackstone would take 50 percent stakes. The deal is expected to close before the end of the financial year in March, Indiabulls Real Estate said in the filing, adding that it would use a substantial part of the proceeds to repay debt. Blackstone, which is among the biggest real estate investors in India, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "BX"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "INRL"
}
] |
367
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Investing
| 2018-03-26T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Tenet wins investor Glenview's support for board nominations (Reuters) - Tenet Healthcare Corporation (N:THC) said on Monday it reached an agreement with its largest shareholder Glenview Capital Management to vote in favor of the hospital operator's board nominees. Hedge fund Glenview has nearly 18 percent stake and has withdrawn its proposal made in February to amend Tenet's bylaws that would allow shareholders to take action by written consent without a meeting, the company said. Last year, Glenview pulled off its two representatives from the board, citing "irreconcilable differences" over strategy. As part of the latest agreement, Tenet has revised the special meeting bylaw so that it can only be amended by a vote from majority shareholders, handing Glenview a greater say in the company. Tenet also added it would hold an annual shareholder meeting at least once every 13 months. The company plans to hold a meeting in early May, according to a regulatory filing.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "THC"
}
] |
368
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Investing
| 2018-03-26T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
LVMH's Vuitton taps Off-White's Virgil Abloh to design menswear PARIS (Reuters) - LVMH's (PA:LVMH) Louis Vuitton brand, the biggest revenue driver at the French luxury goods group, said on Monday it had hired Virgil Abloh, the founder of streetwear label Off-White, to design its menswear collections. Abloh takes over from Kim Jones, who was last week named as the new designer of menswear at Christian Dior, another LVMH label. Abloh's first men's collection for Vuitton will be presented in June, the firm said. The overhaul at Dior and Vuitton coincides with reshuffles elsewhere at LVMH, as billionaire boss Bernard Arnault seeks to breathe new life into some labels and lift others to a new level by expanding product lines.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "LVMH"
}
] |
369
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Investing
| 2018-03-26T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Advertisers look to online ads for brand growth: Zenith (Reuters) - Money spent on online advertising has risen rapidly, a leading forecaster said, despite talk about firms trimming digital ad budgets as they question the medium's effectiveness. Zenith, owned by France's Publicis (PA:PUBP), forecast that advertisers would spend 40.2 percent of their budgets on online campaigns this year, higher than 37.6 percent in 2017. "For many consumers, checking their mobile devices for social media has become a regular, ingrained habit, while social media ads blend seamlessly into their mobile app newsfeeds," Zenith said in a statement. Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook (O:FB) is often credited with spearheading the social media revolution that has gripped billions of users globally. However, the world's largest social media network faces government scrutiny in Europe and the United States following allegations by a whistleblower that British consultancy Cambridge Analytica improperly accessed users' information. Global advertising expenditure is forecast to expand by 4.6 percent in 2018 to $579 billion, helped by improved economic growth in China and Argentina. The new projection marks the biggest quarterly upgrade since March 2011 by Zenith, which had forecast 4.1 percent growth in December. [nL8N1O41AI] Zenith added that it expected advertising expenditure to grow more slowly than the global economy as a whole out to 2020. Zenith forecast that global advertising spending would rise by $77 billion between 2017 and 2020. The United States, the world's largest economy, would contribute the most to this additional outlay - 26 percent, with China ranked second. A notable development in China is that television has fought back against strong competition from online video and no longer loses ad spend, which it did in 2014, 2015 and 2017, Zenith said. In the Middle East and North Africa, a fall in oil prices in 2014 prompted advertisers to pare budgets in anticipation of lower consumer demand. Political turmoil and conflict have worsened, further shaking advertisers' confidence in the region, Zenith said. The forecaster estimates a 6.2 percent fall in ad spend this year in the region. Zenith forecast 8.8 percent annual growth to 2020 in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, which were hurt by the Ukraine conflict in 2014, foreign sanctions on Russia and the drop in oil prices.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "PUBP"
}
] |
370
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Tesla bonds, stock plunge on probe and downgrade By Davide Scigliuzzo NEW YORK (IFR) - Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) saw its bonds and stocks fall sharply Tuesday on a double-dose of bad news: a downgrade from Moody's and word of an investigation into the fatal crash of one of its vehicles. The electric car company's outstanding junk bond, a 5.3% 2025 deal that priced in August 2017, hit its lowest-ever level of 89 cents on the dollar, according to data from MarketAxess. It was already at its previous low of 91 cents in the afternoon before Moody's announced it had lowered Tesla's corporate rating one notch to B3. The rating agency cited the "significant shortfall" in the production rate of its Model 3 sedan, whose rollout the US$1.8bn bond issue was largely intended to finance. Moody's warned it could downgrade the company further if Tesla falls behind the updated production targets for the car, and changed the outlook on Tesla to negative from stable. It also lowered the rating of the junk bond to Caa1, becoming the first agency to push the debt into the lowest rungs of ratings above default. Moody's said Tesla will need to raise more than US$2bn of capital in the near term to cover its heavy cash burn and US$1.2bn of convertible debt maturities through early 2019. S&P rates the company B-, a level on a par with the new Moody's B3 rating. The downgrade hit at the end of a trading session that had seen Tesla's stock fall 8.2% to US$279.18 per share after the National Transportation Safety Board said it would investigate the fatal crash of a Tesla vehicle in California last week. The stock plunge wiped approximately US$4.2bn off of Tesla's market capitalization. Tesla stock was trading at more than US$357 per share when the company sold its junk bond last year. That bond is expected to be the first of several in coming years, as the company switches away from equity issuance to fund its ambitious growth plans. But it has faced significant delays in scaling up production of its Model 3 electric vehicle.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "TSLA"
}
] |
371
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Chicago can pursue part of Wells Fargo predatory lending case By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) - A federal judge significantly narrowed but refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) & Co, the third-largest U.S. bank, of predatory mortgage lending targeting black and Hispanic borrowers in the Chicago area. U.S. District Judge Gary Feinerman ruled on Monday that Illinois' Cook County, which includes Chicago, may pursue federal Fair Housing Act claims against Wells Fargo, to the extent the bank's alleged "equity stripping" practices boosted the cost of administering and processing a higher number of foreclosures. But Feinerman dismissed claims alleging harm from lost property taxes, the need to combat crime and blight, racial segregation and other factors, calling them "ripples" that "flow far beyond" Wells Fargo's alleged misconduct. He pointed to a May 2017 U.S. Supreme Court decision, involving similar claims by the city of Miami against Wells Fargo and Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), allowing cities to pursue FHA claims so long as they could establish a "direct" link between the alleged misconduct and the resulting harm. The lawsuit began in November 2014, nearly two years before San Francisco-based Wells Fargo began facing broad denunciations and a series of probes by regulators and politicians into its opening of unauthorized accounts and treatment of customers. Cook County accused Wells Fargo of steering minority borrowers into loans they could not afford, resulting in higher fees, defaults and foreclosures than for white borrowers, and rewarding employees with bonuses for offering such loans. "While the court has allowed the lawsuit to proceed, we are encouraged by the fact that it has significantly limited the scope of the allowable claims," Wells Fargo spokesman Tom Goyda said in an email on Tuesday. "We are prepared to defend our record as a fair and responsible lender." Cook County has a population of about 5.2 million, of whom about 2.7 million live in Chicago. Lawyers for the county did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Other U.S. cities have brought predatory lending cases against major banks, among which are Baltimore, Cleveland, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. The case is County of Cook, Illinois v. Wells Fargo & Co et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, No. 14-09548.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BAC"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "WFC"
}
] |
372
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Saudi Arabia to sign memorandum with Boeing to support fleet By Joshua Franklin NEW YORK (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with U.S. planemaker Boeing Co (N:BA) to provide support and training to the kingdom's fleet on an upcoming visit to Seattle, the chairman of the state-owned military industrial company said on Tuesday. Part of an effort to localize 50 percent of its military industry by 2030, Ahmed Al Khateeb of Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) said Saudi Arabia is talking with major U.S. companies about their presence in the kingdom. "We have been in dialogue with them to expand their business in Saudi Arabia. We will sign an MoU with Boeing in our visit to Seattle," Khateeb told Reuters on the sidelines of the 2018 Saudi U.S.-CEO Forum in New York. "Hopefully we will be announcing other MoUs with other big American companies," said Khateeb, who is also chairman of the General Entertainment Authority. Saudi Arabia's crown prince is leading a whistle-stop visit to the United States and on Friday is scheduled to travel to the U.S. West Coast.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "BA"
}
] |
373
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Thomson Reuters reports UK gender pay gap of 16.95 percent LONDON (Reuters) - Thomson Reuters (N:TRI) (TO:TRI), one of the world's biggest news and information companies, on Tuesday reported a mean gender pay gap for its British legal entities of 16.95 percent and a mean bonus gap of 50.52 percent. Thousands of large UK employers have been ordered to disclose their gender pay gaps by April, almost 50 years on from the passage of Britain's equal pay act. "At Thomson Reuters, we believe the strongest workforce is the most diverse workforce; the most competitive in the global economy," said Mark Sandham, senior vice president and chief operating officer for human resources at Thomson Reuters. "We will continue to champion gender equality and look forward to continuing to measure progress," he said in a report. The data was combined for all of its British legal entities. Thomson Reuters said men occupied 71 percent of its senior leadership roles. "The bonus gap is also impacted by the senior leadership profile as these roles attract long term financial incentives which are included in the bonus gap calculations," Thomson Reuters said. At Thomson Reuters Professional UK Limited, the mean pay gap was 2.43 percent while at Reuters Limited the mean pay gap was 20.23 percent. The respective mean bonus gaps were 51 percent and 40.96 percent. Thomson Reuters, controlled by Canada's Thomson family, is the parent of Reuters News.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "TRI"
}
] |
374
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
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In China payment war, Walmart places bet on Tencent BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Walmart (NYSE:WMT) Inc has placed a bet on Tencent Holdings Ltd's mobile payment system, giving the tech giant a boost in its battle with Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd for pole position in China's fast-growing payments market. Walmart, the world's largest retailer, on Tuesday said it had dropped Alibaba-linked Alipay in all its stores in the western region of the country, after agreeing a tie-up with Tencent to use its popular WeChat payment system. The move underscores how China's retail market is dividing into two camps around Alibaba and Tencent, tech behemoths worth a combined $1 trillion who are shaking up the online and offline retail market. The two firms, who have spent billions of dollars on retail deals since the start of last year, dominate the country's third-party mobile payment market. Alibaba-linked Alipay leads the field, with Tencent's WeChat Pay catching up fast. Chinese consumers - and retailers - often have both Alipay and WeChat, which can be used to pay for shopping online or in physical stores by scanning QR codes with a smartphone. Alibaba is China's top e-commerce player, while Tencent is strong in social media and gaming and has - along with Walmart - a major stake in number two online retailer JD.com Inc. A Walmart spokeswoman said the firm had entered into a "partnership" with WeChat Pay in western China, which was a "business decision" to improve customer experience. The Western China region is a large area including provinces like Sichuan, Yunnan and Gansu. It is, however, more sparsely populated than the wealthier eastern part of the country. "In the future, Walmart will cooperate with more partners to provide payment solutions with more convenience and benefits," she said in emailed comments, adding the firm accepted payment methods including cash, cards and mobile payments. Tencent said it welcomed Walmart's decision and would push forward with plans to help support vendors with digital tools in the "smart retail" arena. Alibaba and Alipay declined to comment. The Walmart move comes after Tencent and Alibaba have between them splashed over $10 billion on retail-focused deals, boosting their reach offline and meaning few brick-and-mortar sellers are left without an allegiance to one or the other.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "WMT"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "BABA"
}
] |
375
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Heineken pulls beer ad after Chance the Rapper complains of racism LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Beer maker Heineken (AS:HEIN) said on Tuesday it had withdrawn an ad for a calorie-light beer after musician Chance the Rapper called the commercial "terribly racist." In the latest example of a company misjudging its marketing, Heineken said it was pulling the video ad for Heineken Light from all global markets. "While we feel the ad is referencing our Heineken Light beer, we missed the mark, are taking the feedback to heart and will use this to influence future campaigns," the company said in a statement. The video commercial, with the tagline "Sometimes, Lighter is Better" showed a bartender sliding a bottle of Heineken Light past a number of people of color, before it reaches a light-skinned woman. The decision to withdraw followed Twitter comments by Chicago-born Chance the Rapper that gained a wide social media following. "I think some companies are purposely putting out noticably racist ads so they can get more views. "I gotta just say tho. The “sometimes lighter is better” Heineken commercial is terribly racist omg," the Grammy-winning singer tweeted on Sunday. The "Coloring Book" singer said he was not advocating a boycott, adding "im just noticing how often it happens." Heineken said in its statement that it had a long and "positive track record for creating marketing that shows there’s more that unites us than divides us." It says its Heineken Light beer has just 99 calories. Several companies have suffered accusations of racism in recent advertising. In January, fashion company H&M apologized for a poster that showed a black child modeling a hoodie that had the words "coolest monkey in the jungle" on the front. Last year, Pepsi pulled an ad featuring American model Kendall Jenner after complaints that it trivialized civil rights protests by Black Lives Matter, and beauty product maker Dove apologized for a video that appeared to show a black woman turning into a white woman after using its soap.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "HEIN"
}
] |
376
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
BMW shares hit by report of U.S. lawsuit LONDON (Reuters) - Shares in BMW (DE:BMWG) reduced gains sharply on Tuesday with traders pointing to a Bloomberg report saying the German carmaker was being sued for installing "defeat devices" in U.S. diesel cars. Citing a complaint filed on Tuesday in New Jersey federal court, the report said drivers of "tens of thousands" of X5 and 335D model diesel cars built between 2009 and 2011 sued BMW and its technology supplier, alleging they installed algorithms designed to manipulate testing systems. BMW had no immediate comment. Its shares were last up 0.7 percent, underperforming the broader autos (SXAP) index which was rising 1.2 percent.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BMWG"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "SXAP"
}
] |
377
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Goldman Sachs Adds Cisco Systems to Its Conviction List Investing.com - A dot com era dynamo is back in favor on Wall Street.Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) has added Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO) to the firm's conviction list, saying it expects the networking giant to "deliver significant shareholder returns" thanks to the recent cut in corporate taxes. The firm also raised its 12-month stock-price target from $51 to $54 a share, the highest among Wall Street firms. A half dozen other firms raised their stock-price targets a month ago when Cisco beat earnings expectations.Cisco has increased both its stock buyback plan and quarterly dividend since the tax cut became law late last year.Goldman also likes Cisco as a defensive play in an increasingly volatile market.The stock is now at a 17-year high. It's up 25% in the past 12-months and more than 10% in 2018.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "CSCO"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "GS"
}
] |
378
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
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BMW faces U.S. class action lawsuit over emissions FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German carmaker BMW (DE:BMWG) faces a class-action lawsuit filed in a New Jersey court on Tuesday for alleged emissions cheating on diesel vehicles including its X5 and 330d models. "BMW's representations were misleading for failure to disclose its emissions manipulations," the suit, which was filed in the United States District Court of New Jersey, said. The suit was filed by law firms Steve W Berman from Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP, and James E. Cecchi from Carella, Byrne, Cecchi, Olstein, Brody & Agnello, the filings show. BMW's X5 model built between 2009 and 2013, and the BMW330d model, which was sold between 2009-2011, emit levels of nitrogen oxide "many times higher than their gasoline counterparts" the suit alleges. "The vehicles' promised power, fuel economy, and efficiency are obtained only by turning off or turning down emission controls when the software in these vehicles senses that they are not in an emissions testing environment," the suit said. BMW was not immediately available for comment but has said in the past it did not use illegal defeat devices. Software management programs to manage emissions are not illegal unless they are designed specifically to evade pollution tests, or unless a carmaker fails to disclose their existence. Shares in BMW reduced gains sharply earlier on Tuesday with traders pointing to a Bloomberg report saying the German carmaker was being sued for installing "defeat devices" in U.S. diesel cars.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "BMWG"
}
] |
379
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
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U.S. weighing emergency laws to prevent Chinese takeovers: Bloomberg (Reuters) - The Trump administration is mulling a crackdown on Chinese investments in technologies that the U.S. considers sensitive by employing a law reserved for national emergencies, among other options, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, enacted in 1977, allows the president to declare a national emergency in response to an "unusual and extraordinary threat." After declaring such an emergency, the president can block transactions and seize assets. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trump blocked a potential takeover of Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Inc by Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) Ltd, citing national security concerns. The U.S. government and the Treasury department were not immediately available for comments.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "QCOM"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "AVGO"
}
] |
380
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Investing
| 2018-03-27T00:00:00
| 2,018
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Ex-Deutsche Telekom boss favourite to be next Airbus chairman: report BERLIN (Reuters) - Former Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) chief executive Rene Obermann is the favourite to take over as chairman at European aerospace company Airbus (PA:AIR), the Handelsblatt newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing German government and diplomatic sources. The newspaper said no formal decision had been taken about the post although it said the German and French governments, which each own an 11 percent stake in the company, were agreed that the two countries should divide up the two top jobs. The board of Airbus said last week it would nominate a new CEO at the end of the year to replace German-born Tom Enders. The main internal candidate is Guillaume Faury, the Frenchman who took over as planemaking boss last month. Airbus declined to comment. The mandate of the current chairman - Denis Ranque - runs until the annual general meeting in 2020. Obermann, who served as CEO of Deutsche Telekom from 2006 to 2013, is a partner at private equity firm Warburg Pincus. Handelsblatt said he was seen as an ideal candidate because he has experience running a company with state involvement, noting he also has an excellent reputation in France, where he was awarded a legion of honour.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "AIR"
},
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "DTEGn"
}
] |
381
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
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JPMorgan Chase Says Lock In Tech Profits As U.S., China Spar Over Trade Investing.com - JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) is warning investors about tech stocks as the U.S. and China square off over trade.In a note to clients, the firm said that "the adverse trade impact could be material" and put tech stocks "under pressure."Trade tensions soared last week after the Trump administration said it would impose tariffs on some $60 billion of Chinese goods, a move that prompted Beijing to say it may retaliate with tariffs on more than 100 U.S. products. China has since said it is willing to hold talks to resolve the issues.JPMorgan advises investors to lock in profits after "years of outperformance", adding "tech valuations are no longer attractive."Tech stocks have surged during the nine-year bull run, outperforming the broader market. They were also the hardest hit in last week's Wall Street selloff, triggered by the U.S.-China trade row.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "JPM"
}
] |
382
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Tesla's tumbling stock has made short sellers $1.9 billion in less than a month That would be short sellers, or investors betting on Tesla's stock price to fall. They raked in a whopping $749 million on Tuesday alone, as the company's shares plummeted 8.2%, after analysts questioned the company's ability to hit production targets for its Model 3 sedan. (Note: JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) has identified the perfect Tesla trade to protect against Model 3 "production hell," which you can read about here.) Tuesday's decline brought the mark-to-market profit for short sellers to $1.86 billion for the month of March, and their year-to-date haul up to $835 million, according to data compiled by financial analytics firm S3 Partners. Tesla's stock also felt pressure from the US National Transportation Safety Board's announcement that it's conducting a second investigation into a crash involving one of the company's vehicle. Further, Waymo's newly revealed electric car partnership with Jaguar also put a damper on Tesla trading. It served as a triple whammy of sorts for Tesla, which fell another 3.5% on Wednesday following a downgrade from rating agency Moody's. It also means more profits for short sellers, assuming they didn't close positions during Tuesday's selloff. These developments are sure to irk Musk, Tesla's chief executive officer, who has forged a combative relationship over time with those betting against his company's shares. In a Rolling Stone profile from 2017, Musk called Tesla short sellers "jerks who want us to die" and described their behavior as "hurtful." It echoed a tweet Musk fired off on June 8 in which he said the group of investors "want us to die so bad they can taste it." In early April, after a period of considerable stock strength, the CEO even went as far as to taunt Tesla's detractors, tweeting, "Stormy weather in Shortville." Unfortunately for Musk, his company's share loss on Tuesday makes Tesla the most profitable short in the US market, according to S3 — something that's sure to entice other investors to enter the trade.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "JPM"
}
] |
383
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
CME Group in advanced talks to buy Britain's NEX for $5.4 billion By Justin George Varghese and Parikshit Mishra (Reuters) - U.S. exchange operator CME Group (O:CME) is in advanced talks to buy Britain's NEX Group (L:NXGN) for about 3.8 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) to create a cross-border trading powerhouse. NEX, formerly known as ICAP, said on Wednesday that CME Group had made a takeover proposal of 10 pounds per share, a premium of around 3 percent to the stock's closing price. Talks with CME - one of the world's biggest exchange groups that owns the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - are at an advanced stage, NEX Group added in a statement after the market close. NEX, a financial technology company that matches buyers and sellers of bonds, swaps and currencies, said there was no certainty an offer would be made. NEX shares closed 9.8 percent higher at 972 pence. The stock has risen more than 40 percent over the last two years as market volatility triggered by political surprises - such as the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and Britain's vote to leave the European Union, fuelled trading on its platforms. Attempts at blockbuster exchange mergers, such as between the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Deutsche Boerse (DE:DB1Gn), have hit antitrust buffers in recent years, and buying NEX could be easier for regulators and politicians to accept. CME Group closed two operations in London last year after they ran up losses of more than $100 million, saying its customers preferred using its U.S. operations. ($1 = 0.7089 pounds)
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "DB1Gn"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "NXGN"
},
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "CME"
}
] |
384
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
UBS begins global wealth management shift by merging teams By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi ZURICH (Reuters) - UBS (S:UBSG) has begun adopting a unified global wealth management structure by merging teams responsible for its private banking products. The world's largest wealth manager said in January it would combine its businesses servicing American and international clients into one global division. UBS is now combining the regional teams responsible for managing products and services related to alternative investments, investment mandates and partnerships, an internal memo seen by Reuters and confirmed by the bank said. "We are confident that our new set-up will enable us to capture the many new opportunities that our worldwide wealth management business offers," Jason Chandler and Christian Wiesendanger, who jointly lead wealth management's Investment Platforms and Solutions (IPS), told UBS employees on Tuesday. Wiesendanger and Chandler were named global co-heads of IPS a year ago, in a move that presaged the merger of Wealth Management Americas and the separate international Wealth Management unit which took effect in February. While the North American and international wealth management businesses will maintain distinct business models, with the United States continuing to service clients through a brokerage model, the Swiss-based bank said the unification would better serve ultra-wealthy clients while cutting costs. By combining IPS reporting lines, UBS hopes to give clients access to its full product suite across wealth management. Jerry Pascucci — hitherto alternative investments head in America — will lead the global alternatives team offering hedge fund and private market investments, including investments in private equity, real estate and impact investment, with effect from April, according to the memo. Roman Berri and Jake Elmhirst will assume responsibility for private markets and hedged strategies respectively out of Zurich and London. UBS will also align its mandates business under global investment management head Bruno Marxer and expand offerings in the United States through a new American subdivision. A global partnerships team under Greg Toskos will provide a single contact point for third-party partners as well as the bank's asset management and investment banking divisions.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "UBSG"
}
] |
385
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Volkswagen unveils concept pickup truck at New York auto show By David Shepardson NEW YORK (Reuters) - Volkswagen AG (DE:VOWG_p) unveiled a prototype pickup truck at the New York auto show on Wednesday, a vehicle that would fill a gap in the German company's U.S. product lineup in what is one of the most profitable segments of the American market. The German automaker said the dual-cab, short-bed concept Volkswagen Atlas Tanoak pickup truck could be built off the same platform at its Chattanooga, Tennessee assembly plant, where it builds the Atlas SUV and Passat car. Volkswagen said it does not currently have production plans for a U.S. pickup but "is keen to gauge the reactions of buyers and media, since pickup trucks are one of the biggest volume segments in the U.S." The vehicle could compete with pickups like the Honda Ridgeline, executives said. “We want to be a relevant player in this market. We want to definitely be a full-line automaker,” said Hinrich Woebcken, chief executive of the North American region for the VW, told reporters Tuesday in New York. “We want to be more American.” Pickups accounted for about 16 percent of U.S. auto sales in 2017 and the best-selling vehicle is Ford Motor (NYSE:F) Co's F-Series pickup trucks. VW sells the Amarok pickup truck in Europe and other markets but not in the United States, where it faces a 25 percent import tariff. VW last sold a pickup truck in the United States in the mid-1980s. The Tanoak, named after a species of tree that is native to the United States' Pacific Coast, is 214.1 inches long, some 15.8 inches longer than the Atlas, which makes it a large midsize pickup by U.S. standards. Last week, VW announced it plans to invest $340 million to build a new sport utility vehicle in its Tennessee plant as demand surges for larger vehicles. The vehicle will be a five-passenger SUV that will be branded as part of the company’s Atlas family and go on sale next year. A concept version called the Atlas Cross Sport Concept was unveiled Tuesday night ahead of the auto show. The investment announcement is positive news for the U.S. car industry at a time when it is bracing for the impact of higher steel and aluminum tariffs. VW said in February that 54 percent of its total own-brand volume sales were SUVs - a big shift for a company that for years largely emphasized cars in the United States. In addition to a seven-passenger Atlas, which went on sale last year, VW unveiled an all-new 2018 Tiguan SUV last year.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "F"
},
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "VOWG_p"
}
] |
386
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Berlin declines to comment on reports Deutsche Bank seeking new CEO BERLIN (Reuters) - The German government on Wednesday declined to comment on reports that lender Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) has begun searching for a new chief executive. "Deutsche Bank is a private company. I'll therefore refrain here from doing any speculation...," government spokesman Steffen Seibert said during a news conference. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank's chairman of the board, Paul Achleitner, is looking for a new CEO to replace John Cryan as investors grow frustrated with the slow turnaround of the loss-making German lender.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "ambiguous",
"ticker": "DBKGn"
}
] |
387
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Deutsche Bank reviews structure of investment bank: source FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn) is conducting a global review of its investment bank that could result in cost cuts, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday. The review, known internally as Project Colombo, will result in recommendations that could identify further job cuts but could also include the exit or strengthening of certain activities, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The study is focused especially on the bank's trading activities in the United States, the person said. The German lender, in the throes of a major restructuring, has been under pressure from investors to trim costs. The bank said earlier this month that it was behind in its cost-cutting objectives. The review follows news on Tuesday that Deutsche Bank has begun the search for a new chief executive to replace John Cryan, who has come under fire from investors after the bank reported three consecutive years of losses. Bloomberg first reported the investment bank review earlier on Wednesday.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "DBKGn"
}
] |
388
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
UK car output falls in February as domestic demand slumps LONDON (Reuters) - British car production fell 4.4 percent in February, dragged down by the seventh consecutive monthly decline in domestic demand as sales in Europe's second biggest car market continue to slump, an industry body said on Thursday. Factories churned out 145,475 vehicles last month, according to data from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). "Another month of double-digit decline in production for the UK is of considerable concern, but we hope that the degree of certainty provided by last week's Brexit transition agreement will help stimulate business and consumer confidence over the coming months," said SMMT Chief Executive Mike Hawes. London and Brussels agreed a deal which will see Britain retain free and unfettered trade with the European Union until at least the end of 2020 - 21 months after it formally leaves the EU - although trading arrangements after that date are subject to future talks. The SMMT has called on Prime Minister Theresa May to secure a long-term agreement that maintains Britain's competitiveness, since several investment decisions loom in the next 12 months. Peugeot (PA:PEUP) will decide whether to keep open its Vauxhall Ellesmere Port plant with new model investment, while Britain's biggest automaker Jaguar Land Rover (NS:TAMO) is due to choose whether to build electric cars in its home market.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "PEUP"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "TAMO"
}
] |
389
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
GM Korea to ask GM to roll over debt, cut interest rate: source SEOUL (Reuters) - General Motors' (N:GM) South Korean unit plans to ask its U.S. headquarters to roll over a debt of 988 billion won ($929.1 million) owed by the loss-making unit and coming due in April, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. GM Korea also plans to ask GM to cut interest rates on loans extended to the South Korean operation, the source said. The plans were approved by GM Korea's board late on Wednesday, he said. The move comes after GM, which in February announced plans to shut down one of its factories in South Korea, warned that it would run out of cash in the first quarter. GM said on Monday its South Korea unit would file for bankruptcy if its union did not agree to cut labor costs by April 20, heaping pressure on workers and the South Korean government to swiftly agree to a rescue plan. A GM Korea spokesman said GM Korea held a board meeting on Wednesday, but he was not aware of decisions made at the meeting. In February, GM also agreed to grant temporary relief in repaying a 720 billion won debt coming due that month, the person said. GM has lent its South Korean unit about $2.7 billion, charging interest of about 5 percent a year, GM Korea’s latest regulatory filing shows.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "GM"
}
] |
390
|
Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
CEO says committed to Deutsche Bank amid reports of successor search FRANKFURT (Reuters) - John Cryan, the chief executive of Deutsche Bank (DE:DBKGn), said in a memo to staff on Wednesday he was "absolutely committed" to the lender, a day after Reuters and other news organizations reported the bank was searching for a new boss. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday that Germany's flagship bank had begun looking for a new CEO, as investors grow frustrated with the slow turnaround of the loss-making lender. "Once again we are the subject of widespread rumours," Cryan said in the memo, posted on the bank's website. "I just wanted to reaffirm that I am absolutely committed to serving our bank and to continuing down the path on which we started some three years ago." In his memo, Cryan said earnings "have so far not been what all of us would want them to be," but that the bank needed to stay on task. "We need to focus on executing on the strategy that was agreed and signed off by both the management and supervisory boards. There is no difference of opinion here," he said. The sources told Reuters that Paul Achleitner, chairman of the board, had initiated the search to replace Cryan, the British CEO who has been in office less than three years. Cryan cited in the memo the recent initial public offering of the bank's asset management unit as "the obvious and most illustrative recent example of a key milestone of success." Cryan has been criticized for falling behind in cutting costs. Deutsche Bank is conducting a global review of its investment bank that could result in cost cuts, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "exclude",
"ticker": "DBKGn"
}
] |
391
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Investing
| 2018-03-28T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Activist signs pact to replace most of Retelit board, keep chairman, CEO MILAN, LONDON (Reuters) - Activist firm Shareholder Value Management (SVM) has signed a pact with top investor Bousval in Italian telecoms infrastructure group Retelit to elect a new board next month but keep the current chairman and chief executive officer. The pact represents 24.36 percent of Retelit's capital after SVM, which holds 9.99 percent through a fund it advises, teamed up with Bousval, the single biggest investor with a 14.37 percent stake, a document on the company's website showed. "Retelit has a very interesting opportunity to become a platform for industry consolidation and the candidates we propose bring a wealth of M&A expertise to the table," Gianluca Ferrari (NYSE:RACE), director at SVM, told Reuters, explaining the planned board changes. SVM, which manages 3 billion euros in assets, said the shareholders intend to re-appoint chairman Dario Pardi and CEO Federico Protto. "Over the past three years, the current executive team has performed beyond our expectations and we are confident that they are the right people to lead the company towards its ambitious 2022 targets." Shareholders in Retelit will meet to pick a new board on April 27.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "RACE"
}
] |
392
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Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Constellation Brands results beat on higher demand for Mexican beers (Reuters) - Constellation Brands Inc (N:STZ) reported fourth-quarter sales and profit on Thursday above Wall Street estimates, driven by strong demand for high margin Corona and Modelo beers and expensive wines such as Meiomi. The boost in demand for Mexican beers is a result of a growing Hispanic population, a demography the company has been focusing on to widen its consumer base. The strategy helped the company's sales beat estimates for the third straight year. The Hispanic population is the second-fastest growing ethnic group in the United States and accounted for 18 percent of the total population in 2016, according to Pew Research Centre. Beer sales, which accounted for about 77 percent of the net sales in the quarter, rose nearly 12 percent to $997.2 million. Net sales rose 8.5 percent to $1.77 billion in the quarter, beating the analysts' estimate of $1.75 billion that the maker of Robert Mondavi wines and SVEDKA vodka was expected to generate. To cater to the rising demand, Constellation, which imports most of its beers from Mexico, said it would spend $900 million in 2019 to expand capacity of its breweries in Ciudad Oberon that lies south of the border. Constellation shares rose 3 percent on Thursday after the company said it would pay its Class A and Class B shareholders a 42 percent hike in dividend. The stock is one of the top-performers compared with its peers over the past 12-months, rising nearly 40 percent. The company is also on a drive to "premiumize" its portfolio and has added Craft beers such as Funky Buddha and Napa Valley winery Schrader Cellars, which sells wines for as much as $250 a bottle. Constellation on Thursday forecast fiscal 2019 comparable earnings per share to be between $9.40 and $9.70. The mid-point was marginally below the Street's estimate of $9.58. However, analysts said the company's forecasts are often conservative and are updated through the year. Net income attributable to the company more than doubled to $925.5 million, or $4.64 per Class A share, in the quarter ended Feb.28, helped by a $363 million gain due to changes in the U.S. tax law. Excluding items, the Victor, New-York based company earned $1.90 per share, beating the average analyst estimate of $1.74 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "STZ"
}
] |
393
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Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
JPMorgan Chase Sees Buying Opportunity, Rally Coming Investing.com - JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) has some classic advice for investors: buy the dip because a rally lies ahead.In a note to clients, the Wall Street firm said investors have over-reacted to what it calls a series of "negative narratives"-- an inflation scare, a hawkish Fed, rising bond yields and rising budget deficits.JPMorgan thinks the market is bound to rise on strong fundamentals and positive forces such as the tax cut package. The firm reiterated its 12-month, stock-price target of 3,000 for the S&P 500.The bull market in stocks, which turned 9 years old in March, just suffered its second 10% correction in less than two months.Another Wall Street firm, Stifel, recently warned investors that a bear market will hit in the next year.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "JPM"
}
] |
394
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Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Ford CEO Jim Hackett earned $16.3 million as profit dropped By Nick Carey DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (N:F) Chief Executive Officer Jim Hackett earned salary, bonus and stock awards of $16.3 million in 2017, while adjusted pretax profit for the automaker dropped $1.9 billion from 2016, the company said on Thursday. Including pensions and perks, Hackett, who took the helm of the No. 2 U.S. automaker in May, made $16.7 million. His predecessor Mark Fields earned around $15 million in salary, bonus and stock awards in 2017, with a total compensation package of around $21 million. That brought total CEO compensation to about $37 million during a year in which the company earned a pretax profit $8.4 billion, down from $10.3 billion in 2016. Hackett was abruptly named as CEO in response to investors' growing unease about the U.S. automaker’s slumping stock price and its ability to counter threats from longtime automotive rivals and upstarts in Silicon Valley. Hackett overhauled furniture maker Steelcase Inc (N:SCS), and then as University of Michigan athletic director turned around the storied but ailing Big 10 football program. He is the latest in a line of non-family CEOs brought in with a mandate to change the management culture at one of the auto industry’s oldest institutions. Earlier this month, Ford disclosed ambitious plans to shift the product portfolio from passenger cars to SUVs, add more hybrid and pure electric vehicles, and reduce development and manufacturing costs. The moves are aimed at boosting profits and share price. Ford and the rest of the U.S. auto industry face declining sales. New vehicle sales fell 2 percent in 2017 after hitting an all-time high of 17.55 million units in 2016. Sales are expected to fall further in 2018 despite a strong economy due to rising interest rates. New vehicle sales also face a challenge from millions of cheaper, nearly-new off-lease models returning to dealer lots. Ford also said Thursday that Executive Chairman Bill Ford, 59, received a salary, bonus and stock awards totaling $13 million in 2017, up 17 percent from 2016. His pension award fell about 14 percent to $1.2 million. The automaker's shares closed up 2 percent at $11.08 on Thursday. Year to date, Ford's shares are down 10 percent. Last month Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (N:FCAU) (MI:FCHA) said CEO Sergio Marchionne received $11.9 million (9.7 million euros) in pay and benefits for 2017.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "F"
},
{
"sentiment": null,
"ticker": "SCS"
}
] |
395
|
Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Bank of America to add Merrill Edge offices, advisers (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC) said on Thursday it will grow its wealth management offering for mainstream investors by opening 600 new Merrill Edge centers and adding 300 new brokers in the next two years. Merrill Edge is a division of the bank that serves clients with $250,000 or less. Launched in 2010, the division now has $184.5 billion in assets under management and 2.4 million accounts. The new brokers, called financial solutions advisers, will bring the total to roughly 4,000. The 600 new Merrill Edge offices will be opened in existing Bank of America branches and new ones in cities like Cleveland, Indianapolis and Lexington, Kentucky. "Our goal is to serve our clients in ways most convenient to them, and we have both the brick and mortar and the digital presence to do that," Aron Levine, head of Merrill Edge, said in a statement.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "BAC"
}
] |
396
|
Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Goldman Sachs Turns Bullish On Gold Investing.com - Gold is looking good again to Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), which expects the precious metal to outperform in the coming months.Goldman says an rising inflation, interest rates hikes and the increased risk of a stock market correction all make gold a good bet.The firm said research shows that gold has outperformed in four of the past six tightening cycles.The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate a quarter of a percentage point last week and is widely expected to do so at least two more times this year. Goldman is among the few firms calling for four rate hikes this year.Gold has traded between $1,300 and $1,370 an ounce this year and is back near its 52-week high of late January. It's up 7.55% over the past 12 months.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "positive",
"ticker": "GS"
}
] |
397
|
Investing
| 2018-03-29T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
U.S. retail vacancies at 10 percent in first quarter: Reis (Reuters) - U.S. retail real estate vacancies was 10 percent in the first quarter of 2018, real estate research firm Reis Inc (O:REIS) said in a report. The rate has remained unchanged for the fourth straight quarter, despite the ongoing store closures, the report said. The vacancy rate was 9.9 percent a year earlier. On an annual basis, 32 of 77 primary metros had a higher vacancy rate in the first quarter, the report said. Net absorption for retail neighborhood and community centers, measured in terms of available retail space sold in the market during a certain time period, fell 83.7 percent to 453,000 square feet. Although many metros will face continued pressure in 2018 with Toys 'R' Us, Bon-Ton, Aerosoles and J. Crew closing stores, new occupants have filled a number of these spaces, according to the report. Only 712,000 square feet of new construction was completed in the quarter, a 74.4 percent drop from a year earlier. Asking rents per square foot for retail neighborhood and community centers rose 1.9 percent, while effective rent per square foot rose 2.1 percent, the real estate research firm said. The recently enacted Tax Reform and Jobs Act may improve discretionary income, providing a boost to consumer confidence and the overall retail sector, the report said.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "REIS"
}
] |
398
|
Investing
| 2018-03-30T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Amazon cuts ties with top Washington lobbying firms: Bloomberg (Reuters) - Online retailing behemoth Amazon.com Inc (O:AMZN) has cut ties with Washington lobbying firms Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP and Squire Patton Boggs, Bloomberg reported on Friday. The changes took place about a week before U.S. President Donald Trump accused Amazon in a tweet on Thursday of not paying enough tax, taking advantage of the U.S. postal system and putting small retailers out of business. Amazon had cut ties from the lobbying firms last Friday and in their place hired Paul Brathwaite of Federal Street Strategies LLC and Josh Holly of Holly Strategies Inc, both of whom have previously worked as outside lobbyists for Airbnb Inc and Oracle Corp (N:ORCL), the report said, citing a source. Neither of the parties were immediately available for comment outside regular business hours. The e-commerce giant employs about 15 lobbyists, according to earlier disclosures submitted to the U.S. Senate, with another 15 outside lobbying firms who each assign more lobbyists to work on behalf of the company. The retailer spent $15.4 million in 2017 on lobbying in Washington, up from $12 million a year earlier.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "ORCL"
},
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "AMZN"
}
] |
399
|
Investing
| 2018-04-02T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Tesla making 2,000 Model 3s per week: report (Reuters) - Tesla Inc (O:TSLA) will fall short of its 2,500 per week target for production of the crucial Model 3 sedan when it reports its numbers this week, according to a report by tech website Jalopnik, citing an email from Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk to employees. Musk told employees in a company-wide email on Monday that Tesla had just passed a rate of 2,000 per week, the report said. That was still a big increase from earlier production numbers and Tesla shares recovered some of Monday's heavy losses in reaction to the report. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "negative",
"ticker": "TSLA"
}
] |
400
|
Investing
| 2018-04-02T00:00:00
| 2,018
|
Transcontinental beefs up packaging business with $1.32 billion Coveris deal By Ahmed Farhatha (Reuters) - Transcontinental Inc (TO:TCLa) said it would buy the U.S. packaging business of Coveris Holdings S.A. for $1.32 billion (C$1.70 billion) as the Canadian publisher looks to join other top North American companies in the flexible packaging space. The deal almost matched Transcontinental's $1.52 billion market value as of Thursday's close and sent its shares up as much as 16 percent to a near 5-month high of C$29.49 on Monday. The plastics and packaging industry has been consolidating rapidly to cash in on the rising demand from ecommerce businesses, food and meat producers and automotive sector. Transcontinental has been bulking up its packaging assets while selling off newspapers amid a slowdown in the newsprint industry. In March, the company bought Chicago-based confectionary packager Multifilm Packaging Corp and in October it took over Les Industries Flexipak Inc in Quebec to expand its reach in eastern Canada. "We believe this transaction is entirely consistent with the company's transformation from printing to packaging as well as the desire to consummate a larger acquisition," RBC Capital Markets analyst Drew McReynolds wrote in a client note. As part of latest deal, Transcontinental will take control of privately held Coveris Americas's 21 production facilities that make rollstock, bags and pouches, shrink films and labels, among others. The U.S. unit of Coveris racked up $966 million in revenue in 2017, while Transcontinental's packaging business generated 15 percent of its total revenue of C$2.01 billion in fiscal 2017. Coveris, which would be left with 44 facilities in 14 countries after the sale, is planning to use the proceeds from the sale to pay off debt. Transcontinental would use both cash in hand and debt to finance the deal, which it believes, could save costs of about $20 million over the next two years. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. BMO Capital Markets and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC were the financial advisers to Transcontinental and Goldman Sachs & Co (NYSE:GS) LLC and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) Securities for Coveris Americas. The shares of the Montreal-based company were trading up 9.4 percent at C$27.83 in afternoon trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
|
[
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "GS"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "WFC"
},
{
"sentiment": "neutral",
"ticker": "TCLa"
}
] |
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