| Earnings rally pauses after GDP data Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks stalled on Friday after an earnings-driven rally was brought to a halt by weaker-than-expected economic growth in the first quarter. Amazon.com Inc's profit and sales beat expectation as North America Media revenue, including books, DVDs and music, rose 17 percent The stock jumped 14.8 percent to $224.12. Economic growth cooled more than forecast in the first quarter, the government reported, offsetting some market optimism but was not enough to turn equities around. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, while economists expected 2.5 percent. ...
|
| Consumer sentiment little changed in April Posted:  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer sentiment was little changed in April as Americans expected the economy to slowly improve, though they were less cheery about the state of their own finances, a survey released on Friday showed. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's final reading on the overall index on consumer sentiment inched up to 76.4 from 76.2 in March. The survey topped economists' forecasts for 75.7, which had been the preliminary figure reported in early April. ...
|
| First-quarter growth slows on inventories, weak business spending Posted:  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Economic growth cooled in the first quarter as businesses cut back on investment and restocked shelves at a slower pace, but stronger demand for automobiles softened the blow. Gross domestic product expanded at a 2.2 percent annual rate, the Commerce Department said on Friday in its advance estimate, moderating from the fourth quarter's 3 percent rate. While that was below economists' expectations for a 2. ...
|
| Amazon soars as digital sales boost margins Posted:  (Reuters) - Shares of Amazon.com Inc rose 14 percent on Friday morning, after the world's largest Internet retailer reported a surprise increase in gross margins, prompting a slew of price target increases by analysts. Amazon shares rose $27.43 to $223.47 on Nasdaq, the morning after it posted better-than-expected quarterly results as heavy spending and new products like the Kindle Fire began to pay off with sales of more digital content on the tablet. ...
|
| Spanish economy in "huge crisis" after credit downgrade Posted:  MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's sickly economy faces a "crisis of huge proportions", a minister said on Friday, as unemployment hit its highest level in almost two decades and Standard and Poor's downgraded the government's debt by two notches. Unemployment shot up to 24 percent in the first quarter, one of the worst jobless figures in the developed world. Retail sales slumped for the twenty-first consecutive month as a recession cuts into consumer spending. "The figures are terrible for everyone and terrible for the government ... ...
|
| Chevron profit rises 4 percent, even as production falls Posted:  (Reuters) - Chevron Corp, the second-largest U.S. oil company, reported a slightly higher-than-expected quarterly profit as rising oil prices and refining margins made up for a decline in oil and gas production. Chevron shares slipped 0.2 percent in early trading, though that was better than the 1 percent decline for larger rival Exxon Mobil Corp on Thursday after it produced weaker-than-expected earnings due to a drop in oil and gas output. Chevron's first-quarter profit rose to $6.47 billion, or $3.27 per share, from $6.21 billion, or $3.09 per share, a year earlier. ...
|
| Italy's 10-yr debt costs climb towards 6 percent at key sale Posted: MILAN (Reuters) - Italy's borrowing costs rose to 5.84 percent at a benchmark 10-year bond auction on Friday, their highest level since January, after a credit ratings cut for Spain overnight added to markets' concerns about the debt of weaker euro zone countries. The two-notch downgrade by rating agency Standard & Poor's weighed on euro zone bond markets ahead of the Italian sale, further increasing the cost the Treasury had to shoulder to sell 5.95 billion euros in bonds. ... |
| Nokia suffers second cut to "junk" as S&P downgrades Posted: HELSINKI/LONDON (Reuters) - Cellphone maker Nokia Oyj had its credit rating cut to "junk" status by ratings agency Standard & Poor's on Friday, its second downgrade to non-investment grade status this week as the company battles falling sales and doubts over its product strategy. ... |
| Weak developed markets, pricing woes hurt P&G Posted:  (Reuters) - Procter & Gamble Co cut its profit outlook for the year on Friday as weakness in developed markets, more attractive pricing by competitors, and the need to slash prices in Venezuela pressured margins as it overhauled its business. The world's largest household products maker also continues to feel the pinch of higher costs for commodities such as diesel fuel, alcohol and chemicals, and is working on a new restructuring plan. Shares of P&G, which makes Pampers diapers and Gillette razors, fell 3.2 percent to $64.75 on the New York Stock Exchange. ...
|
| Credit Suisse and Barclays investors revolt over pay Posted:  LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - More than a quarter of shareholders at Credit Suisse and Barclays voted down the banks' pay plans on Friday, in a sign investors are catching up with popular outrage over rewards in an industry blamed for derailing the global economy. Such stark rejections are rare, with the average vote against pay proposals at British companies last year only 6 percent. This year's shareholder meetings to approve the plans were stormy, with investors venting their fury at bosses they see gaining at their expense. ...
|
| Merck profit beats forecast, revenue lags Posted:  (Reuters) - Merck & Co reported quarterly earnings slightly above Wall Street forecasts, helped by cost controls, but revenue trailed expectations on generic competition and reduced revenue from alliances with other drugmakers. The No. 2 U.S. drugmaker on Friday reported net income attributable to Merck of $1.74 billion, or 56 cents per share, for the first quarter. That compared with $1.04 billion, or 34 cents per share, a year earlier. Excluding special items, the company earned 99 cents a share. Analysts, on average, had expected 98 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. ...
|
| Analysis: Companies plan for two-speed Europe Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - Companies are planning for a two speed Europe, devising strategies to take advantage of growth in the northern part of the continent while plotting more corporate austerity for the moribund south. Dismal overall European sales were a recurring theme among big U.S. and European companies reporting first quarter results in the past fortnight. But beneath the headline numbers was a clear trend of a bifurcated economy - recovery in Germany and the Nordic countries combined with further sales drops in Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal. ... |
| S&P cuts Nokia rating to junk Posted:  HELSINKI (Reuters) - Standard & Poor's has cut its credit rating on Finnish cellphone maker Nokia to junk on expectations of lower sales, following a similar move by Fitch Ratings earlier this week. S&P said on Friday the decline in sales in Nokia's phone business this year could be similar to the 18 percent fall in 2011, and downgraded its rating to BB+ from BBB-. Nokia, once the world's dominant mobile phone provider, has lost out to Apple and Google in the smartphone business. Its shares were down 0.7 percent at 1210 GMT. ...
|
| Ford beats Street despite weakness in Europe Posted:  DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co reported a fall in quarterly profit on weakness outside North America but still beat analyst expectations, leading to a slight uptick in its stock price on Friday. The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported first-quarter net income of $1.40 billion, or 35 cents per share, down from the $2.55 billion, or 61 cents a share, a year earlier. As China growth has slowed and European auto sales are at their lowest levels since the mid-1990s, the company has said it is relying on North America to boost earnings this year. ...
|
| China auto market laggards chase premium profile Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - Thousands of Chinese consumers already have the T-shirt. All Fiat-Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has to do now is sell them the car. Jeep's ambitions for the world's biggest auto market - where the brand is popular as a clothing label - join efforts by parent Fiat , as well as Renault and PSA Peugeot Citroen , to raise their Chinese profiles and compete with German car makers for premium sales. At the Beijing auto show this week, Renault, Fiat and Citroen unveiled roomy sedans and concept cars designed for China. ...
|
| Analysis: S&P throws Spanish banking crisis into sharp relief Posted:  MADRID/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Spain's latest credit rating downgrade has thrown into sharp relief the need to revive a banking sector that could need another 100 billion euros to cover bad debts in order to avoid exposing another weak flank in the euro zone crisis, The options are clear: Spain's troubled banks seek fresh capital themselves, the government comes to their aid or euro zone funds are somehow pushed in their direction. But while the need for new funds is pressing, policymakers have no clear idea how to proceed. ...
|
| China's Big Four banks hit by slowdown, costs Posted: HONG KONG (Reuters) - China's Big Four banks' reported weaker-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Friday, with the sector facing growing pressure from a slowing economy and rising funding costs. Regulators have also closed in on the banks' freewheeling practice of charging fees and commissions, after the volume of complaints from customers and politicians grew louder in the last year. ... |
| ConocoPhillips, CNOOC to pay $267 million for China spill Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - U.S. oil firm ConocoPhillips and its partner CNOOC have agreed to pay 1.683 billion yuan ($266.89 million) in compensation for a series of oil spills off the coast of northern China last year, China's State Oceanic Administration said in a statement on Friday. Leaks at the Penglai 19-3 oilfield in China's Bohai Bay beginning last June polluted 6,200 square km of water before they were finally sealed in late October. ...
|
| Credit Suisse suffers pay revolt, Barclays seen next Posted: LONDON/ZURICH (Reuters) - Almost a third of Credit Suisse shareholders rejected the bank's pay plan on Friday and UK rival Barclays was braced for a similar revolt as investors vented their fury at executive pay deals and called for a bigger slice of profits. Credit Suisse said 31.6 pct of investors who voted opposed the bank's remuneration plan, the latest in a series of rebukes for top banks over pay, but still allowing the non-binding vote to pass. ... |
| Glencore profits from metals backlog in Dutch port Posted: LONDON (Reuters) - London Metal Exchange rules on the amount of stock released each day are playing to the advantage of Glencore , which is moving thousands of tonnes of metal to warehouses in the Dutch port of Vlissingen, industry sources say. Exchange regulations allow warehouse companies to release only a fraction of their inventories each day, much less than is regularly taken in for storage. Clients wait in queues to collect the metal, all the while paying rent to the warehouses. ... |
| Goldman Sachs censured, no further penalty on 2011 warrants case Posted:  (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs on Friday received an official censure, but no further penalty, from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange following the resolution of a case involving a typographical error in the documentation of some warrants it issued in February 2011. In administering its slap on the wrist to the US investment bank, the exchange said it took into account several mitigating factors including the fact that this was the first such case for Goldman Sachs since it began issuing the products in 2005. The bank had also maintained dialogue with the exchange after noticing what had been a mistake. ...
|
| Galaxy phones power Samsung to record $5.2 billion profit Posted:  SEOUL (Reuters) - Samsung Electronics made a record $5.2 billion profit in the first quarter, overhauling Nokia as the world's top mobile phone seller, and its Galaxy smartphones outstripped Apple's iPhone at the high end of the market. The South Korean group's handset division shifted more than 20,000 Galaxy phones an hour in the quarter and contributed most of its operating profit. That company's shares hit a lifetime high after the results, pushing its market value to $190 billion, 11 times that of Japanese rival Sony, though still only a third of Apple's, the world's most valuable company. ...
|
| China says Q2 trade growth to stabilize at "low level" Posted:  BEIJING (Reuters) - China's trade growth in the second quarter should stabilize at a "low level", the Commerce Ministry said on Friday in a regular spring assessment of business conditions that cautioned tough times ahead. Without predicting when trade flows would recover, the ministry said the world's second-biggest economy still faced considerable headwinds and that price pressures were building despite slackening activity. But it noted that the Chinese economy, which grew at its slowest annual pace in nearly three years at 8.1 percent in the first quarter, was supported by good ...
|
| Europe's austerity drive is suicidal: Stiglitz Posted:  VIENNA (Reuters) - Europe's attempt to save its way back to health is tantamount to economic suicide that could wreck the euro currency block, Nobel Prize-winning U.S. economist Joseph Stiglitz said, calling for the continent to focus instead on fostering growth. "I think Europe is headed to a suicide...There has never been any successful austerity program in any large country," the former World Bank economist told a panel discussion in Vienna late on Thursday. ...
|
| U.S., India to sign $8 billion defense deals: envoy Posted: NEW DELHI (Reuters) - U.S. companies are poised to sign defense deals totaling $8 billion with India, U.S. Ambassador Nancy Powell said on Friday at her first public speech since arriving in New Delhi this month. Powell did not specify which companies she was talking about or when the deals would be signed, but embassy officials said she was referring to negotiations that include about a dozen Apache helicopters along with engines for Indian jets. "We are poised to sign an additional $8 billion in direct commercial and foreign military sales," Powell said. ... |
| Amazon's streak of Fire ignites shares Posted:  (Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc's quarterly results beat Wall Street's most bullish expectations as heavy spending by the world's largest Internet retailer began to pay off through sales of more digital products on its new Kindle Fire tablet. Amazon shares surged almost 15 percent, increasing the company's market value by more than $10 billion and boosting the stake of Chief Executive Jeff Bezos by almost $2.5 billion. Analysts cheered first-quarter earnings and revenue which comfortably exceeded their forecasts. ...
|
| Apple sales rocket in China, but growth may slow Posted:  HONG KONG (Reuters) - Apple Inc is likely to see its sales growth nearly double in greater China this year, but the pace will probably taper thereafter as competitors hit back with new products in the biggest global mobile phone market. For the world's most valuable technology to get a bigger slice of the China market, it will also have to come up with an iPhone that supports the biggest Chinese mobile carrier's proprietary technology, settle an iPad trademark dispute and create more official sales outlets. Apple's sales in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, expanded three-fold to $7. ...
|
| Bank of Japan boosts stimulus again, but fails to impress markets Posted:  TOKYO (Reuters) - The Bank of Japan boosted its asset-buying scheme by a further 10 trillion yen ($124 billion) on Friday and pledged to buy longer-term government bonds in a move seen aimed at convincing both impatient politicians and investors of its resolve to pull the economy out of deflation. The central bank also kept expectations of more stimulus alive as it pledged to "pursue powerful monetary easing" to reach its 1 percent inflation target, even as it nudged up its growth and price forecasts for the coming years. ...
|
| Honda sees bumper year as it leaves disasters behind Posted:  TOKYO (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co forecast a near-tripling of operating profit in the year ahead on surging Asian sales and a recovery in the United States, marking an emphatic rebound from a 2011 hammered by the yen's record strength and natural disasters. Japan's No.3 automaker is expected to ride faster-than-expected growth in demand in the United States, its biggest and most profitable market, where sales of the remodeled CR-V crossover have jumped by more than a quarter so far this year. For the year to next March, Honda forecast an operating profit of 620 billion yen ($7. ...
|
| Credit Suisse CEO says handed data to U.S. Posted: ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse has handed data to U.S. officials as part of an ongoing crackdown of hidden Swiss offshore accounts, the Swiss bank's chief executive Brady Dougan will tell shareholders on Friday. "With regard to this issue, we have delivered data as directed by the Swiss government. According to the recent decision of the Swiss Federal Council, we provided the U.S. authorities directly with information," Dougan said, according to prepared remarks seen by Reuters. Credit Suisse is one of roughly a dozen Swiss banks being investigated by U.S. ... |
| Stocks edging higher on Wall Street; Amazon surges Posted:  Stocks are trading slightly higher as investors weigh big corporate profit gains against disappointing economic news.
|
| Ford 1Q earns fall on Europe slump, tax rate Posted:  North America propped up Ford Motor Co.'s profits in the first quarter, which otherwise took a beating from plummeting European sales and higher taxes.
|
| Spain crisis deepens with jobless rise, downgrade Posted:  The hole in Spain's economy is getting deeper.
|
| Natural gas prices rise; oil declines slightly Posted: Natural gas is rising as cooler weather and production cuts are raising expectations that demand may improve. |
| Americans are socking away less to spend more Posted:  The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first three months of this year. Governments spent less, and businesses cut back on investment. But consumers spent at the fastest pace in more than a year.
|
| Despite slower US growth, housing is lifting hopes Posted: The U.S. economy grew more slowly in the first three months of this year. Governments spent less, and businesses cut back on investment. But consumers spent at the fastest pace in more than a year. |
| Goodyear refinancing charges lead to $11M 1Q loss Posted:  Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. lost $11 million in its first quarter as refinancing charges more than offset the impact of higher revenue.
|
| Summary Box: P&G 3rd-quarter net income slips Posted: THE NEWS: Procter & Gamble, the world's largest consumer product company, said Friday its third-quarter net income slipped 16 percent, hurt by charges related to a cost-cutting plan and high commodity costs. |
| Summary Box: Honda profit jumps on improved sales Posted: SHIFTING GEARS: Honda's January-March profit rose 61 percent as the Japanese automaker sold more cars and motorcycles in a turnaround from a disaster-battered 2011. It forecast record global sales of 4.3 million vehicles for this fiscal year. |
| Q&A: Why proxy season matters Posted:  For a host of public companies, springtime is when shareholders start speaking of "say on pay," CEOs are forced to face angry investors and so-called corporate gadflies make their rounds.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment