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EU's Tusk lashes out at Trump amid trade dispute, Iran split 11:27am EDT - 00:51
European Council President Donald Tusk says Trump has ''rid Europe of all illusions'' amid a trade dispute and the Iran nuclear program split. Rough cut (no reporter narration).
European Council President Donald Tusk says Trump has "rid Europe of all illusions" amid a trade dispute and the Iran nuclear program split. Rough cut (no reporter narration). //www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/16/eus-tusk-lashes-out-at-trump-amid-trade?videoId=427447984&videoChannel=13421 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/16/eus-tusk-lashes-out-at-trump-amid-trade?videoId=427447984 |
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LBC Tank Terminals announces the appointment of Haroun van Hövell as chairman of the Board of Directors effective 1 June 2018. Mr. van Hövell has extensive experience in energy, infrastructure, private equity and finance. He is a Dutch citizen and received a Master’s degree in Applied Economics from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam and his M.B.A. from INSEAD in Fontainebleau.
LBC would like to thank Edward Sigar for acting as interim chairman during the past years. Mr. Sigar will remain on the Board as Director appointed by PGGM.
About LBC Tank Terminals
LBC Tank Terminals is a top-tier global independent operator of bulk liquid storage facilities for petrochemicals, petroleum products and base oil products. LBC owns and operates a global network of terminals at key locations in the United States, Europe and China, while offering loading / unloading services for all modes of transportation. Underlying the entire ethos of the company is our focus on corporate and social governance in which we strive to have a positive effect upon society and ensure that there is no such thing as a dangerous product, at least not when under our care.
More information is available at www.lbctt.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180531005845/en/
LBC Belgium Holding NV
Christina Schosser, 0032 15 28 73 10
[email protected]
Source: LBC Tank Terminals | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/business-wire-appointment-of-new-chairman-to-the-board-of-directors-of-lbc-tank-terminals.html |
WINDSOR, England, May 19 (Reuters) - British air traffic controllers gave Prince Harry and Meghan Markle a rare wedding gift - 15 minutes of guaranteed peace and quiet for the ceremony without the roar of airliners passing overhead.
Britain’s National Air Traffic Services said the nearby Heathrow Airport had agreed “a 15 minute no-fly period over Windsor” in the build-up to the vows.
Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, is around 10 miles (16 km) from the wedding venue in St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle. (Reporting by Andrew Heavens)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-royals-wedding-airport/air-traffic-controllers-give-harry-and-meghan-the-gift-of-silence-idUSL5N1SQ0AZ |
TORONTO, May 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. (“Golden Leaf” or the “Company”) (CSE:GLH) (OTCQB:GLDFF), a leading cannabis oil solutions company and dispensary operator built around recognized brands, today announced fiscal first quarter ended March 31, 2018, and a general business update.
Recent Business and Financial Highlights
Secured gross proceeds of $17.5 CAD million in a private placement in January 2018 Launched Fruit Chews edibles in Oregon to strong demand Signed letter of intent with BlackShire Capital to launch Chalice Farms franchise model Revenues of $3.2 million for Q1 2018, compared with $2.3 million for Q1 2017 Appointed Craig Eastwood as Chief Financial Officer
Subsequent Events:
Opened Chalice Farms dispensary, located in Happy Valley, Oregon Signed letter of intent to acquire cannabis operation in Northern California Signed letter of intent to acquire two large cannabis cultivation facilities, one in Northern Nevada and another in Northern California Hired Ryan Purdy as Vice President of Operations Appointed Rick Miller to Board of Directors
Mr. William Simpson, Chief Executive Officer of Golden Leaf Holdings, commented, “We saw year-over-year revenue growth of 42% for the first quarter of 2018, primarily driven by our addition of retail dispensaries through the acquisition of Chalice Farms, which closed in July 2017. Subsequent to quarter-end, we opened our seventh overall retail dispensary, and sixth Chalice Farms location, located in Happy Valley, Oregon, which has exceeded our expectations and is already our second highest selling Chalice location after just a few weeks since opening. Our retail operations are a key component of our growth strategy and we are pleased to see our increased brand recognition among customers further entrench our position as a leading retailer in Oregon. We will continue to strategically invest in our retail strategy, adding stores in optimal locations.”
“The hiring of Craig Eastwood as our CFO and the securing of a significant capital investment early in the first quarter of 2018 have been instrumental in fortifying the financial management side of the business, which underpins our growth initiatives. These growth initiatives include, among others, establishing select cultivation capabilities in our current and target markets, building a retail presence in high-growth markets including Nevada and California, and launching a franchise model to bring the Chalice Farms experience to new locations in Canada and the U.S.’s west coast. In Canada, we have positioned Golden Leaf to participate in the legal adult-use market this Fall, commencing cultivation in the first quarter and subsequently completing the grow cycle for our first two harvests. The harvest is already pre-sold, contingent upon the Company receiving a sales license.”
“Golden Leaf is making great strides building out an infrastructure that will enable the Company to operate as a vertically integrated company that operates across the cannabis sector supply chain, from seed to sale. We expect to take advantage of value-creating acquisition and expansion opportunities, leveraging our strong human capital to execute on our growth strategy. We are pleased with the progress we have made laying the foundation for our entry into new geographies, across both our retail and cultivation operations, and look forward to continuing to drive revenue growth throughout 2018,” concluded Mr. Simpson.
Q1 2018 Business Overview
Oregon:
The Company’s retail revenues included the first full quarter of sales from the new Chalice Farms dispensary on the popular Willamette River waterfront area of downtown Portland.
Following the opening of a new Chalice Farms dispensary in Happy Valley subsequent to the quarter- end, the Company now has seven retail dispensaries in operation, six of which operate under the Chalice Farms brand.
The Company’s Portland production facility is substantially complete, and license approval is expected by mid-2018. In addition, the commissioning of its cultivation facility in Bald Peak is expected in the second half of 2018.
The Company launched its new Fruit Chews edible line in Oregon in March 2018 to strong demand, and plans to continue to ramp up production throughout the remainder of 2018. Nevada: The Company has state cultivation and production/extraction licenses in Nevada, and currently cultivates unique strains of Chalice-branded products. Golden Leaf products are currently selling in 30-40 retail stores across Nevada. The Company also has an agreement with a distributor in Reno, Nevada, to generate sales. As its production capabilities increase, the Company plans to “lift and shift” high demand product lines such as its Fruit Chews product into Nevada by the middle of 2018. The Company plans to open retail dispensaries in Nevada and has reached agreement on one facility, and is in negotiations on several others, all contingent on it receiving retail licenses. Canada : In January 2018, Golden Leaf’s Medical Marijuana Group (MMG) subsidiary commenced grow facility operations in preparation for the launch of retail operations in Canada. MMG completed the grow cycle for its first two harvests in May 2018 and has arranged to sell the produced flower upon the receipt of its sales license in Canada, which is expected in June 2018.
In January 2018, the Company closed the acquisition of Medical Marijuana Group Consulting (MMC), a medical marijuana consulting company that secures high-value medical marijuana patients and educates and refers them to Licensed Producers for their product. As of the end of the first quarter, MMGC had acquired 3,500 medical patients, up from approximately 2,500 at the end of 2017. Franchise model: In March 2018, Golden Leaf formed the Chalice Farms Franchise model and signed a letter of intent to enter into collaboration with BlackShire Capital to drive the growth of the Chalice Farms retail footprint, initially in Canada, and subsequently in the western U.S. The Company has completed all of the required franchise disclosure documents in Canada, and continues to negotiate with BlackShire, with a goal of reaching a definitive agreement. New management: In January 2018, Craig Eastwood joined the team as Chief Financial Officer. Subsequent to the end of the first quarter, the Company hired Ryan Purdy as VP of Operations to lead overall supply-chain strategy and execution.
Fiscal First Quarter Ended March 31, 2018 Financial Results
For the quarter ended March 31, 2018 (“Q1 2018”), net revenue was $3.2 million USD as compared to $2.3 million USD for the same three-month period in 2017 (“Q1 2017”). The 42% year-over-year increase largely reflects the contribution from product sales as a result of the acquisition of Chalice Farms in July 2017, more than offsetting supply constraints of key products across the portfolio and a challenging wholesale market in Oregon.
Gross profit was $353,000 USD, or 11% of net revenue, for Q1 2018, compared with $238,000 USD, or 11% of net revenue, in Q1 2017. Q1 2018 gross margins included a one-time charge of $377,000 USD comprised of a write-off of obsolete packaging inventory and an increase to the reserve for excess and obsolete inventory. Wholesale product margins experienced ongoing headwinds from the delayed approval of the Portland production facility license, requiring the Company to purchase oil from a third party at higher cost.
Operating expenses were $4.6 million USD for Q1 2018, compared with $2.2 million USD in Q1 2017, which is attributable to higher corporate expense following the acquisition of Chalice Farms in mid-2017, and higher share-based compensation expense.
Net income for Q1 2018 was $8.1 million USD, or $0.02 USD per share gain, compared with a net loss of $2.3 million USD, or $0.02 USD per share loss, for Q1 2017. Results for the 2018 period benefited from non-operating income of $12.4 million USD related to favorable changes in the fair value of warrant and debt liabilities.
As of March 31, 2018, the Company had approximately $22.1 million USD in cash, compared with $6.0 million USD at December 31, 2017. During the quarter Golden Leaf received approximately $17.5 million CAD from a private placement bought deal basis in January 2018.
As a result of the bought deal financing completed in January 2018, the number of common shares outstanding as of March 31, 2018 was 568,724,061.
Investor Conference Call
GLH’s management, led by William Simpson, Chief Executive Officer, will hold a conference call at 4:30 PM ET today, Wednesday, May 30, 2018, to report its first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
The dial-in information for the conference call is as follows:
Program Title: Golden Leaf Holdings First Quarter 2018 Financial Results Call
Canada & U.S.: (877) 423-9813
International: (201) 689-8573
Participants must request the Golden Leaf Holdings Call.
A live audio webcast will be available online on Golden Leaf's website at goldenleafholdings.com , where it will be archived for one year.
An audio replay of the conference call will be available through midnight June 13, 2018 by dialing +1 (844) 512-2921 from the U.S. or Canada, or +1 (412) 317-6671 from international locations, Conference ID: 13680064.
To be added to the Golden Leaf email distribution list, please email [email protected] with ‘GLH’ in the subject line.
About Golden Leaf Holdings
Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd., a Canadian company with operations in multiple jurisdictions including Oregon, Nevada and Canada, is one of the largest cannabis oil and solution providers in North America, and a leading cannabis products company built around recognized brands. Golden Leaf cultivates, extracts, manufactures and distributes its products through its branded Chalice Farm retail dispensaries, as well as through third party dispensaries. Golden Leaf leverages a strong management team with cannabis and food industry experience to complement its expertise in extracting, refining and selling cannabis oil. Visit goldenleafholdings.com to learn more.
Company:
William Simpson
Chief Executive Officer
Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd.
503-477-7626
[email protected]
Investor Relations:
Steve Silver / Phil Carlson
KCSA Strategic Communications
[email protected]
212-896-1220 / 212-896-1233
Media Relations:
Anne Donohoe / Nick Opich
KCSA Strategic Communications
[email protected] / [email protected]
212-896-1265 / 212-896-1206
Disclaimer: This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the Company’s future business operations, the establishment of, and the future scope and scale of, the Chalice Farms retail system, the level of funding needed to establish the Chalice Farms franchise model, that the Chalice Farms franchise model will be successful and generate positive cash flows, the opinions or beliefs of management and future business goals. Generally, forward looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to general business, economic and competitive uncertainties, regulatory risks including risks related to the expected timing of the Company’s participation in the adult use market, market risks, risks inherent in manufacturing operations, difficulties of establishing a successful franchise model and other risks of the cannabis industry. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward looking information. Forward-looking information is provided herein for the purpose of presenting information about management’s current expectations relating to the future and readers are cautioned that such information may not be appropriate for other purpose. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale in the United States, and such securities may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an exemption from registration or an exemption from registration.
GOLDEN LEAF HOLDINGS LTD. Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations and Comprehensive Gain (Loss) (Unaudited) For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 (Expressed in U.S. dollars) For the three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Revenues Product sales $
3,200,267 $
2,259,094 Total Revenue $
3,200,267 $
2,259,094 Inventory expensed to cost of sales 2,843,843 1,838,687 Production costs
297,474 182,008 Gain on changes in fair value of biological assets (293,897 ) - Cost of sales expense $
2,847,420 $
2,020,695 Gross profit $
352,847 $
238,399 Expenses General and administration
2,795,794 1,598,273 Share based compensation
1,075,452 161,348 Professional fees paid with equity instruments
- 54,420 Sales and marketing
383,301 278,923 Depreciation and amortization
345,279 62,175 Total expenses $
4,599,826 $
2,155,139 Loss before undernoted items $
(4,246,979 ) $
(1,916,740 ) Interest expense
649,258 545,021 Transaction costs
471,900 - Impairment of financing lease receivable
- 27,422 Other loss
(159,126 ) 925 Gain on change in fair value of warrant liability (6,212,222 ) (155,685 ) Gain on change in fair value of liabilities (7,128,616 ) (44,693 ) Net Gain (Loss) 8,131,827 $
(2,289,730 ) Other comprehensive loss Cumulative translation adjustment
19,117 - Comprehensive Gain (Loss) $
8,112,710 $
(2,289,730 ) Basic and diluted gain (loss) per share $
0.02 $
(0.02 ) Weighted average number of common shares outstanding
534,900,058 118,346,097
GOLDEN LEAF HOLDINGS LTD. Interim Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position (Unaudited) As of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 (Expressed in U.S. dollars) March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 ASSETS CURRENT Cash $
22,139,316 $
6,009,447 Accounts receivable
438,384 377,746 Income tax recoverable
432,000 432,000 Sales tax recoverable
507,325 442,832 Biological assets
263,990 90,627 Inventory
3,877,717 3,623,255 Prepaid expenses and deposits
445,980 348,176 Assets held for sale
305,274 305,274 Total current assets $
28,409,986 $
11,629,357 Property, plant and equipment 6,027,037 5,956,910 Intangible assets
26,151,471 26,227,116 Goodwill
31,971,398 31,971,398 Total assets $
92,559,892 $
75,784,781 LIABILITIES CURRENT Accounts payable and accrued liabilities $
2,880,507 $
2,867,735 Interest payable
360,804 48,524 Current portion of long-term debt
49,457 131,610 Current portion of convertible debentures carried at fair value
228,346 271,245 Note payable
382,667 389,916 Derivative liability
78,148 61,044 Total current liabilities $
3,979,929 $
3,770,074 Long term debt 72,417 80,381 Convertible debentures carried at fair value
16,876,331 30,360,225 Consideration payable
9,527,350 9,527,350 Warrant liability
8,821,778 14,300,616 Total liabilities $
39,277,805 $
58,038,646 SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Share capital $
135,905,669 $
108,552,681 Warrant reserve
4,078,120 5,083,561 Share option reserve
2,163,335 1,087,640 Contributed surplus
59,940 59,940 Accumulated other comprehensive loss (9,289 ) 9,828 Deficit (88,915,688 ) (97,047,515 ) Total shareholders' equity $
53,282,087 $
17,746,135 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $
92,559,892 $
75,784,781
Source: Golden Leaf Holdings Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/globe-newswire-golden-leaf-reports-fiscal-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
Argentina’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates for the third time in eight days Friday in an attempt to prop up its faltering currency, as the country finds itself once again battling a financial crisis.
The central bank raised its main interest rate by 6.75 percentage points, following increases of 3 percentage points on Thursday and last Friday. The moves helped stabilize the peso Friday, but with a policy rate now at 40%, the prospects for economic growth are more uncertain.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/argentina-central-bank-boosts-main-rate-to-40-in-third-rise-in-eight-days-1525445140 |
RALEIGH, N.C., May 17, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDSI) today announced that it has entered into definitive agreements with existing institutional and other accredited investors to purchase an aggregate of approximately $50 million worth of BDSI’s newly designated Series B Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock (Series B Stock) in a registered direct offering.
The Series B Stock is being sold for $10,000 per share, and each share of Series B Stock will be convertible into a number of shares of BDSI common stock determined by dividing $10,000 by $1.80. Although BDSI will receive the proceeds of the offering at closing, the Series B Stock will not be convertible into common stock until BDSI receives stockholder approval of the transaction for Nasdaq Stock Market purposes as well as stockholder approval of an increase in BDSI’s authorized shares of common stock.
The offering is expected to yield total gross proceeds of $50 million to BDSI, before deducting placement agent fees and other estimated offering expenses. The closing of the offering is expected to take place on or about May 21, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary and other negotiated closing conditions described in the prospectus supplement to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in connection with the offering.
William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is acting as the sole placement agent for the offering.
This registered offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement (No. 333-205483) previously filed with and declared effective by the SEC. A prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus describing the terms of the offering will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov . Alternatively, you may request the prospectus supplement, when available, from William Blair & Company, L.L.C., by calling toll-free 1(800) 621-0687.
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.
About BioDelivery Sciences International
BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. (NASDAQ:BDSI) is a specialty pharmaceutical company with a focus in the areas of pain management and addiction medicine. BDSI is utilizing its novel and proprietary BioErodible MucoAdhesive (BEMA ® ) technology and other drug delivery technologies to develop and commercialize, either on its own or in partnership with third parties, new applications of proven therapies aimed at addressing important unmet medical needs.
BDSI's marketed products and those in development address serious and debilitating conditions such as breakthrough cancer pain, chronic pain, and opioid dependence. BDSI's headquarters is in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release and any statements of stockholders, directors, employees, representatives and partners of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. ("BDSI") related thereto contain, or may contain, among other things, certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties. Such statements may include, without limitation, statements with respect to the satisfaction of the closing conditions to the offering and other statements identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the BDSI's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties, including those detailed in the BDSI's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual results (including, without limitation, the results of the financing described herein) may differ significantly from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties that are subject to change based on various factors (many of which are beyond the BDSI's control). BDSI undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future presentations or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
BDSI ® , BEMA ® , ONSOLIS ® , BUNAVAIL ® and BELBUCA ® are registered trademarks of BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. The BioDelivery Sciences, BUNAVAIL, and BELBUCA logos are trademarks owned by BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. All other trademarks and tradenames are owned by their respective owners.
© 2018 BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. All rights reserved.
Contacts
Mary Coleman
BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc.
919-582-9050
[email protected]
Monique Kosse
Managing Director
LifeSci Advisors
212-915-3820
[email protected]
Source:BioDelivery Sciences International, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/globe-newswire-biodelivery-sciences-announces-pricing-of-50-million-equity-financing.html |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House trade adviser Peter Navarro, a China trade hawk, is not expected to be one of the principal officials in the U.S. delegation for trade talks with China that begin on Thursday, a senior U.S. official said on Wednesday.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer will lead the U.S. delegation in talks with China’s trade envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, a second U.S. official said.
Navarro will be in the discussions but will not be leading them, the second official said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity.
Navarro has been a strong advocate at the White House of taking tough action to reduce the U.S. trade deficit with China and other countries.
Reporting by Steve Holland; editing by Sandra Maler and Jonathan Oatis
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-trade-usa/white-house-trade-adviser-navarro-not-expected-to-be-principal-at-china-talks-idUSKCN1IH2TE |
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland will visit Washington this week in another bid to help unblock talks on the North American Free Trade Agreement, a spokesman said on Monday.
Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland speaks to reporters after talks with senior U.S. legislators on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, U.S., May 10, 2018. REUTERS/David Ljunggren Freeland will be in Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday, said spokesman Adam Austen. The United States, Mexico and Canada are struggling to settle deep differences over what a new NAFTA should look like.
“We’ve said all along we are ready to go (to Washington) at any time,” Austen said by phone, but declined to comment when asked about the chances of the three nations sealing an agreement.
Mexican Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said last week there was about a 40-percent chance of concluding the NAFTA talks before Mexico’s presidential election on July 1.
Guajardo and Freeland have held several rounds of talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, who says he wants a quick deal to avoid the talks overlapping with campaigning in Mexico.
The negotiations are moving slowly as Mexico and Canada try to digest far-reaching U.S. demands to impose tougher minimum content requirements for autos built in the region.
Reporting by Leah Schnurr; Editing by Nick Zieminski
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-trade-nafta-canada/canadas-freeland-to-visit-washington-tuesday-wednesday-idUSKCN1IT1QN |
May 16 (Reuters) - Navios Maritime Containers Inc :
* NAVIOS MARITIME CONTAINERS INC. ANNOUNCES SUBMISSION OF CONFIDENTIAL DRAFT REGISTRATION STATEMENT FOR INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING
* NAVIOS MARITIME CONTAINERS INC - NUMBER OF COMMON UNITS TO BE OFFERED AND PRICE RANGE FOR PROPOSED OFFERING HAVE NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-navios-maritime-containers-announc/brief-navios-maritime-containers-announces-submission-of-confidential-draft-registration-statement-for-initial-public-offering-idUSASC0A2MF |
LONDON (Reuters) - One of the main Brexit campaign groups in Britain’s 2016 EU referendum was fined 70,000 pounds ($95,000) on Friday by the Electoral Commission for incorrectly reporting its expenditure and breaching a spending limit.
Below is a summary of the findings of the Commission, as well as the response from Leave.EU.
BACKGROUND The Electoral Commission last year said it was looking at whether Arron Banks’ pro-Brexit Leave.EU group received any impermissible donations, and separately would investigate whether Banks was the true source of loans to campaigners.
The Electoral Commission said that, as a non-designated campaigner, the referendum spending limit on Leave.EU was 700,000 pounds. Leave.EU reported spending of 693,094 pounds, 6,906 pounds under the spending limit.
As part of its investigations, the Electoral Commission examined whether there were any links between Leave.EU and Cambridge Analytica, a controversial political consultancy at the center of a Facebook data scandal.
Facebook has said the personal information of about 87 million users might have been improperly shared with political consultancy Cambridge Analytica, which worked on Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential election campaign.
Though questions were also raised about Cambridge Analytica’s role in the Brexit campaign, the consultancy said it pitched to Leave.EU but never undertook any paid work.
Leave.EU also said that it decided not to work with Cambridge Analytica after Vote Leave was chosen as the official “leave” campaign rather than Leave.EU.
FINDINGS The Electoral Commission’s investigation found that:
- Leave.EU failed to include a minimum of 77,380 pounds in its spending return, thereby exceeding its spending limit by more than 10 percent, in breach of electoral law. The Commission is satisfied that the actual figure was in fact greater, given the failure to report an appropriate proportion of the cost of services provided by Goddard Gunster.
- Leave.EU did not correctly report the receipt of three regulated transactions from Arron Banks, totaling 6 million pounds. The dates the transactions were entered into, the repayment date, the interest rate and the provider of the transactions were all incorrectly reported.
- Leave.EU paid for services from the U.S. campaign strategy firm Goddard Gunster that should have been reported in its spending return but were not.
- Leave.EU failed to include in its referendum spending return, spending of 77,380 pounds in fees paid to the company Better for the Country Limited as its campaign organizer.
- Leave.EU failed to provide the required invoice or receipt for 97 payments of over 200 pounds, cumulatively totaling 80,224 pounds.
The commission said it suspected criminal offenses may have been committed, and the responsible person, Leave.EU CEO Liz Bilney, had been referred to the police.
However, the Commission found no evidence that Leave.EU received donations or paid-for services from Cambridge Analytica for its referendum campaigning and found that the relationship did not develop beyond initial scoping work.
LEAVE.EU’S RESPONSE Leave.EU said in an emailed statement that they would appeal the fines, and demanded the Electoral Commission release all the information they had on the matter.
It said the Electoral Commission was “unable to produce a shred of evidence relating to the original allegations” about Cambridge Analytica, reiterating that it did not work with the consultancy.
It said the alleged overspend representing less than 0.1 percent of the total campaign finance spend, and that it had over-reported other expenditure.
“We view the Electoral Commission announcement as a politically motivated attack on Brexit and the 17.4 million people who defied the establishment to vote for an independent Britain,” Banks said in a statement.
“The Electoral Commission went big game fishing and found a few ‘aged’ dead sardines on the beach. So much for the big conspiracy! What a shambles, we will see them in court.”
Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Guy Faulconbridge
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-spending-factbox/brexit-group-leave-eu-fined-for-breaking-referendum-spending-rules-idUSKBN1IC0UF |
May 2 (Reuters) - CELLECTIS SA:
* SAID ON TUESDAY THAT HARVARD’S WYSS INSTITUTE PARTNERS WITH CELLECTIS TO RECODE HUMAN GENOME
Source text for Eikon:
Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1S914E |
DUBLIN, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Realized first quarter 2018 GAAP ("reported") net sales of $1.2 billion, reported net income of $81 million compared to $72 million last year, an increase of 12.9%, and reported diluted earnings per share ("EPS") of $0.57 compared to $0.50 last year, an increase of 14.6% Delivered first quarter adjusted net income of $178 million compared to $150 million last year, an increase of 18.8%, and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.26 compared to $1.05 last year, an increase of 20.6% CHC Americas segment achieved first quarter net sales of $602 million, an increase of 3.2% versus last year, or growth of 3.0% on a constant currency basis CHC International segment delivered first quarter net sales of $401 million, an increase of 7.0% versus last year; net sales grew 1.4% versus last year on a constant currency basis, excluding $22 million in net sales from the exited Russian and unprofitable distribution businesses in 2017 RX segment realized first quarter net sales of $214 million and reported operating margin of 28.9%, while delivering an adjusted operating margin of 39.9% First quarter cash flow from operations was $172 million, representing nearly 100% conversion to adjusted net income Utilized balance sheet flexibility to repurchase approximately 1.3 million shares for approximately $108 million in the quarter Perrigo Board member Rolf A. Classon appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors; Laurie Brlas to continue to serve as Independent Director; see Corporate Governance section below for detail
Guidance
The Company expects calendar year 2018 reported diluted EPS to be in the range of $2.90 to $3.30; reconfirms calendar year 2018 adjusted diluted EPS range of $5.05 to $5.45; see Guidance section below for detail
Perrigo Company plc (NYSE; TASE: PRGO) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Additional first quarter reported results: Reported operating margin in the CHC Americas segment was 18.8%.
Perrigo President and CEO, Uwe Roehrhoff commented, "Our unique business model once again delivered results in challenging end markets evidenced by year-over-year first quarter adjusted net income growth of 18.8% and adjusted diluted EPS growth of 20.6%. The CHC Americas team drove net sales growth of 3.0% on a constant currency basis with adjusted operating margin of 21.4% highlighted by a relatively strong cough cold season in the U.S. Net sales in the CHC International segment grew 1.4% on an organic constant currency basis, excluding $22 million in net sales from the exited Russian and unprofitable distribution businesses in 2017, and achieved strong operating results. Our RX Pharmaceuticals ("RX") segment continues to perform in a challenging market. First quarter net sales in RX were slightly lower than the prior year and adjusted operating margin was 39.9% as R&D investments increased versus last year. Finally, our durable platforms once again delivered strong cash flow conversion to adjusted net income, which we utilized to repurchase approximately 1.3 million shares in the quarter."
Mr. Roehrhoff continued, "We remain focused on delivering our consolidated 2018 net sales and adjusted EPS guidance ranges previously communicated. Our consumer-facing businesses are on track to meet their financial goals amid soft consumer trends and we have increased our adjusted operating margin expectation in the CHC International segment due to ongoing operational initiatives. Balanced against this increase, we have adjusted our expectations for the RX segment due primarily to a supply disruption of a key new product, which we are working to bring back to market in the fourth quarter of this year. We are making progress with our value creation roadmap and look forward to discussing the conclusions later this year."
Refer to Tables I - VI at the end of this press release for a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures to the current year and prior year periods and additional non-GAAP information. The Company's reported results are included in the attached Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations, Balance Sheets and Statements of Cash Flows.
First Quarter Results
Perrigo Company plc
(in millions, except earnings per share amounts, unaudited)
(see the attached Tables I - VI for reconciliation to GAAP numbers)
First Quarter
Ended
First Quarter
Ended
YoY
Constant
Currency
3/31/2018
4/1/2017
% change
% Change
Reported Net Sales
$1,217
$1,194
1.9%
(2.3)%
Reported Net Income
$81
$72
12.9%
Reported Diluted Earnings per Share
$0.57
$0.50
14.6%
Reported Diluted Shares
141.4
143.6
(1.5)%
Adjusted Net Income
$178
$150
18.8%
Adjusted Diluted Earnings per Share
$1.26
$1.05
20.6%
Reported net sales for the first quarter of calendar year 2018 were $1.2 billion, which included new product sales of $41 million and discontinued products of $8 million. Net sales grew 1.6% compared to the prior year excluding the year-over-year effect of: 1) $22 million in net sales from the exited Russian and unprofitable distribution businesses in 2017 in the CHC International segment, 2) net sales from the divested Israel API business of $19 million, and 3) favorable foreign currency movements of $45 million.
Reported net income was $81 million, or $0.57 per diluted share versus net income of $72 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, in the prior year. Excluding charges as outlined in Table I, first quarter 2018 adjusted net income was $178 million, or $1.26 per diluted share, versus adjusted net income of $150 million, or $1.05 per diluted share, for the same period last year.
Segment Results
Consumer Healthcare Americas ("CHCA") Segment
(in millions, unaudited)
(see the attached Tables I - VI for reconciliation to GAAP numbers)
First Quarter
Ended
First Quarter
Ended
YoY
Constant
Currency
3/31/2018
4/1/2017
% change
% Change
Reported Net Sales
$602
$583
3.2%
3.0%
Reported Gross Profit
$200
$188
6.4%
Reported Gross Margin
33.3%
32.3%
100 bps
Reported Operating Income
$113
$75
50.7%
Reported Operating Margin
18.8%
12.9%
590 bps
Adjusted Gross Profit
$211
$201
5.0%
Adjusted Gross Margin
35.1%
34.5%
60 bps
Adjusted Operating Income
$129
$118
9.6%
Adjusted Operating Margin
21.4%
20.2%
120 bps
First quarter net sales grew 3.0% on a constant currency basis, driven by higher net sales in the infant nutrition, analgesics and cough cold categories compared to the prior year. These positive drivers, and new product sales of $11 million, were partially offset by lower net sales in the animal health category and discontinued products of $2 million.
The CHCA segment first quarter reported gross profit margin was 33.3%. Adjusted gross profit margin was 35.1%, 60 basis points higher than the prior year driven by stronger volumes in the quarter.
Reported first quarter operating margin was 18.8%. First quarter adjusted operating margin was 21.4%, 120 bps greater than the prior year due to gross margin flow through and lower operating expenses as a percentage to net sales.
Consumer Healthcare International ("CHCI") Segment
(in millions, unaudited)
(see the attached Tables I - VI for reconciliation to GAAP numbers)
First Quarter
Ended
First Quarter
Ended
YoY
Constant
Currency
3/31/2018
4/1/2017
% change
% Change
Reported Net Sales
$401
$375
7.0%
(4.5)%
Reported Gross Profit
$195
$170
14.8%
Reported Gross Margin
48.5%
45.2%
330 bps
Reported Operating Income
$15
$0
NM
Reported Operating Margin
3.7%
0.1%
360 bps
Adjusted Gross Profit
$217
$190
14.3%
Adjusted Gross Margin
54.2%
50.7%
350 bps
Adjusted Operating Income
$68
$52
32.2%
Adjusted Operating Margin
17.0%
13.8%
320 bps
Reported net sales increased 7.0% compared to the first quarter of 2017. Excluding $22 million in net sales from the exited Russian and unprofitable distribution businesses in 2017, and favorable foreign currency movements of $43 million, net sales grew 1.4% driven by new product sales of $20 million. Partially offsetting these favorable effects were lower net sales in the cough cold, personal care and analgesics categories in addition to discontinued products of $6 million.
First quarter reported gross margin was a strong 48.5%. Adjusted gross margin increased 350 bps over the previous year to a record 54.2%, driven by improved product mix, new product launches and the continued benefit of insourcing initiatives.
Reported operating margin was 3.7%. Adjusted operating margin expanded 320 bps to 17.0% due to higher gross margin contribution and the timing of growth investments.
Prescription Pharmaceuticals ("RX") Segment
(in millions, unaudited)
(see the attached Tables I - VI for reconciliation to GAAP numbers)
First Quarter
Ended
First Quarter
Ended
YoY
Constant
Currency
3/31/2018
4/1/2017
% change
% Change
Reported Net Sales
$214
$217
(1.5)%
(1.6)%
Reported Gross Profit
$98
$96
1.6%
Reported Gross Margin
45.7%
44.3%
140 bps
Reported Operating Income
$62
$88
(29.8)%
Reported Operating Margin
28.9%
40.5%
(1160) bps
Adjusted Gross Profit
$118
$118
0.1%
Adjusted Gross Margin
55.3%
54.4%
90 bps
Adjusted Operating Income
$86
$89
(4.1)%
Adjusted Operating Margin
39.9%
41.0%
(110) bps
Reported net sales in the first quarter were $214 million compared to $217 million last year. New product sales of $10 million were offset by lower net sales of existing products of $12 million, due primarily to price erosion, which was in line with expectations. New product sales were lower than expected due to a supply disruption of a key new product.
Reported gross margin was 45.7%. Adjusted gross margin was 55.3%, 90 bps higher than the previous year driven by product mix.
Reported operating margin was 28.9%. Adjusted operating margin was 39.9% compared to 41.0% in the prior year, due primarily to increased R&D investments.
Corporate Governance
The Perrigo Board of Directors appointed Rolf A. Classon, who has served on Perrigo's Board since May 2017, as Chairman of the Board, effective May 7, 2018. Laurie Brlas, who has been on the Board since 2003 and has served as Chairman for the last two years, will continue to serve on the Board as an independent director and was appointed as a member of the Audit Committee.
Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Classon said, "I am both excited and humbled for the opportunity to lead Perrigo's experienced Board. Perrigo's unique business model, which provides healthcare solutions to patients and families, enables us to execute against our goal of generating value for our shareholders. On behalf of the entire Board and management team, I would like to thank Laurie for her service and guidance as Chairman. Her leadership contributions have been instrumental in focusing the organization on operational excellence, and I look forward to continuing to work alongside her."
Ms. Brlas commented, "I would like to congratulate Rolf on his appointment as Chairman of the Board. This appointment demonstrates good corporate governance and our commitment to shareholder value. I look forward to continuing to work with Rolf and the rest of the Board and leadership team."
Mr. Classon's previous leadership experience included roles at Hillenbrand Industries, Bayer Healthcare AG, Bayer Diagnostics and Pharmacia Corporation. In addition to extensive experience in varying roles within the pharmaceutical industry, Mr. Classon also currently serves as a director of the boards of Fresenius Medical Care AG and Co and Catalent, Inc.
Guidance
The Company expects calendar year 2018 reported operating income to be in the range of $669 million to $729 million, reported effective tax rate to be approximately 21.3%, and reported diluted EPS to be in the range of $2.90 to $3.30.
The Company reconfirms calendar year 2018 net sales range of $5.0 billion to $5.1 billion, adjusted operating income range of $1.03 billion to $1.09 billion, adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 20.5% and adjusted diluted EPS range of $5.05 to $5.45.
The Company now expects calendar year 2018 net sales for the CHC International segment to be approximately $1.59 billion with an adjusted operating margin of approximately 15.5%. Net sales in the RX segment are now expected to be approximately $1.03 billion with an adjusted operating margin of approximately 40.0%.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call at 8:30 a.m. EDT (5:30 a.m. PDT), May 8, 2018. The conference call will be available live via webcast to interested parties in the investor relations section of the Perrigo website at http://perrigo.investorroom.com/events-webcasts or by phone at 877-248-9413, International 973-582-2737, and reference ID #6366917. A taped replay of the call will be available beginning at approximately 12:00 p.m. (EDT) Tuesday, May 8, until midnight Friday, May 18, 2018. To listen to the replay, dial 800-585-8367, International 404-537-3406, and use access code 6366917.
About Perrigo
Perrigo Company plc, a leading global healthcare company, delivers value to its customers and consumers by providing Quality Affordable Healthcare Products ® . Founded in 1887 as a packager of home remedies, Perrigo has built a unique business model that is best described as the convergence of a fast-moving consumer goods company, a high-quality pharmaceutical manufacturing organization and a world-class supply chain network. Perrigo is one of the world's largest manufacturers of over-the-counter ("OTC") healthcare products and suppliers of infant formulas for the store brand market. The Company also is a leading provider of branded OTC products throughout Europe and the U.S., as well as a leading producer of "extended topical" prescription drugs. Perrigo, headquartered in Ireland, sells its products primarily in North America and Europe, as well as in other markets, including Australia, Israel and China. Visit Perrigo online at ( http://www.perrigo.com ).
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements." These statements relate to future events or the Company's future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements of the Company or its industry to be materially different from those expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "expect," "forecast," "plan," "anticipate," "intend," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential" or the negative of those terms or other comparable terminology. The Company has based these forward-looking statements on its current expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections. While the Company believes these expectations, assumptions, estimates and projections are reasonable, such forward-looking statements are only predictions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control, including: the timing, amount and cost of any share repurchases; future impairment charges; the success of management transition; customer acceptance of new products; competition from other industry participants, some of whom have greater marketing resources or larger market shares in certain product categories than the Company does; pricing pressures from customers and consumers; potential third-party claims and litigation, including litigation relating to the Company's restatement of previously-filed financial information; potential impacts of ongoing or future government investigations and regulatory initiatives; resolution of uncertain tax positions; the impact of U.S. tax reform legislation and healthcare policy; general economic conditions; fluctuations in currency exchange rates and interest rates; the consummation of announced acquisitions or dispositions and the success of such transactions, and the Company's ability to realize the desired benefits thereof; and the Company's ability to execute and achieve the desired benefits of announced cost-reduction efforts and other initiatives. In addition, the Company may identify new, or be unable to remediate previously identified, material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting. Furthermore, the Company may incur additional tax liabilities in respect of 2016 or be found to have breached certain provisions of Irish company law in connection with the Company's restatement of previously filed financial statements, which may result in additional expenses and penalties. These and other important factors, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as well as the Company's subsequent filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release are made only as of the date hereof, and unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Non-GAAP Measures
This press release contains certain non-GAAP measures. A "non-GAAP financial measure" is defined as a numerical measure of a company's financial performance that excludes or includes amounts different from the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the statements of operations, balance sheets or statements of cash flows of the Company. Pursuant to the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the Company has provided reconciliations for net sales on a constant currency basis, net sales excluding sales attributable to held-for-sale businesses, the European distribution and Russian businesses, as well as adjusted gross profit, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted diluted earnings per share, adjusted gross margin, adjusted operating margin, adjusted operating cash flow, guidance for adjusted EPS, adjusted operating margin and adjusted operating income within this press release to the most directly comparable U.S. GAAP measures for these non-GAAP measures. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered as supplements to the GAAP reported measures, should not be considered replacements for, or superior to the GAAP measures and may not be comparable to similarly named measures used by other companies.
The Company provides non-GAAP financial measures as additional information that it believes is useful to investors and analysts in evaluating the performance of the Company's ongoing operating trends, facilitating comparability between periods and companies in similar industries and assessing the Company's prospects for future performance. These non-GAAP financial measures exclude items, such as impairment charges, restructuring charges, and acquisition and integration-related charges, that by their nature affect comparability of operational performance or that we believe obscure underlying business operational trends. The non-GAAP measures the Company provides are consistent with how management analyzes and assesses the operating performance of the Company, and disclosing them provides investor insight into management's view of the business. Management uses these adjusted financial measures for planning and forecasting in future periods, and evaluating segment and overall operating performance. In addition, management uses certain of the profit measures as factors in determining compensation.
Non-GAAP measures related to profit measurements, which include adjusted gross profit, adjusted operating income, adjusted net income, adjusted operating cash flows and adjusted diluted shares are useful to investors as they provide them with supplemental information to enhance their understanding of the Company's underlying business performance and trends, and enhance the ability of investors and analysts to compare the Company's period-to-period financial results. Management believes that adjusted gross margin and adjusted operating margin are useful to investors, in addition to the reasons discussed above, by allowing them to more easily compare and analyze trends in the Company's peer business group and assisting them in comparing the Company's overall performance to that of its competitors. The Company discloses adjusted net sales, which excludes operating results attributable to held-for-sale businesses, the European distribution and Russian businesses in order to provide information about sales of the Company's continuing business. In addition, the Company discloses net sales growth and adjusted net sales growth on a constant currency basis to provide information about sales of the Company's continuing business excluding the exogenous impact of foreign exchange. The Company believes these supplemental financial measures provide investors with consistency in financial reporting, enabling meaningful comparisons of past, present and future underlying operating results, and also facilitate comparison of the Company's operating performance to the operating performance of its competitors.
A copy of this press release, including the reconciliations, is available on the Company's website at www.perrigo.com .
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
April 1,
2017
Net sales
$
1,217.0
$
1,194.0
Cost of sales
724.3
729.6
Gross profit
492.7
464.4
Operating expenses
Distribution
24.7
21.1
Research and development
38.4
39.8
Selling
161.3
155.0
Administration
107.6
105.4
Impairment charges
—
12.2
Restructuring
1.5
38.7
Other operating loss (income)
2.9
(36.3)
Total operating expenses
336.4
335.9
Operating income
156.3
128.5
Change in financial assets
9.6
(17.1)
Interest expense, net
31.4
53.3
Other expense (income), net
4.3
(3.5)
Loss on extinguishment of debt
0.5
—
Income before income taxes
110.5
95.8
Income tax expense
29.7
24.2
Net income
$
80.8
$
71.6
Earnings per share
Basic
$
0.57
$
0.50
Diluted
$
0.57
$
0.50
Weighted-average shares outstanding
Basic
140.8
143.4
Diluted
141.4
143.6
Dividends declared per share
$
0.19
$
0.16
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in millions)
(unaudited)
March 31,
2018
December 31,
2017
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
$
687.3
$
678.7
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $6.5 million and $6.2 million, respectively
1,123.4
1,130.8
Inventories
843.8
806.9
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
246.2
203.2
Total current assets
2,900.7
2,819.6
Property, plant and equipment, net
829.3
833.1
Goodwill and other indefinite-lived intangible assets
4,300.8
4,265.7
Other intangible assets, net
3,259.1
3,290.5
Non-current deferred income taxes
19.6
10.4
Other non-current assets
330.1
409.5
Total non-current assets
8,738.9
8,809.2
Total assets
$
11,639.6
$
11,628.8
Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity
Accounts payable
$
512.2
$
450.2
Payroll and related taxes
113.0
148.8
Accrued customer programs
438.3
419.7
Accrued liabilities
205.3
230.8
Accrued income taxes
65.7
116.1
Current indebtedness
58.0
70.4
Total current liabilities
1,392.5
1,436.0
Long-term debt, less current portion
3,280.6
3,270.8
Non-current deferred income taxes
332.0
321.9
Other non-current liabilities
428.9
429.5
Total non-current liabilities
4,041.5
4,022.2
Total liabilities
5,434.0
5,458.2
Commitments and contingencies - Note 14
Shareholders' equity
Controlling interest:
Preferred shares, $0.0001 par value per share, 10 shares authorized
—
—
Ordinary shares, €0.001 par value per share, 10,000 shares authorized
7,769.5
7,892.9
Accumulated other comprehensive income
324.3
253.1
Retained earnings (accumulated deficit)
(1,888.4)
(1,975.5)
Total controlling interest
6,205.4
6,170.5
Noncontrolling interest
0.2
0.1
Total shareholders' equity
6,205.6
6,170.6
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity
$
11,639.6
$
11,628.8
Supplemental Disclosures of Balance Sheet Information
Ordinary shares, issued and outstanding
139.7
140.8
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
April 1,
2017
Cash Flows From (For) Operating Activities
Net income
$
80.8
$
71.6
Adjustments to derive cash flows
Depreciation and amortization
109.5
109.4
Share-based compensation
12.7
6.1
Impairment charges
—
12.2
Change in financial assets
9.6
(17.1)
Loss on extinguishment of debt
0.5
—
Restructuring charges
1.5
38.7
Deferred income taxes
(7.2)
(46.0)
Amortization of debt premium
(2.1)
(6.4)
Other non-cash adjustments, net
12.1
(1.1)
Subtotal
217.4
167.4
Increase (decrease) in cash due to:
Accounts receivable
2.6
50.1
Inventories
(43.7)
0.5
Accounts payable
57.5
2.5
Payroll and related taxes
(38.9)
(10.1)
Accrued customer programs
17.3
(32.7)
Accrued liabilities
(24.0)
2.3
Accrued income taxes
6.4
41.4
Other, net
(22.2)
(26.9)
Subtotal
(45.0)
27.1
Net cash from operating activities
172.4
194.5
Cash Flows From (For) Investing Activities
Proceeds from royalty rights
10.0
85.3
Additions to property, plant and equipment
(13.4)
(22.0)
Net proceeds from sale of business and other assets
1.3
25.3
Proceeds from sale of the Tysabri ® financial asset
—
2,200.0
Other investing, net
—
(0.8)
Net cash from (for) investing activities
(2.1)
2,287.8
Cash Flows From (For) Financing Activities
Issuances of long-term debt
431.0
—
Payments on long-term debt
(444.5)
(13.6)
Borrowings (repayments) of revolving credit agreements and other financing, net
(6.2)
0.3
Deferred financing fees
(2.4)
(0.4)
Repurchase of ordinary shares
(108.1)
—
Cash dividends
(26.7)
(23.0)
Other financing, net
(5.7)
(0.5)
Net cash (for) financing activities
(162.6)
(37.2)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents
0.9
10.4
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
8.6
2,455.5
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period
678.7
622.3
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period
$
687.3
$
3,077.8
TABLE I
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED INFORMATION
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Consolidated
Net
Sales
Net
Income
Diluted Earnings
per Share
Reported
$
1,217.0
$
80.8
$
0.57
Adjustments:
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
$
88.5
$
0.62
Change in financial assets
9.6
0.07
Restructuring charges and other termination benefits
5.5
0.04
Losses on equity investments
4.4
0.03
Acquisition charges and contingent consideration adjustments
4.2
0.03
Gain on divestitures
(1.3)
(0.01)
Non-GAAP tax adjustments*
(13.4)
(0.09)
Adjusted
$
178.3
$
1.26
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding
Reported
141.4
*The non-GAAP tax adjustments includes $(21.1) million of tax effects of pretax non-GAAP adjustments that are calculated based upon the specific rate of the applicable jurisdiction of the pretax item, and (2) $7.7 million net impact related to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets commensurate with non-GAAP pre-tax measures.
TABLE I (CONTINUED)
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED INFORMATION
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended April 1, 2017
Consolidated
Net
Sales
Net Income
Diluted Earnings
per Share
Reported
$
1,194.0
$
71.6
$
0.50
Adjustments:
Amortization expense primarily related to acquired intangible assets
$
86.6
$
0.61
Restructuring charges
38.7
0.27
Impairment charges
12.2
0.08
Operating results attributable to held-for-sale businesses*
1.7
0.01
Acquisition charges and contingent consideration adjustments
(14.3)
(0.10)
Change in financial assets
(17.1)
(0.12)
Gain on divestitures
(21.8)
(0.15)
Non-GAAP tax adjustments**
(7.5)
(0.05)
Adjusted
$
150.1
$
1.05
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding
Reported
143.6
*Held-for-sale businesses includes the India API business and European sports brand.
** The non-GAAP tax adjustment includes the following: (1) $(27.2) million of tax effects of pretax non-GAAP adjustments that are calculated based upon the specific rate of the applicable jurisdiction of the pretax item; (2) a $(8.1) million effect on non-GAAP income taxes related to the interim tax accounting requirements within ASC 740, Income Taxes; (3) $35.5 net impact related to valuation allowances on deferred tax assets commensurate with non-GAAP pre-tax measures; and (4) $(7.7) million of tax adjustments related to the divestiture of Tysabri ® .
TABLE II
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED SEGMENT INFORMATION
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018
April 1, 2017
Consumer Healthcare Americas
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Reported
$
601.6
$
200.4
$
113.1
$
582.8
$
188.4
$
75.0
Adjustments:
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
$
10.5
$
15.2
$
12.4
$
17.1
Restructuring charges
—
0.4
—
23.7
Acquisition charges and contingent consideration adjustments
—
0.1
—
1.7
Adjusted
$
210.9
$
128.8
$
200.8
$
117.5
As a % of reported net sales
35.1
%
21.4
%
34.5
%
20.2
%
TABLE II (CONTINUED)
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED SEGMENT INFORMATION
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018
April 1, 2017
Consumer Healthcare International
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Reported
$
401.4
$
194.6
$
14.9
$
374.9
$
169.5
$
0.2
Adjustments:
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
$
22.8
$
52.8
$
20.1
$
46.9
Impairment charges
—
—
—
1.1
Operating results attributable to held-for-sale business*
—
—
0.5
0.5
Restructuring charges
—
0.6
—
2.9
Adjusted
$
217.4
$
68.3
$
190.1
$
51.6
As a % of reported net sales
54.2
%
17.0
%
50.7
%
13.8
%
*Held-for-sale business includes the European sports brand.
TABLE II (CONTINUED)
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED SEGMENT INFORMATION
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018
April 1, 2017
Prescription Pharmaceuticals
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Net
Sales
Gross
Profit
Operating
Income
Reported
$
214.0
$
97.8
$
61.9
$
217.4
$
96.3
$
88.2
Adjustments:
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
$
20.6
$
20.6
$
22.1
$
22.2
Gain on divestitures
—
(1.3)
—
(21.8)
Restructuring charges
—
0.2
—
5.6
Impairment charges
—
—
—
11.1
Acquisition charges and contingent consideration adjustments
—
4.1
(0.1)
(16.2)
Adjusted
$
118.4
$
85.5
$
118.3
$
89.1
As a % of reported net sales
55.3
%
39.9
%
54.4
%
41.0
%
TABLE III
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
CONSTANT CURRENCY
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
April 1,
2017
Total
Change
FX
Change
Constant
Currency
Change
Net sales
Consolidated
$
1,217.0
$
1,194.0
1.9%
(4.2)%
(2.3)%
CHCA
601.6
582.8
3.2%
(0.2)%
3.0%
CHCI
401.4
374.9
7.0%
(11.5)%
(4.5)%
RX
214.0
217.4
(1.5)%
(0.1)%
(1.6)%
CHCI
$
401.4
$
374.9
Less: Belgium distribution business and Russian business net sales
—
(21.7)
$
401.4
$
353.2
13.6%
(12.3)%
1.4%
TABLE IV
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
2018 CONSOLIDATED GUIDANCE (1)
(unaudited)
Full Year
2018 EPS Guidance (2)
Reported
$2.90 - $3.30
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
2.50
Change in financial assets
0.07
Restructuring charges and other termination benefits
0.04
Losses on equity investments
0.03
Acquisition charges and contingent consideration adjustments
0.03
Gain on divestitures
(0.01)
Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments
(0.51)
Adjusted
$5.05 - $5.45
(2) Guidance excludes any impact related to the Royalty Pharma contingent milestone payments
Consolidated Operating Income
Reported
Approx. $669 - $729 million
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
352
Restructuring charges and other termination benefits, acquisition-related charges and
contingent consideration adjustments
10
Gain on divestitures
(1)
Adjusted
Approx. $1,030 - $1,090 million
Effective Tax Rate
Tax expense
Pre-tax income
Effective Tax Rate
Reported
$
121
$
568
Approx. 21.3%
Non-GAAP adjustments
72
374
Adjusted
$
193
$
942
Approx. 20.5%
(1) Guidance tables include Q1 actual results for all reconciling line items, plus estimated amortization expense and the corresponding tax effect for Q2 - Q4
TABLE IV (continued)
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
2018 SEGMENT GUIDANCE (1)
(unaudited)
Full Year
2018 Guidance
Operating margin
CHCI (2)
Reported
Approx. 2.4%
Amortization expense related primarily to acquired intangible assets
13.1%
Adjusted
Approx. 15.5%
RX (3)
Reported
Approx. 31.7%
Amortization expense related to acquired intangible assets
8.0%
Restructuring charges and acquisition-related items
0.4%
Gain on divestitures
(0.1)%
Adjusted
Approx. 40.0%
(1) Guidance tables include Q1 actual results for all reconciling line items, plus estimated amortization expense and the corresponding tax effect for Q2 - Q4
(2) Expected to be within +/- 100 basis points
(3) Expected to be within +/- 200 basis points
TABLE V
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
(in millions)
(unaudited)
QTD Consolidated net sales excluding Belgium distribution, Russian business, and API net sales, and Fx
Q1 2018 consolidated net sales
$
1,217.0
Q1 2017 consolidated net sales
$
1,194.0
Less: Fx
44.5
Less: Belgium distribution and Russian business net sales
(21.7)
Less: API net sales
(19.0)
QTD Consolidated net sales excluding Belgium distribution, Russian business, and API net sales and Fx
$
1,197.8
Total organic change on a constant currency basis
1.6
%
Three Months
Ended
March 31,
2018
Operating cash flow
$
172.4
Adjusted net income
$
178.3
Cash conversion ratio
97
%
TABLE VI
PERRIGO COMPANY PLC
RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP MEASURES
SELECTED CONSOLIDATED AND SEGMENT INFORMATION
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
April 1,
2017
Total
Change
Consolidated adjusted net income
$
178.3
$
150.1
18.8%
Consolidated adjusted EPS
1.26
1.05
20.6%
Adjusted operating income
CHCA
$
128.8
$
117.5
9.6%
CHCI
68.3
51.6
32.2%
RX
85.5
89.1
(4.1)%
Adjusted operating margin
CHCA
21.4
%
20.2
%
120 bps
CHCI
17.0
%
13.8
%
320 bps
RX
39.9
%
41.0
%
(110) bps
Adjusted gross profit
CHCA
$
210.9
$
200.8
5.0%
CHCI
217.4
190.1
14.3%
RX
118.4
118.3
0.1%
Adjusted gross margin
CHCA
35.1
%
34.5
%
60 bps
CHCI
54.2
%
50.7
%
350 bps
RX
55.3
%
54.4
%
90 bps
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/perrigo-company-plc-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-300644181.html
SOURCE Perrigo Company plc | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/pr-newswire-perrigo-company-plc-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
VALENCIA, Calif. (AP) _ Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc. (WAIR) on Thursday reported fiscal second-quarter net income of $15 million.
On a per-share basis, the Valencia, California-based company said it had net income of 15 cents. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to 22 cents per share.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of three analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 17 cents per share.
The aircraft parts distributor posted revenue of $390.2 million in the period.
Wesco Aircraft shares have increased 26 percent since the beginning of the year. The stock has dropped 0.5 percent in the last 12 months.
This story was generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on WAIR at https://www.zacks.com/ap/WAIR | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/the-associated-press-wesco-aircraft-fiscal-2q-earnings-snapshot.html |
(Corrects to change day in the first paragraph) BENGALURU, May 25 (Reuters) - Gold prices eased on Friday amid a firmer dollar, after breaking above $1,300 in the previous session as U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to call off a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un triggered safe-haven buying. FUNDAMENTALS * Spot gold was down 0.2 percent at $1,302 per ounce at 0100 GMT, after gaining nearly 1 percent in the previous session in its biggest one-day percentage rise since April 11. * U.S. gold futures for June delivery eased 0.2 percent to $1,301.90 per ounce. * The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a basket of six major currencies, was up 0.1 percent at 93.846. It was up 0.2 percent versus the yen after hitting a more than two-week low in the previous session. * Trump on Thursday called off a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un scheduled for next month, citing Pyongyang's "open hostility," and warned that the U.S. military was ready in the event of any reckless acts by North Korea. * President Trump's threat to impose tariffs on auto imports drew strong criticism abroad and at home where U.S. business groups and members of his own Republican Party warned of damage to the industry and raised the prospect of a global trade war that would harm American interests. * Nations that remain in the Iran nuclear deal meet on Friday for the first time since U.S. President Donald Trump left the pact, but diplomats see limited scope to salvage it after Washington vowed to be tougher than ever on Tehran. * Euro zone growth could slow further and uncertainty is on the rise but the bloc's expansion remains solid and broad-based, European Central Bank policymakers concluded in April, the minutes of the meeting showed on Thursday. * The U.S. Federal Reserve and Bank of England on Thursday urged global financial markets to step up efforts to shift from the scandal-plagued Libor reference rate to alternative interest rate benchmarks. * Polyus , Russia's largest gold producer, said on Thursday 2018 production was likely to be at the upper end of its forecast range of 2.375-2.425 million troy ounces. DATA/EVENT AHEAD (GMT) 0800 Germany Ifo business climate May 0830 UK GDP 2nd release Q1 1230 U.S. Durable goods Apr (Reporting by Karen Rodrigues in Bengaluru)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-prices-slip-but-hold-above-1300-idUSL3N1SW04L |
May 31, 2018 / 5:29 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Banco BPM targets bad-loan unit sale to speed up clean-up - sources Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
MILAN, May 31 (Reuters) - Italy’s third largest lender, Banco BPM, aims to sell part of its debt servicing unit in en effort to complete its bad-loan reduction plan this year, sources familiar with the matter said.
Soured loans are a key concern for Italian banks and Banco BPM, born last year from the merger of Popolare di Milano and Banco Popolare, lags bigger rivals in shedding problem loans.
The bank said on Thursday it had set in motion a 5 billion euro bad-loan securitisation sale and was looking to hire advisers to sell a further 3.5 billion euros to meet its 13 billion euro target.
Three sources familiar with the matter said the bank planned to sell part of its debt collection unit, with one source saying the sale process would kick off in coming weeks.
A separate source said Banco BPM’s goal was to shed the 3.5 billion euros in bad debts this year and had taken no decision yet on how to go about that. (Reporting by Cristina Carlevaro, Valentina Za and Andrea Mandala Editing by Mark Bendeich) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-banks-italy-banco-bpm/banco-bpm-targets-bad-loan-unit-sale-to-speed-up-clean-up-sources-idUSL5N1T267L |
HONOLULU, May 30 (Reuters) - Molten rock from several lava-spewing fissures opened by Kilauea Volcano crept toward clusters of homes and vacation rentals on the eastern tip of Hawaii’s Big Island on Wednesday, as authorities ushered residents from the area as a precaution.
Evacuation of the Vacationland development and adjacent Kapoho community, rebuilt after a destructive eruption of Kilauea in 1960, came on the 28th day of what geologists rank as one of the biggest upheavals in a century from one of the world’s most active volcanoes.
The Hawaii County Civil Defense agency issued the advisory as lava flows picked up speed late on Tuesday and early on Wednesday and threatened to cut off a key traffic route into the seaside area on the far eastern flank of the volcano.
“Residents in the Kapoho area, including Kapoho Beach Lots and Vacationland, are advised to evacuate,” the agency said in a morning bulletin. “You are at risk of being isolated due to possible lava inundation of Beach Road.”
On Tuesday, a lava stream crossed a larger east-west route, Highway 132, as it advanced toward Kapoho. A separate flow of red-hot molten rock was headed in the direction of the Vacationland Hawaii community to the south.
Civil defense officials also cited the problem of widespread communication outages in the area due to downed power and phone lines, reinforcing the decision to proceed with evacuation plans immediately rather than wait for a potential emergency.
Residents of the area, part of the Island of Hawaii’s Puna district, were urged to stay tuned to local radio stations for further updates.
The numbers of people and homes affected by the evacuation were not immediately known. They join some 2,000 residents displaced due to lava flows and toxic sulfur dioxide gas emissions at the outset of the eruption nearly four weeks ago farther west, in and around the Leilani Estates community.
Kilauea’s main crater at the volcano’s summit has continued to periodically belch ash high up into the sky. But National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Birchard told reporters during a conference call that most of the ash was blowing out to sea on the prevailing trade winds, then dissipating quickly.
Nevertheless, some ash and fumes have been spouted high enough into the atmosphere to be carried far over the Pacific Ocean, with observers in the Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Guam detecting traces of vog - a hazy mix of sulfur dioxide, aerosols, moisture and fine particles, Birchard said.
Kilauea rumbled back to life on May 3 as it began extruding lava and toxic gases through a series of cracks in the ground on its eastern flank, marking the latest phase of an eruption cycle that has continued nearly nonstop for 35 years.
The occurrence of new lava vents, or fissures, now numbering about two dozen, have been accompanied by flurries of earthquakes and intermittent eruptions from the summit crater. More than 40 homes and other structures have been consumed by lava flows since then. (Reporting by Jolyn Rosa; Additonal reporting and writing by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/hawaii-volcano/volcanic-lava-flow-spurs-more-evacuations-on-hawaiis-big-island-idUSL2N1T1283 |
The U.S. and China struck a truce on trade over the weekend, and on Monday the financial markets signaled their approval with a rally in equities. That should be a message to President Trump that his negotiators are on the right track in trying to open China’s market, instead of closing America’s.
The biggest relief is that “both parties have agreed to suspend the tariffs” each had previously threatened, as Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday. That takes off the table U.S. levies on $150 billion of Chinese goods... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/a-welcome-china-trade-truce-1526945112 |
On 15 May 2018, the annual general meeting (AGM) in Statoil ASA (OSE: STL, NYSE:STO) will vote on the proposal to change the company's name, from Statoil ASA to Equinor ASA.
The Company expects to implement the name change from (and including) 16 May 2018. This entails that 15 May 2018 is expected to be the last day of trading on Oslo Børs under the ticker "STL". From 16 May 2018 (inclusive), the Company's shares are expected to trade on Oslo Børs under the new ticker "EQNR".
The Company will announce the result of the voting after the AGM on 15 May 2018 and expects to announce the implementation of the name change before 09:00 (CEST) on 16 May 2018.
The change of name and subsequent implementation and change of ticker on Oslo Børs is subject to the AGM's approval of the name change and formal registration in the Norwegian register of business enterprises (Foretaksregisteret). Based on statements made in support of the name change by the company's majority owner, the company expects the AGM to approve the proposal to change the company's name to Equinor ASA.
Subject to the AGM's approval of the name change and subsequent implementation, the new ticker "EQNR" is also excpected to be implemented for the Company's American Deposit Rights (ADRs) traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). The exact date of change of ticker on NYSE will be announced separately, however implementation of the new ticker on NYSE will take place on 17 May 2018 at the earliest.
Contact persons:
Investor relations
Peter Hutton, senior vice president for investor relations,
tel: +44 7881 918 792
Helge Hove Haldorsen, vice president for investor relations USA,
tel: + 1 281 224 0140
Press
Bård Glad Pedersen, vice president for media relations,
tel: +47 91 80 17 91
This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act.
Source:Statoil | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-statoil-asa-name-change-is-expected-to-be-adopted-15-may-2018--expected-implementation-and-new-ticker-on-oslo-stock.html |
Ron Howard says 'Solo'"like doing a true story" 2:24am IST - 01:50
'Solo' director Ron Howard talks about how the new Star Wars spin-off film was like making a biopic and what inspired him. Rough Cut - no reporter narration
'Solo' director Ron Howard talks about how the new Star Wars spin-off film was like making a biopic and what inspired him. Rough Cut - no reporter narration //reut.rs/2GFvqVT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/22/ron-howard-says-solo-like-doing-a-true-s?videoId=429402128 |
Shares of e-commerce platform Shopify plunged as much as 5 percent after Adobe announced the acquisition of rival e-commerce platform Magento Commerce.
Adobe said on Monday that it's paying $1.68 billion for Magento . Magento is a cloud-based e-commerce service used by companies including Coca-Cola, Warner Brothers Music, Canon, and Nestle. Businesses use Magento and Shopify to handle the complexities of e-commerce and boost revenue.
Brad Rencher, Digital Experience executive at Adobe, said in the statement that Magento will add to the company's suite of digital products for businesses.
"Adobe is the only company with leadership in content creation, marketing, advertising, analytics and now commerce — enabling real-time experiences across the entire customer journey," he said.
show chapters Adobe acquires Magento Commerce for $1.7B 17 Hours Ago | 00:33 Shopify, which went public in 2015, is one of the most valuable publicly-traded cloud software companies, with a market capitalization of over $15 billion at Monday's close. The stock, which is up 43 percent this year, slumped as much as 4.8 percent to $137.60 in extended trading after the announcement.
A Shopify representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Adobe's acquisition of Magento from private equity firm Permira is just the latest deal for a back-end e-commerce company. Last month, Square announced it would acquire website builder Weebly for $365 million. The deal was touted as a way to allow small business customers to use both Weebly and Square to easily build websites and online stores.
Magento CEO Mark Lavelle said in the statement that the combination "will be a great opportunity for our customers, partners and developer community." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/shopify-slumps-after-adobe-announces-acquisition-of-magento.html |
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- GGP Inc. (the “Company” or “GGP”) (NYSE: GGP) today reported results for the three months ended March 31, 2018.
GAAP Operating Results
For the three months ended March 31, 2018, net income attributable to GGP was $64.0 million, or $0.06 per diluted share, as compared to $107.2 million, or $0.11 per diluted share, in the prior year period. Net income attributable to GGP decreased 40.2% from the prior year period primarily due to the impairment of one property in the first quarter of 2018. The Company declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.22 per share.
Company Operating Results 1
For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Company Same Store Net Operating Income (“Company Same Store NOI”), as adjusted, was $544.4 million, as compared to $548.8 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 0.8%. 2 For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Company Net Operating Income (“Company NOI”), as adjusted, was $557.7 million as compared to $561.3 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 0.6%. 2 For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Company Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (“Company EBITDA”), as adjusted, was $521.0 million as compared to $524.5 million in the prior year period, a decrease of 0.7%. 2 For the three months ended March 31, 2018, Company Funds From Operations (“Company FFO”) was $338.1 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, as compared to $346.2 million, or $0.36 per diluted share, in the prior year period.
Company Operating Metrics
Same Store occupied and leased percentages were 94.3% and 95.3% at quarter end, respectively. Initial NOI weighted rental rates for signed leases that have commenced in the trailing twelve months on a suite-to-suite basis increased 13.4% when compared to the rental rate for expiring leases. As of March 31, 2018, the Company has executed or approved leases representing 8.2 million square feet with 2018 commencements. For the trailing twelve months, NOI weighted tenant sales per square foot (<10K sf) were $733, an increase of 3.5% over the prior year. Tenant sales (all less anchors) increased 0.9% on a trailing twelve months basis, and excluding apparel sales increased 2.5%. Tenant sales (all less anchors) increased 7.7% on a quarter over quarter basis, and excluding apparel sales increased 9.4%.
1. See “Non-GAAP Supplemental Financing Measures and Definitions” on page ER5 for a discussion of non-GAAP financial measures used in this release. This discussion includes the definitions of Proportionate or At Share Basis, Net Operating Income (“NOI”), Company NOI, Company Same Store NOI, Earnings Before Interest Expense, Income Tax, Depreciation and Amortization (“EBITDA”), Company EBITDA, Funds from Operations (“FFO”) and Company FFO, and a reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures to GAAP financial measures. 2. See Supplemental Information page 4 for items included as adjustments. Management Commentary
The first quarter 2018 Company FFO of $0.35 cents per share was in line with Company expectations. As highlighted on the fourth quarter 2017 earnings call, certain beneficial events that occurred in 2017 had an impact on our 2018 Company FFO including the Company’s success in nearly selling out the Ala Moana condo project, the de-risking of the balance sheet by satisfying certain partner loans, the repatriation of Brazilian cash deposits. These items, together with an increased share count in 2018, had a negative year over year impact on first quarter 2018 Company FFO per share of approximately two cents.
Total same store revenues were relatively flat in the first quarter with gains in permanent revenues and business development income offset by reduced lease termination income and other non-recurring revenue. Same store expenses were 3.4% higher due to a timing related increase in operating expenses and an increase in real estate taxes. The Company anticipated the first quarter increase in operating expenses and expects an offsetting savings for the balance of 2018.
Company EBITDA, as adjusted, was down 0.7% with the decline in Same Store NOI and management fees partially offset by reduced General and Administrative expense and an increase in Non-Same Store NOI related to 2017 transaction activity. Management’s views with respect to Company Same Store NOI and Company EBITDA remain consistent with management’s prepared comments on the 2017 fourth quarter earnings call.
The Company’s first quarter operating and leasing metrics are reflective of the 4.6% increase in rolling 12 months U.S. retail sales (excluding auto) through the end of March 2018 (US Census Bureau). Tenant sales are up 7.7% quarter-over-quarter with gains in eight out of the nine categories tracked by the Company. NOI weighted sales per square foot for the trailing 12 months increased 3.5% to $733, and NOI weighted spreads for the trailing twelve months were 13.4%.
Demand for space remains strong with the Company executing or approving leases for 8.2 million square feet of space, which represents over 80% of its 2018 leasing goal. A few of the more notable leasing transactions include the addition of Louis Vuitton and Tiffany to Kenwood Mall in Cincinnati, Ohio. The relocation of these tenants from Cincinnati’s CBD is a living example that for many communities the mall serves as the primary hub for shopping, dining, and entertainment. The Company recently executed a lease with Roots to occupy 11,448 square feet at 605 N. Michigan Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. Also, in addition to recently opened stores at Fashion Place Mall in Murray, Utah, and at Staten Island Mall in Staten Island, New York, Zara is set to open a store at Alderwood Mall in Lynnwood, Washington, prior to the 2018 winter holiday season and expand its existing store at Perimeter Mall in Atlanta, Georgia, prior to the 2019 winter holiday season.
Turning to our redevelopment and big box activity, the Company is pleased to announce that the Staten Island Mall expansion is officially open to the public with Zara as the first tenant to open on April 26. On April 28, the new two-level 194,558 square foot Wegman’s opened at Natick Mall to a tremendous customer response, which validates the Company’s thesis that best-in-class grocers will migrate to the mall. The Company welcomes the new 50,020 square foot Dick’s Sporting Goods at Town East Center in Mesquite, Texas, the new 25,740 square foot TJ Maxx at Prince Kuhio Plaza in Hilo, Hawaii, and the new 46,758 square foot Dave & Buster’s at Willowbrook in Wayne, New Jersey.
GGP continues to upgrade its tenant composition and the customer experience by investing in recaptured anchor boxes at attractive returns. Of the 13 Bon Ton closures impacting GGP, seven of them are the subject of active backfill negotiations or redevelopment planning with the remaining six having negligible impact on the respective center. Densification and diversification are growing priorities in the portfolio, and to date, the Company has received executed letters of intent or is in active planning and/or negotiations to add up to 3,000 residential units across eight different shopping centers.
On the balance sheet front, and subsequent to the end of first quarter 2018, GGP received an investment grade rating from S&P of BBB- and a rating of Ba2 from Moody’s.
Investment Activities
Development
The Company’s development and redevelopment activities total $1.5 billion, of which approximately $1.4 billion is under construction and $0.1 billion is in the pipeline. The SoNo Collection in Norwalk, Connecticut development continues on plan toward its late 2019 grand opening, and is over 60% leased. In addition, as described above, the Staten Island Mall expansion is near completion with the first store having opened to the public April 26, 2018.
Transactions
In the first quarter, the Company acquired a 50% interest in the Northbrook Court Macy’s box in Northbrook, Illinois for a purchase price of $12.5 million at share with the intention to reposition the box and improve the customer experience.
In the first quarter, the Company completed the sale of a 49.49% joint venture interest in the Sears box at Oakbrook Center in Oak Brook, Illinois, for a sales price of $44.7 million. The recapture of the Sears box enables the addition of Lifetime Fitness, Lands’ End, and LL Bean.
Financing Activities
Subsequent to this first quarter, the Company obtained a new $500 million fixed rate loan at Ala Moana Center with term to maturity of five years and an interest rate of 3.80% and repaid its existing variable rate construction loan.
Dividends
On May 3, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a second quarter common stock dividend of $0.22 per share payable on July 31, 2018, to stockholders of record on July 13, 2018.
The Board of Directors also declared a quarterly dividend on the 6.375% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock of $0.3984 per share payable on July 2, 2018, to stockholders of record on June 15, 2018.
GGP Brookfield Proposal
On March 26, 2018, the Company announced that it had reached an agreement with Brookfield Property Partners, L.P. (“BPY”), among other things, for BPY to acquire all of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock, other than those that BPY and its affiliates already own. The proposed transaction provides for consideration per GGP share of up to $23.50 in cash or a choice of either one BPY limited partnership unit or one newly created BPY U.S. REIT share (“BPR”), subject to proration, based on aggregate cash consideration of $9.25 billion. BPR shareholders will have the right to exchange each BPR share for one BPY unit or the cash equivalent of one BPY unit at the election of BPY. The transaction is still subject to approval by holders of at least two-thirds of GGP shares and holders of a majority of GGP shares held by non-Brookfield-affiliated holders.
Supplemental Information
The Company has prepared a supplemental information report available on www.ggp.com in the Investors section. This information also has been furnished with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as an exhibit on Form 8-K.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements made in this press release may be deemed “ ” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Although the Company believes the expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be attained, and it is possible that actual results may those indicated by these due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors. Such factors include, but are not limited to, the Company’s ability to refinance, extend, restructure or repay near and intermediate term debt, its indebtedness, its ability to raise capital through equity issuances, asset sales or the incurrence of new debt, retail and credit market conditions, impairments, its liquidity demands, and economic conditions. The Company discusses these and other risks and uncertainties in its annual and quarterly periodic reports filed with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company may update that discussion in its periodic reports, but otherwise takes no duty or obligation to update or revise these , whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise.
Investors and others should note that we post our current Investor Presentation on the Investors page of our website at www.ggp.com . From time to time, we update that Investor Presentation and when we do, it will be posted on the Investors page of our website at ggp.com . It is possible that the updates could include information deemed to be material information. Therefore, we encourage investors, the media and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the Investors page of our website at http://investor.ggp.com from time to time.
GGP Inc.
GGP Inc. is an S&P 500 company focused exclusively on owning, managing, leasing and redeveloping high-quality retail properties throughout the United States. GGP is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and publicly traded on the NYSE under the symbol GGP.
Non-GAAP Supplemental Financial Measures and Definitions
Proportionate or At Share Basis
The following Non-GAAP supplemental financial measures are all presented on a proportionate basis. The proportionate financial information presents the consolidated and unconsolidated properties at the Company’s ownership percentage or “at share”. This form of presentation offers insights into the financial performance and condition of the Company as a whole, given the significance of the Company’s unconsolidated property operations that are owned through investments accounted for under GAAP using the equity method.
The proportionate financial information is not, and is not intended to be, a presentation in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP proportionate financial information reflects our proportionate economic ownership of each asset in our property portfolio that we do not wholly own. The amounts in the column labeled "Noncontrolling Interests" were derived on a property-by-property basis by including the share attributable to noncontrolling interests in each line item from each individual property. The Company does not have legal claim to the noncontrolling interest of assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenses. The amount of cash each noncontrolling interest receives is based on the specific provisions of each operating agreement and varies depending on certain factors including the amount of capital contributed by each investor and whether any investors are entitled to preferential distributions. The amounts in the column labeled "Unconsolidated Properties" were derived on a property-by-property basis by including our share of each line item from each individual entity. This provides visibility into our share of the operations of our joint ventures.
We do not control the unconsolidated joint ventures and the presentations of the assets and liabilities and revenues and expenses do not represent our legal claim to such items. The operating agreements of the unconsolidated joint ventures generally provide that partners may receive cash distributions (1) to the extent there is available cash from operations, (2) upon a capital event, such as a refinancing or sale or (3) upon liquidation of the venture. The amount of cash each partner receives is based upon specific provisions of each operating agreement and varies depending on factors including the amount of capital contributed by each partner and whether any contributions are entitled to priority distributions. Upon liquidation of the joint venture and after all liabilities, priority distributions and initial equity contributions have been repaid, the partners generally would be entitled to any residual cash remaining based on their respective legal ownership percentages.
We provide Non-GAAP proportionate financial information because we believe it assists investors and analysts in estimating our economic interest in our unconsolidated joint ventures when read in conjunction with the Company's reported results under GAAP. Other companies in our industry may calculate their proportionate interest differently than we do, limiting the usefulness as a comparative measure. Because of these limitations, the Non-GAAP proportionate financial information should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for our financial statements as reported under GAAP.
Net Operating Income (“NOI”), Company NOI and Company Same Store NOI
The Company defines NOI as proportionate income from operations and after operating expenses have been deducted, but prior to deducting financing, property management, administrative and income tax expenses. NOI excludes management fees and other corporate revenue and reductions in ownership as a result of sales or other transactions. The Company considers NOI a helpful supplemental measure of its operating performance because it is a direct measure of the actual results of our properties. Because NOI excludes reductions in ownership as a result of sales or other transactions, management fees and other corporate revenue, general and administrative and property management expenses, interest expense, retail investment property impairment or non-recoverable development costs, depreciation and amortization, gains and losses from property dispositions, allocations to noncontrolling interests, provision for income taxes, preferred stock dividends, and extraordinary items, it provides a performance measure that, when compared year over year, reflects the revenues and expenses directly associated with owning and operating commercial real estate properties and the impact on operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs.
The Company also considers Company NOI to be a helpful supplemental measure of its operating performance because it excludes from NOI items such as straight-line rent, and amortization of intangibles resulting from acquisition accounting and other capital contribution or restructuring events. However, due to the exclusions noted, Company NOI should only be used as an alternative measure of the Company’s financial performance.
We present Company NOI, Company EBITDA and Company FFO (as defined below); as we believe certain investors and other users of our financial information use these measures of the Company’s historical operating performance.
Adjustments to NOI, EBITDA and FFO, including debt extinguishment costs, market rate adjustments on debt, straight-line rent, intangible asset and liability amortization, real estate tax stabilization, gains and losses on foreign currency and other items that are not a result of normal operations, assist management and investors in distinguishing whether increases or decreases in revenues and/or expenses are due to growth or decline of operations at the properties or from other factors. In addition, the Company’s leases include step rents that increase over the term of the lease to compensate the Company for anticipated increases in market rentals over time. The Company’s leases do not include significant front loading or back loading of payments or significant rent-free periods. Therefore, we find it useful to evaluate rent on a contractual basis as it allows for comparison of existing rental rates to market rental rates. Management has historically made these adjustments in evaluating our performance, in our annual budget process and for our compensation programs.
The Company defines Company Same Store NOI as Company NOI excluding periodic effects of full or partial acquisitions of properties and certain redevelopments (for the list of properties included in Company Same Store NOI see the Property Schedule in our Supplemental Information). We do not include an acquired property in our Company Same Store NOI until the operating results for that property have been included in our consolidated results for one full calendar year. Properties that we sell are excluded from Company NOI and Company Same Store NOI for all periods once the transaction has closed.
The Company considers Company Same Store NOI a helpful supplemental measure of its operating performance because it assists management and investors in distinguishing whether increases or decreases in revenues and/or expenses are due to growth or decline of operations at comparable properties or from other factors, such as the effect of acquisitions. For these reasons, we believe that Company Same Store NOI, when combined with GAAP operating income provides useful information to investors and management.
Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating, NOI, Company NOI and Company Same Store NOI, and accordingly, the Company’s Company Same Store NOI may not be comparable to other REITs. As a result of the elimination of corporate-level costs and expenses and depreciation and amortization, the Company Same Store NOI we present does not represent our total revenues, expenses, operating profit or net income and should not be used to evaluate our performance as a whole. Management compensates for these limitations by separately considering the impact of these excluded items, to the extent they are material, to operating decisions or assessments of our operating performance. Our consolidated GAAP statements of operations include such amounts, all of which should be considered by investors when evaluating our performance.
Earnings Before Interest Expense, Income Tax, Depreciation, and Amortization ("EBITDA") and Company EBITDA
The Company defines EBITDA as NOI less certain property management and administrative expenses, net of management fees and other corporate revenues. EBITDA is a commonly used measure of performance in many industries, but may not be comparable to measures calculated by other companies. Management believes EBITDA provides useful information to investors regarding our results of operations because it helps us and our investors evaluate the ongoing operating performance of our properties after removing the impact of our capital structure (primarily interest expense) and our asset base (primarily depreciation and amortization). Management also believes the use of EBITDA facilitates comparisons between us and other equity REITs, retail property owners who are not REITs and other capital-intensive companies. Management uses Company EBITDA to evaluate property-level results and as one measure in determining the value of acquisitions and dispositions and, like FFO and Same Store NOI (discussed below), it is widely used by management in the annual budget process and for compensation programs. Please see adjustments discussion above for the purpose and use of the adjustments included in Company EBITDA.
EBITDA and Company EBITDA, as presented, may not be comparable to similar measures calculated by other companies. This information should not be considered as an alternative to net income, operating profit, cash from operations or any other operating performance measure calculated in accordance with GAAP.
Funds From Operations (“FFO”) and Company FFO
The Company determines FFO based upon the definition set forth by National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”). The Company determines FFO to be its share of consolidated net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders and redeemable non-controlling common unit holders computed in accordance with GAAP, excluding real estate related depreciation and amortization, excluding gains and losses from extraordinary items, excluding cumulative effects of accounting changes, excluding gains and losses from the sales of, or any impairment charges related to, previously depreciated operating properties, plus the allocable portion of FFO of unconsolidated joint ventures based upon the Company’s economic ownership interest, and all determined on a consistent basis in accordance with GAAP. As with the Company’s presentation of NOI, FFO has been reflected on a proportionate basis.
The Company considers FFO a helpful supplemental measure of the operating performance for equity REITs and a complement to GAAP measures because it is a recognized measure of performance by the real estate industry. FFO facilitates an understanding of the operating performance of the Company’s properties between periods because it does not give effect to real estate depreciation and amortization since these amounts are computed to allocate the cost of a property over its useful life. Since values for well-maintained real estate assets have historically increased or decreased based upon prevailing market conditions, the Company believes that FFO provides investors with a clearer view of the Company’s operating performance.
We calculate FFO in accordance with standards established by NAREIT, which may not be comparable to measures calculated by other companies who do not use the NAREIT definition of FFO or do not calculate FFO in accordance with NAREIT guidance. In addition, although FFO is a useful measure when comparing our results to other REITs, it may not be helpful to investors when comparing us to non-REITs. As with the presentation of Company NOI and Company EBITDA, we also consider Company FFO, which is not in accordance with NAREIT guidance and may not be comparable to measures calculated by other REITs, to be a helpful supplemental measure of our operating performance. Please see adjustments discussion above for the purpose and use of the adjustments included in Company FFO.
FFO and Company FFO do not represent cash flow from operations as defined by GAAP, should not be considered as an alternative to net income determined in accordance with GAAP as a measure of operating performance, and is not an alternative to cash flows as a measure of liquidity or indicative of funds available to fund our cash needs. In addition, Company FFO per diluted share does not measure, and should not be used as a measure of, amounts that accrue directly to stockholders’ benefit.
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures to GAAP Financial Measures
The Company presents NOI, EBITDA and FFO as they are financial measures widely used in the REIT industry. In order to provide a better understanding of the relationship between the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures of NOI, Company NOI, EBITDA, Company EBITDA, FFO and Company FFO, reconciliations have been provided as follows: a reconciliation of GAAP operating income to Company NOI and Company Same Store NOI, a reconciliation of GAAP net income attributable to GGP to EBITDA and Company EBITDA, and a reconciliation of GAAP net income attributable to GGP to FFO and Company FFO. None of the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures represents cash flow from operating activities in accordance with GAAP, none should be considered as an alternative to GAAP net income (loss) attributable to GGP and none are necessarily indicative of cash flow. In addition, the Company has presented such financial measures on a consolidated and unconsolidated basis (at the Company’s proportionate share) as the Company believes that given the significance of the Company’s operations that are owned through investments accounted for by the equity method of accounting, the detail of the operations of the Company’s unconsolidated properties provides important insights into the income and FFO produced by such investments.
GAAP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated Balance Sheets (In thousands)
March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Assets: Investment in real estate: Land $ 3,985,844 $ 4,013,874 Buildings and equipment 16,996,164 16,957,720 Less accumulated depreciation (3,256,530 ) (3,188,481 ) Construction in progress 466,885 473,118 Net property and equipment 18,192,363 18,256,231 Investment in and loans to/from Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates 3,402,096 3,377,112 Net investment in real estate 21,594,459 21,633,343 Cash and cash equivalents 178,210 164,604 Accounts receivable, net 309,128 334,081 Notes receivable, net 423,617 417,558 Deferred expenses, net 280,697 284,512 Prepaid expenses and other assets 472,086 515,856 Total assets $ 23,258,197 $ 23,349,954 Liabilities: Mortgages, notes and loans payable $ 12,928,483 $ 12,832,459 Investment in Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates 22,051 21,393 Accounts payable and accrued expenses 894,729 919,432 Dividend payable 223,284 219,508 Deferred tax liabilities 2,333 2,428 Junior Subordinated Notes 206,200 206,200 Total liabilities 14,277,080 14,201,420 Redeemable noncontrolling interests: Preferred 52,256 52,256 Common 171,334 195,870 Total redeemable noncontrolling interests 223,590 248,126 Equity: Preferred stock 242,042 242,042 Stockholders' equity 8,416,527 8,553,618 Noncontrolling interests in consolidated real estate affiliates 47,072 55,379 Noncontrolling interests related to Long-Term Incentive Plan Common Units 51,886 49,369 Total equity 8,757,527 8,900,408 Total liabilities, redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity $ 23,258,197 $ 23,349,954 GAAP FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Consolidated Statements of Income (In thousands, except per share) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Revenues: Minimum rents $ 368,523 $ 349,013 Tenant recoveries 157,002 163,055 Overage rents 6,244 5,937 Management fees and other corporate revenues 25,766 28,143 Other 16,631 20,184 Total revenues 574,166 566,332 Expenses: Real estate taxes 59,733 57,494 Property maintenance costs 14,713 14,975 Marketing 1,417 2,145 Other property operating costs 71,752 69,303 Provision for doubtful accounts 3,429 3,451 Property management and other costs 39,574 41,114 General and administrative 12,247 14,683 Provisions for impairment 38,379 — Depreciation and amortization 185,393 170,298 Total expenses 426,637 373,463 Operating income 147,529 192,869 Interest and dividend income 9,148 17,936 Interest expense (137,925 ) (132,323 ) Gain on foreign currency — 3,183 Gain from changes in control of investment properties and other, net 12,664 — Income before income taxes, equity in income of Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates, and allocation to noncontrolling interests 31,416 81,665 Benefit from (provision for) income taxes 280 (4,510 ) Equity in income of Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates 23,839 33,214 Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates - gain on investment 10,361 — Net Income 65,896 110,369 Allocation to noncontrolling interests (1,860 ) (3,209 ) Net income attributable to GGP 64,036 107,160 Preferred stock dividends (3,984 ) (3,984 ) Net income attributable to common stockholders $ 60,052 $ 103,176 Basic Earnings Per Share $ 0.06 $ 0.12 Diluted Earnings Per Share $ 0.06 $ 0.11 NON-GAAP PROPORTIONATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except per share) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Reconciliation of GAAP Operating Income to Company Same Store NOI
Operating Income $ 147,529 $ 192,869 Gain on sales of investment properties 1 (18 ) (1,212 ) Depreciation and amortization 185,393 170,298 Provision for impairment 38,379 — General and administrative 12,247 14,683 Property management and other costs 39,574 41,114 Management fees and other corporate revenues (25,766 ) (28,143 ) Consolidated Properties 397,338 389,609 Noncontrolling interest in NOI of Consolidated Properties (5,238 ) (5,720 ) NOI of sold interests (223 ) (5,480 ) Unconsolidated Properties 170,402 186,095 Proportionate NOI 562,279 564,504 Company adjustments: Minimum rents (874 ) 8,161 Real estate taxes 1,490 1,491 Property operating expenses 769 789 Company NOI 563,664 574,945 Less Company Non-Same Store NOI 10,851 15,091 Company Same Store NOI $ 552,813 $ 559,854 Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income Attributable to GGP to Company EBITDA
Net Income Attributable to GGP $ 64,036 $ 107,160 Allocation to noncontrolling interests 1,860 3,209 Gain on sales of investment properties (18 ) (1,212 ) Gain from changes in control of investment properties and other (12,664 ) — Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates - gain on investment (10,361 ) — Equity in income of Unconsolidated Real Estate Affiliates (23,839 ) (33,214 ) Provision for impairment 38,379 — (Benefit from) provision for income taxes (280 ) 4,510 Gain on foreign currency — (3,183 ) Interest expense 137,925 132,323 Interest and dividend income (9,148 ) (17,936 ) Depreciation and amortization 185,393 170,298 Consolidated Properties 371,283 361,955 Noncontrolling interest in EBITDA of Consolidated Properties (5,038 ) (5,493 ) EBITDA of sold interests (196 ) (5,398 ) Unconsolidated Properties 158,998 176,623 Proportionate EBITDA 525,047 527,687 Company adjustments: Minimum rents (874 ) 8,161 Real estate taxes 1,490 1,491 Property operating costs 769 789 General and administrative
512
— Company EBITDA $ 526,944 $ 538,128 NON-GAAP PROPORTIONATE FINANCIAL INFORMATION Reconciliation of GAAP to Non-GAAP Financial Measures (In thousands, except per share) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Reconciliation of GAAP Net Income Attributable to GGP to Company FFO
Net Income Attributable to GGP $ 64,036 $ 107,160 Redeemable noncontrolling interests 694 830 Provision for impairment excluded from FFO 38,379 — Noncontrolling interests in depreciation of Consolidated Properties (2,196 ) (2,776 ) Gain on sales of investment properties (18 ) (1,212 ) Preferred stock dividends (3,984 ) (3,984 ) Gain from changes in control of investment properties and other (12,664 ) — Depreciation and amortization of capitalized real estate costs - Consolidated Properties 171,838 165,979 Depreciation and amortization of capitalized real estate costs - Unconsolidated Properties 72,066 73,993 FFO 328,151 339,990 Company adjustments: Minimum rents (874 ) 8,161 Real estate taxes 1,490 1,491 Property operating expenses 769 789 General and administrative 512 — Depreciation on non-income producing assets 9,408 — Investment income, net (205 ) (205 ) Market rate adjustments (1,156 ) (1,211 ) Gain on foreign currency — (3,183 ) FFO from sold interests (15 ) 385 Company FFO $ 338,080 $ 346,217 Reconciliation of Net Income Attributable to GGP per diluted share to Company FFO per diluted share
Net Income Attributable to GGP per diluted share $ 0.07 $ 0.11 Preferred stock dividends (0.01 ) — Net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted share 0.06 0.11 Provision for impairment excluded from FFO 0.04 — Gains from changes in control of investment properties and other (0.01 ) — Depreciation and amortization of capitalized real estate costs 0.25 0.25 FFO per diluted share 0.34 0.36 Company adjustments: Minimum rents 0.01 0.01 Gain on foreign currency — (0.01 ) Company FFO per diluted share $ 0.35 $ 0.36
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503005557/en/
GGP Inc.
Kevin Berry
EVP Human Resources & Communications
(312) 960-5529
[email protected]
Source: GGP Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/business-wire-ggp-reports-first-quarter-2018-results-and-declares-second-quarter-dividend.html |
ZURICH (Reuters) - Roche has had no contact with U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Michael Cohen, the Swiss pharmaceuticals maker’s Chief Executive said on Thursday.
U.S. President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen arrives at his hotel in New York City, U.S., May 11, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid “I have asked internally if we had any contact, and that is not the case,” Severin Schwan told Reuters when asked if his company had any dealings with Cohen.
The top lawyer at Roche’s cross-town rival Novartis quit on Wednesday over a $1.2 million contract he co-signed with Cohen, a deal Novartis’ ex-CEO also said was a mistake.
Reporting by Ludwig Burger, writing by John Revill
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-roche-cohen/roche-says-has-had-no-contact-with-trump-lawyer-cohen-idUSKCN1II1TI |
May 7(Reuters) - Yoko International Corp
* Says it plans to buy back 7.5 million shares (representing 7.36 percent of outstanding) for up to T$158.4 million, during the period from May 7 to July 6
Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/1GQimi
(Beijing Headline News)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-yoko-international-to-buy-back-75/brief-yoko-international-to-buy-back-7-5-mln-shares-for-up-to-t158-4-mln-idUSL3N1SE1WE |
May 31, 2018 / 2:00 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago China May official factory growth at eight-month high, well above forecasts Reuters Staff 4 Min Read
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s vast manufacturing sector grew at the fastest pace in eight months in May, blowing past expectations and easing concerns about an economic slowdown even as risks from trade tensions with the United States and a crackdown on debt point to a bumpy ride ahead. FILE PHOTO: Workers weld shipping container components at a container manufacturing company in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Thursday rose to 51.9 in May, from 51.4 in April, and remained well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction for the 22nd straight month.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast the reading would dip slightly to 51.3.
Production expanded at the fastest rate in six months while growth in new orders rose to an 8-month high. Export orders also accelerated from the previous month.
The strong manufacturing sector readings defy concerns about an expected loss of momentum in Asia’s powerhouse economy, as policymakers navigate debt risks and rocky trade relations with the United States.
Washington said on Tuesday that it was moving forward with its threat to apply tariffs on Chinese imports worth up to $50 billion, reviving fresh worries of a trade war between the world’s two biggest economies. Trade tensions had ebbed only recently after Beijing pledged to buy more from the United States.
Hi-tech manufacturing activity rose to 54.8 in May, up from April’s 53.8, despite pending U.S. tariff list under its intellectual property probe and restrictions on Chinese investments in the U.S.
China’s economy grew at a slightly faster-than-expected pace of 6.8 percent in the first quarter. However, signs of stress have started to emerge with investment growth slowing to a near 20-year low in April and growth in retail sales sliding.
China has been tightening controls on riskier investments, the shadow banking business and speculation in the property sector, but has been keen to keep the broad economy well funded.
The industrial sector, a key source of jobs, remained in healthy shape, with profits growing at their fastest pace in six months, underpinned by continued strength in the steel sector.
Boosted by government infrastructure spending, a resilient housing market and unexpected strength in exports, China’s manufacturers helped the economy deliver strong growth last year.
Economists still expect China’s economic growth to slow to 6.5 percent this year from 6.9 percent in 2017, citing rising borrowing costs, tougher limits on industrial pollution and a crackdown on local governments’ spending to keep their debt levels in check.
A sister survey showed growth in China’s service sector also picked up pace in May, with the official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) edging up to 54.9 from 54.8 the previous month.
A sub-reading for construction activity, a major driver of growth in 2017, stood at 60.1 in May, down from 60.6 in April.
Chinese policymakers are counting on growth in services and consumption to rebalance their economic growth model from its heavy reliance on investment and exports. The services sector now accounts for over half of the economy, with rising wages giving Chinese consumers more spending clout.
A composite PMI covering both the manufacturing and services activity rose to 54.6 in May, from April’s 54.1.
(For graphic on China economic indicator dashboard, click: tmsnrt.rs/2lQ48De ) Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-pmi-factory-official/china-may-official-factory-growth-at-8-month-high-well-above-forecasts-idUKKCN1IW06I |
OPI Announces Change to Procedures for Private Placement
BEIJING, May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) ("Renren"), which operates a social networking service (SNS) business, used auto business and SaaS business, today announced a new record date and cash payment date for the cash dividend that it previously announced on April 30, 2018.
The record date for the cash dividend will now be after the acceptance deadline for the private placement. The acceptance deadline has not changed and will still be 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 8, 2018. The record date will be 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 14, 2018. OPI will announce the results of the private placement and Renren will announce the exact amount of the cash dividend on or about June 15, 2018. OPI will issue shares to purchasers in the private placement and Renren will pay the cash dividend on June 21, 2018. According to the NYSE, the ex-dividend date for NYSE trading will be June 22, 2018. The ex-dividend date is the date on which the NYSE will reset the opening trading price of the Renren ADSs to reflect the payment of the cash dividend. If you buy Renren ADSs on or after the ex-dividend date, you will not receive the cash dividend. Due bill settlement is expected to run from June 13, 2018 to June 25, 2018.
In order to receive the cash dividend, you must continue to hold your Renren shares or ADSs at least through the cash dividend payment date, which is June 21, 2018.
In addition, because Oak Pacific Investment ("OPI") will only accept a waiver of the cash dividend as valid payment for the shares of OPI being offered in the private placement that it previously announced on April 30, 2018, OPI has made certain changes to the procedures for accepting the offer in the private placement.
In order to accept the offer to receive the OPI shares in the private placement, you must accept the offer and waive the cash dividend by the acceptance deadline, which is 5:00 p.m. Eastern time on June 8, 2018, and continue to hold the related Renren shares or ADSs at least through the record date, which is June 14, 2018.
Once you make an election to waive the Cash Dividend as to any ADSs you hold, those ADSs will be immobilized in your account. The election is irrevocable once made. Once immobilized, your ADSs will not be available for settlement of any ADS sales you may enter into or any ADS cancellations.
OPI has updated its offering circular to reflect the change in procedure as well as to update certain financial information. The updates to the offering circular relate primarily to the following sections:
The overview of the offering on pages 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. "Definitions" on pages 10, 11 and 12. "Expected Timeline" on page 14. FAQ #31 on page 23 with regards to the timing of the effect of the Transaction on Renren's ADS price. "Selected Financial Information of the ZenZone Business" on pages 48 to 49, which has been updated to include unaudited full year 2017 financial results. "Selected Financial Information for the Investments" on page 50, where the book value for each investment has been updated to December 31, 2017. "How to Accept the Offer" on pages 100, 101 and 102. Annexes M (Amended and Restated Offer Acceptance Form), N (Amended and Restated DTC Cash Waiver Election Form), O (Amended and Restated Non-DTC Cash Waiver Election Form) and P (Amended and Restated Ordinary Share Cash Waiver Election Form).
The amended and restated offering circular, dated May 14, 2018, is being furnished to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on Form 6-K and will be available on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . In addition, Renren has updated the pro forma financial statements of Renren that give effect to the cash dividend, the private placement and the separation of OPI from Renren. The updated pro forma financial statements are being furnished to the SEC on the same Form 6-K as the amended and restated offering circular. The information being furnished to the SEC will also be available at Renren's website at ir.renren-inc.com . If you have any questions about how to accept the offer of OPI shares in the private placement, please contact Georgeson LLC, the information agent, at (800) 509-1078 or by e-mail at [email protected] .
About Renren Inc.
Renren Inc. (NYSE: RENN) operates a social networking service (SNS) business, used car business and SaaS business. Renren's American depositary shares, each of which represents fifteen Class A ordinary shares, trade on the NYSE under the symbol "RENN".
Safe Harbor Statement
This announcement contains forward-looking statements, including those with respect to the anticipated amount and payment of the cash dividend, completion of the private placement, volatility in Renren's ADS trading price and impact of Renren's ADS repurchase price program. These statements are made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates" and similar statements. Renren may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about Renren's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in our annual report on Form 20-F, the 6-K referred to above and other documents filed with the SEC. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release, and Renren does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations Department
Renren Inc.
Tel: (86 10) 8448 1818 ext. 1300
Email: [email protected]
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/renren-announces-new-record-date-for-cash-dividend-300647521.html
SOURCE Renren Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-renren-announces-new-record-date-for-cash-dividend.html |
OAKLAND, Calif., May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- USCF today announced it has promoted Daphne G. Frydman to the company's senior management team as General Counsel. In this role, Daphne will be responsible for the company's legal and regulatory matters globally.
"Daphne has been a trusted advisor and exceptional counsel over the past two years," said John Love, President and CEO of USCF. "She has also been a part of the extended USCF family going all the way back to the firm's roots. Her expertise will continue to be integral to our ongoing success. I look forward to working with her in this new and well-deserved role."
Daphne joined USCF in 2016 as Deputy General Counsel and serves on the company's Product Development Committee. Daphne has over 17 years of experience counseling companies in the financial services industry. Prior to joining USCF, she was a partner at Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP, where she advised asset managers, insurance companies, private and public funds, including business development companies, exchange traded funds and other investment vehicles, in their operations, structure, governance, public offerings, private placements and compliance with applicable requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), exchanges, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), and the National Futures Association (NFA). Daphne also helped companies raise capital through a broad range of financing and other transactions including structured finance, life insurance reserve securitizations, senior debt financing, convertible notes and retail notes as well as more traditional credit facilities. Daphne obtained her Juris Doctor from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law in 2001 and her Bachelor of Arts from Wesleyan University in 1996.
About USCF
USCF operates on the leading edge of exchange-traded product (ETP) and exchange-traded fund (ETF) innovation. The firm broke new ground with the launch of the first oil ETP, the United States Oil Fund, LP (USO), in 2006. Over the next decade, USCF designed and issued fifteen more ETPs and ETFS, as well as a mutual fund, across commodity and equity asset classes. USCF currently manages over $3 billion in assets from its headquarters in Oakland, California.
USCF is a registered trademark. All rights reserved.
John P. Love and Katie Rooney are registered representatives of ALPS Distributors, Inc.
Download a copy of a Fund's Prospectus by clicking one of the following : USCI , USAG , USO , USL , USOU , DNO , USOD , BNO , UNG , UNL , UGA , UHN , or CPER . For further discussion of these and additional risks associated with an investment in the Funds please read the respective Fund Prospectus before investing.
These Funds are not mutual funds or any other type of Investment Company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and are not subject to regulation thereunder.
Commodity trading is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk. Commodities and futures generally are volatile and are not suitable for all investors. Investing in commodity interests subject each Fund to the risks of its related industry. An investor may lose all or substantially all of an investment. These risks could result in large fluctuations in the price of a particular Fund's respective shares. Funds that focus on a single sector generally experience greater volatility.
ALPS Distributors, Inc. is the distributor for all USCF product and is not affiliated with USCF.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/uscf-promotes-daphne-g-frydman-to-general-counsel-300639750.html
SOURCE USCF | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/pr-newswire-uscf-promotes-daphne-g-frydman-to-general-counsel.html |
May 3, 2018 / 6:19 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Australia's Commonwealth Bank says records of nearly 20 mln accounts lost Reuters Staff
* Bank says could not confirm 19.8 mln account records destroyed
* Takes unusual step of addressing customers in a YouTube video
* Company has had several scandals since 2016 (Adds shares, PR consultants, Australian banking industry context)
By Byron Kaye
SYDNEY, May 3 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the country’s top lender, confirmed on Thursday it lost records of almost 20 million accounts and decided to not inform its clients, a breach the nation’s prime minister called “an extraordinary blunder”.
CBA’s announcement, which was made in a YouTube video by a senior bank executive a day after BuzzFeed Australia reported the data breach, puts further pressure on Australian banks already reeling from revelations of widespread misconduct in a judicial inquiry.
It is also the latest blow to CBA, which has been accused in a federal lawsuit of breaching anti-money laundering protocols more than 50,000 times and has admitted to using outdated medical definitions to refuse sick customers health insurance payouts.
Earlier this week, a regulator ordered CBA to keep an extra A$1 billion ($750 million) in cash reserves as punishment for the alleged money laundering breaches, which it is contesting.
In a YouTube video, CBA’s acting head of retail banking services, Angus Sullivan, said the bank found in May 2016 it had lost two magnetic tapes containing 15 years of data on customer names, addresses and account numbers for 19.8 million accounts.
The tapes were due to be disposed of, but CBA could not confirm they were securely destroyed, Sullivan said. The tapes did not contain PINs, passwords or other data that could enable account fraud, he said.
The bank informed its regulators and launched an internal investigation which found the tapes had “most likely been disposed of”, Sullivan said. It did not tell customers because “we balanced the need to alert customers without unnecessarily alarming them”, he said.
“This is an extraordinary blunder,” Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters.
“It’s hard to imagine how so much data could be lost in this way. If that had happened today, the bank would have to advise each of their customers,” Turnbull added.
CBA is seen as a stable part of life in the country of 24 million where most people have had a mortgage, insurance policy or regular savings account with CBA at some point - often starting with its famed “Dollarmites” deposit account for school children.
But the crises have started affecting its financial performance because of concerns it will result in heightened regulations, and CBA shares are down about 7 percent so far this year while the broader market is up. CBA shares ended up 0.6 percent on Thursday, roughly in line with the broader market.
Reputation management experts, however, said CBA’s move to use YouTube to take responsibility for the incident and reassure customers no personal data was stolen was a smart one.
“They’ve so overdrawn their goodwill cheque account that there’s not much they can do to push back on this,” said Steve Harris, CEO of The Brand Agency, a communications and image consultant.
“They need to bypass the media and communicate directly to get their message through, because whatever they (say) via media it will be put into a whirlpool of Royal Commission, money laundering and other filters,” added Harris, referring to the powerful independent inquiry into the broader finance sector.
Consumer psychologist Adam Ferrier said posting a YouTube video and “trying to put a face to the banks and admitting to errors is always a good strategy”.
By mid-afternoon, the video had been viewed 3,798 times, according to data published on YouTube. ($1 = 1.3296 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Byron Kaye and Wayne Cole; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/australia-cba-moneylaundering/update-1-australias-commonwealth-bank-says-records-of-nearly-20-mln-accounts-lost-idUSL3N1SA1EE |
The leaders of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee said on Wednesday they agreed with intelligence agencies’ assessment that Moscow sought to interfere with the 2016 U.S. election to boost Donald Trump’s prospects of becoming president.
Former CIA Director John Brennan arrives for a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing evaluating the intelligence community assessment on "Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis “There is no doubt that Russia undertook an unprecedented effort to interfere with our 2016 elections,” the committee’s Republican chairman, Senator Richard Burr, said in a joint statement with the committee’s top Democrat after a closed hearing on the issue.
“After a thorough review, our staff concluded that the (intelligence community) conclusions were accurate and on point,” Senator Mark Warner said.
“The Russian effort was extensive, sophisticated, and ordered by President (Vladimir) Putin himself for the purpose of helping Donald Trump and hurting Hillary Clinton,” Warner said.
Former NSA Director Admiral Mike Rogers departs from a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing evaluating the Intelligence Community Assessment on "Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts Their backing of intelligence agencies’ findings contrasted with the assertion weeks earlier by House of Representatives Republicans that Russia had not sought to boost then-Republican candidate Trump, who went on to win the election.
The allegations, and multiple investigations into the matter, have shadowed the first 16 months of Trump’s presidency.
Slideshow (2 Images) Russia has denied seeking to interfere in the election and Trump has disputed suggestions that Moscow was working on his behalf.
Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former National Security Agency Director Mike Rogers testified at the hearing. Former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by Trump, was invited but did not appear.
Senate Intelligence undertook one of three main congressional probes of Russia and the 2016 election, along with the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Department of Justice Special Counsel Robert Mueller is also looking into the matter.
Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House panel, said he agreed with the Senate panel’s conclusion.
Over the objections of Democrats, Republicans who control a majority on the House committee announced in March that the panel had concluded its work and found that Russia did not aim to assist Trump.
Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Bill Berkrot
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-committee/key-u-s-senators-no-doubt-russia-sought-to-interfere-in-u-s-election-idUSKCN1IH2AX |
May 18, 2018 / 11:39 PM / Updated 7 hours ago After Trump's withdrawal from nuclear pact, EU energy chief courts Iran Alissa de Carbonnel 4 Min Read
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Europe’s energy chief will seek to reassure Iran’s top ministers on Saturday that the European Union wants to keep trade open despite the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal. Miguel Arias Canete attends a news conference in Beijing, China March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Miguel Arias Canete, European commissioner for energy and climate, will meet with five top Iranian minister over two days, including the Islamic State’s nuclear chief, oil minister and foreign minister.
EU leaders have united behind the 2015 accord, with Brussels considering banning EU-based firms from complying with the sanctions that President Donald Trump has reimposed and urging governments to make money transfers to Iran’s central bank to avoid fines.
But EU officials admit there is a limit to what they can do to parry sanctions as a wave of European companies quit business with Tehran, fearing the global reach of U.S. sanctions.
“There is no magic wand beyond trying to offer Iran a bit of reassurance,” a senior EU official involved in Iran talks told Reuters.
The mission led by Canete is a symbolic gesture to urge Iran’s leadership to stick to the nuclear deal and shore up support for the relatively moderate President Hassan Rouhani against hardliners looking to constrain his ability to open up to the West, EU officials said.
“The mission is very important to us because it shows the EU’s determination to stand by its commitment,” a senior Iranian official said.
Europe sees the pact, limiting Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for the relaxation of economic sanctions, as vital for international security.
Trump denounced it as “the worst deal ever” for failing to curb Iran’s separate ballistic missile programme and its influence in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Lebanon. PAYOFF
With the reimposition of U.S. sanctions threatening the accord’s economic payoff for Tehran, EU diplomats worry they will lose what little sway they have in the Islamic Republic.
Canete will raise with Tehran the possibility of EU governments bypassing the U.S. financial system by making direct payments to Iran for oil exports and to repatriate Iranian funds in Europe - though the move will be up to member states.
In other efforts to shield European firms, the EU’s “blocking statute” would ban EU companies from complying with U.S. sanctions and does not recognise any court rulings that enforce American penalties.
The EU is also seeking to allow the European Investment Bank to do business in Iran and to scale up euro-denominated credit lines from EU states.
But some big names are already heading for the door. French energy group Total said it may quit a multi-billion-dollar gas project that Tehran had repeatedly hailed as a symbol of the nuclear accord’s success.
The first sanctions to snap back into place are limits on Iranian oil exports that choked off more than half of Iran’s oil exports after 2012 - largely due to European and Asian buyers cutting back.
“One of the big factors for how the Iranians will react is what oil importers will do and how well the energy system can cope,” another EU official said.
“It will be difficult for us to deliver on the benefits the Iranians are expecting.” Reporting by Alissa de Carbonnel @AdeCar; editing by Andrew Roche | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-nuclear-europe/after-trumps-withdrawal-from-nuclear-pact-eu-energy-chief-courts-iran-idUKKCN1IJ2X2 |
May 17 (Reuters) - Baozun Inc:
* BAOZUN ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 UNAUDITED FINANCIAL RESULTS
* SEES Q2 2018 REVENUE RMB 1.06 BILLION TO RMB 1.1 BILLION * Q1 REVENUE RMB 921.2 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW RMB 885.1 MILLION
* QTRLY DILUTED NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS OF BAOZUN INC. PER ADS WERE RMB0.25 (US$0.04)
* QTRLY DILUTED NON-GAAP NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS OF BAOZUN PER ADS WERE RMB0.54 (US$0.09)
* THE COMPANY EXPECTS SERVICES REVENUE TO INCREASE BY OVER 50% ON A YEAR-OVER-YEAR BASIS FOR THE SECOND QUARTER OF 2018
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW CNY 0.52 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* Q2 REVENUE VIEW CNY 1.04 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-baozun-reports-first-quarter-2018/brief-baozun-reports-first-quarter-2018-revenue-of-rmb-921-2-million-idUSASC0A2Q9 |
WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kane Biotech Inc. (TSX-V:KNE), (OTCQB:KNBIF), (the “Corporation” or “Kane Biotech”) is pleased to announce that it will host a conference call on Friday, May 18, 2018 at 8:30am E.T. to discuss its financial results for the first quarter 2018, in conjunction with the filing of its Quarterly Financial Statements for the first 2018.
Mark Ahrens-Townsend, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Ray Dupuis, Chief Financial Officer of Kane, will host the call and provide an update on recent developments and clinical progress. Management will be answering questions live immediately following the earnings announcement part of the call.
To participate in the call, please dial +1 877-268-9044 (toll-free) in the U.S. and Canada. The conference ID number is 9749257.
Event: Kane Biotech Q1 2018 Earnings & Business Update Conference Call Date: Friday, May 18, 2018 Time: 8:30am E.T. U.S. & Canada Dial-in: 877-268-9044 (toll free in Canada and the U.S.) Conference ID: 9749257 Webcast Link: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/qwnb3dc7 A live audio webcast of the conference call will also be available on the investor relations page of Kane’s corporate website at www.kanebiotech.com . In addition, the recorded conference call can be replayed and will be available for 90 days following the call on Kane’s website.
For more information, please visit www.kanebiotech.com or contact:
Mark Ahrens-Townsend
President & CEO
Kane Biotech Inc.
+1 (204) 477-7592
[email protected]
Tirth Patel
Vice President - Investor Relations
Edison Advisors
+1 (646) 653-7035
[email protected]
About Kane Biotech
Kane Biotech is a biotechnology company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products that prevent and remove microbial biofilms.
The Corporation has a portfolio of biotechnologies, intellectual property (75 patents and patents pending, trade secrets and trademarks) and products developed by the Corporation’s own biofilm research expertise and acquired from leading research institutions. StrixNB™, DispersinB®, Aledex®, bluestem™, AloSera™, coactiv+™ and Kane® are trademarks of Kane Biotech Inc. The Corporation is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "KNE" and on the OTCQB Venture Market under the symbol “KNBIF”.
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Source:Kane Biotech Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-kane-biotech-schedules-first-quarter-2018-earnings-conference-call-and-business-update.html |
May 9 (Reuters) - Americas Silver Corp:
* AMERICAS SILVER CORPORATION REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* AMERICAS SILVER CORP - REVENUES OF $20.4 MILLION IN Q1, 2018 COMPARED WITH REVENUES OF $15.2 MILLION IN Q1, 2017
* AMERICAS SILVER CORP - GUIDANCE FOR 2018 REMAINS UNCHANGED AT 1.6 - 2.0 MILLION SILVER OUNCES AND 7.2 - 8.0 MILLION SILVER EQUIVALENT OUNCES
* AMERICAS SILVER CORP - CONSOLIDATED SILVER PRODUCTION FOR Q1 WAS APPROXIMATELY 397,035 OUNCES WHICH REPRESENTS A DECREASE OF 24% YEAR-OVER-YEAR Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-americas-silver-corporation-q1-rev/brief-americas-silver-corporation-q1-revenues-of-20-4-million-idUSASC0A11J |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As President Donald Trump pursues his goal of making the federal judiciary more conservative, his fellow Republicans who control the Senate are poised to confirm another batch of his picks for influential U.S. appeals courts to the dismay of some Democrats.
FILE PHOTO: Police officers stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, U.S., January 19, 2018. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/File Photo The Senate this week is set to take up six of Trump’s nominees to the regional appeals courts, including four from states that have at least one Democratic senator.
A long-standing Senate tradition that gave senators clout over judicial nominees from their home states has been fraying for years, meaning Democrats have less of a chance of blocking appointees they oppose, as they did with some success during Republican former President George W. Bush’s administration.
One of those due for consideration on the Senate floor this week is Milwaukee lawyer Michael Brennan, who Trump has nominated for a vacant seat on the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over a region that includes Wisconsin. One of Wisconsin’s two senators, Democrat Tammy Baldwin, opposes Brennan’s confirmation.
Another important test will come at a Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on Wednesday for Ryan Bounds, a federal prosecutor from Oregon nominated by Trump to fill a seat on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Oregon’s two senators, both Democrats, oppose the nomination.
Brennan, Bounds and other Trump nominees who may be opposed by home-state Democratic senators are likely to win confirmation because of the Republicans’ 51-49 Senate majority.
Trump has made quick progress in reshaping federal appeals courts, winning Senate confirmation of 15 nominees to fill vacancies on federal appeals courts. Trump’s Democratic predecessor Barack Obama won confirmation of nine appeals court judges by the same point in his first term.
Trump also has been picking a raft of conservative jurists for lower federal courts and won Senate confirmation last year of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
The regional appeals courts play a major role in shaping U.S. law. The judges hear appeals from federal district courts and usually have the final say, as the U.S. Supreme Court takes up only a tiny proportion of cases.
The appeals courts can set binding precedents on a broad array of issues, including voting rights, gun rights and other divisive social issues.
WORTHWHILE PRICE For Trump and his party, setting aside a long-standing Senate tradition may be a worthwhile price to pay to achieve what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has called a top goal: shifting the ideological composition of the federal judiciary to the right.
For Trump, nine of the 15 appeals court vacancies he has filled have been on regional courts that already leaned conservative. His administration now aims to fill vacancies in regional courts from states represented by Democratic senators.
Leonard Leo, an outside advisor to Trump who has been instrumental on judicial nominations including Gorsuch’s, said the White House has the same criteria for picking conservative nominees no matter the state.
But Leo said, “You’ve got to engage a little more - in a more intense degree of consultation - with Democrats than with Republicans, so that takes a little time.”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Some nominations have been less contentious, with the White House and Democratic senators able to agree.
Michael Scudder and Amy St. Eve, two Trump nominees for the Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, are backed by the two Illinois senators, both Democrats. They are among the nominees up for Senate confirmation votes this week.
Hawaii’s two Democratic senators back a Trump nominee to the 9th Circuit. The Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York, has so far held fire on Richard Sullivan, Trump’s nominee to the New York-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Michigan’s two Democratic senators voted in November to confirm Joan Larsen to the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Liberal activists doubt the White House is serious about compromise on judicial nominations.
“Those few examples show that when Democratic home state senators are consulted in good faith, they are not looking for progressive judges,” said Christopher Kang, who worked on judicial nominations in Obama’s White House.
“They understand that President Trump is going to appoint conservative judges but they are willing to work in good faith to find consensus nominees,” Kang added.
There are 148 vacancies in the federal judiciary, with 68 pending nominees. Trump inherited a large number of vacancies in part because McConnell and his fellow Senate Republicans refused to confirm Obama’s nominees to fill some of the jobs before he left office in January 2017, including Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland.
(This story corrects court to which Larsen was appointed in paragraph 19, Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals instead of Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.)
Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Will Dunham
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-nominees/trump-push-for-conservative-judges-intensifies-to-democrats-dismay-idUSKBN1I80WL |
May 21 (Reuters) - Microchip Technology Inc:
* MICROCHIP TECHNOLOGY ANNOUNCES INTENTION TO OFFER SENIOR SECURED NOTES OF MULTIPLE TRANCHES
* SAYS INTENDS TO USE OFFERING PROCEEDS, CASH, BORROWINGS TO FUND CASH CONSIDERATION, OTHER AMOUNTS PAYABLE FOR MICROSEMI DEAL
* SAYS EXPECTED THAT NET PROCEEDS TO BE RELEASED TO FINANCE CONSUMMATION OF ACQUISITION OF MICROSEMI CORPORATION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-microchip-technology-announces-int/brief-microchip-technology-announces-intention-to-offer-senior-secured-notes-of-multiple-tranches-idUSASC0A32Z |
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KINSHASA (Reuters) – The Democratic Republic of Congo introduced on Thursday the primary confirmed demise in a brand new outbreak of Ebola virus and stated 11 different folks had been now confirmed to be contaminated, together with three medical employees. FILE PHOTO: A well being employee sprays a colleague with disinfectant throughout a coaching session for Congolese well being employees to take care of Ebola virus in Kinshasa October 21, 2014. REUTERS/Media Coulibaly/File Photo
At least 17 folks have died since inhabitants of a village within the nation’s northwest started displaying signs resembling Ebola in December, in response to the World Health Organization. However, these instances weren’t confirmed by means of testing.
This is the ninth time Ebola has been recorded within the Democratic Republic of Congo because the illness made its first identified look – close to the huge central African nation’s northern Ebola river – within the 1970s.
“One of the defining features of this epidemic is the fact that three health professionals have been affected,” Health Minister Oly Ilunga stated in an announcement. “This situation worries us and requires an immediate and energetic response.”
Most of the instances to date have been recorded across the village of Ikoko Impenge, close to the northwestern city of Bikoro.
“After contact, the nurses began showing signs … We have isolated them,” Serge Ngaleto, the director of Bikoro’s primary hospital, advised Reuters by telephone.
Congo’s lengthy expertise of Ebola and its distant geography imply outbreaks are sometimes localized and comparatively simple to isolate.
But Ikoko Impenge and Bikoro are located not removed from the banks of the Congo River, a significant artery for commerce and transport upstream from the capital Kinshasa. The Congo Republic is simply on the opposite facet of the river.
A spokesman for the director of epidemiology in Congo Republic stated authorities consultants would meet on Thursday to debate measures to forestall it crossing the border.
Nigeria’s immigration service stated on Thursday it had elevated screening checks at airports and different entry factors as a precautionary measure. Similar measures helped it comprise the virus throughout the West African epidemic that started in 2013.
Officials in Guinea and Gambia each stated that they had heightened screening measures alongside their borders to forestall the unfold.
Democratic Republic of Congo’s well being ministry stated it had dispatched a workforce of 12 consultants to the northwest to attempt to hint new contacts of the illness, determine the epicenter and all affected villages and supply assets.
Ebola is most feared for the interior and exterior bleeding it could possibly trigger in its victims owing to break achieved to blood vessels. Additional reporting by Fiston Mahamba and Amedee Mwarabu in Congo, Pap Saine in Gambia and Saliou Samb in Guinea; Writing by Tim Cocks and Edward McAllister; Editing by Mark Heinrich | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-ebola-congo/update-4-congo-confirms-first-death-in-latest-ebola-outbreak-idUSL8N1SH6PA/ |
(Refiles to change time for Analog Devices, Costco Wholesale from GMT to EST) May 25 (Reuters) - Diary of U.S. (.SPX) corporate earnings for the week ahead. ** Please Note - All times given are in U.S. EST unless otherwise stated ** U.S. EARNINGS Start Date Start Time Company RIC Event Name 29-May-2018 AMC Salesforce.com Inc CRM.N Q1 2019 Salesforce.com Inc Earnings Release 29-May-2018 AMC HP Inc HPQ.N Q2 2018 HP Inc Earnings Release 30-May-2018 AMC PVH Corp PVH.N Q1 2018 PVH Corp Earnings Release 30-May-2018 BMO Michael Kors Holdings Ltd KORS.N Q4 2018 Michael Kors Holdings Ltd Earnings Release 30-May-2018 8:00 Analog Devices Inc ADI.O Q2 2018 Analog Devices Inc Earnings Release 31-May-2018 16:15 Costco Wholesale Corp COST.O Q3 2018 Costco Wholesale Corp Earnings Release 31-May-2018 BMO Dollar General Corp DG.N Q1 2018 Dollar General Corp Earnings Release 31-May-2018 BMO Dollar Tree Inc DLTR.O Q1 2018 Dollar Tree Inc Earnings Release 31-May-2018 NTS Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA.O Q1 2018 Ulta Beauty Inc Earnings Release ** All times are listed in U.S. EST, or AMC - 'After U.S. Market Close', or BMO - 'Before U.S. Market Opens', or DBH - 'During U.S. business hours', or blank if not known. ** This Diary does not provide the EPS estimate figures. EPS figures can be retrieved from Eikon. Steps in Eikon to retrieve the EPS estimate:- Eikon Indicator-> Equities Guide-> Top Indices-> S&P 500-> Events-> Select Event types-> Select the company-> Estimates (Compiled by Bengaluru Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-results/diary-u-s-earnings-week-ahead-idUSL3N1SW4ME |
EditorsNote: Editors: re-sending to restore dropped word ‘series’ after ‘best-of-seven’ iin second graf
Kevin Durant hit two jumpers and a pair of free throws in a late 9-0 run Tuesday night that allowed the Golden State Warriors to pull away from the New Orleans Pelicans for a 121-116 victory in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series in Oakland, Calif.
Stephen Curry returned from a knee injury to score 28 points off the bench, helping Golden State take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. The series shifts to New Orleans for Game 3 on Friday and Game 4 on Sunday.
The Warriors’ late run coincided with Curry re-entering the game for the final time with 6:59 to go and the Pelicans hanging within 101-98.
Andre Iguodala got the critical burst going with a steal and dunk on which he was fouled by Rajon Rondo. The dunk attempt clanged high off the back of the rim before falling through the net.
Iguodala then dropped in the subsequent free throw for a 104-98 lead.
Durant took over from there, first hitting two free throws, then a pair of short shots that extended the advantage to 110-98 with 5:15 left.
The Pelicans got as close as 119-113 on a 3-pointer by Anthony Davis with 35.9 seconds remaining. However, New Orleans was forced to foul Draymond Green, whose two free throws stalled the rally.
After missing 5 1/2 weeks with a sprained left MCL, Curry played 27 minutes, during which the Warriors outscored the Pelicans by 26 points. Golden State was outscored by 21 points while Curry was on the bench.
Curry hit eight of his 15 shots and five of his 10 3-point attempts, and he also found time for seven assists.
Golden State won its 14th consecutive home playoff game. Durant led the Warriors with 29 points, while Green finished with 20 points, nine rebounds and 12 assists.
Iguodala added 15 points and Klay Thompson, despite 4-for-20 shooting, had 10 for the Warriors, who have beaten the Pelicans in 26 of their past 28 meetings.
Davis had 25 points, Jrue Holiday 24 and Rondo 22 for the Pelicans, who have never won a second-round series in their playoff history.
Davis (15 rebounds) and Rondo (12 assists) completed double-doubles, while Nikola Mirotic chipped in with 18 points and E’Twaun Moore 14 in the loss.
Both teams made 13 3-pointers, Golden State attempting 40 from long range and New Orleans attempting 37.
—Field Level Media
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/basketball-nba-gsw-nop-recap/currys-return-helps-warriors-hold-off-pelicans-idUSMTZEE5235TJIC |
May 4, 2018 / 1:12 PM / in an hour UPDATE 3-Argentina cenbank jolts key rate to 40 pct, peso strengthens Reuters Staff
(Adds political context, inflation data, Dujovne quotes, updates rate)
By Hugh Bronstein and Nicolás Misculin
BUENOS AIRES, May 4 (Reuters) - Argentina’s government and central bank jolted the country’s battered currency back to life on Friday with a set of announcements intended to restore confidence in the president’s ability to deliver sustainable growth while cutting inflation.
The central bank sharply raised its monetary policy rate to 40 percent, sparking a 4.78 percent jump in the local peso while the government cut its fiscal deficit target to 2.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
The moves followed a week of dramatic weakening in the peso , which sank 7.83 percent just on Thursday to 23 per U.S. dollar. After the announcements on Friday morning, the currency strengthened to 21.95 to the greenback.
The bank said in a statement it would keep using all tools at its disposal in its effort to reach the country’s 15 percent inflation target for this year.
Treasury Minister Nicolas Dujovne told reporters the government stood by the 15 percent target and supported the central bank’s efforts.
The bank has increased the key rate three times - on April 27, then on Thursday and again on Friday, yanking it up from 27.25 percent.
Private economists and investors have complained about the slow pace of progress in narrowing the primary fiscal deficit, which does not include interest payments on debt.
The target had been 3.2 percent of GDP before Dujovne tightened it to 2.7 percent.
Speaking about the 0.5 percentage point cut in the deficit target, Dujovne said “ ... part of the cut comes from greater than expected resources at our disposal, because tax collection is evolving better.”
The rest will come from an increased effort at generating savings, he added.
“We have systematically hit our fiscal targets,” Dujovne said. “Argentina will maintain the economic growth that started a year ago and continue to create jobs and lower poverty.”
The government has adopted policies aimed at spurring economic growth ahead of President Mauricio Macri’s expected 2019 re-election bid. The perception of political pressure on the bank to grease economic activity by keeping the money tap open had cast doubt on its willingness to raise interest rates.
The rapid-fire rate hikes appeared to dispel those doubts. STUBBORN INFLATION
But a black cloud continued to hang over Latin America’s No. 3 economy in the form of one of the highest inflation rates in the world.
Consumer prices in Argentina rose 2.3 percent in March, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 25.4 percent.
Some economists urged the government to abandon its 15-percent inflation target for this year, saying it is unrealistic.
The markets have given Macri the benefit of the doubt for more than two years after taking power in late 2015.
He has ditched the previous government’s foreign exchange and trade controls and helped the farm sector by cutting grains export taxes. Macri has also brought the country back into the international capital markets by settling protracted lawsuits brought by the holders of defaulted sovereign bonds.
Macri promised to “normalize” the long-troubled Argentine economy. Confidence lasted until interest rates started climbing internationally and the government, looking for money to help narrow the deficit, slapped a new tax on international investors last week. That’s when the peso started its recent sell-off. (Additional reporting by Juliana Castilla, Caroline Stauffer, Eliana Raszewski and Walter Bianshi Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Jeffrey Benkoe) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/argentina-rate/update-1-argentine-cenbank-says-hikes-monetary-policy-rate-again-to-40-pct-idUSL1N1SB0JA |
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain’s exit from the European Union could hamper the fight against human trafficking at a time when the number of people being trapped in slavery is increasing, fueled by social media, Britain’s anti-slavery body said on Tuesday.
The Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority (GLAA) said it had made over 100 arrests and rescued more than 1,300 exploited workers since it was granted “police-style powers” last May to tackle trafficking and slavery.
It said forced labor accounted for about 30 percent of all exploitation in Britain and most victims were male EU nationals from Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.
The GLAA said it was unclear how Brexit would affect the drive to stop human trafficking but it was the key factor likely to impact the intelligence picture in coming years.
“Dependent upon worker restrictions, there may be a drop in intelligence flows as EU nationals will seek to remain under the radar of any law enforcement/immigration activity,” the GLAA said in a report.
Britain passed the Modern Slavery Act in 2015 to crack down on traffickers, force businesses to check their supply chains for forced labor, and protect people at risk of being enslaved.
In Britain, at least 13,000 people are estimated to be victims of modern-day slavery, used in forced labor, sex exploitation or domestic servitude, but police say the true figure is likely much higher.
In March, the National Crime Agency - dubbed Britain’s FBI - said it received 5,145 reports of suspected slavery victims in 2017, up more than a third from 3,804 in 2016.
The GLAA said people addicted to drugs and alcohol were particularly vulnerable to exploitation, as well as the poor homeless, or uneducated, with abuse rife in nail bars, building sites, factories, farms and hand car washes.
The GLAA echoed warnings by Europe’s police agency Europol that the encrypted and anonymous nature of modern technology, from messaging service WhatsApp to cryptocurrencies, has made it harder for law enforcement to find traffickers.
“Social media, particularly Facebook, is being used for job advertising, with introductions being made between victim and exploiter using this method,” the GLAA said in its report.
“This enables potential exploiters to recruit from a wider victim base from any location at any time, with a certain level of protection over the exploiter’s identity.”
Europol last month said although criminal gangs and traffickers do leave behind virtual traces for law enforcement to follow, limited digital expertise meant that police are struggling to tackle the $150-billion-a-year trade.
Facebook, which owns WhatsApp - the messaging service used by more than 1 billion people - did not respond requests for comment but has previously said its encryption allows people to share personal information safely and securely.
Ian Waterfield, head of operations at the GLAA, said slavery and exploitation continued to thrive in every UK town and city.
“Our dedicated workforce will continue to build on what we’ve achieved ... but there is much more to do,” he said.
Reporting by Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian issues, conflicts, land and property rights, modern slavery and human trafficking, gender equality, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org to see more stories
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-eu-slavery/brexit-could-hamper-britains-fight-against-trafficking-anti-slavery-body-idUSKBN1I9003 |
The president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, a leading Jewish seminary, died in a small plane crash on Saturday, the institute said.
Rabbi Aaron Panken was 53 years old and the 12th president in the school’s 143-year history. He was widely known as a leader of Reform Judaism and led the Jewish Institute’s four campuses.
The... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/president-of-hebrew-union-college-dies-in-plane-crash-1525634677 |
President Donald Trump’s newly filed financial disclosure notes a payment connected to an adult-film actress who alleged a relationship with him more than a decade ago.
The payment is documented as a reimbursement to attorney Michael Cohen of between $100,001 and $250,000 for expenses in 2016.
The Wall Street Journal previously reported... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-discloses-reimbursement-to-michael-cohen-tied-to-stormy-daniels-payment-1526493667 |
May 7 (Reuters) - Sinolink Securities Co Ltd:
* SAYS SHAREHOLDER PLANS TO UNLOAD UP TO 2.65 PERCENT STAKE IN THE COMPANY WITHIN SIX MONTHS Source text in Chinese: bit.ly/2HYFzyf (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sinolink-securities-shareholder-to/brief-sinolink-securities-shareholder-to-unload-stake-in-the-company-idUSH9N1SA000 |
* Long-term bond yields continue to edge up, fx track EURUSD * Forint hits 10-yr low vs dlr, rebounds on dlr retreat * Czech bond yields rise, but no worries ahead of auction * Dinar trades steady, some investors see rate cut again By Sandor Peto BUDAPEST, May 9 (Reuters) - Central European government bond yields continued to rise on Wednesday as a strong dollar and rising U.S. interest rates fuelled bond selling in emerging markets. "The United States pulling out of the (international nuclear (deal) with Iran does not help sentiment either," one Budapest-based fixed income trader said. The bond sell-off which mainly affects longer maturities may curb demand at Hungary's bi-weekly auction on Thursday, even though it comes in "average low" turnover, and with yields rising less than in other emerging markets, the trader said. Hungary's 10-year yield, rising 5 basis points on Wednesday to 2.73 percent, is up by about 20 basis points this month, much less than Turkey's 150 basis point increase and about in line with Romania's and Russia's rise. In Central Europe, the most liquid Polish market has been hit hardest. Its 10-year yield rose 5 basis points to 3.3 percent on Wednesday, up 27 basis points this month, about the same as South Africa's and Mexico's rise. Regional currencies reversed an early weakening. The zloty, the forint and the leu firmed by 0.1-0.2 percent against the euro, closely tracking the euro/dollar cross, with the Hungarian unit rebounding from a 10-month low hit in early trade. Czech markets were closed on Tuesday due to a holiday. Despite this, five- and 10-year Czech yields rose only by 3-4 basis points on Wednesday. The 10-year yield has increased only by about 6 basis points this month. This is because some foreign investors, who had stocked up on Czech bonds before the central bank last year removed its cap on the crown, are still holding onto their bond holdings, hoping for further crown gains. The central bank has said a slow crown appreciation would mean more interest rate hikes. The global bond sell-off did not trigger worries over Monday's Czech bond auction, traders said, where the government offers 15 billion crowns worth of papers, 3 billion crowns more than originally planned. The Czech crown hit multi-month lows against the euro last week, like its regional peers, but it gets some protection from expectations for continuing central bank rate hikes, just like the leu. Hungary's and Poland's central banks have signalled that they could keep their record low rates on hold for years. Hungary's inflation figures released on Wednesday are unlikely to change that, with the annual rate rising to 2.3 percent in March from 2 percent in April, as expected. Eleven out 12 analysts in a Reuters poll expect Serbia's central bank to keep rates on hold at its meeting on Thursday. But the bank unexpectedly cut its rates at its last two meetings to rein the strong dinar, and could repeat that, Raiffeisen analyst Imre Stephan said in a note. The dinar traded steady at 118.14 versus the euro. CEE SNAPSHOT AT MARKETS 1017 CET CURRENCI ES Latest Previous Daily Change bid close change in 2018 Czech <EURCZK= 25.5860 25.5910 +0.02% -0.17% crown > Hungary <EURHUF= 314.7500 315.2100 +0.15% -1.22% forint > Polish <EURPLN= 4.2805 4.2895 +0.21% -2.43% zloty > Romanian <EURRON= 4.6460 4.6520 +0.13% +0.73% leu > Croatian <EURHRK= 7.3900 7.3935 +0.05% +0.55% kuna > Serbian <EURRSD= 118.1400 118.1600 +0.02% +0.30% dinar > Note: calculated from 1800 CET daily change Latest Previous Daily Change close change in 2018 Prague 1103.30 1109.040 -0.52% +2.33% 0 Budapest 37250.33 37164.55 +0.23% -5.40% Warsaw 2248.22 2236.40 +0.53% -8.65% Bucharest 8780.78 8762.92 +0.20% +13.25% Ljubljana <.SBITOP 842.58 843.70 -0.13% +4.49% > Zagreb 1824.26 1824.75 -0.03% -1.01% Belgrade <.BELEX1 737.17 736.73 +0.06% -2.98% 5> Sofia 651.82 653.01 -0.18% -3.78% BONDS Yield Yield Spread Daily (bid) change vs Bund change in Czech spread Republic 2-year <CZ2YT=R 0.8070 0.1100 +136bps +10bps R> 5-year <CZ5YT=R 1.2760 0.0410 +132bps +3bps R> 10-year <CZ10YT= 1.7890 0.0310 +121bps +1bps RR> Poland 2-year <PL2YT=R 1.5820 0.0150 +214bps +1bps R> 5-year <PL5YT=R 2.5660 0.0430 +261bps +3bps R> 10-year <PL10YT= 3.2880 0.0320 +271bps +2bps RR> FORWARD RATE AGREEMEN T 3x6 6x9 9x12 3M interban k Czech Rep 0.97 1.08 1.18 0.90 <PRIBOR= > Hungary 0.13 0.20 0.27 0.05 Poland 1.73 1.77 1.80 1.70 Note: FRA are for ask prices Quote: s | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/easteurope-markets/cee-markets-bond-yields-rise-currencies-track-euro-dollar-rebound-idUSL8N1SG3A6 |
May 23 (Reuters) - Rivian:
* RIVIAN, AN AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY COMPANY, SAYS SECURED $200 MILLION DEBT FINANCING FROM STANDARD CHARTERED BANK Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-rivian-says-secured-200-mln-debt-f/brief-rivian-says-secured-200-mln-debt-financing-from-standard-chartered-bank-idUSFWN1SU0WD |
(Reuters) - Australian gas producer Santos Ltd ( STO.AX ) said on Thursday it expects to complete talks with suitor Harbour Energy within a few weeks, as the U.S. private equity-backed firm finalizes due diligence on its $10.4 billion takeover offer.
Chairman Keith Spence said there was no certainty that the Harbour proposal, Santos’ fourth unsolicited bid since August 2017, would lead to a binding offer that would win the support of the board.
“I expect the due diligence and engagement process will be concluded within a few weeks,” Spence told the company’s annual general meeting.
Harbour Energy approached Santos in April with a takeover offer of $4.98 a share, which at the time was worth A$6.50. Thanks to a rise in the U.S. dollar against the Australian dollar in recent weeks, the proposed bid is now worth A$6.64.
Santos on Thursday also said it would sell its non-core Asian assets to London-listed Ophir Energy Plc ( OPHR.L ) for $221 million, and said it plans to restart paying dividends if business trends and oil price gains are sustained.
Under the Ophir Energy deal, the firm will exit Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangladesh. Funds from the sale will be used to help pay down debt, which stood at $2.5 billion at the end of March.
Santos said its share of production from the assets being sold in first quarter of 2018 was 1.4 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The company said it expects to meet its target to reduce debt to $2 billion early in the second half of 2018, more than a year ahead of plan, which should help it revive its dividend.
“If the performance of the business continues on this trend and current oil price levels are sustained, the Board will look to restore dividends based on 2018 financial results,” Spence told shareholders.
Reporting by Devika Syamnath and Aaron Saldanha in Bengaluru; editing by Richard Pullin
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-santos-divestiture-ophir/australias-santos-expects-harbour-talks-to-wrap-up-in-a-few-weeks-idUSKBN1I4040 |
NEW YORK, May 18 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 ended lower on Friday after a choppy trading session as bank and chipmaker stocks weighed on the index and investors grappled with U.S.-China trade talks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.93 points, or 0.01 percent, to 24,715.91, the S&P 500 lost 7.12 points, or 0.26 percent, to 2,713.01 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 28.13 points, or 0.38 percent, to 7,354.34. (Reporting by Stephen Culp Editing by James Dalgleish)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-stocks/us-stocks-snapshot-sp-500-falls-as-trade-worries-weigh-banks-chip-stocks-drop-idUSZXN0RAV2I |
Nordstrom Inc. reported weaker same-store sales growth than expected, while net sales rose in its latest quarter as the retailer continues to invest in new market opportunities and its e-commerce business to drive customer engagement.
The Seattle-based company reported net sales for the first quarter jumped 5.8%, to $3.47 billion, primarily because of the shift of a Nordstrom Rewards loyalty event into the first quarter compared with the second quarter last year, it said Thursday afternoon.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/nordstrom-reports-weaker-same-store-sales-growth-net-sales-increase-1526590535 |
May 9, 2018 / 6:22 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Imperial Brands to sell assets, simplify business Martinne Geller 3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Gauloises cigarettes-maker Imperial Brands ( IMB.L ) said it will sell businesses and roll out new vaping products in a drive to improve performance in a declining tobacco market.
The British tobacco company, which also makes Kool and Winston cigarettes, reported slightly better-than-expected first-half results on Wednesday and affirmed its full-year outlook, predicting improvement in the second half of the year.
The upturn will be helped by the roll-out of new vaping products as part of its blu e-cigarette brand. Traditional cigarette sales volumes are declining across markets as more people quit the deadly habit.
Imperial shares, which had fallen by 30 percent over the past year, were up nearly 4 percent at 0830 GMT.
Chief Executive Alison Cooper declined to describe what particular areas were ripe for divestitures, but said Imperial was initially targeting proceeds of up to 2 billion pounds within the next 12 to 24 months.
“This will further simplify the business, enhance performance and release capital to pay down debt, deliver returns to our shareholders and, where appropriate, invest in our growth agenda,” Cooper said.
She said there was no change to her view on the company’s overall plans and strategy and denied Imperial was exploring “strategic options,” as described recently in a UK newspaper.
The upcoming divestitures were welcomed by the market.
“We have previously highlighted the need for action of this kind ... and are pleased to see the company moving in this direction,” said Investec analysts.
Sales and profits in the first half of the year fell, hurt by a tough pricing environment and overall market declines, but results were slightly ahead of estimates.
Revenue was 3.53 billion pounds, slightly ahead of analysts’ consensus estimate of 3.50 billion, according to a company-supplied consensus.
Reported sales volumes were down 2.1 percent, outperforming the industry in the markets it operates in, the company said.
Imperial’s adjusted operating profit was 1.62 billion pounds, ahead of analysts’ estimates for 1.52 billion pounds.
Earnings per share were 114.3 pence.
“We are on track to deliver on our full year expectations,” said Chairman Mark Williamson.
Imperial is targeting constant currency revenue and earnings per share growth within its medium-term guidance, which calls for revenue growth of 1 to 4 percent and adjusted earnings per share growth of 4 to 8 percent. The company is also aiming to grow dividends by 10 percent. Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Jason Neely and Alexandra Hudson | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-imperial-brands-results/imperial-brands-first-half-results-ahead-of-estimates-idUKKBN1IA0MV |
May 1 (Reuters) - Wabash National Corp:
* ORATION ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS; INCREASES FULL-YEAR 2018 GUIDANCE ON CONTINUED STRONG DEMAND
* Q1 ADJUSTED NON-GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.28
* Q1 SALES $491 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $470.5 MILLION * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.33 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* INCREASES FULL-YEAR 2018 GUIDANCE FOR NEW TRAILER SHIPMENTS TO 58,000 TO 62,000 TRAILERS
* WABASH NATIONAL - INCREASES FY2018 GUIDANCE FOR GAAP AND NON-GAAP EPS TO $2.01 TO $2.13/DILUTED SHARE AND $1.94 TO $2.06/DILUTED SHARE, RESPECTIVELY
* TRAILER ORDERS RECEIVED DURING QUARTER WITHIN OUR COMMERCIAL TRAILER SEGMENT REMAINED STRONG Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-wabash-national-corp-reports-q1-ep/brief-wabash-national-corp-reports-q1-eps-0-35-idUSASC09YSO |
PRAGUE, May 28 (Reuters) - A unit of China’s state-owned CITIC has taken over the chairmanship position at CEFC Europe, a Czech-based part of the troubled Chinese conglomerate CEFC China Energy, CEFC Europe said on Monday.
The firm said Ren Xia of Rainbow Wisdom, a unit of CITIC, had been appointed to the board and elected as chairwoman.
The move showed CITIC was going ahead with a plan to take at least partial control over the CEFC assets.
On Friday, CITIC paid around 12 billion crowns ($542.57 million) in debt on behalf of the CEFC group to Czech banking and private equity group J&T.
CEFC Europe had said earlier CITIC would take 49 percent interest in the Czech assets. A CEFC Europe spokesman said on Monday he could not confirm what would be the final shape of the deal.
The board replacement means that a crisis management put in by creditors J&T was leaving the firm. ($1 = 22.1170 Czech crowns) (Reporting by Jan Lopatka)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/china-cefc-czech/cefc-europe-says-citic-unit-taking-board-chairmanship-in-company-idUSP7N1NQ053 |
RALEIGH, N.C. (Reuters) - Thousands of North Carolina teachers swarmed the state legislature on Wednesday to call for pay raises and more spending on schools, making the state the country’s sixth to be roiled by educators demanding better funding.
Hundreds of teachers in red T-shirts filled a spectators gallery and chanted “remember, remember, we vote in November” as the Republican-controlled General Assembly started its session.
Teachers filled a plaza outside the legislative building amid chants of “Red for Ed” backed by drums and a trombone. The protest prompted at least 38 districts, representing more than half the state’s 1.5 million public school students, to cancel classes.
The protest continues a wave of walkouts this year by teachers in West Virginia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado who said lawmakers have failed to adequately pay teachers and provide for schools.
Carolynn Phillips, a middle school arts teacher from coastal Brunswick County who was named the county’s Teacher of the Year for 2018, called the protest a cry for respect from teachers whose pay ranks toward the bottom of U.S. states.
“We want to talk not just about compensation, but giving more resources to teachers who are asked to do so much more than teach,” Phillips said after meeting lawmakers.
The North Carolina Association of Educators is calling for per-student spending and teacher pay to be raised to at least the national average, and it wants lawmakers to restore funding for public schools to pre-recession levels.
After hearing teachers say they were working second jobs to make ends meet, Democratic Representative Deb Butler said children would suffer if the state could not keep good teachers.
“That just tells me all I need to know,” Butler said.
But Republican legislative leaders have said this year’s planned salary increase of 6 percent would mark the fifth consecutive annual increase.
“According to the NEA, North Carolina Ranked #2 in the US for fastest rising teacher pay in 2017,” Republican Senator Phil Berger, president pro tempore, said in a comment on Twitter posted during the march.
According to the National Education Association, North Carolina ranks 39th among the 50 states for average teacher salary, well behind the U.S. average of $58,353 in 2016.
Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s proposed budget calls for an 8 percent average pay hike and putting a $2 billion bond issue for school construction on the ballot.
Lawmakers have boosted education spending following the protests in West Virginia, Oklahoma, Arizona and Colorado. Kentucky’s governor approved a pension change that teachers had roundly rejected.
Reporting by Marti Maguire and Kirk Bado; writing by Ian Simpson; editing by Scott Malone and Tom Brown
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-north-carolina-education/north-carolina-teachers-rally-for-more-funds-in-latest-u-s-school-walk-out-idUSKCN1IH15W |
Drug companies that for years shipped hundreds of opioid pills per person to small towns in West Virginia are set to face a grilling Tuesday from lawmakers investigating the causes of surging addiction.
At least one company official is expected to acknowledge at a House hearing that the industry did play a role in shipping too many pills and to say he regrets it.
“With... RELATED VIDEO The Way to Save Opioid Addicts | Moving Upstream Addiction experts are in wide agreement on the most effective way to help opioid addicts: Medication-assisted treatment. But most inpatient rehab facilities in the U.S. don’t offer this option. WSJ’s Jason Bellini reports on why the medication option is controversial, and in many places, hard to come by. Image: Ryno Eksteen and Thomas Williams | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/opioid-shipments-to-small-towns-come-under-spotlight-at-hearing-1525777201 |
May 18 (Reuters) - Speculators' net bearish bets on U.S. 10-year Treasury note futures fell to a one-month low earlier this week, as the 10-year yield began setting a series of seven-year highs, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data released on Friday. The amount of speculators' bearish, or short, positions in 10-year Treasury futures exceeded bullish, or long, positions by 381,922 contracts on May 15, according to the CFTC's latest Commitments of Traders data. A week earlier, speculators held 408,629 net short positions in 10-year T-note futures. Below is a table of the speculative positions in Treasury futures on the Chicago Board of Trade and in Eurodollar futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in the latest week: U.S. 2-year T-notes (Contracts of $200,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 456,847 431,577 Short 487,876 485,833 Net -31,029 -54,256 U.S. 5-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 541,907 544,450 Short 1,184,988 1,201,358 Net -643,081 -656,908 U.S. 10-year T-notes (Contracts of $100,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 706,685 697,678 Short 1,088,607 1,106,307 Net -381,922 -408,629 U.S. T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 148,968 143,269 Short 137,114 137,034 Net 11,854 6,235 U.S. Ultra T-bonds (Contracts of $100,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 83,571 66,749 Short 271,475 244,186 Net -187,904 -177,437 Eurodollar (Contracts of $1,000,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 906,344 961,731 Short 4,709,472 5,002,025 Net -3,803,128 -4,040,294 Fed funds (Contracts of $1,000,000) 15 May 2018 Prior week week Long 288,028 268,470 Short 221,207 222,037 Net 66,821 46,433 (Reporting by Richard Leong Editing by James Dalgleish)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-bonds-cftc/speculative-u-s-10-year-t-note-net-shorts-hit-one-month-low-cftc-idUSEMNI5G0TH |
May 25, 2018 / 8:16 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago U.S. will add 15,000 visas for seasonal non-farm workers - DHS Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration will make available an additional 15,000 H-2B visas, meant for temporary non-agricultural workers, for this fiscal year, the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on Friday. FILE PHOTO: A plane is seen during take off in New Jersey behind the Statue of Liberty in New York's Harbor as seen from the Brooklyn borough of New York February 20, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
The U.S. government had already issued 66,000 such visas this year, but businesses had complained that they had not received enough visas to operate, particularly during the busy summer tourist season, and were on the verge of shutting down.
“The limitations on H-2B visas were originally meant to protect American workers, but when we enter a situation where the program unintentionally harms American businesses it needs to be reformed,” DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in the statement. Reporting by Yeganeh Torbati; Editing by James Dalgleish | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-visas/u-s-will-add-15000-visas-for-seasonal-non-farm-workers-dhs-idINKCN1IQ2YV |
TORONTO, May 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hudbay Minerals Inc. (“Hudbay” or the “company”) (TSX:HBM)(NYSE:HBM) today released its first quarter 2018 financial results. All amounts are in U.S. dollars, unless otherwise noted.
Summary:
Net profit of $41.4 million and earnings per share of $0.16 in the first quarter of 2018, compared to a net loss of $10.0 million (restated) and loss per share of $0.04 (restated) in the first quarter of 2017 Operating cash flow 1 of $131.8 million in the first quarter of 2018, a 64% increase from the first quarter of 2017 Production of copper, gold and silver in concentrate increased by approximately 13%, 50% and 32%, respectively, in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017 as a result of higher milled throughput at all operations Reduced net debt 2 position by $37.7 million and improved liquidity during the first quarter 2018; as at March 31, 2018, Hudbay had net debt of $585.4 million and total available liquidity of $810 million, including $392.8 million in cash Consolidated cash cost 2 , net of by-product credits, of $0.98 per pound of copper, an 11% increase from the first quarter of 2017 Consolidated all-in sustaining cash cost 2 , net of by-product credits, of $1.45 per pound of copper in the first quarter of 2018, down slightly from $1.46 in the first quarter of 2017 Peru precious metals production expected to be 15,000 ounces lower than initial guidance as a result of anticipated delay in mining of Pampacancha, with the majority of the estimated $45 million of Peru growth capital expected to be deferred to 2019; expected to meet all other production and cost guidance for 2018 Test mining of Lalor gold Zone 25 has confirmed the possibility of utilizing selective methods for the gold zone to mine fewer tonnes at a higher grade than reported in the current mineral resource estimate; trade-off studies to assess the mining and processing options for the gold mineral resources at Lalor are ongoing
Net profit and earnings per share in the first quarter of 2018 were $41.4 million and $0.16, respectively, compared to a net loss and loss per share of $10.0 million (restated) and $0.04 (restated), respectively, in the first quarter of 2017.
In the first quarter of 2018, operating cash flow before changes in non‑cash working capital increased to $131.8 million, compared to $80.6 million in the first quarter of 2017, mainly as a result of higher copper sales volumes and higher realized prices of all metals.
“We began the first few months of the year much like we ended last year, by continuing to grow our positive free cash flow and reduce debt,” said Alan Hair, president and chief executive officer. “In 2018, we will look to further increase operating cash flow and reduce net debt. We are also focused on completing the ramp-up of base metal ore production at Lalor and beginning production from the gold zones, both of which progressed well during the first quarter of 2018, as well as moving Rosemont through the permitting process.”
Net profit and earnings per share in the first quarter of 2018 were affected by, among other things, the following items:
Pre-tax gain
(loss) After-tax gain
(loss) Per share
gain (loss) ($ millions) ($ millions) ($/share) Changes in accounting standards (3.4 ) (3.8 ) (0.01 ) Foreign exchange gain 4.0 3.4 0.01 Mark-to-market adjustments of various items 10.2 8.5 0.03 Pampacancha delivery obligation (7.2 ) (7.2 ) (0.03 ) Non-cash deferred tax adjustments - (2.8 ) (0.01 ) Effective January 1, 2018, a new revenue accounting standard issued by the International Accounting Standards Board was implemented and applied retrospectively. Under the new standard, Hudbay’s stream agreements with Wheaton Precious Metals now incorporate a significant financing component. The accretion of financing expense on the deferred revenue balance increases the deferred revenue balance over time and the resulting higher deferred revenue balance is amortized to revenue, resulting in higher revenue per ounce of metal sold under the stream, and higher finance expense. The impact to the first quarter of 2018 is an increase to gross margin of $12.8 million, offset by an increase in finance expenses of $16.2 million. The net impact to after-tax earnings per share is a loss of $0.01. All of these changes are non-cash.
During the first quarter of 2018, Hudbay recognized an obligation to deliver additional precious metal credits to Wheaton Precious Metals as a result of the company’s expectation that mining at the Pampacancha deposit will not begin until 2019.
Compared to the first quarter of 2017, production of copper, gold and silver in concentrate in the first quarter of 2018 increased as a result of higher milled throughput at all of Hudbay’s operations together with higher grades for precious metals in Manitoba. Zinc production decreased by 6% as Lalor zinc grades have declined in line with the mine plan.
In the first quarter of 2018, consolidated cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, was $0.98, an increase compared to $0.88 in the same period last year. The increase is mainly due to increased operating costs at Hudbay’s 777 and Reed mines in Manitoba as the mines approach the later stages of their lives and reduced capitalized stripping at Constancia, resulting in higher operating expense. Incorporating sustaining capital, capitalized exploration, royalties and corporate selling and administrative expenses, consolidated all-in sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, in the first quarter of 2018 was $1.45, down slightly from $1.46 in the first quarter of 2017.
Cash and cash equivalents increased by $36.3 million during the first quarter of 2018 to $392.8 million at March 31, 2018. This increase was mainly a result of cash generated from operating activities of $131.4 million. This inflow was partly offset by $48.7 million of financing expenditures primarily driven by $37.4 million in interest paid on outstanding debt, and $46.0 million of investing activities primarily at Hudbay’s Peru and Manitoba operations.
Net debt declined by $37.7 million from December 31, 2017 to $585.4 million at March 31, 2018, as a result of cash flow from Hudbay’s operations. At March 31, 2018, total liquidity, including cash and available credit facilities, was $810.0 million, up from $777.9 million at December 31, 2017.
Financial Condition ($000s) Mar. 31, 2018 Dec. 31, 2017
(Restated) Cash and cash equivalents 392,796 356,499 Total long-term debt 978,190 979,575 Net debt 1 585,394 623,076 Working capital 335,800 251,388 Total assets 4,690,748 4,728,016 Equity 2,145,321 2,112,345 1 Net debt is a non-IFRS financial performance measure with no standardized definition under IFRS. For further information, please see page 6 of this news release.
Financial Performance Three months ended ($000s except per share and cash cost amounts) Mar. 31 2018
2017
(Restated) Revenue 386,656 261,767 Cost of sales 265,885 205,121 Profit before tax 73,103 4,637 Profit (loss) for the period 41,445 (10,029) Basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share 0.16 (0.04) Operating cash flow before change in non-cash working capital 131,791 80,595 Production and Cost Performance Three months ended Three months ended Mar. 31, 2018 Mar. 31, 2017 Peru Manitoba Total Peru Manitoba Total Contained metal in concentrate produced 1 Copper tonnes 31,551 7,655 39,206 27,211 7,520 34,731 Gold oz 5,418 25,675 31,093 3,935 16,788 20,723 Silver oz 645,886 331,252 977,138 539,534 198,360 737,894 Zinc tonnes - 28,782 28,782 - 30,570 30,570 Payable metal in concentrate sold Copper tonnes 29,568 6,938 36,506 18,565 7,850 26,415 Gold oz 4,907 21,150 26,057 1,475 23,995 25,470 Silver oz 595,630 290,826 886,456 383,263 293,302 676,565 Refined zinc 2 tonnes - 25,452 25,452 - 26,832 26,832 Cash cost 3 $/lb 1.32 (0.38) 0.98 1.30 (0.66) 0.88 Sustaining cash cost 3 $/lb 1.47 1.03 1.61 0.28 All-in sustaining cash cost 3 $/lb 1.45 1.46 1 Metal reported in concentrate is prior to deductions associated with smelter contract terms.
2 Includes refined zinc metal sold and payable zinc in concentrate sold
3 Cash cost, sustaining cash cost and all-in sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, are non-IFRS financial performance measures with no standardized definition under IFRS. For further information, please see page 6 of this news release. Peru Operations Review
During the first quarter of 2018, the Peru operations produced 31,551 tonnes of copper, which was approximately 16% higher than production in the first quarter of 2017 as a result of improved ore throughput, offset by lower grades in line with the mine plan. Copper equivalent production in the first quarter of 2018 was higher than in the same period in 2017 as there were higher gold grades and higher mill throughput, partially offset by lower copper grades.
Recoveries of copper, gold and silver were slightly higher in the first quarter of 2018, compared to the same period in 2017. Improved recoveries were due to continued plant optimization and processing less transitional ore types.
Combined mine, mill and G&A unit operating costs in the first quarter of 2018 were 3% lower than the same period in 2017. The lower combined unit costs are mostly related to higher mill throughput partially offset by higher mining costs due to a decrease in the mining costs that are capitalized.
Cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $1.32, an increase of 2% from the same period in 2017 mainly as a result of lower capitalized mining costs and higher freight and treatment and refining costs, partially offset by higher copper production and by-product credits.
Sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $1.47, a decrease of 9% from the same period in 2017 as a result of the factors noted above as well as reduced sustaining capital expenditures in heavy civil works.
Hudbay completed a twin hole drill program in the fourth quarter of 2017 that confirmed the extent of the positive grade bias that has existed since the commencement of production at Constancia. The company also constructed a new resource model that formed the basis for a new mine plan and technical report for Constancia. The 2018 Technical Report includes an updated mine plan showing an increase to the total metal contained in the estimated mineral reserves. The new mine plan also reflects updated throughput, recoveries and capital and operating cost assumptions for the remaining life of mine at Constancia.
The 2018 Technical Report assumes that mining of the high-grade Pampacancha satellite deposit will commence in 2019, which is one year later than contemplated by the previous technical report. Although negotiations to secure surface rights over the Pampacancha deposit continue to progress and Hudbay has been granted access to the land to carry out early-works activities, the company anticipates a one year delay to mining at Pampacancha. In the interim, the company will continue to mine higher-grade ore from the main Constancia pit.
Manitoba Operations Review
During the first quarter of 2018, the Manitoba operations produced 28,782 tonnes of zinc, 7,655 tonnes of copper and 30,407 ounces of gold-equivalent precious metals. Production of gold and silver was higher than the same quarter in 2017 by 53% and 67%, respectively, as a result of higher precious metal grades at both Lalor and 777. Zinc production was 6% lower compared to the same period of 2017 as a result of lower grades at Lalor in line with the mine plan. Copper production remained consistent compared to the same period in 2017. Production of all metals in Manitoba for full year 2018 is forecast to be within the guidance ranges.
Ore mined at Hudbay’s Manitoba operations during the first quarter of 2018 increased by 2% compared to the same period in 2017 as a result of higher production at the Lalor and Reed mines, partially offset by lower production at the 777 mine. Unit operating costs for all mines for the first quarter of 2018 increased by 23% compared to the same period in 2017. The increase is a function of higher mobile and fixed infrastructure maintenance costs and higher expensed development costs.
Ore mined at Lalor increased as the ramp-up of production continued and the mine transitioned to higher gold and copper grades with lower zinc as outlined in the life of mine plan. Higher unit costs reflect increased cement rock filling, extensive cable bolting as well as continued operating and capital development that are required to increase Lalor’s production rate to 4,500 tonnes per day, which is on track to be completed by the third quarter of 2018. The commissioning of the paste backfill plant, which is on track for mid-2018, is expected to improve scoop availability and provide flexibility to the mine planning and sequencing.
The Reed mine maintained consistent production and benefited from higher copper grades as Hudbay mines out Zone 10 at depth. Hudbay is no longer capitalizing development costs at Reed with the pending closure of the mine in the third quarter of 2018, resulting in higher unit operating costs compared to prior periods.
Ore mined at 777 declined as ground conditions warranted rehabilitation of headings and a more conservative stope sequence in order to adapt to more challenging operating conditions as the mine ages. Higher 777 unit operating costs were driven by higher mobile and fixed infrastructure maintenance costs and ground rehabilitation work completed in the quarter, together with the impact of lower production.
Ore processed in Flin Flon in the first quarter of 2018 was 5% higher than the same period in 2017 as a result of increased ore availability due to the transfer of excess Lalor ore to the Flin Flon concentrator. Copper and precious metals recoveries were higher in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter in 2017 as a result of higher head grades. Unit operating costs at the Flin Flon concentrator were 9% higher in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 as a result of increased material handling costs driven by the management of large stockpiles, and initial difficulties in processing Lalor ore through the Flin Flon concentrator crushing plant due to the impact of cold winter weather. Ore processed at the Stall concentrator in the first quarter of 2018 was 5% higher compared to the same period in 2017 as a result of improved mechanical reliability. Unit operating costs at the Stall concentrator were 24% lower in the first quarter of 2018 compared to the first quarter of 2017 as damage to the crusher in December 2016 had necessitated the use of higher-cost temporary crushing facilities during the first quarter of 2017.
Manitoba combined mine, mill and G&A unit operating costs in the first quarter of 2018 were 16% higher than in the same period in 2017 as a result of higher costs at Hudbay’s mines and the Flin Flon concentrator. Combined unit costs are expected to be within the guidance range for 2018, as the higher costs in the first quarter were caused in part by the colder than normal winter.
Cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, in the first quarter of 2018 was negative $0.38. This was higher compared to the same period in 2017, primarily as a result of the factors affecting unit operating costs described above. Sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced, net of by-product credits, in the first quarter of 2018 was $1.03, compared to $0.28 in the prior year period as a result of the same factors described above and planned increased sustaining and exploration capital spending.
Lalor Gold Zone Update
The Lalor mine plan for 2018 includes some mining of the gold zone for processing at Flin Flon, which was included in Hudbay’s precious metals guidance issued in January. Trade-off studies have been ongoing in order to assess the mining and processing options for the gold mineral resources at Lalor. Test mining of Zone 25 began in February 2018 in order to better understand the characteristics of the gold zone and to inform the evaluation of options for its processing. The test mining has confirmed the possibility of utilizing selective methods to mine fewer tonnes at a higher grade than reported in the current mineral resource estimate. Year to date, Hudbay has mined 4,500 tonnes at 14.5 g/t, confirming the opportunity to operate successfully at a higher cut-off grade. A batch sample of gold-rich ore sent to the Flin Flon concentrator in late 2017 achieved gold recoveries of 65%. Currently, the gold ore is being shipped to Flin Flon for processing.
In parallel, Hudbay is continuing exploration in an attempt to further extend gold- and copper-rich veins down plunge from the existing resources and targeting possible extensions of the base metals lenses both up and down plunge from known resources. Highlights from the drill program that focused on extensions of gold- and copper-rich veins, each of which is outside of the current reserve, are provided in the below table.
Hole ID From
(m) To
(m) Intercept
(m) Depth
(m) Estimated true
width(m) 1 Cu
(%) 2 Au
(g/t) 2 189W01 1197.0 1205.0 8.0 1154 7.1 0.1 9.3 193W01 1041.2 1046.5 5.4 1028 4.1 1.1 2.8 267W01 1120.8 1127.2 6.3 1098 4.5 2.7 11.3 273 1211.8 1215.8 4 1202 2.9 1.9 1.2 283 1242.7 1249.0 6.3 1240 4.2 7.8 5.9 283W02 1270.8 1276.3 5.5 1263 4.1 7.8 2.5 296 1227.5 1233.0 5.5 1184 4.2 5.2 5.6 296W01 1220.5 1228.3 7.8 1175 6.1 3.7 5.4 1 True widths are estimated based on drill angle and interpreted geometry of mineralization.
2 All gold and copper values are uncut.
In 2018, Hudbay will continue to conduct test mining of the gold lenses, which will support continued trade-off studies to assess the mining and processing options for Lalor gold and advance the permitting process for the potential refurbishment of the New Britannia mill. Ongoing exploration is targeted at converting gold mineral resources to mineral reserves at Lalor and greenfield gold exploration efforts in Snow Lake.
Rosemont Developments
Work continues with the U.S. Forest Service on the draft Mine Plan of Operations, which is progressing as planned. The remaining key federal permit outstanding is the Section 404 Water Permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Opponents of the Rosemont project have filed lawsuits against the U.S. Forest Service challenging, among other things, the issuance of the Final Record of Decision in respect of Rosemont. Hudbay is confident that Rosemont’s permits will continue to be upheld.
Outlook
Given our expectation that mining at Pampacancha will not begin until 2019, we expect that Peru precious metals production will be 50,000 to 70,000 ounces in 2018, a decrease of 20% compared to our initial 2018 guidance issued on January 17, 2018 and consistent with the 25% sensitivity noted in our initial guidance. 3 The majority of the estimated $45 million of Peru growth capital, which includes expenditures for developing the Pampacancha deposit and acquiring surface rights from the local community, is expected to be deferred to 2019. Based on results to date, we expect to meet all other production and cost guidance for 2018.
Non-IFRS Financial Performance Measures
Net debt is shown in this news release because it is a performance measure used by the company to assess its financial position. Cash cost, sustaining and all-in sustaining cash cost per pound of copper produced are shown because the company believes they help investors and management assess the performance of its operations, including the margin generated by the operations and the company. These measures do not have a meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers. These measures should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for measures prepared in accordance with IFRS and are not necessarily indicative of operating profit or cash flow from operations as determined under IFRS. Other companies may calculate these measures differently. For further details on these measures, including reconciliations to the most comparable IFRS measures, please refer to page 27 of Hudbay’s management’s discussion and analysis for the three months ended March 31, 2018 available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at www.sec.gov .
Website Links
Hudbay:
www.hudbay.com
Management’s Discussion and Analysis:
http://www.hudbayminerals.com/files/doc_financials/2018/Q1/MDA181.pdf
Financial Statements:
http://www.hudbayminerals.com/files/doc_financials/2018/Q1/FS181.pdf
Conference Call and Webcast
Date: Thursday, May 3, 2018 Time: 10 a.m. ET Webcast: www.hudbay.com Dial in: 416-849-1847 or 1-866-530-1554 Qualified Person
The technical and scientific information in this news release related to the Constancia mine and Rosemont project has been approved by Cashel Meagher, P. Geo, Hudbay’s Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. The technical and scientific information related to the Manitoba sites and projects (including the Lalor gold zone) contained in this news release has been approved by Robert Carter, P. Eng, Hudbay’s General Manager Mining Operations, Manitoba Business Unit. Messrs. Meagher and Carter are qualified persons pursuant to NI 43‑101. For a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral reserves and resources, as well as data verification procedures and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates of scientific and technical information may be affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant factors, please see the Technical Reports for the company’s material properties as filed by Hudbay on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .
Additional Information – Lalor Gold Zone Exploration Data
Information on the data verification performed on the exploration data related to the Lalor gold zone is contained in Hudbay’s most recently filed annual information form, dated March 29, 2018, and the current technical report for Lalor, dated March 30, 2017, each of which is filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com . Quality Assurance/Quality Control procedures for the Lalor exploration program include the systematic insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates into the core sample strings. The results of the control samples are evaluated on a regular basis with batches and are re-analysed and/or resubmitted as needed. There are no drilling, sampling, recovery or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the preliminary results.
Due to the length of the Lalor gold zone drillholes and the numerous downhole deviations in azimuth and dip, the azimuth and dip of the drill hole locations has not been reported. Instead, the table below provides the coordinates, azimuth and dip of the mineralized intercepts that have been reported in this news release.
From To Azimuth at
intercept Dip at
intercept Core
Size Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Easting Northing Elevation 189W01 426,663 6,081,675 4,149 426,660 6,081,675 4,142 272 -63 NQ 193W01 427,051 6,081,272 4,273 427,051 6,081,270 4,268 185 -76 NQ 267W01 427,185 6,081,266 4,204 427,183 6,081,266 4,197 242 -79 NQ 273 427,163 6,081,570 4,101 427,162 6,081,570 4,098 206 -79 NQ 283 427,223 6,081,530 4,064 427,222 6,081,530 4,057 248 -83 NQ 283W02 427,263 6,081,461 4,040 427,263 6,081,460 4,035 186 -77 NQ 296 427,251 6,081,311 4,121 427,251 6,081,310 4,115 154 -76 NQ 296W01 427,243 6,081,301 4,130 427,244 6,081,299 4,123 163 -73 NQ Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. All information contained in this news release, other than statements of current and historical fact, is forward-looking information. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “budget”, “guidance”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “strategy”, “target”, “intends”, “objective”, “goal”, “understands”, “anticipates” and “believes” (and variations of these or similar words) and statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “should”, “might” “occur” or “be achieved” or “will be taken” (and variations of these or similar expressions). All of the forward-looking information in this news release is qualified by this cautionary note.
Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, production, cost and capital and exploration expenditure guidance, anticipated production at Hudbay’s mines and processing facilities, the anticipated timing, cost and benefits of developing the Rosemont project and Pampacancha deposit, the anticipated impact of any delays to the start of mining the Pampacancha deposit, the anticipated results of litigation challenging the Rosemont permitting process, anticipated exploration plans, including the planned exploration and development strategy for the Lalor gold zones, the exploration potential at Lalor, including the possibility of converting inferred mineral resources to higher confidence categories and establishing additional mineral resources through testing the continuity of the mineralized zones, the anticipated continued success of utilizing a selective mining method to mine the high grade gold zones, anticipated mine plans, anticipated metals prices and the anticipated sensitivity of the company’s financial performance to metals prices, events that may affect its operations and development projects, the permitting, development and financing of the Rosemont project, the potential to optimize the scale of production at Lalor and to efficiently process the excess base metals ore and initial gold zone ore production at the Flin Flon mill, anticipated cash flows from operations and related liquidity requirements, the anticipated effect of external factors on revenue, such as commodity prices, estimation of mineral reserves and resources, mine life projections, reclamation costs, economic outlook, government regulation of mining operations, and business and acquisition strategies. Forward-looking information is not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Forward-looking information is based on, among other things, opinions, assumptions, estimates and analyses that, while considered reasonable by the company at the date the forward-looking information is provided, inherently are subject to significant risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results and events to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information.
The material factors or assumptions that Hudbay identified and were applied by the company in drawing conclusions or making forecasts or projections set out in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to:
the success of mining, processing, exploration and development activities; the scheduled maintenance and availability of the processing facilities; the accuracy of geological, mining and metallurgical estimates; anticipated metals prices and the costs of production; the supply and demand for metals the company produces; the supply and availability of all forms of energy and fuels at reasonable prices; no significant unanticipated operational or technical difficulties; the execution of Hudbay’s business and growth strategies, including the success of its strategic investments and initiatives; the availability of additional financing, if needed; the ability to complete project targets on time and on budget and other events that may affect the company’s ability to develop its projects; the timing and receipt of various regulatory, governmental and joint venture partner approvals; the availability of personnel for the exploration, development and operational projects and ongoing employee relations; the ability to secure required land rights to develop the Pampacancha deposit; maintaining good relations with the communities in which the company operates, including the communities surrounding the Constancia mine and Rosemont project and First Nations communities surrounding the Lalor and Reed mines; no significant unanticipated challenges with stakeholders at the company’s various projects; no significant unanticipated events or changes relating to regulatory, environmental, health and safety matters; no contests over title to the company’s properties, including as a result of rights or claimed rights of aboriginal peoples; the timing and possible outcome of pending litigation and no significant unanticipated litigation; certain tax matters, including, but not limited to current tax laws and regulations and the refund of certain value added taxes from the Canadian and Peruvian governments; and no significant and continuing adverse changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets (including commodity prices and foreign exchange rates).
The risks, uncertainties, contingencies and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information may include, but are not limited to, risks generally associated with the mining industry, such as economic factors (including future commodity prices, currency fluctuations, energy prices and general cost escalation), uncertainties related to the development and operation of the company’s projects (including risks associated with the permitting, development and economics of the Rosemont project and related legal challenges), risks related to the exploration and development program at Lalor, including the inability to convert inferred mineral resources to higher confidence categories and to identify additional mineral resources, and risks associated with the selective mining of the high grade gold zones, risks related to the maturing nature of the 777 mine and the pending closure of the Reed mine and their impact on the related Flin Flon metallurgical complex, dependence on key personnel and employee and union relations, risks related to the schedule for mining the Pampacancha deposit (including the timing and cost of acquiring the required surface rights and the impact of any schedule delays), risks related to political or social unrest or change, risks in respect of aboriginal and community relations, rights and title claims, operational risks and hazards, including unanticipated environmental, industrial and geological events and developments and the inability to insure against all risks, failure of plant, equipment, processes, transportation and other infrastructure to operate as anticipated, compliance with government and environmental regulations, including permitting requirements and anti-bribery legislation, depletion of the company’s reserves, volatile financial markets that may affect the company’s ability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms, the failure to obtain required approvals or clearances from government authorities on a timely basis, uncertainties related to the geology, continuity, grade and estimates of mineral reserves and resources, and the potential for variations in grade and recovery rates, uncertain costs of reclamation activities, the company’s ability to comply with its pension and other post-retirement obligations, the company’s ability to abide by the covenants in its debt instruments and other material contracts, tax refunds, hedging transactions, as well as the risks discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in Hudbay’s most recent Annual Information Form.
Should one or more risk, uncertainty, contingency or other factor materialize or should any factor or assumption prove incorrect, actual results could vary materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Accordingly, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Hudbay does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and any forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.
Note to United States Investors
This news release has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the securities laws in effect in Canada, which may differ materially from the requirements of United States securities laws applicable to U.S. issuers.
About Hudbay
Hudbay (TSX:HBM)(NYSE:HBM) is an integrated mining company primarily producing copper concentrate (containing copper, gold and silver), zinc concentrate and zinc metal. With assets in North and South America, the company is focused on the discovery, production and marketing of base and precious metals. Directly and through its subsidiaries, Hudbay owns four polymetallic mines, four ore concentrators and a zinc production facility in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan (Canada) and Cusco (Peru), and a copper project in Arizona (United States). The company’s growth strategy is focused on the exploration and development of properties it already controls, as well as other mineral assets it may acquire that fit its strategic criteria. Hudbay’s vision is to be a responsible, top-tier operator of long-life, low-cost mines in the Americas. Hudbay’s mission is to create sustainable value through the acquisition, development and operation of high-quality, long-life deposits with exploration potential in jurisdictions that support responsible mining, and to see the regions and communities in which the company operates benefit from its presence. The company is governed by the Canada Business Corporations Act and its shares are listed under the symbol "HBM" on the Toronto Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange and Bolsa de Valores de Lima. Hudbay also has warrants listed under the symbol “HBM.WT” on the Toronto Stock Exchange and “HBM/WS” on the New York Stock Exchange.
For further information, please contact:
Carla Nawrocki
Director, Investor Relations
(416) 362-7362
[email protected] | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/globe-newswire-hudbay-announces-first-quarter-2018-results-and-provides-update-on-the-lalor-gold-zone.html |
May 31 (Reuters) -
* APRIL 2018 DEMAND (REVENUE PASSENGER KILOMETERS OR RPKS) ROSE BY 6.2% COMPARED TO APRIL 2017 - IATA
* APRIL CAPACITY (AVAILABLE SEAT KILOMETERS OR ASKS) INCREASED BY 5.9%, AND LOAD FACTOR CLIMBED 0.2 PERCENTAGE POINT TO 82.3% - IATA
* INCREASES IN (...) MOST NOTABLY FUEL PRICES, MEANS WE ARE UNLIKELY TO SEE INCREASED STIMULATION FROM LOWER FARES IN 2018 - IATA CEO Source text: bit.ly/2L7m7R0 (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-april-passenger-demand-rises-by-62/brief-april-passenger-demand-rises-by-6-2-pct-iata-idUSFWN1T207V |
Goldman Sachs strategists have become even more bullish on commodities and say the "strategic case for owning commodities has rarely been stronger."
Commodities have been the best-performing asset class of 2018, setting new multiyear highs. They have returned 7 percent year to date and are outperforming equities by 8 percent, the strategists said in a note.
"We believe the macro backdrop for commodities is as good as we have seen in years, suggesting large allocations to the sector to benefit from such returns," the strategists wrote.
The party will end when inflationary pressures help lay the groundwork for a recession.
"History, however, suggests it will be a recession, potentially aided by the
inflationary pressures created by commodity prices that will end this commodity bull
market," they wrote.
show chapters Lloyd Blankfein on China, volatility in the stock market and the future of Goldman Sachs 9:27 AM ET Wed, 18 April 2018 | 10:10 Goldman Sachs commodities strategists, led by Jeff Currie, have been overweight commodities since 2016, but they see a solid backdrop for gains to continue as inventories decline and demand grows.
"Robust late-cycle growth is depleting global supply chains," they wrote. "As the business cycle deepens and inflationary concerns push interest rates higher, cross-asset correlations with commodities decline and the diversification benefits of owning commodities rises with higher rates."
Emerging markets could help extend the business cycle, giving global demand "more runway."
They also note the geopolitical risks have risen in commodity producers Russia, Iran and Venezuela. Trade policy risks also add to the inflationary pressure in commodities.
At the same time, investors are skeptical of oil and commodity investments even though they typically outperform in late-cycle periods. One concern is that prices have been pumped up artificially, with, for example, metals getting a premium from China cutting supplies or oil prices rising just because OPEC and Russia are slashing production.
Investors are also skeptical U.S. trade rhetoric and foreign policy concerns are behind the premiums in some metals and oil. "The key is the persistence of the current higher prices, not that prices are likely to trend substantially higher from here like they did in 2000s," the strategists wrote.
For instance, they expect Brent crude to peak at $82.50 per barrel in July and copper to peak at $8,000 per ton in December, but they have forecast lower prices for both oil and copper in 2019.
As for aluminum, Goldman strategists have a three-month target of $2,500 per ton, then a lower $2,000 in 12 months.
Aluminum cash prices spiked last month to more than $2,600 a ton after U.S. sanctions hit Russian metals producer Rusal, responsible for 6 percent of the world's aluminum. Goldman expects Rusal assets to be restructured over the next several months. On Tuesday, aluminum was at $2,257.
The strategists also see gold heading higher. With futures trading at $1,307 per ounce Tuesday, they see the precious metal hitting $1,450 per troy ounce by the end of 2018.
Commodities are also attractive because as the business cycle ages, high levels of demand deplete supplies, creating a "scarcity premium," which is now showing up in the futures market for 13 of 24 commodities. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/goldman-says-case-for-owning-commodities-rarely-been-stronger-than-now.html |
Israeli researchers all abuzz about orgasmic fruit flies 3:32pm IST - 01:39
Male fruit flies enjoy sex more than alcohol, according to Israeli researchers who hope to apply that discovery to controlling human substance abuse. Amy Pollock reports. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Male fruit flies enjoy sex more than alcohol, according to Israeli researchers who hope to apply that discovery to controlling human substance abuse. Amy Pollock reports. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2FZPlyf | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/09/israeli-researchers-all-abuzz-about-orga?videoId=425221426 |
May 16 (Reuters) - The U.S. toy industry looks set for a flurry of mergers and acquisitions between smaller toy makers in the aftermath of the Toys 'R' Us bankruptcy, as they seek more scope and negotiating power with big box retailers Target and Walmart.
Smaller toy companies that traditionally relied on Toys 'R' Us as a launch platform to sell and promote products, say it is difficult to develop relationships with mass retailers, which now have the country's biggest toy departments.
They say retailers are increasingly picky about allocating display space, preferring billion dollar well known brands like Mattel's Barbie and Hot Wheels and Hasbro's Marvel Superhero action figures.
"If you're a young brand, it's hard to be found," said Shaun Rein, an analyst with China Market Research Group, who covers Asian toy producers.
"A lot of the smaller niche brands that you'd buy because you'd seen (them) while browsing in Toys 'R' Us are going to be hit very hard."
With Toys 'R' Us out of the picture, retail power has shifted to Walmart, Target and Amazon, said Jackie Breyer, editor-in-chief of industry magazine The Toy Book.
Consolidation helps smaller toy firms get their name out and get products on shelves as they will have a bigger portfolio of products for a mass market retailer to choose from, she added.
The total value of deals in the U.S. toy industry has soared to $962.7 million since Toys 'R' Us filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 19 last year, compared to $85.4 million in the same period a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data.
Of the 19 deals in the U.S. toy industry since the bankruptcy, the biggest was Hasbro Inc's $522 million purchase of franchises, including Power Rangers and Julius Jr from Saban Properties LLC, the Los Angeles-based firm credited to have launched the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" live-action TV show in 1993.
PlayMonster, the maker of the '5 Second Rule' card game, in February bought Kid O Toys, while Canadian toy-maker Spin Master Corp bought plush toy maker Gund for about $79 million.
Spin Master declined to comment, while Hasbro said its acquisition was not because of the retailer's bankruptcy.
More generally, mergers and acquisitions in the consumer products and staples space have racked up their strongest opening to a year since 2008, with more than $216 billion spent globally, according to Thomson Reuters data. The total value of deals is up 33.6 percent over the same period last year.
"HUGE GAME CHANGER"
Collectible toys maker, The Loyal Subjects' Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Cathey said he has seen an increase in interest since the bankruptcy, and has had at least two potential buyers pursue his California-based company. Chief Executive Officer Jay Foreman of Florida-based toy maker Basic Fun! said talks of consolidation between his firm and smaller players have "easily tripled" since September.
"Toys 'R' Us is really a huge game changer," Foreman said, whose firm bought K'Nex and Geoworld since Toys 'R' Us went bust. The toy retailer's bankruptcy and subsequent liquidation of its over 700 U.S. stores in March was the largest collapse in a year that saw record store closures and a fundamental shift in once-reliable brick-and-mortar retail models.
"More companies are now questioning, where are the biggest opportunities to sell toys," said Kate Clark, founder and president of Paddington bear toy maker, Yottoy Productions Inc.
"Unfortunately, some toy companies may struggle greatly and some may not survive."
According to market research firm NPD Group, U.S. toy sales topped $20 billion last year. Mattel and Hasbro together accounted for 25 percent and small players made up as much as 40 percent.
Toys 'R' Us alone had accounted for 12 percent of all toy sales nationwide, according to NPD Group.
But toy sales in the U.S. have been slowing and with Toys 'R' Us gone, toy makers have lost an incubator for new and experimental toys that other retailers were not willing to bet on.
"As an entrepreneur who was starting a toy company, they (Toys 'R' Us) were always the one that were willing to take chances and buy a broader array of products," said Michael Rinzler, founder of Wicked Cool Toys that makes Cabbage Patch Kids and Teddy Ruxpin bears.
Industry observers say that points to the power lying firmly with a handful of big players in the sector.
"When you're a smaller sized company ... do you say that maybe it's a better strategy (to) merge with another company or to perhaps to be acquired so that you get more scale?" said Bob Wann, who is the chairman of the Toy Association in the United States and the CEO of toy company PlayMonster.
"I think more companies will think about considering that than perhaps they did in the past."
(Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal and Uday Sampath Kumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/16/reuters-america-analysis-toys-r-us-demise-could-spur-merger-boom-in-u-s-toy-market.html |
May 3 (Reuters) - Dalata Hotel Group PLC:
* TRADING PERFORMANCE IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2018 HAS BEEN A LITTLE AHEAD OF EXPECTATIONS
* REVPAR GROWTH IN DUBLIN PROPERTIES HAS BEEN MARGINALLY AHEAD OF EXPECTATIONS IN FIRST FOUR MONTHS OF 2018
* OUTLOOK FOR FIRST SIX MONTHS OF YEAR IS POSITIVE Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-dalata-hotel-says-trading-performa/brief-dalata-hotel-says-trading-performance-in-first-four-months-of-2018-little-ahead-of-expectations-idUSFWN1SA07B |
TORONTO, May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integrated Asset Management Corp. (“IAM”) (TSX:IAM) is pleased to announce the recent closing of a senior loan to Macrodyne Technologies Inc. (“Macrodyne”). The capital raised will be used to finance a management buyout transaction.
Macrodyne is an Ontario-based manufacturer of heavy duty, custom hydraulic presses, press lines, and die handling equipment. These presses are utilized in a variety of industries including, automotive, aerospace, industrial, consumer goods, defence, and construction.
IAM offers fixed rate, term loans to mid-market companies for such purposes as refinancing existing debt, acquisitions, plant expansion or modernization, project financing and management buyouts.
IAM is one of Canada’s leading alternative asset management companies with approximately $2.3 billion in assets and committed capital under management in real estate, infrastructure debt and private debt.
For further information, please contact:
Brian Ko
Managing Director
IAM Private Debt Group
T: 416-367-3492
E: [email protected] Philip S. Robson
President
IAM Private Debt Group
416-367-3972
[email protected]
www.iamgroup.ca
Source:Integrated Asset Management Corp. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/globe-newswire-integrated-asset-management-corp-announces-management-buyout-financing-of-macrodyne-technologies-inc.html |
May 31, 2018 / 12:40 PM / Updated an hour ago Chelsea suspend new stadium plans due to 'unfavourable investment climate' Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Premier League soccer team Chelsea, whose Russian owner Roman Abramovich has faced delays in having his UK visa renewed, said on Thursday that work on their new stadium in London would be suspended indefinitely because of the unfavourable investment climate. Football fans pose for photos outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge football stadium in London, Britain, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
In a statement, the club did not say whether the decision was related to the visa problems of Abramovich who was reported to have taken Israeli citizenship earlier this week.
“Chelsea Football Club announces today that it has put its new stadium project on hold. No further pre-construction design and planning work will occur,” the club website statement said.
“The club does not have a time frame set for reconsideration of its decision,” it added. “The decision was made due to the current unfavourable investment climate.” A statue of Peter Osgood can be seen outside Chelsea's Stamford Bridge football stadium in London, Britain, May 31, 2018. REUTERS/Simon Dawson
The Blues were planning to build a new 60,000-seat stadium at their current home in Stamford Bridge, west London. The current stadium capacity is around 42,000.
Last year, London mayor Sadiq Khan approved the 500 million pound redevelopment, although the estimated cost of the project has risen since. Slideshow (5 Images)
Premier league winners in 2016/17, Chelsea missed out on Champions League football by finishing fifth this year, and there is substantial uncertainty around the future of manager Antonio Conte.
Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, since when the club has won five Premier League titles, five FA Cups and one Champions League during the most successful spell in the club’s 113-year history.
But British authorities, whose relations with Moscow have been strained since the poisoning in Salisbury three months ago of a former Russian spy and his daughter, are yet to renew the oligarch’s visa after it expired last month, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Britain’s interior minister said in March that the government would look retrospectively at visas issued to wealthy foreign investors and consider whether action needs to be taken, and Prime Minister Theresa May has said it is right to see whether visas were being used properly.
A spokesman for Abramovich was not immediately available for comment. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-che-stadium/chelsea-suspends-new-stadium-plans-due-to-unfavourable-investment-climate-idUKKCN1IW1O5 |
May 9, 2018 / 8:23 AM / Updated 34 minutes ago Norway launches new licensing round in mature offshore oil and gas areas Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
OSLO (Reuters) - Norway will hold a new licensing round for its offshore oil and gas fields in already opened areas, further expanding the exploration acreage available to energy firms, the oil ministry said on Wednesday.
Areas in the North Sea, the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea will be offered to oil companies, who have until September to submit their applications. The ministry plans to award licenses at the beginning of 2019, it said.
“Access to prospective exploration acreage is crucial in order to make new petroleum discoveries. New discoveries on the Norwegian continental shelf ensure value creation, employment and Government revenues,” Energy Minister Terje Soeviknes said in a statement.
The latest licensing round has been expanded by a total of 103 blocks compared to last year, 47 of which were in the Norwegian Sea and 56 in the Barents Sea, the ministry added. Reporting by Gwladys Fouche, editing by Terje Solsvik | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-norway-oil/norway-launches-new-licensing-round-in-mature-offshore-oil-and-gas-areas-idUSKBN1IA0YM |
* U.S. crude inventories rise to 2018 high of 436 mln barrels
* U.S. crude oil production hits record high of 10.62 mln bpd
* Analysts expect U.S. oil production to rise further still
* OPEC output broadly inline with production cut targets (Adds Saudi physical crude prices, updates crude futures prices)
SINGAPORE, May 3 (Reuters) - Oil prices dipped on Thursday, weighed down by swelling U.S. crude inventories and record weekly U.S. production that is countering efforts by producer group OPEC to cut supplies and prop up prices.
Brent crude oil futures were at $73.19 per barrel at 0404 GMT, down 17 cents, or 0.2 percent, from their last close.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were down 11 cents, or 0.2 percent, at $67.82 per barrel.
Prices were pulled down by a report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday showing U.S. crude inventories jumped by 6.2 million barrels to 435.96 million barrels <C-STK-T-EIA> in the week to April 27, the highest level in 2018.
"The (EIA) report showed a much larger than expected crude build for last week as well as an unexpected build in gasoline inventories," said William O'Loughlin, investment analyst at Australia's Rivkin Securities.
U.S. oil production also rose to a record of 10.62 million barrels per day (bpd), a jump of more than a quarter since mid-2016.
The United States now produces more crude oil than top exporter and Saudi Arabia, the biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.
Only Russia currently pumps more oil, at around 11 million bpd, though the United States could surpass that level soon.
U.S. drillers added five oil rigs looking for new production in the week to April 27, according to energy services firm Baker Hughes, bringing the total count to 825, the most since March 2015.
U.S. producers are being incentivised to ramp up production as OPEC restricts production and raises prices.
State-owned producer Saudi Aramco said on Wednesday it has raised the June price for its Arab Light grade for Asian customers by 70 cents a barrel versus May to a premium of $1.90 a barrel to the Oman/Dubai average, the highest since August 2014.
Overall, OPEC produced around 32 million bpd of crude oil in April, according to a Reuters survey, implying that its production is slightly below its target of 32.5 million bpd, due largely to plunging output in Venezuela.
BMI Research said it expects OPEC's output to remain stable around or slightly above 32 million bpd for the rest of the year.
(Reporting by Henning Gloystein; Editing by Richard Pullin and Christian Schmollinger) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/reuters-america-update-2-oil-prices-fall-on-rising-u-s-crude-inventories-record-production.html |
These companies made the Disruptor 50 top 10 1 Hour Ago After SpaceX made the top spot, CNBC's Julia Boorstin reveals the companies who round out the top 10. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/22/disruptor-50-top-10-reveal-.html |
May 8 (Reuters) - HubSpot Inc:
* HUBSPOT TO OPEN NEW LATIN AMERICA HEADQUARTERS IN BOGOTÁ, COLOMBIA Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hubspot-to-open-new-latin-america/brief-hubspot-to-open-new-latin-america-headquarters-in-bogot-colombia-idUSFWN1SF0R9 |
May 31, 2018 / 3:30 PM / Updated an hour ago Lebanon working for return of thousands of Syrian refugees - security official Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Lebanon is working with Damascus for the return of thousands of refugees who want to go back to Syria, a Lebanese official said on Thursday. Major General Abbas Ibrahim, head of Lebanon's General Security agency is seen in Beirut, Lebanon May 23, 2018. Picture taken May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi
As the Syrian army backed by Iran and Russia has recovered territory, Lebanon’s president and other politicians have called for refugees to go back to “secure areas” before a deal to end the war - at odds with the international view that it is not yet safe.
Lebanon hosts around 1 million registered Syrian refugees according to the United Nations, or roughly a quarter of the population, who have fled the war in neighbouring Syria since 2011. The government puts the number at 1.5 million.
“There are contacts with the Syrian authorities about thousands of Syrians who want to return to Syria,” Major General Abbas Ibrahim, a top Lebanese state figure and the head of the General Security agency, told reporters on Thursday.
“The stay of Syrians in Lebanon will not go on for a long time. There is intensive work by the political authority.”
He did not give a time frame for returns, but suggested at least some would take place soon.
UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, said it was “aware of several return movements of Syrian refugees being planned to Syria”.
“UNHCR is in regular contact with the General Directorate of the General Security on this issue,” it said in an emailed statement in response to a question from Reuters, referring to a Lebanese security agency.
In April, several hundred refugees were bussed back to Syria from the Shebaa area of southern Lebanon in an operation overseen by General Security in coordination with Damascus.
UNHCR, in a statement at the time, said it was not involved in organising “these returns or other returns at this point, considering the prevailing humanitarian and security situation in Syria”.
A conference on Syria hosted by the European Union and co-chaired by the United Nations in April said conditions for returns were not yet fulfilled, and that present conditions were not conducive for voluntary repatriation in safety and dignity.
President Michel Aoun has called the crisis an existential danger to Lebanon, reflecting a view that the presence of the mainly Sunni Syrian refugees will upend the balance between Lebanese Christians, Sunni Muslims, Shi’ite Muslims and other sectarian groups.
Saad al-Hariri, who is prime minister of the outgoing Lebanese government and has been designated to form the next one, has said Lebanon is against forced returns of refugees.
Aoun has said that “many” areas of Syria are now secure, though he has also said the principle of voluntary return must be respected.
Lebanon’s General Security was also setting up 10 special centres where Syrians could legalise their status, Ibrahim said. UNHCR said it was working closely with General Security to equip centres to process “the legal stay of refugees in the country”. Reporting by Tom Perry, Laila Bassam and Angus McDowall; Editing by Alison Williams | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mideast-crisis-syria-lebanon-refugees/lebanon-working-for-return-of-thousands-of-syrian-refugees-security-official-idUKKCN1IW26B |
May 5, 2018 / 6:43 PM / in 7 hours Protests staged for gun control, gun rights outside NRA meeting Lisa Maria Garza 4 Min Read
DALLAS (Reuters) - Protesters on both sides of the U.S. gun debate took to the streets on Saturday outside the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Dallas after the latest in a long series of mass shootings put the issue back in the spotlight. Christian Kaufman, 9, walks past an American flag while carrying a airsoft gun in a holster during an open carry firearm rally on the sidelines of the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Across the street from the convention center where President Donald Trump addressed NRA members on Friday, a “Rally4Reform” drew about 200 demonstrators demanding tighter restrictions on firearms sales. Many were dressed in the orange that has become the color of the gun control movement.
They watched as Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son, Joaquin, was killed in the Feb. 14 massacre of 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida, spray painted a mural of kids running and a backpack-wearing student in a rifle’s crosshairs.
Many flinched and some sobbed as he hit the wall with a hammer to simulate the sound of gunfire.
“You were in the wrong room yesterday,” Oliver said of Trump, who enthusiastically embraced the NRA on Friday. “You should be talking to the people we are now.” Related Coverage Shunned by corporations, U.S. gun entrepreneurs launch start-ups
Two hours later, about 150 people attended a counterprotest at the same site in support of the NRA, many of them carrying sidearms and with rifles slung over their shoulders.
One of the organizers, Open Carry Texas President C.J. Grisham, said he has criticized the NRA in the past but wanted to show his support for fellow gun owners who have been vilified during gun control protests.
“When you’ve got groups who have no idea what they’re talking about, going after the largest organization dedicated to preserving liberty, then I feel like we have a duty to stand up,” Grisham said. A man working for Infowars.com speaks to gun advocates after they entered a park at the conclusion of a anti-gun rally on sidelines of the annual National Rifle Association (NRA) meeting in Dallas, Texas, U.S., May 5, 2018. REUTERS/Adrees Latif
Carrying a “Don’t Tread On Me” flag, a rifle at her side and a pistol holstered on her hip, Texas resident Teri Horne, 55, engaged in a debate with two male gun control activists. After 20 minutes of spirited discussion, everyone shook hands and went their separate ways.
Horne said she supports the NRA, with a few recent exceptions.
“The bump stocks gave me pause because that’s an open door, a slippery slope, to way more infringements,” she said, referring to the NRA’s support for restrictions on the devices, which let semiautomatic rifles fire almost like an automatic weapon.
“They do great work, and I support them but sometimes there’s just things we don’t agree on,” Horne said.
An estimated 80,000 people were expected in Dallas for the NRA’s three-day meeting, which began on Friday. Slideshow (14 Images)
The debate over access to guns took center stage after a 19-year-old former student used a semiautomatic rifle to gun down 17 students and staff members at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a suburb of Fort Lauderdale.
Students who survived became national figures, demanding tighter firearms controls and a check on the power of the NRA.
Gun rights advocates cite the right to bear arms guaranteed by the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
About 100 protesters gathered at a second gun-control demonstration across town on Saturday, wearing orange ribbons and carrying signs that said “Shame on you NRA!” One NRA member dressed in a suit and black cowboy hat briefly scuffled with protesters as the rally began, but was quickly escorted away by police.
Actress Alyssa Milano said she created the organization NoRA, which organized the second rally, to combat the influence that the gun lobby wields with U.S. politicians.
“It debilitates our lawmakers from implementing common-sense gun reform,” Milano said in an interview. Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza; writing by Daniel Wallis; editing by Jonathan Oatis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-guns-nra-protests/protests-staged-for-gun-control-gun-rights-outside-nra-meeting-idUSKBN1I60S8 |
PADUCAH, Ky.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Computer Services, Inc. (CSI) (OTCQX: CSVI) announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.31 per share. The dividend is payable on June 25, 2018, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 1, 2018. The quarterly dividend represents an indicated annual dividend rate of $1.24 per share.
“CSI’s cash dividend is an important part of building long-term shareholder value,” stated Chairman and CEO Steven A. Powless. “This quarter’s dividend represents a 10.7% increase over the cash dividend paid in the same quarter last year.
“We expect to fund the dividend from our strong cash flow from operations. We also expect to increase our investments in hardware, software and facilities in fiscal 2019, and believe our investments will contribute to CSI’s future growth,” Powless concluded.
About Computer Services, Inc.
Computer Services, Inc. delivers core processing, managed services, digital banking, payments processing, print and electronic distribution, and regulatory compliance solutions to financial institutions and corporate customers across the nation. Exceptional service, dynamic solutions and superior results are the foundation of CSI’s reputation, and have resulted in the company’s inclusion in such top industry-wide rankings as the FinTech 100, Talkin’ Cloud 100 and MSPmentor Top 501 Global Managed Service Providers List. CSI’s stock is traded on OTCQX under the symbol CSVI. CSVI meets the financial media’s “Dividend Aristocrats” criterion of having 25+ years of consecutive annual dividend increases. For more information about CSI, visit www.csiweb.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements except historical statements contained herein constitute “forward-looking statements.” Forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and are based only on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to future developments that may cause results to differ materially. Readers should carefully consider: (i) economic, competitive, technological and governmental factors affecting CSI’s operations, customers, markets, services, products and prices; (ii) risk factors affecting the financial services information technology industry generally including, but not limited to, cybersecurity risks that may result in increased costs for us to protect against the risks, as well as liability or reputational damage to CSI in the event of a breach of our security; and (iii) other factors discussed in CSI's Annual Reports, Quarterly Reports, Information and Disclosure Statements and other documents posted from time to time on the OTCQX website (available either at www.otcmarkets.com or www.otcqx.com ), including without limitation, the description of the nature of CSI's business and its management discussion and analysis of financial condition and results of operations for reported periods. Except as required by law or OTC Markets Group, Inc., CSI undertakes no obligation to update, and is not responsible for updating, the information contained or incorporated by reference in this report beyond the publication date, whether as a result of new information or future events, or to conform this document to actual results or changes in CSI's expectations, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet services or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180521005151/en/
Computer Services, Inc.
David L. Simon, 800-545-4274 ext. 10126
Treasurer & CFO
[email protected]
Source: Computer Services, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/business-wire-csi-declares-0-point-31-per-share-cash-dividend.html |
NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) - U.S. municipal bond firms are rushing to comply with a new mandate taking effect on Monday that will force brokers for the first time to disclose how much they charge individual investors on some trades in the tax-exempt debt market.
The so-called markup disclosure rule is aimed at adding transparency to a $3.8 trillion market where the debt of states, local governments, hospitals, universities is traded though an opaque network of dealers as opposed to a central exchange.
“Everyone has been racing towards this deadline,” said Michael Ruvo, president of Wheaton, Illinois-based BondWave, which focuses on fixed income analytics and other services for the financial services industry.
Dealers will now be required to disclose fees, known as markups for selling and markdowns for buying muni bonds, to retail customers, who owned $1.57 trillion of the debt last year.
The rule was first proposed by the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board, the muni market’s self regulator, in September 2016 and approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission later that year.
Trading in some corporate bonds, under an amendment to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority rules, will also be affected.
Under the rule, muni brokers will be required to determine a baseline number, known as a “prevailing market price,” in order to show retail investors how much prices for a bond transaction were marked up or down.
With just days left before the rule is rolled out, Ruvo said he is receiving last-minute calls from clients requesting help with the calculation models to determine those prices among other needs related to the rule change.
The process of determining prevailing market prices for individual muni bonds can be particularly arduous because of the diverse, vast and sparsely traded nature of the market in comparison to U.S. Treasuries or equity markets, said Jeffrey MacDonald, head of fixed income strategies for Fiduciary Trust Company International in New York.
Smaller broker-dealers may find it especially challenging to get their systems into compliance by the deadline, MacDonald said. The new rule could also make brokers cautious about adding cost to investors, he said.
Those difficulties, along with heightened investor awareness of the costs, could lead to a shift in the market, analysts said.
Over the longer-term, individual investors could opt to replace their direct muni bond holdings with professionally managed portfolios, such as mutual funds or separately managed accounts (SMA).
“If SMA assets start to grow at an even faster pace as a result of the mark-up rule, we might see demand for 5-10 (year) paper increase, as this part of the curve is preferred by SMAs,” Barclays municipal credit analyst Mikhail Foux said in a recent research note. That, in turn, would lead to a steepening yield curve, he added.
Financial advisers for investors, who sometimes buy individual bonds for clients, could also turn to larger investment management firms to handle those transactions due, in part, to the added burden of the new pricing disclosure rule, said Dawn Daggy-Mangerson, director of the muni bond team at McDonnell Investment Management in Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois.
The next step will be explaining and defending the number to investors. (Additional reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Editing by Daniel Bases and Cynthia Osterman)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-municipals-markup/u-s-muni-bond-firms-race-to-comply-with-new-price-transparency-rule-idUSL1N1SH1KZ |
What’s the difference between your phone and a computer? Seriously, look at your phone, and at your laptop. What separates them? You’re probably thinking about power, memory and all the Serious Stuff phones can’t do.
For years, that was right. Phones were painfully slow next to desktops and laptops. Now, though, the iPhone’s processor bests the MacBook’s in many benchmarking tests.
Most... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/your-phone-is-the-best-computer-you-ownso-use-it-more-1527084001 |
May 30, 2018 / 6:17 PM / in 41 minutes Greece gets five expressions of interest in Hellenic Petroleum sale Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
ATHENS, May 30 (Reuters) - Greece received five expressions of interest for a majority stake in its biggest oil refiner Hellenic Petroleum, the country’s privatisations agency said on Wednesday.
Initial interest was submitted by: Alrai Group Holdings Limited, a consortium comprising Carbon Asset Management DWC-LLC and Alshaheen Group, Gupta Family Group Alliance, Glencore Energy UK and Vitol Holding B.V.
Greece and Paneuropean Oil and Industrial Holding are jointly selling a stake of at least 50.1 percent in the refiner.
The deadline for making submissions expired at 1400 GMT on Wednesday. (Reporting by George Georgiopoulos and Angeliki Koutantou. Editing by Jane Merriman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-privatisation-hell-petro/greece-gets-five-expressions-of-interest-in-hellenic-petroleum-sale-idUSL5N1T16ZV |
May 18 (Reuters) - Remark Holdings Inc:
* REMARK HOLDINGS SAYS ON MAY 14, DOUGLAS OSROW GAVE NOTICE OF HIS RESIGNATION AS CFO - SEC FILING
* REMARK HOLDINGS INC - OSROW WILL SERVE AS A CONSULTANT TO REMARK THROUGH REMAINDER OF 2018 Source bit.ly/2Itpl4v Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-remark-holdings-says-on-may-14-dou/brief-remark-holdings-says-on-may-14-douglas-osrow-gave-notice-of-his-resignation-as-cfo-idUSFWN1SP0Y3 |
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is trying to distinguish the business technology giant from its technology brethren by focusing on digital privacy.
That’s one of the takeaways from Nadella’s opening talk on Monday from Microsoft’s annual Build conference for developers in Seattle, Wash. This year, Microsoft’s big coder conference was sandwiched between Facebook’s annual F8 developer conference last week and Google’s upcoming Google I/0 event , starting later this week.
Part of Nadella’s opening talk centered on user privacy, which Nadella referred to as “a human right,” echoing Apple CEO Tim Cook’s recent public comments in the aftermath of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica scandal . Both Microsoft and Apple (aapl) stand to benefit and win public trust if they can portray their companies as bastions of user privacy compared to companies like Facebook (fb) and Google (goog) .
All of these giant tech companies are amassing large quantities of data that they in turn use to improve their respective artificial intelligence technologies—these AI technologies are then used to create more compelling products, like Amazon’s Alexa digital assistant, for example. But the controversy over political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica improperly obtaining Facebook user data highlights the issues these tech companies face as they must both protect the consumer and business data they collect while using that same information to improve their own services.
One way Nadella is attempting to convince businesses that Microsoft (msft) can improve its AI technology while protecting user data is by promoting a computing technique called homomorphic encryption. Although still a research-heavy technique, homomorphic encryption would presumably let companies analyze and crunch encrypted data without needing to unscramble that information.
Nadella is pitching the technique as a way for companies to “learn, train on encrypted data.” The executive didn’t explain how far along Microsoft is on advancing the encryption technique, but the fact that he mentioned the wonky terms shows that the company is touting user privacy as a selling point for its Azure cloud business.
Here’s a few more takeaways from Nadella’s talk:
Microsoft likes Drones and Chips The business technology giant signed a partnership with Chinese drone-giant DJI and mobile computing giant Qualcomm .
Under the drone partnership, DJI will use the Azure cloud computing service as a “preferred cloud provider” (it can still choose competing cloud companies like Google, example), and will create a software development kit that works with Windows 10. The goal is for coders to build Windows apps that can be used during corporate drone projects, like using the robots to take pictures of rooftops for damage inspections. So the next time a company flies a drone out to look at a rooftop, the drone can take video and send it back to the laptop for someone to analyze.
Microsoft also partnered with Qualcomm (qcom) on a new software developer kit to let coders build devices like cameras that can recognize objects. This initiative seems similar to Amazon’s (amzn) DeepLens camera technology .
Microsoft Believes in AI and Ethics Nadella briefly mentioned the company’s internal AI ethics team whose job is to ensure that the company’s foray into cutting-edge techniques like deep learning don’t unintentionally perpetuate societal biases in their products, among other tasks.
He said that coders need to concentrate on building products that use “good A.I.,” in which the “the choices we make can be good choices for the future.”
Expect more technology companies to talk about AI and ethics as a way to alleviate concerns from the public about the tech industry’s insatiable appetite for data.
He also talked about Microsoft’s Project Brainwave computer chip initiative that is now available for Azure coders in a test or preview version. Nadella pitched Project Brainwave as a way for developers to perform AI tasks quicker by using the company’s specialized chips (FPGAs) built by Intel . He bragged about Microsoft’s specialized chips when compared to Google’s own custom chips (TPUs), saying that they were faster at some tasks, a claim the search giant would likely differ on.
Project Brainwave is getting much more interesting. "5X lower hardware latency than ( @Google ) TPU". Will have to dig in on that claim. Also now moves to the edge. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/gUwV7Yfy1a
— Patrick Moorhead (@PatrickMoorhead) May 7, 2018
The Kinect is Back
Microsoft may have killed its Xbox Kinect video game sensor in 2017, but the body-tracking device has since been reborn as a business tool.
Nadella talked about Microsoft’s Project Kinect for Azure, and said that the new hardware device has “some of the best skeletal tracking object recognition,” which could make it useful as a tool to incorporate on drones so they can avoid obstacles. The new Kinect won’t be sold to consumers, but developers can sign on to receive a Kinect hardware kit that they can use to build their own tracking devices.
Get Data Sheet , Fortune’s technology newsletter.
Microsoft Pledged $25 Million to AI for Accessibility Grants Nadella ended his talk by saying that Microsoft will debut a five-year program in which the company will give $25 million worth in grants to researchers, non-government organizations, and developers so they can build AI-powered apps to help the lives of the disabled. These types of apps would do feats like look at the image of a signpost, and then say what the signpost means out loud to a person with hearing disabilities.
The purpose of the grants is “so you can bring your ingenuity and passion to help the 1 billion-plus people in the world who have disabilities,” Nadella said. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/microsoft-satya-nadella-build/ |
May 18 (Reuters) - Northern Oil and Gas Inc:
* TRT HOLDINGS INC - ON MAY 15, 2018, TRT AND NORTHERN OIL AND GAS ENTERED INTO AN AMENDED AND RESTATED LETTER AGREEMENT - SEC FILING
* TRT HOLDINGS, INC REPORTS 23.03 PERCENT STAKE IN NORTHERN OIL & GAS, INC AS OF MAY 15, 2018- SEC FILING
* TRT HOLDINGS-UNDER AGREEMENT, TRT ENTITLED TO NOMINATE 3 DIRECTORS TO NORTHERN OIL AND GAS IF CO OWNS TO 20% OR MORE OF NORTHERN’S SHARES AS OF MAY 15
* TRT HOLDINGS- TRT ENTITLED TO NOMINATE 2 DIRECTORS TO NORTHERN OIL AND GAS IF CO OWN SHARES EQUAL TO 10% OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN 20% AS OF THE CLOSING
* TRT HOLDINGS- TRT ENTITLED TO NOMINATE 1 DIRECTOR TO NORTHERN OIL AND GAS IF CO OWN SHARES EQUAL TO 5% OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN 10% AS OF THE CLOSING
* TRT HOLDINGS-FROM CLOSING DATE TILL NORTHERN’S ANNUAL MEETING IN 2020, CO, BAHRAM AKRADI GENERALLY PROHIBITED FROM ENGAGING IN SOME PROXY SOLICITATIONS
* TRT HOLDINGS - IF TRT OWNS 40% OR MORE OF NORTHERN WITHOUT APPROVAL, TRT MAY NOT ENGAGE IN CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS WITH NORTHERN FOR 4 YEARS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-trt-holdings-and-northern-oil-and/brief-trt-holdings-and-northern-oil-and-gas-enter-into-amended-and-restated-letter-agreement-idUSFWN1SP0Y0 |
May 25, 2018 / 9:37 AM / Updated an hour ago Italian prime minister-designate sees central bank chief Reuters Staff
* Worried markets continue to fall
* Eurosceptic lined up for economy ministry
By Crispian Balmer
ROME, May 25 (Reuters) - Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte met the governor of the Bank of Italy on Friday as markets fell on fears the incoming eurosceptic government will embark on a spending spree that will undermine fragile state finances.
The eurozone’s leading financial risk indicator, the gap between Italian and German sovereign debt yields, pushed out to 200 basis points for the first time in nearly a year, while Italy’s bank stock index hit an 11-month low.
With investor concern growing, Conte was expected to finalise his cabinet team on Friday, but doubts still hung over his likely choice of economy minister — Paolo Savona, who has called Italy’s entry in the euro zone a “historic error”.
Conte, a political novice plucked from obscurity by the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement to head its coalition alliance with the far-right League, made no comment to reporters as he set out for talks with Bank of Italy chief Ignazio Visco.
Outgoing economy minister Pier Carlo Padoan warned Conte not to misjudge the power of the markets.
“The most worrying aspect of the programme which this government is working on is its underestimation of the consequences of certain choices,” Padoan said in an interview published in Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper.
“We worry about Europe, but any infraction proceedings (over excessive deficit spending) take months to develop, while the response of the markets comes in just a few seconds.”
Although Italian financial instruments have come under pressure, there is little sign yet of wider contagion and Italian bond yields remain far below the levels reached during the euro zone debt crisis in 2011 and 2012. “PLAN B”
The 5-Star and League unveiled their government pact a week ago, following more than 70 days of political deadlock, promising billions of euros in tax cuts, additional spending on welfare for the poor, and a roll-back of pension reforms.
Investors are watching the government formation carefully, especially the choice of economy minister.
Savona, 81, has decades of experience in academia, banking and government but has alarmed markets with his eurosceptic views that chime with those of the anti-immigrant League. A former economy minister has called him “suicidally anti-German”.
In his latest book he calls for a “plan B” to be drawn up to allow Italy to leave the euro zone with as little damage as possible should this prove necessary.
President Mattarella has made it clear he does not want the powerful economy job to go to Savona, but the League and 5-Star have so far shown no sign of wanting to back down.
Both League leader Matteo Salvini and 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio look certain to enter the cabinet as interior minister and labour minister respectively.
An experienced diplomat was expected to be made foreign minister, but the final choice remained unclear, while security analyst Elisabetta Trenta was in pole position for the defence portfolio.
Conte was expected to present his cabinet list to the head of state later on Friday or on Saturday, opening the way for confidence votes in both houses of parliament next week. (Editing by William Maclean) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/italy-politics/italian-prime-minister-designate-sees-central-bank-chief-idUSL5N1SW1WB |
ST PETERSBURG, May 25 (Reuters) - Russia’s RDIF sovereign wealth fund intends to co-invest in new Russian infrastructure projects to help realise plans set out by Vladimir Putin at the start of his fourth presidential term, Kirill Dmitriev, RDIF’s head, told Reuters.
Putin has said he wants to make upgrading Russia’s often degraded infrastructure one of the priorities of his 2018-2024 term, part of what he says is a drive to dramatically lift living standards.
Putin has talked of building new roads, regional airports and upgrading sea ports and Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday that Moscow planned to create a special fund to finance the projects up until 2024 which is expected to be worth 3 trillion roubles ($49 billion).
Dmitriev said that RDIF and some of its partners, including sovereign wealth funds from Asia and the Middle East, planned to take part in the project.
He said the funds might consider buying domestic Russian rouble debt, known as OFZs, and co-investing in infrastructure projects that are part of the infrastructure fund.
“A number of investors may invest in these rouble instruments,” Dmitriev told Reuters in an interview.
“The state plans to create an infrastructure fund to co-invest in projects – we and our partners may co-invest in these projects as well.”
He said there was not yet a specific discussion about the volume of OFZ bonds foreign investors might buy, part of a Russian drive to develop its domestic debt market after Western sanctions, which were first imposed in 2014.
BAILED-OUT BANKS
Dmitriev and the representatives of other sovereign wealth funds met Putin on Thursday at an annual economic forum in St Petersburg.
With $10 billion in capital, Dmitriev said RDIF will also be part of another state fund which the central bank plans to set up to hold the non-core assets of bailed out banks.
The central bank estimates the value of non-performing and non-core assets to be transferred into that fund at around 2 trillion roubles ($32 billion).
The bank plans to sell off those assets within three to five years after restoring their financial health.
Dmitriev said that RDIF would become a minority shareholder in the central bank fund and sit on its board to help manage it.
“We will try to invest in the most promising projects, for example, in unfinished real estate projects ... We don’t plan to take any bad debts (onto RDIF’s balance sheet),” he said. ($1 = 61.6140 roubles) (Additional reporting by Polina Devitt Editing by Andrew Osborn and Alexander Smith)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/russia-economy-forum-fund-infrastructure/russia-sovereign-wealth-fund-targets-infrastructure-projects-idUSL5N1SW100 |
A deteriorating global political and strategic environment, and not the economic outlook, is what’s keeping Stanley Fischer up at night.
Mr. Fischer, who appeared at an event held in New York by CNBC on Tuesday, was the Fed’s vice chairman until last year, and he’s a highly influential voice in economic matters. But what lies ahead on that front doesn’t really worry him, he said.
Instead,... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-fed-vice-chair-fischer-is-worried-about-politics-not-the-economy-1525189748 |
May 19, 2018 / 4:16 AM / Updated 13 hours ago China air force lands bombers on South China Sea island Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - China’s air force has landed bombers on islands and reefs in the South China Sea as part of a training exercise in the disputed region, it said in a statement. FILE PHOTO: Chinese dredging vessels are purportedly seen in the waters around Mischief Reef in the disputed Spratly Islands in the South China Sea in this still image from video taken by a P-8A Poseidon surveillance aircraft provided by the United States Navy May 21, 2015. U.S. Navy/Handout via Reuters/File Photo
“A division of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) recently organized multiple bombers such as the H-6K to conduct take-off and landing training on islands and reefs in the South China Sea in order to improve our ability to ‘reach all territory, conduct strikes at any time and strike in all directions’,” it said in the statement issued on Friday.
It said the pilot of the H-6K bomber conducted assault training on a designated sea target and then carried out take-offs and landings at an airport in the area, describing the exercise as preparation for “the West Pacific and the battle for the South China Sea”.
The notice, published on the PLAAF’s Weibo microblogging account, did not provide the precise location of the exercise.
The United States has dispatched warships to disputed areas of the South China Sea in a bid to challenge China’s extensive sovereignty claims in the territory, which is subject to various claims by China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei and Malaysia.
“The United States remains committed to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” Pentagon spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Logan told Reuters.
“We have seen these same reports and China’s continued militarization of disputed features in the South China Sea only serves to raise tensions and destabilize the region.” Reporting by David Stanway and Winni Zhou; Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in WASHINGTON; Editing by Kim Coghill | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southchinasea-china/china-air-force-lands-bombers-on-south-china-sea-island-idUSKCN1IK047 |
Net loss available to common stockholders of $0.5 million for the first quarter, or $0.01 per diluted share
Funds From Operations per diluted share increased 16% year-over-year for the first quarter
Same-store cash NOI increased 7% year-over-year for the first quarter
SAN DIEGO, American Assets Trust, Inc. (NYSE:AAT) (the “company”) today reported financial results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
First Quarter Highlights
Net loss available to common stockholders of $0.5 million for the first quarter, or $0.01 per diluted share Funds From Operations increased 16% year-over-year to $0.51 per diluted share for the first quarter Same-store GAAP and cash NOI increased 4% and 7%, respectively, year-over-year for the first quarter Leased approximately 207,000 comparable office square feet at an average GAAP-basis and cash-basis contractual rent increase of 30% and 12%, respectively, during the first quarter Leased approximately 43,000 comparable retail square feet at an average GAAP-basis contractual rent increase of 8% and cash-basis contractual rent decrease of 4% during the first quarter Credit facility amended and restated to increase the revolving line of credit, extend maturity date and decrease credit spreads; and term loan agreement amended to decrease credit spreads
Financial Results
Net loss attributable to common stockholders was $0.5 million, or $0.01 per basic and diluted share for the first quarter of 2018 compared to net income of $7.4 million, or $0.16 per basic and diluted share for the first quarter 2017. The year-over-year decrease is due to an increase in depreciation expense at Waikele Center attributed to the redevelopment of the Kmart space.
During the first quarter of 2018, the company generated funds from operations (“FFO”) for common stockholders of $32.5 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared to $28.2 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, for the first quarter of 2017.
FFO is a non-GAAP supplemental earnings measure which the company considers meaningful in measuring its operating performance. A reconciliation of FFO to net loss is attached to this press release.
Leasing
The portfolio leased status as of the end of the indicated quarter was as follows:
March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Total Portfolio Retail 96.6 % 96.8 % 96.9 % Office 94.6 % 88.4 % 89.3 % Multifamily (2) 92.7 % 91.8 % 93.4 % Mixed-Use: Retail 96.9 % 96.9 % 94.1 % Hotel 94.3 % 92.5 % 91.5 % Same-Store Portfolio Retail (1) 97.8 % 98.0 % 98.2 % Office 94.6 % 92.7 % 93.6 % Multifamily (2)(3) 92.7 % 92.1 % 93.4 % Mixed-Use: Retail 96.9 % 96.9 % 94.1 % Hotel 94.3 % 92.5 % 91.5 % (1) Same-store retail leased percentages includes the Forever 21 building at Del Monte Center which we acquired on September 1, 2017 after previously owning the underlying land. Same-store retail leased percentages exclude Gateway Marketplace, which was acquired on July 6, 2017, and Waikele Center, due to significant redevelopment activity.
(2) Excluding the 21 off-line units associated with the Loma Palisades repositioning, total multifamily leased percentage was 92.7% and 94.6% at December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively, and same-store multifamily leased percentage was 93.4% and 96.2% at December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively.
(3) Same-store multifamily leased percentages excludes the Pacific Ridge Apartments, which was acquired on April 28, 2017.
During the first quarter of 2018, the company signed 45 leases for approximately 292,600 square feet of retail and office space, as well as 367 multifamily apartment leases. Renewals accounted for 84% of the comparable retail leases, 44% of the comparable office leases and 40% of the residential leases.
Retail and Office
On a comparable space basis (i.e. leases for which there was a former tenant) during the first quarter 2018 and trailing four quarters ended March 31, 2018, our retail and office leasing spreads are shown below:
Number of Leases Signed Comparable Leased Sq. Ft. Average Cash Basis % Change Over Prior Rent Average Cash Contractual Rent Per Sq. Ft. Prior Average Cash Contractual Rent Per Sq. Ft. GAAP Straight-Line Basis % Change Over Prior Rent Retail Q1 2018 19 43,000 (4.2 )% $48.67 $50.78 7.7 % Last 4 Quarters 69 319,000 (3.8 )% (1 ) $36.97 $38.45 12.5 % (1 ) Office Q1 2018 16 207,000 11.6 % $64.22 $57.52 29.8 % Last 4 Quarters 45 384,900 15.8 % $60.24 $52.02 30.6 % (1) Retail leasing spreads were significantly impacted by the Lowe's renewal at Waikele Center of approximately 155,000 square feet during the second quarter of 2017. Excluding the Lowe's renewal at Waikele Center, we leased approximately 164,000 comparable retail square feet at an average GAAP-basis and cash-basis contractual rent increase of 17.5% and 5.2%, respectively, during the twelve month period ended March 31, 2018.
Multifamily
The average monthly base rent per leased unit for same-store properties for the first quarter of 2018 was $1,746 compared to an average monthly base rent per leased unit of $1,703 for the first quarter of 2017, an increase of approximately 3%.
Same-Store Net Operating Income
For the first quarter of 2018, same-store GAAP and cash basis NOI increased 4.4%, and 7.0%, respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2017. The same-store NOI by segment was as follows (in thousands):
Three Months Ended (1) March 31, 2018 2017 Change GAAP Basis: Retail $ 14,995 $ 14,577 2.9 % Office 18,902 18,395 2.8 Multifamily 4,837 4,680 3.4 Mixed-Use 6,236 5,428 14.9 $ 44,970 $ 43,080 4.4 % Cash Basis: Retail $ 14,612 $ 13,884 5.2 % Office 19,084 17,685 7.9 Multifamily 4,827 4,732 2.0 Mixed-Use 6,075 5,373 13.1 $ 44,598 $ 41,674 7.0 % (1) Same-store portfolio includes the Forever 21 building at Del Monte Center which we acquired on September 1, 2017 after previously owning the underlying land. Same-store portfolio excludes (i) the Pacific Ridge Apartments, which was acquired on April 28, 2017; (ii) Gateway Marketplace, which was acquired on July 6, 2017; (iii) Waikele Center due to significant redevelopment activity and (iv) land held for development.
Credit Facility and Term Loan Agreement
On January 9, 2018, our credit agreement was amended and restated to, among other things, (1) increase the revolving line of credit from $250 million to $350 million, (2) extend the maturity date of the restated $350 million revolving line of credit to January 9, 2022 (with two six-month extension options), (3) decrease the applicable leverage-based and ratings-based pricing spreads and (4) include an accordion feature to allow us to increase the revolving line of credit from its current $350 million to up to $700 million, subject to certain conditions. The $100 million term loan included within the credit agreement matures on January 9, 2019, with no further extension options. The revolving line of credit and $100 million term loan are both unsecured.
Additionally, on January 9, 2018, our $150 million term loan agreement was amended to, among other things, (1) decrease the applicable leverage-based and ratings-based pricing spreads effective as of March 1, 2018 and (2) include an accordion feature to allow us to increase the term loan from its current $150 million to up to $300 million, subject to certain conditions. The $150 million term loan is unsecured.
Balance Sheet and Liquidity
At March 31, 2018, the company had gross real estate assets of $2.6 billion and liquidity of $370.3 million, comprised of cash and cash equivalents of $55.3 million and $315.0 million of availability on its line of credit.
Dividends
The company declared dividends on its shares of common stock of $0.27 per share for the first quarter of 2018. The dividends were paid on March 29, 2018.
In addition, the company has declared a dividend on its common stock of $0.27 per share for the second quarter of 2018. The dividend will be paid on June 28, 2018 to stockholders of record on June 14, 2018.
Guidance
The company affirms its guidance range for full year 2018 FFO per diluted share of $2.01 to $2.09 per share, a midpoint increase of 7% from 2017 FFO per diluted share of $1.92 per share. The company's guidance excludes any impact from future acquisitions, dispositions, equity issuances or repurchases, future debt financings or repayments.
The foregoing estimates are forward-looking and reflect management's view of current and future market conditions, including certain assumptions with respect to leasing activity, rental rates, occupancy levels, interest rates, credit spreads and the amount and timing of acquisition and development activities. The company's actual results may differ materially from these estimates.
Conference Call
The company will hold a conference call to discuss the results for the first quarter of 2018 on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time (“PT”). To participate in the event by telephone, please dial 1-877-868-5513 and use the pass code 2799824. A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available beginning at 2:00 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 2, 2018 through Wednesday, May 9, 2018. To access the replay, dial 1-855-859-2056 and use the pass code 2799824. A live on-demand audio webcast of the conference call will be available on the company's website at www.americanassetstrust.com . A replay of the call will also be available on the company's website.
Supplemental Information
Supplemental financial information regarding the company's first quarter 2018 results may be found in the “Investor Relations” section of the company's website at www.americanassetstrust.com . This supplemental information provides additional detail on items such as property occupancy, financial performance by property and debt maturity schedules.
Financial Information
American Assets Trust, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In Thousands, Except Share Data)
March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 Assets (unaudited) Real estate, at cost Operating real estate $ 2,539,491 $ 2,536,474 Construction in progress 74,447 68,272 Held for development 9,392 9,392 2,623,330 2,614,138 Accumulated depreciation (568,348 ) (537,431 ) Net real estate 2,054,982 2,076,707 Cash and cash equivalents 55,336 82,610 Restricted cash 9,889 9,344 Accounts receivable, net 8,797 9,869 Deferred rent receivables, net 39,279 38,973 Other assets, net 45,283 42,361 Total assets $ 2,213,566 $ 2,259,864 Liabilities and equity Liabilities: Secured notes payable, net $ 205,486 $ 279,550 Unsecured notes payable, net 1,045,178 1,045,470 Unsecured line of credit, net 33,031 — Accounts payable and accrued expenses 43,507 38,069 Security deposits payable 8,683 6,570 Other liabilities and deferred credits, net 48,348 46,061 Total liabilities 1,384,233 1,415,720 Commitments and contingencies Equity: American Assets Trust, Inc. stockholders' equity Common stock, $0.01 par value, 490,000,000 shares authorized, 47,203,484 and 47,204,588 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 473 473 Additional paid-in capital 919,793 919,066 Accumulated dividends in excess of net income (110,550 ) (97,280 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income 13,324 11,451 Total American Assets Trust, Inc. stockholders' equity 823,040 833,710 Noncontrolling interests 6,293 10,434 Total equity 829,333 844,144 Total liabilities and equity $ 2,213,566 $ 2,259,864 American Assets Trust, Inc.
Unaudited Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In Thousands, Except Shares and Per Share Data)
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue: Rental income $ 76,201 $ 70,040 Other property income 4,531 3,752 Total revenue 80,732 73,792 Expenses: Rental expenses 20,420 19,859 Real estate taxes 8,546 7,536 General and administrative 5,567 5,082 Depreciation and amortization 33,279 17,986 Total operating expenses 67,812 50,463 Operating income 12,920 23,329 Interest expense (13,820 ) (13,331 ) Other (expense) income, net 209 310 Net (loss) income (691 ) 10,308 Net loss (income) attributable to restricted shares 72 (60 ) Net loss (income) attributable to unitholders in the Operating Partnership 166 (2,861 ) Net (loss) income attributable to American Assets Trust, Inc. stockholders $ (453 ) $ 7,387 Net (loss) income per share Basic (loss) income attributable to common stockholders per share $ (0.01 ) $ 0.16 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding - basic 46,935,820 46,173,788 Diluted (loss) income attributable to common stockholders per share $ (0.01 ) $ 0.16 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding - diluted 46,935,820 64,062,610 Dividends declared per common share $ 0.27 $ 0.26 Reconciliation of Net Loss to Funds From Operations
The company's FFO attributable to common stockholders and operating partnership unitholders and reconciliation to net loss is as follows (in thousands except shares and per share data, unaudited):
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 Funds From Operations (FFO) Net loss $ (691 ) Depreciation and amortization of real estate assets 33,279 FFO, as defined by NAREIT $ 32,588 Less: Nonforfeitable dividends on incentive stock awards (71 ) FFO attributable to common stock and units $ 32,517 FFO per diluted share/unit $ 0.51 Weighted average number of common shares and units, diluted 64,134,497 Reconciliation of Same-Store Cash NOI to Net Income
The company's reconciliation of Same-Store Cash NOI to Net Loss is as follows (in thousands, unaudited):
Three Months Ended (1) March 31, 2018 2017 Same-store cash NOI $ 44,598 $ 41,674 Non-same-store cash NOI 6,906 3,667 Cash NOI $ 51,504 $ 45,341 Non-cash revenue and other operating expenses (2) 262 1,056 General and administrative (5,567 ) (5,082 ) Depreciation and amortization (33,279 ) (17,986 ) Interest expense (13,820 ) (13,331 ) Other income, net 209 310 Net (loss) income $ (691 ) $ 10,308 Number of properties included in same-store analysis 23 21 (1) Same-store portfolio includes the Forever 21 building at Del Monte Center which we acquired on September 1, 2017 after previously owning the underlying land. Same-store portfolio excludes (i) the Pacific Ridge Apartments, which was acquired on April 28, 2017; (ii) Gateway Marketplace, which was acquired on July 6, 2017; (iii) Waikele Center, due to significant redevelopment activity; and (iv) land held for development.
(2) Represents adjustments related to the straight-line rent income recognized during the period offset by cash received during the period and the provision for bad debts recorded for deferred rent receivable balances; the amortization of above (below) market rents, the amortization of lease incentives paid to tenants, the amortization of other lease intangibles, lease termination fees at City Center Bellevue, and straight-line rent expense for our leases of the Annex at The Landmark at One Market and retail space at Waikiki Beach Walk - Retail.
Reported results are preliminary and not final until the filing of the company's Form 10-Q with the Securities and Exchange Commission and, therefore, remain subject to adjustment.
Use of Non-GAAP Information
Funds from Operations
The company calculates FFO in accordance with the standards established by the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT. FFO represents net income (loss) (computed in accordance with GAAP), excluding gains (or losses) from sales of depreciable operating property, impairment losses, real estate related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs) and after adjustments for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures.
FFO is a supplemental non-GAAP financial measure. Management uses FFO as a supplemental performance measure because it believes that FFO is beneficial to investors as a starting point in measuring the company's operational performance. Specifically, in excluding real estate related depreciation and amortization and gains and losses from property dispositions, which do not relate to or are not indicative of operating performance, FFO provides a performance measure that, when compared year-over-year, captures trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs. The company also believes that, as a widely recognized measure of the performance of REITs, FFO will be used by investors as a basis to compare the company's operating performance with that of other REITs. However, because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization and captures neither the changes in the value of the company's properties that result from use or market conditions nor the level of capital expenditures and leasing commissions necessary to maintain the operating performance of the company's properties, all of which have real economic effects and could materially impact the company's results from operations, the utility of FFO as a measure of the company's performance is limited. In addition, other equity REITs may not calculate FFO in accordance with the NAREIT definition as the company does, and, accordingly, the company's FFO may not be comparable to such other REITs' FFO. Accordingly, FFO should be considered only as a supplement to net (loss) income as a measure of the company's performance. FFO should not be used as a measure of the company's liquidity, nor is it indicative of funds available to fund the company's cash needs, including the company's ability to pay dividends or service indebtedness. FFO also should not be used as a supplement to or substitute for cash flow from operating activities computed in accordance with GAAP.
Cash Net Operating Income
The company uses cash net operating income ("NOI") internally to evaluate and compare the operating performance of the company's properties. The company believes cash NOI provides useful information to investors regarding the company's financial condition and results of operations because it reflects only those income and expense items that are incurred at the property level, and when compared across periods, can be used to determine trends in earnings of the company's properties as this measure is not affected by (1) the non-cash revenue and expense recognition items, (2) the cost of funds of the property owner, (3) the impact of depreciation and amortization expenses as well as gains or losses from the sale of operating real estate assets that are included in net income computed in accordance with GAAP or (4) general and administrative expenses and other gains and losses that are specific to the property owner. The company believes the exclusion of these items from net (loss) income is useful because the resulting measure captures the actual revenue generated and actual expenses incurred in operating the company's properties as well as trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs. Cash NOI is a measure of the operating performance of the company's properties but does not measure the company's performance as a whole. Cash NOI is therefore not a substitute for net (loss) income as computed in accordance with GAAP.
Cash NOI, is a non-GAAP financial measure of performance. The company defines cash NOI as operating revenues (rental income, tenant reimbursements, lease termination fees, ground lease rental income and other property income) less property and related expenses (property expenses, ground lease expense, property marketing costs, real estate taxes and insurance), adjusted for non-cash revenue and operating expense items such as straight-line rent, amortization of lease intangibles, amortization of lease incentives and other adjustments. Cash NOI also excludes general and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, interest expense, other nonproperty income and losses, acquisition-related expense, gains and losses from property dispositions, extraordinary items, tenant improvements, and leasing commissions. Other REITs may use different methodologies for calculating cash NOI, and accordingly, the company's cash NOI may not be comparable to the cash NOIs of other REITs.
About American Assets Trust, Inc.
American Assets Trust, Inc. (the “company”) is a full service, vertically integrated and self-administered real estate investment trust, or REIT, headquartered in San Diego, California. The company has over 50 years of experience in acquiring, improving, developing and managing premier retail, office and residential properties throughout the United States in some of the nation’s most dynamic, high-barrier-to-entry markets primarily in Southern California, Northern California, Oregon, Washington, Texas and Hawaii. The company's retail portfolio comprises approximately 3.2 million rentable square feet, and its office portfolio comprises approximately 2.6 million square feet. In addition, the company owns one mixed-use property (including approximately 97,000 rentable square feet of retail space and a 369-room all-suite hotel) and 2,112 multifamily units. In 2011, the company was formed to succeed to the real estate business of American Assets, Inc., a privately held corporation founded in 1967 and, as such, has significant experience, long-standing relationships and extensive knowledge of its core markets, submarkets and asset classes. For additional information, please visit www.americanassetstrust.com .
Forward Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, which are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual outcomes and results to differ materially. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. While forward-looking statements reflect the company's good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, they are not guarantees of future performance. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the company's future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the company's most recent annual report on Form 10-K, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the company from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, of new information, data or methods, future events or other changes.
Source: American Assets Trust, Inc.
Investor and Media Contact:
American Assets Trust
Robert F. Barton
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
858-350-2607
Source:American Assets Trust, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-american-assets-trust-inc-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
May 11 (Reuters) - BroadVision Inc:
* Q1 REVENUE $1.6 MILLION VERSUS $1.8 MILLION * Q1 GAAP LOSS PER SHARE $0.30 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-broadvision-reports-q1-loss-per-sh/brief-broadvision-reports-q1-loss-per-share-0-30-idUSASC0A1TU |
May 8, 2018 / 4:57 PM / Updated an hour ago UK police chief - Russia committed to safety of World Cup fans Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - British authorities expect Russian police to be in firm control of security during this summer’s soccer World Cup and determined to prevent any violence against England fans, a parliamentary committee heard on Tuesday. FILE PHOTO: A view shows the stadium Mordovia Arena, which will host matches of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Saransk, Russia May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
With diplomatic relations between the two countries in crisis and a history of clashes between their soccer supporters, some British media have been predicting mayhem on the streets of Russian cities.
But Britain’s lead police officer for soccer, Mark Roberts, said authorities in both countries had been cooperating to prevent any violence and he believed Russia was on top of security for the complex event.
“We’ve had a great number of meetings with them and every time we’ve met them, there is a consistent reassurance that their aspiration is to put on a safe event that shows Russia to the best of its abilities,” he told parliament’s foreign affairs committee.
He described the Russian approach to policing soccer matches as “paramilitary” in style and said it involved very large numbers of officers in riot gear to deter troublemakers.
He also stressed that Britain expected only genuine England fans to be at the World Cup, with more than 2,000 known hooligans being prevented from going by banning orders.
England fans have had a reputation for hooliganism since the 1970s and caused serious trouble at the 1998 World Cup in France and the European Championships in Belgium in 2000. British police have since then banned known troublemakers and confiscated their passports.
Not a single Briton was arrested for soccer-related disorder at tournaments in South Africa in 2010, Poland and Ukraine in 2012 or Brazil in 2014.
But during the 2016 European Championship in France, England and Russia were threatened with expulsion after brawls between hooligans from both sides led to serious injuries and scenes of chaos on the streets of the southern French city of Marseille.
Roberts pointed to several matches in Russia in recent years involving English teams that had passed without violence and said the threat should not be over-hyped.
Several lawmakers appeared sceptical, suggesting Roberts was naive and overly relaxed, but he stuck to his assessment throughout the session.
He was pressed on the degree of disruption caused by Moscow’s expulsion of Britain’s official in charge of World Cup preparations, as part of a wider diplomatic row. Roberts said that was not optimal, but the British authorities were still able to provide the best advice and services to travelling fans.
Britain and Russia expelled dozens of each other’s diplomats following a March nerve agent attack on a Russian ex-spy in England, blamed by the British government on Russia which denies any involvement. Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Andrew Roche | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-worldcup-eng-fans/uk-police-chief-russia-committed-to-safety-of-world-cup-fans-idUKKBN1I92F8 |
United Airlines — after years of touting enhancements to its onboard food service in both the premium and economy cabins — has suddenly done what looks to be a major about-face.
United late last week quietly introduced what — in corporate parlance — the carrier is calling a "streamlining" of the food service on all flights under four hours. That would appear to include almost every flight United operates domestically, with the exception of transcon service between the two coasts.
Food isn't the only part of the premium cabin experience affected by the changes. Notable adjustments in the onboard beverage offerings are also being rolled out.
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All the changes may fatten United's bottom line and please investors. But the changes also could start to irk high-margin first- and business-class customers and cause defections to competitors on lucrative longer routes.
The reduction in food being offered in many instances in first-class and business-class cabins is not insignificant. Hot breakfasts are being replaced on some routes with only fruit plates and muffins, and more substantial lunches are being switched out for wraps and chocolate slabs.
United flight attendant sources also reacted to the changes in the onboard beverage menu.
Gone is Sprite Zero, which sources said is not a great loss, as it was not very popular.
But tomato juice, also a goner onboard, is another matter, according to flight attendant sources. The removal of tomato juice — replaced with an extra can of Mr. And Mrs. T Bloody Mary mix — has caused a ruckus among flight attendants.
Noted one source: "We are once again in full apology mode now onboard our flights, although the issue (of the disappearing tomato juice) is a more minor one compared to the forced removal of customers or suffocating dogs."
On the liquor and spirits front, Jim Beam won't be offered. Nor will Courvoisier or Amaretto.
One flight attendant noted at least one positive development — the addition of Ghirardelli-branded ice cream toppings on transcon United flights. But even that has a downside, as the quality toppings serve primarily to mask the poor flavor profile of the lower-quality ice cream that was first used by Continental Airlines on flights prior to the merger with United.
High-margin customers who will be most affected by these changes no doubt will not hesitate to voice concerns to management about the changes.
United today indicated the carrier will be carefully monitoring feedback.
Noted a United spokesman: "With all of our food offerings, we monitor customer feedback and what they would prefer and adjust accordingly."
United Airlines is a unit of United Continental Holdings. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/united-airlines-reducing-food-alcohol-options-first-class.html |
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesian prosecutors on Friday sought the death penalty for radical Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman who is on trial accused of masterminding a series of attacks, including a deadly 2016 gun and suicide bomb assault in Jakarta, from his jail cell.
Policemen guard Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman inside a courtroom in Jakarta, Indonesia May 18, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Galih Pradipta/via REUTERS Abdurrahman is on trial for “planning and/or mobilizing others to carry out terrorist acts ... to create an atmosphere of terror among the public”.
Prosecutor Anita Dewayani told the court that under Indonesia’s anti-terrorism laws the defendant, if found guilty, should face the death sentence.
“In view of the law, we demand the South Jakarta Court judges sentence the defendant who has been found legally and convincingly to have carried out terrorism,” said Dewayani.
Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman is seen inside a courtroom in Jakarta, Indonesia May 18, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Galih Pradipta/via REUTERS Prosecutors have linked him to an alleged plot for a “Paris-style attack” targeting foreigners, as well as the January 2016 attacks in which eight people were killed, including four attackers, when suicide bombers and gunmen attacked the heart of the Indonesian capital.
They also say he was behind a suicide attack last year that killed three police officers at a Jakarta bus station and the bombing of a church in Samarinda on Borneo island that wounded four children.
Islamic cleric Aman Abdurrahman is seen inside a courtroom in Jakarta, Indonesia May 18, 2018 in this photo taken by Antara Foto. Antara Foto/Galih Pradipta/via REUTERS Abdurrahman’s lawyer said in court on Friday that there was no evidence to link the defendant to the attacks.
“He believed in establishing a caliphate, but he never proposed bombing,” said lawyer Asrudin, adding that his client had only ever talked about carrying out jihad in Syria.
The cleric was re-arrested by police last year after serving time in prison for setting up a militant training camp in the Indonesian province of Aceh.
Authorities believe Abdurrahman is the ideological leader of Islamic State-linked Jamaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD), a militant group in the world’s most populous Muslim-majority country that the United States has designated as a terrorist organization.
Police linked a series of suicide bombings on churches and outside a police station in Surabaya this week to JAD.
In all, around 30 people were killed in the attacks, including 13 of the suspected suicide bombers.
Reporting by Jessica Damiana; Writing by Ed Davies; Editing by Nick Macfie
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-security-court/indonesia-prosecutors-seek-death-for-cleric-accused-of-planning-attacks-from-jail-idUSKCN1IJ0L7 |
OSLO, May 3 (Reuters) - Norwegian publisher and classified advertising firm Schibsted reported a smaller-than-expected rise in first-quarter earnings on Thursday, sending its shares down some 10 percent in early trade.
The company’s newspaper division showed the biggest earnings miss, and analysts are likely to cut their expectations for Schibsted’s overall earnings outlook following the report, brokers DNB Markets said in a note to clients.
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose by 41 percent year-on-year to 610 million crowns ($75.28 million), while analysts in a Reuters poll had anticipated an increase of 47 percent to 639 million crowns.
When adjusted for special accounting effects, core earnings missed forecasts by about one percent.
Schibsted’s shares were trading down 7.3 percent at 0720 GMT, underperforming a drop of 0.5 percent in the Oslo benchmark index. ($1 = 8.1028 Norwegian crowns) (Reporting by Terje Solsvik; editing by David Evans)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/schibsted-results/publisher-schibsteds-shares-drop-10-pct-as-q1-misses-forecast-idUSL8N1SA29U |
A key member of the European Central Bank (ECB) has fired a not-so-subtle warning to Germany over the central bank's independence.
Yves Mersch, an executive board member of the ECB's monetary decision-making body since 2012, told the Frankfurt Finance Summit Tuesday, that the ECB's flexibility and autonomy should not be challenged.
"If some countries want now to have an extensive amount of constraint and limitation on how we exercise our monetary policy powers, this will be an attack on the independence of the central bank," he told the audience.
"I hope this is well understood even in the largest country in Europe," he said to the German audience, ad-libbing from prepared remarks.
The most vocal critics of the ECB's easy monetary policy in recent years has come from within Germany. Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann has consistently criticized the slow normalization of asset purchases and interest rates in the region.
Luxembourg-born Mersch was giving a speech in order to outline why the ECB needs new policy tools if it is to supervise firms that clear financial transactions denominated in euros.
DANIEL ROLAND | AFP | Getty Images Most of those transactions are cleared through central counterparties (CCPs) currently based in the United Kingdom. This poses a potential oversight problem once Britain exits the European Union in March 2019.
Mersch said CCPs are crucial to a financial system's liquidity and any failure on their part could lead to contagion and bank failures.
The ECB currently does not have the power to regulate the activity of securities clearing systems, including CCPs. To address that problem, it is now looking to amend Article 22 of the "Statute of the European System of Central Banks and the European Central Bank."
Mersch warned that any changes to Article 22 should not result in a list prescribing what the ECB can and cannot do to tackle its main target of price stability.
"We cannot open a Pandora's box and end up in a situation where monetary policy is no longer shielded against political influence," Mersch said.
The ECB member would not be drawn on which country in the future will host the majority of the euro-denominated clearing business. He said "the market will take care of that" while it was the ECB's job to provide clear laws.
show chapters ECB's Mersch: Have a mandate to safeguard integrity of the euro 7 Hours Ago | 01:36 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/mersch-warns-germany-against-ecb-interference.html |
President Donald Trump should be immune from facing a lawsuit by a group of teenagers accusing the federal government of doing little to nothing to combat climate change, according to the Justice Department.
In a last ditch effort to dismiss the case before an October trial in Oregon, the government argues that the Constitution’s separation of powers doctrine generally prohibits federal courts from forcing the president into action.
“Under unbroken legal authority dating back more than 150 years, the separation ofpowers generally bars federal courts from issuing an injunction against the President of the United States for official acts,” Justice Department said in a filing. ”Notably, plaintiffs do not identify a single executive action attributable to the President alone.”
Lawyers for the teens said they expect Trump to assert a sort of “sovereign immunity,” while arguing he shouldn’t be excused for failing in his official capacity to protect the environment from rising global temperatures while subsidizing fossil fuel-dependent industries.
The Obama and Trump administrations have each tried earlier, unsuccessfully, to get the case thrown out. A hearing on the government’s latest arguments is set for May 26. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/10/trump-climate-change-lawsuit/ |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - (The writer is a Reuters contributor. The opinions expressed are his own.)
Soledad O'Brien, chairman of Starfish Media Group, speaks during the TechCrunch Disrupt event in Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., May 11, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid There are plenty of challenging jobs in America. But as anyone with a child will tell you, the hardest one of all is being a parent – and it is not even a close call.
At least some recognition for those Herculean efforts is approaching, with Mother’s Day on May 13.
For the latest in Reuters’ “First Jobs” series, we talked to a few famous moms about the jobs that got them started on their career paths, which they successfully juggled while raising families on the side.
SOLEDAD O’BRIEN Founder, Starfish Media Group
First job: Mucking horse stalls
I have always been obsessed with horses, but riding was an expensive hobby that my parents were just not going to fund. So when I was 13, I was allowed to get a job mucking stalls at a little stable in my hometown on Long Island. I got paid something like $35 a week and used that money to pay for riding lessons. I never even saw any actual cash.
Melinda Gates, co-founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation attends a discussion during the German protestant church congress Kirchentag in Berlin, Germany, May 25, 2017. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch To this day, I still love riding. As a busy person with four kids, I have a pretty crazy lifestyle. It is nice to be able to go somewhere and only focus on one thing. I find horses very relaxing because they are very sensitive animals and you have to really be there in the moment with them.
The woman I worked for at the stable was very demanding and set a high standard for quality. That is a good lesson to learn when you are 13 years old and in a workplace for the first time. She took things so seriously. There was never any half-assing it, even if you were just shoveling manure.
MELINDA GATES Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
First job: Handling rental properties
In high school, I spent most of my weekends working alongside my siblings at my parents’ rental property business. During the week, my dad worked full time as an engineer, and my mom worked full time taking care of us. But because it was so important to them for all four of us to attend college, they started a business on the side to help save for tuitions.
Cast member Jaime Pressly poses at the premiere of "A Haunted House 2" in Los Angeles, California April 16, 2014. The movie opens in the U.S. on April 18. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni My duties included mowing lawns, scrubbing floors, cleaning ovens, painting walls, and whatever else it took to get those rental houses in shape. (I’m still pretty handy with a scrub brush and some Easy-Off.)
But my favorite part of the job was keeping the books, because that’s how I got into computers. When I was 16, my dad brought home an Apple III and taught me how to use VisiCalc to keep their accounts. This was long before most families had personal computers.
I don’t think it’s overstating it to say it changed my life. I knew right away that I wanted to work in tech when I grew up.
In fact, my first real job — as in, not for my parents — was teaching kids how to code, which turned into a lifelong passion for computer science. And I’m grateful to them every day for leading me to it.
JAIME PRESSLY Actress
First job: Selling clothes
When I first moved to California, I worked at a Limited Express clothing store in Costa Mesa. Moms would come in wanting to buy clothes for their daughters, and so I would try the clothes on to help make the sale. That was my tactic, and it always worked. I could get them to buy anything.
I got the job by walking in and applying at the age of 14. I had courage like that from the time I came out of the womb. I was always a tough cookie, and I loved making my own money so I didn’t have to ask my parents for any. I’m still a hustler like that.
For me, that job was all about learning how to reel in the customer and make a sale. You are playing a role, and you figure out how to sell yourself. That’s what we do in the acting business, too. So everything I have gone through in life has been a stepping stone, and I’m better for it.
I’m certainly grateful that I’m not making minimum wage anymore. Not a day goes by that I am not thankful for my success.
Editing by Lauren Young and Bernadette Baum
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-money-firstjob-mothers/mother-of-all-jobs-first-gigs-of-famous-moms-idUSKBN1I428D |
CAIRO, May 17 (Reuters) - Egypt’s GDP growth for the third quarter of the 2017/18 fiscal year rose to 5.4 percent from 4.3 in the same period last year, the country’s planning ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Egypt’s fiscal year begins in July and ends in June.
Egypt’s economy has been struggling since a 2011 uprising drove foreign investors and tourists away, but the government hopes a $12 billion International Monetary Fund deal signed in November 2016 will help put the economy back on track. (Reporting by Ehab Farouk Writing by Amina Ismail Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/egypt-economy-gdp/egypts-gdp-growth-for-q3-of-2017-18-fiscal-year-at-5-4-pct-idUSL5N1SO3KF |
Mnuchin: There’s a desire to get NAFTA deal done 1 Hour 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/2018/05/21/nafta-talks-mnuchin-trade.html |
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Royal Gold, Inc. (NASDAQ: RGLD) (“Royal Gold” or the “Company”), today announced that its Board of Directors has declared its third quarter dividend of US$0.25 per share of common stock. The dividend is payable on July 20, 2018, to shareholders of record at the close of business on July 6, 2018.
Royal Gold is a precious metals royalty and stream company engaged in the acquisition and management of precious metal royalties, streams, and similar production based interests. The Company owns interests on 192 properties on six continents, including interests on 39 producing mines and 22 development stage projects. Royal Gold is publicly traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “RGLD.” The Company’s website is located at www.royalgold.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530006134/en/
Royal Gold
Karli Anderson, 303-575-6517
Vice President Investor Relations
Source: Royal Gold | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/business-wire-royal-gold-announces-third-quarter-dividend.html |
Athens
Greece’s long economic crisis may technically be over, as the country is on course to exit its third bailout in August. But the decade-long depression leaves in its wake a society seething with resentment and divided on the causes of the catastrophe. The Greek political system is ill-equipped to deal with this fallout—which includes various shades of political violence.
Earlier... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-far-left-and-right-run-riot-on-greek-streets-1527517236 |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hopes that Italy might avoid a potentially damaging general election lifted European markets on Wednesday, bringing Italian bond yields off multi-year highs and dampening some of the recent buying interest for German and U.S. government bonds.
World stocks gained 0.38 percent, and European shares made tentative gains after falling almost 4 percent in the past five days. Wall Street opened higher.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 199.21 points, or 0.82 percent, to 24,560.66, the S&P 500 gained 25.37 points, or 0.94 percent, to 2,715.23 and the Nasdaq Composite added 60.50 points, or 0.82 percent, to 7,457.09.
The recovery was partly driven by news that Italy’s two anti-establishment parties were renewing efforts to form a government, rather than force the country to the polls for the second time this year.
Another positive was a smooth auction of Italian debt that raised 5.57 billion euros, easing concerns about Rome’s ability to finance itself.
“(The auction) clearly indicates that investors still have faith in the Italian economy, if not the government,” said Seema Shah, global investment strategist at Principal Global Investors. But she warned that political uncertainty would remain elevated.
Japan’s biggest private life insurance firm, Nippon Life, which holds some 4.8 trillion yen ($44 billion) worth of euro zone bonds, said it had no plans for now to buy or sell its Italian debt holdings.
Milan-listed equities snapped a five-day losing streak and bounced almost 2 percent while short-dated Italian bond yields - a sensitive gauge of political risk - fell more than half a percent from half-decade highs.
They had suffered their worst day in nearly 26 years on Tuesday. Ten-year Italian yields slipped 0.18 percentage points.
The risk for investors is that eurosceptic political parties are further boosted, with any election viewed as a de facto referendum on Italy’s euro membership. The events have evoked memories of the 2011-2012 euro debt crisis, with potentially huge implications for the single currency.
The risks had sent investors scurrying for safer German and U.S. government bonds as well as currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc, at the expense of the euro.
FILE PHOTO: The podium where Carlo Cottarelli was waited to talk with reporters, after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella, is seen at the Quirinal palace in Rome, Italy, May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo That safe-haven trend receded on Wednesday, with the euro bouncing nearly one percent versus the dollar and recouping all its Tuesday losses, which had taken it down to 10-month lows. It also rose against the Swiss franc and yen respectively.
“The political problems in Italy heighten the risk of a systematic problem within the euro zone and within the euro zone financial system, but that is still a risk rather than a probability,” said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.
The improved mood encouraged investors to sell U.S. and German bonds, reversing some of the 0.15-0.20 percentage point yield rises seen on Tuesday. Benchmark 10-year notes last fell 19/32 in price to yield 2.835 percent, from 2.768 percent late on Tuesday. The German bund benchmark last fell 19/32 in price to yield 0.337 percent.
Most investors remain cautious though, with Goldman Sachs cutting its forecast for the euro’s exchange rate against the dollar due to Italian political developments. It said it now expected the euro to trade at $1.25 in 12 months’ time versus its previous $1.30 prediction.
With brewing trade conflicts, world growth is another concern. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development warned in its latest report that a trade war was threatening the growth outlook.
That is likely to weigh especially hard on the developing world - emerging equities were down more than one percent to 5-1/2 month lows while Shanghai shares dropped 1.4 percent.
Emerging markets are also suffering from the dollar’s surge since mid-April, with Indonesia raising interest rates for the second time in two weeks to support the rupiah currency.
“Italian politics mask the underlying growing risks of a U.S.-China trade war,” ING Bank analysts told clients.
To view a graphic of Global assets in 2018, click: tmsnrt.rs/2jvdmXl
FILE PHOTO - Men exchange greetings in front of an electronic board displaying the Nikkei average outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan January 4, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon To view a graphic of Italian bonds jolted by political crisis, click: reut.rs/2L93FaX
Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Sujata Rao in London, Tomo Uetake and Hideyuki Sano in Tokyo and Swati Pandey in Sydney; Editing by Nick Zieminski
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/worsening-italian-crisis-batters-financial-markets-idINKCN1IV004 |
UPDATE 2-Brazil truckers pledge more fuel protests despite tax proposal Ana Mano and Alberto Alerigi Published 6:07 PM ET Tue, 22 May 2018 Reuters
* Truckers not convinced by proposed CIDE tax cut
* Protests affect ports, threaten soy, meat deliveries
* Petrobras cuts diesel prices, shares fall
* Finance minister, Petrobras CEO deny interference (Recasts with proposal to cut fuel tax, truckers' reaction)
SAO PAULO, May 22 (Reuters) - Brazilian truck drivers on Tuesday vowed to extend their protest against high fuel prices into a third day despite a government compromise to cut a fuel tax, threatening to slow economic activity and interrupt exports of grains and other goods.
Thousands of trucks were parked to obstruct major roads as the protests interrupted traffic along a major soy shipping route in the grains state of Mato Grosso and impeded access to the country's two main export ports, Santos and Paranaguá.
Brazil is a key global supplier of grains, meat, coffee and sugar most of which reach ports by road. Soy futures rose in Chicago on Tuesday for a second straight day as the protests threatened to halt shipments of Brazil's record soybean harvest.
In an effort to address truckers' demands, congressional leaders floated a plan on Tuesday afternoon to eliminate the CIDE fuel tax and put additional revenue from payroll taxes toward reducing fuel prices, which have surged nearly 50 percent in less than a year.
Diesel prices ended last week at 3.595 reais ($0.99) per liter, according to regulator ANP.
However, the trucking group organizing the protests, ABCAM, said demonstrations would continue on Wednesday, complaining that the CIDE accounted for only a fraction of the taxes on diesel fuel. According to Petrobras, state and federal taxes make up 29 percent of the final price paid by the consumer.
"That doesn't solve the problem. We want to be heard. We want diesel taxes to be eliminated," ABCAM President José da Fonseca Lopes told Reuters.
His comments added to pressure on the government to provide relief from fuel costs, giving it the choice of backsliding on efforts to close Brazil's fiscal deficit or interfering in the state-controlled oil company's pricing policy.
A small diesel price cut announced on Tuesday by Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, did nothing to reduce protests. But it did raise concerns about interference in a program of near-daily adjustments to track global markets since last July.
That new pricing policy, which has allowed the company to sell fuel at a profit after absorbing losses for years, has been key to the operational turnaround at Petrobras, lifting its share price to an eight-year high this month.
Petrobras Chief Executive Pedro Parente and Finance Minister Eduardo Guardia both denied that the government had asked the company to change its pricing policy on Tuesday.
Petrobras shares fell as much as 3.4 percent on concerns of political interference, but pared losses to 1 percent on news of the proposal to lower pump prices through tax policy.
BLOCKADES EXPAND
ABCAM said truckers protested in 23 states as participation rose from around 200,000 drivers on Monday, the first day of demonstrations, to an estimated 300,000 on Tuesday. That would represent around a tenth of Brazil's total truck fleet, according to data from transport lobby CNT.
A toll road operator in Mato Grosso said blockades had expanded overnight to four points along the key BR-163 highway, which carries grains to northern and southern ports for export.
An official with road operator Rota do Oeste said protesters would let only passenger vehicles, ambulances and live or perishable cargo get through.
At the port in Santos, Latin America's largest, truck drivers blocked traffic near the terminals, said Codesp, the state-run firm that administers the area.
Pork and poultry processor group ABPA said the protests are affecting transportation of feed and animals, adding that blockades had stopped work at eight plants on Tuesday and 30 more would stop on Wednesday.
Aurora, Brazil's third-largest chicken and pork producer, said it would halt work at fifteen plants in four states on Thursday and Friday due to the lack of storage space or transportation options.
Automakers General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co said the strike was disrupting car production, while Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said parts deliveries were affected. Vehicle assembly relies on "just in time" delivery of components, which keeps stockpiles low to reduce costs. (Reporting by Ana Mano and Alberto Alerigi Jr. Additional reporting by José Roberto Gomes, Gram Slattery and Marcelo Teixeira in São Paulo, Mateus Maia in Brasília; Editing by Paul Simao and Dan Grebler) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/reuters-america-update-2-brazil-truckers-pledge-more-fuel-protests-despite-tax-proposal.html |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On Target Laboratories, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company that is developing tumor-targeted fluorescent dyes to improve cancer surgery, announced today the appointment of Charlotte S. Hartman, Pharm.D., as Vice President of Clinical Development and Kathleen Ward, CPA, as Vice President of Finance.
"The Vice President of Clinical Development and Vice President of Finance will play an integral role at On Target Laboratories as we build our capabilities," said Martin Low, CEO of On Target Laboratories. "Filling these positions will allow us to remain compliant as we grow our operations and continue advancing our pipeline. Dr. Charlotte Hartman and Kathleen Ward will be valuable additions to the On Target Laboratories team as we approach our critical upcoming milestones."
Prior to joining On Target Laboratories, Dr. Hartman served as Vice President, Clinical Development at Heart Metabolics where she led the clinical program with orphan designation as a treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She has more than 19 years of experience in the development of pharmaceuticals, clinical program strategy, global trial execution and global regulatory submissions. Her direct contributions to the clinical development and major regulatory submissions in both the U.S. and Europe include Zyvox (linezolid), the first in a new class of antibacterials. Dr. Hartman received her Doctorate of Pharmacy degree from the University of Texas and her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
Kathleen Ward was most recently Chief Financial Officer at Tru-Flex, a global manufacturing company, where she was responsible for overseeing the accounting, finance and reporting functions worldwide. She has more than 20 years of experience in financial planning, analysis and compliance to support growth and foundational financial responsibilities. Kathleen is an Ernst & Young CPA and holds an MBA from Ball State University.
About On Target Laboratories, Inc.
On Target Laboratories Inc., is in the business of discovering, developing and commercializing small molecules that, when conjugated with fluorescent dyes, target and illuminate specific cancerous cells and other diseased tissue. These conjugates can be used by doctors, including surgeons, worldwide to better diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases from cancer to inflammation-related disorders. OTL38 is currently under clinical development for use in ovarian and lung cancer surgery. For more information visit www.ontargetlaboratories.com .
Media Contact:
Travis Kruse, Ph.D.
Russo Partners LLC
Phone: 212-845-4272
Email: [email protected]
Purdue Research Foundation:
Tom Coyne
Phone: 765-588-1044
Email: [email protected]
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/on-target-laboratories-appoints-vice-president-of-clinical-development-and-vice-president-of-finance-300640724.html
SOURCE On Target Laboratories | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/pr-newswire-on-target-laboratories-appoints-vice-president-of-clinical-development-and-vice-president-of-finance.html |
DALLAS, BBG, a leading national commercial real estate valuation, advisory and assessment firm, today announced that it acquired two Integra Realty Resources offices in the Pacific Northwest, further expanding the firm's fast-growing presence in the Western Region. BBG, which ranks among the largest U.S. commercial real estate appraisal firms, did not disclose terms of the transaction.
BBG acquired IRR offices in Portland, Ore., and Vancouver, Wash., bringing a total of 13 BBG offices in the Western Region. This deal follows BBG's acquisition of two IRR offices in Sacramento and San Francisco one year ago.
The Portland office is located at 1220 Southwest Morrison Street. The Vancouver office is located at 1111 Main Street, Suite 410.
As part of this transaction, BBG appointed Owen Bartels, MAI, as Senior Managing Director. With two decades of appraisal experience in the commercial real estate field, Mr. Bartels has appraised numerous cities and towns in the Pacific Northwest, which includes work on industrial, retail office, mixed-use, commercial and residential condominium conversions, subdivisions, partial acquisitions, corridors and specialized consulting projects, and eminent domain projects for both public agencies and private property owners.
Prior to taking on his new role at BBG, Mr. Bartels served as a Senior Managing Director at IRR, where he oversaw the firm's strategic initiatives throughout Oregon and southern Washington. Before he joined IRR, Mr. Bartels worked as a certified general appraiser at PGP Valuation (now Colliers) and as a researcher and financial analyst at Kidder Mathews in Tacoma, Wash. He also is a current member and former president of the Greater Oregon chapter of the Appraisal Institute and a member of the International Right of Way Association.
BBG also appointed Phillip D. Hanshew, MAI, as Managing Director, and Kathryn S. Skiff as Director, who both worked at the IRR offices in Portland and Vancouver.
While at IRR, Mr. Hanshew has worked on all major property types while developing expertise in specialized facilities including food processing, cold storage, heavy manufacturing, truck terminals and lumber mills. He is a current member of the Appraisal Institute's Oregon chapter and has served as its treasurer, secretary and a member of the education committee. He is also a member of Urban Land Institute and Central Eastside Council.
Ms. Skiff, who served as the Managing Director of IRR's Vancouver office for a decade, helped establish IRR's Vancouver office in 2013 and later took over management of the office. A certified general appraiser since 2004, Ms. Skiff has performed valuations on commercial and residential land, office buildings, retail shopping centers, manufacturing and warehouse industrial buildings, mixed-use developments, apartments, self storage facilities, and special purpose properties including religious facilities and recreational-oriented sites.
BBG CEO Chris Roach commented on the acquisition: "We have been actively searching for an opportunity to expand our presence in the Pacific Northwest for quite some time. With the acquisition of these IRR offices, we have finally found what we've been looking for: a viable platform to significantly grow our geographic coverage in this region and a team with a proven track record to achieve this goal. This acquisition also completes another step in our overall business strategy of becoming one of the largest, independent commercial real estate valuation and assessment firms in the country."
Mr. Bartels commented: "We are thrilled to be given the opportunity to work with an appraisal-focused company that is fully committed to providing its clients with a highly talented pool of professionals who offer deep knowledge and expertise in a wide range of property types, giving its staff the latest technological tools and providing clients with the best service possible."
About BBG
BBG is a leading independent national commercial real-estate valuation, advisory and assessment firm headquartered in Dallas with 26 offices in key US markets. BBG has achieved a reputation for personal attention, on-time delivery and deep expertise in multi-family, office, retail and industrial sectors. For more information about BBG, please visit www.bbgres.com
Media Contact
Marc Weinstein
Ascent Communications
(908) 967-9958
[email protected]
with multimedia: releases/bbg-acquires-integra-realty-resources-offices-in-pacific-northwest-300643539.html
SOURCE BBG | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/pr-newswire-bbg-acquires-integra-realty-resources-offices-in-pacific-northwest.html |
May 2, 2018 / 11:50 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago BRIEF-Esperion Posts Qtrly Loss Per Share $1.73 Reuters Staff
May 2 (Reuters) - Esperion Therapeutics Inc:
* ESPERION PROVIDES BEMPEDOIC ACID FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM UPDATES; REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* ESPERION THERAPEUTICS INC - EXPECTS FULL-YEAR 2018 NET CASH USED IN OPERATING ACTIVITIES TO BE APPROXIMATELY $135 TO $145 MILLION
* ESPERION THERAPEUTICS - ESTIMATES THAT CURRENT CASH RESOURCES ARE SUFFICIENT TO FUND OPERATIONS THROUGH Q1 OF 2020
* ESPERION THERAPEUTICS INC - EXPECTS CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS AND INVESTMENT SECURITIES TO BE APPROXIMATELY $130 TO $140 MILLION AT DECEMBER 31, 2018
* ESPERION THERAPEUTICS INC QTRLY LOSS PER SHARE $1.73 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-esperion-posts-qtrly-loss-per-shar/brief-esperion-posts-qtrly-loss-per-share-1-73-idUSASC09YYU |
May 20, 2018 / 9:09 PM / Updated 17 minutes ago Left behind: why boomtown New Zealand has a homelessness crisis Jonathan Barrett , Charlotte Greenfield 5 Min Read
WELLINGTON (Reuters) - New Zealand’s dairy-fuelled economy has for several years been the envy of the rich world, yet despite the rise in prosperity tens of thousands of residents are sleeping in cars, shop entrances and alleyways. FILE PHOTO: Sister Josefa uses a sewing machine as she teaches sewing at the Compassion Soup Kitchen in Wellington, New Zealand, May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Barrett/File Photo
The emerging crisis has created a milestone that New Zealanders won’t be proud of: the highest homelessness rate among the 35 high-income OECD countries.
It’s a curious problem afflicting boom towns where some residents get pushed onto the streets as they can no longer afford the rocketing rents in a flourishing economy - let alone purchase a house as the price of property has soared.
“I have no assets at the moment,” said 64-year-old Victor Young, who spoke to Reuters at a soup kitchen in New Zealand’s capital, Wellington.
“It’s not a kind country, it’s not an easy country. I slept in my car 20 days last year. I worked 30 hours a week.”
That sentiment is something the country’s popular Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern would like to reverse. Last Thursday, across town from the Sisters of Compassion Soup Kitchen, her Labour-led government unveiled its first budget with an ambitious plan to build social infrastructure.
The government has allocated NZ$3.8 billion ($2.62 billion)of new capital spending over a five-year period. This includes an extra NZ$634 million for housing, on top of the NZ$2.1 billion previously announced to fund Kiwibuild, a government building program to increase affordable housing supply. ‘LONG WAY DOWN THE HOLE’
Much is expected of the charismatic 37-year-old prime minister, after her party put fixing the housing crisis at the heart of its successful election campaign in September. Arden’s challenge is to not allow her spending plan blow a hole in the strong finances her government inherited.
“We are proud of her,” said Sister Josefa, who is on staff at the soup kitchen. “There is a lot of hope, maybe a lot of expectation too.” FILE PHOTO: Social worker Matt Petrie inspects a garden that is cared for by guests of the Compassion Soup Kitchen in Wellington, New Zealand, May 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Barrett/File Photo
But experts say the government’s first budget underwhelms on the radical reforms the wider public wanted.
“They’re a long way down a hole that was created by somebody else and they haven’t really got a great or easy solution,” said John Tookey, professor of construction management at Auckland University of Technology.
He said the government’s much-vaunted Kiwibuild could come unstuck because there weren’t enough skilled workers to deliver on its ambitious target to build 100,000 homes in the next decade.
Even the budget’s extra social housing spend was unlikely to alleviate the signs of families living in cars, caravans and garages that Salvation Army policy analyst Alan Johnson sees around his South Auckland neighborhood.
“The Minister of Finance suggested it was transformational and I think it’s a long way short of that,” Johnson said. FALLING THROUGH THE CRACKS
New Zealand is on a six-year economic winning streak, underpinned by a strong dairy sector, booming tourism and migration.
That golden run is expected to continue, with Treasury expecting economic growth to hit a peak of 3.8 percent in 2019 - well above the 2 percent growth the International Monetary Fund forecasts developed economies to achieve. Slideshow (5 Images)
But infrastructure in New Zealand has not kept pace.
A housing crunch, traffic jams, and hospital staff shortages led to an abrupt shift in public sentiment away from the seemingly unbeatable center-right National Party at the 2017 election.
Some, of course, enjoyed the fruits of the boom, particularly in the past decade. Others were squeezed.
Maoris, the indigenous people of New Zealand, account for a third of the homeless though they make up only 15 percent of the population.
A Yale study of OECD data found that New Zealand had the highest rate of homelessness among member nations, with almost 1 percent of its population living without a permanent shelter in 2015.
The situation has likely deteriorated since the study, analysts said, with the number of people eligible for government housing support doubling since 2015. And wage growth has significantly lagged house price growth of over 60 percent in the past decade, highlighting how even those with a roof over their heads are getting squeezed. SHELTERS ARE FULL
Homelessness is at its worst in New Zealand’s most populated city, Auckland, which has also experienced the most severe housing crunch, with prices jumping 90 percent in the past decade, according to property researcher Quotable Value.
Several people living on the streets interviewed by Reuters said they had left Auckland for Wellington.
But the pressure has spread far and wide. Even in Wellington, a city known for pricey craft beer bars and artisan coffee shops where workers enjoy the biggest pay packets in the country, many are falling into the boom town cracks.
Kirsty Buggins, director at the Wellington Night Shelter, said the center was almost always full.
“Sometimes all we can do is give them blankets and bedding.” Reporting by Jonathan Barrett and Charlotte Greenfield in WELLINGTON; Editing by Shri Navaratnam | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-newzealand-economy-budget/left-behind-why-boomtown-new-zealand-has-a-homelessness-crisis-idUKKCN1IL0UG |
May 3, 2018 / 7:46 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago Ex-Volkswagen CEO Winterkorn charged in U.S. over diesel scandal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn was charged in federal court in Detroit with conspiring to mislead regulators about the German automaker’s diesel emissions cheating. Former Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn leaves after testifying to a German parliamentary committee on the carmaker's emissions scandal in Berlin, Germany, January 19, 2017. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke
Volkswagen did not immediately comment.
An indictment filed in secret in March, was unsealed on Thursday in U.S. District Court, and names numerous former executives. Winterkorn resigned soon after the scandal over polluting vehicles in the United States became public in September 2015. Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Grant McCool | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-volkswagen-emissions/ex-volkswagen-ceo-winterkorn-charged-in-u-s-over-diesel-scandal-idUKKBN1I42I4 |
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said on Friday that U.S. complaints about the size of its trade deficit with China were strange.
FILE PHOTO: Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, attends a session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia May 24, 2018. Vladimir Smirnov/TASS/Host Photo Agency/Pool via REUTERS Speaking in St. Petersburg at an economic forum, Lagarde also said that U.S. complaints about alleged Chinese intellectual property violations should be discussed at the World Trade Organization.
Reporting by Denis Pinchuk, Katya Golubkova and Christian Lowe; Writing by Maria Tsvetkova; Editing by Andrew Osborn
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-economy-forum-lagarde-china/imfs-lagarde-calls-u-s-complaints-about-china-trade-deficit-strange-idUSKCN1IQ283 |
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