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RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A Brazilian Air Force F-5 fighter jet crashed in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan area shortly after takeoff on Thursday, but the two pilots ejected before the aircraft plummeted into a field, the Air Force said.
The refurbished fighter ran into trouble shortly after departing the Santa Cruz Air Force base west of Rio de Janeiro on a training flight, according to an Air Force statement. It said the jet crashed in an uninhabited area and no one was hurt on the ground.
The pilot and co-pilot of the twin-jet fighter were picked up and taken to the hospital for exams, as investigators inspected the crash site to find out what caused the accident, the Air Force said on Twitter.
The F-5 built by Northrop was first designed for use by the United States in the Korean war in the mid-1950s to face Russian Mig-15s. Brazil bought around 60 of the fighters in the 1970s and 1980s.
The refurbished F-5s have been the mainstay of the Brazilian Air Force since it retired its Mirage 2000s in 2013. It has been awaiting delivery of 36 Gripens from Sweden’s Saab AB.
Reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier; Writing and additional reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and David Gregorio
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-brazil-fighter/brazilian-f-5-fighter-crashes-near-rio-pilots-eject-idUSKCN1IP20P |
May 25, 2018 / 7:53 AM / Updated 23 minutes ago Daily Briefing: Abortion - landmark referendum for Ireland Reuters Staff 5 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Many expatriate Irish have headed home to vote in today’s abortion referendum, billed by the country’s liberal prime minister, Leo Varadkar, as a “once in a generation” chance to change its current strict legislation. Voters will be asked if they want to scrap a prohibition that was enshrined in the constitution by referendum 35 year ago, and partly lifted in 2013 only for cases where the mother’s life is in danger. Garda Pat Mcllroy and presiding officer Nancy Sharkey carry a ballot box back to the boat to the mainland after collecting votes in Ireland's referendum on liberalizing abortion law, on Gola Island, Ireland, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Max Rossi
Polls currently suggest a lead for the "Yes" vote.
Polling stations close at 2100 GMT and national broadcaster RTE plans to publish an exit poll at 2230 GMT.
The first indications of the result are expected mid-morning on Saturday, after the count begins at 0800 GMT.
Italian President Sergio Mattarella may have invited little-known law professor Giuseppe Conte to head the country’s next government, but there are signs that he is less than keen about the coalition parties’ attempt to get an 81-year-old eurosceptic installed as finance minister.
A source close to him let it be known yesterday he found the pressure on him to approve Paolo Savona “unacceptable”.
This matters because Savona is on record as saying the way in which the euro was introduced was a big mistake for Europe.
The stand-off is likely to continue at least through today and possibly into the weekend.
Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force today.
The pan-EU law aims to give EU citizens more rights to control over their online information and threatens fines of up to 4 percent of a company’s annual revenue for serious infringements. Computer servers in Singapore July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White
Under GDPR, personal data is anything that relates to an identified or identifiable individual: name, address, email address, location data or computer IP address.
Sensitive data, such as religious beliefs, racial or ethnic origin, sexual orientation or trade union membership, are subject to extra protections. MARKETS AT 0655 GMT
World stock markets are set for a second week of losses following U.S. President Donald Trump's U-turn on the North Korea summit.
That came hours after threats to impose more levies on imports of car parts, which hit auto stocks, especially German companies. But markets have been soothed by Pyongyang , which suggested it would remain open to talks. Asian non-Japan stocks closed flat to higher after early losses, as did the Nikkei.
Korean markets closed only 0.2 percent weaker and the won is firmer on the day.
Wall Street slipped on Thursday following the news but only by 0.2 percent, and this morning’s conciliatory stance has pushed the yen down a touch vs the dollar off two week highs .
The dollar, which closed weaker against safe currencies such as the yen and Swiss franc has resumed its rise and is up almost 0.2 percent and approaching recent five-month highs.
The safe-haven dash on top of relatively dovish Fed minutes on Wednesday took U.S. 10-year yields back under 3 percent, where they remain.
If markets continue to calm, the yield is likely to head above 3 percent again today.
A look at the day ahead from European Economics and Politics Editor Mark John and EMEA markets editor Mike Dolan. The views expressed are their own. Editing by Larry King | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-view-friday/daily-briefing-abortion-landmark-referendum-for-ireland-idUKKCN1IQ0ST |
May 8, 2018 / 7:16 AM / Updated an hour ago Welshman Williams reflects on world title win - naked Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Editor’s note: Language in the third paragraph might offend some readers)
(Reuters) - Mark Williams stayed true to his word after clinching his third world snooker title on Monday by conducting his post-match news conference naked.
The 43-year-old, who had promised to strip off if he won, beat Scotland’s John Higgins 18-16 in a dramatic final to become the event’s oldest winner for 40 years.
“It’s an unbelievable story, 12 months ago I was thinking of chucking it. Here I am winning the 2018 World Championships ... bollock naked,” said Williams.
“Where has it come from? Unbelievable 12 months. If I never win another tour or my form goes downhill I don’t care. I’ve just done something I thought I’d never ever do.”
The three-times world champion looked forward to returning to the Crucible next year and promised to outdo himself if he defended his title.
“I’m just looking forward to coming back next year, I’m not going to say anything stupid and end up like this but to be honest if I won this next year I’d cartwheel down here naked.” Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-snooker-world/welshman-williams-reflects-on-world-title-win-naked-idUKKBN1I90MM |
TORONTO, May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited (“Fairfax”) (TSX:FFH (TSX:FFH.U) announces that it has priced a private offering of an additional €150 million of its 2.75% Senior Notes due March 29, 2028 (the “Notes”) at an issue price of 98.893%, plus accrued interest. Fairfax currently has outstanding €600,000,000 aggregate principal amount of notes of this series (the “Original Notes”). The Notes will have the same terms as the Original Notes, except for the issue date and the issue price, and will form part of the same series as the Original Notes, including with respect to interest payments. The issue price will include an aggregate amount of €565,068.49 of accrued interest from March 29, 2018, the issue date of the Original Notes.
The Notes will have the same ISIN and Common Code numbers as, and will trade together with, the Original Notes, except that the Notes sold pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), will have temporary ISIN and Common Code numbers during the 40-day distribution compliance period, as defined under Regulation S. Thereafter, such Notes will trade under the same ISIN and Common Code numbers as the Original Notes that were issued pursuant to Regulation S.
Fairfax intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to refinance or repay outstanding debt or other corporate obligations of Fairfax and its subsidiaries and for general corporate purposes. This may include the redemption or repurchase of certain of Fairfax’s previously issued senior unsecured notes. As of the date of this press release, Fairfax has not made any determination as to the specific debt or other obligations to be repaid, nor the amount, timing or method of repayment. Any repurchase of senior notes will be subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance that senior notes will be available for repurchase on terms acceptable to Fairfax. Any proceeds not used to refinance or repay debt or other corporate obligations will be used to augment Fairfax’s cash position, to increase short-term investments and marketable securities held at the holding company level and/or for other general corporate purposes. The offering is expected to close on or about May 18, 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions.
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 the Notes in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Any offers of the Notes will be made only by means of a private offering memorandum.
It is anticipated that the Notes will be offered primarily in Europe to non-retail investors in accordance with applicable laws as described further below.
The Notes have not been and will not be qualified for sale under the securities laws of any province or territory of Canada and may not be offered or sold directly or indirectly in Canada or to or for the benefit of any resident of Canada except pursuant to applicable prospectus exemptions.
In the United States, the offering is being made solely by means of a private placement to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act, and outside the United States pursuant to Regulation S under the Securities Act. The Notes have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act and the Notes may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.
Fairfax is a holding company which, through its subsidiaries, is engaged in property and casualty insurance and reinsurance and investment management.
For further information, contact: John Varnell, Vice President, Corporate Development, at (416) 367-4941
Notice To Prospective Investors In The European Economic Area
MIFID II product governance/Professional investors and ECPs only target market – Solely for the purposes of each manufacturer’s product approval process, the target market assessment in respect of the Notes has led to the conclusion that: (i) the target market for the Notes is eligible counterparties and professional clients only, each as defined in Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); and (ii) all channels for distribution of the Notes to eligible counterparties and professional clients are appropriate. Any person subsequently offering, selling or recommending the Notes (a “distributor”) should take into consideration the manufacturer’s target market assessment; however, a distributor subject to MiFID II is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the Notes (by either adopting or refining the manufacturers’ target market assessment) and determining appropriate distribution channels.
PRIIPs Regulation/Prohibition of sales to EEA retail investors – The Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive 2002/92/EC (as amended, the “Insurance Mediation Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Directive 2003/71/EC (as amended, the “Prospectus Directive”). No key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling packaged retail and insurance based investment products or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA may be unlawful under the PRIIPS Regulation.
Notice to United Kingdom residents – In the United Kingdom, this press release is only directed at non-retail investors (for these purposes being persons who are not retail investors as described above) who are also (i) persons having professional experience in matters relating to investments who fall within the definition of “investment professionals” in article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the “Order”) or (ii) high net worth bodies corporate, unincorporated associations and partnerships and trustees of high value trusts as described in article 49(2) of the Order (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). In the United Kingdom, any investment or investment activity to which this press release relates is only available to, and will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person in the United Kingdom who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents.
Forward-looking information
Certain statements contained herein may constitute “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws and “ ” within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and in any applicable Canadian securities regulations. Such forward-looking information may include, among other things, the expected use of net proceeds from the offering of Notes and the anticipated timing and completion of the offering of Notes. Such are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Fairfax to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such . Such factors include, but are not limited to: the failure to successfully complete the offering; our ability to refinance and/or repay certain of our outstanding debt or other corporate obligations with the proceeds of the offering on terms acceptable to us; a reduction in net earnings if our loss reserves are insufficient; underwriting losses on the risks we insure that are higher or lower than expected; the occurrence of catastrophic events with a frequency or severity exceeding our estimates; changes in market variables, including interest rates, foreign exchange rates, equity prices and credit spreads, which could negatively affect our investment portfolio; the cycles of the insurance market and general economic conditions, which can substantially influence our and our competitors’ premium rates and capacity to write new business; insufficient reserves for asbestos, environmental and other latent claims; exposure to credit risk in the event our reinsurers fail to make payments to us under our reinsurance arrangements; exposure to credit risk in the event our insureds, insurance producers or reinsurance intermediaries fail to remit premiums that are owed to us or failure by our insureds to reimburse us for deductibles that are paid by us on their behalf; our inability to maintain our long term debt ratings, the inability of our subsidiaries to maintain financial or claims paying ability ratings and the impact of a downgrade of such ratings on derivative transactions that we and our subsidiaries have entered into; risks associated with implementing our business strategies; the timing of claims payments being sooner or the receipt of reinsurance recoverables being later than anticipated by us; risks associated with any use we may make of derivative instruments; the failure of any hedging methods we may employ to achieve their desired risk management objective; a decrease in the level of demand for insurance or reinsurance products, or increased competition in the insurance industry; the impact of emerging claim and coverage issues or the failure of any of the loss limitation methods we employ; our inability to access cash of our subsidiaries; our inability to obtain required levels of capital on favourable terms, if at all; the loss of key employees; our inability to obtain reinsurance coverage in sufficient amounts, at reasonable prices or on terms that adequately protect us; the passage of legislation subjecting our businesses to additional supervision or regulation, including additional tax regulation, in the United States, Canada or other jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with applicable laws and regulations relating to sanctions and corrupt practices in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with government investigations of, and litigation and negative publicity related to, insurance industry practice or any other conduct; risks associated with political and other developments in foreign jurisdictions in which we operate; risks associated with legal or regulatory proceedings or significant litigation; failures or security breaches of our computer and data processing systems; the influence exercisable by our significant shareholder; adverse fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; our dependence on independent brokers over whom we exercise little control; an impairment in the carrying value of our goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets; our failure to realize deferred income tax assets; technological or other change which adversely impacts demand, or the premiums payable, for the insurance coverages we offer; disruptions of our information technology systems; and assessments and shared market mechanisms which may adversely affect our insurance subsidiaries. Additional risks and uncertainties are described in our most recently issued Annual Report which is available at www.fairfax.ca . Fairfax disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any .
Source: Fairfax Financial Holdings | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-fairfax-announces-pricing-of-re-opening-of-2-point-75-percent-senior-notes-due-2028.html |
MINNEAPOLIS, May 15 (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Tuesday the Fed’s current statement and its description of loose monetary policy “served its purpose” through years of crisis recovery, but will have to be replaced with a new sense of how the Federal Open Market Committee looks at the economy and the path of policy.
“That language still works today,” Williams said. But as interest rates approach neutral, a point that could be reached this year or early next, “We will have to come up with something at some point...That will be a committee decision about how best to describe where money policy is positioned.”
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-williams-statement/feds-policy-language-served-its-purpose-will-need-revisit-williams-idUSW1N1RW052 |
* April crude imports hit 9.6 mln bpd -customs
* That beats previous record set in January
* Fuel exports soar on-year, but down from March
BEIJING, May 8 (Reuters) - China’s crude oil imports reached record highs in April on a daily basis, according to customs data, with independent refiners shipping in backlogs of cargoes from the previous month and making new purchases amid steady refining margins.
April shipments were 39.46 million tonnes, or 9.6 million barrels per day (bpd), the General Administration of Customs said, beating the previous daily record of 9.57 million bpd set in January. That compared with 39.17 million tonnes in April last year.
Imports for the first four months of 2018 rose 8.9 percent versus the same period a year ago to 151.43 million tonnes, or 9.21 million bpd.
“Both state-run and independent plants were ramping up refinery production supported by steady margins,” said Gao Lei, analyst with China Sublime Information Group based in the eastern province of Shandong.
Independent plants in Shandong have also received some backlog cargoes from the previous month, said Gao.
Tuesday’s data also showed China’s refined fuel exports were 46-percent higher than a year earlier at 5.12 million tonnes, but eased from a record-high in March at 6.69 million tonnes.
The Chinese government issued a new batch of fuel export quotas totalling 19.33 million tonnes for 2018 under the general trade category, with market participants expecting Beijing to keep the total amount of grants this year largely flat from last year at around 43 million tonnes.
China’s fuel imports grew 21 percent on-year to 3.01 million tonnes. (Reporting by Chen Aizhu and Meng Meng; Editing by Tom Hogue and Joseph Radford)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/china-economy-trade-oil/update-1-chinas-crude-oil-imports-hit-record-in-april-fuel-exports-jump-on-yr-idUSL3N1SF26A |
FAIRFAX, Va., The Radiology Business Management Association (RBMA) is proud to announce the historic election of its 50th board of directors. Each year since the RBMA was founded in 1968, RBMA members have come together to elect an all-volunteer group of board members and officers from among their peers.
For the year covering April 2018 to April 2019, Christie James, MS, FRBMA, succeeds Thomas C. Dickerson, Ed.D., FACHE, as president of the RBMA board of directors. Ms. James brings nearly 30 years of radiology practice management and revenue cycle management leadership experience, which includes working for academic and private radiology practices. She is past chair of the RBMA Programs Committee and Payor Relations Committee, as well as past president of the RBMA New England Chapter. In addition, her previous service to the board includes being the board secretary, treasurer and president-elect. Ms. James is operations manager for Revenue Cycle Management at Massachusetts General Physicians Organizaton.
Dr. Dickerson the chief executive officer for Clinical Radiologists, S.C., in Springfield, Ill., continues his service to the board as immediate past president.
Sarah Mountford, RCC, CPC, FRBMA is the new RBMA president-elect. She previously served on the board as secretary and parliamentarian, and before that as the board treasurer. Ms. Mountford is a client services manager for Zotec Partners, Carmel, Indiana and has more than 15 years of experience in radiology billing and practice management. She is also past chair of both the Bylaws and Finance Committees, and has served on the Programs Committee.
Michael Langenberg, CPA, was re-elected for a second year as board treasurer. Mr. Langenberg helps lead Association of University Radiologists, PC, in Knoxville, Tennessee. He has worked on the RBMA Alternative Payment Models Task Force, the Payor Relations Committee and the Information Technology Task Force.
Tim Barrett, CPA, was elected board secretary/parliamentarian. He has 35 years of business management experience and helps lead Radiology Associates, LLC, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. As a member of the RBMA, he has served on the Finance Committee, Data Committee and as Chair of the Chapter Committee.
Serving alongside RBMA's new officers, the rest of the 2018-2019 board directors at large includes:
Pam Kassing, MPA, RCC, FRBMA, senior economic advisor for the American College of Radiology in Washington, D.C., is the board's new ACR director responsible for communication and coordination between the RBMA and ACR. Ms. Kassing has been a member of the RBMA for over 15 years and a senior director and advisor to the ACR for more than 30 years. Michael Gonzales, FRBMA, director of Client Relations at PBS West — Professional Billing Services in Reno, Nev. Thomas Greeson, JD, MBA, FRBMA, a partner at Reed Smith LLP in McLean, Va., and past recipient of both the RBMA's Calhoun Award and President's Award. Carol Hamilton, MBA, SPHR, FACMPE, FRBMA, chief administrative officer at West County Radiological Group, Inc., in St. Louis, Mo. Jennifer Kroken, MBA, a consultant at Healthcare Resource Providers in Lewisville, Tex. Parke Keith, chief development officer at Radiology of Huntsville in Huntsville, Ala. Charles McRae, MBA, chief executive officer at Columbus Radiology Corporation in Columbus, Ohio Shannon Wilson, marketing manager at Bay Imaging Consultants Medical Group in Walnut Creek, Calif.
More information about the RBMA Board of Directors officers and directors at large is available at rbma.org/RBMAMembers/About/Board_of_Directors/RBMAMembers/About/Board-of-Directors.aspx .
About RBMA
Founded in 1968, the Radiology Business Management Association is a national not-for-profit association providing members with applied business information and intelligence applicable in any radiology setting. RBMA represents more than 2,300 radiology practice managers and other radiology business professionals. Its aggregate influence extends to more than 24,000 radiologic technologists and 26,000 administrative staff and physicians. RBMA is the leading professional organization for radiology business management and is recognized for its radiology-specific educational programs, products and services, publications and data. The resources and solutions RBMA offers its members and the broader health care community are helping to shape the profession's future.
Press Contact:
Daphne Gawronski
Radiology Business Management Association
(703) 621-3353
[email protected]
with multimedia: releases/rbma-announces-board-of-directors-and-officers-for-2018-2019-300643880.html
SOURCE RBMA | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/pr-newswire-rbma-announces-board-of-directors-and-officers-for-2018-2019.html |
5/22/2018 9:58AM Welcome to the Jungle Opera The Amazonas Theater's Opera Delivery program in Manaus, Brazil, is offering mini performances in private homes and businesses to promote the iconic opera house and music festival. Photo: Ana Terra Athayde for The Wall Street Journal | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.wsj.com/video/welcome-to-the-jungle-opera/1310F066-8FC6-46B1-8C29-3DCD5C516D94.html |
May 16, 2018 / 10:02 PM / Updated 21 hours ago Scientists explore DNA secrets of green-blooded lizards Will Dunham 3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A group of lizards inhabiting the island of New Guinea boasts one of the most exotic traits of any animal: green blood. And scientists have been trying hard to figure out what benefit this characteristic — caused by high levels of an ordinarily toxic green bile pigment — may give them. Prasinohaema prehensicauda, a green-blooded lizard with high concentrations of biliverdin, or a toxic green bile pigment, found in New Guinea is seen in this image released May 16, 2018. Courtesy Christopher Austin/Louisiana State University/Handout via REUTERS
But these lizards are beginning to give up some of their secrets, including their evolutionary history. Researchers said on Wednesday a DNA study resolved their family tree, finding that green-bloodedness evolved four different times among lizards called skinks on New Guinea.
“Our key finding was that green-blooded lizards are not each other’s closest relatives, and they all likely evolved from an ancestor that had red blood. This means that green blood likely emerged independently in different lizards, suggesting that green blood has beneficial properties,” said evolutionary biologist Zachary Rodriguez of Louisiana State University’s Museum of Natural Science.
The high blood concentration of the green bile pigment biliverdin overwhelms the intense crimson color of red blood cells, resulting in a striking lime-green coloration of their blood, muscles, bones and mucosal tissues, said LSU biologist Christopher Austin, a curator at the museum.
High levels of biliverdin cause jaundice in most animals. But these lizards thrive despite biliverdin levels many times greater than the lethal concentration in people.
Scientists remain uncertain about the advantage green blood may provide the lizards. Several fish, frog and insect species also are green-blooded.
“Our current hypothesis is that this novel and toxic physiology might have evolved to reduce or preclude the infection of blood parasites such as malaria,” Austin said.
The researchers examined DNA from the six green-blooded lizard species and 45 closely related red-blooded species. They are now looking into the genes responsible for green-bloodedness, hoping an understanding of the genetic factors that let these lizards remain jaundice-free may lead to a cure for jaundice.
The green-blooded lizards, up to a foot (30 cm) long, live in lowland tropical forests and highlands on New Guinea, an island shared by Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
“Oh, these animals are gorgeous, truly some of the most beautiful and enigmatic lizards in the world, living on one of the most megadiverse islands on the planet,” Austin said.
“They have other cool traits such as giving birth to live young and adhesive toe pads,” Rodriguez added.
The research was published in the journal Science Advances. Reporting by Will Dunham; Editing by Sandra Maler | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-science-lizards/scientists-explore-dna-secrets-of-green-blooded-lizards-idUSKCN1IH33T |
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 the filing of its annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2017 with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). The annual report on Form 20-F was filed with the SEC on May 14, 2018.
The annual report on Form 20-F, which contains the Company's audited consolidated financial statements, can be accessed on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov as well as through the investor relations section of the Company's website at http://www.renren-inc.com . Holders of the Company's securities may request a hard copy of the Company's annual report free of charge by contacting the Investor Relations department by mail at:
Renren Inc.
Investor Relations Department
5/F, North Wing
18 Jiuxianqiao Middle Road, Chaoyang District
Beijing 100016
People's Republic of China
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".
For investor and media inquiries 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-filing-of-annual-report-on-form-20-f-300648053.html
SOURCE Renren Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-renren-announces-filing-of-annual-report-on-form-20-f.html |
BLANTYRE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Female candidates will pay 25 percent less than men to run for parliament in Malawi under a scheme to get more women into power in a general election due next year, authorities have said.
The decision, announced on Thursday by the Electoral Commission, follows a fall in the number of women MPs in the last national election in 2014, when the country’s first female president Joyce Banda lost power.
Experts welcomed the move to charge women candidates less than the standard 200,000 kwacha (about $280) fee, but called for more to be done to boost female participation in politics.
“It shows what can possibly be done to begin to level the playing field,” law professor Ngeyi Ruth Kanyongolo told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an email interview.
“A lot more substantive changes are required though for Malawi to begin to celebrate equal participation of men and women in politics, especially as candidates.”
Malawi was the first southern African country to have a female head of state, but a 2016 report by the Overseas Development Institute found women were still underrepresented. Just 16.5 percent of Malawi’s lawmakers are female.
Few women have leadership positions within political parties and their formal participation is often limited to support roles, the study found.
The unpredictability of the 2014 election meant parties were much less willing to field women candidates - even though the success rate of men and women was roughly equal, it said.
Reporting by Charles Pensulo, Editing by Claire Cozens Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-election-women/malawi-makes-it-cheaper-for-women-to-run-in-2019-election-idUSKBN1I522C |
A family of bombers targets Indonesian churches 9:36am EDT - 01:41
A family of suicide bombers, including a child as young as nine, attacked churches in Indonesia's second biggest city on Sunday, officials say.
A family of suicide bombers, including a child as young as nine, attacked churches in Indonesia's second biggest city on Sunday, officials say. //reut.rs/2GcOMBb | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/13/a-family-of-bombers-targets-indonesian-c?videoId=426535026 |
May 24, 2018 / 2:19 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Pfizer to pay $23.85 million to resolve U.S. kickback probe Jonathan Stempel 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Pfizer Inc ( PFE.N ) agreed to pay $23.85 million to resolve U.S. government charges that the drugmaker used a purportedly independent charity to pay illegal kickbacks to Medicare patients covering their out-of-pocket drug costs. FILE PHOTO: The Pfizer logo is seen at their world headquarters in New York April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
The U.S. Department of Justice said on Thursday that the civil settlement resolves allegations that Pfizer improperly used the Patient Access Network Foundation as a conduit to cover co-payment obligations of patients taking three Pfizer drugs.
Pfizer’s actions enabled the New York-based drugmaker to boost prices and revenue, violating the federal False Claims Act in a scheme that ran from 2012 to 2016, the Department said.
The accord resulted from an industrywide probe led by the office of U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling in Boston of drugmakers’ support of patient assistance charities.
“Kickbacks undermine the independence of physician and patient decision-making, and raise healthcare costs,” Chad Readler, the acting assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s civil division, said in a statement.
Pfizer said the settlement reflects its “desire to put this legal matter behind it and focus on the needs of patients. The company believes all individuals deserve access to medicines prescribed by their physicians.”
The company also entered a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Drugmakers are prohibited from subsidizing co-payments for patients enrolled in Medicare, but may donate to independent non-profits that provide such assistance.
Pfizer was accused of working with a third party specialty pharmacy, Advanced Care Scripts, to move patients taking its renal cell carcinoma drugs Sutent and Inlyta to the foundation, rather than provide the drugs for free to qualified patients.
The government also accused Pfizer of working with the foundation to create a fund for patients taking its arrhythmia drug Tikosyn, and coordinating the opening of the fund with a price hike.
Neither the foundation nor Advanced Care Scripts, which is now part of CVS Health Corp ( CVS.N ), immediately responded to requests for comment.
In December, United Therapeutics Corp ( UTHR.O ) reached a $210 million settlement to resolve similar allegations over its alleged improper use of a charity to cover co-payments.
On May 8, Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc ( JAZZ.O ) said it would pay $57 million in another accord.
The False Claims Act bans drugmakers from offering anything of value to induce Medicare patients to buy their drugs. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in Toronto; Additional reporting by Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Dan Grebler | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pfizer-settlement/pfizer-to-pay-23-85-million-to-resolve-u-s-kickbacks-case-idUSKCN1IP2CZ |
CRYSTAL LAKE, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AptarGroup, Inc. (NYSE: ATR) today announced that as of May 1, 2018, it has acquired Reboul from Vacheron Industries SAS. Reboul is a French leader in the design and industrial production of high-quality metal components, metal-plastic sub-assemblies, next generation lipstick mechanisms, and complete color cosmetic packaging solutions.
This strategic acquisition brings to Aptar complementary and distinctive capabilities including deep metal drawing, high speed metal stamping, as well as differentiated lipstick mechanism design and manufacturing. The transaction positions Aptar well to capitalize on growth in the color cosmetics market, while further strengthening its ability to serve customers in the skincare and fragrance markets.
Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Aptar will acquire Reboul for an enterprise value of €14 million (approximately $17 million) in cash, less the amount of net debt assumed at the closing date. The agreement also provides an earn-out provision based on the 2018 financial results, which could increase the enterprise value to a maximum of €23 million (approximately $28 million). The purchase will be funded with available cash on hand.
Since 1921, Reboul has been creating packaging for some of the world’s most prestigious color cosmetics brands. In 2017, Reboul became a member of Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (EPV), a recognition by the French government that rewards French firms for excellence in their field and industrial know-how. Reboul operates in a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility built according to RT2012 standards to provide optimized energy management. Located near an existing Aptar facility in Annecy, France, Reboul offers close proximity to leaders in the global prestige beauty industry.
Commenting on the transaction, Stephan Tanda, Aptar President and CEO said, “We are excited to announce this strategic acquisition which better positions us to further participate in the attractive growth of the color cosmetics market. This opportunity follows our disciplined approach of acquiring leading, recognized players with innovative technologies and know-how where we can also leverage the breadth of our commercial and manufacturing networks. The combination of Aptar’s scale and Reboul’s distinctive capabilities is compelling, and it will enable us to further expand our distinctive solutions to customers worldwide. We welcome Reboul’s excellent and experienced team to Aptar and look forward to building upon their success together to create a global leader in color cosmetics packaging solutions.”
Aptar is a leading global supplier of a broad range of innovative dispensing solutions for the beauty, personal care, home care, prescription drug, consumer health care, injectables, food, and beverage markets. Aptar is headquartered in Crystal Lake, Illinois, with manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, and South America. For more information, visit www.aptar.com .
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Words such as “opportunity,” “look forward,” “further” and “positions” and other similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will” and “could” are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and are based on our beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to us. Accordingly, our actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements due to known or unknown risks and uncertainties that exist in our operations and business environment including, but not limited to, our ability to integrate acquired businesses; the impact of tax reform legislation; the execution of the business transformation; the impact and extent of contamination found at the Company’s facility in Brazil; economic conditions worldwide including potential deflationary conditions in regions we rely on for growth; political conditions worldwide; significant fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates or our effective tax rate; changes in customer and/or consumer spending levels; financial conditions of customers and suppliers; consolidations within our customer or supplier bases; fluctuations in the cost of materials, components and other input costs; the availability of raw materials and components; our ability to successfully implement facility expansions and new facility projects; our ability to increase prices, contain costs and improve productivity; changes in capital availability or cost, including interest rate fluctuations; volatility of global credit markets; cybersecurity threats that could impact our networks and reporting systems; fiscal and monetary policies and other regulations, including changes in tax rates; direct or indirect consequences of acts of war or terrorism; work stoppages due to labor disputes; and competition, including technological advances. For additional information on these and other risks and uncertainties, please see our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the discussion under “Risk Factors” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” in our Form 10-Ks and Form 10-Qs. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180502005392/en/
AptarGroup, Inc.
Investor Relations Contact :
Matt DellaMaria
[email protected]
+1 815 477 0424
or
Media Contacts:
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Source: AptarGroup, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/business-wire-aptar-adds-capabilities-to-better-serve-the-growing-color-cosmetics-market-acquires-reboul-an-established-and-innovative.html |
VIENNA, May 22 (Reuters) - Austrian energy group OMV said on Tuesday it had not halted its planned Iranian energy projects despite the U.S. withdrawal from an international nuclear agreement, but it had made no investments there yet.
The group was monitoring political developments in the United States and the European Union very closely, said upstream chief Johann Pleininger at the annual shareholders’ meeting in Vienna.
“The project has not come to a standstill, it is continuing,” Pleininger said, adding that “no investments have been made yet.”
OMV signed a memorandum of understanding in May 2016 for projects in the Zagros area of western Iran and the Fars field in the south. In June 2017, OMV and Russia’s Gazprom Neft announced a memorandum of understanding to work in Iran’s oil sector. (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Adrian Croft)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-nuclear-omv/austrias-omv-stands-by-iran-project-upstream-chief-idUSL5N1ST3A0 |
May 7, 2018 / 11:48 AM / a minute ago Russia's Putin taps Medvedev for prime minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday put forward Dmitry Medvedev for the post of prime minister, the Kremlin said in a statement on its website. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attends a ceremony inaugurating Vladimir Putin as President of Russia at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia May 7, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS
Medvedev, who had been prime minister since 2012, resigned earlier on Monday along with the rest of the government in line with procedure. Putin was on Monday sworn in for a fourth term.
Medvedev’s candidacy still has to be approved by the State Duma, or the lower house of parliament. Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; Editing by Christian Lowe | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-medvedev-nomination/russias-putin-taps-medvedev-for-prime-minister-idUSKBN1I817N |
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at a faster pace in April than the previous month, a revised survey showed on Tuesday, as new orders accelerated in a sign the economy is recovering from an expected rough patch in the first quarter.
FILE PHOTO - A worker cycles near a factory at the Keihin industrial zone in Kawasaki, Japan February 17, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/File Photo However, growth in new export orders slowed sharply due to a stronger yen, posing an additional risk for Japan’s export-intensive manufacturing sector even as global trade tensions heat up.
The final Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose to 53.8 in April on a seasonally adjusted basis versus a flash reading of 53.3 and a final 53.1 in the previous month.
The index remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction for the 20th consecutive month and rose for the first time in three months.
“April data pointed to a renewed acceleration in Japanese manufacturing sector growth,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
“However, the new export orders index sub-component fell noticeably, albeit still remaining in expansionary territory, to signal only a marginal pace of growth.”
The final index for total new orders was 53.8, more than a preliminary 53.5 and a final 53.1 in the previous month, but growth in export orders slowed sharply to only marginal levels.
The yen JPY= has risen around 3 percent versus the dollar since the start of the year, and some economists have expressed concern that Japan's exports could weaken if the yen rises further because this pushes up export prices.
Japan’s economy is forecast to have expanded an annualized 0.5 percent in the first quarter as consumer spending and factory output weakened, according to a Reuters poll. That would be a marked slowdown from 1.6 percent annualized growth in the fourth quarter. The data will be released on May 16.
The world’s third-largest economy has grown for eight straight quarters through the end of 2017, the longest continuous expansion since the 1980s bubble economy.
Some economists are worried that growth could remain sluggish due to a large increase in inventories in the semiconductor and electronic parts sector.
Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Kim Coghill
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-economy-pmi/japan-final-april-factory-pmi-points-to-domestic-bounce-export-weakness-idUSKBN1I22J9 |
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Hundreds gathered outside the United Nations’ regional headquarters in Bangkok and two other locations on Wednesday to urge Thailand’s military government to end what they say is the intimidation of community activists by authorities.
Demonstrators take part in a protest organized by the People's Movement for a Just Society outside the United Nations' regional headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Aukkarapon Niyomyat The demonstration was one of the largest displays of displeasure against Thailand’s unelected government in recent months. It was organized by the People’s Movement for Just Society, or P-Move, a network that represents farmers, the urban poor and indigenous people who have been forced from their land.
The protest underscores growing public disgruntlement ahead of a general election that the military government has repeatedly delayed. The latest date has been set for 2019.
Thailand was rocked by often deadly, on-off street protests between 2008 and 2014. The ruling junta has clamped down on freedom of expression since a 2014 coup and has banned public gatherings, saying its actions were necessary to keep the peace ahead of the 2019 vote.
Around 900 people gathered at three locations in Bangkok’s historic district on Wednesday, including outside the United Nations. Three hundred police officers were deployed to control the crowds.
Some protesters were seen laying out mats across the street from the Government House complex.
The protesters plan to stay around two weeks, said Tanadet Teenaka, deputy commander of Nang Loeng police station.
Sutharee Wannasiri, Thailand Rights Specialist at Fortify Rights, accused the military and police of intimidating members of disenfranchised communities.
Demonstrators take part in a protest organized by the People's Movement for a Just Society outside the United Nations' regional headquarters in Bangkok, Thailand, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Aukkarapon Niyomyat “It is disturbing that the Thai military and police continue to intimidate, harass and arbitrarily detain members of affected communities who simply exercise their rights to peaceful protests,” Sutharee told Reuters.
Members of P-Move have been forcibly evicted from their homes and many have lost land used for farming as a result of the current military administration, she said.
Authorities detained more than a hundred people in the northern province of Chiang Mai to prevent them from joining the Bangkok protest, P-Move said.
Sansern Kaewkamnerd, a spokesman for the government, said the government stood ready to solve problems raised by grassroots groups.
“The prime minister has urged the relevant authorities to speedily resolve problems,” Sansern said.
Jamnong Nupan, one of the protest leaders, called the government insincere.
“The prime minister needs to tell us why the government can’t solve our problems over the past four years,” Jamnong told the crowd.
In a separate protest, more than a thousand people gathered in Chiang Mai on Sunday to protest against the building of a luxury government housing project on forested land.
Additional reporting by Amy Sawitta Lefevre and Panu Wongcha-um; Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Paul Tait
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-thailand-politics-protest/hundreds-gather-near-u-n-hq-in-bangkok-to-protest-against-thai-military-govt-idUSKBN1I30HJ |
May 4 (Reuters) - Raj Oil Mills Ltd:
* SAYS SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION APPLICANT APPROVED APPOINTMENT OF PARVEZ SHAIKH AS CHAIRMAN OF CO
* SRA APPROVES TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM ESCROW ACCOUNT WITH HDFC BANK TO CURRENT BANK ACCOUNT OF CO Source text - bit.ly/2KBTYlB Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-raj-oil-mills-says-successful-reso/brief-raj-oil-mills-says-successful-resolution-applicant-approved-appointment-of-parvez-shaikh-as-chairman-idUSFWN1SB13D |
Does the Pope have a point about capitalism? 1 Hour Ago The Pope criticized capitalism this week, but does he have a point? With Rev. James Martin, America Magazine, and Steve Grasso, Stuart Frankel. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/18/does-the-pope-have-a-point-about-capitalism.html |
May 27, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Froome joins elite club with historic Giro triumph Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Chris Froome wrote his name into the history books as he became the first Briton to win the Giro d’Italia title after coming through unscathed in Sunday’s final processional stage in Rome. Cycling - Giro d'Italia, Rome, Italy - May 27, 2018 Team Sky's Chris Froome in action during the final stage REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
Riding in the gruelling race for the first time since 2010, Froome added the one Grand Tour missing from his collection.
The 33-year-old joined an exclusive club that includes cycling greats Eddy Merckx and Bernard Hinault as one of only three riders to capture all three Grands Tours in succession.
“For any cyclist this is the dream to have all three leaders’ jerseys in the 10 months,” Froome, who finished 46 seconds ahead of last year’s winner Tom Dumoulin in the overall standings, told Eurosport. Cycling - Giro d'Italia, Rome, Italy - May 27, 2018 Team Sky's Chris Froome celebrates with the trophy after winning the Giro d'Italia REUTERS/Alessandro Garofalo
“Pinching myself! There were times over the last three weeks when I thought this wouldn’t be possible. This is a dream come true,” Froome later said on his Twitter account.
Froome, who crossed the finish line with his hands on the shoulders of Sky team mates, won the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana last year and his success at the Giro was built on a remarkable performance in Friday’s 19th stage which put him in full control to win the Maglia Rosa. Slideshow (6 Images)
Froome turned the race on its head in that stage and saw off several late attacks by Dumoulin to come into contention after being off the pace in the opening week. He had even crashed ahead of the first stage in Israel.
The Team Sky rider is still under investigation over an adverse doping test result following a urine sample at last year’s Vuelta which showed excessive use of an asthma inhaler.
The four-times Tour de France winner has denied any wrongdoing and has said he is confident the probe will clear him.
Sunday’s 21st stage was largely a formality and Froome’s task became all the simpler when it was decided to neutralise the stage after three laps because of dangerous spots on the cobble-stoned streets of Rome.
Riders needed only to complete the 115km, 10-lap loop of the city centre to maintain their overall places.
Ireland’s Sam Bennett claimed his third stage win ahead of Italy’s Elia Viviani and Jean-Pierre Druker from Luxembourg. Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Clare Fallon | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-cycling-giro/froome-claims-historic-giro-victory-idUKKCN1IS0MQ |
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army said the capital Damascus and its surroundings were fully secure after the army cleared the last insurgent-held area around the capital of Islamic State fighters on Monday.
“Damascus and its surroundings and Damascus countryside and its villages are completely secure areas,” the army high command said in a televised statement, adding that the army would continue to fight “terrorism” across Syria.
Reporting by Ellen Francis and Lisa Barrington; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-syria-army/syrian-army-says-damascus-and-surroundings-fully-secure-idUSKCN1IM1CG |
May 24, 2018 / 1:24 AM / Updated 11 hours ago WTA International, Nuremberg (Women) Women's Singles Results Reuters Staff 1 Min Read May 24 (OPTA) - Results from the WTA International, Nuremberg (Women) Women's Singles matches on Wednesday .. 1st Round .. Yulia Putintseva (KAZ) beat 1-Sloane Stephens (USA) 5-7 6-4 7-6(3) .. 2nd Round .. 6-Sorana Cirstea (ROU) beat Madison Brengle (USA) 6-3 3-6 6-3 Kirsten Flipkens (BEL) beat Nadia Podoroska (ARG) 7-6(6) 6-2 Fanny Stollar (HUN) beat Heather Watson (GBR) 6-3 6-3 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/tennis-wta-results-womens-singles/wta-international-nuremberg-womens-singles-results-idUKMTZXEE5O7L1KZZ |
When architect Wallace Neff's Southern California mansion was featured in the 2006 film "The Holiday," starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet, fans fell in love with the home and it became a tourist attraction.
"We have to keep the gates closed 24/7," realtor Brent Chang tells CNBC Make It . "If open just five minutes, we find someone in the front yard taking a selfie with the house. It's that recognizable."
The two-story estate, located across the street from the Huntington Library in San Marino, California, went on the market last week for $11.8 million. The price isn't completely due to its Hollywood fame. Wallace Neff is a legendary architect who has built homes for the rich and famous, including Jennifer Aniston and Diane Keaton. Neff not only built this particular home in San Marino, he lived here too.
Don Lewis In the movie, the home belonged to Cameron Diaz's character, who swapped houses with Kate Winslet's character for Christmas vacation.
Take a look inside.
The Spanish eclectic-style estate has seven bedrooms and six-and-a-half baths.
Don Lewis Winslet's character did some cooking in the home's kitchen during the movie.
Don Lewis Built in 1928, it has many original details, like the flooring in its library.
Don Lewis The outside features a pool and spa, a paddle tennis court and a gated motor court with a center fountain.
There are also various gardens and a courtyard...
Don Lewis ...as well as several terraces.
Don Lewis Wallace Neff homes can be found all over Southern California, like Palm Desert, Pasadena and Beverly Hills. Prince William and Kate stayed in a Wallace Neff property when they were in Hancock Park in 2011.
And according to Chang, Kristen Wiig and Meryl Streep have recently moved to San Marino and Ryan Gossling looked at a house there. He says celebrities like it here because it's very low key and there is no paparazzi.
Don't miss: Here's how you can rent these vacation mansions for under $200 per person a night
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show chapters 5 of the best travel rewards credit cards for young people 10:39 AM ET Thu, 10 May 2018 | 01:48 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/inside-wallace-neff-mansion-in-movie-the-holiday-with-cameron-diaz.html |
Breakingviews TV: The GE train 1:14pm EDT - 04:23
The conglomerate is offloading its subpar locomotive business by selling part of it to rival Wabtec and handing most of the rest to shareholders. It gets CEO John Flannery’s turnaround on track – and gives a hint to how he might shed other divisions.
The conglomerate is offloading its subpar locomotive business by selling part of it to rival Wabtec and handing most of the rest to shareholders. It gets CEO John Flannery’s turnaround on track – and gives a hint to how he might shed other divisions. //reut.rs/2KI2sH3 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/breakingviews-tv-the-ge-train?videoId=429082337 |
May 22, 2018 / 6:43 AM / Updated 18 minutes ago Asset rise boosts profits at specialist fund ICG, shares at record high Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON(Reuters) - Specialist fund manager Intermediate Capital Group ( ICP.L ) on Tuesday posted a 29 percent rise in full-year pretax profit at its fund management business, buoyed by a strong rise in its assets under management and taking its shares to record highs.
The company, which focuses on less liquid debt and equity investments, said total assets under management during the year to the end of March rose over 20 percent to 28.7 billion pounds, from 23.83 billion pounds.
Alternative asset classes are attracting investors because they offer higher returns than most mainstream assets in a low-interest rate environment.
An 21 percent increase in the fees charged to clients to invest in its funds helped pretax profit grow to 95.3 million pounds from 74 million pounds, ICG said in a statement.
Jefferies analysts said the profits came in ahead of their forecast and the company had got off to a “very strong start” this year in capital-raising. They reiterated their buy rating on the stock.
ICG said it had already raised 2.6 billion euros for its latest European fund and chief executive Benoit Durteste told Reuters the fund would reach its 4 billion euro target “in the near future”.
ICG is also looking to expand investment into new markets, Durteste said.
“We always keep an eye on new geographies, we are looking at a number, that includes Latin America,” he said, adding that there were no imminent additions.
The growth in pre-tax profit helped underpin an 11 percent increase in the total dividend for the year.
Intermediate Capital's shares rose 2.8 percent to 11.96 pounds at 0710 GMT, making it one of the top performers in the FTSE mid-cap index .FTMC . Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop in LONDON; Additonal reporting by Rahul B in BENGALURU, editing by Sinead Cruise | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-intermediate-cap-results/fund-firm-icg-gets-full-year-pretax-profit-boost-as-assets-rise-idUKKCN1IN0NP |
May 7 (Reuters) - Hiap Hoe Ltd:
* EXPECTS TO REPORT A LOSS FOR 1Q2018 * LOSS PRIMARILY DUE TO FOREIGN EXCHANGE LOSS AND FAIR VALUE CHANGES IN FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-hiap-hoe-expects-to-report-a-loss/brief-hiap-hoe-expects-to-report-a-loss-for-q1-idUSFWN1SE0F7 |
ALGIERS (Reuters) - Algeria plans to offer foreign investors concessions for farm land for the first time, according to an official document, as the oil producer seeks to boost food output and reduce reliance on imports.
FILE PHOTO: A man feeds cows in a farm in Tipaza, Algeria April 21, 2018. Picture taken April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina/File Photo Under the plan, which is expected to be discussed by the cabinet this week before being submitted to parliament, any foreign investor would need to work in partnership with the state or a private Algerian firm, the document seen by Reuters said.
Algeria, a member of Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, has been encouraging farmers with incentives such as low interest loans in a bid cut the state’s $50 billion annual bill for food and other imports.
The government relies on oil exports for about 60 percent of its revenues, which are only now starting to recover after a crash in crude prices from above $100 a barrel in 2014 to below $30 in 2016.
Cows are seen in a farm in Tipaza, Algeria April 21, 2018. Picture taken April 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ramzi Boudina “Agricultural concessions will also be open to foreigners,” the government said in the document on the initiative.
The document did not give details about what areas of farmland would be offered or say how concessions would be granted. An official said details would be outlined in separate legislation.
Slideshow (4 Images) Foreign investors have long complained about bureaucratic red tape and other hurdles to investment in Algeria, a nation of 41 million people.
In 2010, Algeria approved a law allowing private firms to lease state-owned farmland for 40 years. The private firms were allowed to enter partnerships with foreigners, but the foreign investors were not allowed to directly hold a concession.
That initiative failed to provide a major agricultural boost. Prime Minister Ahmed Ouyahia said this year that 3 million hectares from that scheme were still undeveloped and he promised more steps to improve the situation.
Algeria, one of the world’s largest grain importers, bought 8.4 million tonnes of cereals in 2017 at a cost of $1.7 billion.
The government aims to boost wheat output to 5.3 million tonnes by 2022 from 3.5 million tonnes in 2017. It also wants to double production of potatoes, milk, meat and other products in the next four years.
As part of its effort to boost agriculture, the government plans to expand areas under irrigation to 2 million hectares in 2019 from 1.3 million hectares now with new dams, helping offset the reliance of farms on unpredictable rainfall.
Reporting by Hamid Ould Ahmed; Editing by Edmund Blair
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-algeria-farming/algeria-to-open-farming-concessions-to-foreigners-document-idUSKBN1I81WH |
May 3, 2018 / 9:52 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Table Tennis-Koreas form unified team at world championships Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
May 3 (Reuters) - The two Koreas will field a combined team at the table tennis world championships after the nations decided not to compete against each other in the quarter-finals, the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) said on Thursday.
North and South Korea requested to field a unified team for the semi-finals of the championships, which will be played against Japan or Ukraine on Friday in Halmstad, Sweden.
The last time that a unified Korea team played the world table tennis championships was 1991 in Chiba, Japan where women’s team shocked defending champions China to win the gold medal.
The decision to form a unified team was a tripartite agreement between the leaders North and South Korean Table Tennis teams and the ITTF.
“When I informed the Board of Directors about this development, the unified team received a standing ovation from the delegates who showed their sign of support to this historic move,” ITTF president Thomas Weikert said in a statement.
The move follows the North and South Korean leaders’ pledge to work for “complete denuclearization” of the Korean peninsula last week.
The two Koreas had earlier this year joined forces to field a combined women’s ice hockey team at the Pyeongchang Winter Games after they marched in together for the opening ceremony. (Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/tabletennis-world-korea/table-tennis-koreas-form-unified-team-at-world-championships-idUKL3N1SA3DW |
* MSCI Asia-Pacific index flat, Nikkei rises 0.35 pct
* Spreadbetters expect European stocks to open mixed
* Beijing offers Trump package in trade talks
* Dollar/yen hits near 4-mth high with US yields at 7-yr peak
* Crude dips back from 2014 high, still up 3 pct for the week
By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, May 18 (Reuters) - Asian stocks were steady on Friday amid caution over developments in U.S.-China trade negotiations, while the dollar perched near a five-month peak after the benchmark U.S. Treasury yield hit its highest in seven years.
Spreadbetters expected European stocks to open mixed, with Britain’s FTSE dipping 0.1 percent, Germany’s DAX rising 0.13 percent and France’s CAC little changed.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was little changed. The index was headed for a 1 percent loss this week.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.17 percent and Shanghai climbed 0.3 percent as some investors bet Beijing and Washington will reach a deal in the latest round of trade talks.
Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.35 percent, South Korea’s KOSPI was up 0.3 percent and Australian stocks dipped 0.2 percent.
Wall Street ended slightly lower on Thursday as investors grappled with U.S.-China trade tensions after U.S. President Donald Trump said that China “has become very spoiled on trade”.
But helping ease some of the tension, Beijing has offered Trump a package of proposed purchases of American goods and other measures aimed at reducing the U.S. trade deficit with China by some $200 billion a year, U.S. officials familiar with the proposal said.
A second round of talks between senior Trump administration officials and their Chinese counterparts started on Thursday, focused on cutting China’s U.S. trade surplus and improving intellectual property protections.
“President Trump does not do the actual trade negotiations, which are done by officials from both sides,” said Kota Hirayama, senior emerging markets economist at SMBC Nikko Securities in Tokyo.
“China should be well accustomed to Trump’s ways by now. Judging from how the talks are proceeding so far, there is a greater chance of the negotiations ending in some sort of a compromise instead of falling through, and such an outcome would bode well for risk sentiment,” he said.
In currencies, the dollar index against a basket of six major currencies was steady at 93.471 after rising to a five-month peak of 93.632 on Thursday.
The index has gained about 1 percent this week, buoyed by the surge in U.S. Treasury yields, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield hitting a seven-year peak of 3.128 percent.
The euro was up 0.1 percent at $1.1805, but not far off a five-month trough of $1.1763 brushed on Wednesday. The currency has fallen nearly 1.2 percent this week, largely pressured by Italian political uncertainty.
Reports this week that Italian populist parties likely to form the country’s next government may ask the European Central Bank for debt forgiveness have raised concerns about Italy abandoning fiscal discipline.
The dollar extended an overnight rally and rose to 111.005 yen, its highest since late January. The greenback has gained about 1.4 percent against its Japanese peer this week.
Emerging market currencies have also lost ground against the dollar this week as the rise in U.S. yields showed little signs of slowing.
The Turkish lira fell to a record low against the dollar this week, the Brazilian real plumbed a two-year low while Mexico’s peso has shed more than 5 percent this month.
A retreat by Indonesia’s rupiah to a 2-1/2-year low prompted the central bank to tighten monetary policy on Thursday for the first time since 2014 to support the currency.
“Perhaps the most unnerving aspect of the recent rupiah weakness has been the sheer speed in which the currency markets have turned against some emerging market countries,” wrote Sean Darby, chief global equity strategist at Jefferies.
“However, policy credibility is the most important tool and the fact that the Indonesian central bank has begun to tighten ought to alleviate some of the FX pressures.”
In commodities, Brent crude oil futures were 16 cents higher at $79.46 a barrel after rising to $80.50 on Thursday, their highest since November 2014.
Brent has risen 3 percent this week and is headed for a sixth week of gains.
A rapid slide in oil supply from Venezuela, concern that U.S. sanctions will disrupt exports from Iran, and falling global inventories have all combined to push oil prices up nearly 20 percent in 2018.
Inflation concerns, strong U.S. economic indicators and worries over increasing debt supply have pushed Treasury yields higher this week. (Reportijg by Shinichi Saoshiro; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Eric Meijer)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-asia-stocks-steady-as-markets-eye-us-china-trade-talks-dollar-elevated-idUSL3N1SP25E |
May 8, 2018 / 8:53 AM / Updated 10 minutes ago Exclusive - Qatar Petroleum CEO says pushing ahead with expansion despite Gulf embargo Dmitry Zhdannikov , Rania El Gamal 2 Min Read
DOHA (Reuters) - State energy giant Qatar Petroleum will push ahead with its production expansion and foreign asset acquisition strategy to be on par with oil majors, despite a regional political and economic embargo on Doha, its chief executive said. FILE PHOTO: Saad al-Kaabi, chief executive of Qatar Petroleum, gestures during a news conference in Doha, Qatar, December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon/File Photo
QP [QATPE.UL], which produces 4.8 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boed), aims to boost its output to 6.5 million boed in the next 8 years, and is expanding its upstream business abroad, particularly in the United States, CEO Saad Al-Kaabi told Reuters.
Qatar is one of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ smallest producers but is also one of the most influential players in the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market due to its annual production of 77 million tonnes. FILE PHOTO: Saad al-Kaabi, chief executive of Qatar Petroleum, gestures as he speaks to reporters in Doha, Qatar, July 4, 2017. REUTERS/Naseem Zeitoon
“We are in Mexico, we are in Brazil, we are contemplating investing in the U.S. in many areas, in shale gas, in conventional oil. We are looking at many things,” Al-Kaabi said in an interview at QP’s headquarters in Doha.
“We are looking very critically at the United States because we have a position there. We have the Golden Pass that we are investing in,” he said.
Qatar Petroleum is the majority owner of the Golden Pass LNG terminal in Texas, with Exxon Mobil Corp ( XOM.N ) and ConocoPhillips ( COP.N ) holding smaller stakes.
Al-Kaabi said “depending on the project’s cost and feasibility” he expects to take a final investment decision on expanding the Golden Pass LNG by the end of the year.
“I’m not in the business of infrastructure. I’m not going to have a liquefaction plant only. It has to be something that will be linked with an upstream business that we would buy in the U.S. so we need to be naturally hedged,” he added. Reporting by Rania El Gamal and Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Louise Heavens | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-qatar-energy-qp-exclusive/exclusive-qatar-petroleum-ceo-says-pushing-ahead-with-expansion-despite-gulf-embargo-idUKKBN1I90V4 |
May 27, 2018 / 7:41 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Bahrain sees 'no glimmer of hope' for ending Qatar crisis soon Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
RIYADH (Reuters) - Bahrain sees no resolution in sight to a diplomatic row between Qatar and its neighbors, which cut diplomatic and trade ties with the tiny Gulf Arab state nearly a year ago. FILE PHOTO: Buildings are seen from across the water in Doha, Qatar June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
“The information in our hands today does not indicate any glimmer of hope for a solution now, as the matter does not happen suddenly,” Bahrain’s Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa told Alsharq Alawsat newspaper on Sunday. Related Coverage Qatar bans goods from UAE, Saudi as embargo anniversary approaches
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain and Egypt severed travel and trade ties with Qatar last June, alleging it was backing Iran and supporting terrorism. Qatar denies this and says the boycott is an attempt to impinge on its sovereignty and rein in its support for reform. FILE PHOTO: An aerial view of Doha's diplomatic area March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Fadi Al-Assaad/File Photo
After initially disrupting Qatar’s imports and triggering the withdrawal of billions of dollars from its banks by depositors from the four states, the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas quickly developed new trade routes and deployed tens of billions of dollars from its sovereign wealth fund to protect its domestic lenders. FILE PHOTO: Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khalid bin Ahmed al-Khalifa waits for a meeting with John Kerry (unseen) at King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah September 11, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool
The dispute has evaded mediation attempts by Kuwait and Washington, which has strong alliances with both sides and fears the split among Sunni Muslim U.S. allies could benefit Iran in a decades-old tussle for influence in the Middle East.
Bahrain’s foreign minister said Qatar was prolonging the crisis by taking its case to Western allies, instead of dealing with it inside the Gulf Arab bloc.
“We were expecting from the beginning of the crisis with Qatar that the emir of Qatar would go to Saudi (Arabia) but this did not happen,” he told the pan-Arab newspaper.
Saudi and UAE officials have said that Doha has yet to meet 13 demands made by the four states, including closing the state-funded Al Jazeera television station and reducing ties to Iran.
UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said last week on Twitter that Qatar had not dealt wisely with those demands: “Perhaps the passing of a year of the boycott will produce a new thought and a wiser approach from Doha”. Reporting by Stephen Kalin; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Alexander Smith | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gulf-qatar/bahrain-sees-no-glimmer-of-hope-for-ending-qatar-crisis-soon-idUSKCN1IS04T |
SOCHI, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin handed ministerial jobs to a former bodyguard and the son of an ex-intelligence chief on Friday, promoting trusted lieutenants with security ties at the start of what, under the constitution, will be his last term in office.
In a new Cabinet line-up approved by Putin, established big-hitters, such as veteran Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, kept their jobs, suggesting there would be little change of tack on policy in the new presidential term.
One new entrant to the Cabinet was Yevgeny Zinichev, 51, a former deputy director of the Federal Security Service (FSB), who becomes head of the high-profile emergencies ministry.
A biography carried by state-run media said he was born in St Petersburg, which is also Putin’s home city. Then from 1987 to 2015 he served in the state security services, a similar career path to the one taken by Putin, himself a former KGB spy.
Zinichev’s biography did not specify what jobs he held in the security services. However, multiple photographs of Putin at public events dating over several years show Zinichev standing at Putin’s shoulder, or walking down the steps of his official plane a few steps after the Russian leader.
The only people allowed in such regular proximity to Putin at public events, apart from senior officials and aides, are his security detail.
Zinichev was briefly appointed acting governor of the Kaliningrad region in 2016, although he only served for a few months before leaving for what the Kremlin called family reasons. Russian media said he had struggled with the publicity demands of the job.
Related Coverage Factbox: Composition of Russia's new government Putin also approved Dmitry Patrushev, son of former FSB chief Nikolai Patrushev, for the job of agriculture minister. He had previously been the chairman of the board of directors of Russian Agricultural Bank.
Nikolai Patrushev is also from St Petersburg and was a career intelligence officer before becoming head of the FSB, the main successor agency to the Soviet KGB. He is now Secretary of Putin’s Security Council.
The two appointments illustrated how officials with intelligence ties have emerged under Putin at the core of a ruling caste, said Moscow-based political analyst Dmitry Oreshkin.
“They are forming a fairly closed ruling caste with support from the ‘siloviks’,” said Oreshkin, using a word to describe officials who have served in the security services.
Putin has in the past recruited intelligence officers and state bodyguards for official roles.
Russian President Vladimir Putin waves towards the crowd as he leaves after attending the Victory Day parade, marking the 73rd anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany in World War Two, at Red Square in Moscow, Russia May 9, 2018. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov/Files In 2016, Putin named Alexei Dyumin, who served in the Federal Guard Service (FSO), responsible for Kremlin security, as the governor overseeing Tula region south of Moscow.
TERM LIMITS The Cabinet appointments will be analysed by Kremlin-watchers for any indications that Putin could be grooming someone as a successor.
Sworn in for a new term this month after he won a March 18 presidential election, Putin, 65, can not under the constitution run again because of term limits. He is now on his second consecutive term, and the fourth in total.
Analysts say he may find a way to de facto retain power after his term ends in 2024, or could seek to anoint a successor. Putin, though, has given no indication he wants to do that, or of who that person might be.
Dmitry Medvedev, whom Putin had already reappointed as prime minister, unveiled the new cabinet at a meeting with Putin in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.
Most of the incumbents kept their jobs, among them Foreign Minister Lavrov, Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Alexander Novak, the energy minister who helped mastermind a global deal to prop up crude oil prices.
Slideshow (4 Images) Maxim Oreshkin, named economy minister in late 2016, will retain his job, as will trade and industry minister Denis Manturov, and Sports Minister Pavel Kolobkov. His role is under the spotlight because Russia is hosting the soccer World Cup next month.
The currency market reacted negatively to the appointments in the minutes after the lineup was unveiled.
The rouble pared gains and weakened to 62.19 versus the dollar from levels of 62.08 seen before the announcement.
Writing by Andrey Ostroukh and Tom Balmforth; Editing by Christian Lowe and Richard Balmforth
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-government-putin-approval/putin-favours-status-quo-with-new-government-lineup-idINKCN1IJ1L6 |
(Conference Call and Webcast Today, May 9, 2018, at 8:00 a.m. ET)
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ophthotech Corporation (Nasdaq:OPHT) today announced financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 and provided a business update.
“We continue to build on our Zimura program with on-going clinical trials in wet age related macular degeneration (AMD) with patient recruitment completed and topline data expected by the end of 2018, in geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD where recruitment is on-track for topline data in the second half of 2019 and in autosomal recessive Stargardt disease which began enrolling patients earlier in the year,” stated Glenn P. Sblendorio, Chief Executive Officer and President of Ophthotech. “In parallel, we are excited to have initiated our first innovative gene therapy program in collaboration with Horae Gene Therapy Center at the University of Massachusetts Medical School to treat orphan degenerative retinal diseases. A key aspect of our strategy is to continue to build on this momentum to uncover novel and differentiating technologies and product candidates through collaborations with leading companies and academic institutions from around the world.”
Recent Key Highlights
Zimura ® Complement Factor C5 Inhibitor Program
In April 2018, the Company completed patient recruitment in its dose-ranging, open-label, multi-center Phase 2a clinical trial of Zimura ® (avacincaptad pegol) in combination with the anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) agent Lucentis ® (ranibizumab) in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD) who have not been previously treated with any anti-VEGF agents. This uncontrolled trial is designed to assess safety at different dosages and to detect a potential efficacy signal. The Company will evaluate data at month six. The Company’s ongoing Zimura clinical trial for the treatment of geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD is on track for initial top-line data to be available during the second half of 2019. In January 2018, the first patient was enrolled in the Company’s Phase 2b randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled clinical trial assessing the efficacy and safety of Zimura in patients with autosomal recessive Stargardt disease (STGD1). Initial top-line data is expected to be available in 2020. Scientific details for two of the Company’s ongoing Zimura clinical trials were presented at medical conferences: The scientific details of the geographic atrophy secondary to dry AMD clinical trial were presented at the 41 st Annual Macula Society Meeting in Beverly Hills, California, February 21-24, 2018. The scientific details of the STGD1 clinical trial were presented at the 2018 Annual Meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology in Honolulu, Hawaii, April 29-May 3, 2018 and at the International Symposium on Ocular Pharmacology and Therapeutics in Tel-Aviv, Israel, March 1-3, 2018.
Gene Therapy Program
In February 2018, the Company initiated an innovative gene therapy program focused on applying novel gene therapy technology to discover and develop new therapies for ocular diseases. In February 2018, the Company announced its first gene therapy collaboration, as it entered into a series of sponsored research agreements with the University of Massachusetts Medical School (UMMS) and its Horae Gene Therapy Center to utilize their “minigene” therapy approach and other novel gene delivery methods to target retinal diseases. UMMS has granted Ophthotech an option to obtain an exclusive license to any patent or patent applications that result from this research.
Corporate Highlight
In January 2018, the Company announced the election of Jane Pritchett Henderson, Chief Financial Officer and Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Voyager Therapeutics, to its Board of Directors. Ms. Henderson has also been elected the Chair of the Ophthotech Audit Committee.
2018 Operational Update
As of March 31, 2018, the Company had $155 million in cash and cash equivalents.
The Company’s estimates its year end 2018 cash and cash equivalents will range between $112 million and $117 million based on its current 2018 business plan and planned capital expenditures. This estimate includes continuation of the Company’s development programs for Zimura and the initiation of its collaborative gene therapy research programs as currently planned. This estimate does not reflect any additional expenditures resulting from the potential in-licensing or acquisition of additional product candidates or technologies or associated development that the Company may pursue.
First Quarter 2018 Financial Highlights
Revenues: Collaboration revenue was $0 for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $1.7 million for the same period in 2017. Collaboration revenue decreased due to the completion of the Company’s licensing and commercialization agreement with Novartis Pharma AG and the recognition of all associated deferred revenue during the third quarter of 2017. R&D Expenses: Research and development expenses were $7.7 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $32 million for the same period in 2017. As the Company pursues its ongoing and planned Zimura development programs, research and development expenses decreased primarily due to decreases in expenses related to the discontinuation of the Company’s Fovista Phase 3 clinical program and decreases in costs associated with the Company’s 2017 reduction in personnel program. G&A Expenses: General and administrative expenses were $5.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018, compared to $13.2 million for the same period in 2017. General and administrative expenses decreased primarily due to decreases in costs to support the Company’s operations and infrastructure and decreases in costs associated with its 2017 reduction in personnel program, which included facilities lease termination expenses incurred during the first quarter of 2017. Net Loss: The Company reported a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 of $13.1 million, or ($.36) per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $43.1 million, or ($1.20) per diluted share, for the same period in 2017.
Conference Call/Web Cast Information
Ophthotech will host a conference call/webcast to discuss the Company’s financial and operating results and provide a business update. The call is scheduled for May 9, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. To participate in this conference call, dial 800-239-9838 (USA) or 323-794-2551 (International), passcode 2075643. A live, listen-only audio webcast of the conference call can be accessed on the Investor Relations section of the Ophthotech website at: www.ophthotech.com . A replay will be available approximately two hours following the live call for two weeks. The replay number is 888-203-1112 (USA Toll Free), passcode 2075643.
About Ophthotech Corporation
Ophthotech is a science-driven biopharmaceutical company specializing in the development of novel therapies to treat ophthalmic diseases, with a focus on age-related and orphan retinal diseases. For more information, please visit www.ophthotech.com .
Forward-looking Statements
Any statements in this press release about Ophthotech’s future expectations, plans and prospects constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include any statements about Ophthotech’s strategy, future operations and future expectations and plans and prospects for Ophthotech, and any other statements containing the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend”, “goal,” “may”, “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “target,” “potential,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions. In this press release, Ophthotech’s forward looking statements include statements about the implementation of its strategic plan, Ophthotech's projected use of cash and cash balances, the timing, progress and results of clinical trials and other research and development activities, the potential utility of its product candidates and the potential for its business development strategy, including any potential in-license or acquisition opportunities. Such forward-looking statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties that could cause Ophthotech’s clinical development programs, future results, performance or achievements to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others, those related to the initiation and the conduct and design of research programs and clinical trials, availability of data from these programs, expectations for regulatory matters, need for additional financing and negotiation and consummation of in-license and/or acquisition transactions and other factors discussed in the “Risk Factors” section contained in the quarterly and annual reports that Ophthotech files with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements represent Ophthotech’s views only as of the date of this press release. Ophthotech anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause its views to change. While Ophthotech may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Ophthotech specifically disclaims any obligation to do so except as required by law.
OPHT-G
Ophthotech Corporation Selected Financial Data (unaudited) (in thousands, except per share data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 Statements of Operations Data: Collaboration revenue $ - $ 1,662 Operating expenses: Research and development 7,686 31,979 General and administrative 5,645 13,159 Total operating expenses 13,331 45,138 Loss from operations (13,331 ) (43,476 ) Interest income 473 378 Other expense (16 ) (21 ) Loss before income tax provision (12,874 ) (43,119 ) Income tax provision 199 3 Net loss $ (13,073 ) $ (43,122 ) Net loss per common share: Basic and diluted $ (0.36 ) $ (1.20 ) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic and diluted 36,153 35,804 March 31, 2018 December 31, 2017 (in thousands) Balance Sheets Data: Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities $ 154,911 $ 166,972 Total assets 161,551 175,576 Royalty purchase liability 125,000 125,000 Total liabilities 133,474 137,535 Additional paid-in capital 525,868 522,759 Accumulated deficit (497,827 ) (484,754 ) Total stockholders' equity $ 28,077 $ 38,041
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180509005421/en/
Investors:
Ophthotech Corporation
Kathy Galante, 212-845-8231
Vice President, Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
[email protected]
or
Media:
SmithSolve LLC on behalf of Ophthotech Corporation
Alex Van Rees, 973-442-1555 ext. 111
[email protected]
Source: Ophthotech Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/business-wire-ophthotech-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-and-operating-results.html |
May 28, 2018 / 8:05 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Germany seeking deal to end EU-U.S. trade dispute Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Germany is seeking to end a dispute between the United States and the European Union over President Donald Trump’s decision to impose high tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said on Monday. FILE PHOTO - German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Berlin, Germany, May 23, 2018. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Altmaier said he would discuss the issue with European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross at a meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris this week.
“We need to try to avoid higher tariffs,” Altmaier said. Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum in March but the European Union has been granted exemptions until June 1. Reporting by Peter Maushagen; Writing by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Catherine Evans | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-germany/germany-seeking-deal-to-end-eu-u-s-trade-dispute-idUKKCN1IT0LN |
May 2 (Reuters) - Hero MotoCorp Ltd:
* MARCH QUARTER NET PROFIT 9.67 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS PROFIT 7.18 BILLION RUPEES YEAR AGO
* RECOMMENDED FINAL DIVIDEND OF 40 RUPEES PER SHARE * MARCH QUARTER REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 85.64 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 74.96 BILLION RUPEES YEAR AGO
* MADE AN INVESTMENT OF 2.01 BILLION RUPEES IN ATHER ENERGY Source text - bit.ly/2re8eZM Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-indias-hero-motocorp-march-qtr-pro/brief-indias-hero-motocorp-march-qtr-profit-up-35-pct-idUSFWN1S90AG |
Trade war with China "on hold" Monday, May 21, 2018 - 01:36
U.S. commodity exports to China to rise amid trade talks, but volumes are capped. Aleksandra Michalska reports.
U.S. commodity exports to China to rise amid trade talks, but volumes are capped. Aleksandra Michalska reports. //reut.rs/2IzqDuJ | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/21/trade-war-with-china-on-hold?videoId=429107952 |
BEIJING (Reuters) - Trade frictions pose a risk for China’s economy, an official from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday, when asked about the impact of the ongoing tensions with the United States.
Trade tensions should be reduced, Alfred Schipke, senior resident representative at IMF, told reporters at a briefing in Beijing, and called for cooperation.
Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trade-china-imf/imf-official-says-trade-frictions-pose-risk-for-chinas-economy-idUSKCN1IV0JC |
May 16, 2018 / 6:00 AM / in 12 minutes INSIGHT-How Rusal escaped the noose of U.S. sanctions Reuters Staff
(Repeats story published at midnight)
* Sanctions caused market turmoil, hit supply chains
* Ireland, France, Germany lobbied to soften measures
* Rio Tinto, U.S. aluminium body appealed to authorities
* U.S. Treasury eased Rusal restrictions after 17 days
By Dmitry Zhdannikov, Richard Lough and Lesley Wroughton
LONDON/PARIS/WASHINGTON, May 16 (Reuters) - They were supposed to be the toughest sanctions the United States had ever imposed on a Russian oligarch. Seventeen days later, Washington watered them down.
On April 23, the U.S. Treasury eased restrictions on billionaire Oleg Deripaska’s aluminium company Rusal. Instead of barring Rusal from international markets, which is what the United States originally intended to do, the Treasury suggested it might lift the sanctions altogether.
Washington’s change of course says a lot about the leverage held by the supply chain of a widely-used commodity such as aluminium. It also suggests the Trump administration is hard-pressed as it juggles international economic battles it has opened on various fronts, including with China and Iran.
Several European governments, including Germany and France, lobbied Washington to back down, according to more than a dozen U.S. and EU officials and industry sources who spoke to Reuters.
Multinationals Rio Tinto and Boeing also appealed to the U.S. Treasury, seeking a softening of the terms on Rusal.
All made the same argument, the sources said: a squeeze on the largest producer of aluminium outside China would hit businesses around the world, disrupting production of myriad goods from car and planes to cans and foil, and putting jobs at risk.
Unlike previous cases of sanctions on Russia, European countries did not have a chance to consult with Washington on punitive moves that would have ripple effects in the European economy, the sources said. One reason for the lack of dialogue: the U.S. State Department no longer has a Sanctions Policy Coordinator to liaise with other governments, according to three U.S. sources familiar with the matter and one European source.
The former coordinator, Daniel Fried, retired last year and has not been replaced because of a hiring freeze ordered by the Trump administration at the department.
Rusal, Rio Tinto and Boeing declined to comment.
The U.S. Treasury, whose Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed the measures, said it worked to mitigate the sanctions’ impact on allies and industries that faced “undesired collateral consequences”. It did not comment on lobbying efforts.
When asked if the lack of a sanctions coordinator had hindered international consultation, the State Department said it had held several discussions with European countries over the past year about sanctions and maintained a dialogue with them. It did not specify if it had discussed Russian sanctions.
The sanctions were the toughest the United States has imposed on a listed Russian company since Moscow’s 2014 annexation of Crimea. The notice on April 6 gave buyers a deadline of 30 days to receive supplies from Rusal before dealings in dollars were prohibited.
Any individual or company that failed to comply would themselves face being shut out of the financial system, while the Treasury could seize any dollars paid to Rusal.
The effect was immediate. Prices for aluminium surged 15 percent as Rusal stopped supplying customers. As well as producing aluminium, the company produces alumina, a raw material needed to make aluminium.
“They (the Treasury) destabilised the global aluminium industry. This is unprecedented and a massive over-reach,” said Anders Aslund, senior fellow at U.S. think-tank Atlantic Council.
Rusal told metals and mining conglomerate Rio Tinto that it was suspending deliveries of alumina from its Irish plant in Aughinish to Rio’s Dunkirk aluminium smelter in France, Europe’s biggest aluminium production facility, according to the industry sources. The Russian company feared any payment it received would be seized by U.S. authorities, the sources said.
Rusal also informed Trimet Aluminium it was halting alumina deliveries to the German firm’s smelter in the French Alps and three factories in Germany, in Essen, Hamburg and Voerde.
Trimet declined to comment.
The suspension of alumina deliveries risked halting Rio Tinto and Trimet’s aluminium smelting operations and hitting businesses throughout the metal’s supply chain. GOVERNMENTS TAKE ACTION
The market ructions set off a different kind of activity.
In the days following the sanctions notice, French, German, Irish and Italian officials lobbied against the restrictions, according to the EU sources.
Many were worried the measures could lead to the closure of those plants and businesses in their countries that relied on Rusal supplies, and the potential loss of thousands of jobs.
Ireland’s foreign ministry complained to U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin after Dublin officials met Aughinish management on April 13 and were told the plant could shut down, threatening hundreds of jobs, an Irish government spokesman told Reuters.
French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire discussed the issue by phone with Mnuchin in the days following the sanctions notice and then in person in the week of April 16, during International Monetary Fund meetings in Washington, according to a French finance ministry official.
“We got in touch with the Americans as soon as it became clear there was an impact on some companies operating in France,” the official said. He added that hundreds of jobs were at risk in France. “The Americans were constructive from the start.”
An Italian government source said Rome also lobbied Washington to soften the sanctions. MULTINATIONALS MAKE MOVE
Companies lobbied too.
Rio Tinto contacted the French government and Trimet went to the German government, asking them to intervene with Washington, according to the industry sources. Rio Tinto also complained directly to OFAC, said two U.S. officials familiar with the developments. Trimet makes aluminium products for the auto, construction and packaging industries.
While most of the lobbying came from Europe, according to U.S. officials, there were also concerns in the United States about the sanctions.
After the April 6 notice, planemaker Boeing expressed concern to the U.S. government about rising aluminium prices, according to two industry sources familiar with the matter. Carmakers also complained about the possible impact of the sanctions on their businesses, said the sources, who declined to name the companies.
One of the sources said that, in addition to aluminium, carmakers were worried about a possible disruption to supplies of palladium, used in catalytic converters. Rusal doesn’t produce palladium but it supplies soda to Norilsk Nickel, the world’s biggest palladium producer.
American trade body the Aluminum Association told Reuters that, shortly after April 6, it shared market data with the Trump administration showing that last year the U.S. industry imported 680,000 metric tons of Russian primary aluminium, or 12 percent of U.S. demand.
The association raised concerns about the Rusal sanctions at meetings with the White House’s National Economic Council and the U.S. Trade Representative. It said the measures could constrain supplies for aluminium processors.
On April 23, little more than two weeks after imposing sanctions, OFAC softened the measures. It gave businesses six months instead of 30 days to wind down dealings with Rusal and said it might lift the sanctions altogether if Deripaska ceded control of the company.
The announcement had an immediate market reaction, with aluminium prices falling as much as 10 percent. Aluminium prices now stand at $2,300 per tonne, down from the $2,700 level they rose to following the April 6 sanctions notice, but still above the $2,000 seen before the measures were imposed.
David Mortlock, who designed earlier sanctions against Russia when he was Director for International Economic Affairs at the White House National Security Council in 2013-15, said such measures were not a precise science.
“Don’t forget, sanctions can be adjusted if the impact is larger than OFAC wants,” added Mortlock, now a partner at legal firm Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
“Every time you do it, you learn from your experience.” (Additional reporting by Yara Bayoumy, Mary Milliken, Warren Strobel, Mike Stone and Timothy Gardner in Washington; Polina Devitt, Anastasia Lyrchikova, Dasha Korsunskaya and Katya Golubkova in Moscow; Giselda Vagnoni in Rome; Conor Humphries in Dublin; Clara Denina and Dasha Afanasieva in London; Madeline Chambers in Berlin; Edward Taylor in Frankfurt; Michael Hogan in Hamburg; Writing by Dmitry Zhdannikov; Editing by Pravin Char) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-sanctions-rusal/insight-how-rusal-escaped-the-noose-of-u-s-sanctions-idUSL5N1SM84Y |
Model Bella Hadid mulls acting future 12:58am IST - 01:38 Mon, 23 Apr, 2018 - (0:45) Follow Reuters: Reuters Plus | Reuters News Agency | Brand Attribution Guidelines | Careers
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DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Flowserve Corporation, (NYSE: FLS), a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a quarterly cash dividend of $0.19 per share on the company's outstanding shares of common stock.
The dividend is payable on July 6, 2018, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on June 22, 2018.
While Flowserve currently intends to pay regular quarterly cash dividends for the foreseeable future, any future dividends, at this $0.19 per share rate or otherwise, will be reviewed individually and declared by the Board at its discretion, dependent on the Board's assessment of the company's financial condition and business outlook at the applicable time.
About Flowserve: Flowserve Corp. is one of the world’s leading providers of fluid motion and control products and services. Operating in more than 55 countries, the company produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services. More information about Flowserve can be obtained by visiting the company’s Web site at www.flowserve.com .
Safe Harbor Statement: This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words or phrases such as, "may," "should," "expects," "could," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "forecasts," "predicts" or other similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, which include, without limitation, statements concerning our future financial performance, future debt and financing levels, investment objectives, implications of litigation and regulatory investigations and other management plans for future operations and performance.
The forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on our current expectations, projections, estimates and assumptions. These statements are only predictions, not guarantees. Such forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual results to differ materially from what is forecast in such forward-looking statements, and include, without limitation, the following: a portion of our bookings may not lead to completed sales, and our ability to convert bookings into revenues at acceptable profit margins; changes in global economic conditions and the potential for unexpected cancellations or delays of customer orders in our reported backlog; our dependence on our customers’ ability to make required capital investment and maintenance expenditures; risks associated with cost overruns on fixed-fee projects and in taking customer orders for large complex custom engineered products; the substantial dependence of our sales on the success of the oil and gas, chemical, power generation and water management industries; the adverse impact of volatile raw materials prices on our products and operating margins; our ability to execute and realize the expected financial benefits from our strategic manufacturing optimization and realignment initiatives; economic, political and other risks associated with our international operations, including military actions or trade embargoes that could affect customer markets, particularly North Africa, Russia and Middle Eastern markets and global oil and gas producers, and non-compliance with U.S. export/re-export control, foreign corrupt practice laws, economic sanctions and import laws and regulations; increased aging and slower collection of receivables, particularly in Latin America and other emerging markets; our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, particularly the Euro and British pound and in hyperinflationary countries such as Venezuela; our furnishing of products and services to nuclear power plant facilities and other critical processes; potential adverse consequences resulting from litigation to which we are a party, such as litigation involving asbestos-containing material claims; a foreign government investigation regarding our participation in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program; expectations regarding acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses; our relative geographical profitability and its impact on our utilization of deferred tax assets, including foreign tax credits; the potential adverse impact of an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible assets; our dependence upon third-party suppliers whose failure to perform timely could adversely affect our business operations; the highly competitive nature of the markets in which we operate; environmental compliance costs and liabilities; potential work stoppages and other labor matters; our inability to protect our intellectual property in the U.S., as well as in foreign countries; obligations under our defined benefit pension plans; risks and potential liabilities associated with cyber security threats; our inability to execute and realize the expected financial benefits of our strategic manufacturing optimization and other cost-saving initiatives; our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud; the recording of increased deferred tax asset valuation allowances in the future or the impact of tax law changes on such deferred tax assets could affect our operating results; if we are not able to successfully execute and realize the expected financial benefits from our strategic realignment and other cost-saving initiatives, our business could be adversely affected; ineffective internal controls could impact the accuracy and timely reporting of our business and financial results; and other factors described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All forward-looking statements included in this news release are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180524006096/en/
Flowserve Corporation
Investor Contacts:
Jay Roueche, 972-443-6560
Vice President, Investor Relations & Treasurer
or
Mike Mullin, 972-443-6636
Director, Investor Relations
--
Media Contact:
Lars Rosene, 972-443-6644
Vice President, Corporate & Marketing Communications
Source: Flowserve Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/business-wire-flowserve-announces-quarterly-cash-dividend-of-0-point-19-per-share.html |
Dow Jones, a News Corp company News Corp is a network of leading companies in the worlds of diversified media, news, education, and information services Dow Jones | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://jp.wsj.com/articles/SB11917814597862364448704584244170272393360 |
Venture Capital Cadence agrees to buy State Bank in $1.4 billion all-stock deal Cadence Bancorp said it agreed to buy State Bank Financial in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.4 billion. The deal signaled a potential rise in regional bank consolidation in the U.S. The agreement will create an entity with $16 billion in assets and about 100 branches in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas. Published 4 Hours Ago Reuters
Cadence Bancorp said on Sunday it had agreed to buy State Bank Financial in an all-stock deal valued at about $1.4 billion, signaling a potential rise in regional bank consolidation in the United States.
The agreement, approved by the boards of both banks, will create an entity with $16 billion in assets and about 100 branches in Alabama , Florida , Georgia , Mississippi , Tennessee , and Texas , the banks said in a press release.
Investors expect a wave of mergers among mid-sized banks as U.S. lawmakers work to rewrite banking rules enacted after the 2007-2009 financial crisis. These changes would likely raise the limit on what is considered a systemically important financial institution, which had hampered some banks from merging.
Lawmakers also are tinkering with older bank rules, emboldened by President Donald Trump's vow to loosen banking restrictions.
State Bank shareholders will receive 1.160 shares of Cadence class A common stock for each State Bank share, Cadence said in a statement. Cadence shares closed at $30.23 on Friday, while State Bank shares closed at $33.08.
Cadence and State Bank shareholders will collectively own about 65 percent and 35 percent of the combined company, respectively, after the deal is closed. Related Securities | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/cadence-agrees-to-buy-state-bank-in-1-point-4-billion-all-stock-deal.html |
Qualcomm recently announced its XR1 "extended reality" platform that will allow companies like Facebook to make more advanced portable virtual reality headsets that you can take anywhere.
Facebook 's new portable Oculus Go headset, for example, is the best portable virtual reality solution on the market right now. But it uses an older Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 processor that was technically built for smartphones. More powerful solutions, like the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive, require full-blown computers with powerful processors to operate.
XR1 will change that— and could make for a potentially great sequel to the Oculus Go.
It's a platform that's specifically designed for virtual and augmented reality and will enable some of the advanced features that, until now, were only available in headsets that require a PC to use.
Todd Haselton | CNBC The Oculus Go That includes support for sharper video inside of a headset — though this will ultimately also depend on the screens used in each headset — support for more "degrees of freedom," which means you can move your head around inside of a virtual environment and feel more like you're there — instead of simply looking at it through goggles, and support for better surround sound technologies.
Since it's a full platform, it should enable any of Qualcomm's partners, including those that already build smartphones with Qualcomm chips, to more easily create and sell virtual reality headsets.
This means that competition could heat up if more companies decide to enter the market.
show chapters Oculus unveils new 'Go' 7:14 PM ET Wed, 11 Oct 2017 | 01:30 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/qualcomm-xr1-virtual-reality-platform-takes-vr-mainstream.html |
Chief executives at the biggest public companies got an 8.5 percent raise last year, bringing the median pay package for CEOs to $11.7 million. Across the S&P 500 , compensation for CEOs is often hundreds of times higher than typical workers.
The pay increase matches the bump that CEOs received in 2016, according to salary, stock and other compensation data analyzed by Equilar for The Associated Press.
For the first time, the government required companies to show in their annual proxy statements just how much more bosses make than the typical employee. The typical CEO made 164 times the median pay of their employees, according to Equilar's analysis.
Because the government gave companies wide leeway in how they calculated the median pay of their workers, and because some industries rely heavily on part-time workers, the CEO-to-worker pay ratios are imperfect and make comparisons difficult. Despite pushback, Congress forced companies to publish the data as a way to shine a spotlight on income inequality.
A debate has already ensued about the significance of this newly released data.
"High pay ratios send a dispiriting message to the workforce," said Liz Shuler, secretary-treasurer of the AFL-CIO, which has been calculating its own tally of CEO-to-worker pay ratios for years. "Companies are asking their workers to do more with less, at the same that CEO pay is on the rise."
Detractors among business groups, academics and compensation consultants say the ratio can give a false impression. For example, some companies exclude some of their lower-paid foreign workers, which regulations allow. And companies with large part-time workforces will show much greater disparity between the CEO's pay and median pay.
At Yum Brands , CEO Greg Creed 's pay of $12.3 million was 1,358 times higher than the company median of $9,111. The employee who earned that amount, on an annualized basis, was a part-time employee at a Taco Bell restaurant.
Even at United Rentals , where the median pay was $77,127 last year, it would take a worker earning that amount 166 years to match the $12.8 million in compensation that CEO Michael Kneeland made last year.
So far, shareholders seem OK with the pay packages for CEOs. At both Yum Brands and United Rentals, more than 95 percent of shareholders approved their CEOs' pay for last year. Likely buoying that support was the 31.1 percent return for Yum Brands stock and the 62.8 percent rise for United Rentals.
Across the S&P 500, such votes on executive compensation passed with similar approval ratings in 2016 and 2017, at 95 percent, according to the data compiled by Equilar. The boards of directors who set CEO pay, meanwhile, say they are tying more of their executives' compensation to how the company is performing, and they need to pay the going rate to keep talented executives.
The top five The highest-paid CEO in Equilar's analysis was Hock Tan of Broadcom , who made $103.2 million. The vast majority of Tan's compensation came in the form of a stock grant, valued at $98.3 million. He'll receive the shares if the stock hits certain performance targets over the next four years. The company said in a filing with regulators that the figure looks substantial, but the amount Tan earns will "only be exceptional if our (stock returns relative to other companies) is exceptional."
The second-highest paid CEO was Leslie Moonves of CBS . He made $68.4 million, including a $20 million bonus. CBS stock fell in 2017, but the company's board highlighted how CBS is producing more premium content where it has an ownership stake, among other accomplishments.
No. 3 was W. Nicholas Howley at TransDigm , which designs and produces aircraft components. He earned $61 million, including $51.2 million of payments from the company on stock options he holds, as if they had earned dividends. Howley, a Transdigm co-founder, left his position as CEO last month and became executive chairman.
Jeffrey Bewkes of Time Warner was the fourth-highest paid CEO at $49 million. Time Warner rejiggered its compensation formulas for executives following its deal to be acquired by AT&T, which was announced in 2016 but is still awaiting government approval. Bewkes received restricted stock valued at $32 million.
No. 5 was TripAdvisor 's Stephen Kaufer, at $43.2 million. He received grants of options and restricted stock valued at $42.1 million, and the company said it does not expect to give him another stock grant as long-term incentive compensation until 2021.
CEOs make how much more? This is the first year that companies had to report the median pay for their employees. Median is the midpoint of the pay scale. Across the S&P 500, the median compensation last year was $70,244, according to Equilar. That's higher than the average pay for all U.S. workers, at $47,792, because the S&P 500 is full of big, multinational companies. Last year's median pay for the U.S. is not yet available.
Companies in the pharmaceutical, technology and energy sectors were on the high end of the S&P 500 for worker pay. At Facebook , for example, the median compensation was $240,430. On the lower end were retailers and fast-food restaurant chains, which tend to have more part-time workers.
Coming into this year, many companies had big concerns about the reaction to their CEO-to-worker pay ratios, particularly among their own employees. But after publishing the numbers, the backlash wasn't that big, said Melissa Burek, a partner at Compensation Advisory Partners.
"I have clients in the Midwest, where they're the largest employer in town, and I would have thought those would get more attention," said Daniel Laddin, another partner at Compensation Advisory Partners. "But no one seems to be getting too upset about it."
All the leeway companies had in calculating their ratios helped many to avoid being an outlier, on either the high end or the low end, said Kelly Malafis, also a partner at Compensation Advisory Partners.
The real value in these ratios may come years from now, as investors and workers track how the ratios change over time, said Ethan Rouen, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who studies income inequality.
It may not make much sense to compare Yum Brands' ratio with Facebook's, but is each company's ratio rising or falling through the years? In particular, will the figures get better or worse when the next economic downturn hits, whenever that may be?
"I think five years down the road," he said, "this measure will be more useful than it is right now." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/25/for-ceos-11-point-7-million-a-year-is-just-middle-of-the-pack.html |
May 15 (Reuters) - iPic Entertainment Inc:
* IPIC® ENTERTAINMENT ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS * Q1 REVENUE $37.3 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $34.7 MILLION
* REITERATES FULL YEAR 2018 OUTLOOK * ANNOUNCES EXPECTATION TO OPEN FIRST THEATER IN SAUDI ARABIA BY YEAR-END 2018
* QTRLY COMPARABLE-STORE SALES DECREASE OF 5.1%
* QTRLY NET LOSS PER CLASS A COMMON SHARE $1.70 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ipic-entertainment-q1-net-loss-per/brief-ipic-entertainment-q1-net-loss-per-class-a-common-share-1-70-idUSASC0A2F0 |
May 3 (Reuters) - Cryoport Inc:
* CRYOPORT REVENUE GROWS 48% FOR FIRST QUARTER; 62% IN BIOPHARMA
* Q1 REVENUE $4.0 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $3.7 MILLION * QTRLY LOSS PER SHARE $0.10 Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cryoport-revenue-grows-48-pct-for/brief-cryoport-revenue-grows-48-pct-for-first-quarter-idUSASC09ZQ5 |
May 9, 2018 / 4:21 PM / Updated 14 minutes ago In 1990s redux, EU to consider blocking U.S. sanctions over Iran Robin Emmott , Alissa de Carbonnel 5 Min Read
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - In 1996, when the United States tried to penalise foreign companies trading with Cuba, the European Union forced Washington to back down by threatening retaliatory sanctions. FILE PHOTO: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani attends a meeting with Muslim leaders and scholars in Hyderabad, India, February 15, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
Two decades later, the European Union is being driven to threaten such measures again, over Iran, and this time may follow through after U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear pact between Iran and world powers and reimposed an array of wide sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
This left dismayed European allies scrambling to salvage the international nuclear pact as Tehran said Trump had made a mistake and proved Washington could not be trusted.
The EU’s so-called blocking statute is the most powerful tool at its immediate disposal because it bans any EU company from complying with U.S. sanctions and does not recognise any court rulings that enforce American penalties.
But it has never been used and is seen by European governments more as a political weapon than a regulation because its rules are vague and difficult to enforce, serving mainly as a warning to the United States. The international reach of the U.S. financial system and the U.S. presence of many European companies also raise questions about its effectiveness.
“It is a technical tool that worked with (U.S. President Bill) Clinton because it was coupled with a political strategy,” said one senior EU source involved in Iran negotiations, referring to Clinton’s decision to waive extra-territorial sanctions on EU companies related to Cuba, Iran and Libya.
EU officials say they are revamping the blocking statute to encompass Trump’s May 8 decision to revive Iran-related sanctions, after the expiry of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including sanctions aimed at Iran’s lifeblood oil sector and transactions with its central bank. FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to reporters at the White House after signing a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
“The blocking statute is one of the main options; it’s being updated to make it ready,” said a second senior EU official.
European commissioners are expected to decide whether to go ahead next week in Brussels, setting the stage for EU government leaders to take a final decision at a summit in Sofia on May 17.
But diplomats say it will be difficult to gain the agreement of all 28 EU states. The blocking statute threat has less weight than in Clinton’s era because U.S. sanctions targeting financial transactions have become more robust and costly for EU firms.
European companies with big operations in the United States, such as Shell ( RDSa.L ), are pressuring their governments instead to pursue waivers on a case-by-case basis. ENERGY DIPLOMACY
Europeans are most worried about how to sustain incentives for Iran to stick to the groundbreaking accord signed by world powers in July 2015, which lifted international sanctions on Iran in 2016 in return for Tehran shutting down its capacity, under strict surveillance by the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to stockpile enriched uranium for a possible atomic bomb.
Trump denounced the accord, completed under his predecessor Barack Obama, as a “horrible, one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made” as it did not cover Iran’s ballistic missile programme or its role in Middle East conflicts.
The deal’s proponents say it is crucial to forestalling a nuclear Iran and preventing wider war in the Middle East.
“The issue of incentives (to keep Iran in the deal) is completely absent from U.S. thinking. In meeting with U.S. diplomats, it’s all about confrontation and isolation (of Tehran),” another official said.
Without the carrot of economic benefits, the EU worries it will also lose influence over Iran.
Once Iran’s top trading partner and its second-biggest oil customer, the EU has sought to pour hundreds of billions of euros into the Islamic Republic since the bloc, along with the United Nations and United States, lifted blanket economic sanctions in 2016 that had lamed the Iranian economy.
Iran’s exports of mainly fuel and other energy products to the EU in 2016 jumped 344 percent to 5.5 billion euros ($6.58 billion) compared with the previous year, while investment in Iran jumped to more than 20 billion euros.
European Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete will meet Iranian officials in Tehran during a three-day trip from May 18 to try to reassure Iran and strengthen energy relations.
Other EU measures to try to keep EU money flowing into Iran include coordinating and increasing EU governments’ export guarantee credits.
That could allow more euro-denominated loans, as well as free the European Investment Bank to invest in Iran for the first time. For its part, Italy has signed a framework credit agreement with Iran to fund investments worth up to 5 billion euros for projects carried out jointly by Italian and Iranian companies. France is considering a similar agreement. Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris; Editing by Mark Heinrich | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-iran-nuclear-eu-business/in-1990s-redux-eu-to-consider-blocking-u-s-sanctions-over-iran-idUKKBN1IA2PG |
May 10 (Reuters) - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co:
* LA JOLLA PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY ANNOUNCES $125 MILLION ROYALTY FINANCING AGREEMENT WITH HEALTHCARE ROYALTY PARTNERS Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-la-jolla-pharmaceutical-co-announc/brief-la-jolla-pharmaceutical-co-announces-125-mln-royalty-financing-agreement-with-healthcare-royalty-partners-idUSASC0A1NR |
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/2018/05/17/amat-earnings-4-trades.html |
May 4, 2018 / 9:42 AM / Updated 4 hours ago Taliban fighters seize district in northern Afghanistan Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
KABUL (Reuters) - Taliban fighters seized a district in Afghanistan’s remote northern province of Badakhshan after several days of fierce fighting, officials said on Friday, as the insurgents pushed forward their annual spring offensive launched last month.
Fighting across Afghanistan has picked up in recent weeks with the return of warmer weather, putting government forces under pressure in several areas, underlining the risk to parliamentary and district council elections due in October.
Thursday night’s loss of Kohistan, north of Fayzabad, the capital of Badakhshan, came after security forces failed to receive supplies or reinforcements and pulled out of district police headquarters, provincial police spokesman Sanaullah Rohani said.
A number of security posts in Teshkan district, to the south of Fayzabad, were also abandoned to the insurgents, who were stepping up pressure in the area, he said.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said 15 members of the security forces had been killed and 14 wounded with three pickup trucks and a large number of weapons seized, while two Taliban fighters were killed.
Although Badakhshan, which shares a border with Tajikistan, China and Pakistan, is not one of the Taliban heartlands, the insurgents have been making gains there and the loss of Kohistan brings to three the number of districts they control in the province.
Mountainous and remote, the region contains rich mineral reserves and numerous unregistered gemstone mines which are exploited by local commanders and the Taliban, according to local officials.
Voter registration has been underway across Afghanistan but many people have been reluctant to sign up for fear of attacks on voter centers or retaliation by the Taliban, which is opposed to the elections.
U.S. military estimates show the Western-backed government in Kabul controls areas with about 65 percent of the population.
In terms of districts, the government controls or influences 56.3 percent of the country, the second lowest level since at least 2015, the latest report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan, a U.S. congressional watchdog, shows. Reporting by Sardar Razmal in KUNDUZ; Editing by Clarence Fernandez | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-security/taliban-fighters-seize-district-in-northern-afghanistan-idUSKBN1I50XU |
Trader sees bitcoin cash breaking out, here's why 5 Hours Ago 01:27 01:27 | 9:57 AM ET Sun, 13 May 2018 02:54 02:54 | 10:32 AM ET Mon, 14 May 2018 00:44 00:44 | 11:48 AM ET Fri, 11 May 2018 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/21/trader-sees-bitcoin-cash-breaking-out-heres-why.html |
North Korea responds to President Trump's decision to call off summit 28 Mins Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/25/north-korea-responds-to-president-trumps-decision-to-call-off-summit.html |
May 30 (Reuters) - ENGIE SA:
* STRENGTHENS ITS POSITION IN AIRPORT SERVICES WITH THE ACQUISITION OF A SWISS COMPANY
* ENGIE SWITZERLAND ACQUIRES PRIORA FM SA FROM PRIORA GROUP Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom:)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-engie-acquires-swiss-airport-servi/brief-engie-acquires-swiss-airport-services-company-idUSFWN1T104V |
Quebec City, Quebec, May 29, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Derby Building Products, manufacturer of the Tando and Novik brands of exterior cladding products, announces Mark Schlagheck as VP of Retail Sales.
Mark Schlagheck has been named VP of Retail Sales at Derby Building Products. He will help position Novik exterior cladding products for expansion to the home improvement channel in the U.S. and Canada, serving the home improvement pro, DIYer and Do-It-For-Me customer.
Schlagheck will position Novik for expansion to the home improvement channel in the U.S. and Canada, serving the home improvement pro, DIYer and the DIFM (Do-It-For-Me) which are customers that prefer to buy the product themselves but have a professional install it. He will divide his time between Dayton, Ohio and Derby’s headquarters in Quebec.
“The hiring of a successful home improvement retail products veteran like Mark is the latest investment we are making in our people to accelerate growth and market share,” said Ralph Bruno, CEO of Derby Building Products. “Mark will be part of Derby’s Senior Leadership Team and will report directly to Mitch Cox, Sr. Vice President of Sales.
Schlagheck, with 30 plus years of experience in building products/retail sales, previously served as VP Retail Sales at The AZEK Company for 11 years, where he introduced AZEK to the retail channel and managed the growth of that business. Prior to that, he spearheaded the launch of the Kohler Company into the retail channel. Schlagheck had also managed programs for the retail sales channel for First Alert smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, General Cable wire and cable products and NuTone ventilation and specialty products.
Learn more about Novik’s product lines at www.novik.com .
About Novik
Novik ® is the premier brand featuring NovikShake ™ , NovikStone ™ and related products that completely reinvent luxury for your home. These products replicate the natural beauty and texture of wood and stone materials that are in demand for today’s designs. With easy installation, low maintenance and exceptional performance, Novik products are a perfect fit for builders, contractors, facility managers and consumers who take pride in the aesthetic appearance of their home or building. For more information, visit www.novik.com .
About Derby Building Products – Home of Tando and Novik
Derby Building Products is the parent company of two game-changing brands in the building products category, Tando and Novik. Tando, Derby’s pro channel brand, has literally changed the face of building exteriors by replicating the natural beauty and texture of wood shake and stone, with little to no upkeep. Perfect for today’s mixed material trend in exteriors, all Tando products complement an array of siding types including fiber cement, engineered vinyl, stucco, and brick. www.tandobp.com . Novik inspires stunning mixed material exteriors including shake, clapboard, brick and stone. Novik replicates the natural beauty and texture of wood and stone and is simple to install., For more information, visit www.novik.com
Attachment
Mark Schlagheck Photo Maureen Murray Derby Building Products Inc. 9739931570 [email protected]
Source:Derby Building Products Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/globe-newswire-derby-building-products-names-mark-schlagheck-vp--retail-sales.html |
Pennsylvania, with the largest all-male congressional delegation, could nominate as many as six Democratic women in districts likely to be competitive in November.
All 18 of Pennsylvania’s members of Congress and both its senators are men. So are all five statewide elected government officials.
The state, one of four to hold primary contests on... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/women-target-pennsylvanias-all-male-house-delegation-1526338027 |
0 COMMENTS INVENTING USEFUL objects was a Monday-to-Friday job for my father,” says Carl Auböck IV, 64, of his upbringing within a family of celebrated Austrian designers. “It made for a special childhood.” A fourth-generation metal craftsman and a practicing architect, Auböck was raised in the embrace of the Werkstätte Carl Auböck, producer of household gadgets and tools—door handles, wine pourers, toast racks—that, over almost a century, have become sought-after collectibles around the world. He now heads the Vienna-based business, as his father, grandfather and great-grandfather did before him. (“My father always said we lack fantasy, and this is why we always name our sons Carl,” says Auböck, whose son, Carl V, is 30.)
Objects from the Werkstätte Carl Auböck may not be fantastical in the Klimtian sense, but they’re some of the most engaging and socially intimate designs the last century produced. Emblems of evolving manners and customs, they’re a reminder that our hands once performed more complex tasks than thumbing the surface of a tiny glass screen: cracking walnuts, for instance, stacking homemade pretzels onto a metal pike or arranging dried grasses in a vase. “Flowers were expensive,” Auböck explains as he points to an ingenious vessel on the open shelves of the workshop ( werkstätte ) when I visited this past fall. “That’s also why we made so many bud vases.”
FAMILY MATTERS Carl Auböck IV stands outside the main entrance to the workshop where the business has been based since 1912. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine A youthful man with a hooded brow and a penchant for Levi’s and Oshkosh barn jackets, Auböck dwarfs the glittering army of objects before him. There are about 4,500 designs in the company inventory archived here, in a three-story gray building on Bernardgasse, a 10-minute drive from the Vienna State Opera house. The workshop and archive occupy the ground floor; upstairs are offices and apartments for several family members, including Auböck’s 67-year-old sister, Maria, a landscape architect. Carl and his wife, Wendy, a costume designer, live on the outskirts of the city in a house designed by his father, right down to the children’s beds and the cutlery in the drawers.
“I don’t remember how I was first introduced to Auböck’s work, but it was many years ago, and I was immediately struck by the simplicity of the designs,” says the London-based fashion designer Paul Smith, who often stocks new and vintage pieces in his shops around the world. “As someone who is used to designing clothes, [I find] the way the objects combine form and function is fantastic. There’s an ergonomic aspect, which I love.”
Ashtrays in brass and patinated brass, designed by Carl Auböck II in 1953. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine Not every item is so simple. When asked about a curious lidded vessel on the archive shelves that looks like a bedpan for a cat, Auböck replies, “It’s an ash collector—we call it a silent waiter. Party guests would carry a tiny ashtray in one hand—you could hold your long-stemmed glass at the same time. A maid came around and emptied them at the end of the night.” For every arcane object he describes—sugar-cube presenter, snail-shaped pipe holder, a basket resembling a carpet beater, for washing fruit—there are an equal number of familiar ones: corkscrews, coasters, bookends. One reason so many are still in circulation, Auböck believes, is that they were well-used and well-loved, as seen by their shiny edges and haze of barely perceptible surface scratches.
Vienna was a center of Europe’s cosmopolitan carriage trade at the turn of the last century, and the 7th district around Bernardgasse housed skilled craftsmen catering to a patrician circle. Auböck describes it as “a Jewish gentry, a group of people who knew about design and art—they were more or less industrialists,” he says. This was the milieu of Adele Bloch-Bauer, of Klimt’s famous golden portraits and the Ephrussi banking dynasty so memorably described by Edmund de Waal in The Hare With Amber Eyes.
HEAVY METAL An assortment of polishing tools. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine At No. 23, the first Karl Auböck (1872–1925) ran a metal shop producing so-called academic bronzes, such as chandeliers for the State Opera house and the eagle atop the obelisks in front of the Schönbrunn Palace. But it was the eldest of his three children, Carl II (1900–1957), who set the company’s future course. An exceptional draftsman as a boy, he attended the newly opened Bauhaus on scholarship from 1919 to 1921. There he met his future wife, Mara, an artist who had crossed paths with a young Josef Albers in Munich and followed him to the Weimar campus, according to family lore. “That romance was maybe something but maybe not,” says Auböck, who has seen a few letters between Mara and Josef. “But in any case, she then met my grandfather.”
Following their marriage in 1923, the couple settled down in the 7th to a life of “splendid isolation,” according to Auböck. “My grandfather was painting, my grandmother was weaving and designing fashion,” he continues. “They had their garden, their workshop, a small nice flat in this building. And they were always working on products.”
Small brass items in the workshop, including a sculpture of Carl Auböck III by his father. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine Challenged by a shortage of raw materials after World War I, Carl II began making small household objects that were useful but also witty, with soft, organic curves—qualities that have distinguished the brand ever since. Not quite luxury objects when they were produced, the wares were cast in multiples at factories outside the city limits and finished by hand on Bernardgasse. Some were given embellishments of wood, glass, leather, rattan, horn or simple twine. Auböck is quick to distinguish between his family’s oeuvre and that of the Wiener Werkstätte, the Vienna-based art and craft collective led by Josef Hoffmann, Koloman Moser and Dagobert Peche, whose rarefied, one-of-a-kind treasures were meant primarily as indulgences to be admired. Aspiring to that movement’s ideal of the Gesamtkunstwerk , or total work of art, wasn’t for the Auböcks; instead they responded to the emerging modernist codes of the Bauhaus. “They were more for production for the people,” Auböck explains. “The Nazis said my family were Bolshevik. Of course, they were to the left. They were thinking of the user and a better future.”
Newsletter Sign-up The Auböcks struggled to stay afloat during the war years, and production slowed to a standstill. In time, thanks in large part to the market-savvy Auböck women, an international sales network was built, one that continues to grow. The playful pieces Carl II designed from the 1920s into the mid-1950s remain the most coveted by collectors today—asymmetrical ashtrays, for instance, or bottle stoppers in the shape of a hand, as if waving for help. In contrast, the contributions of Carl III (1924–1993), a trained architect and industrial designer, are distinguished by their geometric purity. Carl IV’s work recaptures some of his grandfather’s ingenuity (a letter opener with a swooping handle that doubles as a card clip). And Carl V is just getting started. From his desk in the architecture studio, where he and his father design local housing and small institutional buildings, he announces that he’s just designed his first official Auböck piece: a chandelier for his sister’s bakery.
Roughly 450 items, or about 10 percent of the archive, are kept in continuous production today. They tend to be utilitarian objects like hooks and knobs or small gifts—bookmarks and paperweights—that look enticing alongside shearling sandals and organic body oils in concept stores, such as The Apartment by The Line in New York and Los Angeles. Auböck designs a new piece when the right offer comes along (the Philip Johnson Glass House recently commissioned a pair of Johnson-style spectacles in patinated or polished brass for its gift shop), and occasionally he partners with a designer he admires to fabricate a work they’ve conceived, as with Formafantasma and Michael Anastassiades. The process can take up to two years.
Three patinated-brass vases. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine Through such meticulous oversight, Auböck has built the family brand into a kind of cult collectible. He rattles off the names of fans around the world: Brad Pitt, Susan Sarandon, Diane von Furstenberg —and Paul Smith, of course. “I made these cuff links for Paul,” Auböck says, reaching for what looks like a Halloween gag—two googly eyeballs, albeit beautiful ones. “Antelope,” he clarifies. A commission? “No, I just made them. I was in his shop, and I thought it was so boring. So I made something new.” (He hasn’t yet gotten around to sending them.)
For many years, collecting Auböck was a shot in the dark. The only way to identify the pieces was through rare vintage books and collectors’ magazines, and most dealers who sold them didn’t bother. One who kept stacks of such periodicals was New Yorker Patrick Parrish, who has traded in these pieces since the early 2000s. He estimates that prices then were roughly a quarter of what they are today—from about $500 for a small bowl to $14,000 for a tripod table in wood and brass, one of the few furniture pieces the company made.
‘ The way the objects combine form and function is fantastic. ’
—Paul Smith In 2015, Parrish mounted an all-Auböck booth at the Design Miami/Basel fair in Switzerland and sold to a who’s who of art-world heavyweights. “Everyone from Blum & Poe to directors at Gagosian—they all bought pieces,” he recalls. Six years earlier, the dealer had gotten a similar response at Manhattan’s Modernism fair. “Roberta Smith from the New York Times came into my booth and said, ‘Who is this person and how have I never heard of him?’ ” Parrish says with a smile. “It’s still a little under the radar, but going up, up up.”
The evolution of Auböck from a niche, made-in-Austria curiosity to a covetable global collectible might never have happened if it weren’t for Clemens Kois, a Salzburg-born photographer now based in New York. Kois stumbled on a horn coaster set 22 years ago at a Vienna flea market and bought it, flipping the switch on an obsession that now numbers over 1,000 pieces. In 2012, aided by Auböck and Parrish, he came out with a collectors’ guide titled Carl Auböck: The Workshop . A second volume is due next spring. The book fueled interest and turned up a raft of new material; even today, Parrish observes, he still encounters pieces he’s never seen before. “There’s no shortage,” he insists.
Watering cans in Carl Auböck’s Vienna workshop. Photo: Martien Mulder for WSJ. Magazine This is partially true, according to Auböck (Parrish calls him “Number Four”). Early designs from the 1920s and ’30s were made in editions of a dozen or two and are rare today, while some from the 1970s exist in the low hundreds. Records are scant, and the pieces weren’t numbered, let alone consistently stamped, which has opened the door to counterfeiting. And yet the allure of buying Auböck continues to lie in its variety as well as its relative affordability. You could forage for a lifetime without exhausting the possibilities.
Nina Hertig of London’s Sigmar gallery has helped clients build a focus on the company’s vintage raffia pieces, or glass, or boxes and bowls. In the process, she’s refined her own view of the work. “I think all of these objects are, without a doubt, an excuse for sculpture,” she says. “And the function is kind of laid upon that.”
Back in the ground-floor workshop, Auböck explains the process of metal patination as a worker files the edges off another pair of the spectacles created for the Philip Johnson commission. “I love to spend time here,” he says. “Because it’s breathing some kind of spiritualism. They had it,” he says of his relatives. “And I think that maybe I can transmit the spiritualism with the pieces to the people who want to own it too.”
Even with skilled employees and a solid client base, Auböck still feels the need to be in the workshop every day, hand-finishing pieces himself. “It’s an easy job,” he says. “You just have to develop an eye.”
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May 2, 2018 / 3:27 PM / Updated 13 minutes ago McDermott, Chicago Bridge & Iron shareholders approve merger Liz Hampton 3 Min Read
HOUSTON (Reuters) - McDermott International ( MDR.N ) shareholders on Tuesday approved a merger with Chicago Bridge & Iron Co ( CBI.N ) that creates a vertically integrated onshore and offshore engineering and construction company, thwarting an attempt by offshore drilling contractor Subsea 7 ( SUBC.OL ) to block the deal.
More than 50 percent of McDermott shareholders supported the merger and approved a 3-to-1 reverse stock split, according to a spokesman. CB&I shareholders also voted in favor the deal, the companies said, and the combination is expected to close on May 10.
Shares of CB&I were up about 5.8 percent to $16.65 in midday trading, while McDermott shares dipped 0.3 percent to $6.74.
Oslo, Norway-based Subsea 7 said on Wednesday it had withdrawn its offer to buy McDermott and would seek other means of expanding its business. In April, it bid $2 billion for McDermott and sought to halt its deal for CB&I.
McDermott last month had rejected Subsea 7’s offer, calling it inadequate and reiterating support for the combination with CB&I, which has been valued at roughly $1.68 billion. Subsea 7’s $7 per share offer at the time represented a 16 percent premium for McDermott’s shares.
Deal-making activity in the oil and gas sector has picked up as international oil prices have recovered to above $70 a barrel follow a deep crash that began in mid-2014. Deal volume was up 19 percent in the first quarter of 2018; however, total value of the deals completed fell 44 percent, according to data from consultancy PwC.
Subsea 7 had said it could revise its offer if McDermott would work with the company to help it see additional benefits of the deal.
Analysts at Bernstein in April said they believed Subsea 7 had to increase its offer to at least $10 per McDermott share to derail the deal with CB&I.
“If they do not, we believe the bid will founder, and the bungled escapade will damage Subsea 7’s credibility,” according to a note from Bernstein.
Investment firm Tudor Pickering & Holt advised Subsea 7 on its unsolicited offer, according to two sources familiar with the matter. Reporting by Liz Hampton; additional reporting by Ron Bousso in London and Nerijus Adomaitis in Oslo; editing by Jonathan Oatis and David Gregorio | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cb-i-m-a-mcdermott-intern/mcdermott-shareholders-vote-for-against-merger-with-cbi-idUSKBN1I3253 |
May 14, 2018 / 10:29 AM / Updated 37 minutes ago Norway's central bank reiterates interest rates likely to rise soon Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
OSLO, May 14 (Reuters) - Conditions will soon be right for Norway’s central bank to begin raising interest rates, Governor Oeystein Olsen told parliament’s annual hearing on monetary policy on Monday.
“Our latest analyses, presented in March 2018, suggest that the key policy rate will most likely be raised after summer 2018,” Olsen said.
“The outlook suggests that it will soon be appropriate to raise the key policy rate – and this is a good sign,” he added.
Most analysts have said the reference to a hike “after summer” likely pointed to a September policy tightening. (Reporting by Camilla Knudsen, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys Fouche) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/norway-cenbank-governor/norways-central-bank-reiterates-interest-rates-likely-to-rise-soon-idUSO9N1S2010 |
(Reuters) - Agile Therapeutics Inc’s shares sank 75 percent on Friday after the drug developer said it expects to pursue what could be a prolonged appeal against health regulators’ issues over its chief experimental product, a contraceptive patch.
A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. To match special report USA-FDA/CASES REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already declined to approve Twirla, Agile’s stick-on contraceptive, on two occasions, and Agile said the agency still had “significant concerns” about the adhesion properties of the patch.
“In light of the feedback from the FDA, we also are re-evaluating our business plan to identify ways to extend our ability to fund the company’s operations,” Agile Chief Executive Officer Al Altomari said in a statement.
In an April 16 meeting with the Princeton, New Jersey-based company, the FDA proposed that Agile should reformulate certain properties of Twirla and carry out a new study.
The agency also suggested that an independent advisory committee assess the drug.
Twirla, which contains a combination of female hormones, is designed to be applied once weekly for three weeks, but the FDA says the patches tend to fall off and, as a result, may not deliver the amount of hormones necessary for effective birth control.
Altomari said Agile “flat-out” disagreed with the FDA’s assessment, and that it expects to escalate the matter and pursue a dispute resolution process with the agency.
Agile has enough cash to fund the appeal if it put other business activities on hold, he added.
Agile had $28.3 million in cash as of March 31.
“Enough is enough. We need to go upstairs. We need a fresh set of eyes on this ... patches don’t jump off women’s bodies in the middle of the process,” Altomari said on a conference call with analysts.
Agile expects each step in the appeals process to take about 60 days, and while it hopes for a resolution by the end of the year, the company did not give a more specific timeline.
“Bottom line, this is a challenging update and the stock will clearly be weak today reflecting what is now greater uncertainty on path forward,” said Randall Stanicky, analyst at RBC Capital Markets.
Agile’s stock was last down 76 percent after hitting a record low of 58 cents on Friday morning.
Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur and Sai Sachin Ravikumar
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-agile-fda/agile-therapeutics-exploring-funding-options-after-fda-meeting-idINKCN1IJ1GX |
May 8, 2018 / 11:09 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago Evonik may add smaller units to methacrylate business for sale Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German chemicals group Evonik ( EVKn.DE ) may add businesses with no more than 150 to 200 million euros (132 to 176 million pounds) to the methacrylates unit that it is preparing to sell, its finance chief said on Tuesday.
Evonik in March unveiled plans to divest its methacrylates plastics unit, which makes clear acrylic sheet and related materials with about 1.5 billion euros in 2017 sales, as it looks to focus on faster-growing sectors such as feed additives and rubber silica for tyres.
“There are some smaller businesses on the production side where it really makes sense from a product portfolio point of view to group them to this entity. We are just now looking into that,” said Chief Financial Officer Ute Wolf, speaking to analysts in a conference call. Reporting by Ludwig Burger; Editing by Maria Sheahan | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-evonik-results-methacrylates/evonik-may-add-smaller-units-to-methacrylate-business-for-sale-idUKKBN1I91AM |
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil’s President Michel Temer may scrap a market-based pricing mechanism used by state-run oil firm Petrobras and revert to selling all fuel below costs after a trucking strike that almost paralyzed the nation, a government source told Reuters on Tuesday.
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's President Michel Temer attends the Brazil Investment Forum 2018 opening ceremony in Sao Paulo, Brazil May 29, 2018. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker Talk of temporarily lowering prices on just diesel to end the havoc the nine-day strike brought on Latin America’s largest economy sent Petrobras shares plunging 15 percent on Monday.
Truckers are protesting a 50 percent increase in diesel prices under the two-year-old Petrobras policy of almost daily adjustments following international prices.
The source, who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said the pricing policy worked well when oil prices held steady for years at $40-50 a barrel, and the Brazilian currency remained stable against the dollar.
But oil has recently surged to $70-80 a barrel boosted by plummeting Venezuelan production, strong global demand and looming U.S. sanctions on Iran. Meanwhile Brazil’s currency has weakened 11 percent this year on political uncertainty.
“Without that (stability), we have a problem. We need to study alternatives,” the official said. He said talks on the issue have already begun between the government and Petrobras.
A spokeswoman for Petrobras chief executive officer Pedro Parente declined to comment.
Temer acknowledged in a television interview on Tuesday that he was open to reviewing the pricing policy.
“Petrobras has recovered in these two years. It had been in a disastrous situation for a long time, and we did not want to change the company’s policy,” Temer told government broadcaster TV Brasil. “We can re-examine the policy, though with great care.”
On Sunday, moving to settle the truckers strike, Temer announced tax cuts and subsidies to reduce domestic diesel prices by 0.46 real per liter, or about 13 percent of the current price at the pump, freezing them at that level for 60 days.
The prospect of government interference in Petrobras pricing policy sent its share prices plummeting on Monday. That slide added to losses a week earlier that reduced the stock price by nearly one third, though shares rebounded 14 percent on Tuesday to close at 19.30 reais.
The government official said initial talks had begun between Mines and Energy Minister Moreira Franco and Parente, architect of the company’s recovery.
Parente has resisted change, but has appreciated the need for greater predictability in price adjustments, the official said.
Reporting by Lissandra Paraguassú; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-petrobras-prices/brazils-president-mulls-scrapping-petrobras-market-based-fuel-pricing-source-idUSKCN1IV0AY |
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May 15, 2018 / 5:14 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Bunge files to list Brazilian sugar and ethanol business Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Adds more details on the IPO, confirmation from Brazil’s CVM, industry context)
SÃO PAULO, May 15 (Reuters) - Global commodities trader Bunge Ltd has filed for a potential public offering of its sugar and ethanol unit in Brazil, Bunge Açúcar & Bionergia SA, with the Brazilian Securities Commission, the company said on Tuesday.
The U.S. headquartered company said it recently obtained debt financing for the unit, which it has prepared to operate as a stand-alone company.
Bunge said it plans to keep a controlling stake in the company after the IPO, “enabling it to participate in future value creation driven by the stand-alone company’s growth and cyclical improvement in global sugar market conditions”.
The global sugar market is facing challenging times due to a supply glut that has pushed raw sugar prices to the lowest levels in two and a half years.
Many sugar companies in Brazil are facing low profit margins and high debt.
Bunge has tried to sell its eight Brazilian sugar and ethanol plants for four years, but a separate sale process has failed to attract firm interest from strategic or financial investors.
On May 8, people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the company had hired banks to prepare for a listing in Brazil.
Most of Bunge’s mills in Brazil are located in the northern part of Sao Paulo state and in the south of Minas Gerais state. The company has capacity to process around 22 million tonnes of cane per year.
Bunge entered the sugar and ethanol sector in Brazil in 2010, when it bought the holding Moema Participações, which controlled the then six mills.
Brazil’s market regulator CVM confirmed Bunge’s listing request. The IPO prospectus is not yet available. Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru, Marcelo Teixeira and Tatiana Bautzer in Sao Paulo; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and Susan Thomas | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/bunge-brazil-ipo/update-1-bunge-files-to-list-brazilian-sugar-and-ethanol-business-idUSL3N1SM65W |
This year, Amazon was named by LinkedIn as one of the most attractive employers in America , with perks and benefits that include paid time off and a $5,000 check if you decide to quit.
For those who think the e-commerce behemoth could be the place for them, FlexJobs has sorted through its list of online postings to see what positions at Amazon offer great pay as well as a remote or telecommuting option. Salary data is from Payscale, and the descriptions are directly from the job listings provided by Amazon.
Hero Images | Getty Images Check the list below to see what high-paying, flexible positions you may want to apply to:
1. Cloud Architect, Public Sector Partners Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position is based in New York and requires its candidates to have a bachelor of arts or a bachelor of science degree, and at least seven years of experience designing, implementing or consulting with distributed applications.
Median salary: $116,398
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2. Senior Solutions Architect Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position is based in California and requires its candidates to have eight years of software development and/or implementation experience.
Median salary: $116,398
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3. Global Executive Program Manager Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires its candidates to have a four-year degree and seven to 10 years of industry experience. Traveling is also part of this role.
Median salary: $111,447
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show chapters How to make six figures from home 1:22 PM ET Wed, 16 March 2016 4. DevOps Consultant Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires candidates to have at least five years of industry experience, an IT-focused bachelor's degree, excellent communication skills and the flexibility to travel.
Median salary: $91,618
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5. Senior Cloud Technical Account Manager Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position is based in Florida and requires its candidates to have at least seven years of industry experience, a relevant bachelor's degree and flexibility to travel.
Median salary: $80,328
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6. Business Development Manager, Health and Human Services Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position is based in California and requires its candidates to develop and deliver strategies that help with program transformations in the health and human services field.
Median salary: $71,183 annually
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show chapters High-paying jobs that make getting a graduate degree worth it 9:51 AM ET Wed, 5 April 2017 | 00:50 7. Principal Business Development Manager, Security Intelligence Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires its candidates to work on defining go-to market programs, executing business development plans and managing complex contract negotiations. An MBA is preferred by applicants and 30-40 percent of this role will require traveling.
Median salary: $71,183
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8. Linguist, Chinese Mandarin Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires its candidates to be fluent in Chinese Mandarin and to have experience transcribing and translating documents.
Median salary: $64,085
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9. Digital Platform Marketing Leader Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires its candidates to have a minimum of 15 years of marketing experience and a bachelor's degree.
Median salary: $63,922
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10. Finance Data and Reporting Analyst Job requirements: This full-time telecommuting position requires candidates to have a high school diploma and experience with applications like MS Excel, Java, SQL and Python.
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show chapters How to make six figures from home 1:22 PM ET Wed, 16 March 2016 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/24/flexjobs-10-high-paying-remote-jobs-at-amazon-hiring-now.html |
April 30 (Reuters) - IC GROUP A/S:
* REG-IC GROUP TO DIVEST PEAK PERFORMANCE FOR DKK 1.9BN TO AMER SPORTS CORP.
* SELLING PRICE AMOUNTS TO AN ENTERPRISE VALUE OF DKK 1.9BN. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ic-group-to-divest-peak-performanc/brief-ic-group-to-divest-peak-performance-idUSFWN1S607N |
* $4.9 billion settlement is less than feared
* Bank can resume dividends and reprivatisation
* Settlement is last major 2008 crisis-era problem (Adds comment from investors)
LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - Shares in Royal Bank of Scotland rose as much as 6 percent on Thursday after it secured a far lower than expected settlement with U.S. authorities, paving the way for a long-awaited return of cash to British taxpayers who provided support during the financial crisis.
The $4.9 billion fine resolves a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the bank's sale of mis-priced mortgage-backed securities before the financial crisis and clears one of the most debilitating hangovers for the bank from that era.
"It's very humbling to have to announce a settlement of this magnitude," the bank's finance director Ewen Stevenson told reporters on a conference call.
While the agreement is only in principle, its arrival clears the way for taxpayer-backed RBS to restore its dividend and for the government to start selling down its more than 70 percent stake in the bank.
RBS executives said that while it will take a few weeks to finish the paperwork, the total penalty is unlikely to increase. Analysts had estimated the DOJ could impose a fine of up to $12 billion.
"The number is a firm number," finance director Stevenson said.
RBS said it would be able to cover the bulk of the penalty out of existing provisions alongside a $1.44 billion charge it will take in the second quarter of this year.
"This marks a watershed for RBS for as long as this investigation cast a pall over earnings and forecasts there was nowhere for investors to really go," said Neil Wilson, chief analyst for Markets.com .
CRISIS CASUALTY
The Department of Justice previously settled with banks including Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase, Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Barclays for a total of more than $60 billion.
Bank of America paid the highest sum of $16.7 billion, while Barclays, which settled in March, had the smallest figure at $2 billion.
Once the world's largest bank by assets, RBS was one of the biggest casualties of the financial crisis which crippled credit, stock and housing markets and upended the global economy.
It narrowly avoided insolvency in 2008 after the government agreed a 45 billion pound ($61 billion) bailout, just six months after the bank raised 12 billion pounds of emergency cash from shareholders.
Chief Executive Ross McEwan's predecessor, Stephen Hester, who joined the bank following the bailout in 2008, said he had texted McEwan this morning to congratulate him and the team.
"That's the last really big milestone before the bank can be seen to be fully normalized... It's taken an awfully long time to achieve but I think it's good news," Hester, who is now CEO of RSA, told a media call for the insurer's first quarter results.
The looming fine had been a big obstacle to the government's plan, laid out in November, to begin reprivatising the bailed-out lender before the end of the 2018-19 fiscal year - a much needed boost to finance minister Philip Hammond's coffers.
BACK TO DIVIDENDS
After ten years of restructuring, shedding trillions in assets and paying conduct fines, Thursday's settlement means RBS's last large outstanding legacy issue is out of the way.
Chief Executive McEwan also said the bank will start discussing paying RBS's first dividend in a decade with regulators this month, leaving open the possibility the bank would start returning years' worth of excess capital to shareholders before its next annual results.
"The fact they can begin to think about how to return that to shareholders is a major and long-awaited change," said Olivia Treharne, a fund manager at Legal & General Investment Management, RBS's number 10 shareholder according to Thomson Reuters data.
However, one of the bank's largest 20 investors said shareholders should be cautious about the prospects of getting their hands on the bank's excess capital just yet.
"This is hardly a Silicon Valley company. I'd like to see much of that plowed into the bank's IT systems," said the investor, who asked not to be named.
McEwan had hoped the settlement would be sealed before the end of 2017, but staffing changes at the DOJ following the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump saw negotiations with a number of banks slip back.
RBS however appears to have benefited from settling under the Trump administration, which has been less hostile towards the banking sector than that of his predecessor Barack Obama.
RBS executives said one reason for the settlement being below estimates is that RBS did not have to pay out billions of dollars in consumer relief, a staple of such settlements under the Obama administration. ($1 = 0.7372 pounds)
(Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn Editing by Keith Weir) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/reuters-america-update-1-humbling-u-s-settlement-clears-crisis-era-hangover-for-rbs.html |
April 30(Reuters) - Lancy Co Ltd
* Sees FY 2018 H1 net profit to increase by 90 percent to 120 percent, or to be 103.1 million yuan to 119.4 million yuan
* Says FY 2017 H1 net profit was 54.3 million yuan
Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/xsEFr9
Further company coverage: (Beijing Headline News)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-lancy-sees-fy-2018-h1-net-profit-u/brief-lancy-sees-fy-2018-h1-net-profit-up-90-pct-to-120-pct-idUSL3N1S73ML |
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian gas exporter Gazprom could exceed its 2018 gas output expectations of 475.8 billion cubic meters (bcm), Deputy Chief Executive Officer Vitaly Markelov said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: The logo of Russian gas giant Gazprom is seen on a board at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in St. Petersburg, Russia, June 1, 2017. Picture taken June 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin Markelov also said Gazprom was in talks with Turkey about the construction of the second line of the TurkStream gas pipeline.
Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin; editing by Jason Neely
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gazprom-output/russias-gazprom-says-may-exceed-2018-gas-output-forecast-of-475-billion-cubic-meters-idUSKCN1IF1FI |
April 30 (Reuters) - QUMAK SA:
* SAID ON FRIDAY THAT ITS FY NET LOSS WAS 75.2 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS LOSS OF 42.3 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
* FY REVENUE WAS 262.1 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS 428.4 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
* FY OPERATING LOSS WAS 67.1 MILLION ZLOTYS VERSUS LOSS OF 31.3 MILLION ZLOTYS YEAR AGO
* EARLIER THIS MONTH COMPANY INFORMED ABOUT ONE-OFFS LOWERING ITS FY NET RESULT
* INFORMED THAT IT APPLIED TO POLISH FINANCIAL SUPERVISOR KNF FOR SUSPENSION OF PROCEEDINGS RELATED TO INTRODUCING SERIES L SHARES TO TRADING ON WARSAW STOCK EXCHANGE
* DECISION FOLLOWS LETTER OF INTENT SIGNED WITH EUVIC CONCERNING TALKS ON CREATION OF CAPITAL GROUP
Source texts for Eikon:,
Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1S728A |
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said Tuesday that he rescinded China’s invitation to take part in a multinational Pacific Rim military exercise because Beijing is “out of step with international law” in how it has militarized the islands and reefs in the South China Sea.
Mr. Mattis, publicly addressing China’s removal last week from the exercise, recalled Chinese President Xi Jinping’s 2015 pledge not to militarize the islands.
“We... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/mattis-says-china-is-out-of-step-with-international-law-1527636790 |
Shari Redstone has pushed this to the breaking point: Expert on CBS-Viacom battle 2 Hours Ago William Cohen, Vanity Fair, discusses the battle between CBS and Viacom. With CNBC's Mike Santoli and CNBC Contributor Evan Newmark. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/18/shari-redstone-has-pushed-this-to-the-breaking-point-expert-on-cbs-viacom-battle.html |
HOUSTON, TX, May 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eco-Stim Energy Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: ESES) ("EcoStim" or the "Company") announced today that the Company plans to issue its first quarter 2018 financial and operating results on Monday, May 14th, 2018 after the market closes. In conjunction with this release, the Company has scheduled a conference call for 8:30 AM EDT, 7:30 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 15th, 2018. To participate in the call please dial 877-900-9524 from the United States and Canada, and 412-902-0029 internationally. Participants should dial in five to ten minutes before the scheduled time and must be on a touchtone telephone to ask questions. A replay of the call will be available through May 31, 2018, by dialing 877-660-6853 from the U.S and Canada, and 201-612-7415 internationally. The replay passcode is 13597819.
About the Company
EcoStim is an environmentally focused oilfield service and technology company providing well stimulation and completion services and field management technologies to oil and gas producers drilling in the U.S. and international unconventional shale markets. In addition to conventional pumping equipment, EcoStim offers its clients completion techniques that can dramatically reduce horsepower requirements, emissions and surface footprint.
Contact: Jeffrey Freedman, Investor Relations [email protected] 281-531-7200
Source:Eco-Stim Energy Solutions, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/globe-newswire-eco-stim-energy-solutions-announces-timing-of-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-conference-call.html |
Russia's Lavrov meets Kim Jong Un in North Korea 11:31am BST - 01:16
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, and invites Kim to Moscow. No reporter narration.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang, and invites Kim to Moscow. No reporter narration. //reut.rs/2H73wCm | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/31/russias-lavrov-meets-kim-jong-un-in-nort?videoId=431892531 |
May 3, 2018 / 7:54 AM / Updated an hour ago German police raid migrant shelter after clashes Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
BERLIN (Reuters) - German police launched a raid on a migrant shelter on Thursday where three days ago 150 asylum seekers clashed with police and prevented the deportation of a 23-year-old man from Togo. Police arrive at the migrants home in Ellwangen, Germany May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Reuters
The confrontation, which police described as “extremely aggressive and violent”, has prompted some far-right and conservative politicians to say the arrival of more than 1.6 million migrants since 2014 has led to a collapse of law and order.
Germany is still grappling with the integration of its migrants, many of whom fled war or conflict in the Middle East. Authorities are still wading through a backlog of asylum case decision, migrants’ integration into the labour market is a big challenge and the government is discussing rules for family reunions of migrants.
Police in the southern town of Ellwangen had on Monday night released the man they wanted to deport, identified by media as Yussif O., saying they wanted to avoid an escalation. Police arrive at the migrants home in Ellwangen, Germany May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Reuters
During the clashes asylum seekers thumped police cars with their fists and leaving one damaged. The authorities have launched investigations into breach of the peace and other possible offences but have given no further details.
Police also declined to provide further details of Thursday’s early morning raid on the shelter, which it said is home to about 500 people seeking asylum. Most are from countries in Africa including Nigeria, Guinea and Cameroon. Slideshow (2 Images)
It was not clear whether Yussif O. had been deported.
Senior police official Bernhard Weber said in a statement the rule of law could not be damaged by an outbreak of aggression by a group of people.
“We believe that these people, acting in a highly tense situation, may have drawn into a group dynamic and behaved in a way that they would not have done in a more sober environment.”
Right-wing politicians jumped on the clashes.
“The rule of law is being trampled on by its ‘guests’. This is just the beginning,” said Alice Weidel, co-leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) which scored nearly 13 percent in last year’s election and is the main opposition party.
“If Germany continues to be led round the ring by the nose instead of making law and order count, the existing problems in this country will become intolerable.”
Conservative politician Armin Schuster demanded a tougher line. “There are red lines in our country that are being breached on an almost daily basis by asylum seekers,” Schuster told Focus Online. “Anyone who steps over red lines must have their asylum application ended and be deported.” Reporting by Madeline Chambers; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-europe-migrants-germany-police/german-police-raid-migrant-shelter-after-clashes-idUKKBN1I40N5 |
May 2, 2018 / 2:58 PM / Updated an hour ago Merkel - We should broaden negotiating framework for Iran nuclear deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
BERLIN (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Wednesday that the nuclear deal with Iran should not be cancelled but its negotiating framework needed to be broadened. German Chancellor Angela Merkel welcomes Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini (not pictured) in Berlin, Germany, May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Axel Schmidt
Merkel said Iran’s missile progamme and its political influence in Syria needed to be discussed, adding that this was a widespread position in the European Union.
“We will continue with our argumentation, namely keeping the JCPOA (nuclear deal) plus expansion of the negotiating framework,” Merkel said.
Merkel said it was important for Israel to quickly make the information it has on Iran available to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unveiled on Monday what he said was evidence of a secret Iranian nuclear weapons programme that could encourage the United States to pull out this month of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Reporting by Michelle Martin and Michael Nienaber; Editing by Andrea Shalal | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-israel-iran-germany/merkel-we-should-broaden-negotiating-framework-for-iran-nuclear-deal-idUKKBN1I321L |
May 10, 2018 / 6:06 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago Lawsuit against U.S. border searches of phones can move forward: judge Nate Raymond 3 Min Read
BOSTON (Reuters) - A federal judge on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s bid to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s growing practice of conducting warrantless searches on phones and laptops of Americans stopped at the border. A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officer interviews people entering the United States from Mexico at the border crossing in San Ysidro, California, U.S. on October 14, 2016. Picture taken on October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Blake/Files
U.S. District Judge Denise Capser in Boston ruled that the lawsuit by 11 travelers had raised a plausible claim that such border searches violate the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures.
While Casper described the law as unclear, she said the issue was not unlike a major privacy rights case the U.S. Supreme Court decided in 2014 in which it held police must obtain a warrant to search an arrested suspect’s cellphone.
The judge said that Supreme Court ruling “indicates that electronic devices implicate privacy interests in a fundamentally different manner than searches of typical containers or even searches of a person.”
“In sum, the Court is not persuaded that Plaintiffs have failed to state a plausible Fourth Amendment claim here,” Casper wrote.
She also rejected the government’s arguments that the plaintiffs, 10 U.S. citizens and one permanent resident, lacked standing to pursue the case.
The ruling was welcomed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed the lawsuit on behalf of the travelers, whose devices were searched by border officers as they re-entered the country.
“The court has rightly recognized the severity of the privacy violations that travelers face when the government conducts suspicionless border searches of electronics,” ACLU attorney Esha Bhandari said in a statement.
The U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) declined to comment.
According to the ACLU, the number of electronic device searches at the border has been increasing since 2016 and has grown even more during Republican President Donald Trump’s administration.
According to fiscal year data from the CBP, searches of electronic devices climbed from about 8,500 in 2015 to about 19,000 in 2016 and 32,000 2017.
The lawsuit was filed in September by travelers including a military veteran, a National Aeronautics and Space Administration engineer, two journalists and a computer programmer. Several of the plaintiffs are Muslim or minorities.
Generally in the United States, law enforcement is required to obtain a warrant before it can search an American’s electronic devices.
But a so-called border search exception allows federal authorities to conduct searches within 100 miles (160 km) of a U.S. border without a warrant. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; Editing by Cynthia Osterman | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-immigration-privacy/lawsuit-against-u-s-border-searches-of-phones-can-move-forward-judge-idINKBN1IB2N5 |
Atlantica Yield Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Net loss for the quarter attributable to the Company of $4.8 million compared to a net loss of $11.8 million in the first quarter of 2017 Revenues reached $225.3 million representing a 13.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017 Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates [1] grew by 8.9% to $179.8 million in the first quarter of 2018 compared with $165.0 million in the first quarter of 2017 Cash available for distribution ("CAFD") amounted to $43.0 million Quarterly dividend of $0.32 per share declared by the Board of Directors representing a 28% increase compared to the same quarter of 2017
May 14, 2018 - Atlantica Yield plc (NASDAQ: AY) ("Atlantica"), the sustainable total return company that owns a diversified portfolio of contracted assets in the energy and environment sectors, reported financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018. Revenues amounted to $225.3 million, representing a 13.7% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates[1] amounted to $179.8 million, representing a 8.9% increase during the same period. CAFD generation amounted to $43.0 million, on track to meet the yearly guidance for 2018.
Highlights
Three-month period ended
March 31, (in thousands of U.S. dollars) 2018 2017 Revenue $ 225,265 $ 198,146 Loss for the period attributable to the Company (4,764) (11,769) Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates [2] $ 179,800 $ 165,049 Net cash provided by operating activities 130,535 86,372 CAFD [3] $ 43,031 $ 60,872 Key Performance Indicators
Three-month period ended March 31, 2018 2017 Renewable energy MW in operation [4] 1,446 1,442 GWh produced [5] 507 460 Efficient natural gas MW in operation 300 300 GWh produced 547 591 Availability(%) [6] 97.9% 99.8% Electric transmission lines Miles in operation 1,099 1,099 Availability(%) [7] 100.0% 94.4% Water Mft 3 in operation 4 10.5 10.5 Availability (%) 7 99.1% 102.5% Segment Results
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue by Geography North America $ 61,781 $ 60,952 South America 29,536 28,527 EMEA 133,948 108,667 Total revenue $ 225,265 $ 198,146 Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates by Geography North America $ 60,247 $ 54,753 South America 24,180 33,757 EMEA 95,373 76,539 Total Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates $ 179,800 $ 165,049
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue by business sector Renewable energy $ 167,225 $ 137,664 Efficient natural gas 28,387 29,800 Electric transmission lines 23,840 24,165 Water 5,813 6,517 Total revenue $ 225,265 $ 198,146
Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates by business sector Renewable energy $ 131,435 $ 102,625 Efficient natural gas 23,330 26,716 Electric transmission lines 19,836 30,459 Water 5,199 5,249 Total Further Adjusted EBITDA incl. unconsolidated affiliates $ 179,800 $ 165,049 In the first quarter of 2018, our renewable assets delivered higher electricity production compared to the same period of 2017. The increase is mainly attributable to the improved performance in Kaxu during the summer season in South Africa, with a capacity factor of 37.0%. Production also increased in our U.S. solar assets, mainly due to a temporary delay of the annual maintenance work in Mojave to the second quarter of 2018. The solar fleet in Spain demonstrated stable operational results. Finally, our wind assets increased production due to solid performance and good wind levels.
Our availability-based assets continue to deliver solid performance with high availability levels in ACT, transmission lines and in water assets.
Liquidity and Debt
As of March 31, 2018, cash available at the Atlantica Yield corporate level was $151.4 million, which together with an available revolver capacity of $71.0 million, represents total corporate liquidity of $222.4 million.
As of March 31, 2018, net project debt amounted to $4,929.2 million ($4,954.3 million as of December 31, 2017) and net corporate debt amounted to $505.9 million ($494.6 as of December 31, 2017). The net corporate debt / CAFD pre-corporate debt service ratio [8] remains at 2.3x.
Net project debt is calculated as long-term project debt plus short-term project debt minus cash and cash equivalents at the project level. Net corporate debt is calculated as long-term corporate debt plus short-term corporate debt minus cash and cash equivalents at Atlantica Yield corporate level.
Revolving Credit Facility Refinancing
On May 10, 2018, we signed a $215 million new Revolving Credit Agreement with a syndicate of banks. The agreement, once effective, will replace the current $125 million Revolving Credit Facility ahead of its maturity in December 2018.
The new Revolving Credit Agreement matures on December 31, 2021 and accrues interest at a rate per annum equal to LIBOR plus a margin ranging from 1.60% to 2.25%, depending on corporate leverage. Considering our corporate debt target, we expect the margin to be in the range of 1.60% to 1.75%, which is around 100 basis points lower than the rate of the current revolving arrangement.
Dividend
On May 11, 2017, our Board of Directors approved a dividend of $0.32 per share which represents a 28% increase compared to the same quarter of 2017. This dividend is expected to be paid on or about June 15, 2018 to shareholders of record as of May 31, 2018.
Strong Commitment from Algonquin
On March 9, 2018, Algonquin became our largest shareholder after closing the acquisition of a 25% equity participation in Atlantica Yield. Furthermore, on April 17, 2018, Algonquin announced they had entered into an agreement with Abengoa to purchase an additional 16.5% of our shares. The transaction is subject to approval by the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") and certain other closing conditions and is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2018, according to the information publicly disclosed by Algonquin.
Algonquin is demonstrating a strong commitment to Atlantica and our future accretive growth. With solid know-how in the sector, an investment grade credit rating and proven access to capital markets, their equity participation in Atlantica assures a compelling alignment between the two companies. Following the closing of the 25% stake acquisition, Mr. Ian Robertson, CEO of Algonquin and Mr. Christopher Jarratt, Vice-Chair, have joined our board of directors, bringing valuable expertise to the company.
In addition, the ROFO Agreement signed with AAGES became effective on March 9, 2018, formalizing our main channel for accretive growth opportunities through dropdowns. AAGES, the joint venture created to invest in the development and construction of clean energy and water infrastructure contracted assets, has already started its operations.
Taking into account our new strategic shareholder and sponsor, our ROFO agreements and our internal and external opportunities, our target is to grow our dividend per share by 8% to 10% through 2022.
Details of the Results Presentation Conference
Atlantica Yield's CEO, Santiago Seage, and its CFO, Francisco Martinez-Davis, will hold a conference call today, May 14, at 4:30 pm EST.
In order to access the conference call participants should dial: +1 646-828-8143 (US) or +44 (0) 330 336 9105 (UK), followed by the confirmation code 7101605 . A live webcast of the conference call will be available on Atlantica Yield's website. Please visit the website at least 15 minutes earlier in order to register for the live webcast and download any necessary audio software.
Additionally, Atlantica Yield's management will meet with investors at the Annual Clean Tech Utilities & Power Conference organized by Deutsche Bank in New York on May 15 and at the Global Energy and Utilities Conference organized by Citibank in Boston on May 16.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including, without limitation, those regarding our future financial position and results of operations, our strategy, plans, objectives, goals and targets, future developments in the markets in which we operate or are seeking to operate or anticipated regulatory changes in the markets in which we operate or intend to operate. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "aim," "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "forecast," "guidance," "intend," "is likely to," "may," "plan," "potential," "predict," "projected," "should" or "will" or the negative of such terms or other similar expressions or terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release and are not guarantees of future performance and are based on numerous assumptions. Our actual results of operations, financial condition and the development of events may differ materially from (and be more negative than) those made in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements.
Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others: difficult conditions in the global economy and in the global market and uncertainties in emerging markets where we have international operations; changes in government regulations providing incentives and subsidies for renewable energy, including reduction of our revenues in Spain, which are mainly defined by regulation through parameters that could be reviewed at the end of each regulatory period; our ability to acquire solar projects due to the potential increase of the cost of solar panels; political, social and macroeconomic risks relating to the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union; changes in general economic, political, governmental and business conditions globally and in the countries in which we do business; decreases in government expenditure budgets, reductions in government subsidies or adverse changes in laws and regulations affecting our businesses and growth plan; challenges in achieving growth and making acquisitions due to our dividend policy; inability to identify and/or consummate future acquisitions, under the AAGES ROFO Agreement, the Abengoa ROFO Agreement or otherwise, on favorable terms or at all; our ability to identify and reach an agreement with new sponsors or partners similar to the ROFO agreements with AAGES, Algonquin or Abengoa; our ability to identify and/or consummate future acquisitions from third parties or from potential new partners, including as a result of not being able to find acquisition opportunities at attractive prices; legal challenges to regulations, subsidies and incentives that support renewable energy sources; extensive governmental regulation in a number of different jurisdictions, including stringent environmental regulation; increases in the cost of energy and gas, which could increase our operating costs; counterparty credit risk and failure of counterparties to our offtake agreements to fulfill their obligations; inability to replace expiring or terminated offtake agreements with similar agreements; new technology or changes in industry standards; inability to manage exposure to credit, interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, supply and commodity price risks; reliance on third-party contractors and suppliers; risks associated with acquisitions and investments; deviations from our investment criteria for future acquisitions and investments; failure to maintain safe work environments; effects of catastrophes, natural disasters, adverse weather conditions, climate change, unexpected geological or other physical conditions, criminal or terrorist acts or cyber-attacks at one or more of our plants; insufficient insurance coverage and increases in insurance cost; litigation and other legal proceedings, including claims due to Abengoa's restructuring process; reputational risk, including potential damage caused to us by Abengoa's reputation; the loss of one or more of our executive officers; failure of information technology on which we rely to run our business; revocation or termination of our concession agreements or power purchase agreements; lowering of revenues in Spain that are mainly defined by regulation; risk that the 16.5% Share Sale will not be completed; inability to adjust regulated tariffs or fixed-rate arrangements as a result of fluctuations in prices of raw materials, exchange rates, labor and subcontractor costs; exposure to electricity market conditions which can impact revenue from our renewable energy and efficient natural gas facilities (previously named "conventional generation"); changes to national and international law and policies that support renewable energy resources; lack of electric transmission capacity and potential upgrade costs to the electric transmission grid; disruptions in our operations as a result of our not owning the land on which our assets are located; risks associated with maintenance, expansion and refurbishment of electric generation facilities; failure of our assets to perform as expected, including Solana and Kaxu; failure to receive dividends from all project and investments, including Solana and Kaxu; failure or delay to reach the "flip-date" by Liberty Interactive Corporation in its tax equity investment in Solana; variations in meteorological conditions; disruption of the fuel supplies necessary to generate power at our efficient natural gas facilities (previously named "conventional generation"); deterioration in Abengoa's financial condition; Abengoa's ability to meet its obligations under our agreements with Abengoa to comply with past representations, commitments and potential liabilities linked to the time when Abengoa owned the assets, potential clawback of transactions with Abengoa, and other risks related to Abengoa; failure to meet certain covenants or payment obligations under our financing arrangements; failure to obtain pending waivers in relation to the minimum ownership by Abengoa and the cross-default provisions contained in some of our project financing agreements; failure of Abengoa to maintain existing guarantees and letters of credit under the Financial Support Agreement or failure by us to maintain guarantees; failure of Abengoa to maintain its obligations and production guarantees, pursuant to EPC contracts; our ability to consummate future acquisitions from AAGES, Algonquin, Abengoa or others; our ability to close acquisitions under our ROFO agreements with AAGES, Algonquin, Abengoa and others due to, among other things, not being offered assets that fit our portfolio or, reaching agreements on prices or, in the case of the Abengoa ROFO Agreement, the risk of Abengoa selling assets before they reach COD; changes in our tax position and greater than expected liability; conflicts of interests which may be resolved in a manner that is not in our best interests or the best interests of our minority shareholders, potentially caused by our ownership structure and certain service agreements in place with our current largest shareholder; the divergence of interest between us and Abengoa, due to Abengoa's sale of our shares; potential negative implications from being deemed to undergo an "ownership change" under section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, including limitations on our ability to use U.S. NOLs to offset future income tax liability; negative implications from a potential change of control; negative implications of U.S. federal income tax reform; technical failure, design errors or faulty operation of our assets not covered by guarantees or insurance; and failure to collect insurance proceeds in the expected amounts. Furthermore, any dividends are subject to available capital, market conditions, and compliance with associated laws and regulations. These factors should be considered in connection with information regarding risks and uncertainties that may affect Atlantica Yield's future results included in Atlantica Yield's filings with the U.S. Commission at www.sec.gov .
Atlantica Yield undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or developments or otherwise.
Non - GAAP Financial Measures
We present non-GAAP financial measures because we believe that they and other similar measures are widely used by certain investors, securities analysts and other interested parties as supplemental measures of performance and liquidity. The non-GAAP financial measures may not be comparable to other similarly titled measures of other companies and have limitations as analytical tools and should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for analysis of our operating results as reported under IFRS as issued by the IASB. Non-GAAP financial measures and ratios are not measurements of our performance or liquidity under IFRS as issued by the IASB and should not be considered as alternatives to operating profit or profit for the year or any other performance measures derived in accordance with IFRS as issued by the IASB or any other generally accepted accounting principles or as alternatives to cash flow from operating, investing or financing activities.
We define Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates as profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company, after adding back loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interest from continued operations, income tax, share of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method, finance expense net, depreciation, amortization and impairment charges, and dividends received from the preferred equity investment in ACBH.
Our management believes Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates is useful to investors and other users of our financial statements in evaluating our operating performance because it provides them with an additional tool to compare business performance across companies and across periods. This measure is widely used by investors to measure a company's operating performance without regard to items such as interest expense, taxes, depreciation and amortization, which can vary substantially from company to company depending upon accounting methods and book value of assets, capital structure and the method by which assets were acquired. Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates is also used by management as a measure of liquidity.
Our management uses Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates as a measure of operating performance to assist in comparing performance from period to period on a consistent basis and to readily view operating trends, as a measure for planning and forecasting overall expectations and for evaluating actual results against such expectations, and in communications with our Board of Directors, shareholders, creditors, analysts and investors concerning our financial performance.
We define Cash Available For Distribution as cash distributions received by the Company from its subsidiaries minus all cash expenses of the Company, including debt service and general and administrative expenses. Management believes cash available for distribution is a relevant supplemental measure of the Company's ability to earn and distribute cash returns to investors.
We believe cash available for distribution is useful to investors in evaluating our operating performance because securities analysts and other interested parties use such calculations as a measure of our ability to make quarterly distributions. In addition, cash available for distribution is used by our management team for determining future acquisitions and managing our growth.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
For the three-month period ended March 31,
2018 2017 Revenue $ 225,265 $ 198,146 Other operating income 28,414 14,992 Raw materials and consumables used (4,420) (1,076) Employee benefit expenses (5,097) (4,080) Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges (74,624) (76,876) Other operating expenses (66,194) (54,415) Operating profit $ 103,344 $ 76,691 Financial income 296 320 Financial expense (100,067) (101,039) Net exchange differences (180) 141 Other financial income/(expense), net (1,660) 4,278 Financial expense, net $ (101,611) $ (96,300) Share of profit/(loss) of associates carried under the equity method 1,407 702 Profit/(loss) before income tax $ 3,140 $ (18,907) Income tax (4,650) 4,500 Profit/(loss) for the period $ (1,510) $ (14,407) Loss/(profit) attributable to non-controlling interests (3,254) 2,638 Profit((loss) for the period attributable to the Company $ (4,764) $ (11,769) Weighted average number of ordinary shares outstanding (thousands) 100,217 100,217 Basic earnings per share attributable to Atlantica Yield plc (U.S. dollar per share) $ (0.05) $ (0.12) Consolidated Statement of Financial Position
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Assets As of March 31,
2018 As of December 31, 2017 Non-current assets Contracted concessional assets $ 9,100,548 $ 9,084,270 Investments carried under the equity method 57,648 55,784 Financial investments 47,198 45,242 Deferred tax assets 173,371 165,136 Total non-current assets $ 9,378,765 $ 9,350,432 Current assets Inventories 17,912 17,933 Clients and other receivables 248,410 244,449 Financial investments 209,209 210,138 Cash and cash equivalents 755,902 669,387 Total current assets $ 1,231,433 $ 1,141,907 Total assets $ 10,610,198 $ 10,492,339
Equity and liabilities Share capital $ 10,022 10,022 Parent company reserves 2,132,161 2,163,229 Other reserves 96,141 80,968 Accumulated currency translation differences 9,521 (18,147) Retained Earnings (493,790) (477,214) Non-controlling interest 141,081 136,595 Total equity $ 1,895,136 1,895,453 Non-current liabilities Long-term corporate debt $ 583,559 574,176 Long-term project debt 5,230,432 5,228,917 Grants and other liabilities 1,676,199 1,636,060 Related parties 144,994 141,031 Derivative liabilities 320,366 329,731 Deferred tax liabilities 201,274 186,583 Total non-current liabilities $ 8,156,824 8,096,498 Current liabilities Short-term corporate debt 73,762 68,907 Short-term project debt 303,328 246,291 Trade payables and other current liabilities 154,181 155,144 Income and other tax payables 26,967 30,046 Total current liabilities $ 558,238 500,388 Total equity and liabilities $ 10,610,198 10,492,339 Consolidated Cash Flow Statements
(Amounts in thousands of U.S. dollars)
Three-month period ended March 31, 2018 2017 Profit/(loss) for the period (1,510) (14,407) Financial expense and non-monetary adjustments 170,459 156,090 Profit for the period adjusted by financial expense and non-monetary adjustments $ 168,949 $ 141,683 Variations in working capital (11,654) (28,701) Net interest and income tax paid (26,760) (26,610) Net cash provided by operating activities $ 130,535 $ 86,372 Investment in contracted concessional assets [9] 60,512 (1,819) Other non-current assets/liabilities (5,118) (13,363) Acquisitions of subsidiaries (9,327) - Other investments 1,473 (43,629) Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities $ 47,540 $ (58,811) Net cash (used) in financing activities $ (101,215) $ (36,194) Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents $ 76,860 $ (8,633) Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the period 669,387 594,811 Translation differences in cash or cash equivalent 9,655 3,214 Cash and cash equivalents at end of the period $ 755,902 $ 589,392 Reconciliation of Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates to Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the company
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended March 31, 2018 2017 Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company $ (4,764) $(11,769) Profit/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interest 3,254 (2,638) Income tax expense/(benefit) 4,650 (4,500) Share of loss/(profit) of associates carried under the equity method (1,407) (702) Financial expense, net 101,611 96,300 Operating profit $ 103,344 $ 76,691 Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 74,624 76,876 Dividend from exchangeable preferred equity investment in ACBH - 10,383 Further Adjusted EBITDA $ 177,968 $ 163,950 Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from Unconsolidated Affiliates 1,832 1,100 Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates $ 179,800 $ 165,049 Reconciliation of Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates to net cash provided by operating activities
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended March 31, 2018 2017 Net cash provided by operating activities $ 130,535 $ 86,372 Net interest and income tax paid 26,760 26,610 Variations in working capital 11,654 28,701 Other non-cash adjustments and other 9,019 22,267 Further Adjusted EBITDA $ 177,968 $ 163,950 Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates
1,832
1,100 Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates $ 179,800 $ 165,049 Cash Available For Distribution Reconciliation (Historical)
(in thousands of U.S. dollars) Three-month period ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Profit/(loss) for the period attributable to the Company $ (4,764) $ (11,769) Profit/(loss) attributable to non-controlling interest 3,254 (2,638) Income tax expense/(benefit) 4,650 (4,500) Share of loss/(profit) of associates carried under the equity method (1,407) (702) Financial expense, net 101,611 96,300 Operating profit $ 103,344 $ 76,691 Depreciation, amortization, and impairment charges 74,624 76,876 Dividend from exchangeable preferred equity investment in ACBH - 10,383 Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates 1,832 1,100 Further Adjusted EBITDA including unconsolidated affiliates $ 179,800 $ 165,049 Atlantica Yield's pro-rata share of EBITDA from unconsolidated affiliates (1,832)
(1,100) Non-monetary items (8,839) (12,025) Interest and income tax paid (26,760) (26,610) Principal amortization of indebtedness (17,647) (21,522) Deposits into/ withdrawals from restricted accounts (21,720) 7,557 Change in non-restricted cash at project level (68,031) (27,293) Dividends paid to non-controlling interests - - Changes in other assets and liabilities 8,060 (23,184) Cash Available For Distribution [10] $ 43,031 $ 60,872
About Atlantica Yield
Atlantica Yield plc is a total return company that owns a diversified portfolio of contracted renewable energy, power generation, electric transmission and water assets in North & South America, and certain markets in EMEA ( www.atlanticayield.com ).
Chief Financial Officer
Francisco Martinez-Davis
E [email protected]
Investor Relations & Communication
Leire Perez
E [email protected]
T +44 20 3499 0465
[1] Further Adjusted EBITDA includes our share in EBITDA of unconsolidated affiliates and the dividend from our preferred equity investment in Brazil or its compensation (see reconciliation).
[2] Further Adjusted EBITDA includes our share in EBITDA of unconsolidated affiliates and the dividend from our preferred equity investment in Brazil or its compensation in the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 (see reconciliation).
[3] CAFD for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 includes $10.4 million of ACBH dividend compensation (see reconciliation).
[4] Represents total installed capacity in assets owned at the end of the period, regardless of our percentage of ownership in each of the assets.
[5] Includes curtailment production in wind assets for which we receive compensation.
[6] Electric availability refers to operational MW over contracted MW with Pemex.
[7] Availability refers to actual availability divided by contracted availability.
[8] Based on midpoint CAFD guidance pre corporate debt service for the year 2018.
[9] Includes proceeds of $60.8 million received at Solana from Abengoa in relation to the consent with the DOE.
[10] CAFD for the three-month period ended March 31, 2017 includes $10.4 million of ACBH dividend compensation.
Attachment
Press Release Atlantica Yield 1Q18.pdf
Source: Atlantica Yield plc | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-atlantica-yield-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
‘You can take off your hats now, gentlemen, and I think perhaps you had better.” That was Stephen Vincent Benet in 1941, in the Saturday Review of Literature, on the work of Scott Fitzgerald, who had recently died.
I thought of it on the death of Tom Wolfe. Not that he was ignored or forgotten, but we are coming to terms with his greatness in a purer, less guarded way than in the past.
He... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/hats-off-to-tom-wolfe-1526599709 |
May 18, 2018 / 7:27 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago CORRECTED-U.S. could take 'very harsh' changes in case of China's ZTE -W.House adviser Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(In 1st sentence, corrects attribution to Fox Business Network, not Fox Business News)
WASHINGTON, May 18 (Reuters) - U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is having a second look at trade remedies in the case of China telecommunications company ZTE Corp “and if there are any structural changes in their case, they will be very harsh,” White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow told Fox Business Network on Friday.
“Change of management, change of board, change of everything ... it’s up to Mr. Ross, who will make a recommendation to the president,” said Kudlow, who is President Donald Trump’s Director of the National Economic Council.
Kudlow said trade talks with China “are going very well” but added that if they don’t succeed, Trump “is prepared to take tough action on his own.” (Reporting by Eric Beech; writing by Eric Walsh; editing by Jonathan Oatis) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-china-adviser/u-s-could-take-very-harsh-changes-in-case-of-chinas-zte-w-house-adviser-idUSL2N1SP1EZ |
As the battle heats up for control of Congress, primary contests across the nation are drawing large pools of money from long distance donors who are shaping the outcome of key races.
Nearly 2,700 candidates are vying for one of the 435 U.S. House seats up for grabs in November. So far, they've raised more than $800 million for their campaigns, according to the latest data from the Federal Elections Commission. Though it's still early in this year's midterm cycle, roughly two thirds of that money has come from outside those candidates districts.
Of the 41 seats in the four states holding primaries Tuesday, candidates in more than half those districts have collectively raised more than a million dollars.
The midterm cycle enters a critical stage in the coming weeks as primaries in dozens of states begin to winnow down a pack of thousands of congressional hopefuls to a relative handful of contenders.
The first of a series of multi-state primaries is set for Tuesday, when candidates face off in Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and North Carolina. Most congressional districts in those states largely favor Republicans in the November elections.
More than 60 people have signed up to run for North Carolina's 13 congressional seats, where Republicans currently hold 10.
Most of Ohio's 16 districts are also considered "safe" for the incumbent party, four of which are held by Democrats. The wild card race could come out of a special election set for August in Ohio's Twelfth, which is currently vacant.
Indiana's House delegation consists of seven Republicans and two Democrats; all of those seats are considered "safe." So are West Virginia's three GOP seats.
Most of the districts are considered "safe" for incumbent party. But there are a number of hard fought races to determine who will get their party's nomination to run for those seats. Here are five races to watch:
Ohio 15th In Ohio's 15th congressional district, GOP incumbent Steve Stivers has one of the biggest campaign war chests among this cycle's House candidates, with nearly $2.8 million in direct contributions as of the end of the first quarter. Stivers has raised much of that from long distance donors; of the money raised among individual contributors, nearly 80 percent came from outside the district, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Stivers, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, has raised nearly two-thirds of his campaign cash from political action committees. More than half a million in donations have come from PACs representing the insurance, securities, real estate and banking industries, according to CRP.
Two Democrats, Rob Jarvis, a high school government teacher, and Rick Neal, a former humanitarian aid worker and stay-at-home Dad, are facing off to challenge Stivers. Neither Democratic candidate has run for political office.
As of the end of the first quarter, Neal had raised about $400,000; no data was available for Jarvis.
North Carolina 9th North Carolina incumbent Republican Robert Pittenger won his Ninth district seat easily in 2016, but he faces both a GOP challenger, Mark Harris, and a well-funded Democrat Dan MacCready, a veteran Marine who has so far outraised both his Republican rivals.
On the right, Pittenger is fighting back a repeat challenge from Harris, who lost the 2016 GOP primary by a slim margin.
Democrats see an opportunity to flip the downstate seat, which stretches along the South Carolina border between Charlotte and Fayetteville from red to blue.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has put North Carolina's 9th district on its 2018 target list. Democratic mega-donor Tom Steyer has been among McCready's biggest financial backers, pledging more than $1 million to his campaign, according to Ballotpedia.
Ohio 12th Five districts in the four states holding primaries Tuesday have fielded large packs looking to fill seats left open by members who have resigned or who plan to retire. One of the most crowded races is in Ohio's twelfth district, a midstate district just north of Columbus.
The seat opened up for the first time in 18 years when incumbent Republican Patrick Tiberi resigned in January, sparking a stampede of nearly two dozen candidates, according to FEC records. The winners of Tuesday's Democrat and Republican primaries will face off in August in a special election to fill the seat until January, 2019.
But that's not the end of the story. The same two candidates will face off again in November in the general election to serve the two-year term than begins that month.
On the Republican side, the field includes state Senator Troy Balderson, businesswoman Malanie Leneghan, conservative economist Tim Kanem the top three fundraisers as of the end of the first quarter.
Franklin Country recorder Danny O'Connor, 31, has raised the most cash among the seven Democrats in the race, but he has a much smaller campaign fund than his GOP rivals.
The seat, which went for Trump in 2016, is considered safe for Republicans.
Indiana Sixth Indiana's sixth district opened up after GOP incumbent Luke Messer opted to run for U.S. Senate in November.
Democrats have not had much luck raising money for this solidly Republican district, which Trump carried by 40 points in 2016. But Republican businessman Jonathan Lamb has raised more than $800,000 – mostly from his own pocket – to challenge Greg Pence, a Columbus businessman who is running to win the seat once held by his younger brother, Vice President Mike Pence.
Greg Pence's House race has drawn the attention of national donors; about half of the million dollars he had raised as of the end of the first quarter came from outside the district.
Aside from his brother, Pence has also picked up key GOP endorsements form House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and House Majority Whip Steve Scalise of Louisiana.
West Virginia Third It's unlikely this solidly Republican seat will flip parties, but it's less clear which the GOP candidates in the race will appear on the ballot in November.
The seat opened up last year when incumbent Evan Jenkins decided to run for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Joe Manchin. Since then, the race has drawn several Republicans who have aligned themselves with policies pursued by President Trump, who won the district in 2016 by nearly 50 points.
As of the end of the first quarter, Carol Miller, a member of the state House of Delegates, had raised roughly as much as her next two best-funded GOP rivals, state Delegate Rupert Phillips Jr., and Conrad Lucas, a former state party chairman. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/long-distance-donors-shaping-tuesdays-house-primary-results.html |
WASHINGTON May 21 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Communications Commission said Monday it wants additional comments on Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc’s planned $3.9 billion acquisition of Tribune Media Co and disclosed it does not expect to make a decision before July 12.
Sinclair said in April it plans to divest 23 stations in a bid to win governmental approval but would still need FCC permission to own more than one station in some markets. Sinclair, which is already the largest U.S. broadcast station owner, announced plans in May 2017 to acquire Tribune’s 42 TV stations in 33 markets, extending its reach to 72 percent of American households. The FCC will take comments and responses through July 12. The deal also needs approval from the U.S. Justice Department. (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/tribune-media-ma-sinclair-ma/fcc-seeks-new-comments-on-proposed-sinclair-tribune-merger-idUSL2N1SS1A4 |
(Repeats without changes to the text)
By Pratima Desai and Dmitry Zhdannikov
LONDON, May 23 (Reuters) - United Company Rusal resumed shipping aluminium to some customers last week following an extension of the deadline for companies to wind down contracts with the Russian firm under U.S. sanctions, sources said.
The U.S. Treasury Department moved its deadline for U.S. consumers to wind down business with Rusal to Oct. 23 from June 5 previously and said it would consider lifting sanctions if Rusal’s major shareholder, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, ceded control of the company.
“Aluminum is being shipped. Parties who have existing contracts are starting to take deliveries,” a metal industry source said.
Sources say aluminium had been trickling out, but the quantities now being talked about were substantial, however they declined to disclose any specific numbers.
Rusal declined to comment.
Some customers had asked Rusal after the sanctions were imposed on April 6. to stop shipping metal until their legal and compliance teams had confirmed their contracts allowed them to take Rusal’s aluminium until Oct 23, sources said.
“Rusal’s customers need to restock to meet their obligations. It’s a slow process, but it has started,” an industry source said, adding that lobbying by U.S. consumers could mean the deadline was extended beyond October.
Sources said uncertainty about aluminium supplies supports prices, which at around $2,250 a tonne are up more than 10 percent since April 6.
A source at one of the railway operators involved with Rusal’s exports said last Friday that the company was preparing to resume significant supplies very soon.
The extension detailed in General Licence 14 (GL-14), issued late April, effectively means aluminium produced and sold by Rusal until Oct. 23 is free of U.S. sanctions, so long as the deal to buy was signed before they were imposed.
Existing deals include those such as Swiss-based mining giant Glencore’s seven-year deal to buy 14.5 million tonnes of aluminium from Rusal between 2012 to 2018.
Sources say, stock movement in warehouses approved by the London Metal Exchange suggest nervousness about supplies of primary aluminium may be receding, even if only temporarily.
“Aluminium taken off LME warrant in Malaysia to meet contractual obligations, to cover potential shortfalls in commitments is starting to be re-warranted,” an industry source said. “Anxiety seems to be fading.”
Stocks of aluminium in Port Klang, Malaysia fell below 303,000 tonnes in the middle of May, down more than 20 percent since early April. They are now around 316,000 tonnes.
Total stocks of aluminium in LME registered warehouses at above 1.23 million tonnes are down more than 10 percent since the extension was announced.
Rusal’s metal has been suspended from the LME’s list of approved brands that can be delivered against its primary aluminium contract since April 17.
It accounted for more than six percent of global aluminium supplies estimated at around 63 million tonnes last year. (Reporting by Pratima Desai and Dmitry Zhdannikov Additional reporting by Gleb Stolyarov and Polina Devitt; Editing by Veronica Brown and Alexandra Hudson)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-sanctions-rusal-aluminium/rpt-exclusive-rusal-resumes-shipments-of-aluminium-to-some-customers-idUSL5N1SU65X |
I applaud President Trump’s mission to combat MS-13. The gang must be disrupted, dismantled and defeated. There should never be any disagreement about that, and presidential involvement is incredibly beneficial.
MS-13 members are ruthless and depraved. The gang models itself on organized crime syndicates throughout history. It is a murderous and destructive force in too many good communities across America, including Long Island, where I’m from.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/immigrant-bashing-helps-ms-13-1527114365 |
Campbell Soup Co. chief executive Denise Morrison stepped down on Friday and the company said it might sell some brands, after a bet on fresher foods during her seven-year tenure failed to revive sales.
Campbell’s U.S. soup sales—its core business—fell in all but one year of Ms. Morrison’s tenure. Efforts to enter the faster-growing fresh-food business, through the acquisition of Bolthouse Farms juice for instance, hit their own hurdles.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/campbell-soup-ceo-exits-as-company-plans-strategic-review-of-portfolio-1526643602 |
May 18, 2018 / 11:15 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Deals of the day-Mergers and acquisitions Reuters Staff 4 Min Read
(Adds Qualcomm, Enel)
May 18 (Reuters) - The following bids, mergers, acquisitions and disposals were reported by 2000 GMT on Friday:
** Lloyds Banking Group has sold its Irish residential mortgage portfolio to Barclays for around 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) in cash, as part of a plan to focus on its core British market.
** Qualcomm Inc’s $44 billion deal to buy Dutch chipmaker NXP Semiconductors NV is looking “more optimistic now”, the Wall Street Journal quoted a Beijing official as saying.
** After holding an interest in Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc for nearly 11 years, private equity firm Blackstone Group LP has decided to exit the hotel chain operator by selling its about 5.8 percent stake.
** PayPal Holdings Inc has agreed to buy Swedish financial technology startup iZettle for $2.2 billion in the U.S. online payments provider’s biggest ever acquisition.
** New Zealand’s Goodman Property Trust (GMT) will sell its majority-held VXV office portfolio to a number of Blackstone funds for NZ$635 million ($436.44 million), in the U.S. private equity giant’s latest move further into Oceania.
** South Korea’s SK Holding Co Ltd said it had decided to invest $250 million in Brazos Midstream, a U.S. shale gas gathering and processing company, to expand its energy businesses.
** Italy’s biggest utility Enel would look at any assets of smaller rival EDP that came to market in case of a break up of the Portuguese energy group, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday.
** The co-founder of New York-based marketing firm Didit is interested in buying gossip website Gawker Media LLC out of bankruptcy after a U.S. judge approved a settlement with the investor Peter Thiel, whose funding of a lawsuit against Gawker forced it to close in 2016.
** India’s Tata Steel Ltd said it had completed the acquisition of a 72.7 percent stake in Bhushan Steel Ltd , which was in bankruptcy court over unpaid loans.
** Sibanye-Stillwater is confident its planned purchase of Lonmin, will go ahead, but the struggling platinum producer must slow its cash burn, the South African firm’s chief executive said.
** IAG is not expecting to announce a deal to buy Norwegian Air Shuttle soon and would not make a hostile bid, its chief executive said, adding his airline group had growth opportunities on its own.
** The RAG Foundation, a German public sector trust, bought a 4.5 percent stake in property lender Deutsche Pfandbriefbank from Hypo Real Estate (HRE) in a placement earlier this week, according to a filing by Pfandbriefbank (PBB).
** South Africa’s Murray & Roberts and construction firm Aveng Limited said they have agreed in principle on a potential merger.
** Tata Steel’s Dutch works council has called into question a timeframe for completing a joint venture between the Indian group and Thyssenkrupp by end-June, saying it may need more time to assess the deal, its president said.
** Buyout fund CVC Capital has agreed to buy a majority stake in Mehilainen, one of Finland’s largest healthcare companies, from private equity companies KKR and Triton.
** ESR-REIT will buy rival Viva Industrial Trust in a proposed deal valued at S$936.7 million, marking the first consolidation among Singapore’s crowded mid-cap real estate investment trusts.
** Mexican bottler Arca Continental said that it had suspended negotiations to buy shares in Corporacion Lindley because of a change in the tax burden on Lindley’s products in Peru.
** Mudrick Capital Management LP filed a lawsuit against satellite communications company Globalstar Inc over its proposed merger with FiberLight LLC, stating that the terms of the deal valued at $1.65 billion are “wildly unfair.” Compiled by Akshara P in Bengaluru | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/deals-day/deals-of-the-day-mergers-and-acquisitions-idUSL3N1SP3ZM |
LONDON—U. S. buyout giant Silver Lake Friday struck at £2.2 billion ($2.98 billion) deal to acquire one of Britain’s biggest internet property search companies, a bet on the increasing use of the web by consumers and real-estate agents as a more efficient and cheaper way to buy and sell homes in the U.K. and beyond.
Founded in 2008, ZPG PLC’s brands include Zoopla, a property portal with hundreds of thousands of home listings, and uSwitch, which allows consumers to compare prices for a range of home services including gas,... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/buyout-giant-silver-lake-jumps-into-u-k-digital-property-search-market-1526037471 |
May 1 (Reuters) - Noble Energy Inc:
* SAYS 100 NEW WELLS WILL COME ONLINE IN THE 2H18 BETWEEN THE DJ AND THE DELAWARE BASINS – CONF CALL
* SEES U.S. ONSHORE OIL VOLUMES TO INCREASE BY ROUGHLY 10,000 BARRELS A DAY FROM Q2 TO Q3 AND AGAIN FROM Q3 TO Q4- CONF CALL Further company coverage: ([email protected])
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-noble-energy-says-100-new-wells-wi/brief-noble-energy-says-100-new-wells-will-come-online-in-the-2h18-conf-call-idUSFWN1S80JY |
May 24, 2018 / 4:58 AM / in 18 minutes UPDATE 1-China jails insurer PICC's ex-president for corruption - state media Reuters Staff
* Former PICC president jailed, fined for graft - People’s Daily
* Court finds Wang Yincheng guilty of taking $1.4 mln in bribes
* President Xi’s anti-corruption drive stretches back to 2012
* Anti-graft body says Wang ‘pursued extravagant pleasures’ (Recasts throughout with details of case, background on anti-corruption drive; adds bullet points)
BEIJING, May 24 (Reuters) - The former president of the People’s Insurance Company (Group) of China Ltd was jailed for 11 years for taking bribes, state media reported on Thursday, the latest senior executive brought down by Beijing’s anti-graft campaign.
Wang Yincheng, who was also a vice Communist Party secretary at state-owned PICC, was found guilty of receiving 8.7 million yuan ($1.36 million) in bribes from 2006 to 2016 in exchange for helping individuals and companies with project contracts, giving staff promotions and hiring their children, the official People’s Daily reported.
The newspaper cited a verdict made by the Intermediate Court of Fozhou.
Wang also faces 1 million yuan in fines and confiscation of his illegal gains, the court said.
Reuters could not reach Wang or his representatives for comment.
Wang is the latest senior financial executive to be caught in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s far-reaching fight against corruption.
Xi has presided over the anti-graft drive since coming to power in late 2012, punishing more than a million party members and jailing top military figures. Retired security tsar Zhou Yongkang became the most senior official toppled for corruption since 1949.
China’s top leaders have pledged to intensify a crackdown on financial risks this year. A number of senior financial officials and executives, such as Anbang Insurance Group Co’s ex-chairman Wu Xiaohui, have been jailed under that campaign.
Wang was placed under investigation by the Chinese Communist Party’s anti-corruption watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection (CCDI), in February 2017.
The CCDI expelled Wang from the Communist Party in July after investigations found serious violations of party discipline - a euphemism for corruption.
The commission said Wang tried to bribe CCDI officials during the investigation.
It said Wang “pursued extravagant pleasures”, took advantage of PICC facilities for private use, used company funds to pay for personal travels, and changed overseas business schedules in order to play golf. $1 = 6.3909 Chinese yuan renminbi Reporting by Shu Zhang and Beijing Monitoring Desk Editing by Paul Tait | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/china-corruption/update-1-china-jails-insurer-piccs-ex-president-for-corruption-state-media-idUSL3N1SV25Z |
May 15 (Reuters) - Corporate Capital Trust Inc:
* CORPORATE CAPITAL TRUST, INC. REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* CORPORATE CAPITAL TRUST INC QTRLY NET INVESTMENT INCOME $0.39 PER SHARE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ([email protected])
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-corporate-capital-trust-inc-report/brief-corporate-capital-trust-inc-reports-qtrly-net-investment-income-0-39-per-share-idUSASC0A26Y |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Growing expectations of increased oil output slammed crude prices on Friday, lifting the U.S. dollar and weighing on energy shares, while political upheaval in Europe and uncertainty over a U.S.-North Korea summit restrained equity markets and boosted bond prices.
Crude oil prices lost roughly $3 a barrel after Saudi Arabia and Russia said they were ready to ease supply curbs that have pushed prices to their highest since 2014.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday signalled that a June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un could still take place a day after he cancelled the planned historic summit.
That seemingly warming volatile relationship did little to increase demand for risk assets, investors said.
“At this point investors are shrugging off Washington headlines because in most cases they won’t affect the markets and Washington has a hard time following through what they say,” said Arian Vojdani, investment strategist at MV Financial in Bethesda, Maryland.
Most of Wall Street was slightly down as slumping oil prices dragged on energy stocks ahead of a holiday weekend in the United States, which typically leads to low volume.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 89.84 points, or 0.36 percent, to 24,721.92, the S&P 500 lost 10.16 points, or 0.37 percent, to 2,717.6 and the Nasdaq Composite added 10.39 points, or 0.14 percent, to 7,434.82.
Shares of Chevron dropped more than 4 percent, while Exxon fell 2.5 percent and were the biggest drags on the Dow.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq was aided by chipmakers, led by a 2.7 percent jump in Broadcom.
U.S. Treasury yields fell to their lowest level in three weeks as concerns about Italy’s new government and a leadership change in Spain boosted appetite for low-risk investments.
Italian Prime Minister-designate Giuseppe Conte began assembling his cabinet on Thursday, with party leaders pushing for an 81-year eurosceptic economist to be given the pivotal post of economy minister. Italy’s president, meanwhile, is opposing the appointee.
Political risk also reared its head in Spain, where a threat of no-confidence motions against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy sent Spanish stocks and bond prices plunging.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.05 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe shed 0.33 percent.
While yields on German and U.S. bonds fell amid the uncertainty, there have been few signs of a wide-ranging sell-off in higher-risk assets - Wall Street’s volatility index stayed near four-month lows.
“Market reaction to heightened political risk remains reasonably muted,” Indosuez Wealth Management global head of economic research Marie Owens Thomsen said.
She cited the example of Turkey and Italy, where a stock and bond sell-off has not spilled much into other emerging economies or euro zone states.
However, worry about Italy kept the euro under pressure against the dollar.
The dollar index rose 0.47 percent, with the euro down 0.5 percent to $1.166.
The dollar has rebounded after touching two-week lows versus a basket of currencies on Thursday, helped by gains against commodity-linked currencies, as oil prices fell.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.14 percent versus the greenback at 109.41 per dollar, reversing gains seen after the summit cancellation.
Elsewhere, worries that investors could shift assets from emerging markets to higher-yielding U.S. bonds have been a major headwind for emerging markets this year. Turkey has been the worst hit.
Market prices are reflected in a glass window at the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) in Tokyo, Japan, February 6, 2018. REUTERS/Toru Hanai Additional reporting by Medha Singh, Sujata Rao, Swati Pandey in Sydney; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Chizu Nomiyama
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-global-markets/asian-shares-shaky-after-trump-ditches-summit-with-north-korea-idUSKCN1IQ05V |
A tongue-in-cheek political insult has been causing some controversy in Great Britain lately. Britons are applying “gammon,” a term for a cured hind leg of pork (what Americans would usually call a “ham”), to a stereotypical image of an older conservative white man, whose complexion and pudginess are seen as resembling the cut of meat.
Colorful epithets often pepper British political discourse, though they don’t often come from the dinner table. “Gammon” first emerged as a put-down in 2010, when Caitlin Moran of the Times... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/gammon-a-porcine-term-boosts-britons-diet-of-insults-1526654643 |
TOKYO, May 16 (Reuters) - Japanese stocks edged lower on Wednesday morning as sentiment was knocked by a surge in U.S. Treasury yields to seven-year highs and after Pyongyang called off talks with Seoul, throwing a major U.S.-North Korean summit into question.
Data earlier showing the world’s third-biggest economy suffered a deeper-than-expected contraction in the first-quarter also checked buyers.
The Nikkei declined 0.3 percent to 22,747.92 in midmorning trade, with the banking sector underperforming, falling 1.2 percent.
Japan’s economy contracted a more than expected 0.6 percent in the January-March period on an annualised basis, putting an end to eight straight quarters of expansion.
In the U.S. market overnight, the yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes jumped to its highest level since July 2011, driven by upbeat consumer spending and factory data.
“Overseas stocks are weaker, yields are higher while gold prices were lower... very unstable moves, and these price moves are making investors risk-averse,” said Yoshinori Shigemi, global markets strategist JP Morgan Asset Management. Investors were also cautious about developments on the Korean peninsula, after North Korea cancelled high-level talks with Seoul, denouncing military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
That has raised doubts about the planned summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his North Korean counterpart leader Kim Jong Un scheduled next month
Wednesday’s big losers included Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, which slumped more than 5 percent after the bank’s annual net profit missed analyst estimates and on disappointment over the size of a share buyback plan.
Suruga Bank, whose shares have fallen 45 percent this year on worries about its loans to retail investors for property investments, tumbled 10 percent after the bank said that many employees knew about improper lending.
Metal shares were lower after gold shed 1.7 percent and hit the lowest this year at $1,288.31 in the previous session, before edging up in Asian trade.
Sumitomo Metal Mining shed 2.2 percent.
The broader Topix dropped 0.2 percent to 1,801.62. (Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/japan-stocks-midday/nikkei-falls-as-us-yield-spike-north-korea-worries-weigh-mufg-tumbles-idUSL3N1SN1OD |
May 15 (Reuters) - TPG Capital’s growth investment arm has raised its stake in Tanium Inc with a $175 million investment, valuing the U.S. cyber security startup at around $5 billion, people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
TPG Growth’s new investment boosts Tanium’s valuation ahead of an initial public offering that the company is considering but has not yet decided to launch, the sources said. Tanium’s previously known valuation was $3.75 billion about a year ago.
The deal marks TPG Growth’s third investment in Tanium. The private equity firm will buy the stock of early employees as part of the deal, the sources said. None of the funds will go to the company’s father-and-son founders, David and Orion Hindawi, the sources added. The size of TPG’s stake in the company could not be learned.
Talks are underway for $25 million of additional stock to be sold to existing investors besides TPG, according to the sources. Other investors in Tanium include Andreessen Horowitz, IVP and T. Rowe Price.
The sources asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. TPG declined to comment, while a representative for Tanium could not be reached for comment.
Founded in 2007, Tanium provides computer system security and management for government agencies and companies, allowing them to scan and assess every device on a network within seconds. Tanium’s customers include 12 of the top 15 U.S. banks and six of the top ten U.S. retailers, as well as the U.S. Department of Defense.
The company suffered from the departures of several senior executives last year, amid media reports on employee complaints about Orion Hindawi’s management style as CEO and allegations by a handful of staff that they were fired just before their options vested.
Hindawi told Reuters last year a board investigation found no systematic employee terminations, and that the company had lost no customers.
Tanium said before its previous funding round that it had $300 million in cash and investments, 100 percent revenue growth and was profitable.
Should Tanium go ahead with its IPO plans, it will be one of the few cyber security companies to attract enough stock market investor confidence to go public, in what has become a fiercely competitive sector. Zscaler Inc, which also counts TPG as an investor, went public in March, and is now trading above its IPO price. Another cyber security company Carbon Black filed for an IPO last month. (Reporting by Liana B. Baker in New York; editing by Diane Craft)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/tanium-funding-tpg/tpg-raises-tanium-investment-company-now-valued-at-5-bln-sources-idUSL2N1SM1GB |
JAKARTA (Reuters) - The additional policy meeting that Indonesia’s central bank has scheduled for Wednesday is a pre-emptive review ahead of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s June meeting, Bank Indonesia’s new governor said on Monday.
FILE PHOTO: Perry Warjiyo, Indonesia's new central bank governor, speaks to members of the media following his inuaguration in Jakarta, Indonesia, May 24, 2018. REUTERS/Willy Kurniawan Perry Warjiyo, sworn in as governor last week, said it is “not an emergency” meeting, but was meant to quickly respond to market movements if necessary.
Bank Indonesia on May 17 raised its benchmark interest rate for the first time since November 2014 in a bid to bolster the fragile rupiah and stem an outflow of capital. Last week it said it will hold an additional meeting on Wednesday to discuss economic and monetary conditions.
Reporting by Maikel Jefriando and Tabita Diela; Writing by Gayatri Suroyo and Fransiska Nangoy; Editing by Shri Navaratnam
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-indonesia-markets-cenbank/indonesia-central-banks-extra-policy-meeting-to-look-ahead-to-feds-june-review-governor-idUSKCN1IT07S |
May 27, 2018 / 8:09 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Golf: Rose extends lead with third round 66 in Fort Worth Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Justin Rose birdied his first three holes on the way to a third-round four-under-par 66 on Saturday to take a four-stroke lead at the Fort Worth Invitational in Texas.
Rose, the world number five, is on 14-under and leads Brooks Koepka (67) and Emiliano Grillo (69), who are both 10-under par.
Koepka appeared poised to challenge for the lead but ran into trouble on the par-five 11th with a costly double bogey.
Louis Oosthuizen, Jon Rahm, Ryan Armour, Corey Conners and J. T. Poston are all tied for fourth at eight-under par.
“I’m happy with the way I played,” Rose told CBS Sports.
“It was nice to get going and to build up that lead. No one seemed to do too much behind me today so I felt like it was in my hands to get as far ahead as I could.”
The only blemish on his scorecard was a bogey on the par-three 16th on another sweltering day in Texas.
Rose managed to stay composed down the stretch but admitted the heat was a significant challenge.
“I struggled toward the end,” he said.
“It was so hot out there I really felt I was battling the golf course and my concentration.
“It was tough to finish it off in that heat today but all in all, happy to be in the clubhouse. A good day’s work.”
2013 U.S. Open champion Rose will be paired on Sunday with Koepka, who won the U.S. Open last year.
“I don’t think I can just rest on my laurels and shoot even par tomorrow. I’ve got to go forward I think,” said Rose.
“I’m going to go out and just try to be doing what I’ve been doing that last few days and executing my shots and go from there.” Reporting by Rory Carroll; Editing by Peter Rutherford | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/golf-ftworth/golf-rose-extends-lead-with-third-round-66-in-fort-worth-idINKCN1IS05P |
Confidence among America's small-business owners remains near an all-time high, despite concerns about how the Trump administration's trade policies might impact businesses in the coming months. For the first time since CNBC and SurveyMonkey began taking the pulse of Main Street more than a year ago, a majority of small-business owners across the country say business conditions are "good."
The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Q2 Small Business Confidence Index dipped to 61, down from the record first-quarter reading of 62. The decline can be attributed to a sharp increase in the number of small-business owners who expect trade policy to have a negative impact on their businesses in the next year. That number rose from 17 percent in the first quarter, to 28 percent in this quarter's poll.
The index is calculated on a scale from 0–100 and is based on the responses to eight key questions. A zero indicates no confidence, and a score of 100 indicates perfect confidence. The quarter-to-quarter change is within the margin of error.
The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey , an online poll with responses from more than 2,000 small-business owners each quarter, was conducted from April 11–17.
"Concerns about trade having a negative effect on small business is at an all-time high this quarter," said SurveyMonkey's chief research officer, Jon Cohen. "This is the first time since we started doing the survey that we have a year-on-year comparison, and we've been asking about trade not just after the White House raised prospects of implementing tariffs, but we've been asking this question for five quarters."
A year ago more than a quarter of small-business owners (27 percent) thought changes in trade policy would have a positive impact on their businesses. Today that number has fallen to 18 percent.
"They are more apt to be selling things into other markets, most likely to be affected by trade," Cohen said. "More than a third of companies with 10 or more employees are worried about trade having a negative impact."
The May 1 deadline for steel and aluminum tariff exemptions for key U.S. allies, including the European Union, has now been extended for 30 days, the White House said, to allow for further discussions. Read the full story .
"I think I've heard him say it may be a little bit of a small pain. " -Linda McMahon, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, on Trump's tariff plan In recent weeks the Trump administration has admitted that its moves to enact tariffs and renegotiate trade deals may cause "short-term pain."
"I think I've heard him say it may be a little bit of a small pain," said Small Business Administrator Linda McMahon, speaking to CNBC on Sunday as part of an event to mark the start of National Small Business Week. "But from the small businesses that I have talked to, they are happy to be part of this whole program that in the long run … will be beneficial to them and our country."
President Donald Trump continues to receive high marks from this group. Fifty-nine percent of small-business owners approve of the way the president is handling his job. That number has stayed virtually unchanged in the past year.
Overall, optimism among small-business owners is most reflected in the record number of small-business owners who say business conditions are "good." This number has risen for four straight quarters, starting at 38 percent in the second quarter of 2017 and climbing to 53 percent in this quarter's poll. In additional signs of optimism, 60 percent expect revenue to increase over the next 12 months, and 31 percent expect to increase headcount.
— By Kate Rogers, CNBC reporter, and David Spiegel, senior editorial manager, CNBC. The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Small Business Survey is conducted quarterly using SurveyMonkey's online platform and based on its survey methodology . | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/small-business-optimism-stays-near-record-cnbcsurveymonkey.html |
TOKYO and SPRINGFIELD, Mass., MassMutual International LLC (MassMutual International) – Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company's (MassMutual) international insurance holding company – and Nippon Life Insurance Co. (Nippon Life), Japan's leading life insurer, today announced the completion of the sale of 85.1 percent of MassMutual Japan, MassMutual International's wholly owned life insurance and wealth management affiliate, to Nippon Life.
With this transaction – announced on March 2, 2018, when the two companies first struck an agreement – MassMutual International will retain 14.9 percent of the company, and will receive approximately JPY 104.2 billion (about USD 955 million) in cash consideration for the sale of the remainder. Further, MassMutual Japan now becomes an affiliate of the Osaka-based mutual life insurer Nippon Life, and will be known as Nippon Wealth Life Insurance Company Ltd., effective on January 1, 2019.
Additionally, in connection with the closing of the sale of MassMutual Japan, MassMutual and Nippon Life are entering into a strategic cooperation agreement for exploring partnership opportunities.
"We are pleased to close on our transaction with Nippon Life, as it will deliver significant value to our policyowners, while expanding our ability to participate in select and attractive Asian markets," said Roger Crandall, Chairman, President and CEO, MassMutual. "This transaction is aligned with our broader international strategy of forging distinct, mutually beneficial partnerships with successful, innovative companies to capitalize on emerging global opportunities."
"Our partnership with Nippon Life will truly be positive to both firms, as we share much more than the fact we are mutual companies and leaders in the life insurance market, but also the core values of transparency and integrity," said Eddie Ahmed, Chairman, President and CEO of MassMutual International. "Further, MassMutual Japan's current policyowners and customers will benefit from the financial strength – and backing – of Japan's leading domestic life insurer and gain greater access to an even broader range of high quality, holistic financial solutions for all phases of life."
The transaction represents an additional step in MassMutual's evolving international presence, amplified by MassMutual International's announcement in August 2017 to enter into a transaction to sell its Hong Kong-based life insurance business, MassMutual Asia, to a group led by Yunfeng Financial Group. Additionally, it reinforces MassMutual's unwavering commitment to providing long-term value to its policyowners and customers.
About MassMutual
MassMutual, headquartered in Springfield, Mass., is a leading mutual life insurance company that is run for the benefit of its members and participating policyowners. MassMutual offers a wide range of financial products and services, including life insurance, disability income insurance, long term care insurance, annuities, retirement plans and other employee benefits. The company's major affiliates include asset management firms Barings LLC, and OppenheimerFunds, Inc.; as well as First Mercantile Trust Company; MassMutual International LLC; MML Investors Services, LLC, Member FINRA and SIPC; and The MassMutual Trust Company, FSB. For more information, visit www.massmutual.com .
About Nippon Life Insurance Company
Nippon Life is Japan's leading private life insurer with revenues of approximately 5,422 billion Yen (USD 50.6 billion) and profits of over 722.7 billion Yen (USD 6.7 billion). Since its foundation in 1889, Nippon Life has been offering a wide range of products, including individual and group life and annuity policies through various distribution channels. Nippon Life also provides asset management business through subsidiaries and affiliates, meeting diversifying customers' needs. Nippon Life employs more than 70 thousand people and has operations in Japan, North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit http://www.nissay.co.jp/english/ .
Media Contacts:
MassMutual
Michael McNamara
+1 (413) 744-3917
+1 (860) 549-6442
[email protected]
MassMutual Japan
Corporate Planning Division
+81(3) 6368-7200
releases/massmutual-international-completes-sale-of-85-1-of-massmutual-japan-to-nippon-life-300657047.html
SOURCE MassMutual | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/pr-newswire-massmutual-international-completes-sale-of-85-point-1-percent-of-massmutual-japan-to-nippon-life.html |
By Bloomberg 5:05 AM EDT
The sun never sets on Walmart’s empire, thanks to its network of stores across five continents. But in the span of 10 days, chief executive Doug McMillon has begun dramatically redrawing the retailer’s map, and there’s likely more to come as it places bets to remain on top.
“All of a sudden, everything is in play,” said Dave Marcotte, an analyst at Kantar Retail.
In less than two weeks, Walmart (wmt) has agreed to cede control of its British business to a competitor and spend $16 billion to acquire India’s e-commerce leader in its biggest-ever deal , fending off Amazon (amzn) . The wheeling and dealing show how McMillon is focusing on high-potential markets like China and India, finding partners to help it battle online and cutting loose middling businesses. He’s got more work to do, though, and subpar markets like Brazil and Japan might be next on his list.
Walmart’s far-flung international units don’t get much attention, but they’re important as a source of cash, management talent and ideas that percolate into its core U.S. operations. Sales growth outside the U.S. once topped more than 10% annually, adjusted for currency moves, but it’s less than half that now as sluggish economies, store closures and fierce competition have taken their toll.
Those pressures — combined with a U.S. e-commerce business that continues to spill red ink and higher labor expenses from this year’s wage hike — have forced McMillon into hard choices. Some, like selling the British Asda stores , were welcomed by Wall Street, but Wednesday’s deal got a rude welcome from investors , who raised concerns about Flipkart’s steep losses and asked whether Walmart’s cash would be better spent elsewhere. S&P Global Ratings said the heavy spending to compete with Amazon could threaten Walmart’s pristine credit rating. Defending the Flipkart buy
McMillon defended the Flipkart deal to analysts, saying it was a unique opportunity. He’s certainly mindful of past missteps abroad, such as his 2011 decision to buy an unprofitable, second-tier online marketplace in China that’s forced the company to play catch-up to Alibaba (baba) — the Amazon of China — ever since.
Walmart’s international reach sprawls across 6,360 stores in about two dozen countries from Argentina to Zambia. Many were acquired during a buying spree from 1999 to 2009, but that era of aggressive flag-planting is long over. Today the international business accounts for less than one-quarter of Walmart’s total revenue, down from nearly 30% five years ago.
That share will decline further after Walmart’s decision to merge its Asda business in the U.K. with Sainsbury Plc, retreating from a market that was once its shining star abroad. Other moves are expected to follow, as the Asda sale “was the first volley” in a broader reshuffle of Walmart’s global holdings, said Mark Stoeckle, portfolio manager of the Adams Diversified Equity Fund, which owns Walmart shares.
Stoeckle and other investors were encouraged when Walmart’s finance chief, Brett Biggs, said in October that he’s “open to taking action” to simplify operations. Getting leaner should help Walmart devote more focus and firepower to its escalating battle with Amazon, which is trying to crack categories like food and apparel, long Walmart strongholds. Acquiring e-commerce startup Jet.com two years ago has helped, but the Flipkart deal suggests that future moves will likely come outside the U.S. Trouble in Brazil and Japan
In Brazil, a nation just coming back after a two-year recession and political unrest, Walmart has already closed stores, overhauled management and wound down its e-commerce platform. It’s now reportedly considering selling a majority stake in the unit, which includes a dozen different store types that could easily get broken up by a new owner.
“Would I prefer they take capital out of Brazil and put that toward battling Amazon? Sure,” Stoeckle said.
Japan is another potential trouble spot. Walmart’s big-box, one-stop shopping model has never caught on there, and today its Seiyu chain sits far behind leaders Seven & i Holdings Co. and Aeon Co., according to data tracker Euromonitor. As with other Asian markets like China and India, success in Japanese retail is more about clicks than bricks. Walmart has taken steps to improve its digital business, teaming with local player Rakuten (rkunf) earlier this year to revamp its online grocery service.
“The only route they have to grow that market is online,” Kantar’s Marcotte said.
Walmart could go further, cutting a deal with Rakuten or another Japanese company that allows it to focus on the online business and lessen its exposure to capital-gobbling traditional stores.
“There’s certainly going to be a bright-light audit on Japan,” said Bill Dreher, an analyst at Susquehanna International Group. “The growth and margins of Seiyu are underwhelming and we could see something smart being done there.”
With Walmart’s shares down about 16% this year, after two straight years of increases, McMillon needs to cast a bright light across Walmart’s entire map. SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/10/walmarts-16-billion-flipkart-buy-global-strategy-sainsbury/ |
May 4 (Reuters) - Spark New Zealand Ltd:
* SPARK TO DIVEST 50% SHARE OF SUBSIDIARY CONNECT 8 * SIGNED CONDITIONAL AGREEMENT TO SELL 50% OF SHARES IN ITS SUBSIDIARY CONNECT 8 TO ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION COMPANY ELECTRA GROUP
* TRANSACTION IS EXPECTED TO COMPLETE BEFORE END OF MAY 2018
* DEAL WILL ALSO SEE CONNECT 8 TAKE FULL OWNERSHIP OF ELECTRA SUBSIDIARY SKY COMMUNICATIONS Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-spark-new-zealand-to-divest-50-sha/brief-spark-new-zealand-to-divest-50-share-of-connect-8-idUSFWN1SA1AN |
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