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Inflation has been a puzzle in the U.S. economy for years, failing to move up much when the unemployment rate tumbled.
To resolve the puzzle, it helps to look at the U.S. as two economies rather than one.
On one hand is the goods economy, where products like computers, gasoline and hair dryers are made and purchased, and where Americans spend... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/split-in-goods-and-services-inflation-underscores-feds-challenge-1526824800 |
LAKELAND, Fla., May 4, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Polytechnic University regularly engages with business partners who it believes will contribute to its curriculum and learning experience, inviting them to become members of its Industry Advisory Board. Members collaborate on research and are able to draw from a pool of talented and highly-capable students for internships and cooperatives.
A recent appointment to the advisory board, under Vice Provost Kathryn Miller, is People, Technology, and Processes CEO Victor Buonamia.
Leading with skill, talent, and knowledge derived from over 30 years of program management, technical, and operational experience, within both small and large organizations, including the Department of Defense and Homeland Security, Buonamia boasts excellent credentials.
"Florida Polytechnic University is an institution of higher learning, dedicated to the principle that innovation occurs when creativity and research are applied to real-world opportunities and challenges," remarks Buonamia of joining the Industry Advisory Board.
It's Florida Polytechnic's belief that a university focused on research, innovation, and building business and industry partnerships will become more than just an academic institution. "It will become a powerful economic engine," Buonamia suggests.
People, Technology, and Processes is a leading service and solutions provider, supporting federal and commercial organizations in areas of medical information technology and knowledge management. "Since establishing People, Technology, and Processes we've demonstrated ourselves to be a proven business in these areas with many outstanding testimonials and a proven track record of past performances," Buonamia explains.
Priding itself on its client-driven approach, the company supports improved structure and order through the fusion of people and processes, utilizing technology as an enabler.
Meanwhile, connecting with business and industry leaders to establish ongoing exchanges of information, Florida Polytechnic University intends to identify the knowledge and skills needed for its graduates to succeed in the industries related to its programs.
As an industry partner, Victor Buonamia and People, Technology, and Processes will endeavor to assist in curriculum development in order to promote academic excellence within Florida Polytechnic University.
In addition to this, and alongside his service on the advisory board, Buonamia and the business will aim to provide internship opportunities, conduct joint research, and collaborate on product development. In a continuum of support, People, Technology, and Processes will further look to train and ultimately hire Florida Polytechnic graduates.
By instructing on what business and industry leaders expect of graduates, advisory board members, such as Vic Buonamia, enable the university to fine-tune its teaching methods.
"Meeting twice yearly in formal sessions, advisory board members also assist in promoting Florida Polytechnic University to potential students, employers, governmental agencies, and legislative leaders," explains People, Technology, and Processes CFO Nicole Buonamia.
"Members will interact with faculty, staff and university heads on issues of mutual concern, from goals and objectives to educational trends, development and capital campaigns, research opportunities, budgets, enrollments, employment opportunities, degrees and further related topics," she continues.
With a proven capacity in operational improvement and international business, and a successful track record in optimizing results for global and local enterprises, as CFO of People, Technology, and Processes, Nicole Buonamia will be responsible for assisting CEO Vic Buonamia in a number of his board duties.
"It's not just a wonderful personal accolade, it's also great recognition for our entire business," the CEO further remarks of his appointment to the board.
"The entire People, Technology, and Processes team," Vic Buonamia adds in closing, "is proud to be associated with Florida Polytechnic University, and long may that association continue."
To connect with Victor Buonamia, you can connect with him on Linkedin .
Media Contact:
Web Presence, LLC
Eric Blankenship
786-332-6554
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/people-technology-and-processes-ceo-victor-buonamia-invited-to-join-florida-polytechnic-university-industry-advisory-board-300643135.html
SOURCE People, Technology, and Processes | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/pr-newswire-people-technology-and-processes-ceo-victor-buonamia-invited-to-join-florida-polytechnic-university-industry-advisory-board.html |
April 30 (Reuters) - NASCON Allied Industries PLC :
* Q1 ENDED MARCH 2018 PROFIT BEFORE TAX FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OF 1.56 BILLION NAIRA VERSUS 1.17 BILLION NAIRA YEAR AGO
* Q1 REVENUE FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS OF 6.77 BILLION NAIRA VERSUS 6.46 BILLION NAIRA YEAR AGO Source: bit.ly/2r97dlB Further company coverage: ([email protected])
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-nascon-allied-industries-posts-q1/brief-nascon-allied-industries-posts-q1-pretax-profit-of-1-56-bln-naira-idUSFWN1S70PP |
0 COMMENTS Readers can subscribe to The Morning Risk Report here: http://on.wsj.com/MorningRiskReportSignup . Follow us on Twitter at @WSJRisk. Join us at our London offices on May 11 for a discussion of how the risks are changing in sanctions. Mara Lemos Stein will interview Michael O’Kane of Peters & Peters and Justine Walker of U.K. Finance. http://go.dowjones.com/BreakfastBriefingMay11London .
One in five respondents among 975 senior leaders in 15 countries said their organizations don’t identify, review or monitor fourth or fifth parties, a Deloitte survey found. iStockphoto.com/DNY59 Good morning. Many organizations continue to struggle to fully understand their supply chains, with 53% saying they don’t have enough information about their fourth- and fifth-party partners, a survey found.
A Deloitte survey on extended enterprise risk management, or EERM, found one in five respondents among 975 senior leaders in 15 countries said their organizations don’t identify, review or monitor fourth or fifth parties. Deloitte sponsors the WSJ Risk & Compliance Journal. Just 2% said they regularly monitor subcontractors at the fourth or fifth levels of their chain, while 10% do so for subcontractors they classify as critical. The rest rely on their third-party partners to provide oversight.
“Third parties are closer to the core of businesses than ever before,” said Chuck Saia, chief executive of Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory, in a statement. “Organizations that step up to the challenge of developing programs to better manage third-party risk can elevate their position in the market by unleashing with confidence the reach, expertise and relationships that third parties can bring.”
More organizations looking to improve risk awareness and make their EERM programs more efficient are turning to centralized management structures. The survey found 52% described their EERM management as highly centralized, or more centralized than decentralized.
Nearly half the respondents (48%) cited the desire to reduce costs as a main reason for investing in EERM. Twenty-six percent cited greater flexibility to navigate market uncertainty and 21% looked at EERM spending as a way to boost revenue. Forty-nine percent said they were somewhat confident they would gain tangible results from EERM investments.
“The business case for investment in EERM is increasingly being focused on exploiting the upside of risk—a significant shift from the almost-exclusive focus earlier on managing the downside, with increasing confidence to demonstrate tangible benefits from such investment,” Deloitte said.
COMPLIANCE
EU is set to settle Gazprom antitrust case. The European Union is poised to settle a long-running antitrust case against PAO Gazprom as soon as this month, the WSJ reports. Gazprom would avoid billion-dollar fines in exchange for commitments aimed at breaking its tight grip on the bloc’s natural-gas supply.
ZTE seeks stay of U.S. ban. ZTE Corp. , the Chinese telecommunications firm in the crossfire of a U.S.-China trade fight, has formally asked the U.S. government for a stay of its order banning American companies from selling parts to the firm. It disclosed the news in a filing Sunday with the Hong Kong stock exchange, the WSJ reports.
ZTE Corp. was hit with a sales ban in April after the U.S. Commerce Department said the company violated a deal last year settling allegations of sanctions busting involving North Korea and Iran. PHOTO: REUTERS EU threatens subsidy cuts. The European Union is raising the ante in its clash with Poland and Hungary over democratic values. A proposed sanctions mechanism would let the European Commission suspend funds when it finds a country’s courts are no longer independent, rulings are ignored or criminal investigations are hampered, the WSJ reports.
Greek banks pass ‘stress tests.’ Greece’s biggest banks received a clean bill of health from Europe’s regulators on Saturday, an important step toward the completion of an eight-year bailout program. The tests showed the lenders had sufficient capital to cushion them against a hypothetical severe economic downturn, the WSJ reports.
GOVERNANCE
Air France CEO steps down. Jean-Marc Janaillac, Air France-KLM ‘s chief executive officer, on Friday said he would resign after 55% of nearly 47,000 employees on French contracts rejected a pay deal. Strikes have forced the carrier to cut back flights and burdened it with millions of euros in costs, the WSJ reports..
Lieutenants call more shots at Berkshire. Warren Buffett is still the face of Berkshire Hathaway , but his deputies are often calling the shots. At Berkshire’s annual meeting, Mr. Buffett said Greg Abel, Ajit Jain, Ted Weschler and Todd Combs are handling many day-to-day responsibilities. Mr. Buffett remains chairman, chief executive and chief investment officer, the WSJ reports.
REPUTATION
ANZ drops sales-based bonuses for advisers. Australia & New Zealand Banking Group has scrapped sales-based bonuses for its financial planners, the WSJ reports. The bank will assess planners on customer satisfaction, the lender’s values and risk and compliance standards. A royal commission is investigating the country’s financial industry following a series of scandals..
CBS is sued over alleged harassment. CBS News, a unit of CBS , and its former morning-show anchor Charlie Rose were sued Friday by three women who allege they were sexually harassed by Mr. Rose and the network was aware of his behavior and refused to act. The network said it will defend itself against the suit. Mr. Rose’s lawyer said the claims in the suit are without merit, the WSJ reports.
RISK
NRA sues insurance broker. The National Rifle Association sued insurance broker Lockton Cos, alleging the firm breached its contract to administer an insurance program—NRA Carry Guard—for the group. The Friday suit comes days after Lockton agreed to pay a fine to New York regulators and help cancel Carry Guard policies sold to New Yorkers. Carry Guard policies cover legal costs in self-defense shootings, the WSJ reports.
Wells Fargo settles class-action suit. Wells Fargo & Co. said Friday it reached a $480 million preliminary settlement agreement in a securities fraud class-action suit. The suit alleged that Wells Fargo and certain current and former officers and directors of the bank “artificially inflated” Wells Fargo’s stock price, the WSJ reports.
Lava fountains gush near Hawaii volcano. Lava and toxic gases from Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano continued to spew in neighborhoods on Sunday, with 26 homes destroyed since the eruption began on Thursday. Authorities ordered evacuations of 1,800 people, the WSJ reports.
OPERATIONS
Fidelity fires staff over reimbursement program. Fidelity Investments has fired or allowed more than 200 employees to resign over alleged misuse of workplace-benefits programs, the WSJ reports. Behind the layoffs and resignations was a company audit of computer-buying and physical-fitness benefit programs over the last year. That review found misuse in offices across the country.
STRATEGY
Nestlé buys rights to sell Starbucks goods. Food giant Nestlé is taking over Starbucks Corp. ’s retail marketing and sales business, agreeing to pay more than $7 billion for the rights to sell the chain’s coffee, tea and food products in grocery stores and other outlets globally, the WSJ reports.
Glencore scraps sale of Rosneft stake. Mining giant Glencore PLC and Qatar said late Friday they have abandoned plans to sell a roughly $9 billion stake in Russian state oil company PAO Rosneft to CEFC China Energy Co. , a once-high-flying Chinese firm now embroiled in investigations by Beijing, the WSJ reports.
Magnolia Bakery plans U.S.-wide franchises. Magnolia Bakery is looking to open as many as 200 franchises across the U.S. over the next five years. The pastry seller hasn’t yet set franchise fees or worked out other financial details for potential franchisees, the WSJ reports.
Sweet! Cupcakes on display at Magnolia Bakery in Greenwich Village. PHOTO: BETH J. HARPAZ/ASSOCIATED PRESS Mondelez to buy cookie maker. Food giant Mondelez International Inc. late Sunday agreed to acquire cookie maker Tate’s Bake Shop for about $500 million, as it seeks to address changing consumer tastes. Americans’ appetite for fresher food with simpler ingredients has challenged some of Mondelez’s iconic brands in recent years, the WSJ reports.
Blackstone to buy Gramercy Property. Blackstone Group is buying Gramercy Property Trust , a commercial-real-estate asset manager, in a deal valued at $7.6 billion in cash, Reuters reports. The offer is a 15.4% premium to Gramercy’s closing share price on Friday.
The Morning Risk Report from WSJ’s Risk & Compliance Journal cues up the most important news in risk and compliance every weekday morning. Send tips, suggestions and complaints to [email protected] .
Share this: Abel Air France ANZ Berkshire Hathaway Blackstone Buffett CBS CEFC Charlie Rose Combs EERM Fidelity Gazprom Glencore Gramercy Property Greek banks Hawaii volcano Jain Janaillac Lockton Magnolia Bakery Mondelez Nestle NRA Rosneft Starbucks Tate's Bake Shop Wells Fargo Weschler ZTE Previous Corruption Currents: Judge Questions Mueller's Motivations Content from our sponsor Deloitte Risk management, strategy and analysis from Deloitte Managing the Digital Risks of New Business Models Digital risks are becoming a rising concern for the C-suite and boards, as industries continue to converge and companies adopt new business models to compete. Understand what steps can be deployed to address the strategic risks that come with today’s digital technologies in this conversation with William Ribaudo, managing partner of Deloitte Risk and Financial Advisory’s Digital Risk Venture Portfolio, Deloitte & Touche LLP. Also, learn why organizations should reassess their business models to understand their digital maturity.
Please note: The Wall Street Journal News Department was not involved in the creation of the content above. More from Deloitte → | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/riskandcompliance/2018/05/07/the-morning-risk-report-companies-need-to-look-deeper-at-supply-chains/ |
Comcast cash bid may spark Fox shareholder revolt 6:32am EDT - 01:55
Comcast's planned all-cash offer for 21st Century Fox assets could drive a wedge between media mogul Rupert Murdoch who wants a stock deal so he can avoid a huge tax bill and his investors who prefer a higher dollar transaction. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Comcast's planned all-cash offer for 21st Century Fox assets could drive a wedge between media mogul Rupert Murdoch who wants a stock deal so he can avoid a huge tax bill and his investors who prefer a higher dollar transaction. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2GfV4jG | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/15/comcast-cash-bid-may-spark-fox-sharehold?videoId=427092861 |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will unveil proposals on Wednesday for the Union’s next seven-year budget, starting in 2021.
FILE PHOTO: European Union flags flutter outside the EU Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo Worth over a trillion euros (dollars), the costs of EU membership played a role in Britain voting to quit the bloc. However, EU leaders insist that spending just about one percent of total income — roughly equal to the cost of one cup of coffee a day for 440 million citizens — brings benefits for security, stability and prosperity.
Here are answers to key questions:
DOES BREXIT MAKE A DIFFERENCE? Absolutely. Despite a large and much envied British rebate, the loss of the EU’s second-ranked economy will leave a hole of at least 10 billion euros a year. Rich states such as the Netherlands and Sweden insist they do not want to pay another cent and demand that the budget shrink. They have, however, lost an important ally since Britain was a driving force behind previous cuts. Poorer countries which are net recipients of EU cash, such as Poland, have warned that they will not accept less from Brussels.
WHAT IS THE BUDGET FOR? The 2014-20 budget or Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) is 1.1 trillion euros or 155 billion a year and, when agreed in 2013 was worth 1.03 percent of the bloc’s economic output. It represents 2.2 percent of public spending in the 28 EU states.
Most goes on subsidizing farmers, improving poorer regions and promoting cooperation across the bloc. About 39 percent goes on farm support, rural development and related areas and 34 percent on economic, social and regional cohesion. Lawmaking and administration costs about 10 billion euros a year, or 6 percent.
WILL THAT CHANGE? Yes. Budget Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has promised to propose spending at least as great as at present despite Brexit — at least 1.1 percent of the EU’s Brexit-diminished output and possibly close to 1.2 percent — he calls it “1.1x percent”.
EU leaders expect to put more cash into:
- policing frontiers to control immigration — one source told Reuters the Commission will propose quintupling spending on border guards to 25 billion euros over 2021-7;
- science and technology research and cooperation;
- joint EU defence projects, especially on procurement.
To make room for that, Oettinger has spoken of cuts of about six percent in spending on agricultural and regional support.
SO THAT’S ALL SETTLED? Far from it. The last MFF negotiations went down to the wire, taking two and a half years of haggling. Member states and the European Parliament are set for tough talks, though there is an informal deadline of agreement in the middle of next year.
Germany and France, the biggest paymasters putting in 19 and 17 percent of the budget respectively, are ready to plug some of the Brexit gap if the budget suits their new priorities. Paris, for example, wants to see some budget allocated to the 19-member euro zone as part of plans to bolster the EU single currency. With its traditionally strong farm lobby, France is also likely to defend farmers from pressure to cut back on EU subsidies.
WHAT’S THE BIGGEST FIGHT? Aside from possible reforms to the farm budget, officials expect the biggest fight to be one that pits poor, ex-communist countries in the east against rich net contributors in the west over what Brussels sees are threats to democracy and the rule of law, notably in Poland and Hungary. Leaders there deny they are breaking EU laws and values to entrench their own power.
EU officials have told Reuters their proposals include a dramatic novelty which will tie disbursement of EU funds that via national and regional governments to authorities’ provision of functioning judicial systems capable of enforcing EU rules. Expect Poland and Hungary to lead a vocal push back.
Reporting by Alastair Macdonald ; @macdonaldrtr; editing by David Stamp
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-budget-explainer/beancounting-the-eus-coffee-a-day-new-budget-idUSKBN1I11K3 |
May 1 (Reuters) - Dexus:
* CONFIRMS MARKET GUIDANCE FOR 12 MONTHS ENDING 30 JUNE 2018 OF DISTRIBUTION PER SECURITY GROWTH OF 4.5-5.0% Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-dexus-confirms-fy-market-guidance/brief-dexus-confirms-fy-market-guidance-of-distribution-per-security-growth-of-4-5-5-0-idUSFWN1S71EB |
May 2 (Reuters) - Scientific Games Corp:
* SCIENTIFIC GAMES ANNOUNCES BARRY COTTLE AS NEW PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
* SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORP - COTTLE WILL REPLACE CURRENT PRESIDENT AND CEO KEVIN SHEEHAN WHO WILL REMAIN WITH COMPANY AS A SENIOR ADVISOR
* SCIENTIFIC GAMES CORP - TIM BUCHER TO JOIN COMPANY AS CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-scientific-games-announces-barry-c/brief-scientific-games-announces-barry-cottle-as-new-president-and-ceo-idUSASC09Z9A |
May 8, 2018 / 1:04 PM / Updated 26 minutes ago Bangladesh sentences two to death, jails three for life in professor's killing Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
DHAKA (Reuters) - A court in Bangladesh on Tuesday sentenced two militants to death and jailed three for life after finding them guilty of killing a university professor two years ago, a prosecutor said.
The Muslim-majority country of 160 million people has seen a string of violent attacks in recent years targeting liberals, foreigners and religious minorities.
Rezaul Karim Siddiquee, 58, an English professor at northwestern Rajshahi University, was hacked to death in April 2016. Militant group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the killing, accusing him of issuing a “call to atheism”.
The trial court also jailed three men for life, public prosecutor Entajul Haque told reporters, after the verdict was delivered in a packed courtroom.
One of the five, Shariful Islam, a student of the professor and believed to have masterminded his killing, was tried in absentia and received a death sentence, he added.
In November, police charged eight members of the home-grown Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen militant group in the case. Police said three more accused were killed in an exchange of gunfire.
Investigators believe the same group, which has pledged allegiance to Islamic State, was behind a major attack in the diplomatic quarter of Dhaka in July 2016, when gunmen stormed a restaurant, killing 22 people, most of them foreigners.
Islamic State and al Qaeda have claimed a series of killings of liberals and members of religious minorities in Bangladesh in the past few years.
Authorities have consistently ruled out the presence of such groups, blaming domestic militants instead. However, security experts say the scale and sophistication of the restaurant attack suggested links to a wider network. Reporting by Ruma Paul; Editing by Clarence Fernandez | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-killing-militants/bangladesh-sentences-two-to-death-jails-three-for-life-in-professors-killing-idUSKBN1I91OI |
May 30, 2018 / 2:27 PM / Updated 36 minutes ago EU industry lobby adds to pressure on Britain over Brexit talks Gabriela Baczynska , Robert-Jan Bartunek , Andrew MacAskill 5 Min Read
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - A European industry lobby told Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday that Britain needed trade to be as “frictionless as with a customs union” after Brexit, adding to growing EU pressure on London over divorce negotiations that have stalled. FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May leaves 10 Downing Street in London, Britain, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo
The EU is voicing increasing frustration with lack of progress in key areas of the Brexit negotiations, most notably on the Irish border, and dismisses Britain’s thinking on future cooperation from trade to security as unrealistic.
During the latest, inconclusive negotiating round last week, the EU was angered by London publicly threatening to go back on a deal on a financial settlement if the EU did not give it full access to the Galileo satellite navigation system after Brexit.
That came in as the two sides’ envoys sat in a room in Brussels trying to find a solution to their disagreement over the European version of the GPS.
In other disagreements, the EU has repeatedly ridiculed Britain’s plan to use top-notch technology for border checks - including customs - on the island of Ireland after Brexit.
The bloc says that would go nowhere close to the ultimate goal of avoiding re-erecting a “hard” frontier between EU state Ireland and Britain’s province of Northern Ireland, which both fear the border issue weighing on their still-fragile peace.
The European Round Table of Industrialists (ERT), which brings together around 50 firms from Germany’s energy giant E.ON ( EONGn.DE ) to the Dutch publisher Wolters Kluwer ( WLSNc.AS ) to the British-Swedish pharma group AstraZeneca ( AZN.L ), also issued a warning during their meeting with May. FILE PHOTO: A Union Jack flag and a European Union flag are seen ahead of a bilateral meeting between Britain's Prime Minister and European Council President during the Eastern Partnership summit at the European Council Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 24, 2017. REUTERS/Christian Hartmann
“The uninterrupted flow of goods is essential to both the EU and UK economies. This must be frictionless as with a customs union. We need clarity and certainty, because time is running out. Uncertainty causes less investment,” the lobby said in a statement. TRANSITION AT STAKE
May’s office issued a statement after the meeting saying the government stuck to its position that Britain should have its own trade policy with the rest of the world and frictionless trade with the EU. In addition, there should be no hard border with EU member Ireland, the statement said.
Embattled at home, May has so far failed to come up with a final version of what sort of future customs arrangement London would seek with the EU after Brexit.
May is locked between those seeking a clean cut and wanting to leave the EU’s customs union to pursue new trade deals elsewhere in the world, and those keen to keep Britain as close to the bloc as possible Brexit to limit disruptions to trade and peoples’ lives.
British manufacturers have added to the pressure on May by calling on the government to abandon one of its post-Brexit customs proposals, slamming the idea of a technology-based plan for border checks as naive and a waste of money.
Ahead of a late July summit when all 28 EU leaders, including May, had been expected to mark another milestone in the talks, the bloc’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier told London to stop playing “hide and seek” on Brexit.
On future security cooperation, the bloc has dismissed Britain’s demands to remain as hooked-in after Brexit, due next March, as currently. Another EU official involved in the talks stressed the bloc was running out of patience.
“If they wanted to break free, now would be the time to do it. Instead, they want to opt in to just about everything,” the person said. “They must realise they are in fact leaving the EU and that has logical consequences.”
“Rather than agreeing terms of their departure from the EU, the Brits are proposing to build a new union between the EU and the UK. In which the EU and the UK have equal say about everything, including EU matters,” the official said ironically.
While the EU’s mounting pressure on Britain could just be a negotiating tactics, the stakes are high.
Unless a final Brexit deal is agreed this autumn, leaving enough time for a complex EU ratification process before next March, London could lose a status-quo transition period it had been promised afterwards and until the end of 2020.
It is meant to let business and people affected prepare better before the new reality kicks in.
Without it, Britain would just crash out from one day to another with very little clarity on what regulates an elaborate network of its links to the bloc, from aviation to agriculture to aerospace cooperation.
“If the Brits don’t change their approach, there will be no more negotiations. It’ll just be a blame game from now on,” the official told Reuters. Additional reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Writing by Gabriela Baczynska; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-eu-trade/eu-industry-lobby-asks-britain-for-trade-as-with-a-customs-union-after-brexit-idUSKCN1IV1VO |
LOS ANGELES, May 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hope Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOPE) (the “Company”) today announced the pricing of $200 million aggregate principal amount of 2.00% convertible senior notes due 2038 (the “Notes”). The Notes will be sold in a private offering to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”). The Company also granted the initial purchaser of the Notes a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional $30 million aggregate principal amount of the Notes on the same terms and conditions. BofA Merrill Lynch is acting as sole initial purchaser of the Notes.
The offering of the Notes to the initial purchaser is expected to close on May 11, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to result in approximately $196.0 million in net proceeds to the Company (or approximately $225.4 million if the initial purchaser exercises its option to purchase additional Notes in full) after deducting the initial purchaser’s discount but before estimated offering expenses payable by the Company.
The Notes will be senior, unsecured obligations of the Company, and will bear interest at a rate of 2.00% per year. Interest on the Notes will be payable semi-annually in arrears on May 15 and November 15 of each year, beginning on November 15, 2018. The Notes will mature on May 15, 2038, unless earlier converted, redeemed or repurchased.
The initial conversion rate for the Notes is 45.0760 shares of the Company’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $22.18 per share, representing a premium of 22.5% over the closing stock price of $18.11 per share of the Company’s common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on May 8, 2018. The initial conversion rate is subject to adjustment on the occurrence of specified events. Prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding February 15, 2023, the Notes will be convertible at the option of holders only upon satisfaction of certain conditions and during certain periods, and subject to certain limitation on beneficial ownership. Thereafter, the Notes will be convertible at the option of the holders at any time until the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, subject to certain limitation on beneficial ownership. Upon conversion, the Notes may be settled in shares of the Company’s common stock, cash or a combination of cash and shares of the Company’s common stock, at the election of the Company.
The Company may redeem all or a portion of the Notes at any time on or after May 20, 2023 for cash. In addition, holders will be able to cause the Company to repurchase all or a portion of their Notes for cash on May 15, 2023, May 15, 2028 and May 15, 2033, and upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. In each such case, the repurchase price would be 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest. In addition, following certain corporate events that occur prior to May 20, 2023, the Company will increase, in certain circumstances, the conversion rate for a holder who elects to convert its Notes in connection with such a corporate event.
In connection with the offering of the Notes, the Company’s board of directors approved a share repurchase program that authorized the Company to use up to $100 million of the proceeds from the offering of Notes to repurchase up to $100 million of its common stock. The Company agreed to repurchase approximately $75 million of its common stock from purchasers of the Notes in privately negotiated transactions effected through the initial purchaser or its affiliates conducted concurrently with the pricing of the Notes at a purchase price per share equal to the $18.11 per share closing price of the Company’s common stock on May 8, 2018. The share repurchases may increase, or prevent a decrease in, the market price of the Company’s common stock or the Notes, which could result in a higher effective conversion price for the Notes. The remaining capacity for repurchases of approximately $25 million is expected to be used in open market or privately negotiated repurchases following the pricing of the Notes as market conditions warrant.
The Company intends to contribute the remaining proceeds as additional capital to Bank of Hope, its wholly owned banking subsidiary, to be used by Bank of Hope for general corporate purposes.
The Notes and the shares of common stock issuable upon conversion of the Notes, if any, have not been registered under the Act or any state securities laws, and unless so registered, may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Any offer or sale will be made only by means of an offering memorandum.
About Hope Bancorp, Inc.
Hope Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company of Bank of Hope, the first and only super regional Korean-American bank in the United States with $14.5 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2018. Headquartered in Los Angeles and serving a multi-ethnic population of customers across the nation, Bank of Hope operates 63 full-service branches in California, Washington, Texas, Illinois, New York, New Jersey, Virginia, Georgia and Alabama. Bank of Hope also operates SBA loan production offices in Seattle, Denver, Dallas, Atlanta, Portland, Oregon, New York City and Northern California; commercial loan production offices in Northern California and Seattle; residential mortgage loan production offices in Southern California; and a representative office in Seoul, Korea. Bank of Hope specializes in core business banking products for small and medium-sized businesses, with an emphasis in commercial real estate and commercial lending, SBA lending and international trade financing. Bank of Hope is a California-chartered bank, and its deposits are insured by the FDIC to the extent provided by law. Bank of Hope is an Equal Opportunity Lender.
Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are “forward-looking” and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking” statements include statements relating to, among other things, the proposed offering of the convertible senior notes, the anticipated terms and expected settlement of the notes and the convertible note transactions, the expected use of the net proceeds from these transactions and the terms of any share repurchases described herein. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release and are subject to uncertainty and changes. Given these circumstances, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contact
Angie Yang
SVP, Director of Investor Relations &
Corporate Communications
213-251-2219
[email protected]
Source:Hope Bancorp, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/globe-newswire-hope-bancorp-prices-200-million-convertible-notes-offering.html |
5 COMMENTS A man photographs displays of messages on the floor of the Consensus 2018 blockchain technology conference in New York City, May 16, 2018. Photo: Mike Segar/Reuters
Good morning, CIOs. A person may draw much insight from Blockchain Week in NYC, now coming to a close. One conclusion is that the survival of many of the companies forming around the technology is about to face an important market test. CIO Journal’s Steven Norton spoke about that and much more with Brian Behlendorf, executive director of the Hyperledger project, an open source blockchain initiative hosted by the Linux Foundation .
“At a certain point the investor community will realize that lightning might not strike more than a couple of times,” Mr. Behlendorf said. “That consolidation phase, I don’t know if it starts in 2018, but I think that is something that is imminent.”
So what comes next? It might be less about trying to create the next Ethereum and more about integrating the platforms that survive a shakeout. “If we can spend our money figuring out how we can talk about convergence in a way that still gives us all a business model going forward, and migrate our users, and go upstream,” he says. “There’s not much money to be made, in my opinion, in the foundation layer.”
DOWNLOAD EXTRA: CYBER PUNK
Debbie Harry, May 17, 2018, at The Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York, for the opening of The Age of Punk, a photo exhibit about the music club CBGB & OMFUG in the 1970s. Photo: LAURA ROSENBUSH
If you could ask one question of rock and roll singer and songwriter Debbie Harry , what would it be? CIO Journal had a brief conversation with her Thursday evening at The Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York, where she and Blondie co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein hosted the opening of The Age of Punk, a photo exhibit about the music club CBGB & OMFUG in the 1970s. Unable to fight the impulse to try and kill a good party, we asked her about the history of technology. Specifically, we wanted to know if she could describe the impact of digital technology on music during the course of her career.
Ms. Harry paused for a moment before she answered. “Yes,” she said. “There is a lot more product.”
TECHNOLOGY NEWS
Kroger makes bold push to boost online shopping. Kroger Co. has struck a deal with Ocado Group PLC, a British grocer known for its use of robots, to supercharge its online delivery business, the Journal’s Heather Haddon and Saabira Chaudhuri report . Thousands of robots at Ocado facilities communicate via 4G technology to pick groceries out of storage and fill as many as 65,000 orders a week. AI helps to continually optimize those operations.
Hundreds of bitcoin wannabes show hallmarks of fraud. In a review of documents produced for 1,450 digital coin offerings, The Wall Street Journal has found 271 with red flags that include plagiarized investor documents, promises of guaranteed returns and missing or fake executive teams.
Stock fotogs among crypto winners. The Journal found that at least five projects filled out their white papers or websites with executive images pulled directly from online stock photography or other sites.
China approves Toshiba’s $18 billion sale of memory-chip unit. The WSJ’s Kosaku Narioka calls the approval a possible gesture of goodwill as Beijing tries to stave off U.S. trade penalties. Bain Capital’ s acquisition is set to be completed on June 1, Toshiba said.
Look inside ZTE smartphone and see it’s made in America . The export ban of U.S. technology to China’s ZTE Corp. has been devasting, with the telecommunications giant shutting down its major business operations. A peek inside ZTE’s Axon M smartphone explains why, the Journal’s Dan Strumpf reports . U.S. companies supply 60% of its electronic components.
Uber’s chief product officer Jeff Holden is leaving company. At Uber, Mr. Holden helped create its corporate values, which last year became a lightning rod for criticism following the company’s series of scandals including allegations of sexual harassment, the Journal’s Greg Bensinger reports . Of 16 executives running the company as a committee last year immediately after the departure of former CEO Travis Kalanick in June, seven have since left.
Cryptocurrency firms explore getting bank licenses. Coinbase Inc. , which operates the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange, met with officials at the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in early 2018. The Journal’s Ryan Tracy says a federal banking charter would let the firm swap a hodgepodge of state regulators for one primary federal one. The companies would also gain the option of directly offering customers federally insured bank accounts and other services.
An under-the-skin fitbit for chewing cud. Implanted under the skin of three cows in Utah are sensors designed to monitor body temperature, chewing activity and general activity. MIT Technology Review reports that the company behind the technology, Livestock Labs , hopes to one day bring subcutaneous sensors to humans.
Hempy McHempface. The Estonian town of Kanepi put it to the internet to decide what its symbol should be. The internet chose a cannabis leaf, the New York Times reports .
Put this in your pipe. Kanep in Estonian means cannabis, says the NYT.
WHAT YOUR CEO IS READING
‘Newton’ (1795) by William Blake. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES/BETTMANN ARCHIVE
Every week, CIO Journal offers a glimpse into the mind of the CEO, whose view of technology is shaped by stories in management journals, general interest magazines and, of course, in-flight publications.
Kissinger on how The Enlightment ends. At 94, the former national security advisor and secretary of state is almost old enough to remember when the first printing press hit the streets, paving the way for what we now call the Age of Enlightenment. “Individual insight and scientific knowledge replaced faith as the principal criterion of human consciousness,” Henry Kissinger writes in the Atlantic . Centuries later, humanity finds itself slipping into Age of Faith 2.0, this one defined by algorithms and data. “These algorithms, being mathematical interpretations of observed data, do not explain the underlying reality that produces them. Paradoxically, as the world becomes more transparent, it will also become increasingly mysterious,” he writes. Human cognition is set to lose its “personal character.”
Cybersecurity requires a step back . One way or another, it will happen. Air gaps will be bridged, firewalls breached and the cybersecurity staff worken by that 2 a.m. call. For the sake of security (and sleep), should companies drop the digital transformation schtick and go analog? Well, yes, kind of, suggests Andy Bochman, senior grid strategist at Idaho National Laboratory. Mr. Bochman recommends that companies move away from a “full reliance on digital complexity and connectivity.” An effort to identify “essential processes” and cut or even eliminate the digital pathways hackers could use to reach them, makes a company safer and senior leaders better able to weigh strategic cyber risks, he writes in Harvard Business Review ,
When analytics efforts fail. Scaling analytics pilot programs remains out of reach for a surprising number of companies. In a recent McKinsey & Co. survey, just eight percent out of 1,000 respondents with analytics initiatives said they found success. Blame the boss, many of whom cannot differentiate between “traditional analytics,” such as business intelligence, and the “advanced analytics” made possible by tools such as machine learning. To fix the problem, McKinsey recommends that the CEO, CAO or CDO start educating the peers on analytics analytics. “These workshops can form the foundation of in-house “academies” that can continually teach key analytics concepts to a broader management audience.”
EVERYTHING ELSE YOU NEED TO KNOW
Mortgage rates this week jumped to their highest level since 2011, signaling a shift to a higher-rate environment that could slow home price appreciation and squeeze first-time buyers . (WSJ)
President Donald Trump’s trade chief said the U.S. is “nowhere near” a deal on Nafta. (WSJ)
Tesla and a large Chinese firm each struck new deals with lithium producers , the latest sign that are rushing to secure supplies of the material used in electric car and cell phone batteries. (WSJ)
President Trump acknowledged new doubts about the f ate of his coming meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, expressing surprise over the uptick in harsh language from Pyongyang. (WSJ)
Share this: BLOCKCHAIN DOWNLOAD HYPERLEDGER KROGER Previous Blockchain Consolidation Phase Is Imminent, Hyperledger Chief Says | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/cio/2018/05/18/the-morning-download-blockchain-consolidation-phase-close-at-hand-hyperledger-chief-says/ |
May 24 (Reuters) - Lumina Networks:
* LUMINA NETWORKS CLOSES $10 MILLION SERIES A FINANCING * LUMINA NETWORKS - ANNOUNCED CLOSING OF SERIES A FINANCING, INCLUDING $8 MILLION IN NEW FUNDING LED BY VERIZON VENTURE; OTHER NEW INVESTORS INCLUDED AT&T Source text for Eikon:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-lumina-networks-closes-10-mln-seri/brief-lumina-networks-closes-10-mln-series-a-financing-idUSASC0A3JH |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following issues have been halted by IIROC / L'OCRCVM a suspendu la negociation des titres suivants:
Company / Société : NAVION CAPITAL INC. TSX-Venture Symbol / Symbole à la Bourse de croissance TSX : NAVN.P Reason / Motif : Pending Closing / En attente Halt Time (ET) / Heure de la suspension (HE) 8:00, May 18, 2018 Company / Société : OWL CAPITAL CORP. TSX-Venture Symbol / Symbole à la Bourse de croissance TSX : OCC.P Reason / Motif : Pending Closing / En attente Halt Time (ET) / Heure de la suspension (HE) 8:00, May 18, 2018 Company / Société : RIDER INVESTMENT CAPITAL CORP. TSX-Venture Symbol / Symbole à la Bourse de croissance TSX : RDR.P Reason / Motif : Pending Closing / En attente Halt Time (ET) / Heure de la suspension (HE) 8:00, May 18, 2018 IIROC can make a decision to impose a temporary suspension of trading in a security of a publicly listed company, usually in anticipation of a material news announcement by the company. Trading halts are issued based on the principle that all investors should have the same timely access to important company information. IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada.
L'OCRCVM peut prendre la decision d'imposer une suspension provisoire des negociations sur le titre d'une societe cotee en bourse, habituellement en prevision d'une annonce importante de la part de la societe. Les suspensions de negociations sont imposees suivant le principe que tous les investisseurs devraient avoir un acces egal et simultane a l'information importante au sujet des societes dans lesquelles ils investissent. L'OCRCVM est l'organisme d'autoreglementation national qui surveille l'ensemble des societes de courtage et l'ensemble des operations effectuees sur les marches boursiers et les marches de titres d'emprunt au Canada.
Please note that IIROC is not able to provide any additional information regarding a specific trading halt. Information is limited to general enquiries only.
Veuillez prendre note que l'OCRCVM n'est pas en mesure de fournir d'informations supplementaires au sujet d'une suspension des negociations en particulier. L'information est restreinte aux questions generales.
IIROC Inquiries
1-877-442-4322 (Option 2)
Source:Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/globe-newswire-iiroc-trading-halt-suspension-de-la-negociation-par-locrcvm--navn-p-occ-p-rdr-p.html |
Cramer reflects on Apple earnings after speaking with CEO Tim Cook 18 Hours Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/01/cramer-reflects-on-apple-earnings-after-speaking-with-ceo-tim-cook.html |
May 1, 2018 / 12:26 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago BRIEF-HanesBrands Q1 Adj. Earnings Per Share $0.26 Reuters Staff
May 1 (Reuters) - HanesBrands Inc:
* HANESBRANDS REPORTS FIRST-QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS * Q1 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.26
* Q1 GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.22 FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS * Q1 SALES $1.47 BILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $1.43 BILLION
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.24 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* SEES FY 2018 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $1.72 TO $1.80 EXCLUDING ITEMS
* SEES Q2 2018 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.44 TO $0.46 EXCLUDING ITEMS * Q1 GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.22
* Q2 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.47, REVENUE VIEW $1.71 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* FY2018 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $1.76, REVENUE VIEW $6.75 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hanesbrands-q1-adj-earnings-per-sh/brief-hanesbrands-q1-adj-earnings-per-share-0-26-idUSASC09YK3 |
(Corrects to clarify that Rio Tinto has not confirmed $3.5 bln sale price)
* Sale to form part of Indonesia’s 51 pct holding in mine
* Rio says no agreement yet reached
* Rio divesting assets that don’t meet its return requirements
May 23 (Reuters) - Global miner Rio Tinto Ltd confirmed on Wednesday it was in discussions to sell its interest in the world’s second largest copper mine to Indonesia’s Inalum.
Rio Tinto confirmed that discussions between it, Indonesia’s state mining holding company Inalum and miner Freeport were ongoing, “including as to price,” noting reports of a potential $3.5 billion purchase price.
No agreement had been reached and that was “no certainty that binding agreements will be signed,” the miner said in a statement.
The long heralded potential sale comes as Rio Tinto divests assets that do not meet its internal return requirements and as it bolsters its balance sheet and pays down debt.
Grasberg is owned and operated by Freeport Indonesia (PTFI), a subsidiary of US-based Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. . Rio Tinto has a joint venture with Freeport for a 40 per cent share of production above specific levels until 2021, and 40 per cent of all production after 2021.
“It’s probably a sensible sale - raise a bit of capital, get rid of some governance issues,” said Rohan Walsh, investment manager at Karara Capital in Melbourne, an investor in Rio.
Inalum’s purchase of Rio’s interest will form part of an agreement for Indonesia to take a 51 percent stake in Grasberg, wresting back control of the mine, which needs significant investment to move into its next phase underground.
Inalum said earlier this month that Freeport’s divestment of a controlling interest was still planned for 2018, even though the price and some contract terms were still to be agreed.
The proposed $3.5 billion price tag for Rio’s share was “not significant” given its size and relatively healthy balance sheet, said mining analyst David Lennox of Fat Prophets in Sydney.
“I suspect they are looking at that asset and thinking, ‘We can do better with the capital, either reinvesting it into existing operations or improving the balance sheet’.”
Lennox said the capital was more likely to go towards improving its iron ore operations, rather than building a war chest for acquisitions.
Inalum, which is arranging funding for the deal, has said it already had a “committed” loan for the transaction.
Freeport could not be reached for comment.
Shares in Rio rose by 0.8 percent to A$85.27 in early Australian trade. ($1 = 1.3205 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Chris Thomas in Bengaluru and Melanie Burton in Melbourne. Additional reporting by Fergus Jensen in Jakarta; editing by Diane Craft and Richard Pullin)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/indonesia-freeport-mcmoran-rio-tinto/update-1-rio-tinto-in-talks-with-inalum-freeport-for-grasberg-stake-sale-idUSL3N1ST5JT |
(Updates with Medvedev Quote: , background on Mutko)
MOSCOW, May 7 (Reuters) - Russian Prime Minister-designate Dmitry Medvedev on Monday nominated Vitaly Mutko, who oversaw sport at the height of Russia’s doping scandal, as a deputy prime minister overseeing construction.
Speaking to lawmakers from the ruling United Russia party, Medvedev announced that Mutko, a former sports minister who had been in charge of sport since 2016 as deputy prime minister, would be responsible for construction and regional politics, drawing laughter from the meeting’s attendees.
“He’s experienced,” Medvedev said in the televised meeting.
“I remind you that he worked in a region, in St. Petersburg,” he added, referring to Mutko’s time as the city’s deputy mayor from 1992 to 1996.
Mutko has for years shrugged off scandals in Russian sport, including an independent report that Russia ran an elaborate doping cover-up scheme at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. Russia has vehemently denied the allegations.
Mutko was banned for life from the Olympics last year as part of Russia’s punishment.
In recent months the 59-year-old has rolled back his involvement in sport as Russia prepares to host the soccer World Cup, which kicks off next month in 11 cities.
He relinquished his position as head of the tournament’s organising committee weeks after Russia was banned from the Pyeongchang Olympics for what the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said was evidence of “systemic manipulation” of anti-doping procedures at the Sochi Games.
Mutko also temporarily stepped down from his position as head of the Russian Football Union.
Medvedev nominated Olga Golodets as the deputy prime minister overseeing sport and culture. During President Vladimir Putin’s last term, she served as deputy prime minister overseeing social policy.
Medvedev, prime minister since 2012, resigned on Monday along with the government in line with standard procedure following Putin’s inauguration for a fourth term as president.
Putin nominated Medvedev to run the cabinet again earlier on Monday. (Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin Writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-government-nominations-mutko/update-1-russias-mutko-set-to-lose-sport-in-new-cabinet-post-idUSL8N1SE4RR |
By Alan Murray and David Meyer 6:50 AM EDT Good morning.
Warren Buffett held his annual investor-fest this weekend, and weighed in on a bunch of things, including CEOs taking stands on hot button social issues. While he certainly airs his own political views from time to time, “I don’t speak for Berkshire in doing that,” he told CNBC . “I don’t believe in imposing my views on 370,000 employees and a million shareholders. I’m not their nanny. You have to be pretty careful…in terms of social issues.”
A decade ago, Buffett’s view on this subject was standard CEO fare. But in the last couple of years, a surge of CEOs have taken strong stands on behalf of their companies on social issues: think Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff’s campaign against Indiana’s religious freedom law; Bank of America’s opposition to North Carolina’s restrictions on transgender access to public bathrooms; Merck CEO Ken Frazier’s resignation from President Trump’s advisory council after the Charlottesville riots; and Delta CEO Ed Bastian’s decision to cut discounts for NRA members after the Parkland shootings—to name just a few.
None of those would have happened a decade ago. So why are they happening now? I gave my views on how business leadership is changing in CEO Daily’s sibling newsletter, Data Sheet, while guest-posting last week. (You can read it here .) In many cases, their employees and customers are demanding they speak out.
But Buffett is right in noting that this gets tricky quickly. When Frazier made his stand, he was not giving his personal views, but signaling “what kind of company we are.” Benioff and Bastian were doing the same. At some point, taking such stands on issues that aren’t core to the company’s business risks alienating customers and shareholders, and adding to political polarization. The old line separating business issues from political and social issues has clearly moved. But many CEOs I talk to are still struggling to understand where the new line should be drawn.
More from Buffett-palooza here , including his explanation of why he won’t buy Microsoft stock, and his spat with Elon Musk over the candy business. Other news below.
Alan Murray @alansmurray [email protected] Top News
Nestle and Starbucks
Nestle is going to start selling Starbucks coffee around the world, and will pay the U.S. chain $7.15 billion for the privilege. The Swiss firm appears to have struck the Starbucks deal in order to fortify its leading position in the international coffee market. Starbucks says it will use the cash to speed up share buybacks. The products will be distributed using Nestle’s network, but Nestle’s name won’t be on the packaging. Reuters
Air France Turmoil
Air France-KLM CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac suddenly stepped down Friday, and the carrier’s shares tumbled by as much as 13% as a result. Janaillac left due to big strikes that are still ongoing, and have led French economy minister Bruno Le Maire to warn that Air France may “disappear” as a result. However, the turmoil must be seen in the context of wider outrage over President Emmanuel Macron’s push to “modernize” French labor. Fortune
Mondelez Buys Tate’s
Mondelez, the snack-food giant that resulted from Kraft Foods’ slimming-down several years ago, is to pay $500 million for the choc-chip-cookie-maker Tate’s Bake Shop. This is the first big deal for new-ish CEO Dirk Van de Put, who said in a release: “Tate’s has demonstrated exceptional and very profitable growth, and we look forward to working with the Tate’s management team to expand distribution and build upon that success.” Wall Street Journal
Avengers Triumph
Disney’s Avengers: Infinity War took 11 days to clear $1 billion in box-office takings—a new record. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (also Disney, of course), set the previous record with 12 days. Infinity War has now taken $1.16 billion, and it hasn’t even opened in China yet. CNBC
Advertisement Around the Water Cooler
Russian Protests
Vladimir Putin’s inauguration today was preceded by massive protests on the weekend, largely organized by arch-nemesis Alexei Navalny, who was not allowed to stand against Putin. According to independent monitors, 1,600 people were arrested in 27 cities, and more than 100 remained in custody on Sunday. “As Putin prepares to start his fifth term, it turns out that there are many who are not prepared to become zombies or turn into serfs of a self-proclaimed tsar,” said Navalny. Financial Times
Californian Solar
The Californian Energy Commission will vote Wednesday on whether to mandate the installation of solar panels on all new homes, condos and apartment buildings of up to three stories. The mandate would be the first at the state level in the U.S., although some more local initiatives are already underway—San Francisco, for example, already requires new builds under 10 stories to come with solar panels. Fortune
Hybrid Debate
Reports in the U.K. have suggested that the government there is planning to crack down on hybrid vehicles that can’t go at least 50 miles on electric power alone, by 2040. The move would whack cars such as the popular Toyota Prius, and the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has slammed the government’s “unrealistic targets and misleading messages on bans.” But the transport ministry has denied planning a ban. BBC
Cape Town Water
There’s recently been a flood of articles (pardon the pun) about how Cape Town, South Africa, “beat the drought” or has been “saved from running out of water” through water-saving measures. This one, from NBC, is impressively nuanced, noting how “Day Zero”—when the taps run dry—has only been averted for now. As a native Capetonian, I’d urge you to remember that everything depends on the levels of rainfall during the winter that is now approaching; they need to be impressive to pull the city back from the brink, and we’ll only know later this year how far Day Zero has been staved off. NBC
This edition of CEO Daily was edited by David Meyer . Find previous editions here , and sign up for other Fortune newsletters here . | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/nestle-starbucks-air-france-klm-mondelez-tates-ceo-daily-for-may-7-2018/ |
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Asia has more buffers than in the past and has room to raise rates, but despite a strong growth outlook the region remains vulnerable to a sudden tightening in global financial conditions, the IMF’s Asia Pacific director said on Wednesday.
Changyong Rhee, the director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department, also said he wasn’t very concerned about a market sell-off in Indonesia and the Philippines at the moment.
Reporting by Marius Zaharia, writing by James Pomfret; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-asia-rates/asia-has-more-buffers-and-room-to-raise-rates-imf-asia-pacific-director-idUSKBN1IA0BD |
Piles of lava scattered across Hawaii's Big Island 02:10
Emergency crews said they were poised to evacuate more people as fissures kept spreading from Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano, five days after it started exploding.
Emergency crews said they were poised to evacuate more people as fissures kept spreading from Hawaii’s erupting Kilauea volcano, five days after it started exploding. //reut.rs/2FUK9M1 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/08/piles-of-lava-scattered-across-hawaiis-b?videoId=424967469 |
May 16, 2018 / 2:16 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago UPDATE 2-France's Total will quit Iran gas project if no sanctions waiver Reuters Staff
* Total: Ready to pull out of Iran South Pars project
* Total looking at securing waiver
* Allianz, Maersk Tankers say winding down operations (Adds further detail, background, analyst comment)
By Sudip Kar-Gupta and John Irish
PARIS, May 16 (Reuters) - Total will pull out of a multibillion-dollar gas project in Iran if it cannot secure a waiver from U.S. sanctions, the French energy company said on Wednesday.
The announcement shows how European companies are starting to take matters into their own hands as their leaders struggle to save an international nuclear deal with Iran after the United States withdrew and said it would reinstate sanctions on Tehran.
Supporters of the deal, which lifted earlier sanctions on the Islamic Republic in exchange for it curbing its nuclear ambitions, need to find a way to reassure companies that their investments are beyond Washington’s extra-territorial reach.
Total signed a contract in 2017 to develop phase 11 of Iran’s South Pars field with an initial investment of $1 billion, marking the first major Western energy investment in the country after sanctions were lifted in 2016.
Tehran repeatedly hailed the Total investment as a symbol of the accord’s success.
“Total will not continue the SP11 (South Pars 11) project and will have to unwind all related operations before 4 November 2018, unless Total is granted a specific project waiver by U.S. authorities with the support of the French and European authorities,” the French oil and gas major said in a statement.
Total’s announcement comes after German insurer Allianz and Danish oil product tanker operator Maersk Tankers said they were winding down their businesses in Iran. Joe Kaesar, the CEO of Germany’s Siemens, told CNN his company would not be able to do any new business with Tehran.
Iran has said it may start enriching uranium again if it can no longer see any economic benefit from sticking to the deal.
U.S. President Donald Trump, however, denounced the accord, because it did not cover Iran’s ballistic missile programme, its role in Middle East conflicts or what happens after the deal begins to expire in 2025.
France, Germany and Britain are leading a European effort to safeguard Europe’s economic interests in Iran. But the reach of the U.S. financial system, the dominance of the dollar and the presence of European companies’ operations in the United States all weaken any potential EU counter-measures.
“We have a situation where there is a will to impose sanctions on Europeans and a resentment towards European companies who are now being accused of supporting a terrorist state. With that in mind it’s a logical decision,” a European diplomat said of Total’s decision.
Total said it was working with French authorities towards trying to secure a waiver for the South Pars project. It said it had so far spent less than 40 million euros ($47 million) on the project and that pulling out would not impact the company’s production growth targets.
In an ironic twist, Trump’s decision to threaten European companies that continue to invest in Iran may open the door to Chinese rivals.
Total holds a 50.1 percent stake in the South Pars project. Chinese state-owned oil and gas company CNPC holds a 30 percent share and National Iranian Oil Co subsidiary Petropars 19.9 percent.
Industry sources told Reuters this week that CNPC was ready to take over Total’s stake project if it pulled out.
($1 = 0.8463 euros) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-nuclear-france-total/update-1-frances-total-says-may-pull-out-of-iran-south-pars-project-idUSL5N1SN5HZ |
LONDON How much influence should central bankers wield in a democracy? That’s the question Paul Tucker ponders in “Unelected Power: The Quest for Legitimacy in Central Banking and the Regulatory State”. His answer is thoughtful and robust. It also contains some uncomfortable conclusions for monetary authorities, which have emerged from the wreckage of the global financial crisis with enhanced powers. Less clear is whether fractious politics, or the demands of keeping the world economy upright, will permit such a fundamental rethink.
draghi9-e1525424003500 Over the past decade, central banking has confronted a paradox. Though the U.S. Federal Reserve, European Central Bank, and others largely failed to see the crisis coming, they played a crucial role in cushioning the subsequent downturn. In doing so they have tested – and at times exceeded – the limits of what they were previously allowed to do.
Monetary policymakers’ reward has been new powers. Some have been given – or, in the Bank of England’s case, regained – responsibility for regulating banks. In most developed economies, central bankers are now explicitly charged with spotting and deflating asset bubbles. Meanwhile, politicians have largely relied on ultra-low interest rates to gradually correct weak post-crisis growth.
Tucker believes this is an unsustainable state of affairs. Central bankers are being sucked into deeply political decisions over how the government is financed, and how income is distributed. Yet these “overmighty citizens” have no electoral legitimacy. At the same time, frustrated voters in the West have turned to demagogues. As a result, central bank independence is under threat.
Tucker, who spent three decades at the Bank of England until he stepped down as deputy governor in 2013, had a close-up view of the crisis and its aftermath. Yet readers hoping for revelations about whether he knew that some British banks were fiddling the London Interbank Offered Rate, or his relationship with former Governor Mervyn King, will scan the book’s 568 pages in vain. In its place is a deep and serious attempt to explore the ways in which democracies delegate authority to independent bodies.
That is not a new challenge. Governments have trusted independent judges and military generals for centuries. Utility regulators and central bankers were granted autonomy more recently. Tucker meticulously explores the legal, economic and sociological arguments for handing over power – as well as the ways politicians retain oversight. Observations about the U.S. constitution are mingled with explanations of the German Bundesbank’s resistance to regulating banks (because that might dilute its constitutional independence).
Tucker distills these ideas into a “Money-Credit Constitution” for central banks. This includes a target for inflation; a requirement that lenders hold reserves; a promise to provide liquidity to sound banks; the power to wind down failing ones; and limits on the size of the central bank’s balance sheet. A decade ago, only the first of these would have been considered mainstream. Yet one of the few benefits of the crisis is that central bankers have relearned the importance of maintaining a stable financial system.
These principles would constrain some central banks today. The Fed’s mandate to stabilise prices and maximise employment is fuzzier than a simple inflation target. European countries rely too heavily on the ECB to keep the euro zone intact. Meanwhile the Bank of Japan’s promise to hold 10-year government bond yields at around zero puts it, in Tucker’s memorable phrase, “in the antechamber of monetisation” of the country’s vast national debt.
Enacting this principled vision will, however, be a challenge. Most Western democracies are deeply divided. It’s hard to imagine the U.S. Republican and Democratic parties agreeing on limits to what the Fed should do. In Britain, the Conservative government and opposition Labour party hold conflicting views on whether the state should spend more. And euro zone countries have so far failed to introduce any significant reforms to strengthen the single currency area. In the absence of agreement, central banks remain the only game in town.
Second, the next recession is almost certain to arrive before central banks have finished unwinding emergency policies from the last crisis. In the absence of a political response, the pressure to consider even more radical moves – such as outright money-printing – will be intense.
Whether Tucker will get a chance to put his ideas into practice remains to be seen. Though he was passed over when the government picked a BoE governor in 2012, he is likely to be a contender when Mark Carney vacates the position next year. Whoever takes on the job will find this book a comprehensive and thoughtful guide to the limits of their unelected power.
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-cenbank-breakingviews/breakingviews-review-saving-central-bankers-from-the-mob-idUSKBN1I51HQ |
LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) - Russian money hidden in British assets and laundered through City of London financial institutions damages the government’s efforts to take a tough stance against Moscow’s aggressive foreign policy, a committee of lawmakers said on Monday.
Britain’s financial centre has been a major beneficiary of the massive flight of Russian cash since the 1991 fall of the Soviet Union, and London remains the Western capital of choice for the oligarchs and Russian officials who flaunt their wealth across Europe’s most luxurious destinations.
But Britain has led an international diplomatic backlash against Russia following the poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in an English city - an attack which the government blames on the Kremlin. Moscow has denied any involvement in the incident.
A report by parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Russian money was undermining Britain’s criticism of the Kremlin and supporting what it called a campaign by President Vladimir Putin “to subvert the international rules-based system”.
“The scale of damage that this ‘dirty money’ can do to UK foreign policy interests dwarfs the benefit of Russian transactions in the City,” said committee chairman Tom Tugendhat.
“There is no excuse for the UK to turn a blind eye as President Putin’s kleptocrats and human rights abusers use money laundered through London to corrupt our friends, weaken our alliances, and erode faith in our institutions.”
Among its recommendations, the committee said Britain should work with international allies to make it more difficult for Russia to issue sovereign bonds, which are not subject to sanctions, via banks which are sanctioned - a practice the report said undermined efforts to reign in Russian behaviour .
Russia has been accused of interfering in the 2016 U.S. election and of a series of cyber attacks around the world. It denies both.
In April, the United States imposed major sanctions against 24 Russians, striking at allies of Putin in an aggressive move to punish Moscow for its alleged meddling.
PRIME DESTINATION The British National Crime Agency said this month that potentially hundreds of billions pounds of money-laundering impacts Britain each year, and that it is a prime destination for Russians looking to legitimise the proceeds of corruption.
“The use of London as a base for the corrupt assets of Kremlin-connected individuals is now clearly linked to a wider Russian strategy and has implications for our national security,” the committee report said.
After convincing dozens of countries, including the United States, to expel Russian diplomats in response to the use of a nerve agent on British soil in March, Britain has promised further measures to tighten sanctions against Russians.
But the committee said more needed to be done domestically to tighten sanctions on individuals and at an international level to close loopholes that allow Russia to issue sovereign debt with the help of sanctioned entities.
It recommended working with the EU and United States on a way to prohibit the purchase of Russian bonds which have been sold with the help of sanctioned banks, and a ban on European clearing houses making Russian debt available.
“The size of London’s financial markets and their importance to Russian investors gives the UK considerable leverage over the Kremlin,” the report added. (Editing by Stephen Addison)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-russia/russian-dirty-money-flowing-through-london-damages-britain-uk-lawmakers-idUSL5N1SP3CA |
(Adds details on flu cost)
May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. health insurer Aetna Inc, which has agreed to be bought by CVS Health Inc, reported a better-than-expected first-quarter profit on Tuesday as an adjustment for low healthcare spending late last year offset a rise in flu-related costs.
U.S. drugstore operator CVS agreed in December to acquire Aetna for $69 billion, seeking to tackle soaring healthcare spending through lower-cost medical services in pharmacies.
Aetna said it expects the deal, which is undergoing an antitrust review at the U.S. Department of Justice, to close in the second half of 2018.
Aetna said its overall medical loss ratio the percent of premiums spent on health insurance claims improved to 80.4 percent from 82.5 percent a year earlier.
The company said that its commercial medical cost ratio was helped by exiting the individual insurance market created by former President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law often called Obamacare. Collecting more revenue to help pay for the reinstatement of a national, industry-wide health insurance fee of 3 percent also helped its overall medical cost ratio.
The flu dragged on the ratio by 50 basis points, Aetna said.
PROFIT TOPS ESTIMATES
Aetna's net income was $1.21 billion, or $3.67 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $381 million, or $1.11 per share, a year earlier that was related to costs for its failed deal to buy Humana Inc..
Excluding items, the company reported earnings of $3.19, ahead of analysts' average estimate of $2.97, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Total revenue rose to $15.34 billion from $15.17 billion. (Reporting by Caroline Humer in New York and Ankur Banerjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Nick Zieminski) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/reuters-america-update-2-health-insurer-aetna-beats-estimates-despite-higher-flu-costs.html |
SUNNYVALE, Calif., May 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intuitive Surgical, Inc., (Nasdaq:ISRG) announced today it has begun direct operations in India, following seven years of doing business in the country through a distributor, Vattikuti Technologies Pvt. Ltd.
Intuitive Surgical Announces Mandeep Singh Kumar as General Manager in India.
Intuitive pioneered, and continues to be a global leader in, the field of robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery with the creation of its da Vinci surgical system more than two decades ago. Now on its fourth-generation system, the Silicon Valley-based company has seen more than five million robotic-assisted surgical procedures performed worldwide, and the da Vinci surgical system benefits explored in more than 15,000 peer-reviewed scientific publications to date.
“The adoption and advancement of robotic-assisted surgery has been enabled by critical contributions from health care professionals from India,” said Intuitive CEO Gary Guthart. “As Intuitive continues to grow to serve patients, surgeons, and hospitals in India, we look forward to deepening our support of, and work with, health care professionals in their pursuit of the clinical and economic benefits robotic-assisted surgery offers.”
In support of the company’s commitment to India, Intuitive also named Mandeep Singh Kumar as its general manager. Mandeep will direct and implement Intuitive’s in-country strategy and commercial operations. He has more than 20 years of global business experience in health care, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and advertising. Most recently, Mandeep served as the chief commercial officer for GE Healthcare, India and South Asia.
“It is a privilege to be part of Intuitive’s journey in India, and we are committed to working with surgeons across the country to bring the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to their patients,” said Mandeep.
Intuitive’s sixth international office will be headquartered in Bengaluru, where employees in sales, marketing, field service engineering, and business operations will be based to support customers throughout the country. More than 65 da Vinci surgical systems are currently in use in India, with surgeons performing robotic-assisted procedures in urology, gynecology, thoracic, and general surgery.
“Our customers can expect a smooth transition and even deeper collaboration opportunities between Intuitive and India’s surgical community,” said Jeroen van Heesewijk, senior vice president of global distribution at Intuitive. “We look forward to welcoming our new colleagues to the Intuitive team, as well.”
More than 60 former Vattikuti employees became a part of Intuitive India’s business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
About Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRG), headquartered in Sunnyvale, Calif. is the pioneer in robotic-assisted, minimally invasive surgery. Intuitive develops, manufactures and markets the da Vinci surgical system. The Company's mission is to make surgery more effective, less invasive and easier on surgeons, patients and their families.
About the Da Vinci Surgical System
There are several models of the da Vinci surgical system. The da Vinci surgical systems are designed to help surgeons perform minimally invasive surgery. Da Vinci systems offer surgeons high-definition 3D vision, a magnified view, and robotic and computer assistance. They use specialized instrumentation, including a miniaturized surgical camera and wristed instruments (i.e., scissors, scalpels and forceps) that are designed to help with precise dissection and reconstruction deep inside the body.
© 2018 Intuitive Surgical, Inc. All rights reserved. Intuitive Surgical ® , da Vinci ® , da Vinci S ® , da Vinci Si ® da Vinci Xi ® , da Vinci X ® , OnSite ® and EndoWrist ® are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intuitive Surgical, Inc.
For more information, please visit the company's web site at www.intuitivesurgical.com .
Important Safety Information
For Important Safety Information, indications for use, risks, full cautions and warnings, please refer to www.davincisurgery.com/safety and www.intuitivesurgical.com/safety .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding provisional income tax expense related to the 2017 Tax Act, the potential impact of the final resolution of provisional estimates and potential subsequent adjustments due to additional guidance from and interpretations by regulatory and standard-setting bodies, and changes in assumptions. These forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates reflecting the best judgment of the Company’s management and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including, but not limited to, the following: the impact of global and regional economic and credit market conditions on healthcare spending; healthcare reform legislation in the United States and its impact on hospital spending, reimbursement and fees levied on certain medical device revenues; changes in hospital admissions and actions by payers to limit or manage surgical procedures; the timing and success of product development and market acceptance of developed products; the results of any collaborations, in-licensing arrangements, joint ventures, strategic alliances or partnerships; procedure counts; regulatory approvals, clearances and restrictions or any dispute that may occur with any regulatory body; guidelines and recommendations in the healthcare and patient communities; intellectual property positions and litigation; competition in the medical device industry and in the specific markets of surgery in which the Company operates; unanticipated manufacturing disruptions or the inability to meet demand for products; the results of legal proceedings to which the Company is or may become a party; product liability and other litigation claims; adverse publicity regarding the Company and the safety of the Company’s products and adequacy of training; the Company’s ability to expand into foreign markets; the impact of changes to tax legislation, guidance, and interpretations; and other risk factors under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016, as updated by the Company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements using words such as “estimates,” “projects,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “targeted” and similar words and expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
PN 1048831 Rev A
Media Contact
Global Public Affairs
Intuitive Surgical
[email protected]
+1-408-523-7337
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2b7edc83-6f67-460b-8fe7-2a6bb5675dfe
Source:Intuitive Surgical, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/globe-newswire-intuitive-to-begin-direct-operations-in-india.html |
ESCONDIDO, Calif., May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OSS (NASDAQ:OSS), a leading provider of high-performance computing systems, will hold a conference call on Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018. The financial results will be issued in a press release prior to the call.
OSS management will host the presentation, followed by a question and answer period.
Date: Tuesday, May 8, 2018
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (2:00 p.m. Pacific time)
Toll-free dial-in number: 1-866-548-4713
International dial-in number: 1-323-794-2093
Conference ID: 1149348
The conference call will be webcast live and available for replay here as well as via a link in the Investors section of the company’s website at ir.onestopsystems.com . OSS regularly uses its website to disclose material and non-material information to investors, customers, employees and others interested in the company.
Please call the conference telephone number five minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact CMA at 1-949-432-7566.
A replay of the call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the same day through May 22, 2018.
Toll-free replay number: 1-844-512-2921
International replay number: 1-412-317-6671
Replay ID: 1149348
About One Stop Systems
One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS) designs and manufactures high-performance compute accelerators, flash storage arrays and customized servers for deep learning, AI, defense, finance and entertainment applications. OSS utilizes the power of PCI Express, the latest GPU accelerators and NVMe flash cards to build award-winning systems, including many industry firsts, for OEMs and government customers. The company’s innovative hardware and Ion Accelerator Software offers exceptional performance and unparalleled scalability. OSS products are available directly, through global distributors, or via its SkyScale cloud services. For more information, go to www.onestopsystems.com .
Media Contact:
Katie Rivera
One Stop Systems, Inc.
Tel (760) 745-9883
Email contact
Investor Relations:
Ronald Both or Grant Stude
CMA
Tel (949) 432-7566
Email contact
Source: OneStop Systems, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-oss-sets-first-quarter-2018-conference-call-for-tuesday-may-8-2018-at-500-p-m-et.html |
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - African Swine Fever (ASF), a severe hemorrhagic disease of pigs, has been reported in South Africa’s Northern Cape Province, the department of agriculture said on Thursday.
The new blow to South Africa’s pork industry comes as prices tumble after a Listeria outbreak that has killed more than 200 people and was traced to low-priced processed meat from a factory owned by Tiger Brands.
ASF, which is not transmitted to humans, can result in “a great number of the deaths of pigs in a short span of time” and is transmitted by contact with other infected pigs, ticks or from infected swill, the department said in a statement.
The unrelated Listeria outbreak, the biggest ever recorded, is expected to cause around 1 billion rand ($80 million) in losses to the pork value chain due to the changes in consumer perceptions of pork.
Reporting by Tanisha Heiberg; Editing by Ed Stoddard and Robin Pomeroy
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-safrica-disease-swine-fever/african-swine-fever-outbreak-reported-in-south-africa-agriculture-dept-idINKCN1IW18Q |
May 8 (Reuters) - Chuy’s Holdings Inc:
* CHUY’S HOLDINGS, INC. ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.19 * Q1 REVENUE $93.9 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $94.6 MILLION
* REAFFIRMS FY 2018 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $1.12 TO $1.16 * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.22 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* ON A FISCAL BASIS, QTRLY COMPARABLE SALES DECREASED 1.5% * ON A CALENDAR BASIS, QTRLY COMPARABLE RESTAURANT SALES DECREASED 0.6% Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-chuys-holdings-inc-reports-q1-earn/brief-chuys-holdings-inc-reports-q1-earnings-per-share-0-19-idUSASC0A0MJ |
Facebook’s recent humbling has done little to alter the company’s vision of a world that is a much more connected and, thus, much better for advertising.
That much was apparent from the kickoff of the company’s annual F8 developers’ conference on Tuesday. Mark Zuckerberg led off the affair, describing the scandal involving Cambridge Analytica as a “major breach of trust.” But the optimistic Facebook CEO also reiterated his longstanding ideals that the world should be a more connected place, with new developments from the... RELATED VIDEO Facebook's current data crisis involving Cambridge Analytica has angered users and prompted government investigations. To understand what's happening now, you have to look back at Facebook's old policies from 2007 to 2014. WSJ's Shelby Holliday explains. Illustration: Laura Kammerman To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/facebooks-undiminished-ambitions-1525253401 |
ADA, Okla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LegalShield, one of North America’s leading providers of affordable legal plans and the IDShield identity theft solution for individuals, families and small businesses, announced that two of the company’s prominent provider attorneys have been elected to the Group Legal Services Association (GLSA) Board of Directors for a three-year term.
Sarah G. Kieny is the managing partner in the law firm of Riggs, Abney, Neal, Turpen, Orbison & Lewis in Denver and has been with the firm since 1997. She manages 30 lawyers and in addition handles a substantial traffic ticket case load, spearheading the delivery of LegalShield traffic law benefits for Colorado members. She is a preferred referral attorney for LegalShield regarding traffic matters and also assists members with Commercial Drivers Legal Plans. She recently led a presentation at the GLSA Conference in April concerning the importance of having a practice related to traffic tickets.
Kieny supervises more than 20 attorneys and staff members in day-to-day operations for LegalShield, and she serves as the main contact for members who call the firm’s emergency access line after hours. Sarah is also passionate about access to justice for all and using technology to remove the barriers to affordable legal services. She coordinates quarterly “Law Day” initiatives, bringing volunteer attorneys to local schools and community centers for an evening to meet with community members. Sarah is an active LegalShield ambassador at conferences and seminars across the country.
Benjamin Farrow is a shareholder in The Anderson Law Firm in Montgomery, AL. His areas of practice include collections, business and commercial law, car accident, federal trial practice, mediation, personal injury and litigation. He is licensed in Louisiana, Alabama and Mississippi and maintains an active docket in all three states. Ben is the supervising attorney for LegalShield at his firm, and actively engages with company associates as well as other provider attorneys. He leads estate planning webinars for members and most recently moderated a presentation at the GLSA Conference about social media ethics for lawyers, “Legal Ethics: Implications and other issues for lawyers managing their own on-line brand.”
“On behalf of LegalShield, we’re delighted to have two representatives on the GLSA board,” said Keri Norris, senior vice president of regulatory affairs and chief legal counsel. “Sarah and Ben are both excellent attorneys, and their success is outweighed only by their compassion and dedication to advancing access to justice for all. We are proud to work alongside all of the hard-working attorneys in our provider network of law firms in all 50 states and four provinces in Canada.”
About GLSA
GLSA is a Chicago-based nonprofit, ABA-affiliated membership association for those involved in the legal services plan industry, which delivers legal services to a broad range of clients. Members are committed to providing affordable access to legal services. The conference focuses on providing lawyers involved in the legal services plan industry with education, support and collaboration so that they may focus on the practice of law rather than the marketing of their law practices.
About LegalShield
A pioneer in the democratization of affordable access to legal protection, LegalShield is one of North America’s leading providers of legal safeguards and protection against identity theft for individuals, families and small businesses. The 45-year-old company has more than 1,753,000 members that are covered by its legal and identity theft plans. IDShield provides identity theft protection to one million individuals. LegalShield and IDShield serve more than 141,000 businesses. Both legal and identity theft plans start for less than $25 per month.
LegalShield’s legal plans provide access to attorneys with an average of 22 years of experience in areas such as family matters, estate planning, financial and business issues, consumer protection, tax, real estate, benefits disputes and auto/driving issues. Unlike other legal plans or do-it-yourself websites, LegalShield has dedicated law firms in 50 states and four provinces in Canada that members can call for help without having to worry about high hourly rates.
IDShield provides identity monitoring and restoration services and is the only identity theft protection company armed with a team of licensed private investigators on call to restore a member’s identity.
For more information, call press and corporate relations at 580-436-1234.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180518005071/en/
The Pollack PR Marketing Group
Jackie Liu, 310-556-4443
[email protected]
Source: LegalShield | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/business-wire-legalshield-provider-law-firm-attorneys-elected-to-group-legal-services-association-board-of-directors.html |
May 3 (Reuters) - Softline AG:
* FY GROUP REVENUES OF 705,000 EUR (PREVIOUS YEAR: EUR 637,000)
* FY NET LOSS AT 240,000 EUROS VERSUS LOSS 459,000 EUROS YEAR AGO Source text for Eikon: (Gdynia Newsroom)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-softline-fy-net-loss-shrinks-to-eu/brief-softline-fy-net-loss-shrinks-to-eur-240000-idUSFWN1SA07W |
May 13, 2018 / 11:18 PM / Updated 17 hours ago Peace talks ignite land buying frenzy along South Korea's fortified border 5 Min Read
SEOUL (Reuters) - Forget Seoul’s posh Gangnam district. A sign advertising properties within and along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) which separates the two Koreas, is seen at a real estate agency in Munsan, South Korea May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Kwak Sung-Kyung
With North Korea pledging to reduce tensions and renew ties with its southern neighbor, South Korea’s hottest property market is now along the heavily fortified border between the two countries.
Demand for property in small towns and sparsely populated rural areas around the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) is surging on expectations of an influx of people and investment.
Kang Sung-wook, a 37-year old dentist in the South Korean border city of Paju, has bought eight separate lots of land in and around the DMZ since mid-March.
Five were purchased without ever setting foot on them, using only Google Earth satellite photos and maps, as areas inside the DMZ cannot not be accessed by the public.
Kang said buying interest jumped so sharply as relations between the former foes improved that he needed to move fast.
“I was out looking since North Korea-U.S. summit news was announced in March, and it looked like all the good ones were gone already,” said Kang. “I realized then that the market was on fire.”
His investment along the border now totals 3 billion won ($2.8 million) for 49 acres (20 hectares) of land. RAZOR WIRE AND RESTRICTIONS
For decades, the DMZ has been a different kind of hot spot, the scene of sometimes deadly military provocations and daring defections from the North.
The zone, dotted with guard posts and strung with razor wire, was established after the 1950-1953 Korean War. The two Koreas still don’t officially recognize each other and remain in a technical state of war because the conflict ended in a truce, not a peace agreement.
Over a million landmines were laid in border areas including the DMZ and the Civilian Control Zone in the South, said Jeong In-cheol, a landmine expert at National Park Conservation Network.
But while public access is restricted, land within the 2km (1.2 mile) wide South Korean side of the DMZ and other border areas can still be purchased and registered.
Land transactions in Paju, gateway to the United Nations truce village of Panmunjom, more than doubled in March to 4,628 from February, government data shows. That far outstripped better known markets such as trendy Gangnam, where volumes were up just 9 percent.
In the settlement of Jangdan-myun, home to Dorasan Station - the last railway stop south of the border - transaction volumes surged four-fold from a year earlier. Land prices there rose 17 percent over the same period. Visitors look at a map showing the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas at Imjingak pavilion, near the truce village of Panmunjom in Paju, South Korea May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Kwak Sung-Kyung
Kim Yoon-sik, a realtor with 25 years experience in Paju, says owners of the land in the DMZ include those who inherited farmland from ancestors in pre-Korean war days and some long term investors.
“With bids outnumbering offers, I often see sellers cancelling on preliminary contracts, it’s that hot,” Kim said. RAILWAYS AND CONSTRUCTION
The surge of activity along the border is not limited to South Korea or just real estate.
In the northeastern Chinese border city of Dandong, property investors are pushing up prices and even spurring buying interest inside North Korea.
At last month’s historic inter-Korean summit at Panmunjom, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in pledged to reconnect railways and roads along the border, and transform the DMZ into a “peace zone”.
China and South Korea have also agreed that if North Korea undertakes complete denuclearisation, it should be guaranteed economic aid. That could start with railway projects connecting China and South Korea through North Korea.
Shares of South Korea’s construction and railway firms such as Hyundai Rotem and Seoam Machinery Industry Co have soared on hopes of such projects. FALSE DAWN?
But South Korea has seen this kind of excitement before.
Border property prices spiked when former President Roh Moo-hyun met with North Korea’s Kim Jong Il in 2007. Prices then plummeted as ties deteriorated when the right-wing government of Lee Myung-bak took power a year later.
“For the past seven decades, the two Koreas have taken radically different paths,” said Jhe Seong-ho, a law school professor at Seoul’s Chung Ang University. “Deregulating of the border zones won’t be a quick and smooth process even if there is an economic opening up of North Korea.”
Much of the land within the DMZ is likely to remain restricted from any development for conservation purposes, a huge risk for investors, he added.
Hopes are high, however, with Kim set to meet U.S. President Donald Trump in Singapore next month after his recent summit with Moon and two trips to China to meet President Xi Jinping.
“I have a firm belief that this time North Korea would pursue an open economy like Vietnam,” Kang said. “Kim Jong Un wouldn’t go everywhere and visit China twice if he was bluffing.” Reporting by Joori Roh and Cynthia Kim. Editing by Lincoln Feast. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-border-property/peace-talks-ignite-land-buying-frenzy-along-south-koreas-fortified-border-idUSKCN1IE14H |
WUXI, China, May 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharing Economy International Inc. ("SEII" or "the Company") (SEII), a clean technology and sharing economy company that designs, manufactures and distributes of proprietary high and low temperature dyeing and finishing machinery to the textile industry, and is engaged in the development of sharing economy platforms and rental related businesses, today announced its financial results for quarter ended March 31, 2018.
"During the first quarter of 2018, our legacy dyeing and finishing business continued to face difficult economic conditions. Among other factors, the persistent lack of credit availability for textile manufacturers in China put pressure on our customers, resulting in declining revenues and negative margins. Although we recorded our loss, our working capital position improved, and we generated positive cash flow from operations during the quarter as we move forward in our efforts to position SEII for success in new markets with strong growth potential," said Mr. Jianhua Wu, Chairman and CEO of SEII. "We continue to build momentum in our sharing economy businesses, closing two important acquisitions during the quarter: AnyWorkspace and 3D Discovery. More importantly, we recently entered into a licensing agreement with ECrent Capital Holdings Limited to commercialize the ECrent online platform in multiple countries across Asia, which we believe will be truly transformational for our business."
Mr. Parkson Yip, Vice President of SEII, commented, "We are gearing up for a major push for our sharing economy businesses in the months ahead. The launch of BuddiGo, our sharing platform that allows users to outsource daily chores and mundane tasks to 'buddies' who can spare idle time to run errands, we will begin in the second quarter of 2018 with an initial focus on food delivery services in Hong Kong and quickly expand to include grocery shopping and same-day inner-city parcel delivery in Hong Kong and other Asian markets. AnyWorkspace, our flexible workspace offering, currently has over 900 workspace listings in Hong Kong and major cities in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and South Korea. In the coming months, we will expand the platform to new geographic regions and focus on driving user growth through aggressive marketing and strategic partnership programs.
"Our 3D Discovery business unit continues to develop a user-friendly application which will allow users to create 3D virtual tours with a smartphone camera. We believe our 3D virtual tour will be an affordable and accessible solution that will allow us to quickly expand our reach and generate valuable big data from real estate markets following its launch in Hong Kong, Australia and Indonesia in the third quarter of 2018. Our EC Advertising unit has begun developing opportunities for each of these three platforms to attract advertisers and we anticipate traffic will reach the point where we can generate advertising revenue later this year. Finally, we remain steadfast in our belief that a true peer-to-peer sharing economy based on rentals will take significant market share in both the business and consumer markets over the next few years and believe our new licensing agreement with ECrent puts us in a strong position to capitalize on that dynamic. We look forward to commercializing the ECrent platform in key markets in Asia in the months ahead," Mr. Yip concluded.
First Quarter 2018 Results
Revenue for the first quarter of 2018 decreased by 44.9% to $2.6 million, compared to $4.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. The Company's dyeing and finishing business generated substantially all revenue in the first quarter of 2018 since the forged rolled rings and related products and petroleum and chemical equipment businesses were discontinued in 2016 and the new sharing economy businesses are still in an early stage. Revenues from the dyeing and finishing business declined due to an anticipated slowdown in shipments of low-emission airflow dyeing machines as many companies in the dyeing industry had already upgraded to new models and did not require additional equipment, and orders for new low-emission airflow dyeing machines slowed down in 2018 and 2017 as potential customers did not have the financial resources or credit to purchase equipment. In addition, apparel factories and other factories have been shut down throughout the last year by China's environmental bureau, which has been cutting electricity and gas supply to determine compliance with China's environmental laws, which contributed to the decline in revenues. Revenues from the sharing economy businesses were $31,000 in the first quarter of 2018. Compared to $0 in the first quarter of 2017.
Gross loss for the first quarter of 2018 was $359,000, compared to gross profit of $586,000 for the same period in 2017. Gross margin was negative 14.0% during the first quarter of 2018 compared to 12.6% for the same period in 2017. The gross margin for the first quarter of 2018 was impacted by the reduced scale of operations resulting from lower revenues, which is reflected in the allocation of fixed costs, mainly consisting of depreciation, to cost of revenues, and an increase in labor and raw material costs.
Operating expenses increased to $4.4 million, compared to $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2017. The increase was due to higher professional fees in the form of stock-based compensation related to implementing a new business plan with the objective of improving long-term growth, an increase in bad debt expense, and higher salaries, travel and entertainment expenses to support new business opportunities.
Loss from continuing operations was $4.9 million, or $(1.60) per basic and diluted share, compared to loss from continuing operations of $146,000, or $(0.10) per basic and diluted share in the first quarter of 2017.
Gain from discontinued operations (Refer to "Discontinued Operations" discussion below) was $17,000, or $0.00 per basic and diluted share. This compares to a gain from discontinued operations of $0 or $(0.00) in the first quarter of 2017.
Net loss attributable to common shareholders for the first quarter of 2018 was $4.8 million, or $(1.60) per basic and diluted share, compared to net loss of $146,000, or $(0.10) per basic and diluted share, in the first quarter of 2017.
Basic and diluted earnings per share were based on 2,992,879 and 1,415,441 weighted average shares outstanding, respectively, for the quarters ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. The increase in weighted average shares was due to shares issued as stock-based compensation, common stock issued for acquisitions, conversion of a convertible note and the sale of common shares during the quarter. All share and per share information has been adjusted to reflect a 1-for-4 reverse stock split effective March 20, 2017.
Financial Condition
As of March 31, 2018, SEII held cash and cash equivalents of $2.0 million compared to $1.0 million at December 31, 2017. Accounts receivable were $6.4 million compared to $9.1 million at December 31, 2017. Inventories were $5.2 million compared to $4.6 million at December 31, 2017. The Company had $2.3 million in short-term bank loans payable at March 31, 2018, down slightly from $2.5 million at December 31, 2017. Working capital was $18.2 million at March 31, 2018, compared to $13.5 million at December 31, 2017. Stockholders' equity was $67.7 million at March 31, 2018.
In the first quarter of 2018, the Company generated $0.5 million in cash flow from operations. The Company used $52,000 in cash flow from investing activities, primarily due to cash used for the purchase of property and equipment in Wuxi, China. The Company generated $0.5 million in cash flow from financing activities, primarily due to proceeds of $0.3 million from the sale of common stock, advances from a related party of $0.4 million and a decrease in restricted cash, which were partially offset by a reduction in bank acceptance notes payable.
Discontinued Operations
On December 30, 2016, the Company sold and transferred 100% of the stock of Wuxi Fulland Wind Energy Equipment Co., Ltd. ("Fulland Wind") to an unrelated party and discontinued the Company's forged rolled rings and related components business. Additionally, the Company's management decided to discontinue its petroleum and chemical equipment segment due to significant declines in revenues and the loss of its major customer. As such, the assets and liabilities of these two segments have been classified on the consolidated balance sheet as assets and liabilities of discontinued operations as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 and the operating results have been classified as discontinued operations in the consolidated statements of operations for all years presented.
Recent Events
In May 2018, the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Sharing Economy Investment Limited ("Sharing Economy"), entered into a license agreement with ECrent Capital Holdings Limited ("ECrent"). Pursuant to the agreement, ECrent shall grant Sharing Economy an exclusive license to utilize certain software and trademarks in order to develop, launch, operate, commercialize, and maintain an online website platform in Taiwan, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, and Korea until December 31, 2019. In consideration for the license, the Company shall grant ECrent 530,000 shares of common stock on the closing date of the Agreement, whereas ECrent guarantees that the business will generate revenue of $15.0 million and gross profit of $2.9 million from the closing date of the agreement until December 31, 2019.
In May 2018, the Company closed a private placement of securities with an investor pursuant to which the investor purchased a convertible promissory note in the original principal amount of $0.9 million, convertible into shares of common stock of the Company upon the terms and subject to the limitations and conditions set forth in the note, and a two-year warrant to purchase shares of 134,328 shares of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $7.18 per share. In connection with the note, the Company paid an original issue discount of $150,000 and issuance costs of $15,000. The note bears interest at 10% per annum, is unsecured, and has a term of fifteen months. The Company intends to use to proceeds to fund the working capital requirements of its sharing economy businesses as it prepares to launch several new services in the second quarter of 2018.
About Sharing Economy International Inc.
Sharing Economy International Inc., through its affiliated companies, designs, manufactures and distributes a line of proprietary high and low temperature dyeing and finishing machinery to the textile industry. The Company's latest business initiatives are focused on targeting the technology and global sharing economy markets, by developing online platforms and rental business partnerships that will drive the global development of sharing through economical rental business models. Moreover, the Company will actively pursue blockchain technology in its existing and to-be-acquired business, enabling the general public to realize the beauty of resource sharing. For more information visit www.seii.com
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains certain "forward-looking statements" relating to the business of the Company and its subsidiary and affiliated companies and certain potential transactions that they may enter into. These forward looking statements are often identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions. Such forward looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to be materially different from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website, including factors described in "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or to persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors other than as required under the securities laws. The Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.
SHARING ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31,
December 31,
2018
2017
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
CURRENT ASSETS:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
1,982,661
$
1,019,437
Restricted cash
123,466
272,991
Notes receivable
749,976
461,292
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts
6,407,157
9,092,709
Inventories, net of reserve for obsolete inventories
5,204,268
4,553,559
Advances to suppliers
1,910,808
2,023,779
Receivable from sale of subsidiary
3,053,727
2,950,442
Prepaid expenses and other
7,529,365
2,144,624
Assets of discontinued operations
298,027
407,510
Total current assets
27,259,455
22,926,343
OTHER ASSETS:
Equity method investment
9,297,562
9,053,859
Property and equipment, net
33,341,343
33,181,119
Intangible assets, net
6,833,455
5,394,296
Total other assets
49,472,360
47,629,274
Total assets
$
76,731,815
$
70,555,617
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY
CURRENT LIABILITIES:
Short-term bank loans
$
2,147,151
$
2,074,529
Bank acceptance notes payable
119,286
422,589
Convertible note payable
-
670,000
Accounts payable
2,251,582
2,798,590
Accrued expenses
168,766
165,749
Advances from customers
3,321,444
2,454,375
Due to related party
715,367
347,589
Income taxes payable
65,705
63,483
Liabilities of discontinued operations
265,333
389,633
Total current liabilities
9,054,634
9,386,537
Total liabilities
9,054,634
9,386,537
Commitments and contingencies (see Note 15)
STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY:
Preferred stock ($0.001 par value; 10,000,000 shares authorized; No shares issued
and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017)
-
-
Common stock ($0.001 par value; 12,500,000 shares authorized; 4,445,709 and
2,527,720 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31,
2017, respectively)
4,446
2,528
Additional paid-in capital
49,160,622
40,241,172
Retained earnings
8,844,315
13,624,729
Statutory reserve
2,352,592
2,352,592
Accumulated other comprehensive income - foreign currency translation adjustment
6,973,464
4,923,829
Total Sharing Economy International Inc. stockholder's equity
67,335,439
61,144,850
Non-controlling interest
341,742
24,230
Total stockholders' equity
67,677,181
61,169,080
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
76,731,815
$
70,555,617
SHARING ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(Unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
REVENUES
$
2,568,527
$
4,657,454
COST OF REVENUES
2,927,892
4,071,600
GROSS (LOSS) PROFIT
(359,365)
585,854
OPERATING EXPENSES:
Depreciation
243,003
268,365
Selling, general and administrative
2,746,984
307,659
Research and development
113,447
106,077
Bad debt expense
1,318,204
-
Total operating expenses
4,421,638
682,101
LOSS FROM OPERATIONS
(4,781,003)
(96,247)
OTHER INCOME (EXPENSE):
Interest income
1,461
1,878
Interest expense
(30,452)
(39,690)
Loss on equity method investment
(72,412)
(18,355)
Foreign currency transaction gain (loss)
(1,155)
-
Other income
-
16,992
Total other expense, net
(102,558)
(39,175)
LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS BEFORE PROVISION FOR INCOME
TAXES
(4,883,561)
(135,422)
PROVISIONS FOR INCOME TAXES:
Current
-
(11,062)
Deferred
-
-
Total Income taxes provision
-
(11,062)
LOSS FROM CONTINUING OPERATIONS
(4,883,561)
(146,484)
DISCONTINUTED OPERATIONS:
Gain from discontinued operations, net of income taxes
16,899
-
GAIN FROM DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS, NET OF INCOME TAXES
16,899
-
NET LOSS
(4,866,662)
(146,484)
NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO NON-CONTROLLING INTEREST
(86,248)
-
NET LOSS ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS
$
(4,780,414)
$
(146,484)
COMPREHENSIVE (LOSS) GAIN:
Net loss
$
(4,866,662)
$
(146,484)
Unrealized foreign currency translation gain
2,049,635
496,124
Comprehensive (loss) gain
$
(2,817,027)
$
349,640
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest
$
(86,248)
$
-
Unrealized foreign currency translation gain (loss) from non-controlling interest
-
-
Comprehensive (loss) gain attributable to common stockholders
$
(2,730,779)
$
349,640
NET LOSS PER COMMON SHARE:
Continuing operations - basic and diluted
$
(1.60)
$
(0.10)
Discontinued operations - basic and diluted
0.00
-
Net loss per common share - basic and diluted
$
(1.60)
$
(0.10)
WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES OUTSTANDING:
Basic and diluted
2,992,879
1,415,441
SHARING ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(Unaudited)
For the Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net loss
$
(4,866,662)
$
(146,484)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss from operations to net cash provided by operating
activities:
Depreciation
1,051,740
968,190
Amortization of intangible assets
98,482
79,531
Bad debt allowance
1,318,204
-
Bad debt recovery - discontinued operations
(16,899)
-
Loss on equity method investment
72,412
18,355
Stock-based professional fees
1,643,047
9,074
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Notes receivable
(269,450)
52,267
Accounts receivable
1,671,900
(1,370,349)
Inventories
(485,743)
(382,965)
Prepaid and other current assets
(130)
(7,374)
Advances to suppliers
181,736
(378,300)
Assets of discontinued operations
139,247
(31,792)
Accounts payable
(634,599)
1,583,204
Accrued expenses
(3,047)
(95,971)
VAT and service taxes payable
-
(20,865)
Income taxes payable
-
(1,746)
Advances from customers
772,306
1,076,712
Liabilities of discontinued operations
(136,379)
(13,106)
Net cash provided by operating activities
536,165
1,338,381
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Proceed received from acquisition
2,341
-
Purchase of property and equipment
(54,835)
(1,444)
Net cash used in investing activities
(52,494)
(1,444)
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from bank loans
707,614
-
Repayments of bank loans
(707,614)
-
(Increase) decrease in restricted cash
157,248
(87,112)
Increase (decrease) in bank acceptance notes payable
(314,495)
87,112
Advance from related party
367,778
-
Proceeds from sale of common stock, net
256,410
-
Net cash provided by financing activities
466,941
-
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
12,612
10,257
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents
963,224
1,347,194
Cash and cash equivalents - beginning of period
1,019,437
1,481,498
Cash and cash equivalents - end of period
$
1,982,661
$
2,828,692
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Cash paid in continuing operations for:
Interest
$
30,452
$
39,690
Income taxes
$
-
$
12,808
Cash paid in discontinued operations for:
Interest
$
-
$
-
Income taxes
$
-
$
-
NON-CASH INVESTING AND FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Stock issued for future services to consultants
$
6,228,976
$
-
Stock issued for future services to employees and directors
$
819,212
Stock issued for repayment of convertible note
$
670,335
$
-
Stock issued for acquisition of subsidiaries
$
976,984
-
Increase in prepaid expenses and other from sale of equipment
$
-
$
1,306,677
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sharing-economy-international-reports-first-quarter-2018-results-300648298.html
SOURCE Sharing Economy International, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/pr-newswire-sharing-economy-international-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
May 24, 2018 / 6:53 AM / Updated 8 minutes ago Daily Mail owner says cautious on the full-year due to tough ad market Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON, May 24 (Reuters) - The publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail said it was cautious about the outlook as it simplifies the group in the face of challenging markets, particularly weak advertising.
Daily Mail & General Trust said its guidance for the full-year remained unchanged but said it expected slower revenue growth in the second half of the year due to difficult conditions in the ad market as well as its property information division.
The Consumer Media business, known as DMG Media, is expected to post a mid-single digit underlying fall in revenues and an operating margin of around 10 percent. Revenue from the unit fell 3 percent in the six months to the end of March.
Underlying growth from its website MailOnline was more than offset by decreasing circulation revenues, down 6 percent, and declines in print advertising, down 3 percent.
At the group level it reported six-month underlying revenue up 1 percent to 746 million pounds and flat operating profit at 84 million pounds.
Daily Mail received a boost earlier this month when it said it would receive a 642 million pound windfall from the sale of ZPG, the owner of online property portals Zoopla and PrimeLocation to private equity group Silver Lake.
“Most recently, the expected disposal of our stake in ZPG Plc is a clear demonstration of our long-term approach to value creation,” Chief Executive Paul Zwillenberg said.
“As a result of this portfolio activity, our balance sheet will be strengthened considerably, enhancing our financial flexibility for balanced capital allocation.” Reporting by Kate Holton, Editing by Paul Sandle | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/dailymail-results/daily-mail-owner-says-cautious-on-the-full-year-due-to-tough-ad-market-idUSL5N1SV1MJ |
May 30 (Reuters) - NEXTBIKE POLSKA SA:
* SAID ON TUESDAY THAT ITS UNIT 40.3 MILLION ZLOTY GROSS OFFER FOR DELIVERY AND SERVICE OF 4080 BICYCLES WITH ELECTRIC DRIVE WAS CHOSEN AS MOST FAVORABLE BY STOWARZYSZENIE OBSZAR METROPOLITALNY GDANSK-GDYNIA-SOPOT
* DEAL TO LAST 78 MONTHS STARTING FROM THE DAY OF CONCLUSION OF DEAL BUT NOT LONGER THAN TILL DEC. 1, 2025
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Cramer: Charts flash bullish signs in stocks of Caterpillar, Boeing and United Technologies 8 Hours Ago Jim Cramer and technician Bob Lang inspect some industrials' stock charts to see if their shares can still surge higher. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/cramer-charts-flash-bullish-signs-in-stocks-of-caterpillar-boeing.html |
May 14, 2018 / 5:05 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago NAFTA math may not add up to more U.S. auto jobs Nick Carey 6 Min Read
DETROIT (Reuters) - Trump administration demands in NAFTA trade negotiations meant to push auto jobs back to the United States may not be enough to spark a shift in where automakers build cars and trucks. FILE PHOTO - Ford and Lincoln vehicles are parked outside the Oakville Assembly Plant in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, November 6, 2016. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
New math to determine what qualifies as vehicle content, what limits apply to allow tariff-free auto imports and how long companies would have to comply under a new NAFTA agreement will likely not move the needle for Detroit automakers in particular, industry executives and supply chain experts said.
Automakers are unlikely to uproot billions of dollars of investments in plants and supply chains. And those that cannot comply with standards for passenger cars could simply pay tariffs of around $800 to $900 per vehicle and buy low-cost parts from Asia to offset the cost, industry experts said.
“Broadly speaking the (tariff) increase isn’t big enough to make a wholesale change,” said Mark Wakefield, head of the North American automotive practice for consultancy AlixPartners. “No one is likely to shut down an active factory in Mexico and build a new one to replace that in the U.S.”
Tough U.S. proposals on autos are meant to bring back U.S. manufacturing jobs and central to the Trump administration’s approach to renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States.
General Motors Co, soon to be the only Detroit Three automaker building pickup trucks in Mexico, is confident it could comply with content requirements for trucks the United States proposes without shifting production, a person familiar with the company’s plans said.
(Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/2IgOECU )
But GM’s Mexican-made trucks already have a significant share of their value, such as engines, produced in the United States at United Auto Workers union-represented factories, and GM would get another boost if it is allowed to tally engineering done in Michigan.
GM is retooling a high-volume factory to build a new generation of large Chevrolet and GMC pickups in Silao, Mexico. Pickup trucks that do not have enough U.S. or North American content under NAFTA rules could be hit with a crippling 25 percent tariff. Slideshow (2 Images)
Last year GM churned out more than 400,000 large pickup trucks from Silao, more than 40 percent of its 2017 U.S. pickup truck sales.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said on Friday a revised treaty could prompt FCA to “redirect” some Mexican production but would not cause it to further dial back its presence in Mexico.
In January FCA had said it would shift production of heavy-duty pickup trucks from Mexico to Michigan in 2020 to reduce the profit risks should the United States pull out of NAFTA.
Senior U.S., Canadian and Mexican officials on Friday ended a week of talks without a deal to modernize NAFTA, agreeing instead to resume negotiations soon, ahead of a deadline next week. RUBIK’S CUBE OF RULES
The United States wants 40 percent of the value of light-duty passenger vehicles and 45 percent of a truck’s content to be built at hourly wages of $16 to qualify for tariff-free import from Mexico.
Those demands are aimed at preserving relatively higher-wage U.S. and Canadian production and pressuring Mexico’s low auto wages.
Mexico wants 70 percent of a vehicle’s content to be made within North America, less than the 75 percent U.S. negotiators propose.
Automakers that do not comply with tougher U.S. or North American content and wage rules, if adopted, could face 2.5 percent tariffs on cars or sport utility vehicles shipped to the United States from Mexico. That may be a level of pain they can live with.
Automakers producing sedans, SUVs and crossovers in Mexico include Ford Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Mazda Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Honda Motor Co Ltd and Volkswagen AG ( VOWG_p.DE ).
The U.S. proposal would allow automakers to count salaries for engineering, research, sales, software and product development jobs, a provision favoring Detroit automakers versus foreign brands.
And companies would have two, four or nine years to comply, depending on the specific condition involved.
Still, some automakers are more of a question mark, especially when it comes to trucks. Toyota plans to expand production in Mexico of its Tacoma pickup trucks, part of a realignment of its North American manufacturing that includes a new $1.6 billion assembly plant in Alabama.
It also makes Tacomas in San Antonio, Texas, so could in theory switch production. The automaker declined to comment.
And the Trump administration proposals could complicate matters for electric vehicles and self-driving cars automakers want to build in Mexico. The U.S. proposals call for 75 percent of an electric or autonomous vehicle’s value to be made within North America to avoid tariffs.
Since much of those vehicle’s value can come from batteries made overseas, that means automakers must make up for the content largely on the human side.
At nine years, electronic vehicles are subject to the longest period until they must comply.
“EVs and AVs have so much electronic content and there is no electronics industry here,” said Kristin Dziczek of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “Nine years is not enough to build up an electronics industry to that scale.” Reporting By Nick Carey; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-autos/nafta-math-may-not-add-up-to-more-u-s-auto-jobs-idUKKCN1IF0CP |
May 8 (Reuters) - Epizyme Inc:
* EPIZYME REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS AND PROVIDES BUSINESS UPDATES
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.49 * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $-0.55 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* EPIZYME - CONTINUES TO EXPECT EXISTING CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS, MARKETABLE SECURITIES AS OF MARCH 31 TO BE SUFFICIENT TO FUND OPERATIONS INTO Q3 2019 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-epizyme-reports-q1-loss-per-share/brief-epizyme-reports-q1-loss-per-share-of-0-49-idUSASC0A0FH |
Rising abuse of prescription painkillers is intensifying a search for alternatives to addictive opioids.
Overdoses of prescription opioids kill about 46 Americans a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Despite that toll, opioids remain in widespread use because they are powerful painkillers, and many attempts to develop new therapies have failed.
But... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-heated-quest-for-opioid-alternatives-1527258997 |
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FrontStream, Inc., provider of Panorama ™, the all-in-one fundraising platform, today announced that the company has been acquired by Marlin Equity Partners ("Marlin"), a leading global investment firm with over $6.7 billion of capital under management and a strong track record of growing companies over time. The investment follows several FrontStream growth milestones and will enable the company to advance its platform and deliver additional services to its customer base worldwide.
"Panorama is the first all-in-one SaaS fundraising platform to help nonprofits and companies raise more money and provide a personalized experience for donors, members, volunteers, and employees alike," said Bill Wood, FrontStream's president and CEO. "With Marlin as our partner, we will have additional resources to execute our strategy and accelerate growth and innovation; ultimately making it easier and more gratifying for people to support the causes they care about."
FrontStream has realized tremendous growth and now has more than 10,000 nonprofit and corporate customers using Panorama for donor management, auctions, special events, peer-to-peer & online fundraising, employee giving, volunteering and matching gifts. Overall sector revenue from online fundraising grew by 23% in 2017 ( NonProfits Source ), contributing to Panorama becoming the unparalleled choice for charities and companies alike. FrontStream processes more than $4 billion annually and distributes donations to more than 80,000 charities worldwide each year.
"We are thrilled to add FrontStream to our exciting portfolio of growing technology businesses and further advance the company's vision of providing charities and companies with inventive solutions to raise money, engage employees, and make a positive contribution to their communities," said Nick Lukens, a principal at Marlin. "With its new, next-generation Panorama platform, the company is ideally positioned to lead at a time when nonprofits are exploring ways to creatively engage donors and optimize fundraising through online, social, and mobile channels. We look forward to supporting FrontStream during its next phase of growth."
About Marlin Equity Partners
Marlin Equity Partners is a global investment firm with over $6.7 billion of capital under management. The firm is focused on providing corporate parents, shareholders and other stakeholders with tailored solutions that meet their business and liquidity needs. Marlin invests in businesses across multiple industries where its capital base, industry relationships and extensive network of operational resources significantly strengthen a company's outlook and enhance value. Since its inception, Marlin, through its group of funds and related companies, has successfully completed over 130 acquisitions. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with an additional office in London. For more information, visit marlinequity.com .
About FrontStream
FrontStream is a leading provider of software and payment processing solutions that help charities and companies raise money, engage constituents, and make a positive impact. The company's Panorama platform offers a full suite of management tools for constituent management, auctions, special events, peer-to-peer and online fundraising, employee giving, volunteering, and gift matching, which have helped more than 10,000 customers raise billions in donations. The company employs over 200 professionals and is based in Cambridge, MA with offices in the US, Canada and Australia. To learn more, visit frontstream.com .
Media Contacts:
Liza Colburn
Crescendo Collaborative Comm.
[email protected]
+1-781-562-0111
Peter Spasov
Marlin Equity Partners
[email protected]
+1-310-364-0100
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frontstream-announces-acquisition-by-marlin-300656325.html
SOURCE FrontStream | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/pr-newswire-frontstream-announces-acquisition-by-marlin.html |
May 30, 2018 / 4:32 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Buffett utility to be first in U.S. to reach 100 pct renewables Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
May 30 (Reuters) - MidAmerican Energy Co will become the first U.S. investor-owned utility to source 100 percent of its customers’ electricity needs from renewable energy when it completes a $922 million wind farm in 2020, the company said on Wednesday.
The utility owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc began investing in wind power about 15 years ago to both hedge against volatile fuel prices and generate more pollutant-free power, its chief executive said, adding that federal tax credits for renewable projects have kept costs low.
“We have not had to raise customers’ rates, and that’s a big part of the way we evaluate these projects,” MidAmerican CEO Adam Wright said in an interview. “We’re not building wind just for the sake of building wind.”
The company, based in Des Moines, Iowa, serves 770,000 electric customers.
With the completion of the utility’s twelfth wind project, MidAmerican will generate enough renewable energy to equal the amount consumed by customers in its Iowa service territory.
Because of the intermittency of electricity generated by wind, the utility will continue to use its existing natural gas, nuclear and coal-fired power plants, MidAmerican said, adding that it is seeking sites to add more wind farms.
Wind power accounts for more than 35 percent of the electricity generated in Iowa, more than any other U.S. state.
MidAmerican’s 591-megawatt Wind XII project is subject to approval by the Iowa Utilities Board. (Reporting by Nichola Groom Editing by Marguerita Choy) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/midamerican-renewables/buffett-utility-to-be-first-in-u-s-to-reach-100-pct-renewables-idUSL2N1T114O |
Weinstein surrenders to police Friday, May 25, 2018 - 00:40
Film producer Harvey Weinstein surrendered to authorities in New York on Friday, months after he was toppled from Hollywood's most powerful ranks by scores of women accusing him of sexual assault, a person familiar with the case said. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).
Film producer Harvey Weinstein surrendered to authorities in New York on Friday, months after he was toppled from Hollywood's most powerful ranks by scores of women accusing him of sexual assault, a person familiar with the case said. Rough Cut (no reporter narration). //reut.rs/2GMUcDj | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/25/weinstein-surrenders-to-police?videoId=430184405 |
SAN DIEGO, May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Qualcomm Incorporated (NASDAQ: QCOM) announced today the commencement of a transaction to exchange four series of its outstanding notes totaling $4 billion as detailed below. While Qualcomm remains committed to the acquisition (the "Acquisition") of NXP Semiconductors N.V. ("NXP"), it is uncertain if the Acquisition will be consummated on or before June 1, 2018. The four series of outstanding notes are intended to finance the Acquisition and contain provisions that will require Qualcomm to redeem such notes if the Acquisition has not been consummated on or before June 1, 2018 or if the related purchase agreement is terminated beforehand. As a result, Qualcomm is offering to certain holders of such notes the opportunity to exchange those notes for four new series of notes that contain a provision requiring Qualcomm to redeem such new notes if the Acquisition has not been consummated on or before November 1, 2018 (instead of June 1, 2018).
Only holders who are "qualified institutional buyers" or who are non-U.S. persons (other than "retail investors" in the European Economic Area and investors in Canada who are not both "accredited investors" and "permitted clients") are eligible to participate in this transaction, as more fully described below. Concurrently with this transaction, Qualcomm also announced today the commencement of a transaction to repurchase such four series of notes pursuant to cash tender offers (each, a "Cash Offer" and collectively, the "Cash Offers"), which are open only to holders who are not eligible to participate in the exchange transaction.
The exchange transaction consists of four separate private offers to exchange (each, an "Exchange Offer" and collectively, the "Exchange Offers"), any and all of the outstanding notes listed in the table below (collectively, the "Old Notes"). Each of the Old Notes contains a special mandatory redemption ("SMR") provision which requires Qualcomm to redeem the Old Notes at a redemption price equal to 101% of the aggregate principal amount of the Old Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the date of such special mandatory redemption, if the Acceptance Time, as defined in the Purchase Agreement, dated October 27, 2016 (as amended, the "Purchase Agreement"), by and between Qualcomm River Holdings B.V., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm and NXP, has not occurred on or before 11:59 p.m., New York City time on June 1, 2018 (the "SMR Date") or if, prior to such date, the Purchase Agreement is terminated. Qualcomm is offering to exchange each of the four series of Old Notes for (i) four new series of Qualcomm's senior notes which will each have an SMR Date of November 1, 2018, which is five months after the SMR Date of the applicable series of Old Notes; and (ii) cash, on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offering Memorandum dated May 21, 2018 (the "Offering Memorandum" and, together with the eligibility letter, the Canadian beneficial holder form and the notice of guaranteed delivery, the "Exchange Offer Documents"). No consents are being solicited as part of the Exchange Offers and no overall minimum condition exists for the Exchange Offers, although the Exchange Offer for the 2.100% Notes due 2020 may be subject to a minimum condition as set forth in the table below.
If the Acquisition is not completed on or prior to June 1, 2018, Qualcomm will redeem any Old Notes not exchanged in these Exchange Offers or tendered in the Cash Offers in accordance with the terms of the Old Notes, including, with respect to the Floating Rate Notes due 2019 (the "Old 2019 Floating Rate Notes") and the Floating Rate Notes due 2020 (the "Old 2020 Floating Rate Notes", and together with the Old 2019 Floating Rate Notes, the "Old Floating Rate Notes"), pursuant to the applicable SMR provisions at a redemption price equal to 101% of the principal amount of such Old Floating Rate Notes, plus accrued but unpaid interest to, but excluding, the date of such special mandatory redemption, or as described in the immediately following paragraph.
In accordance with their terms, Qualcomm may redeem the 1.850% Notes due 2019 (the "Old 2019 Fixed Rate Notes") and the 2.100% Notes due 2020 (the "Old 2020 Fixed Rate Notes", and together with the "Old 2019 Fixed Rate Notes", the "Old Fixed Rate Notes") at any time under the "make whole" optional redemption provision. Assuming Qualcomm does not determine that all conditions to the closing of the Acquisition as set forth in the Purchase Agreement are reasonably likely to be satisfied or waived on or before June 1, 2018, Qualcomm intends to exercise, on or after May 31, 2018, Qualcomm's right to redeem the Old Fixed Rate Notes that are not accepted by Qualcomm in the Exchange Offers or in the Cash Offers under the "make whole" optional redemption provision. According to Qualcomm's current calculations, and subject to changes in interest rates that may occur after the date hereof, Qualcomm expects the redemption price under any such optional redemption to be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Old Fixed Rate Notes to be redeemed.
The Exchange Offers will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 25, 2018, unless extended or earlier terminated by Qualcomm (the "Exchange Offer Expiration Date"). Tenders of Old Notes submitted in the Exchange Offers may be validly withdrawn at any time at or prior to 5:00 p.m. New York City time, on May 25, 2018, subject to any extension by Qualcomm, but thereafter will be irrevocable, except in certain limited circumstances where additional withdrawal rights are required by law (as determined by Qualcomm). The "Exchange Offer Settlement Date" will be promptly following the Exchange Offer Expiration Date and is expected to be May 31, 2018.
Total
Consideration (1)
Title of Series of Old
Notes to
be Exchanged
Principal
Amount
Outstanding
(mm)
CUSIP/
ISIN No.
Old Notes
Maturity
Date
Old Notes
SMR
Date
New Notes
Maturity
Date
New Notes
SMR
Date
Minimum
Condition
(mm)
New
Notes
(principal
amount)
Cash
Floating Rate Notes due 2019
$ 750.00
747525AN3; US747525AN39
May 20, 2019
June 1, 2018
May 21, 2019
November 1, 2018
N/A
$ 1,000
$ 2.50
Floating Rate Notes due 2020
$ 500.00
747525AQ6; US747525AQ69
May 20, 2020
June 1, 2018
May 21, 2020
November 1, 2018
N/A
$ 1,000
$ 2.50
1.850% Notes due 2019
$ 1,250.00
747525AM5; US747525AM55
May 20, 2019
June 1, 2018
May 21, 2019
November 1, 2018
N/A
$ 1,000
$ 2.50
2.100% Notes due 2020
$ 1,500.00
747525AP8; US747525AP86
May 20, 2020
June 1, 2018
May 21, 2020
November 1, 2018
$300.0
$ 1,000
$ 2.50
(1) Total Consideration per $1,000 principal amount of Old Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn and accepted for exchange, which includes a cash fee of $2.50 per $1,000 principal amount of such Old Notes.
Upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Exchange Offer Documents, Exchange Offer Eligible Holders (as defined below) who (i) validly tender and who do not validly withdraw Old Notes at or prior to the Exchange Offer Expiration Date or (ii) deliver a properly completed and duly executed notice of guaranteed delivery and all other required documents at or prior to the Exchange Offer Expiration Date and tender their Old Notes pursuant to the Exchange Offers at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the second business day after the applicable Exchange Offer Expiration Date pursuant to guaranteed delivery procedures, expected to be May 30, 2018, subject in each case to tendering the applicable minimum denominations, and whose Old Notes are accepted for exchange by Qualcomm, will receive the applicable Total Consideration specified in the table above.
Qualcomm will deliver New Notes in exchange for Old Notes accepted for exchange in the Exchange Offers and pay the cash consideration on the Exchange Offer Settlement Date. No accrued but unpaid interest will be paid on the Old Notes in connection with the Exchange Offers. However, interest on each New Note will accrue from and include the most recent interest payment date of the tendered Old Note.
Each Exchange Offer is subject to certain conditions, including (i) that in the case of the Old 2020 Fixed Rate Notes, the aggregate principal amount of New Notes to be issued under the Exchange Offer for the Old 2020 Fixed Rate Notes must be equal to or greater than the minimum condition amount corresponding to such Exchange Offer set forth in the table above (the "Minimum Condition"), (ii) the timely satisfaction or waiver of all of the conditions precedent to the completion of the Cash Offers for such series of Old Notes (with respect to each Cash Offer, the "Cash Offer Completion Condition") and (iii) that Qualcomm does not determine, in its reasonable discretion, prior to the Exchange Offer Expiration Date, that all conditions to the Acquisition as set forth in the Purchase Agreement are reasonably likely to be satisfied or waived on or before June 1, 2018. Qualcomm will terminate an Exchange Offer for a given series of Old Notes if it terminates the Cash Offer for such series of Old Notes, and Qualcomm will terminate the Cash Offer for a given series of Old Notes if it terminates the Exchange Offer for such series of Old Notes. The Cash Offer Completion Condition may not be waived by Qualcomm; however, Qualcomm reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to waive the other conditions.
The Exchange Offers are only made, the New Notes are only being offered and will only be issued, and copies of the Offering Memorandum will only be made available, to a holder of Old Notes who has certified its status as either (a) a "qualified institutional buyer" as defined in Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or (b) (i) a person who is not a "U.S. person" as defined under Regulation S under the Securities Act, or a dealer or other professional fiduciary organized, incorporated or (if an individual) residing in the United States holding a discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) for the benefit or account of a non-"U.S. person", (ii) if located or resident in the European Economic Area, that they are persons other than "retail investors" (for these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (x) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, "MiFID II"); or (y) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (as amended, the "Insurance Mediation Directive"), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (z) not a qualified investor as defined in Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, the "Prospectus Directive")) and (iii) if located or resident in Canada, is located or resident in a province of Canada and is an "accredited investor" as such term is defined in National Instrument 45-106 – Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), and, if resident in Ontario, section 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario), and in each case, is also a "permitted client" as defined in National Instrument 31- 103 – Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations ("Canadian Eligible Holders"). Qualcomm refers to holders of Old Notes who certify to Qualcomm that they are eligible to participate in the Exchange Offers pursuant to at least one of the foregoing conditions as "Exchange Offer Eligible Holders".
Only Exchange Offer Eligible Holders who have confirmed they are Exchange Offer Eligible Holders via the eligibility letter are authorized to receive or review the Exchange Offer Documents or to participate in the Exchange Offers. For Canadian Eligible Holders, such participation is also conditioned upon the receipt of the Canadian beneficial holder form. There is no separate letter of transmittal in connection with the Offering Memorandum.
The New Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act or any state securities laws. Therefore, the New Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws.
Holders are advised to check with any bank, securities broker or other intermediary through which they hold Old Notes as to when such intermediary needs to receive instructions from a holder in order for that holder to be able to participate in, or (in the circumstances in which revocation is permitted) revoke their instruction to participate in the Exchange Offers before the deadlines specified herein and in the Exchange Offer Documents. The deadlines set by each clearing system for the submission and withdrawal of exchange instructions will also be earlier than the relevant deadlines specified herein and in the Exchange Offer Documents.
This press release is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities described herein. The Exchange Offers are being made solely by the Exchange Offer Documents and only to such persons and in such jurisdictions as is permitted under applicable law.
MiFID II professionals/ECPs-only / No PRIIPs KID – Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail in EEA.
In the United Kingdom, this press release is only being communicated to, and any other documents or materials relating to the Exchange Offers are only being distributed to and are only directed at, (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") or (iii) high net worth entities, and other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated, falling within Articles 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which this announcement relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this announcement or any of its contents.
Global Bondholder Services Corporation will act as the exchange agent and information agent for the Old Notes in the Exchange Offers. Documents relating to the Exchange Offers will only be distributed to holders of Old Notes who certify that they are Exchange Offer Eligible Holders. Questions or requests for assistance related to the Exchange Offers or for additional copies of the Exchange Offer Documents may be directed to Global Bondholder Services Corporation at (866) 470-3900 (toll free) or (212) 430-3774 (collect). You may also contact your broker, dealer, commercial bank, trust company or other nominee for assistance concerning the Exchange Offers. The Exchange Offer Documents can be accessed at the following link: http://gbsc-usa.com/eligibility/QUALCOMM .
About Qualcomm
Qualcomm invents breakthrough technologies that transform how the world connects and communicates. When we connected the phone to the Internet, the mobile revolution was born. Today, our inventions are the foundation for life-changing products, experiences, and industries. As we lead the world to 5G, we envision this next big change in cellular technology spurring a new era of intelligent, connected devices and enabling new opportunities in connected cars, remote delivery of health care services, and the IoT — including smart cities, smart homes, and wearables. Qualcomm Incorporated includes our licensing business, QTL, and the vast majority of our patent portfolio. Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated, operates, along with its subsidiaries, all of our engineering, research and development functions, and all of our products and services businesses, including, the QCT semiconductor business.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Any statements contained in this document that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Additionally, statements regarding operating results for future years, growth in operating results and the factors contributing to future operating results; the resolution of licensing disputes and the impact and timing thereof; expected market, industry, geographic and organic growth and trends; future serviceable addressable market size and growth; anticipated contributions from and growth in new opportunities; benefits from planned cost reductions; technology and product leadership and trends; Qualcomm's positioning to benefit from any of the above; potential benefits and upside to Qualcomm's stockholders related to any of the above; and the regulatory process and regulatory uncertainty are forward-looking statements. Words such as "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "intend," "may," "plan," "project," "predict," "should," "will" and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements are based on Qualcomm's current expectations or beliefs, and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive, technological, strategic and/or regulatory factors, and other factors affecting the operations of Qualcomm. More detailed information about these factors may be found in Qualcomm's filings with the SEC, including those discussed in Qualcomm's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and in any subsequent periodic reports on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, each of which is on file with the SEC and available at the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . SEC filings for Qualcomm are also available in the Investor Relations section of Qualcomm's website at www.qualcomm.com . Qualcomm is not obligated to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this document. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of their dates.
Qualcomm Contacts:
Pete Lancia, Corporate Communications
Phone: 1-858-845-5959
Email: [email protected]
John Sinnott, Investor Relations
Phone: 1-858-658-4813
Email: [email protected]
Information Agent Contact:
Global Bondholder Services Corporation
Phone: 1-866-470-3900 (toll free)
1-212-430-3774 (collect)
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/qualcomm-announces-private-exchange-offers-for-four-series-of-notes-open-to-certain-investors-300651657.html
SOURCE Qualcomm Incorporated | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/pr-newswire-qualcomm-announces-private-exchange-offers-for-four-series-of-notes-open-to-certain-investors.html |
May 24 (Reuters) - A Portland, Oregon, family has learned what happens when Amazon.com Inc's popular voice assistant Alexa is lost in translation.
Amazon on Thursday described an "unlikely... string of events" that made Alexa send an audio recording of the family to one of their contacts randomly. The episode underscored how Alexa can misinterpret conversation as a wake-up call and command.
A local news outlet, KIRO 7, reported that a woman with Amazon devices across her home received a call two weeks ago from her husband's employee, who said Alexa had recorded the family's conversation about hardwood floors and sent it to him.
"I felt invaded," the woman, only identified as Danielle, said in the report. "A total privacy invasion. Immediately I said, 'I'm never plugging that device in again, because I can't trust it."'
Alexa, which comes with Echo speakers and other gadgets, starts recording after it hears its name or another "wake word" selected by users. This means that an utterance quite like Alexa, even from a TV commercial, can activate a device.
That's what happened in the incident, Amazon said.
"Subsequent conversation was heard as a 'send message' request," the company said in a statement. "At which point, Alexa said out loud 'To whom?' At which point, the background conversation was interpreted as a name in the customer's contact list."
Amazon added, "We are evaluating options to make this case even less likely."
Assuring customers of Alexa's security is crucial to Amazon, which has ambitions for Alexa to be ubiquitous - whether dimming the lights for customers or placing orders for them with the world's largest online retailer.
University researchers from Berkeley and Georgetown found in a 2016 paper that sounds unintelligible to humans can set off voice assistants in general, which raised concerns of exploitation by attackers. Amazon did not immediately comment on the matter, but it previously told The New York Times that it has taken steps to keep its devices secure.
Millions of Amazon customers have shopped with Alexa. Customers bought tens of millions of Alexa devices last holiday season alone, the company has said.
That makes the incident reported Thursday a rare one. But faulty hearing is not.
"Background noise from our television is making it think we said Alexa," Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter said of his personal experience. "It happens all the time." (Reporting By Jeffrey Dastin in San Francisco; Editing by Cynthia Osterman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/reuters-america-oregon-family-finds-amazons-alexa-has-a-mind-of-her-own.html |
407 COMMENTS Is it unthinkable that the Federal Bureau of Investigation would spy on a presidential campaign for political purposes? I can personally attest that it has happened before—during Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign.
Every poll agreed that President Lyndon B. Johnson would easily win the election against the conservative Sen. Goldwater of Arizona. But LBJ wanted a landslide so he could implement his Great Society vision without resistance and go down in history as one of America’s greatest presidents. For Johnson, extremism in the pursuit of victory was no vice.
Thus was born Johnson’s “Anti-Campaign” to smear Goldwater’s candidacy. The operation was run from the second floor of the West Wing by veteran Washington-based Democrats like Leonard Marks, who would become director of the U.S. Information Agency, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan, then an assistant secretary of labor and later a U.S. senator from New York.
Typical of their black-bag politics was scheduling Democratic speakers before and after Goldwater’s appearance in a city, smothering his message with pro-Johnson, anti-Goldwater rhetoric. Advance knowledge of Goldwater’s travel schedule and advance copies of his remarks were provided by a spy the Central Intelligence Agency had planted in Goldwater headquarters.
Former intelligence officer E. Howard Hunt, best known for his role as an orchestrator of the Watergate bugging, told a Senate committee in 1973 that his CIA superior had ordered him to infiltrate the Goldwater campaign. Hunt claimed to have questioned the order, only to be told that it had been a personal request of President Johnson and that the information he recovered would be delivered to a White House aide.
CIA Director William Colby confirmed the White House’s role in the illegal surveillance while addressing a congressional hearing in 1975. That the CIA is prohibited by law from operating within the U.S. didn’t matter to the Johnson campaign. The Goldwater people never suspected that one of them was a spy for the Democrats.
One of the Anti-Campaign’s writers was John Roche, later president of Americans for Democratic Action. “We used to get advance copies of Senator Goldwater’s key speeches,” he admitted, enabling them to have speakers primed to reply “before Goldwater had even opened his mouth.” When Roche asked how they got the speeches, “the reply was ‘Don’t ask.’ ”
That wasn’t all. The Anti-Campaign enlisted the FBI, even though the bureau is supposed to limit its investigations to people and institutions considered dangerous to national security. That shouldn’t have included the presidential candidate of a major political party who was also a sitting senator and a two-star general in the Air Force Reserve. Barry Goldwater was not a Manchurian candidate.
Nevertheless, the FBI arranged for widespread wiretapping of the Goldwater campaign. Sure enough, campaign reporters could soon be heard asking specific questions about the candidate’s travel plans that had only been discussed by Goldwater aides behind closed doors. To protect themselves, Goldwater staffers began using pay telephones outside their headquarters.
Goldwater later revealed that two reporters had asked him about a proposal he had yet to make public—that if elected he would ask Dwight Eisenhower to go to Vietnam and report on his findings. He had discussed the possible Eisenhower visit only with his top aides. But the reporters swore they had heard about it from the White House.
Johnson also illegally ordered the FBI to conduct security checks of Goldwater’s Senate staff. Cartha “Deke” DeLoach, the FBI’s liaison with the White House and a top aide to Director J. Edgar Hoover, denied at a 1975 Congressional hearing that the bureau had investigated Goldwater’s staff. But through the Freedom of Information Act, I obtained copies of FBI memoranda detailing the results of the bureau’s illegal file check of 15 Senate staffers. “No derogatory information was located concerning” any of the people in Goldwater’s Senate office, stated one memo that bore DeLoach’s initials.
In 1971 Robert Mardian, who had been a regional director in the Goldwater campaign, became assistant attorney general for internal security. During a two-hour briefing with Hoover, Mardian asked about the procedures for electronic surveillance. To Mardian’s amazement, Hoover confessed that in 1964 the FBI had wired the Goldwater campaign plane, under orders from the White House. When Mardian asked Hoover why he had complied, the director answered, “You do what the president tells you to do.”
In a later conversation with Mardian, William C. Sullivan, the bureau’s No. 2 man, verified the FBI’s spying operation against the Goldwater campaign. In a 1992 interview, Mardian told me that Sullivan was appalled at LBJ’s partisan use of the bureau.
Did the FBI infiltrate or surveil the Trump campaign for political purposes? If so, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Mr. Edwards, a distinguished fellow at the Heritage Foundation, was director of information for the Goldwater campaign. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fbi-spied-for-lbjs-campaign-1527201701 |
Bilateral trade talks with China kick off in DC 4 Hours Ago CNBC’s Kayla Tausche reports on Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and his delegation meeting with senior U.S. officials in Washington D.C. on trade. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/17/bilateral-trade-talks-with-china-kick-off-in-dc.html |
One of Southeast Asia’s most valuable startups is making another grab for new money.
Ride-hailing company Grab Inc., which recently acquired the Southeast Asian business of Uber Technologies Inc., is in talks to raise up to $1 billion in fresh funds, according to people familiar with the matter.
The latest funding round—which would be Grab’s... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/ride-hailing-firm-grab-in-talks-to-raise-1-billion-1525258576 |
Kevin Harvick’s series-best five wins and nine top-five finishes through 12 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup races is a career-best season opening for the driver long known as “The Closer.”
Driver Kevin Harvick wears a camouflage hat with his number and a U.S. flag before the start of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Apache Warrior 400 race in Dover, Delaware, U.S. October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst In true form, Harvick’s victory at Kansas Speedway on Saturday — when he passed Martin Truex Jr. for the lead with less than two laps to go — night gave him back-to-back wins. Earlier in the season he won three straight.
Harvick’s grand total of 19 wins dating back to his 2014 Cup championship season is the most in the series during that span, too — one more than Kyle Busch, two more than Jimmie Johnson and three more than Joey Logano in the same time frame.
And again, we’re only 12 races into the 2018 schedule.
“Now it feels like a game,” Harvick, 42, said smiling in Saturday night’s post-race interview at Kansas.
“It really does, because of the fact that you want to see how many races you can win. You want to see how many laps you can lead. We know that we’re riding a momentum wave that is hard to come by, and you need to capitalize on it as many times as you can because it may never come again. I’ve never had it in my career, and I’ve been doing this for 18 years.”
Harvick has won by dominating — see his 201 laps led at Dover. He’s won on team strategy and veteran savvy. He’s won on dramatic passes, such as Saturday night. And his 820 laps out front in the Stewart-Haas Racing No. 4 Ford this season are easily the most in the series. (Busch is next with 498.)
There is precedent to such an impressive start to the year. And it’s quite a stellar path to be driving down.
Four-time series champion Jeff Gordon also won five of the first 12 races in 1997. In fact he won six of the first 13 races and seven of the first 15 en route to a 10-win championship season.
As Harvick is doing, Gordon reeled off consecutive wins. Twice during that season-opening span of excellence he went back-to-back — the Daytona 500 then at Rockingham, N.C. to open the season, and again at Bristol then Martinsville in April.
“You know, we talked about it this week, it’s something that you may never do again in your career, and while you have fast cars and while you have momentum and while you have a group of guys that gives it everything they have and a driver that gives it everything that he can, like you have to, like you have to just fight every week and give it everything you’ve got,” Harvick’s crew chief Rodney Childers said following Kansas.
“I mean, if it’s eight races you win, if it’s 10 races you win, if it’s 12 races you win — the reason that we all are here is because of watching people like Jeff Gordon and [former Gordon crew chief] Ray Evernham win 12 races a year, and that’s what your goal should be no matter what race team you are. Yeah, you’ve got to keep going.”
There is no statistical reason to believe the No. 4 team will slow down any time soon, either. Even when Harvick hasn’t won, he’s typically contended.
Harvick has had success at the next Cup points-paying race, the May 27 Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway - two wins (2011 and ‘13) and the 2017 pole. In the nine races since his 2013 win at Charlotte, Harvick has eight top-10 finishes at the track, including three runner-up finishes — twice in the 600-miler (2014 and ‘16), and a win in the 500-mile race in 2014. He finished runner-up in his very first try at the 600 in 2001.
As for this week’s Monster Energy NASCAR All-Star Race, Harvick was runner-up in the event in 2014 and ‘15.
It all bodes well for the Stewart-Haas Racing team and Harvick’s success is the cherry on top in the best start yet for the entire four-car operation. Harvick leads the series in wins but his second-year teammate Clint Bowyer took home a grandfather clock trophy for winning at Martinsville (his first victory in six years) and is ranked sixth in the standings. Veteran Kurt Busch is ranked fifth and team newcomer Aric Almirola is 11th.
“These moments are not something that happens very often, and now you need to go put every detail into a car like you’re racing for a championship race at Homestead every week because it just has that special feel to it,” Harvick said.
“It’s just a good time to be at SHR. They’re doing a great job of putting fast race cars on the track, but I think when you look at a night like [Saturday night], it really shows the experience of the team because I feel like this is the kind of cars that we had in 2014 but we had a lot of parts failures. We were all new. We made a lot of mistakes and just didn’t really know how to deal with it like we do now, but yeah, [winning is] addicting. Now it’s a game.”
And Harvick is winning.
—By Holly Cain, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-nascar-harvick-winning/red-hot-harvick-on-career-best-start-now-it-feels-like-a-game-idUSKCN1IF2ZT |
May 22, 2018 / 1:16 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Oil prices rise on worries over Venezuelan supply Jessica Jaganathan 2 Min Read
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices rose on Tuesday amid worries that Venezuela’s crude output could drop further following a disputed in the country and with potential sanctions on the OPEC-member. FILE PHOTO: Cut-outs depicting images of oil operations are seen outside a building of Venezuela's state oil company PDVSA in Caracas, Venezuela, June 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ivan Alvarado/File Photo
Brent crude futures LCOc1 were at $79.37 per barrel at 0110 GMT, up 15 cents, from their last close. Brent broke through $80 for the first time since November 2014 last week.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were at $72.49 a barrel, up 25 cents from their previous settlement.
“The markets’ positive take on ‘no trade war’ and Venezuela’s political woes are driving oil prices higher,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading for Asia-Pacific at futures brokerage OANDA in Singapore.
Venezuela’s socialist President Nicolas Maduro faced widespread international condemnation on Monday after his re-election in a weekend vote his critics denounced as a farce cementing autocracy in the crisis-stricken oil producer.
The United States is actively considering oil sanctions on Venezuela, where output has dropped by a third in two years to its lowest in decades.
“Tightening the economic screws will severely cripple ... Venezuela’s ability to export while making it virtually impossible for the country to acquire dollars,” said Innes.
Meanwhile, Washington and Beijing both
Elsewhere, concerns that looming U.S. sanctions on Iran will curb that country’s crude exports have also been boosting oil prices in recent weeks.
OANDA’s Innes said that and the impact of output curbs led by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries had created “ultra-tight” supply conditions, with any signs of supply disruption sending prices sharply higher.
“Supply-side dynamics are apparently in the driver’s seat, suggesting prices should push higher near-term,” he said. Reporting by Jessica Jaganathan; Editing by Joseph Radford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-global-oil/oil-prices-rise-on-worries-over-venezuelan-supply-idUKKCN1IN04E |
May 22 (Reuters) - Silver Creek Midstream Llc:
* SILVER CREEK MIDSTREAM, LLC ANNOUNCES UPSIZED EQUITY COMMITMENT OF $300 MILLION
* SILVER CREEK MIDSTREAM SAYS INCREASED EQUITY COMMITMENT FROM $150 MILLION TO $300 MILLION Source text for Eikon:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-silver-creek-midstream-announces-u/brief-silver-creek-midstream-announces-upsized-equity-commitment-of-300-mln-idUSFWN1ST0KI |
ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on Friday nominated one its most prominent and combative lawmakers to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan in June 24 snap presidential polls.
Muharrem Ince, Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate for the upcoming snap presidential election, speaks during a party gathering in Ankara, Turkey, May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas The secularist CHP, which has never won an election against Erdogan in his decade and a half in power, nominated 53-year-old former high school physics teacher Muharrem Ince as its candidate.
“I will be everyone’s president, a non-partisan president. The depressing times will end on June 24th,” Ince told thousands of flag-waving supporters at a rally in Ankara, where he was introduced by party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Kilicdaroglu had previously said he would not run for president, saying the head of a party should not simultaneously serve as the head of state.
Slideshow (6 Images) Ince is widely known as one of the most spirited speakers from the opposition in parliament. He has run as the sole challenger for party leadership against Kilicdaroglu in the last two CHP party elections, in 2014 and 2018.
He is seen as a candidate who can match the harsh rhetoric often used by Erdogan, while also receiving backing from the party’s own voter base, as well as conservative and right-wing voters.
However, Erdogan’s most credible challenge is seen as coming not from the CHP but from former Interior Minister Meral Aksener, who last year founded the Iyi (Good) Party after splitting with the nationalist MHP party, which is supporting Erdogan.
The CHP, the Iyi Party and two other parties are this week expected to agree on an election alliance, to create a broad coalition against Erdogan. This has lead to speculation the CHP could pull its candidate in the second round of voting and back Aksener.
Additional reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Ece Toksabay and Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by David Dolan
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-election/turkeys-main-opposition-nominates-combative-former-teacher-to-challenge-erdogan-idUSKBN1I50V4 |
May 30, 2018 / 9:25 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Aviva Investors merges businesses into new real assets unit Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Aviva Investors, the fund arm of insurer Aviva ( AV.L ), said on Wednesday it would combine its real estate, infrastructure and private debt businesses into a new unit called Aviva Investors Real Assets.
Aviva said the business, which would manage 37 billion pounds in assets, would focus on investments where it was a direct operator, with full control over fund management, asset management, origination and distribution.
As a result, it said it had agreed to sell its indirect real estate multi-manager business and an interest in Encore+, a pan-European commercial property fund, with a combined 6 billion pounds in assets, to Lasalle Investment Management.
Further financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
Aviva Investors said Mark Versey would be chief investment officer of the new unit, overseeing 300 staff. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Emma Rumney | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-aviva-investments-restructuring/aviva-investors-merges-businesses-into-new-real-assets-unit-idUKKCN1IV12C |
Hong Kong's property market has become like a 'religion': CLSA 11 Hours Ago Nicole Wong of CLSA says "fear" of further price increases in Hong Kong's property market is driving the purchase of small apartments at high prices. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/22/hong-kongs-property-market-has-become-like-a-religion-clsa.html |
WASHINGTON—The Trump administration, unable to win concessions from European Union counterparts ahead of a Friday deadline, is planning to make good on its threat to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum, people familiar with the matter said.
The administration is expected to make an announcement as early as Thursday.
The move, which... RELATED VIDEO Three Ways China Gets Its Hands on U.S. Tech President Trump says China is forcing U.S. companies to transfer their technology secrets to China. WSJ's Shelby Holliday tells you how. Illustration: Adele Morgan | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/u-s-plans-to-hit-eu-with-steel-aluminum-tariffs-1527713954 |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Platinum Group Metals Ltd. (TSX:PTM) (NYSE American:PLG) (the “Company” or “Platinum Group Metals”) announces that it has commenced a proposed underwritten public offering of units (the “Offering”). Each unit (a “Unit”) will entitle the holder to acquire, for no additional consideration, one common share (“Common Share”) of Platinum Group Metals and one-half of one common share purchase warrant (each whole common share purchase warrant a “Warrant”) of Platinum Group Metals.
Each whole Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one Common Share at a price and for a term to be determined in the context of marketing for the Offering.
In addition, the Company intends to grant the underwriters an option to purchase additional Units, Common Shares or Warrants, or any combination thereof, equal to up to 15% of the aggregate number of such securities to be sold in the Offering on the same terms and conditions.
BMO Capital Markets is acting as sole book-running manager for the proposed Offering. Roth Capital Partners is acting as co-manager for the proposed Offering in connection with offers and sales outside of Canada. The proposed Offering will be subject to customary conditions, including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American Stock Exchange, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the proposed Offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the Offering.
The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering: (i) for debt repayment towards a loan facility and production payment termination fees due to Liberty Metals & Mining Holdings, LLC; and (ii) for general corporate and working capital purposes.
The Offering is being conducted pursuant to the Company's effective shelf registration statement on Form F-10 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") and a corresponding Canadian base shelf prospectus filed with the securities regulatory authority in each of the provinces of Canada, except Quebec. The proposed offering will be made only by means of a preliminary prospectus supplement, a final prospectus supplement and the accompanying short form base shelf prospectus.
A copy of the prospectus supplement and base shelf prospectus relating to the Offering in Canada may be obtained by contacting BMO Capital Markets, Brampton Distribution Centre C/O The Data Group of Companies, 9195 Torbram Road, Brampton, Ontario, L6S 6H2 or by telephone at (905) 791-3151 Ext 4312 or by email at [email protected]. A copy of the prospectus supplement and base shelf prospectus relating to the Offering in the United States may be obtained by contacting BMO Capital Markets Corp., Attn: Equity Syndicate Department, 3 Times Square, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10036 (Attn: Equity Syndicate), or by telephone at (800) 414-3627 or by email at [email protected] .
This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the Units, Common Shares or Warrants in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of that jurisdiction.
About Platinum Group Metals Ltd.
Platinum Group is focused on, and is the operator of, the Waterberg Project, a bulk mineable underground deposit in northern South Africa. Waterberg was discovered by the Company.
For further information, please contact:
R. Michael Jones, President
or Kris Begic, VP, Corporate Development
Platinum Group Metals Ltd., Vancouver
Tel: (604) 899-5450 / Toll Free: (866) 899-5450
The Toronto Stock Exchange and the NYSE American LLC have not reviewed and do not accept responsibility for the accuracy or adequacy of this news release, which has been prepared by management.
This press release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and forward-looking statements within the meaning of U.S. securities laws (collectively "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as: will, proposed, shall, believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, plans, postulate and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. All statements that are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the Offering, including the terms, timing, potential completion and the use of proceeds of the Offering. Although the Company believes the forward-looking statements in this press release are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations and assumptions in such statements will prove to be correct. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but not limited to, that the Company may be unsuccessful in satisfying the conditions to closing of the Offering including, but not limited to, obtaining Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American approvals; that the Offering may not be completed on the terms and timeline indicated, or at all; that the Company’s use of proceeds of the Offering may differ from those indicated; additional financing requirements; risks of delay in or failure to complete, or difficulty realizing on the proceeds of, the share transaction component of the sale of the Maseve Mine; the Company’s ability to comply with the terms of its indebtedness; cash flow and going concern risks; risks related to the Waterberg definitive feasibility study; risks of delays in the development of the Waterberg Project; variations in market conditions; the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located; metal prices; other prices and costs; currency exchange rates; any disagreements with other shareholders of the Company’s subsidiaries; the Company's ability to obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required for its activities and to comply with applicable regulations; the Company's ability to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue its projected growth, or to be fully able to implement its business strategies; the Company’s ability to regain compliance with NYSE American continued listing standards; and other risk factors described in the Company's Form 20-F annual report, annual information form and other filings with the SEC and Canadian securities regulators, including the registration statement, base shelf prospectus and prospectus supplement relating to the Offering, which may be viewed at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com , respectively. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise.
Source:Platinum Group Metals Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/globe-newswire-platinum-group-metals-announces-public-offering-of-units.html |
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will assess the new Italian government, now being formed by Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte, on the basis of its actions rather than words, spokesman Margaritis Schinas said on Thursday.
Newly appointed Italy Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte arrives to speak with media after the consultation with the Italian President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Remo Casilli “We assess governments based on their actions, not on their words,” Schinas told a regular daily news briefing.
Euro zone governments and financial markets have been alarmed at the impending arrival of a new coalition in Rome under Conte comprising two eurosceptic, anti-establishment parties, who won votes in a March election by calling for an easing of euro zone budget discipline and public debt rules.
Reporting by Jan Strupczewski
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-italy-commission/eu-executive-says-will-assess-new-italian-government-on-actions-not-words-idUSKCN1IP1R7 |
May 22 (Reuters) - General Cable Corp:
* AWARE OF RECENT PRESS REPORT REGARDING ALLEGED NEW DOJ INVESTIGATION UNDER UNITED STATES FCPA INVOLVING GENERAL CABLE
* HAVE BEEN AND REMAIN IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE TERMS OF OUR DECEMBER 2016 NON-PROSECUTION AGREEMENT ENTERED INTO WITH THE DOJ
* NOT AWARE OF ANY NEW DOJ ENFORCEMENT ACTION OR INVESTIGATION AGAINST COMPANY AT THIS TIME Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-general-cable-says-not-aware-of-an/brief-general-cable-says-not-aware-of-any-new-doj-investigation-against-the-co-idUSFWN1SU002 |
DowDuPont sales rise 5% as demand grows DowDuPont reported a higher adjusted profit and 5 percent rise in net sales in the first quarter. Higher prices for the U.S. chemicals producer's products and demand for packaging, paint, and other materials made up for a weak agriculture business. The chemical giant said overall sales volumes fell 2 percent, but prices rose 3 percent on a comparable basis. Published 10 Hours Ago Reuters David A. Grogan | CNBC Ed Breen CEO of DowDuPont speaking at the 2017 Delivering Alpha conference on Sept. 12, 2017.
U.S. chemicals producer DowDuPont reported a higher-than-expected first-quarter profit on Thursday as increased prices for its products and demand for packaging, paint and other materials made up for a weak agriculture business.
The chemical producer, formed by the merger of Dow Chemical and DuPont last year, clocked up net sales of $21.5 billion for the quarter, which the company said compared to what would have been net sales of $20.5 billion if DowDuPont had been one company in the same quarter a year ago.
Adjusted earnings rose 7 percent to $1.12 per share, ahead of analysts' average estimate of $1.10, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
"The Materials Science and Specialty Products divisions delivered better-than-expected top- and bottom-line growth with higher prices and volume gains," Chief Executive Ed Breen said in a statement.
"Their growth more than offset weather-related delays that are expected to shift a substantial portion of our agriculture earnings to the second quarter."
The chemical giant said overall sales volumes fell 2 percent, but prices rose 3 percent on a comparable basis.
The materials science unit, which makes chemicals that go into making everything from cosmetics to packaging material to brake fluids, saw sales rise 17 percent, on the back of an 8 percent rise in volumes.
Its specialty products unit, which makes products that go into making construction materials or the semiconductors and chips used in mobile phones, saw sales rise 11 percent. The two divisions offset a slide of 25 percent in the agriculture division. Related Securities | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/dowdupont-sales-rise-5-percent-as-demand-grows.html |
KIEV (Reuters) - Ukrainian lawmaker Yegor Sobolev and his family decided to invite soccer fans to stay in their home for free when they heard hotels had aggressively raised prices for the night of the Champions League final on May 26.
Ukrainian TV presenter Marichka Padalko shows the apartment where her family will host fans travelling to see the Champions League final game between Real Madrid and Liverpool, in Kiev, Ukraine May 10, 2018. Picture taken May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Many hotels and apartments are asking several thousand dollars for accommodation that normally costs around $50 per night or cancelling existing bookings to charge higher rates for the expected influx of around 50,000 supporters.
To promote a welcoming image of Ukraine, Ukrainians have taken to social media to offer supporters spare beds, lifts from the airport and even home-cooked meals of borscht, a traditional beetroot soup.
Even President Petro Poroshenko has offered to host a few fans to make up for the lack of affordable accommodation in the capital over the weekend of the final between Liverpool and Spain’s Real Madrid.
11-year-old Misha shows the apartment where his family will host fans travelling to see the Champions League final game between Real Madrid and Liverpool, in Kiev, Ukraine May 10, 2018. Picture taken May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko Opposition MP Sobolev, his wife and three children have agreed to hand over the keys to their apartment in central Kiev to a Liverpool supporter and his young daughter.
“I don’t think this is a risky idea. This is a pleasant and powerful way to connect people from different countries and continents,” he told Reuters in his apartment.
Slideshow (9 Images) “That is what football means,” he said, surrounded by his children including his soccer-mad son Misha, 11, who was wearing full Liverpool kit.
This is not the first time the family have hosted strangers. In 2014, they invited a family to stay for three months who had fled pro-Russian separatist fighting in eastern Ukraine.
Kiev’s outpouring of hospitality stems in part from a desire to show the country has recovered from the worst of a political and economic crisis sparked by a 2013/14 pro-European uprising and subsequent separatist conflict.
A Facebook group called ‘Kyiv FREE couch’ that matches Ukrainians offering free accommodation with soccer supporters in need of a place to stay has gained over 5,000 members since its launch on May 5.
“This group should be called ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’,” member Zibby Puculek said in a post, referring to the Liverpool club anthem. “You are very, very nice people.”
Editing by Matthias Williams and Matthew Mpoke Bigg
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-champions-final-accommodation/meet-the-ukrainian-mp-hosting-champions-league-final-fans-for-free-idUSKBN1IC1GT |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s Ministry of Commerce said on Thursday that a European Union anti-dumping investigation into hot-rolled steel sheet piles imported from China would seriously disrupt regular steel trade between the two.
Brussels earlier on Thursday said it was launching the probe after three EU manufacturers of the product, used in construction, alleged that Chinese exports have increased significantly at artificially low prices.
Reporting by Tom Daly; Editing by Tom Hogue
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-steel-eu/china-says-eu-anti-dumping-probe-into-hot-rolled-steel-disrupts-trade-idUSKCN1IP1CJ |
Fiat Chrysler most exposed to NAFTA changes: Pro 8 Hours Ago Arndt Ellinghorst, head of global automotive research at Evercore ISI Group, speaks about how Donald Trump's stance on trade could impact car makers. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/11/fiat-chrysler-most-exposed-to-nafta-changes-pro.html |
EXCLUSIVE: Yulia Skripal speaks about poisoning Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 01:39
Yulia Skripal has spoken to Reuters for the first time on camera since recovering from a poisoning on UK soil that Britain has blamed on Russia. Yulia was hospitalized along with her father Sergei Skripal in a nerve agent attack in March
Yulia Skripal has spoken to Reuters for the first time on camera since recovering from a poisoning on UK soil that Britain has blamed on Russia. Yulia was hospitalized along with her father Sergei Skripal in a nerve agent attack in March //reut.rs/2IGo6iz | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/23/exclusive-yulia-skripal-speaks-about-poi?videoId=429643557 |
May 4 (Reuters) - VISTULA GROUP SA:
* APRIL REVENUE AT ABOUT 56.4 MILLION ZLOTYS, UP ABOUT 15.5 PERCENT YOY
* APRIL SALES MARGIN AT ABOUT 54.5 PERCENT, DOWN 1.7 P.P. YOY Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-vistula-group-april-revenue-up-abo/brief-vistula-group-april-revenue-up-about-15-5-pct-yoy-idUSFWN1SB0PU |
PHILADELPHIA, May 10, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), a publicly traded business development company focused on providing customized credit solutions to private middle market U.S. companies, announced its operating results for the 2018, and that its board of directors has declared its second quarter 2018 regular distribution.
Financial Highlights for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2018 1
Net investment income of $0.21 per share, compared to $0.22 per share for the 2017 Adjusted net investment income of $0.21 per share, compared to $0.22 per share for the 2017 2 Total net realized loss of $0.02 per share and total net change in unrealized depreciation of $0.13 per share, compared to a total net realized loss of $0.41 per share and a total net change in unrealized appreciation of $0.45 per share for the 2017 Paid cash distributions to stockholders totaling $0.19 per share 3 Total purchases of $116.0 million versus $216.0 million of sales and repayments Net asset value of $9.16 per share, compared to $9.30 per share as of December 31, 2017
"We are pleased with the progress we made during the first quarter to transition the management of our franchise to the new joint adviser we've established with KKR," said Michael Forman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FSIC. "Now that the transition is complete, we are collectively focused on serving the needs of our existing borrowers, sourcing attractive new investment opportunities and delivering consistent and strong performance for our investors."
Declaration of Regular Distribution for Second Quarter 2018
FSIC's board of directors has declared a regular cash distribution for the second quarter of $0.19 per share, which will be paid on or about July 3, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 20, 2018.
Summary Consolidated Results
Three Months Ended
(dollars in thousands, except per share data)
(all per share amounts are basic and diluted) 1
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
Total investment income
$101,018
$110,861
$106,064
Net investment income
50,547
54,061
52,590
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations
12,925
14,754
63,393
Net investment income per share
$0.21
$0.22
$0.22
Adjusted net investment income per share 2
$0.21
$0.24
$0.22
Total net realized and unrealized gain (loss) per share
$(0.15)
$(0.16)
$0.04
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations (Earnings per Share)
$0.05
$0.06
$0.26
Stockholder distributions per share 3
$0.19000
$0.19000
$0.22275
Net asset value per share at period end
$9.16
$9.30
$9.45
Weighted average shares outstanding
245,713,188
245,725,416
244,554,969
Shares outstanding, end of period
245,587,856
245,725,416
244,599,661
(dollar amounts in thousands)
As of
March 31, 2018
As of
March 31, 2017
Total fair value of investments
$3,804,014
$3,924,168
Total assets
4,057,505
4,286,351
Total stockholders' equity
2,249,962
2,311,635
Portfolio Highlights as of March 31, 2018
Total fair value of investments was $3.8 billion. Core investment strategies 4 represented 100% of the portfolio by fair value as of March 31, 2018, including 92% from direct originations and 8% from opportunistic investments. Broadly syndicated/other investments represented less than 1% of the portfolio by fair value. Gross portfolio yield prior to leverage (based on amortized cost and excluding non-income producing assets) 5 was 10.9%, compared to 10.5% as of December 31, 2017. Total commitments to direct originations (including unfunded commitments) made during the first quarter of 2018 was $79.6 million in 6 companies, all of which were existing portfolio companies. Approximately 0.0% of investments were on non-accrual based on fair value. 6
Total Portfolio Activity
Three Months Ended
(dollar amounts in thousands)
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
Purchases
$115,990
$262,562
$539,689
Sales and redemptions
(215,945)
(234,638)
(364,308)
Net portfolio activity
$(99,955)
$27,924
$175,381
Portfolio Data
As of March 31, 2018
As of March 31, 2017
Total fair value of investments
$3,804,014
$3,924,168
Number of Portfolio Companies
94
108
Average Annual EBITDA of Portfolio Companies
$82,400
$86,100
Weighted Average Purchase Price of Debt Investments
(as a % of par)
99.6%
97.2%
% of Investments on Non-Accrual
(based on fair value) 6
0.0%
0.0%
Asset Class (based on fair value)
Senior Secured Loans — First Lien
65%
57%
Senior Secured Loans — Second Lien
4%
9%
Senior Secured Bonds
4%
4%
Subordinated Debt
13%
15%
Collateralized Securities
1%
2%
Equity/Other
13%
13%
Portfolio Composition by Strategy (based on fair value) 4
Direct Originations
92%
87%
Opportunistic
8%
10%
Broadly Syndicated/Other
0%
3%
Interest Rate Type (based on fair value)
% Variable Rate
69.2%
65.5%
% Fixed Rate
18.4%
21.8%
% Income Producing Equity/Other Investments
2.3%
2.7%
% Non-Income Producing Equity/Other Investments
10.1%
10.0%
Yields (based on amortized cost) 5
Gross Portfolio Yield Prior to Leverage
10.0%
9.3%
Gross Portfolio Yield Prior to Leverage — Excluding Non-Income
Producing Assets
10.9%
10.2%
Direct Origination Activity
Three Months Ended
(dollar amounts in thousands)
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
Total Commitments
(including unfunded commitments)
$79,590
$220,159
$429,407
Exited Investments (including partial paydowns)
(186,236)
(159,678)
(322,068)
Net Direct Originations
$(106,646)
$60,481
$107,339
Direct Originations Portfolio Data
As of March 31, 2018
As of March 31, 2017
Total Fair Value of Direct Originations
$3,495,945
$3,430,320
Number of Portfolio Companies
72
73
Average Annual EBITDA of Portfolio Companies
$70,200
$64,700
Average Leverage Through Tranche of Portfolio Companies —
Excluding Equity/Other and Collateralized Securities
5.1x
4.5x
% of Investments on Non-Accrual (based on fair value) 6
0.0%
—
Three Months Ended
New Direct Originations by Asset Class
(including unfunded commitments)
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
Senior Secured Loans — First Lien
90%
74%
81%
Senior Secured Loans — Second Lien
5%
7%
1%
Senior Secured Bonds
—
11%
2%
Subordinated Debt
1%
—
15%
Collateralized Securities
—
—
—
Equity/Other
4%
8%
1%
Average New Direct Origination Commitment Amount
$13,265
$16,935
$35,784
Weighted Average Maturity for New Direct Originations
9/15/2023
10/8/2023
3/2/2023
Gross Portfolio Yield Prior to Leverage (based on
amortized cost) of New Direct Originations Funded
during Period 5
10.9%
8.6%
9.8%
Gross Portfolio Yield Prior to Leverage (based on
amortized cost) of New Direct Originations Funded
during Period — Excluding Non-Income Producing Assets 5
10.9%
9.3%
10.0%
Gross Portfolio Yield Prior to Leverage (based on
amortized cost) of Direct Originations Exited
during Period 5
10.6%
8.9%
9.1%
Leverage and Liquidity as of March 31 , 2018
Debt to equity ratio of 77%, based on $1.72 billion in total debt outstanding and stockholders' equity of $2.25 billion. FSIC's weighted average effective interest rate (including the effect of non-usage fees) was 4.31% Cash and foreign currency of approximately $215.1 million and availability under its financing arrangements of $260.4 million, subject to borrowing base and other limitations Nineteen unfunded debt investments with aggregate unfunded commitments of $133.3 million and two unfunded equity commitments with aggregate unfunded commitments of $299 thousand
Conference Call Information
FSIC will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time) on Friday, May 11, 2018, to discuss its first quarter financial results. All interested parties are welcome to participate. You can access the conference call by dialing (877) 443-2408 and using the conference ID 6081268 approximately 10 minutes prior to the call. The conference call will also be webcast, which can be accessed from the Investor Relations section of FSIC's website at www.fsinvestmentcorp.com under Presentations and Reports.
A replay of the call will be available for a period of 30 days following the call by visiting the Investor Relations section of FSIC's website at www.fsinvestmentcorp.com under Presentations and Reports.
Supplemental Information
An investor presentation of financial information will be made available prior to the call in the Investor Relations section of FSIC's website at www.fsinvestmentcorp.com under Presentations and Reports.
About FS Investment Corporation
FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC) is a publicly traded business development company ("BDC") focused on providing customized credit solutions to private middle market U.S. companies. FSIC seeks to invest primarily in the senior secured debt and, to a lesser extent, the subordinated debt of private middle market companies to achieve the best risk-adjusted returns for its investors. FSIC is advised by FS/KKR Advisor, LLC. For more information, please visit www.fsinvestmentcorp.com .
About FS/KKR Advisor, LLC
FS/KKR Advisor, LLC ("FS/KKR") is a partnership between FS Investments and KKR Credit that serves as the investment adviser to six BDCs with approximately $18 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2017. The BDCs managed by FS/KKR include FS Investment Corporation, FS Investment Corporation II, FS Investment Corporation III, FS Investment Corporation IV, Corporate Capital Trust, Inc. and Corporate Capital Trust II.
FS/KKR seeks to leverage the size of its platform, differentiated origination capabilities and expertise in capital markets to maximize returns and preserve capital for investors.
FS Investments is a leading asset manager dedicated to helping individuals, financial professionals and institutions design better portfolios. The firm provides access to alternative sources of income and growth and focuses on setting industry standards for investor protection, education and transparency. FS Investments is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA with offices in New York, NY, Orlando, FL and Washington, DC. Visit www.fsinvestments.com to learn more.
KKR Credit is a subsidiary of KKR & Co. LP, a leading global investment firm that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate and credit, with strategic manager partnerships that manage hedge funds. KKR aims to generate attractive investment returns for its fund investors by following a patient and disciplined investment approach, employing world-class people, and driving growth and value creation with KKR portfolio companies. KKR invests its own capital alongside the capital it manages for fund investors and provides financing solutions and investment opportunities through its capital markets business. References to KKR's investments may include the activities of its sponsored funds. For additional information about KKR & Co. L.P. (NYSE: KKR), please visit KKR's website at www.kkr.com and on Twitter @KKR_Co.
Forward-Looking Statements and Important Disclosure Notice
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to future events or the future performance or operations of FSIC. Words such as "believes," "expects," "projects," and "future" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include changes in the economy, risks associated with possible disruption in FSIC's operations or the economy generally due to terrorism or natural disasters, future changes in laws or regulations and conditions in FSIC's operating area, and the price at which shares of FSIC's common stock trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Some of these factors are enumerated in the filings FSIC makes with the SEC. FSIC undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
The press release above contains summaries of certain financial and statistical information about FSIC. The information contained in this press release is summary information that is intended to be considered in the context of FSIC's SEC filings and other public announcements that FSIC may make, by press release or otherwise, from time to time. FSIC undertakes no duty or obligation to update or revise the information contained in this press release. In addition, information related to past performance, while helpful as an evaluative tool, is not necessarily indicative of future results, the achievement of which cannot be assured. Investors should not view the past performance of FSIC, or information about the market, as indicative of FSIC's future results.
Other Information
The information in this press release is summary information only and should be read in conjunction with FSIC's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2018, which FSIC filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 10, 2018, as well as FSIC's other reports filed with the SEC. A copy of FSIC's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2018 and FSIC's other reports filed with the SEC can be found on FSIC's website at www.fsinvestmentcorp.com and the SEC's website at www.sec.gov .
Certain Information About Distributions
The determination of the tax attributes of FSIC's distributions is made annually as of the end of its fiscal year based upon its taxable income and distributions paid, in each case, for the full year. Therefore, a determination as to the tax attributes of the distributions made on a quarterly basis may not be representative of the actual tax attributes for a full year. FSIC intends to update stockholders quarterly with an estimated percentage of its distributions that resulted from taxable ordinary income. The actual tax characteristics of distributions to stockholders will be reported to stockholders annually on Form 1099-DIV.
The timing and amount of any future distributions on FSIC's shares of common stock are subject to applicable legal restrictions and the sole discretion of its board of directors. There can be no assurance as to the amount or timing of any such future distributions, including the special distribution referenced herein.
FSIC may fund its cash distributions to stockholders from any sources of funds legally available to it, including proceeds from the sale of shares of FSIC's common stock, borrowings, net investment income from operations, capital gains proceeds from the sale of assets, non-capital gains proceeds from the sale of assets and dividends or other distributions paid to it on account of preferred and common equity investments in portfolio companies. FSIC has not established limits on the amount of funds it may use from available sources to make distributions. There can be no assurance that FSIC will be able to pay distributions at a specific rate or at all.
Contact Information:
Investors
Marc Yaklofsky
[email protected]
215-309-6763
Media
Kate Beers
[email protected]
215-495-1174
Income Statement
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
Investment income
From non-controlled/unaffiliated investments:
Interest income
$
75,269
$
72,838
Paid-in-kind interest income
8,448
6,881
Fee income
2,453
19,530
Dividend income
7,355
—
From non-controlled/affiliated investments:
Interest income
1,428
3,684
Paid-in-kind interest income
3,147
606
Fee income
—
29
From controlled/affiliated investments:
Interest income
1,120
1,502
Paid-in-kind interest income
1,798
994
Total investment income
101,018
106,064
Operating expenses
Management fees
17,854
18,367
Subordinated income incentive fees
11,999
13,147
Administrative services expenses
734
734
Accounting and administrative fees
254
265
Interest expense
20,053
19,439
Directors' fees
496
271
Other general and administrative expenses
1,632
1,251
Total operating expenses
53,022
53,474
Management fee waiver
(2,551)
—
Net expenses
50,471
53,474
Net investment income
50,547
52,590
Realized and unrealized gain/loss
Net realized gain (loss) on investments:
Non-controlled/unaffiliated investments
(4,351)
(48,447)
Non-controlled/affiliated investments
8
305
Controlled/affiliated investments
—
(52,879)
Net realized gain (loss) on foreign currency
61
123
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments:
Non-controlled/unaffiliated investments
(17,501)
129,260
Non-controlled/affiliated investments
(5,530)
(12,328)
Controlled/affiliated investments
(9,707)
(4,499)
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on secured borrowing
—
(10)
Net change in unrealized gain (loss) on foreign currency
(602)
(722)
Total net realized and unrealized gain (loss)
$
(37,622)
$
10,803
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations
$
12,925
$
63,393
Per share information—basic and diluted
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations (Earnings per Share)
$
0.05
$
0.26
Weighted average shares outstanding
245,713,188
244,554,969
Balance Sheet
March 31, 2018
(Unaudited)
December 31, 2017
Assets
Investments, at fair value
Non-controlled/unaffiliated investments (amortized cost—$3,434,363 and $3,532,517, respectively)
$
3,485,256
$
3,600,911
Non-controlled/affiliated investments (amortized cost—$201,717 and $197,468, respectively)
228,774
230,055
Controlled/affiliated investments (amortized cost—$91,284 and $86,861, respectively)
89,984
95,268
Total investments, at fair value (amortized cost—$3,727,364 and $3,816,846, respectively)
3,804,014
3,926,234
Cash
209,609
134,932
Foreign currency, at fair value (cost—$5,291 and $3,685, respectively)
5,448
3,810
Receivable for investments sold and repaid
1,195
3,477
Income receivable
32,352
30,668
Deferred financing costs
3,212
3,459
Prepaid expenses and other assets
1,675
1,695
Total assets
$
4,057,505
$
4,104,275
Liabilities
Payable for investments purchased
$
101
$
1,978
Credit facilities payable (net of deferred financing costs of $2,903 and $3,179, respectively)
639,205
638,571
Unsecured notes payable (net of deferred financing costs of $1,245 and $1,402, respectively)
1,074,160
1,073,445
Stockholder distributions payable
46,683
46,704
Management fees payable
15,303
15,450
Subordinated income incentive fees payable
11,999
12,871
Administrative services expense payable
542
294
Interest payable
18,190
22,851
Directors' fees payable
490
276
Other accrued expenses and liabilities
870
7,112
Total liabilities
1,807,543
1,819,552
Commitments and contingencies
—
—
Stockholders' equity
Preferred stock, $0.001 par value, 50,000,000 shares authorized, none issued and outstanding
—
—
Common stock, $0.001 par value, 450,000,000 shares authorized, 245,587,856 and 245,725,416 shares
issued and outstanding, respectively
246
246
Capital in excess of par value
2,271,588
2,272,591
Accumulated undistributed net realized gain/loss on investments and gain/loss on foreign currency
(249,570)
(245,288)
Accumulated undistributed (distributions in excess of) net investment income
147,926
144,062
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments and secured borrowing and unrealized gain/loss on foreign currency
79,772
113,112
Total stockholders' equity
2,249,962
2,284,723
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity
$
4,057,505
$
4,104,275
Net asset value per share of common stock at period end
$
9.16
$
9.30
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This press release contains certain financial measures that have not been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"). FSIC uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally in analyzing financial results and believes that the use of these non-GAAP financial measures is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing results and trends and in comparing FSIC's financial results with other BDCs.
Non-GAAP financial measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP financial measures, and should be read only in conjunction with FSIC's consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures has been provided in this press release, and investors are encouraged to review the reconciliation.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures 1
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018
December 31, 2017
March 31, 2017
GAAP net investment income per share
$0.21
$0.22
$0.22
Plus capital gains incentive fees per share
—
—
—
Plus excise taxes per share
—
0.02
—
Plus one-time expenses per share
—
—
—
Adjusted net investment income per share 2
$0.21
$0.24
$0.22
1)
Per share data was derived by using the weighted average shares of FSIC's common stock outstanding during the applicable period. Per share numbers may not sum due to rounding.
2)
Adjusted net investment income is a non-GAAP financial measure. Adjusted net investment income is presented for all periods as GAAP net investment income excluding (i) the accrual for the capital gains incentive fee for realized and unrealized gains; (ii) excise taxes; and (iii) certain non-recurring operating expenses that are one-time in nature and are not representative of ongoing operating expenses incurred during FSIC's normal course of business (referred to herein as one-time expenses). FSIC uses this non-GAAP financial measure internally in analyzing financial results and believes that the use of this non-GAAP financial measure is useful to investors as an additional tool to evaluate ongoing results and trends and in comparing its financial results with other business development companies. The presentation of this additional information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for financial results prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP net investment income to adjusted net investment income can be found above.
3)
The per share data for distributions reflects the amount of distributions paid per share of our common stock to stockholders of record during each applicable period.
4)
See FSIC's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2018 for a description of FSIC's investment strategies.
5)
Gross portfolio yield represents the expected annualized yield of FSIC's investment portfolio based on the composition of the portfolio as of the applicable date. FSIC's estimated gross portfolio yield may be higher than an investor's yield on an investment in shares of FSIC's common stock because it does not reflect sales commissions or charges that may be incurred in connection with the purchase or sale of such shares, or operating expenses that may be incurred by FSIC. FSIC's estimated gross portfolio yield does not represent an actual investment return to stockholders, is subject to change and, in the future, may be greater or less than the rates set forth herein.
6)
Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis. See FSIC's quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2018 for a description of FSIC's revenue recognition policy.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/fsic-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-declares-regular-distribution-for-second-quarter-300646569.html
SOURCE FS Investment Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/pr-newswire-fsic-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-declares-regular-distribution-for-second-quarter.html |
(Corrects to explain status of disputed territory in second paragraph)
FILE PHOTO: A Cairo street sign showing Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ahead of the presidential election, March 25, 2018. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo CAIRO (Reuters) - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will visit Khartoum in October to seal several bilateral deals, Sudan’s foreign minister said on Tuesday during a visit to Cairo, at a time of fraught relations between the neighbours.
Sudan banned the import of Egyptian farm produce last year over alleged use of pesticides and is in a longstanding dispute over contested territory claimed by Sudan but which Cairo says is Egyptian.
For its part, Egypt fears Sudan will support Ethiopia in its bid to quickly fill a reservoir behind the mega-hydroelectric dam it is constructing on the Nile. Cairo is concerned the dam could wreak havoc on its sensitive water supply but Sudan has supported it because of its need for electricity.
“(Sisi’s) visit will be to partake in the (bilateral) high joint committee and there are a lot of agreements that will be completed,” Al-Dirdiri Mohamed said. He did not give a date for the visit or details of agreements that may be signed.
Reporting by Ali Abdelaty; Writing by Eric Knecht; Editing by Mark Heinrich and James Dalgleish
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/egypt-sudan-relations/egypts-sisi-to-visit-sudan-in-october-amid-tensions-idINKCN1IU2X8 |
May 8, 2018 / 5:08 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Trump abandons 'defective'Iran nuclear deal, to revive sanctions Steve Holland 5 on Tuesday pulled the United States out of an international nuclear deal with Iran in a step that will raise the risk of conflict in the Middle East, upset America’s European allies and bring uncertainty to global oil supplies.
Trump, speaking in a televised address from the White House, said he would reimpose economic sanctions on Iran.
“This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,” Trump said. “It didn’t bring calm. It didn’t bring peace. And it never will.”
The 2015 deal, worked out by the United States, five other international powers and Iran, eased sanctions on Iran in exchange for the country limiting its nuclear program. The pact is seen by many in the West as a way to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb.
But Trump complains that the agreement, the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor Barack Obama, does not address Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 nor its role in conflicts in Yemen and Syria.
He also said the agreement did not prevent Iran from cheating and continuing to pursue nuclear weapons.
“It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement,” he said. “The Iran deal is defective at its core.”
Trump said he was willing to negotiate a new deal with Iran, but Tehran already has ruled that out and threatened unspecified retaliation if Washington pulled out.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that Iran will remain in the nuclear deal without Washington. Related Coverage Israel says mobilizing some reserve troops
Iranian state television said Trump’s decision to withdraw was “illegal, illegitimate and undermines international agreements.”
Abandoning the Iran pact is part of Trump’s high-stakes “America First” policy, which has seen the United States announce its withdrawal last year from the Paris climate accord and come close to a trade war with China.
Trump has attempted to erase major parts of Democrat Obama’s legacy and last year withdrew from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal the Paris climate accord.
Renewing sanctions would make it much harder for Iran to sell its oil abroad or use the international banking system.
Oil prices recouped some losses after Trump’s announcement, in a volatile session in which prices slumped as much as 4 percent earlier in the day.
Brent crude futures LCOc1 settled 1.7 percent lower at $74.85 a barrel while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures CLc1 ended the session 2.4 percent lower at $69.06 per barrel.
Wall Street remained in negative territory while energy stocks cut earlier losses after Trump spoke. U.S. displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst
Trump’s decision is a snub to European allies such as France, Britain and Germany who also are part of the Iran deal and tried hard to convince the U.S. president to preserve it. The Europeans must now scramble to decide their own course of action with Tehran.
China and Russia also are signatories to the Iran deal. RENEWED SANCTIONS
Trump did not provide details of what he described as the “highest level of economic sanctions” that he is reimposing on Iran.
According to the U.S. Treasury, sanctions related to Iran’s energy, auto and financial sectors will be reimposed in three and six months.
Iran’s growing military and political power in Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq worries the United States, Israel and U.S. Arab allies such as Saudi Arabia.
Israel has traded blows with Iranian forces in Syria since February, stirring concern that major escalation could be looming.
Minutes before Trump’s announcement, Israel said it had instructed local authorities in the Israeli-held Golan Heights to “unlock and ready (bomb) shelters” after identifying what the military described as “irregular activity of Iranian forces in Syria.”
The military statement said its defense systems had been deployed “and IDF (Israel Defence Force) troops are on high alert for an attack.” Slideshow (10 Images)
Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, said abandoning the Iran deal was a threat to U.S. national security.
“With this decision President Trump is risking U.S. national security, recklessly upending foundational partnerships with key U.S. allies in Europe and gambling with Israel’s security,” Menendez said. Additional reporting by Tim Ahmann, Makini Brice, Warren Strobel and Arshad Mohammed in Washington, Ayenat Mersie in New York, Sybille de La Hamaide, John Irish and Tim Hepher in Paris, Parisa Hafezi in Ankara, Bozorgmehr Sharafedin in London, Andrew Torchia in Dubai; Writing by William Maclean and Alistair Bell; Editing by Peter Graff, Yara Bayoumy and Bill Trott | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear/trump-to-announce-decision-on-iran-nuclear-deal-european-allies-on-edge-idUSKBN1I90D6 |
Sergei Skripal discharged from UK hospital 9:11am EDT - 01:06
The former Russian spy who was poisoned by a nerve agent in Britain more than two months ago, has been discharged from hospital, England's health service said on Friday (May 18).
The former Russian spy who was poisoned by a nerve agent in Britain more than two months ago, has been discharged from hospital, England's health service said on Friday (May 18). //reut.rs/2KCKK7X | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/18/sergei-skripal-discharged-from-uk-hospit?videoId=428070310 |
May 28, 2018 / 2:15 PM / Updated an hour ago Germany's Merkel laments fraying of multilateral order Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany is worried by signs of weakening in the network of multilateral organisations and agreements designed to foster international cooperation, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday. German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a speech at the Global Solutions Summit 2018 in Berlin, Germany, May 28, 2018. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Merkel blamed the fraying of the multilateral order on a “double transition” - the gradual fading of the direct memory of searing global conflict and the sheer pace and scale of technological change.
“The people who experienced World War Two, the last true global catastrophe, are dying out and are no longer there as eyewitnesses,” she told a conference in Berlin.
“They learned from that terrible experience not to embed emnity but that you had to try and build friendships with each other,” said Merkel, Europe’s longest serving leader.
At the same time, emerging digital technologies are transforming the global economy in a way comparable only to the invention of the printed book centuries ago, creating disruption that no individual state could hope to manage on its own.
“International agreements and institutions are being weakened. This is worrying, since our multilateral global order comes from the lessons we learned from the terrible world wars of the last century,” she said. Related Coverage Merkel says hopes to avoid retaliatory measures against U.S.
The same went for global trade, where she warned against protectionist instincts that might endanger open markets.
Regretting the failure to seal a deal on the trans-Atlantic TTIP trade partnership, Merkel stressed Europe’s continued willingness to discuss the trade relationship with the United States, but warned against a confrontational approach.
“We are happy to negotiate, but it mustn’t be under a sword of Damocles,” she said, in an apparent reference to U.S. President Donald Trump’s more belligerent stance on world trade.
Merkel said she still hoped there would be no need for the European Union to implement retaliatory measures in its trade dispute with the United States.
Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminium in March but the EU has been granted exemptions until June 1. Reporting by Joseph Nasr and Michael Nienaber; Writing by Thomas Escritt; Editing by Gareth Jones | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-politics-merkel/germany-worried-at-signs-of-fraying-multilateral-order-merkel-idUKKCN1IT1EI |
May 14 (Reuters) - Discover Financial Services:
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By Lisa Marie Segarra 1:27 PM EDT
In the competitive space of smart speakers, Google Home has overtaken Amazon’s Echo line for the first time.
In the first quarter of 2018, Amazon Echo sales of 2.5 million fell short of Google Home’s 3.1 million, according to estimates from analyst company Canalys. Amazon and Google haven’t released official sales numbers for either device. It’s the first time since both have been on the market that Google Home’s sale beat Amazon’s Echo.
However, Google still has a lot of catching up to do if it’s going to overtake Amazon in the long run. Since 2017, Amazon Echo sales have outperformed those of the Google Home, meaning it’s still the dominant smart speaker in the market.
In contrast, Apple’s HomePod has faced struggling sales after its launch was delayed. The HomePod first went on sale in January and is expected to sell just a fraction of Amazon Echo and Google Home’s estimates for the year. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/26/google-home-sales-amazon-echo/ |
Bitcoin prices will surge again this year: CoinShares chairman May 17, 2018
Bitcoin will rally this year and reach its previous highs, CoinShares Chairman Danny Masters predicted.
But here’s what needs to happen first: Better structures and a life cycle post initial coin offerings (ICOs) — the fundraising process that helps launch new cryptocurrencies.
“We need to see this [cryptocurrency] structure continue to build,” Master said on “ Fast Money ” Wednesday. “We need to see the custody solutions come and be provided. We need indices and we need performance measures where we can actually start to understand what we’re talking about and measure our performance.”
“We need to do more mature work around the ICOs, so that post ICO we have a token life cycle,” he continued. “A nd just give investors more clarity, better expectations, more transparency.”
Bitcoin was priced around $8,300 Wednesday evening, 5:30 p.m. ET. While the coin has recovered from lows earlier this year — briefly dropping below $6,000 in February — bitcoin is still far away from its mid-December peak around $19,500.
CoinShares, an investment firm specializing in cryptocurrency , launched the world’s first publicly traded bitcoin and ethereum fund.
Investors were optimistic that Blockchain Week New York and Monday’s Consensus event would help boost the large-cap coin. But bitcoin has under-performed, down 5 percent since Monday.
Masters pointed out that three years ago, the market and number of people interested in cryptocurrencies was very small. This week, however, more than 8,000 people showed up for Blockchain Week New York. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/bitcoin-prices-will-surge-again-this-year-coinshares-chairman.html/ |
The National Rifle Association has named Oliver North , a retired Marine lieutenant colonel known for his role in the Reagan Administration-era Iran-Contra scandal, as its new president.
He will replace Pete Brownell, CEO of firearms accessory maker Brownells, leading the pro-gun organization in a few weeks. North has already stepped down from his contributor role at Fox News.
North’s tenure comes as the NRA faces intense scrutiny from politicians, students, corporations, and gun safety advocates following a series of high-profile mass shootings. Opponents criticize their organization’s opposition to gun control and its success in lobbying lawmakers to scuttle anti-gun legislation.
Here are five things you need to know about North.
1. He was a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal North was one of the participants in the 1986 Iran-Contra scandal , which happened during President Ronald Reagan’s second term. The Reagan administration secretly sold arms to Iran (despite an arms embargo ) and funneled the funds to rebels in Nicaragua—even though Congress had passed legislation prohibiting giving funds to the Contras.
After news of the sale broke, North was dismissed by Reagan. He testified before Congress about his role in 1987.
2. He was convicted of three felonies relating to his role in Iran-Contra affair that were overturned In 1988, North was tried for his role in Iran-Contra and convicted of three felonies a year later for accepting an illegal gratuity, ordering the destruction of government documents, and aiding and abetting in the obstruction of a Congressional inquiry.
“Oliver North won’t go to prison even though he lied to Congress, shredded White House documents and accepted a $14,000 security fence from an Iran-contra arms profiteer,” according to a scathing New York Times editorial in 1989. “His punishment of 1,200 hours of community service, $150,000 fine and three years’ suspended sentence doesn’t fit his felonies.”
A federal judge overturned the conviction in 1990.
3. He has served on the NRA board for years, and is a board favorite, according to NPR North is a popular figure within the NRA. He received the most votes as a board member in 2016, and he was in the top two in 2013, according to MSNBC . “This year, as in previous years, the top two vote-winners in NRA elections have been Oliver North and Ted Nugent,” MSNBC reported.
4. He ran for the U.S. Senate in Virginia in 1994 and lost North ran as a Republican in an unsuccessful Senate campaign against incumbent Sen. Charles Robb (D). During the election, former First Lady Nancy Reagan had harsh words for North, saying, “he lied to my husband and lied about my husband.”
“Ollie North—oh, I’ll be happy to tell you about Ollie North,” Reagan said in an interview in 1994 . “Ollie North has a great deal of trouble separating fact from fantasy.”
5. His election baffled gun control advocates Gun safety organizations like Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence responded to the news about North’s election to the NRA’s presidency by decrying the organization and North’s past scandals.
“For an organization so concerned with law and order, picking a new leader who admitted that he lied to Congress is a truly remarkable decision,” Brady co-president Avery Gardiner said in a statement . “Now, the gun lobby—which has enshrined concealed carry reciprocity as one of its absolute top priorities—will be led by a man who’s own concealed carry permit was revoked because he was ‘not of good character.'”
Everytown for Gun Safety president John Feinblatt said in a statement to Fortune that North’s election is “the clearest sign yet that the NRA is floundering in the face of plummeting popularity, scrutiny into its Russia ties, and state lawmakers who are defying the gun lobby left and right”
“The NRA doesn’t need a new leader—it needs an entirely new direction,” he continued.
The NRA, however, praised North as a “gifted communicator and skilled leader.”
“This is the most exciting news for NRA members since Charlton Heston Became President of Our Association,” NRA’s CEO Wayne LaPierre said in a statement. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/nra-oliver-north-president/ |
BEIJING—In a move that could further heighten tensions with the U.S., China is poised to announce a new fund of about 300 billion yuan—$47.4 billion—to spur development of its semiconductor industry as it seeks to close the technology gap with the U.S. and other rivals, according to people familiar with the matter.
The new war chest by the government-backed China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund Co. follows a similar fund launched in 2014 that raised 139 billion yuan ($21.8 billion), largely funded by central and... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/china-plans-47-billion-fund-to-boost-its-semiconductor-industry-1525434907 |
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Nationalist Shi’ite Cleric Moqtada al Sadr took a surprise lead in Iraq’s elections by tapping into public resentment with Iran and what some voters say is a corrupt political elite it supports.
Iraqi Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr visits his father's grave after parliamentary election results were announced, in Najaf, Iraq May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Alaa al-Marjani Sadr is the only Iraqi Shi’ite leader who has challenged both Iran and the United States, a calculation that appears to have made him popular with millions of poor Shi’ites who felt they hadn’t benefited from their government’s close ties to Tehran or Washington.
The nationalist cleric’s success in the election dealt a blow to Iran, which has steadily increased its influence in Iraq since a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.
His success marks a remarkable comeback for Sadr, who for years had been sidelined by Iranian-backed rivals. He reached out to dispossessed Shi’ites and marginalized Sunnis, and restored links with Sunni neighbors while keeping Iran at bay.
As news spread of Sadr’s gains in the election, some of his followers celebrated in Baghdad and chanted “Iran out.”
“Iraq is rich, the country doesn’t need Iran, it can stand on its feet and be prosperous it just need good management,” said Mohammed Sadeq, a trader in the city of Hilla who voted for Sadr’s list.
Forty-four year old Sadr will not become prime minister as he did not run in the election but his almost certain victory puts him in a position to pick someone for the job. Winning the largest number of seats does not automatically guarantee that, however. The other winning blocs would have to agree on the nomination.
Sadr has long been viewed by the U.S. and Iraqi government officials seen as an unpredictable maverick. But a Western diplomat, who met him in his villa in the city of Najaf just after he formed a political bloc with communists in March described Sadr as composed, articulate and a pragmatist.
“He didn’t come across as a rabble rouser,” said the diplomat.
Sadr, usually stern-faced, joked about the diplomat’s ring. “Then he showed me his ring, which had an effigy of his father,” he said.
FIERCE NATIONALIST Sadr was virtually unknown outside Iraq before the 2003 U.S. invasion. But he soon became a symbol of resistance to foreign occupation, deriving much of his authority from his family.
He is the son of the revered Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Sadeq al-Sadr, killed for defying Saddam Hussein. His father’s cousin, Mohammed Baqir, was also killed by the Iraqi dictator, in 1980.
Sadr was the first to form a Shi’ite militia that fought against U.S. troops after the liberation of Iraq turned into an occupation. He led two uprisings against U.S. troops, prompting the Pentagon to call his Mehdi army the biggest threat to Iraq’s security.
U.S. officials and Sunni Arab leaders have accused Sadr’s Mehdi Army of being behind many sectarian killings that ravaged Iraq. Sadr has disavowed violence against fellow Iraqis.
Sadr has always portrayed himself as an uncompromising nationalist. He looked down on other opposition figures who safely returned from Iran seeking power after Saddam’s demise while others put their lives at risk by staying in the country.
In 2004, the U.S. occupation authority issued an arrest warrant for Sadr in connection with the 2003 murder of moderate Shi’ite leader Abdul Majid al-Khoei who the Americans had brought into the holy Shi’ite city of Najaf during the invasion. Sadr, who denied any role, was never charged.
His image as a patriot appears to have resonated with those who voted in the election, which saw a historically low turnout.
“We won’t allow the Iraqis to be cannon fodder for the wars of others nor be used in proxy wars outside Iraq,” said Jumah Bahadily, a member of the outgoing parliament who belongs to the Sadrist movement, referring to Syria. “We are proud of our Arab identity.”
UNLIKELY ALLIANCE With his trademark turban, Sadr can easily mobilize thousands of followers on the streets of Iraq.
In 2016, hundreds of Sadr’s supporters stormed parliament inside Baghdad’s fortified Green Zone after he denounced politicians’ failure to reform a political quota system blamed for rampant corruption.
Sadr issued an ultimatum.
“If corrupt (officials) and quotas remain the entire government will be brought down and no one will be exempt.”
For the election, Sadr formed an unlikely alliance with communists and other independent secular supporters to demand the formation of a government of independent technocrats to end corruption.
His bloc, known as “Sairoon” in Arabic, or On The Move, has said it would focus on rebuilding infrastructure and providing health and education to the poor.
“The importance of this vote is that it is a clear message that the people want to change the system of governance which has produced corruption and weakened the state institutions,” Raed Fahmy, secretary general of the Iraqi Communist Party, told Reuters.
“It is a message in support of having balanced relations with all based on the respect of non interference in Iraq’s internal affairs.”
COMEBACK Sadr has made a notable comeback after being sidelined for years by Shi’ite rivals backed by Tehran.
Two of them were seen as top contenders for prime minister after the election.
Hadi al-Amiri is widely regarded as Iran’s man in Iraq and is arguably the most powerful figure in the country. Amiri’s bloc was in second place in the poll with more than half the votes counted, according to Reuters calculations.
The other is Nuri al-Maliki, who served as prime minister for a total of eight years. Maliki’s bloc has so far fared poorly. Incumbent Haider al-Abadi had been tipped to win by a narrow margin.
Sadr’s growing popularity has not gone unnoticed in Tehran, where he went into self-imposed exile in 2007.
Ali Akbar Velayati, top adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said in February that Tehran would prevent Sadr and his alliance from governing in Iraq.
“We will not allow liberals and communists to govern in Iraq,” he said during a speech at a conference in Iraq in February.
Iraq, which lies in the heart of the Gulf, is critical for Iran. The countries share a border and Iraq is Iran’s main route for supplying arms and fighters to Syria to back President Bashar al-Assad in the civil war.
Sadr and his allies “benefited from the weak participation of the other parties and from widespread popular discontent regarding corruption and the mismanagement of the state, and also the perception that Iraq is being led from outside, by the Iranians and the Americans,” said Wathiq al-Hashimi, an independent analyst based in Iraq.
Additional reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Cassell Bryan-Low
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-election-sadr/fiery-cleric-sadr-taps-anger-over-iran-to-lead-iraq-poll-idUSKCN1IF2G8 |
7 Hours Ago | 05:09
Small business employees saw their wages grow last month at the strongest rate in more than two years, according to a report from human resources firm Paychex .
Hourly earnings in April increased at an annual rate of 3.25 percent, the best showing since 2016. Wages of $26.56 per hour last month were up 2.69 percent, or 70 cents, from a year ago.
(Source: Paychex)
"The low unemployment rate is contributing to steady increases in wage growth," Martin Mucci, Paychex president and CEO, said in the report released Tuesday. "With tightening labor conditions and wages continuing to show positive momentum, business owners and HR managers will need to focus on recruitment and benefit strategies to attract and retain qualified talent."
However, the overall Small Business Jobs Index of business conditions declined 0.12 percent from last month to 99.53.
(Source: Paychex)
Tennessee remains the top-ranked state for small business job growth, Paychex said. Arizona ranks first in annual hourly earnings growth. The manufacturing sector has seen the pace of small business growth improve nearly 1 percent from last year.
Paychex — a provider of payroll, human resource, insurance and benefits outsourcing services for small-to-medium-sized businesses — draws its numbers from client payroll data.
In a separate study out Tuesday, the CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey found that confidence among America's small business owners remains near an all-time high , despite concerns about President Donald Trump 's trade policies. The online poll, with responses from more than 2,000 small business owners each quarter, was conducted from April 11–17.
The surveys come three days before the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its closely watched April employment data. Nonfarm jobs grew less than expected in March, but average hourly earnings rose more than forecast. Sign Up for Our Newsletter Morning Squawk CNBC's before the bell news roundup SIGN UP NOW Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about about our products and service. Privacy Policy . | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/small-business-wages-grow-at-the-strongest-rate-in-2-years-survey.html |
May 11, 2018 / 5:42 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Roaring like jet engines, new crack opens at Hawaii volcano Terray Sylvester 4 Min Read
PAHOA, Hawaii (Reuters) - A new fissure roaring like jet engines and spewing magma opened on Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano on Saturday, piling lava as high as a four-story building, as the area torn by the U.S. volcano’s eruption spread.
The crack in pasture land on Kilauea’s east flank was the 16th recorded since the volcano, one of the world’s most active, erupted eight days ago. Thousands of people have fled their homes on Hawaii’s Big Island because of lava and toxic gases, and dozens of homes have been destroyed.
The new fissure opened up about a mile (1.6 km) east of the existing vent system that has devastated the island’s Leilani Estates neighbourhood, with a few homes on the edge of the field where the vent opened. The U.S. Geological Survey warned that more outbreaks remained likely.
“It’s right by my house, which is kind of scary,” said Haley Clinton, 17, who walked to see the new crack with her father, Darryl, and sister Jolon, 15. “It’s really cool.”
From afar, the fissure gave off dull, thumping roars that sharpened on approach to a scream like a chorus of jet engines from venting steam and gas, mixed with the slapping sounds of liquid lava.
Within hours of opening, the fissure had piled reddish-black lava about 40 feet (12 meters) high and at least 150 feet (45 meters) in length. Chunks of magma were being spewed 100 feet (30 meters) in the air.
The intense heat left onlookers drenched with sweat, and the air was filled with an acrid, burned scent. With billowing gas and smoke blowing in the opposite direction, there was no pungent smell of toxic sulphur dioxide in the air.
Shortly after the fissure opened, the Geological Survey’s Hawaii Volcano Observatory said seismic activity remained “elevated” at Kilauea’s 4,000-feet-high (1,200-meter-high) summit. The USGS reported a shallow but small earthquake with a magnitude of 3.5 hit the island on Saturday.
Geologists warned on Friday that a steam-driven eruption from the summit’s Halemaumau crater could spew ash plumes 20,000 feet (6,100 meters) high and spread ash and debris up to 12 miles (19 km).
Kilauea’s vents have been oozing relatively cool, sluggish magma left over from a similar event in 1955. Fresher magma could now emerge behind it and the volcano is threatening to start a series of explosive eruptions, scientists have said. Lava erupts from a fissure east of the Leilani Estates subdivision May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester “WE NEED TO BREATHE”
As the area affected by Kilauea’s eruption widens, Hawaii residents are racing to buy respirators to cope with the ash and toxic gases spewing from the volcano.
David Baxter, 54, an employee of Pahoa Auto Parts, said the shop was selling out of respirators as soon as they get in and had sold about 3,000 so far. The shop was all out on Saturday.
“We pretty much bought up every (respirator) in the state, and we are selling them at cost - actually, a slight loss,” said Baxter. “We need to breathe.”
Even as the volcano continued to erupt, Hawaii Academy of Arts and Sciences, a charter middle and high school in Pahoa, will resume classes on Monday after being shut for a week.
A teacher at the school, Tiffany Edwards Hunts, who lives in the Big Island’s Vacationland neighbourhood, said she, her husband and two children - ages 10 and 6 - were readying to evacuate their home.
“My husband has been doing a good job of protecting them, but it is scary for kids,” she said.
Some pets have been left behind as many residents have fled their homes, and the Hawaii Island Humane Society said it had rescued 16 dogs, three rabbits, four tortoises and four cats from the volcano zone.
Almost all had been picked up by their owners, and 1,400 livestock and 32 horses had also been taken from the volcano zone, it said in a statement.
Graphic - Scorched earth: tmsnrt.rs/2IldVyS Slideshow (2 Images)
Graphic - Hawaii's Kilauea volcano: tmsnrt.rs/2rmXdVZ Reporting by Terray Sylvester in Pahoa, Jolyn Rosa in Honolulu and Karin Stanton on the Big Island; Writing by Ian Simpson in Washington; Editing by Marguerita Choy | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hawaii-volcano/hawaii-residents-shaken-by-quakes-brace-for-new-lava-outbreaks-idUKKBN1IC27T |
May 30, 2018 / 5:28 AM / Updated 2 hours ago England have discussed prospect of racism in Russia, says Young Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - England’s players have talked about the potential for racist abuse from spectators at the World Cup finals in Russia, defender Ashley Young has said. Soccer Football - England Press Conference - St. George's Park, Burton Upon Trent, Britain - May 28, 2018 England's Ashley Young during the press conference Action Images via Reuters/Carl Recine
Russia has pledged to crack down on racism as the country faces increased scrutiny ahead of the World Cup, which it will host from June 14 to July 15 in 11 cities.
FIFA fined Russia 30,000 Swiss francs (22,820 pounds) earlier this month for discriminatory chants by fans after racist abuse was directed at French players during a friendly in St Petersburg in March.
“I’m sure we’ll talk about it and we have talked about it, in the squad, in what to do and what not to do,” Young told British media.
“Hopefully FIFA, if anything is to come about, will be able to deal with it. Whether it’s going to happen, whether you are on the pitch, I’m not sure how you react to it.”
England have been drawn in Group G at the World Cup and play their first match against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18. Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-worldcup-eng-young/england-have-discussed-prospect-of-racism-in-russia-says-young-idUKKCN1IV0ES |
All amounts in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated
TORONTO, May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Onex Corporation (“Onex”) (TSX:ONEX) confirms all nominees set forth in the management information circular for its May 10, 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders have been elected as directors of the Company. Detailed results of the vote for each director are set out below.
Nominee Elected by % Votes For % Votes Withheld Gerald W. Schwartz Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 Daniel C. Casey Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 Ewout Heersink Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 Serge Gouin Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 John B. McCoy Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 J. Robert S. Prichard Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 Heather M. Reisman Multiple Voting Shares 100 0 William A. Etherington Subordinate Voting Shares 99.39 0.61 Mitch Goldhar Subordinate Voting Shares 99.18 0.82 Arianna Huffington Subordinate Voting Shares 99.57 0.43 Arni C. Thorsteinson Subordinate Voting Shares 94.91 5.09 Beth Wilkinson Subordinate Voting Shares 99.97 0.03 Onex also presented an advisory resolution of shareholders endorsing the Company’s approach to executive compensation, generally referred to as “say-on-pay”. The Company is pleased to report the resolution passed overwhelmingly with approximately 97% support.
About Onex
Onex is one of the oldest and most successful private equity firms. Through its Onex Partners and ONCAP private equity funds, Onex acquires and builds high-quality businesses in partnership with talented management teams. At Onex Credit, Onex manages and invests in leveraged loans, collateralized loan obligations and other credit securities. Onex has more than $32 billion of assets under management, including $6.7 billion of Onex proprietary capital, in private equity and credit securities. With offices in Toronto, New York, New Jersey and London, Onex and the team are collectively the largest investors across Onex’ platforms.
Onex’ businesses have assets of $49 billion, generate annual revenues of $31 billion and employ approximately 207,000 people worldwide. Onex shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the stock symbol ONEX. For more information on Onex, visit its website at www.onex.com . Onex’ security filings can also be accessed at www.sedar.com .
This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to known and unknown uncertainties and risks, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated or implied by such forward- looking statements. Onex is under no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein should material facts change due to new information, future events or otherwise.
For further information:
Emilie Blouin
Director, Investor Relations
Tel: 416.362.7711
Source: ONEX Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-onex-confirms-election-of-directors-and-approval-of-asay-on-paya.html |
GREENWOOD VILLAGE, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- National Storage Affiliates Trust (“NSA” or the “Company”) (NYSE: NSA) today announced Tiffany Kenyon has accepted the role of Senior Vice President and Senior Legal Officer for the Company.
Arlen Nordhagen, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, commented, “It is with pleasure we announce the addition of Tiffany Kenyon to our executive management team. Her vast experience focused on mergers, acquisitions and joint venture transactions as well as securities and corporate governance matters will lend valuable strength to our business processes. The addition of Tiffany to our team demonstrates NSA’s continued dedication to delivering long term value to our shareholders through the ongoing execution of our differentiated business strategy.”
Prior to joining NSA, Ms. Kenyon served for the past ten years with MarkWest Energy Partners, L.P., most recently as Vice President, Law, where she focused on commercial transactions and corporate matters. Prior to joining MarkWest, she was with Greenberg Traurig, LLP from 2000 until 2008 where she focused on real estate, corporate and securities matters. Ms. Kenyon received her J.D. degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder and her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Upcoming Industry Conference
NSA management is scheduled to participate in the NAREIT REITWeek 2018 Investor Conference on June 5 - 7, 2018 in New York, New York.
About National Storage Affiliates Trust
National Storage Affiliates Trust is a Maryland real estate investment trust focused on the ownership, operation and acquisition of self storage properties located within the top 100 metropolitan statistical areas throughout the United States. The Company currently holds ownership interests in and operates 541 self storage properties located in 29 states with approximately 34 million rentable square feet. NSA is the sixth largest owner and operator of self storage properties among public and private companies in the U.S. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.nationalstorageaffiliates.com . NSA is included in the MSCI US REIT Index (RMS/RMZ), the Russell 2000 Index of Companies and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180516006055/en/
National Storage Affiliates Trust
Investor/Media Relations
Marti Dowling, 720-630-2624
Director - Investor Relations
[email protected]
Source: National Storage Affiliates Trust | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/business-wire-national-storage-affiliates-trust-announces-the-appointment-of-tiffany-s-kenyon-as-senior-vice-president-and-senior-legal.html |
Need a job? Florida is looking for python hunters 3 Hours Ago 01:27 01:27 | 9:57 AM ET Sun, 13 May 2018 02:54 02:54 | 10:32 AM ET Mon, 14 May 2018 00:44 00:44 | 11:48 AM ET Fri, 11 May 2018 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/23/need-a-job-florida-is-looking-for-python-hunters.html |
Engineers say recyclable car parts are within reach 11:56am EDT - 01:59
A team of engineers searching for sustainable alternatives to carbon fibre say recyclable car parts made with natural fibres are a realistic possibility. Stuart McDill team of engineers searching for sustainable alternatives to carbon fibre say recyclable car parts made with natural fibres are a realistic possibility. Stuart McDill //reut.rs/2reBqiA | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/02/engineers-say-recyclable-car-parts-are-w?videoId=423250433 |
World's largest known freshwater pearl to be auctioned in The Hague 5:55am BST - 00:57
The pearl, known as th Sleeping Lion Pearl is valued between 340,000 and 540,000 euros. Rough cut (no reporter narration)
The pearl, known as th Sleeping Lion Pearl is valued between 340,000 and 540,000 euros. Rough cut (no reporter narration) //reut.rs/2H06AQq | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/29/worlds-largest-known-freshwater-pearl-to?videoId=431175883 |
May 8 (Reuters) - TIER REIT Inc:
* INCREASES 2018 OUTLOOK * SEES FY FFO PER SHARE $1.25 - $1.30
* SEES 2018 PROJECTED FFO, EXCLUDING CERTAIN ITEMS, PER DILUTED COMMON SHARE $1.49 - $1.54
* FY2018 FFO PER SHARE VIEW $1.38 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* QTRLY SAME STORE CASH NOI GROWTH OF 3.8% OVER Q1 2017 * INCREASED OCCUPANCY BY 30 BASIS POINTS TO 89.4% IN QUARTER Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tier-reit-posts-q1-ffo-per-share-0/brief-tier-reit-posts-q1-ffo-per-share-0-20-idUSASC0A0RE |
May 30, 2018 / 12:19 PM / Updated 42 minutes ago Britain to tackle danger of drones near airports with new laws Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain said it would ban drones from flying above 400 feet and within one kilometre of airport boundaries to reduce the possibility of damage to windows and engines of planes. FILE PHOTO: A bird passes in the foreground as a passenger aircraft makes it's final landing approach towards Heathrow Airport at dawn in west London Britain, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville
The number of drone incidents with aircraft has risen year-on-year from just six in 2014 to 93 in 2017, the government said, and new laws were needed to ensure drones were used safely and responsibly.
“We are seeing fast growth in the numbers of drones being used, both commercially and for fun,” aviation minister Elizabeth Sugg said on Wednesday.
“Whilst we want this industry to innovate and grow, we need to protect planes, helicopters and their passengers from the increasing numbers of drones in our skies.”
Drone users who flout the restrictions, which will come into effect on July 30, could be charged with recklessly or negligently acting in a manner likely to endanger an aircraft or any person in an aircraft. The 400-feet restriction applies to all areas, not just around airports.
Offenders could be given an unlimited fine, up to five years in prison, or both.
The law will be tightened again in November 2019 when owners of drones weighing 250 grammes or more will have to register with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and drone pilots will have to take an online safety test, the government said. Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-drones/britain-to-tackle-danger-of-drones-near-airports-with-new-laws-idUKKCN1IV1JO |
MUNICH (Reuters) - Siemens ( SIEGn.DE ) raised its full year profit guidance on Wednesday, sending its shares higher after a strong result from its factory automation business countered the downturn at its Power and Gas operations.
FILE PHOTO: Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser speaks at the annual session of China Development Forum (CDF) 2018 at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo The German engineering company beat net profit forecasts during its second quarter after logging a one-off gain of 900 million euros ($1.07 billion) from transferring its stake in IT services company Atos SE ( ATOS.PA ) to its pension fund.
The result, along with the raised guidance, was taken positively by investors, pushing the company’s stock 4.6 per cent higher and making it one of the best performing shares in Europe.
“Most of our business, primarily our digital offerings, showed impressive performance and operationally more than offset structural challenges in fossil power generation,” Siemens’ Chief Financial Officer Ralf Thomas told reporters.
Siemens now expects full year earnings per share in the range of 7.70 euros to 8 euros per share, up from its previous guidance of 7.20 euros to 7.70 euros. Siemens’ EPS for its 2017 business year was 7.44 euros or 7.09 euros on a comparable basis.
In the three months ended March 31, the turbines to train maker reported net profit of 2.02 billion euros, beating the forecast for 1.11 billion euros in a Reuters poll.
Siemens confirmed the rest of its guidance, including expecting a profit margin of 11 to 12 percent for its industrial business. For the second quarter, the profit margin was 11.7 percent.
Its Digital Factory unit was the star performer, increasing its profit by 40 percent during the quarter due to strong growth in China and for its industrial software.
Thomas said he expected strong growth to continue in the next quarter, although it could moderate towards the end of 2018.
Other divisions like the mobility bushiness that makes high speed trains and signaling, and process industries and drives also reported better results.
“Siemens reported a strong set of results with ongoing strength in Digital Factory offsetting the pronounced weakness in Power and Gas,” said Baader Helvea analyst Guenther Hollfelder.
“However, also all the other divisions delivered better-than-expected profitability, except for Healthineers, which included IPO-related costs.”
Siemens’ Thomas said Digital Factory had benefited from a strong development in the short cycle and product business. He expected the trend to continue in the April to June period before moderating in the rest of the year.
The figures helped Siemens overcome a further slump in demand at its power and gas business, which makes gas and steam turbines which use fossil fuels. Here sales and orders both fell, with Siemens saying it saw no signs of recovery in the business in the medium term.
On Tuesday the company said it reached an agreement in principle with trade unions about its plans to cut jobs at the division.
The agreement meant “no one is left behind in la la land and believing that there is an easy way out,” Thomas said.($1 = 0.8437 euros)
Reporting by John Revill; Editing by Keith Weir
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-siemens-results/siemens-lifts-full-year-profit-guidance-after-one-off-gain-idUSKBN1IA0KT |
LOS ANGELES, May 18, After serving in the United States Marine Corp for 28 years, Rhett Jeppson retired from active and reserve service to join the Small Business Administration in 2012 and serve as Associate Administrator in the Office of Veteran Business Development, rising to acting Chief Operating Officer in 2014. In January of 2015, he was asked to reinvigorate the numismatic interest of Americans and given the title of Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Mint. Early on, he was honored with a Presidential nomination, by President Barack Obama, to become the 39 th Director of the U.S. Mint and was subsequently approved by the Senate Banking Committee. However, as had become the norm since the last Senate-Approved Director left the Mint in 2011, partisan politics prevented the nomination from making it to the Senate floor for a vote.
During his two years of leadership at the Mint, Jeppson managed to increase its profitability by more than $200 million annually, from the previous two years. In addition, he managed to reinvigorate collectors by:
overcoming lingering supply issues and returning the very popular Platinum American Eagle to production, celebrating the Mint's 225 th Anniversary with a $100 gold coin featuring the familiar allegorical figure of Liberty, presented for the first time as an African-American woman, selling out the entire 2016 American Liberty Silver Medal supply within six minutes of release, successfully cutting Mint production and operating costs, while maintaining a perfect delivery record, and successfully executing the Congressionally approved Silver American Eagle 30 th Anniversary celebratory modification of design, from the typical reeded edge, to a technically difficult lettered edge, noting the milestone.
Rhett Jeppson's life-long dedication to the service of America makes him a true American. Like everything else on his resume, his time at the U.S. Mint was intense, critical, and packed with accomplishments. Sharing his knowledge and experience with our clients and readers will no doubt be fascinating, but equally exciting is the fact that Rhett Jeppson has agreed to sign a limited number of gold and silver "perfect" PF70 American Eagle Proof coins and sets exclusively for American Bullion clients and readers. Like Rhett these coins and sets are a testament to American strength, determination, and resolve, making them a natural for any collectors interested in true Americana.
Contact: [email protected]
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SOURCE American Bullion, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/pr-newswire-rhett-jeppson-past-principal-deputy-director-of-the-united-states-mint-joins-the-american-bullion-business-team.html |
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President Donald Trump on Thursday is set to sign into law the most significant rollbacks to financial regulations since the financial crisis .
Those regulations were applied in the Dodd-Frank Act in 2010, in the wake of the financial crisis and subsequent recession of the last decade.
The bill overcame its final hurdle on Tuesday, passing the House of Representatives with some Democratic support. Trump said he would sign the bill in a tweet Wednesday.
Trump tweet
The legislation eases regulations on small- and mid-sized banks, and significantly raises the level at which a bank is considered too big to be allowed to fail. It also removes certain checks on financial institutions designed to help spot future crises, among other changes.
The bill signing arrives shortly after Trump canceled a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un planned to be held in Singapore in June. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/watch-trump-is-set-to-sign-bill-rolling-back-regulations-on-most-banks.html |
Bill Gates' meeting with Donald Trump included a surprising offer: a job for the Microsoft co-founder in the White House.
The revelation came in an interview Gates did with life science website Stat. During Gates' 40-minute conversation with the president, the two discussed the vacant White House science advisor role, which has been empty since Trump took office.
"I mentioned: 'Hey, maybe we should have a science adviser,'" Gates told the website. "He said: Did I want to be the science adviser?"
show chapters Bill Gates: This is my biggest weakness 9:57 AM ET Fri, 30 March 2018 | 00:56 Gates declined, telling the president that it was "not a good use of my time."
Gates is heavily involved in global health philanthropy through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Earlier this year, he told USA TODAY he was worried that the U.S. risked losing its geopolitical clout if the Trump administration succeeded in slashing foreign aid, reducing its role in providing aid to poor countries.
The role of science advisor is to help guide the president on issues relating to science and technology, overseeing the Office of Science and Technology Policy.
It is unclear if Trump was serious about the offer, something that Gates concedes.
"I didn't put him to the test, whether that was a serious thing or not. He probably himself didn't know if he was serious. It was a friendly thing. He was being friendly," he told Stat.
The White House did not immediately respond to a USA TODAY request for comment on the offer.
In addition to the potential job offer, Gates also spoke to Trump about a universal flu vaccine. That conversation was probably "the longest conversation about universal flu vaccine that the president's ever had," Gates told Stat.
While it is unclear if the president will act on the idea, Gates recalls Trump being rather interested, so much so that he called FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb with Gates in the room to get his perspective.
The Gates Foundation, in concert with the family of Google co-founder Larry Page , announced plans last week for a $12 million fund to help speed up the development of a universal vaccine. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/bill-gates-in-the-white-house-trump-offered-him-a-job-as-white-house-science-advisor-he-says.html |
May 3 (Reuters) - YRC Worldwide Inc:
* YRC WORLDWIDE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS * Q1 REVENUE $1.215 BILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $1.21 BILLION
* YRC WORLDWIDE - QTRLY LOSS PER SHARE $0.44 Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-yrc-worldwide-reports-qtrly-loss-p/brief-yrc-worldwide-reports-qtrly-loss-per-share-0-44-idUSASC09ZK8 |
— Q1 2018 Sales Revenue up 60.1% Over the Same Period in 2017 —
GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Inogen, Inc. (NASDAQ: INGN ), a medical technology company offering innovative respiratory products for use in the homecare setting, today reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018.
First Quarter 2018 Highlights
Record total revenue of $79.1 million, up 50.6% over the same period in 2017 Record sales revenue of $73.6 million, up 60.1% over the same period in 2017 Rental revenue of $5.5 million, down 16.3% from the same period in 2017 GAAP net income of $10.8 million, reflecting an 81.4% increase over the same period in 2017 and a 13.6% return on revenue Adjusted EBITDA of $15.5 million, representing 42.7% growth over the same period in 2017 and a 19.6% return on revenue (see accompanying table for reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP measures) Total units sold were 45,400, an increase of 19,800, or 77.3%, over the same period in 2017
“In what is historically a seasonally slower quarter, we were able to generate record revenues driven by strong sales in both our domestic direct-to-consumer and domestic business-to-business channels,” said Chief Executive Officer, Scott Wilkinson. “We are executing on our strategic initiatives and remain focused on increasing adoption of our best-in-class oxygen product offerings across all of our sales channels. We are currently ahead of schedule to meet our plan of hiring 240 Cleveland-based employees by 2020. We believe we should see strong sales growth in 2018 as portable oxygen concentrator penetration increases worldwide.”
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Total revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 rose 50.6% to $79.1 million from $52.5 million in the same period in 2017. Direct-to-consumer sales rose 67.8% over the same period in 2017, ahead of expectations primarily due to increased sales representative headcount and associated consumer marketing. Domestic business-to-business sales exceeded expectations and grew 60.4% over the same period in 2017, primarily driven by continued strong demand from the Company’s private label partner and traditional home medical equipment providers. International business-to-business sales in the first quarter of 2018 increased 48.0% over the comparative period in 2017. In spite of sizable unit orders from South Korea in the first quarter of 2017 that did not repeat in the first quarter of 2018, international sales of $16.9 million were strong versus the first quarter of 2017, primarily due to continued adoption from our European partners and favorable current rates. Sales in Europe represented 89.5% of international sales in the first quarter of 2018, up from 73.2% in the first quarter of 2017. Rental revenue in the first quarter of 2018 was $5.5 million compared to $6.5 million in the first quarter of 2017, representing a decline of 16.3% from the same period in the prior year. The decrease in rental revenue was primarily due to our continued focus on direct-to-consumer sales versus rentals, and a $0.2 million Cures Act benefit received in the first quarter of 2017, representing a rental revenue headwind of 2.6% in the first quarter of 2018. Rental revenue declined to 6.9% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2018 from 12.4% of total revenue in the first quarter of 2017.
Total gross margin was 47.7% in the first quarter of 2018 versus 49.0% in the comparative period in 2017. The decrease in total gross margin was primarily due to lower sales revenue per unit and lower rental gross margins, partially offset by lower cost of sales revenue per unit. Sales gross margin was 49.8% in the first quarter of 2018 versus 52.3% in the first quarter of 2017. The sales gross margin percentage declined primarily due to increased volume leading to lower average selling prices in the business-to-business channel. This was partially offset by increased mix towards direct-to-consumer sales and lower average cost of sales revenue per unit. Rental gross margin was 20.0% in the first quarter of 2018 versus 25.9% in the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in rental gross margin was primarily due to the $0.2 million Cures Act benefit received in the first quarter of 2017 which lifted rental margins by 2.3%, in addition to increased logistics costs in the first quarter of 2018. This was partially offset by lower depreciation costs.
Total operating expense increased to $29.0 million, or 36.7% of revenue, in the first quarter of 2018 versus $20.2 million, or 38.4% of revenue, in the first quarter of 2017 as the Company continued to make investments it expects will increase future revenue growth.
Operating expense included research and development expense of $1.4 million in the first quarter of 2018, which was up slightly from $1.3 million in the comparative period in 2017, primarily due to increased personnel-related expenses. Sales and marketing expense increased to $18.0 million in the first quarter of 2018 versus $10.5 million in the comparative period in 2017, primarily due to increased personnel-related expenses as we continued to hire inside sales representatives at our Cleveland facility, in addition to increased advertising expenditures. General and administrative expense increased to $9.6 million in the first quarter of 2018 versus $8.3 million in the comparative period in 2017, primarily due to increased personnel-related expenses, but partially offset by a decrease in patent defense costs.
The Company reported an income tax benefit of $1.1 million in the first quarter of 2018, up from $0.1 million reported in the first quarter of 2017. The Company’s income tax benefit in the first quarter of 2018 included a $3.3 million decrease in provision for income taxes related to excess tax benefits recognized from stock-based compensation compared to $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2017. Excluding the stock-based compensation benefit, the Company’s non-GAAP effective tax rate in the first quarter of 2018 was 22.5% versus 36.7% in the first quarter of 2017, primarily due to the impacts of the U.S. federal tax reform.
In the first quarter of 2018, the Company reported net income of $10.8 million, compared to net income of $5.9 million in the first quarter of 2017. Earnings per diluted common share was $0.48 in the first quarter of 2018 versus $0.27 in the first quarter of 2017, an increase of 77.8%.
Adjusted EBITDA for the three months ended March 31, 2018 rose 42.7% to $15.5 million, or 19.6% of revenue, from $10.9 million, or 20.7% of revenue, in the first quarter of 2017.
Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities were $188.3 million as of March 31, 2018 compared to $173.9 million as of December 31, 2017, an increase of $14.4 million in the first quarter of 2018.
Financial Outlook for 2018
Inogen is increasing its full year 2018 total revenue guidance range to $310 to $320 million, up from $298 to $308 million, representing growth of 24.3% to 28.3% versus 2017 full year results. The Company continues to expect direct-to-consumer sales to be its fastest growing channel, domestic business-to-business sales to have a solid growth rate, and international business-to-business sales to have a modest growth rate, where the 2018 strategy will continue to be heavily focused on the European markets. Inogen now expects rental revenue to be down approximately 10% in 2018 compared to 2017 as the Company continues to focus on sales versus rentals.
Further, the Company is also increasing its full year 2018 GAAP net income and non-GAAP net income guidance range to $38 to $41 million, up from $36 to $39 million, representing growth of 80.9% to 95.2% compared to 2017 GAAP net income of $21.0 million and growth of 33.0% to 43.5% compared to 2017 non-GAAP net income of $28.6 million. The Company still estimates that the decrease in provision for income taxes related to excess tax benefits recognized from stock-based compensation will lead to a decrease in provision for income taxes of approximately $8.0 million in 2018 based on forecasted stock activity, which would lower its effective tax rate as compared to the U.S. statutory rate. Excluding the estimated $8.0 million decrease in provision for income taxes expected in 2018, the Company expects a non-GAAP effective tax rate of approximately 25%. The Company expects its effective tax rate including stock-based compensation deductions to vary quarter-to-quarter depending on the amount of pre-tax net income and on the timing and size of stock option exercises.
Inogen is also increasing its guidance range for full year 2018 Adjusted EBITDA to $62 to $67 million, up from $60 to $64 million, representing 22.0% to 31.8% growth compared to 2017 results.
Inogen also expects net positive cash flow for 2018 with no additional equity capital required to meet its current operating plan.
Conference Call
Individuals interested in listening to the conference call today at 1:30pm PT/4:30pm ET may do so by dialing (855) 238-8123 for domestic callers or (412) 317-5217 for international callers. Please reference Inogen (INGN) to join the call. To listen to a live webcast, please visit the Investor Relations section of Inogen's website at: http://investor.inogen.com/ .
A replay of the call will be available beginning April 30, 2018 at 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET through 3:30pm PT/6:30pm ET on May 7, 2018. To access the replay, dial (877) 344-7529 or (412) 317-0088 and reference Access Code: 10118964. The webcast will also be available on Inogen's website for one year following the completion of the call.
Inogen has used, and intends to continue to use, its Investor Relations website, http://investor.inogen.com/ , as a means of disclosing material non-public information and for complying with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. For more information, visit http://investor.inogen.com/ .
About Inogen
Inogen is innovation in oxygen therapy. We are a medical technology company that develops, manufactures and markets innovative oxygen concentrators used to deliver supplemental long-term oxygen therapy to patients suffering from chronic respiratory conditions.
For more information, please visit www.inogen.com .
Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, among others, statements regarding anticipated growth opportunities; hiring expectations; expectations for all revenue channels for full year 2018; the expected impact of the decrease in provision for income taxes related to excess tax benefits recognized from stock-based compensation for full year 2018; and financial guidance for 2018, including revenue, GAAP net income, Adjusted EBITDA, non-GAAP net income, net cash flow, effective tax rates, and the need for equity financing. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from currently anticipated results, including but not limited to, risks arising from the possibility that Inogen will not realize anticipated revenue; the impact of reduced reimbursement rates, including private payor reductions and reductions in connection with competitive bidding and the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) rules; the possible loss of key employees, customers, or suppliers; and intellectual property risks if Inogen is unable to secure and maintain patent or other intellectual property protection for the intellectual property used in its products. In addition, Inogen's business is subject to numerous additional risks and uncertainties, including, among others, risks relating to market acceptance of its products; competition; its sales, marketing and distribution capabilities; its planned sales, marketing, and research and development activities; interruptions or delays in the supply of components or materials for, or manufacturing of, its products; risks related to the recent data security incident, remediation measures, and potential claims; seasonal variations; unanticipated increases in costs or expenses; and risks associated with international operations. Information on these and additional risks, uncertainties, and other information affecting Inogen’s business operating results are contained in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 and in its other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information will also be set forth in Inogen’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. Inogen disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements except as may be required by law.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Inogen has presented certain financial information in accordance with U.S. GAAP and also on a non-GAAP basis for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017. Management believes that non-GAAP financial measures, taken in conjunction with U.S. GAAP financial measures, provide useful information for both management and investors by excluding certain non-cash and other expenses that are not indicative of Inogen's core operating results. Management uses non-GAAP measures to compare Inogen's performance relative to forecasts and strategic plans, to benchmark Inogen's performance externally against competitors, and for certain compensation decisions. Non-GAAP information is not prepared under a comprehensive set of accounting rules and should only be used to supplement an understanding of Inogen's operating results as reported under U.S. GAAP. Inogen encourages investors to carefully consider its results under U.S. GAAP, as well as its supplemental non-GAAP information and the reconciliation between these presentations, to more fully understand its business. Reconciliations between U.S. GAAP and non-GAAP results are presented in the accompanying table of this release. For future periods, Inogen is unable to provide a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures without unreasonable effort as a result of the uncertainty regarding, and the potential variability of, the amounts of interest income, interest expense, depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation, provision (benefit) for income taxes, and certain other infrequently occurring items, such as acquisition related costs, that may be incurred in the future.
Consolidated Balance Sheets (amounts in thousands) March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 (unaudited) Assets Current assets 154,284 $ 142,953 Marketable securities 34,012 30,991 Accounts receivable, net 35,089 31,444 Inventories, net 22,965 18,842 Deferred cost of revenue 335 361 Income tax receivable 591 1,313 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 3,778 2,584 251,054 228,488 20,898 20,103 Goodwill 2,430 2,363 Intangible assets, net 4,456 4,717 Deferred tax asset - noncurrent 20,434 18,636 Other assets 610 765 Total assets $ 299,882 $ 275,072 Liabilities and stockholders' equity Current liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 24,760 $ 20,626 Accrued payroll 6,607 6,877 Warranty reserve - current 2,829 2,505 Deferred revenue - current 3,152 3,533 Income tax payable 319 345 37,667 33,886 Warranty reserve - noncurrent 4,416 3,666 Deferred revenue - noncurrent 10,391 9,402 Deferred tax liability - noncurrent 358 348 Other noncurrent liabilities 713 729 Total liabilities 53,545 48,031 Stockholders' equity Common stock 21 21 Additional paid-in capital 226,635 218,109 Retained earnings 19,397 8,639 Accumulated other comprehensive income 284 272 Total stockholders' equity 246,337 227,041 stockholders' equity $ 299,882 $ 275,072 Consolidated Statements of Comprehensive Income (unaudited) (amounts in thousands, except share and per share amounts) Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue Sales revenue $ 73,584 $ 45,966 Rental revenue 5,467 6,534 Total revenue 79,051 52,500 Cost of revenue Cost of sales revenue 36,948 21,913 Cost of rental revenue, including depreciation of $2,165 and $2,689 respectively 4,376 4,843 Total cost of revenue 41,324 26,756 Gross profit 37,727 25,744 Operating expense Research and development 1,416 1,309 Sales and marketing 18,038 10,529 General and administrative 9,573 8,335 Total operating expense 29,027 20,173 Income from operations 8,700 5,571 Other income (expense) Interest income 543 101 Other income 444 207 Total other income, net 987 308 Income before benefit for income taxes 9,687 5,879 Benefit for income taxes (1,071 ) (53 ) Net income $ 10,758 $ 5,932 Other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax Change in foreign currency translation adjustment 108 — Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on foreign currency hedging (249 ) 54 Less: reclassification adjustment for net (gains) losses included in net income 172 (57 ) Total net change in unrealized gains (losses) on foreign currency hedging (77 ) (3 ) Change in net unrealized gains (losses) on available-for-sale investments (19 ) 64 Total other comprehensive income, net of tax 12 61 Comprehensive income $ 10,770 $ 5,993 Basic net income per share attributable to common stockholders (1) $ 0.51 $ 0.29 Diluted net income per share attributable to common stockholders (1) $ 0.48 $ 0.27 Weighted-average number of shares used in calculating net income per share attributable to common stockholders:
Basic common shares 21,026,154 20,489,532 Diluted common shares 22,295,213 21,579,721 (1) Reconciliations of net income attributable to common stockholders basic and diluted can be found in Inogen’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Supplemental Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands, except units and patients) Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue by region and category Business-to-business domestic sales $ 28,016 $ 17,461 Business-to-business international sales 16,906 11,423 Direct-to-consumer domestic sales 28,662 17,082 Direct-to-consumer domestic rentals 5,467 6,534 Total revenue $ 79,051 $ 52,500 Additional financial measures Units sold 45,400 25,600 Net rental patients as of period-end 29,600 32,600 Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Other Non-GAAP Financial Measures (unaudited) (in thousands) Three months ended March 31, Non-GAAP EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA 2018 2017 Net income $ 10,758 $ 5,932 Non-GAAP adjustments: Interest income (543 ) (101 ) Benefit for income taxes (1,071 ) (53 ) Depreciation and amortization 2,993 3,204 EBITDA (non-GAAP) 12,137 8,982 Stock-based compensation 3,381 1,891 Adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) $ 15,518 $ 10,873 Three months ended March 31, Non-GAAP net income 2018 2017 Net income $ 10,758 $ 5,932 Non-GAAP adjustments: 2017 U.S. tax reform (1) — — Non-GAAP net income $ 10,758 $ 5,932 Three months ended March 31, Non-GAAP provision (benefit) for income taxes and effective tax rate 2018 2017 Income before benefit for income taxes $ 9,687 $ 5,879 Benefit for income taxes (1,071 ) (53 ) Effective tax rate -11.1 % -0.9 % Benefit for income taxes $ (1,071 ) $ (53 ) Non-GAAP adjustments: Excess tax benefits from stock-based compensation 3,252 2,213 2017 U.S. tax reform (1) — — Provision for income taxes (non-GAAP) $ 2,181 $ 2,160 Income before provision for income taxes $ 9,687 $ 5,879 Provision for income taxes (non-GAAP) 2,181 2,160 Effective tax rate (non-GAAP) 22.5 % 36.7 % (1) On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was enacted into law, which significantly changes existing U.S. tax law and includes numerous provisions that affect the Company. During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Company recorded an estimated one-time net charge due to the impact of changes in the tax rate, primarily on deferred tax assets. There were no related charges during the first quarter of 2018.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180430005447/en/
Inogen, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact:
Matt Bacso, CFA
[email protected]
805-879-8205
or
Media Contact:
Byron Myers
805-562-0503
Source: Inogen, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/business-wire-inogen-announces-record-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-increases-2018-guidance.html |
Goodbye email? Slack CEO Stewart Butterfield draws his vision of future workplace productivity and communication. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://live.wsj.com/video/drawing-the-future-of-work-with-slacks-ceo/C0C80BB5-0628-4529-8783-3329B80741C5.html |
BATON ROUGE, La.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- H&E Equipment Services, Inc. (NASDAQ: HEES) today announced that its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend to be paid to its stockholders. The Company announced a quarterly cash dividend of $0.275 per share of common stock to be paid on June 15, 2018 for stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 29, 2018.
About H&E Equipment Services, Inc.
The Company is one of the largest integrated equipment services companies in the United States with 88 full-service facilities throughout the West Coast, Intermountain, Southwest, Gulf Coast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions. The Company is focused on heavy construction and industrial equipment and rents, sells and provides parts and services support for four core categories of specialized equipment: (1) hi-lift or aerial platform equipment; (2) cranes; (3) earthmoving equipment; and (4) industrial lift trucks. By providing equipment rental, sales, on-site parts, repair and maintenance functions under one roof, the Company is a one-stop provider for its customers’ varied equipment needs. This full service approach provides the Company with multiple points of customer contact, enabling it to maintain a high quality rental fleet, as well as an effective distribution channel for fleet disposal and provides cross-selling opportunities among its new and used equipment sales, rental, parts sales and services operations.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations are forward-looking statements. Statements containing the words “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “believe”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “plan”, “estimate”, “target”, “project”, “intend”, “foresee” and similar expressions constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) general economic conditions and construction and industrial activity in the markets where we operate in North America; (2) our ability to forecast trends in our business accurately, and the impact of economic downturns and economic uncertainty in the markets we serve; (3) the impact of conditions in the global credit and commodity markets and their effect on construction spending and the economy in general; (4) relationships with equipment suppliers; (5) increased maintenance and repair costs as we age our fleet and decreases in our equipment’s residual value; (6) our indebtedness; (7) risks associated with the expansion of our business and any potential acquisitions we may make, including any related capital expenditures, or our inability to consummate such acquisitions; (8) our possible inability to integrate any businesses we acquire; (9) competitive pressures; (10) security breaches and other disruptions in our information technology systems; (11) adverse weather events or natural disasters; (12) compliance with laws and regulations, including those relating to environmental matters and corporate governance matters; and (13) other factors discussed in our public filings, including the risk factors included in the Company’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K. Investors, potential investors and other readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Except as required by applicable law, including the securities laws of the United States and the rules and regulations of the SEC, we are under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after the date of this release. These statements are based on the current beliefs and assumptions of H&E’s management, which in turn are based on currently available information and important, underlying assumptions. H&E is under no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements after this press release, whether as a result of any new information, future events or otherwise. Investors, potential investors, security holders and other readers are urged to consider the above mentioned factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180516005071/en/
H&E Equipment Services, Inc.
Leslie S. Magee, 225-298-5261
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
or
Kevin S. Inda, 225-298-5318
Vice President of Investor Relations
[email protected]
Source: H&E Equipment Services, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/business-wire-he-equipment-services-reports-quarterly-cash-dividend.html |
BARCELONA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - After enduring years of physical and psychological abuse at the hands of their partners, almost a dozen women in Barcelona have come out of the shadows to tell their stories in pictures with celebrated veteran Swedish photographer Maria Espeus.
The women agreed to open up about what many regard as a shameful taboo for the “From Darkness to Light” exhibition in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter to challenge preconceptions about domestic violence in Spain.
“Normally we associate the abused with lower classes but this is not the case,” said Espeus, who has lived in Barcelona since the late 1970s, adding that her subjects include professional, old and young women.
“It affects all social classes.”
The predominantly Catholic country passed a landmark domestic violence law in 2004, giving Spain more advanced women’s rights legislation than many other European countries.
But macho attitudes remain. Thousands protested across Spain in April after a court cleared five men, who called themselves The Wolf Pack, of the gang rape of a teenager at a bull-running festival, convicted them of the lesser crime of sexual abuse.
Spanish courts received more than 166,000 gender violence complaints in 2017, up 16 percent on the previous year, according to the General Council of the Judiciary, which governs the courts and judges.
“The process that a woman who has been a victim of gender violence has to go through to get out of the cycle of violence is long and psychologically difficult,” said Irene Ramirez Carrillo, a lawyer with a Spanish charity working on the issue.
“Showing brave women that have managed to escape this situation can help others to find the strength necessary to want to carry on fighting,” added Carrillo of the Commission for the Investigation of Ill-Treatment of Women.
AFRAID The stark, black and white pictures show the women sitting or standing against a plain backdrop.
In one particularly moving image, a woman has her hands covering her face as though she cannot bear to look at the camera. In others, the women have turned away so their faces are hidden from the viewer.
Since most of the women were afraid of being photographed head-on, it was important to make the studio welcoming and chatty, to allay their fears, said 69-year-old Espeus.
“You’re a psychologist more than a photographer because they needed to have confidence in me,” she said.
But in most of the photos, the women emerge as strong survivors, some even showing the hint of a smile – something that Espeus was hoping would happen.
“I didn’t want them to appear in the photos looking unhappy; I wanted them to be smiling,” said the photographer, whose subjects have ranged from poor immigrants in Barcelona to fashion models and athletes at the 1992 Olympic Games.
It was not always easy for those involved. Merce Valls, a quiet mother-of-three who took part in the project, said she was initially wary of being thrust into the limelight.
“At first I was afraid and didn’t want to show my face in the photos - but that changed,” she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
In her photo by Espeus in the gallery space of Fundacio Setba, a charity using culture to achieve social change, she looks back at the camera with an air of calm acceptance of what she has been through.
The process of meeting the other women and talking about their experiences together was cathartic, the 62-year-old said, describing how her initially charming ex-husband slowly started to become abusive.
Over the years, she said he became more and more violent, before she eventually decided to leave.
“There’s a period when you just don’t know what’s happening to you,” she said, visibly distressed by the memory.
“I was feeling a little disconnected from reality.”
Several of the women criticized Spain’s judicial procedures for dealing with gender violence, echoing women’s rights activists who said judges unfairly scrutinized The Wolf Pack victim’s behavior, rather than that of the offenders.
Valls said sitting for Espeus last year helped her cope with the stress of prosecuting her ex-husband.
“The courts judge you at a time when, in my case, I was suffering from post-traumatic stress,” she said.
“Of course, in those circumstances, you can’t think or respond properly to things.”
Another participant, Lia Mestre, said she appreciated talking about her ordeal, after feeling ostracized when she was with her ex-partner.
“You become isolated from family and friends and you can also then start to normalize the situation,” she said.
In her photo, she is seen smiling, open to the world, ready to embark on a new life.
Reporting by Sophie Davies; Editing by Katy Migiro. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories.
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-spain-women-violence/unmasked-and-unafraid-photos-of-abused-spanish-women-break-domestic-violence-taboo-idUSKCN1IU007 |
* Brent futures at highest since November 2014
* Global inventories expected to fall further
* OPEC cuts and looming U.S. sanctions on Iran lift Brent
* Shell halts exports from major Nigerian pipeline (Adds Nigeria outage, updates prices)
LONDON, May 17 (Reuters) - Oil prices hit $80 a barrel on Thursday for the first time since November 2014 on concerns that Iranian exports could fall because of renewed U.S. sanctions, reducing supply in an already tightening market.
Brent crude futures reached an intraday high of $80.18 a barrel before receding to $79.67 at 1326 GMT.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 41 cents at $71.90 after also hitting their highest since November 2014, at $72.30 a barrel.
U.S. President Donald Trump's decision this month to withdraw from an international nuclear deal with Iran and revive sanctions that could limit crude exports from OPEC's third-largest producer has boosted oil prices.
France's Total on Wednesday warned that it might abandon a multibillion-dollar gas project in Iran if it could not secure a waiver from U.S. sanctions, casting further doubt on European-led efforts to salvage the nuclear deal.
VENEZUELA DROP
A rapid decline in Venezuela's crude production has further roiled markets in recent months.
"The geopolitical noise and escalation fears are here to stay," said Norbert Rücker, head of macro and commodity research at Swiss bank Julius Baer. "Supply concerns are top of mind after the United States left the Iran nuclear deal."
Global inventories of crude oil and refined products dropped sharply in recent months owing to robust demand and OPEC-led production cuts.
Oil stocks were expected to drop further as the peak summer driving season nears, offsetting increases in U.S. shale output, Bernstein analysts said.
Several banks have in recent days raised their oil price forecasts, citing tighter supplies and strong demand.
Further supporting prices, Shell on Thursday said it was halting crude exports from a major Nigerian pipeline.
EVERYTHING BULLISH?
On the flip-side, however, high oil prices could hit consumption, the International Energy Agency warned on Wednesday as it lowered its global oil demand growth forecast for 2018 to 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) from 1.5 million bpd.
The IEA said global oil demand would average 99.2 million bpd in 2018, although U.S. bank Goldman Sachs said consumption would cross 100 million bpd "this summer".
Leading production increases is the United States, where crude output <C-OUT-T-EIA> has soared by 27 percent in the last two years to a record 10.72 million bpd, putting it within reach of top producer Russia's 11 million bpd.
(Additional reporting by Henning Gloystein in Singapore; Editing by Dale Hudson and David Goodman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/reuters-america-update-7-oil-hits-80-highest-since-nov-2014-on-iran-concerns.html |
May 18, 2018 / 10:14 AM / Updated 17 minutes ago M&S teetering on the brink of FTSE relegation James Davey , Alistair Smout 4 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Marks & Spencer ( MKS.L ) is expected to report a second straight fall in annual profit next week, and with the retailer’s shares down nearly a quarter over the last year it is in danger of soon being booted out of the FTSE 100 index. FILE PHOTO: Pedestrians walk past an M&S shop in northwest London July 8, 2014. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
The 134-year-old M&S has been a member of the blue-chip index .FTSE since its inception in 1984. Relegation would be a totemic moment for a British institution that has fallen out of fashion over the last decade.
M&S faces unrelenting competition both in clothing and food on the high street and online, while efforts to revitalise its business are being hampered by an ongoing squeeze on consumers’ spending power.
Thomson Reuters data ranks M&S at 102nd by market value in the FTSE 350 of large and mid-cap companies based on Thursday’s closing prices.
The FTSE 100 is not simply the 100 biggest companies in Britain that meet free-float and liquidity requirements. In order to avoid constant changes to the index as a result of day-to-day price volatility, companies are only demoted when they drop below 110 in the ranking.
So if M&S drops nine more places, it will be automatically relegated when FTSE Russell reconstitutes the index in its quarterly reshuffle. The next reshuffle will be announced on May 30, using closing prices from the previous day, and will take effect on June 18.
However, M&S also risks demotion if any mid-caps rise above 90th place and therefore qualify for automatic addition to the FTSE 100, meaning the smallest current blue-chip companies would be relegated to balance the numbers.
Currently, G4S ( GFS.L ) and Severn Trent ( SVT.L ) are the only FTSE 100 firms worth less than M&S by market capitalisation.
One mid-cap that has overtaken M&S is Ocado ( OCDO.L ), the online grocer and technology company that, ironically, is chaired by Stuart Rose, a former CEO and chairman of M&S.
Ocado shares surged 44 percent on Thursday after the firm struck a major deal with U.S. supermarket chain Kroger ( KR.N ), making it now the 98th biggest firm.
That means that Ocado and M&S could be directly battling each other for FTSE 100 membership in under two weeks time, starkly illustrating the sea change in shopping habits.
Though largely symbolic, an M&S relegation would see it being sold by index-tracker funds, which seek to replicate the FTSE 100 by buying its constituents. It would be bought by FTSE 250-tracker funds.
M&S, which reports annual results on Wednesday, declined to comment.
Analysts’ average forecast for pretax profit for the 2017-18 year is 573 million pounds, down from 614 million pounds in 2016-17. Clothing and home like-for-like sales are forecast to be down 1.1 percent, with food down 0.2 percent.
M&S re-set its strategy in November, two months after retail veteran Archie Norman joined as chairman, detailing a five-year plan that would speed-up store closures and relocations, and strive to make its food offering more competitive.
Norman and CEO Steve Rowe have stressed that investors need to be patient.
Shares in M&S were down 0.3 percent at 296.5 pence at 0955 GMT, valuing the business at 4.8 billion pounds. Editing by Mark Potter | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-m-s-ftse100/ms-teetering-on-the-brink-of-ftse-100-relegation-idUKKCN1IJ155 |
May 7 (Reuters) - RigNet Inc:
* Q1 GAAP LOSS PER SHARE $0.31 * Q1 REVENUE ROSE 12 PERCENT TO $53.8 MILLION Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-rignet-reports-q1-loss-per-share-o/brief-rignet-reports-q1-loss-per-share-of-0-31-idUSASC0A07N |
The most powerful helicopter ever fielded by the U.S. was just delivered to the Marine Corps.
The CH-53K King Stallion aircraft touched down at Marine Corps Air Station New River in Jacksonville, North Carolina on Wednesday.
The helicopter, which has been in development since 2006, will replace the Marine Corps' nearly 40-year-old CH-53E Super Stallion fleet.
Wednesday's delivery is the first of an expected 200 aircraft from Sikorsky, a unit of Lockheed Martin . The CH-53K is not only considered the most powerful but also one of the more expensive with a recurring flyaway cost of $87 million.
Courtesy of Lockheed Martin The new heavy-lift chopper can carry triple the weight of its predecessor at a colossal 27,000 pounds. With that type of lift capacity, the CH-53K can transport up to four Humvees more than 100 miles.
U.S. Navy photo A CH-53K King Stallion lifts a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle during a demonstration on January 18, 2018. "I am very proud of the work accomplished to deliver the most powerful helicopter ever designed into the hands of our Marines," said Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder, deputy commandant for aviation, in a statement.
Rudder noted that the Marine Corps will continue testing the chopper and hopes to declare it ready for deployment by the end of 2019.
The second CH-53K helicopter is slated for delivery to the Marine Corps early next year.
show chapters Russia's new hypersonic weapon will likely be ready for war by 2020, says US intel 12:43 PM ET Wed, 16 May 2018 | 01:37 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/the-us-marine-corps-just-got-its-most-powerful-helicopter-ever.html |
NEW YORK, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP, a national class action, shareholder rights law firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta, announces an investigation of PPG Industries, Inc. (the "Company" or "PPG") (NYSE: PPG). The investigation focuses on possible breaches of fiduciary duty and violations of federal securities laws.
On May 10, 2018, after the market closed, the Company announced that its Audit Committee found evidence of "improper accounting entries" in its investigation into allegations of violations of the Company's accounting policies. This announcement followed PPG's April 19 disclosure that its internal reporting system identified several million dollars of improperly accrued expenses in the first quarter of 2018. As result, the Company reported that it would be delaying its financial statement for the period ending March 31, 2018. On that news, PPG shares traded for as low as $100.43, approximately 6% less than its May 10 opening price of $107.26.
WeissLaw is investigating whether PPG's Board (1) failed to meet the recordkeeping requirements and accounting provisions established by federal securities laws; (2) failed to establish and/or maintain comprehensive internal controls to safeguard against financial reporting errors; and consequently, (3) reported materially false and misleading public statements. If you own PPG shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact Joshua Rubin of WeissLaw LLP at (888)593-4771 , or by e-mail at [email protected] .
WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] or fill out the form on our website, http://www.weisslawllp.com/ppg-industries-inc/
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/weisslaw-llp-ppg-industries-inc-is-the-subject-of-a-legal-investigation-300647759.html
SOURCE WeissLaw LLP | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-weisslaw-llp-ppg-industries-inc-is-the-subject-of-a-legal-investigation.html |
By David Meyer 4:12 AM EDT
Facebook’s Instagram app has in the last couple years become more than just a photo-sharing platform—it’s increasingly becoming a place for commerce, too.
Instagram already lets brands effectively put storefronts on the platform, where users can click on the items they like—at least, those with “shoppable tags”—and get taken through to the brand’s website to make a purchase. But now, Instagram appears to be working on ways to accept payments through Instagram itself.
As reported by TechCrunch , the Instagram payment system—already visible to some users in the U.S. and U.K.—is starting in the field of booking appointments and making reservations.
There’s a limited set of initial partners, one of which is Resy, a dinner reservation service. Later this year, it will apparently become possible to book movie tickets through Instagram, too.
The obvious future for this functionality is to meld it with Instagram’s shoppable tags. It’s not here yet, but Instagram would be setting the stage for it by getting its users’ payment data. As TechCrunch points out, advertisers may spend more money on Instagram if they know conversions can take place with as little friction as possible.
Other social and messaging platforms are also getting into payments, although mostly on a peer-to-peer basis rather than for commerce: see Facebook Messenger and Snapchat for examples. China is way ahead on this front, with Tencent’s WeChat already serving as an e-commerce platform. SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/04/instagram-app-payments-e-commerce/ |
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