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May 18, 2018 / 4:37 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Uber chief product officer to leave in latest executive departure Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc Chief Product Officer Jeff Holden is leaving the ride-hailing company, an Uber spokesman told Reuters on Thursday, the latest of more than a dozen senior executives to depart since last year. FILE PHOTO: The Uber logo is displayed on a screen during the Women In The World Summit in New York City, U.S., April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
Holden oversaw Uber Elevate, the company’s flying car operation, which is now headed by Eric Allison, the spokesman said, but declined to elaborate on the reason for his departure.
New Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi has been shaking up the company since taking over Last August aiming to improve Uber’s reputation after a string of scandals.
Uber, along with Lyft Inc, scrapped mandatory arbitration to settle sexual harassment or assault claims earlier this week, giving victims several options to pursue their claims including public lawsuits.
Uber also launched a new app for its drivers last month, in an effort to improve an often contentious relationship.
Uber’s chief legal officer, Salle Yoo, and head of external affairs Dave Clark left the company in September.
Uber is also searching for a chief financial officer who can help take the company public in 2019. The CFO position has been vacant since 2015.
The Wall Street Journal earlier reported that Holden, who was hired by former Uber Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick from Groupon Inc, told colleagues that Thursday was his last day with the company. Reporting by Kanishka Singh and Abinaya Vijayaraghavan in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Cooney and Gopakumar Warrier | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/uber-moves-holden/uber-chief-product-officer-to-leave-in-latest-executive-departure-idINKCN1IJ0BU |
May 24, 2018 / 9:48 AM / Updated an hour ago More British companies investing in Germany ahead of Brexit Rene Wagner 2 Min Read
BERLIN, May 24 (Reuters) - A record number of British businesses invested in Germany last year to help them to cope with the looming effects of Brexit, a study by a German government agency showed on Thursday, with the trend set to continue.
Britain is set to leave the 28 member European Union in March 2019, but with negotiations making slow progress it is unclear whether companies will enjoy access to the bloc’s internal market in some sort of customs union.
Some 152 firms moved from Britain to Germany last year, up more than 20 percent on 2016, the Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) agency said.
“The effects of Brexit are gradually making themselves felt,” said GTAI expert Thomas Bozoyan, adding that Germany is the most attractive European country for British investment and second globally behind the United States.
GTAI said that an increasing number of companies are making enquiries about Germany and it expects investment growth to continue.
“The most exciting question is whether more production will be shifted from Britain to the continent,” said GTAI’s Iris Kirsch. So far, most investment has been made in the financial and services sectors, plus IT and software businesses.
Overall, 1,910 companies moved to Germany from abroad last year, bringing 29,000 jobs with them.
The biggest investor was the United States, spending on 276 projects and overtaking China with 218. In addition, 1,925 foreign investments were registered because of takeovers, mergers or stake acquisitions.
A record number of Britons were granted German citizenship last year, the Statistics Office said on Wednesday, citing the potential of Brexit to limit freedom of movement. (Writing by Madeline Chambers Editing by David Goodman) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-eu-germany/more-british-companies-investing-in-germany-ahead-of-brexit-idUSL5N1SV2SP |
Addition of Elisa Steele as company’s first independent board chair, along with Richard Haddrill and Marcus Ryu as directors, will contribute valuable strategic, operational and corporate governance expertise to Cornerstone’s board of directors
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Cornerstone OnDemand (NASDAQ:CSOD), a global leader in cloud-based learning and human capital management software , today announced it has nominated Elisa Steele, Richard Haddrill and Marcus Ryu for election to its board of directors following an extensive search conducted by its independent nominating and corporate governance committee. These candidates will be placed on the ballot for election at Cornerstone’s annual meeting on June 14, 2018. Once elected to the board, Steele will serve as chair of the board.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180508006654/en/
Elisa Steele has been nominated to serve as the chair of Cornerstone's board of directors. (Photo: Business Wire)
Elisa Steele is a proven enterprise software executive and a respected sales and marketing leader. She most recently served as CEO of Jive Software, a communication and collaboration software company, until its acquisition by Aurea in June 2017. Prior to Jive, Steele held positions as the corporate vice president and chief marketing officer of Consumer Apps and Services at Microsoft, the chief marketing officer at Skype and the executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Yahoo!. She currently serves on the board of Splunk Inc. Steele will join Joe Osnoss as the second of Silver Lake’s two director nominees, granted by the investment agreement between Silver Lake and Cornerstone. The board unanimously selected Steele to serve as Cornerstone’s first independent chair of the board, consistent with corporate governance changes announced earlier this year.
Richard Haddrill will bring decades of management and corporate governance experience to Cornerstone, as well as insight into both software and content markets. Haddrill is the vice chairman of Scientific Games Corporation, a provider of technology-based products and services for gaming and lottery organizations. He has served on the board of six public companies and three venture-backed private companies, including enterprise software firms JDA Software and OutlookSoft. Haddrill previously served as the CEO and a director of Bally Technologies, Manhattan Associates and Powerhouse Technologies.
Marcus Ryu, a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) industry leader and entrepreneur, is the CEO of Guidewire Software Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), which he co-founded in 2001. Guidewire is the leading provider of core system software for the Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry. Ryu previously served on the board of MuleSoft, recently acquired by Salesforce.com. Prior to Guidewire, Ryu worked at Ariba, a cloud-based enterprise marketplace acquired by SAP in 2012, and at McKinsey & Company.
Comments on the News
“Elisa Steele, Dick Haddrill, and Marcus Ryu stood out as exceptional candidates among dozens of qualified individuals recommended by shareholders and others,” said Joe Osnoss, chair of Cornerstone’s nominating and corporate governance committee whose members also include directors Dean Carter and Robert Cavanaugh. “We believe that they bring critical and complementary skills to Cornerstone’s board as the company executes on its strategic plan.”
“Strengthening corporate governance is key to our strategic plan, and the board has done an exceptional job selecting three extraordinary business leaders who will bring highly relevant experiences and insights to the company,” said Adam Miller, founder and CEO of Cornerstone OnDemand. “I look forward to working with, and learning from, them as the company advances to its next level of growth.”
“I am honored by the opportunity to join the board of Cornerstone, which is leading the industry with its innovative solutions,” said Elisa Steele. “I believe there is further upside and this is a pivotal phase for the company. While there is always more to be done, I feel confident about the company’s strategic direction.”
“Joining Cornerstone’s board of directors is a great opportunity for me to share my expertise in helping businesses scale,” said Richard Haddrill. “I look forward to supporting Cornerstone along its path of continued growth and improved margins.”
“Cornerstone has been a pioneer in the cloud software space and has built an impressive client roster in a competitive domain,” said Marcus Ryu. “I am gratified to be nominated to its board, and hope to contribute my experience to the success of its next chapter.”
About Cornerstone OnDemand
Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSOD) is a global leader in cloud-based learning and human capital management software. The company’s solutions help organizations to realize the potential of the modern workforce. From recruitment, onboarding, training and collaboration, to performance management, compensation, succession planning, people administration and analytics, Cornerstone is designed to enable a lifetime of learning and development that is fundamental to the growth of employees and organizations.
Based in Santa Monica, California, the company’s solutions are used by more than 3,250 clients worldwide, spanning 36 million users across 192 countries and 43 languages. To learn more about Cornerstone, visit us on Twitter , Facebook and our blog . www.cornerstoneondemand.com
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements relating to the company’s business strategy and plans to make changes to its corporate governance structure, including the nomination of three director candidates for election to the board, the appointment of an independent chair of the board, and the retirement of certain directors, are that involve a number of uncertainties and risks. Actual results may differ materially from these statements and from actual future events or results due to a variety of factors, which are described in reports and documents the company files from time to time Commission, including the factors described under the section titled “Risk Factors” in the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017. Undue reliance should not be placed on the in this press release, which are based on information available to the company on the date hereof. Except to the extent required by applicable law, the company disclaims any obligation to update information contained in these whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Cornerstone® and Cornerstone OnDemand® are registered trademarks of Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180508006654/en/
Investor Relations Contact:
Cornerstone OnDemand
Jennifer Gianola
Phone: +1 (310) 382-9478
[email protected]
or
Media Contact:
Cornerstone OnDemand
Deaira Irons
Phone: +1 (310) 752-0164
[email protected]
Source: Cornerstone OnDemand | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/business-wire-cornerstone-ondemand-nominates-three-accomplished-software-industry-ceos-to-board-of-directors-and-names-new-chair.html |
0 COMMENTS Italian government bonds and Spanish stocks sell off Treasury yields edge down further below the 3% mark Oil prices down U.S. stocks stalled Friday as investors parsed the cancellation of a landmark summit between the U.S. and North Korea and political concerns rattled European markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 50 points, or 0.2%, to 24763 ahead of a holiday-lengthened weekend. The S&P 500 lost 0.2% and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.1%. The U.S. stock market is closed Monday for the Memorial Day holiday.
Stock indexes around the world had closed broadly lower Thursday after President Donald Trump called off a much-awaited summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, citing “open hostility” from North Korea.
The move drummed up fresh uncertainty among investors over U.S. relations in the region. Still, many investors remain convinced that the rekindled tensions are driven by a new aggressive negotiating style favored by upstart politicians—including Mr. Trump—and that they are unlikely to cause disruption in the longer term.
People walking by a Wall Street sign close to the New York Stock Exchange in April. Photo: shannon stapleton/Reuters “What I have been seeing for the past 6 months is that there are a lot more opportunities than there was last year, there’s just more stuff happening,” said Christian Ryther, manager of Curreen Capital Management, who has been adding risk to his portfolio.
Despite some wobbles, the S&P 500 remained up 0.3% on the week, supported by gains in shares of utilities and real-estate companies—bondlike stocks that tend to do well in times of market volatility.
Advances in those sectors helped offset steep losses in the S&P 500 energy sector, which fell Friday and headed toward a sharp weekly loss as U.S. crude oil prices tumbled.
U.S. crude was last down 2.7% to $68.80 a barrel after major oil producers including Saudi Arabia and Russia signaled they might be willing to relax global production caps . The selling weighed on the energy sector, with shares of Hess falling 6.3% and Newfield Exploration shedding 5.7%.
Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 headed toward a 1.2% weekly decline as investors weighed signs of political risk being reawakened in the eurozone.
Antiestablishment parties are heading a new Italian government, while Spain is submerged in a corruption scandal that could lead to new elections.
The developments led investors to dump Italian government bonds, sending yields on the 10-year bond to its highest level since 2014.
“We are avoiding Italian risk because there’s a contagion fee there,” said Angus Sippe, a fund manager at Schroders, an asset manager with about $600 billion under management. “In the [eurozone] periphery, you clearly see political risk.”
Spanish stocks came under pressure, too, with the benchmark IBEX 35 index down 2.5% after the country’s main-opposition Socialist Party filed a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.
A court ruled Thursday that Mr. Rajoy’s party had benefited financially from an illegal kickback scheme. The group has said it would appeal the ruling.
While new elections can’t be called while the motion is running its course, it could eventually lead to Mr. Rajoy being unseated—at a time when Spanish politics have been shaken by the independence push of Catalonia, one of its wealthier regions.
In fixed-income markets, U.S. government bonds extended a recent rally, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note recently trading at 2.952%, compared with 2.981% Thursday.
Yields, which fall as bond prices rise, have pulled back in recent days as bubbling geopolitical tensions and signs that the Federal Reserve would be willing to remain on a gradual pace of interest-rate increases have helped drive up demand for Treasurys.
Write to Jon Sindreu at [email protected] and Akane Otani at [email protected] | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/markets-soothed-by-north-korean-response-to-canceled-summit-1527235105 |
May 23, 2018 / 5:25 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago English Domestic One-Day Competition of between Yorkshire and Worcestershire on Wednesday at Leeds, England Worcestershire win by 4 runs Worcestershire 1st innings Daryl Mitchell lbw Ben Coad 11 Joe Clarke Run Out Adil Rashid 61 Travis Head c&b Adil Rashid 77 Tom Fell b Adil Rashid 32 Brett D'Oliveira c Tom Kohler-Cadmore b Steven Patterson 23 Ross Whiteley Not Out 66 Ben Cox c Andy Hodd b Steven Patterson 50 Ed Barnard Not Out 3 Extras 3b 9lb 8nb 0pen 7w 27 Total (50.0 overs) 350-6 14 Mitchell, 2-122 Clarke, 3-188 Fell, 4-218 D'Oliveira, 5-220 Head, 6-330 Cox Did Not Bat : Leach, Morris, Brown Ben Coad 9 0 55 1 6.11 1w Tim Bresnan 10 0 78 0 7.80 1w 2nb Steven Patterson 10 0 54 2 5.40 James Wainman 8 0 56 0 7.00 3w 2nb Adil Rashid 10 0 86 2 8.60 1w Adam Lyth 3 0 9 0 3.00 Yorkshire 1st innings Adam Lyth c Ben Cox b Ed Barnard 29 Tom Kohler-Cadmore c Tom Fell b Brett D'Oliveira 89 Cheteshwar Pujara c Tom Fell b Ed Barnard 101 James Wainman c Ben Cox b Brett D'Oliveira 0 Harry Brook c Tom Fell b Patrick Brown 5 Jack Leaning c Brett D'Oliveira b Charlie Morris 25 Tim Bresnan c Ben Cox b Ed Barnard 26 Adil Rashid c Travis Head b Joe Leach 24 Andy Hodd Not Out 17 Steven Patterson c Ben Cox b Joe Leach 17 Ben Coad Not Out 3 Extras 1b 0lb 0nb 0pen 9w 10 Total (50.0 overs) 346-9 72 Lyth, 2-173 Kohler-Cadmore, 3-173 Wainman, 4-184 Brook, 5-253 Leaning, 6-258 Pujara, 7-296 Rashid, 8-307 Bresnan, 9-333 Patterson Joe Leach 9 0 60 2 6.67 3w Charlie Morris 8 0 72 1 9.00 2w Ed Barnard 10 0 75 3 7.50 1w Brett D'Oliveira 8 0 48 2 6.00 Daryl Mitchell 7 0 34 0 4.86 2w Patrick Brown 8 0 56 1 7.00 Umpire Richard Illingworth Umpire Billy Taylor Home Scorer John Potter Away Scorer Philip Mellish | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/cricket-england-scoreboard/english-domestic-one-day-competition-scoreboard-idINMTZXEE5N6Z1XWH |
Italian markets hit by fears of govt spending binge 01:46
Italy's two anti-establishment parties have promised to ramp up spending in a programme for a new coalition government, putting them on a collision course with the European Union despite having dropped some of their most radical proposals. As Sonia Legg reports, it sent Italy's long-term borrowing costs up to more than seven-month highs while stocks in Milan fell more than one percent. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Italy's two anti-establishment parties have promised to ramp up spending in a programme for a new coalition government, putting them on a collision course with the European Union despite having dropped some of their most radical proposals. As Sonia Legg reports, it sent Italy's long-term borrowing costs up to more than seven-month highs while stocks in Milan fell more than one percent. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2KD6wbH | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/18/italian-markets-hit-by-fears-of-govt-spe?videoId=428127076 |
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (Reuters) - The following are highlights from Wednesday’s Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills:
U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan smiles at the Milken Institute's 21st Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. May 2, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson NOURIEL ROUBINI, CHAIRMAN OF ROUBINI MACRO ASSOCIATES AND KNOWN AS DR. DOOM FOR PREDICTING THE CHAOS OF THE 2008 FINANCIAL CRISIS, ON BITCOIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES:
“All this talk of decentralization is just bullshit.” He called cryptocurrencies “the mother of all bubbles.”
HOUSE SPEAKER PAUL RYAN, ON HOW PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP APPROACHES GOVERNING:
“It’s different than running a business. It’s a frustrating political system.”
Jonathan Sokoloff, Managing Partner, Leonard Green & Partners, L.P., speaks at the Milken Institute's 21st Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, U.S. May 1, 2018. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson RYAN ON NOVEMBER’S CONGRESSIONAL ELECTIONS: “If we do lose control of either of the two bodies, then you’ll have absolute gridlock. You’ll have gridlock, you’ll have subpoenas, you’ll have just the system shutting down…I don’t think we’re going to lose control, but I think that’s what would happen.”
JONATHAN SOKOLOFF, MANAGING PARTNER OF $25 BILLION LEONARD GREEN & PARTNERS, DEFENDING THE ROLE OF PRIVATE EQUITY:
Private equity was a “very, very important part of the economy” and offered a “better model” for companies versus public markets.
“We believe our form of governance and running our businesses is superior.”
Reporting By Lawrence Delevingne, Anna Irrera and Liana Baker; editing by Diane Craft
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-milken-conference-highlights/highlights-speaker-ryan-at-milken-warns-of-gridlock-with-democratic-majority-idUSKBN1I331N |
May 8 (Reuters) - Morguard Corporation:
* ANNOUNCES 2018 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS AND REGULAR ELIGIBLE DIVIDEND
* Q1 FFO PER SHARE C$4.32 * Q1 REVENUE C$274.8 MILLION VERSUS C$270.9 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-morguard-corp-reports-q1-adj-ffo-p/brief-morguard-corp-reports-q1-adj-ffo-per-share-c4-29-idUSASC0A0RK |
May 23, 2018 / 12:38 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Japan's manufacturing growth cools to nine-month low in May - flash PMI Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
TOKYO, (Reuters) - - Japanese manufacturing activity expanded at the slowest pace in nine months in May as new orders cooled, a preliminary survey showed on Wednesday, signalling a softening in domestic demand that could hamper an economic rebound. FILE PHOTO: Newly manufactured cars await export at port in Yokohama, Japan, November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai
The flash Markit/Nikkei Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to a seasonally adjusted 52.5 in May - the lowest level since August 2017 - from a final 53.8 in April.
Still, the index has remained above the 50 threshold that separates expansion from contraction for the 21th consecutive month.
“Despite the promising upturn in April data, May’s flash release erred on the side of disappointment as the headline figure signalled the weakest expansion in manufacturing growth in nine months,” said Joe Hayes, economist at IHS Markit, which compiles the survey.
The flash index for new orders fell to 52.3 in May from a final 53.8 in the previous month in a sign that domestic consumption in the world’s third-biggest economy weakened slightly. Output also expanded at a slower pace from April.
However, the index for new export orders rose to 51.0 from 50.4 in April, pointing to a pick up in world demand. A global boom in exports has underpinned many of the trade-reliant regional economies over 2017 and into 2018.
However, Japan’s economy ended its best run of expansion in decades as gross domestic product contracted more than expected in the first quarter of this year due to weak consumer spending, business investment and exports.
Many economists say this decline will be temporary, but there are doubts about how strongly the economy will bounce back.
The latest PMI reading for May suggests the economy began the second quarter in subdued fashion, which will no doubt keep policy makers nervous as they seek to sustainably lift Japan out of decades of stagnation and deflation. Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Shri Navaratnam | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-pmi/japans-manufacturing-growth-cools-to-nine-month-low-in-may-flash-pmi-idUKKCN1IO02M |
May 8 (Reuters) - First Capital Realty Inc:
* FIRST CAPITAL REALTY ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q1 FFO PER SHARE C$0.298 EXCLUDING ITEMS * Q1 FFO PER SHARE VIEW C$0.30 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-first-capital-realty-reports-q1-ff/brief-first-capital-realty-reports-q1-ffo-per-share-c0-301-idUSASC0A0RU |
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) - Denmark said on Thursday it would pull around 60 special forces from Iraq, as most areas once controlled by Islamic State have been liberated.
The gradual pull-back will conclude in late autumn, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Denmark will still have around 180 military personnel posted to the al-Asad air base in Iraq, and contribute to radar surveillance as part of an international coalition fighting the Islamist militant group.
Reporting by Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen; Editing by Kevin Liffey
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-denmark/denmark-pulls-special-forces-out-of-iraq-idUSKCN1II1EX |
Oil prices are continuing to hover around 2014 highs, with market watchers waiting to see what happens when U.S. sanctions are re-imposed on Iran.
It remains to be seen whether major oil producers like Saudi Arabia and Russia will step into the breach to stop prices soaring after an expected dip in Iranian supply, a top analyst told CNBC on Tuesday.
Prices have risen since President Donald Trump decided last week to pull the U.S. out of the Iranian nuclear deal , meaning that sanctions will be re-imposed on the oil producer that are likely to impact its production and push prices higher.
Helima Croft, RBC Capital Market's global head of commodity strategy, said that a loss of Iranian oil would mean other traditional producers, like Saudi Arabia, having to step into the breach if OPEC was not to risk a million-barrel loss of production, on top of the 1.2 million barrel a day (bpd) supply cut it already makes as part of a deal with non-OPEC producers.
"This is so interesting. We're back to a situation that we did not anticipate of having to appeal to these traditional allies," she said. "Because if you reach infrastructure constraints in terms of ability to put additional barrels on the market and you're going to be taking off Iranian barrels — and don't forget Venezuelan production, which has played a huge role in balancing this market — and they (OPEC) could lose a million barrels year-on-year."
"So, in order to prevent a spike to $100, potentially, you have to go back to Saudi Arabia, you have to ask them to put barrels on the market," she told CNBC's "Capital Connection" on Tuesday.
Brent crude futures are currently trading at $78.71 a barrel while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at $71.36. Prices have hit highs not seen since November 2014 due to a tighter supply thanks to a production cut strategy between OPEC and non-OPEC producers like Russia to support and stabilize oil prices that fell in 2014 amid a glut in supply.
Prices are also rising on expectations that Iranian output could be sorely affected by Trump's decision to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) last week.
The re-imposition of pre-deal sanctions and the threat of secondary sanctions, that penalize countries that do business with Tehran or Iranian organizations, are expected soon. Markets are expecting sanctions to affect Iran's oil production – which stood at 3.8 million bpd in March, according to OPEC figures.
Market share Ahead of Trump's withdrawal from the deal, Croft told CNBC that up to 350,000 barrels of Iranian oil could be at risk of disruption if sanctions were re-imposed.
Currently, OPEC and non-OPEC producers have restricted themselves to 32.5 million bpd. A loss of a chunk of Iranian oil, as well as from fellow OPEC producer Venezuela as it goes through political and economic turmoil, could see around a million bpd lost, she warned.
Other oil market experts are watching major oil producers closely given the situation with Iran. Mark Schofield, Citi's managing director of global strategy and macro group, and his colleagues Benjamin Navarro and Edward Morse said in a note Monday that one of the key factors to watch regarding Iran and sanctions was "how likely are OPEC and Russia to replace lost Iranian barrels?"
"With prices moving close to $80 a barrel, this is now a good opportunity for Saudi Arabia and Russia to regain market share without crashing the oil price. We think there is a good chance the current OPEC+ (OPEC and non-OPEC countries) deal will end by the end of 2018, if not before," the strategists said.
show chapters OPEC and Russia relationship is built to last, says strategist 15 Hours Ago | 03:37 RBC's Croft said that the OPEC/non-OPEC deal was likely to be secure at least for the rest of 2018, however. She added that there were a lot of questions to be asked at the next OPEC meeting in June.
"(There are) huge questions and that's why I think OPEC is going to be cautious and why Saudi Arabia — which has an additional 190,000 barrels that they're basically under their OPEC quota — and I think that can be used once sanctions start kicking in," she said.
"So there's really no need to adjust the production levels. But I think they'll be watching to see how quickly the sanctions come back and impact Iran's ability to place their barrels."
U.S. shale production has been in the ascendency amid OPEC and non-OPEC production cuts, with higher prices making production viable.
Croft said that shale had been something of a "victim of its own success," however, with infrastructure bottlenecks forming, meaning that the Trump administration would have to turn to traditional producers like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fill any Iranian outages.
"A couple of years ago there was a view that U.S. shale was Superman and that, basically, we wouldn't have to go back to the traditional producers and say, 'Put more barrels on in the event of a shortage.' But, again, now we have these infrastructure constraints and pipelines that are reaching capacity, the Trump administration has to appeal to traditional allies in terms of managing the market." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/to-prevent-oil-spiking-to-100-over-iran-saudi-arabia-and-russia-might-have-to-step-in.html |
BALTIMORE, May 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: SBGI) (the "Company" or "Sinclair") announced that Fox Broadcasting Company ("Fox"), is a purchaser, along with previously announced purchasers, Standard Media Group, LLC (an affiliate of Standard General L.P.), Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP) ("Meredith"), Howard Stirk and Cunningham Broadcasting Corporation, of certain television stations Tribune and Sinclair expect to sell as a condition to the consummation of Sinclair's acquisition of the stock of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) ("Tribune") in an accretive transaction valued at $4.6 billion after divestitures.
Excluding those stations where Sinclair will continue to provide services after the dispositions, the divested stations are being sold for a combined $1.5 billion of gross sales proceeds ($1.4 billion in after-tax proceeds), plus another approximately $100 million in retained working capital that will convert to cash over 90-120 days post close, representing a 9.7x multiple of the stations' 2-year average 2017/2018 cash flow, adjusted for market rate network programming costs. As previously announced, the sales are part of Sinclair's larger acquisition of Tribune, in order to obtain necessary governmental approval of the Tribune transaction and for other business purposes and are expected to close immediately prior to or immediately after the Tribune transaction. Sinclair anticipates closing to occur near the end of the second quarter/beginning of the third quarter of 2018, pending customary closing conditions, including approval by the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC") and antitrust clearance, as applicable.
"After a very robust divestiture process, with strong interest from many parties, we have achieved healthy multiples on the stations being divested," commented Chris Ripley, President and CEO of Sinclair. "While we continue to believe that we had a strong and supportable rationale for not having to divest stations, we are happy to announce this significant step forward in our plan to create a leading broadcast platform with local focus and national reach. We expect the combined company to continue to advance industry practices and technology, including the Next Generation Broadcast Platform, and to benefit from significant revenue and expense synergies."
Mr. Ripley continued: "After the divestitures, we are now acquiring $4.6 billion of enterprise value, which includes $2.4 billion for the core TV and entertainment business, $0.5 billion for real estate held for sale and $1.7 billion for Television Food Network (TVFN). We expect 2017/2018 average synergized net acquired cash flow of $390 million to $410 million on the TV and entertainment segment, reflecting a 5.9x multiple, significantly better than the under 7x multiple initially announced a year ago. By year end 2018, we expect adjusted total net leverage, after synergies and including the TVFN distributions, on a trailing eight quarter basis, to be approximately 4.4x and we expect to quickly delever from there over the next twelve months. Furthermore, the TVFN partnership financial performance has been extraordinary over the past year, and based on Discovery's recent 8K Filing valuing the Tribune stake at $2.1 billion, the core TV and entertainment pro forma purchase multiple is further reduced from 5.9x to 4.9x.
Including the Tribune acquisition (after the related divestitures) and pro forma for expected synergies, Sinclair's 2017 and 2018 free cash flow is expected to be $1.550 billion to $1.575 billion, or $6.35 per share a . The combined footprint that will reach 62% of U.S. TV households or 37.4% pursuant to the FCC national ownership cap."
As previously announced, the stations to be sold are:
Station
Buyer
Current
Owner
Affiliation
Market
DMA (1)
WGN-TV
WGN-TV, LLC (2)
Tribune
IND
Chicago, IL
3
KDAF
Cunningham
Tribune
CW
Dallas, TX
5
KIAH
Cunningham
Tribune
CW
Houston, TX
7
KCPQ
FOX
Tribune
FOX
Seattle, WA
12
KUNS
Howard Stirk (3)
Sinclair
Univision
Seattle, WA
12
WSFL-TV
FOX
Tribune
CW
Miami, FL
16
KDVR
FOX
Tribune
FOX
Denver, CO
17
WJW
FOX
Tribune
FOX
Cleveland, OH
19
KTXL
FOX
Tribune
FOX
Sacramento, CA
20
KPLR-TV
Meredith
Tribune
CW
St. Louis, MO
21
KSWB-TV
FOX
Tribune
FOX
San Diego, CA
29
KSTU
FOX
Tribune
FOX
Salt Lake City, UT
30
KMYU
Howard Stirk (3)
Sinclair
MNT
Salt Lake City, UT
30
KOKH
Standard General
Sinclair
FOX
Oklahoma City, OK
41
KAUT-TV
Howard Stirk (3)
Tribune
IND
Oklahoma City, OK
41
WXMI
Standard Media
Tribune
FOX
Grand Rapids, MI
43
WPMT
Standard Media
Tribune
FOX
Harrisburg, PA
45
WXLV
Standard Media
Sinclair
ABC
Greensboro, NC
48
WRLH
Standard Media
Sinclair
FOX
Richmond, VA
55
WOLF
Standard Media (4)
Sinclair
FOX
Wilkes Barre, PA
57
WQMY
Standard Media (4)
Sinclair
MNT
Wilkes Barre, PA
57
WSWB
Standard Media (4)
Sinclair
CW
Wilkes Barre, PA
57
KDSM
Standard Media
Sinclair
FOX
Des Moines, IA
68
(1) Represents television designated market areas ("DMAs") according to the Nielsen
Company. The numbers in the column represent the ranking in terms of size of the DMA out
of the 210 generally recognized DMAs in the United States.
(2) Following the sale of this station, Sinclair will provide services pursuant to joint sales and
shared services agreements. Even if Sinclair continued to own this station following the
Tribune acquisition, Sinclair would be in compliance with the national cap.
(3) Following the sale of these stations, Sinclair will provide services pursuant to joint sales and
shared services agreements, which are permitted under the FCC's local ownership rules.
(4) Sinclair is not the licensee of these stations and will only be selling the assets of such
stations that Sinclair owns, together with its right to purchase the licenses of the stations.
In connection with the sale of certain Tribune stations to Fox, Fox has agreed to provide Sinclair with an option to purchase television stations WPWR-TV (CW/MY, Chicago – DMA #3) and KTBC-TV (Fox, Austin – DMA #39). Sinclair (and licensees of certain stations to which it provides services) and Fox have agreed to a multi-year renewal of 34 Fox affiliates, including all eight of Tribune's Fox affiliates which are not being sold to Fox. The affiliations being renewed are for the following markets.
Albany
Des Moines
Kansas City
Richmond
Baltimore
El Paso
Lexington
Rochester
Beaumont
Flint
Madison
San Antonio
Buffalo
Grand Rapids
Milwaukee
Savannah
Cedar Rapids
Green Bay
Nashville
South Bend
Charleston, WV
Greensboro
Oklahoma City
St. Louis
Columbia, SC
Harrisburg
Paducah
Wichita
Columbus
Hartford
Pittsburgh
Dayton
Indianapolis
Reno
(a) Sinclair management considers free cash flow to be an indicator of Sinclair's assets'
operating performance. Sinclair management also believes that free cash flow is a
commonly used measure of valuation for companies in the broadcast industry. In addition,
this measure is frequently used by industry analysts, investors and lenders as a measure of
valuation for broadcast companies, although their definitions of free cash flow may differ
from Sinclair's definition. Sinclair believes this measure serves as a valuable assessment
tool for investors to identify potential trends in the company's performance. For the definition
of free cash flow, please refer to Sinclair's website:
http://sbgi.net/investor-relations/#NonGAAP .
About Sinclair:
Sinclair is one of the largest and most diversified television broadcasting companies in the country. Pro forma for the Tribune acquisition and related station divestitures, the Company will own, operate and/or provide services to 215 television stations in 102 markets. Sinclair is a leading local news provider in the country and operates the greatest number of award-winning news rooms in the industry and is dedicated to impactful journalism with a local focus. The Company has multiple national networks, live local sports production, as well as stations affiliated with all the major networks. Sinclair's content is delivered via multiple-platforms, including over-the-air, multi-channel video program distributors, and digital platforms. The Company regularly uses its website as a key source of Company information which can be accessed at www.sbgi.net .
Forward-Looking Statements:
The matters discussed in this news release, particularly those in the section labeled "Outlook," include forward-looking statements regarding, among other things, future operating results. When used in this news release, the words "outlook," "intends to," "believes," "anticipates," "expects," "achieves," "estimates," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results in the future could differ materially and adversely from those described in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including, but not limited to, the impact of changes in national and regional economies, the volatility in the U.S. and global economies and financial credit markets which impact our ability to forecast, our ability to integrate acquired businesses and maximize operating synergies, our ability to obtain necessary governmental approvals for announced acquisitions and to satisfy other closing conditions, successful execution of outsourcing agreements, pricing and demand fluctuations in local and national advertising, volatility in programming costs, the market's acceptance of new programming, our news share strategy, our local sales initiatives, the execution of retransmission consent agreements, our ability to identify and consummate investments in attractive non-television assets and to achieve anticipated returns on those investments once consummated, and any other risk factors set forth in the Company's most recent reports on Form 10-Q, Form 10-K and Form 8-K, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. There can be no assurances that the assumptions and other factors referred to in this release will occur. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements except as required by law.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sinclair-provides-additional-information-about-agreements-to-sell-tv-stations-related-to-closing-tribune-media-acquisition-300645320.html
SOURCE Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/pr-newswire-sinclair-provides-additional-information-about-agreements-to-sell-tv-stations-related-to-closing-tribune-media-acquisition.html |
The need to bring down high drug prices may be one of the few health care issues that draw bipartisan support in Washington and on Main Street. President Donald Trump is expected to outline new policies to deliver on his pledge to bring prices down in a speech that could come this week.
"We'll be building on the proposals in the president's budget, but he wants to go further," said Alex Azar, Health and Human Services secretary, in a speech last week . "The entire system is under review."
Azar's comments and the uncertainty over how the new policies will impact the drug supply chain weighed on the stocks of pharmacy benefit managers and drug distributors last week. Shares of pharmacy giant CVS Health and pharmacy benefit firm Express Scripts fell about 9 percent for the week, despite strong earnings reports; shares of distributors AmerisourceBergen and McKesson declined 7 percent.
One of the key issues the Trump administration outlined in its budget earlier this year was passing on discounts pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) negotiate with drug makers to seniors in Medicare Part D drug plans.
Those discounts, or rebates, have come under fire for pushing pharmaceutical firms to inflate their list prices, which has contributed to higher out-of-pocket costs for consumers, from critics including the Trump administration's FDA commissioner.
"One of the dynamics I've talked about before that's driving higher and higher list prices is the system of rebates between payers and manufacturers," FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb said in a speech last Thursday, suggesting the administration is looking at changing the law.
Under current laws, Medicare recipients aren't eligible for direct drugmaker coupons because of anti-kickback laws, Gottlieb suggested that rebates should be reclassified to fall under regulatory scrutiny.
"Such a step could restore some semblance of reality to the relationship between list and negotiated prices, and thereby boost affordability and competition," Gottlieb said.
For now, the administration is looking at requiring that at least 33 percent of that rebate be passed on to seniors, according to a source familiar with the discussions. Some published reports say there is a push for 100 percent pass-through of rebates to seniors.
Insurers and pharmacy benefit managers argue that passing on all of the discounts to seniors who buy expensive drugs, will result in higher premiums for all Part D enrollees.
"Keep in mind ... as you've heard us and quite frankly others talk about the dynamic here (is) that 100 percent of that rebate value in Part D is passed through the plan's design in the form of a lower premiums," said CVS Health CEO Larry Merlo on his company's earnings call. "So, as it relates to the PBM, that would have no impact on profitability if that ended up moving forward."
"I think the concern that exists ... (is) what's the dynamic as it relates to beneficiary premiums going up?" Merlo said.
While specialty drug prices have risen, Medicare Part D plan premiums have remained relatively stable in recent years, another senior plan provider noted.
"It's going to put pressure somewhere. If it doesn't put it on the Part D premiums, it's going to likely place it on folks that are likely outside of Medicare age ... people under 65," said Richard Cantu, co-founder of a Medicare supplement plan that was acquired by eHealth in January.
In 2016, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that passing on a 23 percent discount for low-income seniors in Part D plans would result in more than $140 billion in Medicare savings over 10 years, but would also likely result in higher costs and spending in other parts of the nation's health system.
"Drug manufacturers would be expected to set higher 'launch' prices for new drugs as a way to limit the effect of the new rebate, particularly for new drugs that do not have close substitutes," reducing the Medicare savings over time, CBO analysts wrote in their report.
"Employment-based health insurance plans would probably negotiate larger rebates to offset a portion of the higher prices, but state Medicaid programs would pay more for new drugs, which in turn would increase federal spending," the CBO concluded.
"Price transparency is not going to be enough to slow costs. There also needs to be a mechanism to either remediate the problem and/or deter future bad behavior," by drug makers who set high prices, said Les Funtleyder, health care portfolio manager at E Squared Capital Management.
Azar said the administration's new proposal will take aim at high list prices on drugs, as well as expanding the Medicare program's ability to negotiate prices on more drugs under Medicare Part D drug plans, and the problem of "foreign governments free-riding off of American investment in innovation." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/06/health-care-trump-set-to-unveil-drug-price-policy.html |
HOUSTON, May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sanchez Midstream Partners LP (NYSE American:SNMP) (“SNMP” or the “Partnership”) today reported first quarter 2018 results. Highlights from the report include:
The Partnership reported net income of $1.4 million for the first quarter 2018, which compares to a net loss of $7.7 million for the first quarter 2017; Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) was $18.6 million for the first quarter 2018, which is more than 75 percent higher when compared to the Partnership’s first quarter 2017 Adjusted EBITDA; A first quarter 2018 cash distribution on common units of $0.4508 per unit ($1.8032 per unit annualized) has been declared by the Partnership, which is payable May 31, 2018; and The Partnership’s first quarter 2018 cash available for distribution (a non-GAAP financial measure) was $7.1 million, resulting in a distribution coverage ratio of greater than 1.0 times.
MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY
“The Partnership had another solid quarter to start 2018,” said Gerry Willinger, Chief Executive Officer of the general partner of SNMP. “With the completion of the Raptor Gas Processing Facility and Seco Pipeline now behind us, our first quarter 2018 Adjusted EBITDA increased by more than 75 percent when compared to Adjusted EBITDA for the first quarter 2017. As a result, our cash available for distribution in the first quarter 2018 was approximately $7.1 million, which covered our distribution on common units by greater than 1.0 times.
“In addition to earnings, we are today announcing our forecast for the full year 2018. We currently project Western Catarina Midstream volumes will range between 170 million cubic feet per day (“MMcf/d”) to 180 MMcf/d of natural gas and between 13.1 thousand barrels per day (“MBbls/d”) to 13.9 MBbls/d of oil, with combined Catarina and Comanche volumes on the non-operated Carnero Gathering Line and Raptor Gas Processing Facility, each 50 percent owned and operated by Targa Resources Corporation (“Targa”), estimated at 255 MMcf/d. The Seco Pipeline, which like the Western Catarina Midstream asset is wholly owned by the Partnership, is expected to flow between 80 MMcf/d to 90 MMcf/d of dry gas from its interconnection at the Raptor Gas Processing Facility to markets in South Texas.
“On the production side of the Partnership’s business, we currently project total volume for 2018 of approximately 475 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (“MBoe”) to 535 MBoe. As we opportunistically expand our midstream activities in South Texas, we continue to work through the strategic divestiture of producing assets to reduce the Partnership’s exposure to production activities which, by their nature, are sensitive to commodity prices and are less suited for our business model going forward.”
FINANCIAL RESULTS
The Partnership’s revenue totaled $18.5 million during the first quarter 2018. Included in total revenue for the first quarter 2018 is $14.0 million from the midstream activities of Western Catarina Midstream and the Seco Pipeline and approximately $6.4 million from production activities. The balance of the Partnership’s first quarter 2018 total revenue came from a loss on hedge settlements ($0.2 million) and a loss on mark-to-market activities ($1.7 million), which is a non-cash item.
Earnings from the Partnership’s midstream joint ventures with Targa totaled $4.3 million during the first quarter 2018. The Partnership has received cash distributions from the joint ventures totaling $6.1 million related to first quarter 2018 operating results.
On a GAAP basis, the Partnership recorded net income of $1.4 million for the first quarter 2018, which compares to net income of $0.3 million for the fourth quarter 2017 and a net loss of $7.7 million in the first quarter 2017.
Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP financial measure) for the first quarter 2018 was approximately $18.6 million, which is more than 75 percent higher when compared to the first quarter 2017. The Partnership’s calculation of Adjusted EBITDA is discussed in further detail below.
LIQUIDITY UPDATE
As of March 31, 2018, the Partnership had $184 million in debt outstanding under its credit facility, which has a current borrowing base of $249.3 million and an elected commitment amount of $200 million. The midstream portion of the borrowing base is approximately $211 million, which results in the Partnership’s midstream collateral more than covering the $200 million elected commitment amount.
The Partnership had approximately $1.8 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018.
HEDGE UPDATE
For the full year 2018, the Partnership has hedged approximately 497,328 million British thermal units (“MMBtu”) of its natural gas production at an effective NYMEX fixed price of approximately $3.00 per MMBtu and approximately 259.6 thousand barrels of its crude oil production at an effective NYMEX fixed price of approximately $59.73 per barrel. The Partnership has additional hedges covering a portion of its production in 2019 and 2020. Additional information about SNMP’s hedges can be found in the Partnership’s documents on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( www.sec.gov ) and in the “Investor Presentation” available on the Partnership’s website ( www.sanchezmidstream.com ).
DISTRIBUTIONS
On May 9, 2018, the Partnership declared a first quarter 2018 cash distribution on its common units of $0.4508 per unit ($1.8032 per unit annualized). The Partnership also declared a first quarter 2018 distribution to the holders of its Class B preferred units equal to $0.28225 per Class B preferred unit.
Based on first quarter 2018 Adjusted EBITDA of $18.6 million, cash interest expense of $2.3 million, maintenance capital of $0.4 million, and $8.8 million in preferred distributions, the Partnership generated approximately $7.1 million in cash available for distribution (a non-GAAP financial measure) during the first quarter 2018, resulting in a distribution coverage ratio of greater than 1.0 times.
FULL YEAR 2018 FORECAST
Additional details on the Partnership’s Full Year 2018 Forecast can be found in the tables to this news release.
CONFERENCE CALL INFORMATION
The Partnership will host a conference call at 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time) on Thursday, May 10, 2018 to discuss first quarter 2018 results.
To participate in the conference call, analysts, investors, media and the public in the U.S. may dial (844) 824-3837 shortly before 10:00 a.m. Central Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time). The international phone number is (412) 317-5161. Callers should request the “Sanchez Midstream Partners First Quarter 2018 Conference Call” once reaching the operator.
A live audio webcast of the conference call and the earnings release will be available on the Partnership’s website ( www.sanchezmidstream.com ) under the Investor Relations page. A replay will be available approximately three hours after the call through May 17, 2018, at 10:59 p.m. Central Time (11:59 p.m. Eastern Time). The replay may be accessed by dialing (844) 512-2921 (U.S.) or (412) 317-6671 (International), and referencing the replay passcode: 10119826.
ABOUT THE PARTNERSHIP
Sanchez Midstream Partners LP (NYSE American:SNMP) is a growth-oriented publicly-traded limited partnership focused on the acquisition, development, ownership and operation of midstream and other energy related assets in North America. The Partnership has ownership stakes in oil and natural gas gathering systems, natural gas pipelines, and a natural gas processing facility, all located in the Western Eagle Ford in South Texas.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Additional information about SNMP can be found in the Partnership’s documents on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( www.sec.gov ) and in the “Investor Presentation” available on the Partnership’s website ( www.sanchezmidstream.com ).
NON-GAAP MEASURES
We present Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution, non-GAAP financial measures, in addition to our reported net income (loss), the most comparable GAAP financial measure, in this news release.
Adjusted EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure that is defined as net income (loss) adjusted by: (i) interest (income) expense, net, which includes interest expense, interest expense net (gain) loss on interest rate derivative contracts, and interest (income); (ii) income tax expense (benefit); (iii) depreciation, depletion and amortization; (iv) asset impairments; (v) accretion expense; (vi) (gain) loss on sale of assets; (vii) unit-based compensation expense; (viii) unit-based asset management fees; (ix) distributions in excess of equity earnings; (x) (gain) loss on mark-to-market activities; (xi) commodity derivatives settled early; (xii) (gain) loss on embedded derivatives; and (xiii) acquisition and divestiture costs. For a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to Net Income (Loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the tables at the end of this news release. Cash available for distribution is defined as Adjusted EBITDA less cash interest expense; distributions on preferred units; and maintenance capital. For a reconciliation of cash available for distribution to Net Income (Loss), the most directly comparable GAAP measure, see the tables at the end of this news release.
Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution are significant performance metrics used by our management to indicate (prior to the establishment of any cash reserves by the board of directors of our general partner) the distributions that we would expect to pay to our unitholders. Specifically, these financial measures indicate to investors whether or not we are generating cash flow at a level that can sustain or support a quarterly distribution or any increase in our quarterly distribution rates. Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution are also used as quantitative standards by our management and by external users of our financial statements such as investors, research analysts, our lenders and others to assess: (i) the financial performance of our assets without regard to financing methods, capital structure or historical cost basis; (ii) the ability of our assets to generate cash sufficient to pay interest costs and support our indebtedness; and (iii) our operating performance and return on capital as compared to those of other companies in our industry, without regard to financing or capital structure.
We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution provides useful information to investors in assessing our financial condition and results of operations. The GAAP measure most directly comparable to Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution is net income (loss). Our non-GAAP financial measures of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP net income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution have important limitations as analytical tools because they exclude some but not all items that affect net income (loss). Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution should not be considered in isolation or as substitutes for analysis of our results as reported under GAAP. Because Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution may be defined differently by other companies in our industry, our definition of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies, thereby diminishing their utility. For reconciliations of Adjusted EBITDA and cash available for distribution to net income (loss), the most comparable GAAP financial metric, please see the tables below.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains, and the officers and representatives of the Partnership and its general partner may from time to time make, statements that are considered forward–looking statements within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These are subject to a number of many of which are beyond our control, which may include statements about our: business strategy; acquisition strategy; financing strategy; ability to make, maintain and grow distributions; the ability of our customers to meet their drilling and development plans on a timely basis or at all and perform under gathering, processing and other agreements; future operating results; the ability of our partners to perform under our joint ventures and partnerships; future capital expenditures; and plans, objectives, expectations, forecasts, outlook and intentions. All of these types of statements, other than statements of historical fact included in this news release, are In some cases, can be identified by terminology such as “may,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “plan,” “project,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “predict,” “potential,” “pursue,” “target,” “continue,” the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology.
The contained in this news release are largely based on our expectations, which reflect estimates and assumptions made by the management of our general partner. These estimates and assumptions reflect our best judgment based on currently known market conditions and other factors. Although we believe such estimates and assumptions to be reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that are beyond our control. In addition, management’s assumptions about future events may prove to be inaccurate. Management cautions all readers that the contained in this news release are not guarantees of future performance, and we cannot assure any reader that such statements will be realized or the forward-looking events and circumstances will occur. The speak only as of the date made, and other than as required by law, we do not intend to publicly update or revise any as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. These cautionary statements qualify all attributable to us or persons acting on our behalf.
PARTNERSHIP CONTACT
Kevin Smith
VP of Investor Relations
(281) 925-4828
General Inquiries: (713) 783-8000
www.sanchezmidstream.com
Sanchez Midstream Partners LP Operating Statistics Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Gathering and Transportation Throughput: Seco Pipeline Natural Gas (MMcf) 6,114 — Western Catarina Midstream Oil (MBbls) 1,027 1,021 Natural Gas (MMcf) 13,653 13,656 Net Production in MBoe: Total production (MBoe) 141 310 Average daily production (Boe/d) 1,567 3,444 Average Sales Price per Boe: Net realized price, including hedges (1) $ 44.24 $ 32.82 Net realized price, excluding hedges (2) $ 45.87 $ 27.74 (1) Excludes impact of mark-to-market gains (losses). (2) Excludes the impact of all hedging gains (losses). Sanchez Midstream Partners LP Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 ($ in thousands, except per unit amounts) Oil, liquids, and gas sales $ 6,238 $ 10,116 Gathering and transportation sales 1,688 11,211 Gathering and transportation lease revenues 12,318 — Gain (loss) on mark-to-market activities (1,708 ) 4,480 Total revenues 18,536 25,807 Operating expenses: Lease operating expenses 1,971 4,983 Transportation operating expenses 2,847 3,296 Cost of sales — 37 Production taxes 322 473 General and administrative 5,165 5,609 Unit-based compensation expense 1,438 540 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 6,628 12,181 Asset impairments — 4,688 Accretion expense 126 258 Total operating expenses 18,497 32,065 Other (income) expense: Interest expense 2,599 1,883 Earnings from equity investments (4,272 ) (482 ) Other expense 270 — Total expenses, net 17,094 33,466 Income (loss) before income taxes 1,442 (7,659 ) Income tax expense — — Net income (loss) 1,442 (7,659 ) Less: Preferred unit distributions paid in common units — (2,625 ) Preferred unit distributions (8,750 ) (7,000 ) Preferred unit amortization (531 ) (404 ) Net loss attributable to common unitholders $ (7,839 ) $ (17,688 ) Adjusted EBITDA $ 18,578 $ 10,538 Net loss per unit Common units - Basic $ (0.53 ) $ (1.32 ) Weighted Average Units Outstanding Common units - Basic 14,738,528 13,400,138 Sanchez Midstream Partners LP Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets March 31, Dec. 31, 2018 2017 ($ in thousands) Current assets $ 10,972 $ 17,527 Midstream and production assets, net 210,623 213,145 Other assets 291,367 297,751 Total assets $ 512,962 $ 528,423 Current liabilities $ 12,759 $ 13,413 Long-term debt, net of debt issuance costs 182,928 187,808 Other long-term liabilities 13,695 12,598 Total liabilities 209,382 213,819 Mezzanine equity 344,443 343,912 Partners' deficit (40,863 ) (29,308 ) Total partners' deficit (40,863 ) (29,308 ) Total liabilities and partners' capital $ 512,962 $ 528,423 Sanchez Midstream Partners LP Reconciliation of Net Income (Loss) to Adjusted EBITDA and Cash Available for Distribution Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 ($ in thousands) Net income (loss) $ 1,442 $ (7,659 ) Adjusted by: Interest expense, net 2,599 1,883 Depreciation, depletion and amortization 6,628 12,181 Asset impairments — 4,688 Accretion expense 126 258 Unit-based compensation expense 1,438 540 Unit-based asset management fees 2,279 2,030 Distributions in excess of equity earnings 1,837 968 (Gain) loss on mark-to-market activities 1,978 (4,480 ) Acquisition and divestiture costs 251 129 Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ 18,578 $ 10,538 Adjusted by: Maintenance capital expenditures (2) (400 ) (600 ) Cash interest expense (2,300 ) (1,587 ) Preferred unit distributions (8,750 ) (7,000 ) Cash available for distribution $ 7,128 $ 1,351 (1) To supplement our financial results and guidance presented in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”), we use Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP financial measure, in this quarterly report. We believe that non-GAAP financial measures are helpful in understanding our past financial performance and potential future results, particularly in light of the effect of various transactions effected by us. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss) adjusted by: (i) interest (income) expense, net, which includes interest expense, interest expense net, (gain) loss on interest rate derivative contracts, and interest (income); (ii) income tax expense (benefit); (iii) depreciation, depletion and amortization; (iv) asset impairments; (v) accretion expense; (vi) (gain) loss on sale of assets; (vii) unit-based compensation expense; (viii) unit-based asset management fees; (ix) distributions in excess of equity earnings; (x) (gain) loss on mark-to-market activities; (xi) commodity derivatives settled early; (xii) (gain) loss on embedded derivatives; and (xiii) acquisition and divestiture costs. (2) Represents estimated maintenance capital expenditures attributable to our controlling interest in our midstream and production assets. Maintenance capital expenditures are cash expenditures made to maintain, over the long-term, our operating capacity, operating income or asset base. Examples of maintenance capital expenditures are expenditures to develop and replace our oil and natural gas reserves as well as the repair, refurbishment and replacement of gathering and transportation assets, to maintain equipment reliability, integrity and safety and to address environmental laws and regulations.
Sanchez Midstream Partners LP Full Year 2018 Forecast MIDSTREAM ACTIVITIES Western Catarina Midstream: Natural Gas Volumes 170 to 180 MMcf/d Operating Margin on Natural Gas Volumes and Water $0.62 per Mcf Oil Volumes 13.1 to 13.9 MBbls/d Incremental Oil Revenue $1.00 per Bbl Seco Pipeline: Natural Gas Volumes (Dry) 80 to 90 MMcf/d Operating Margin $0.20 per Mcf Carnero Gathering Line (Non-Operated): Catarina Natural Gas Volumes 120 to 130 MMcf/d Operating Margin on Catarina Volumes $0.29 per Mcf Comanche Natural Gas Volumes 135 to 125 MMcf/d Incremental Comanche Revenue $0.19 per Mcf Raptor Gas Processing Facility (Non-Operated): Catarina Natural Gas Volumes 120 to 130 MMcf/d Operating Margin on Catarina Volumes $0.30 per Mcf Comanche Natural Gas Volumes 135 to 125 MMcf/d Incremental Comanche Revenue $0.24 per Mcf SNMP Interest in Non-Operated Midstream Assets 50% NOTES: All Western Catarina Midstream operating expenses are included in the Natural Gas and Water Operating Margin. All Carnero Gathering Line and Raptor Gas Processing Facility operating expenses are included in the Catarina Volume Operating Margin. Carnero Gathering Line and Raptor Gas Processing Facility natural gas volumes from Catarina are 50 MMcf/d below Western Catarina Midstream Natural Gas Volumes. Assumes Carnero Gathering Line and Raptor Gas Processing Facility capacity of 255 MMcf/d. Sa nchez Midstream Partners LP Ful l Year 2018 Forecast (con't) PRODUCTION ACTIVITIES Total Volume 475 to 535 MBoe Production by Product Oil 63 % Natural Gas 21 % NGLs 16 % Commodity Pricing Oil $64.00 per Bbl Natural Gas $2.75 per MMBtu NGLs 40% of Oil Pricing Pricing Differentials Oil $(2.35) per Bbl Natural Gas $(0.29) per MMBtu Operating Expenses $15.00 per Boe Severance and Ad Valorem Taxes 6.5% of Production Revenue 2018 HEDGES Oil Volume 259.6 MBbls Oil Price $59.73 per Bbl Natural Gas Volume 497,328 MMBtu Natural Gas Price $3.00 per MMBtu OTHER PARTNERSHIP COSTS General & Administrative $12.5 million Interest Expense $9.1 million Maintenance Capital $1.6 million
Source:Sanchez Midstream Partners LP | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-sanchez-midstream-partners-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-provides-full-year-2018-forecast.html |
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese prosecutor has charged a suspect in a school knife attack with intentional homicide over the incident that killed nine students and left 10 in hospital, official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.
Zhao Zewei, 28, is accused of attacking 19 students near a middle school in Mizhi county in China’s northwestern province of Shaanxi on April 27, the agency said.
No details of a possible motive for the attack were provided, Xinhua added. In April, state media had said the suspect sought payback for bullying he had suffered at school.
Reuters could not reach Zhao, who has been detained by police since the day of the attack, for comment.
Violent crime is rarer in China than many other countries, especially in major cities where security is tight. Recent years have seen a series of knife and axe attacks, however, including one this year in Beijing, the capital.
Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Clarence Fernandez
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-crime-children/china-charges-suspect-in-school-stabbing-that-killed-nine-idUSKCN1IU0LQ |
WALTHAM, Mass., April 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Eloxx”) (Nasdaq:ELOX) today announced the completion of its previously announced underwritten public offering of 5,899,500 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $9.75 per share, including 769,500 shares sold pursuant to the exercise in full of the underwriters' option to purchase additional shares. All of the shares were sold by Eloxx. The gross proceeds from the offering were approximately $57.5 million, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses. Eloxx anticipates using the net proceeds from the offering to fund part of the continued clinical development of ELX-02, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.
Citigroup and Piper Jaffray & Co. acted as joint book-running managers for the offering. Canaccord Genuity acted as lead co-manager for the offering. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey acted as co-manager for the offering.
The shares of common stock described above were offered by Eloxx pursuant to a shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-224207) that was filed by Eloxx with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 10, 2018 and that was declared effective by the SEC on April 20, 2018. A final prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus relating to the offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC’s website located at http://www.sec.gov . Copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained by request from Citigroup Global Markets Inc., c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, NY 11717, or by telephone at (800) 831-9146; or from Piper Jaffray & Co., 800 Nicollet Mall, J12S03, Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attention: Prospectus Department or by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (800) 747-3924.
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
About Eloxx Pharmaceuticals
Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel RNA-modulating drug candidates that are designed to treat rare and ultra-rare premature stop codon diseases. Eloxx’s lead product candidate, ELX-02, is a small molecule drug candidate designed to restore production of full-length functional proteins. ELX-02 is in the early stages of clinical development focusing on cystic fibrosis and cystinosis. ELX-02 is an investigational drug that has not been approved by any global regulatory body. Eloxx is headquartered in Waltham, MA, with R&D operations in Rehovot, Israel.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements included in this press release are within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. These statements may be identified by introductory words such as "may," "expects," "plan," "believe," "will," "achieve," "anticipate," "would," "should," "subject to" or words of similar meaning, or by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. Such involve risks and uncertainties and actual results could differ materially from any expressed or implied herein. As a result, this press release should be read in conjunction with the Company’s periodic filings with the SEC. The contained herein are made only as of the date of this press release, and the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise such to reflect subsequent events or circumstances.
Corporate Contact:
Gregory Weaver
Eloxx Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
781-577-5300 x100
Investor Contact:
Barbara Ryan
203-274-2825
[email protected]
Source:Eloxx Pharmaceuticals | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/globe-newswire-eloxx-pharmaceuticals-announces-completion-of-public-offering-of-common-stock-and-exercise-in-full-of-underwritersa-option.html |
May 30, 2018 / 6:59 PM / Updated an hour ago Newcastle sign goalkeeper Dubravka on permanent deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - Newcastle United have completed the permanent signing of Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dubravka from Sparta Prague after a successful loan spell last season, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Soccer Football - Premier League - Crystal Palace vs Newcastle United - Selhurst Park, London, Britain - February 4, 2018 Newcastle's Martin Dubravka during the warm up before the match REUTERS/David Klein
The 29-year-old arrived at St James’ Park in January and made 12 league appearances as Rafa Benitez’s side finished 10th in the top flight.
Dubravka becomes Newcastle’s first signing in the close season, on a contract until June 2022, after the club activated the option to sign him.
“Ever since he arrived with us on loan he has shown a fantastic attitude and great work ethic, and of course we have been very impressed with his performances for us on the pitch last season,” Benitez said in a statement.
“This was one of the key positions we had identified we needed to strengthen and had been concerned about, so it is excellent news that we are able now to sign him on a permanent basis.” Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-england-new-dubravka/newcastle-sign-goalkeeper-dubravka-on-permanent-deal-idUKKCN1IV2J3 |
* “Door is opening” for market consolidation-Arcep head
* Investments’ record of 9.6 bln euros by sector in 2017
* 5G frequencies to be distributed between mid-2019/mid-2020
* Shares in Iliad, Orange, Bouygues rise (Adds details, background)
PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - Shares in France’s telecoms stocks rose on Tuesday, after the head of the country’s telecoms regulator re-ignited talk of possible mergers in the fiercely competitive sector.
Sebastien Soriano, head of France’s Arcep telecoms regulator, told Le Monde newspaper on Tuesday that Arcep could be open to consolidation within the sector.
“Regarding the consolidation in the telecoms industry - Arcep’s door is opening,” Soriano told Le Monde.
“But (operators) must have a value-creating project for the country, and not for shareholders only.”
Soriano took the potential merger of U.S. mobile companies Sprint and T-Mobile US as an example, stressing that the deal could lead to higher investments in the next generation of mobile internet, known as 5G.
Iliad’s shares rose by 3.4 pct at 0855 GMT, while the shares of market leader Orange advanced 2.8 percent. Bouygues, which runs Bouygues Telecom, climbed 3.2 percent.
The Shares of SFR’s parent company Altice also rose sharply, but the move essentially reflected a technical adjustment of their price following the separation of Altice NV from Altice USA.
Altice USA’s spin-off was formally approved at the group’s shareholders meeting last week.
Several attempts to cut the number of French telecoms operators from four to three have failed over the last few years. The last move was in 2016, when Orange failed to acquire Bouygues Telecom.
Arcep published a report earlier on Tuesday that showed that in 2017, French telecom operators had invested an extra 660 million euros ($779.5 million) more than the previous year, for an overall total of 9.6 billion euros.
Separately, Arcep’s head also said the regulator was opening a public consultation about the 5G radio frequencies, which he said should be granted between mid-2019 and mid-2020”.
$1 = 0.8467 euros Reporting by Blandine Henault and Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Mathieu Rosemain
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/france-telecoms/update-1-french-telecoms-stocks-rise-as-regulator-re-ignites-merger-talk-idUSL5N1ST1LC |
By Bloomberg 8:26 AM EDT
China hit back at U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to push ahead with tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese imports despite a recent truce in the trade fight, saying it damages America’s standing.
If the U.S. insists on unilateral measures, China will respond accordingly, foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters in Beijing on Wednesday. The White House said in a statement on Tuesday that a final list of imported goods to be targeted will be released by June 15, and levies imposed “shortly thereafter.”
“Every flip-flop in international relations simply depletes a country’s credibility,” Hua said. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal reported that the trade talks between the two countries scheduled for June 2 in Beijing may be derailed by the fresh threat from Washington.
The announcement by Trump — which seemed to tear up an agreement reached only 10 days ago in Washington — is the latest twist in a trade dispute between the U.S. and China that has rattled financial markets for months and could threaten the broadest global upswing in years, according to the International Monetary Fund.
A team of U.S. officials was scheduled to arrive in Beijing on Wednesday to discuss the broad outline of the next round of talks, but if the two sides failed to reach agreement on what would be discussed, the trip — led by Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — could be canceled, the Wall Street Journal report said.
Asian equities slid Wednesday as the renewed tension over trade added to concerns over Italy’s political turmoil for investors.
While the trade dispute poses a risk to China’s economic outlook , the two countries will likely find common ground, said Robin Xing, chief China economist at Morgan Stanley . He expects China will buy an additional $60 billion to $90 billion of American goods over several years as it seeks to address Trump’s criticisms over the trade surplus.
“The two parties can reach a deal by China increasing imports,” Xing said Wednesday in a Bloomberg Television interview from Beijing. “De-escalation over time through negotiation remains our base case because we see areas where China and the U.S. can find some middle ground to make some mutually beneficial progress, for example to meet China’s own demand for upgrading consumption.”
Trump has vacillated in recent weeks on how hard to push Beijing over issues such as tariffs and intellectual property. The dispute began in March, when his administration first threatened to slap tariffs on as much as $50 billion in Chinese shipments to punish Beijing for violating American I.P. rights.
Trump is taking “measured” steps against China, aiming at protecting the “crown jewels” of American technology, White House trade adviser Peter Navarro told Fox Business’s “Mornings With Maria” program Wednesday.
“We’re interested only in economic prosperity and national security,” Navarro said, adding that the U.S. slapping 25% tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods is bullish news for American companies and will be a “key part” of U.S. policy going forward.
Trump’s latest u-turn was greeted with dismay in the Chinese state media, though pledges to retaliate were muted.
“The world faces an extremely mercurial White House administration,” an editorial in China’s Global Times tabloid read. “The Chinese government has the ability and wisdom to handle such situations.” What Economists Say
“With so many head-spinning reversals on trade from the U.S. in recent weeks, we suspect the Chinese negotiators and the markets have started to tune out the noise and focus on the substance,” Tom Orlik, Bloomberg’s chief Asia economist in Beijing, wrote in a report. “So far, there’s not much of that in evidence. Even if there were, our analysis suggests bilateral tariffs wouldn’t move the dial on China’s growth.”
After Trump’s initial tariff threat, Beijing promised to retaliate in kind to any duties. Trump then upped the ante, threatening to slap tariffs on an additional $100 billion in Chinese goods. But the U.S. has yet to publish a list of targeted products for the $100 billion, and the White House statement on Tuesday made no reference to the second potential tranche of duties.
The U.S. tariffs threat has been widely opposed by industry leaders and some members of Congress. They warn the duties could end up raising costs for American consumers, devastating farmers and hurting other exporters if China proceeds with retaliatory duties.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Donohue said using tariffs against China “puts all the burden on American companies and consumers.”
At the same time, Trump is under pressure from Congress to stay tough on China, especially when it comes to Chinese telecommunications-equipment maker ZTE Corp. Last week, the president said he would allow ZTE to stay in business if it pays a $1.3 billion fine , shakes up its management, and provides “high-level security guarantees.”
China pressed the U.S. to give ZTE a break after the Commerce Department cut off the company from U.S. suppliers to punish it for allegedly lying to American officials in a sanctions case. Republican Senator Marco Rubio and other lawmakers from both parties have criticized Trump’s leniency toward ZTE, arguing that doing business with the company presents a risk to national security.
When Trump announced the initial plan to impose tariffs on Chinese goods, he also instructed the Treasury Department to draw up new curbs on investment in the U.S. by Chinese companies. The Treasury has presented its findings to the president, but its conclusions are yet to be made public.
The White House’s latest move signals the more hawkish wing of Trump’s trade team is trying to amplify its hard line, after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said this month that any talk of a trade war was suspended for now. Mnuchin Repudiated
“Mnuchin’s ‘trade war on hold’ comments look to have been repudiated,” said Derek Scissors, a China analyst at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington. “It may be the administration has shifted somewhat to appease the Congress on the lifting of the ZTE sanctions.”
The White House also said on Tuesday the U.S. plans to continue litigation at the World Trade Organization for China’s intellectual-property practices.
In a further indication of the Trump administration striking a tougher tone before the negotiations later this week, the White House issued a separate statement running through its major grievances over China’s trade practices from forced technology transfers to automobile import tariffs. SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/30/china-donald-trump-flip-flop-tariffs-trade-war/ |
May 18, 2018 / 2:23 PM / in 23 minutes Sanctions-hit Deripaska quits Russia's EN+ board Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian sanctions-hit businessman Oleg Deripaska has resigned from the board of directors of Russia’s En+, the company said on Friday, in a move that could help alleviate sanctions pressure on the firm. FILE PHOTO: President of En+ Group, Oleg Deripaska attends an agreement signing ceremony with the Krasnoyarsk region's government, in Moscow, Russia December 12, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin/File Photo
Washington imposed sweeping sanctions last month on some of Russia’s biggest companies and businessmen, including En+, striking at allies of President Vladimir Putin to punish Moscow for alleged meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and other so-called malign activities.
En+, which manages Deripaska’s aluminum and hydropower businesses, said it would propose that Philippe Mailfait, an independent director at the group, replace Deripaska on the board of directors of Rusal, Russia’s largest aluminum producer.
The group on Friday reported first-quarter net profits of $667 million, with its revenue increasing 17 percent year-on-year to $3.4 billion.
It said the long-term effects of the U.S. move and the threat of additional sanctions were difficult to determine.
The group’s chairman said this month it was working on a plan it hoped would lead the United States to lift the sanctions.
Deripaska has tried to distance himself from the companies. He agreed last month to lower his stake in En+ Group to less than 50 percent, after Washington said it could lift the sanctions against the company if he relinquished control.
But Deripaska has yet to cede his stake in the group.
The Russian government has pledged to assist Russian companies that experience financial troubles because of the U.S. sanctions.
But on Monday, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said Russia was not considering buying stakes in En+ and Rusal. Reporting by Polina Devitt; writing by Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber; Editing by Dale Hudson | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-sanctions-deripaska/russian-businessman-deripaska-resigns-from-russias-en-board-idUSKCN1IJ1VP |
(John Kemp is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)
* Chartbook: https://tmsnrt.rs/2ImLn8d
LONDON, May 8 (Reuters) - For all the bullish commentary around oil prices at the moment, hedge fund managers have made only minor changes to their overall position in petroleum futures and options in the last few weeks.
To the extent they have made any changes at all, fund managers have been reducing rather than adding to bullish positions since the middle of April (https://tmsnrt.rs/2ImLn8d).
Hedge funds and other money managers cut their net long position in the six most important petroleum futures and options contracts by 28 million barrels in the most recent week.
Fund managers have reduced their net long position for two consecutive weeks, to 1.376 billion barrels by May 1 from a recent peak of 1.411 billion barrels on April 17.
In a repeat of the week before, the liquidation last week was concentrated in crude oil, while portfolio managers increased their exposure to refined products slightly.
Funds cut their net long position in Brent (-21 million barrels) as well as NYMEX and ICE WTI (-12 million barrels).
By contrast, they increased their net position in U.S. gasoline (+1 million barrels), U.S. heating oil (+1 million barrels) and European gasoil (+2 million barrels).
The fundamental outlook remains fairly bullish with strong growth in oil consumption, continued output restraint by OPEC and a draw down in oil inventories below the five-year average.
Production and exports from Venezuela are declining is threatening Iran nuclear agreement which could cut that countrys exports in the coming months.
But hedge fund managers have already amassed a near-record bullish position in futures and options contracts linked to crude and fuels.
Positioning has become exceptionally stretched and lopsided across the petroleum complex, with hedge funds long positions outnumbering short ones by a ratio of almost 12:1 (and as much as 17:1 in the case of Brent).
Fund managers show no inclination to add substantially to their existing longs, which may indicate they are fully invested for the time being.
Related columns:
Hedge funds trim positions in crude but boost fuels, Reuters, April 30
Hedge funds build record bullish position in Brent, Reuters, April 16
Hedge funds rotate from WTI to Brent in search for roll yield, Reuters, April 9
Oil market locked, almost all funds expect further price rises, Reuters, March 27 (Editing by Susan Fenton) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/reuters-america-column-hedge-funds-hold-fire-as-oil-prices-hit-multi-year-highs-kemp.html |
* Dollar slips further from 2018 peak hit last week * Spot gold looks neutral in $1,317-$1,326/oz - technicals * Speculators raise net long position in week to May 8 (Adds comment, updates prices) By Apeksha Nair BENGALURU, May 14 (Reuters) - Gold prices rose on Monday on the back of a subdued dollar as investors considered the prospects of fewer interest rate hikes in the United States this year. Spot gold was up 0.2 percent at $1,320.80 per ounce as of 0643 GMT, after marking the highest since April 26 at $1,325.96 in the previous session. U.S. gold futures for June delivery were little changed at $1,320.80 per ounce. "Investors are watching the U.S. bonds and the dollar closely and taking cue from there for the direction of gold price," said Joshua Rotbart, managing partner, J. Rotbart & Co in Hong Kong. The dollar eased 0.1 percent to 92.456 versus a basket of six major currencies , retreating further from its 2018 peak hit last week on the back of sagging U.S. yields, after softer economic data curbed prospects of aggressive rate hikes in the United States. St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard on Friday spelled out the case against any further interest rate increases, saying rates may already have reached a "neutral" level that is no longer stimulating the economy. The U.S. central bank is still, however, widely expected to raise benchmark interest rates at its next policy meeting in June. Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. rates as these tend to boost the dollar and push bond yields up, adding pressure on the greenback-denominated, non-yielding bullion. While gold prices were also drawing support from political uncertainty in the Middle East, investors said easing tensions elsewhere could add downside risks to prices. "From geopolitical point of view we are currently in an equilibrium between the prospects of 'good end' in the Korean peninsula against looming conflict in the Middle East between Iran and Israel. The price (of gold) reflects this balance," Rotbart said. Spot gold looks neutral in a range of $1,317-$1,326 per ounce, Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao said. Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust , the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.62 percent to 857.64 tonnes on Friday. Speculators raised their net long position in COMEX gold, by 636 contracts to 52,621, in the week to May 8, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) data showed. In other precious metals, silver was up 0.6 percent at $16.71 an ounce, after hitting a 2-1/2-week high in the previous session. Platinum rose 0.4 percent to $924.70 per ounce, having hit its peak since April 25 at $929.10 on Friday. Palladium was 0.4 percent lower at $992.05 per ounce, after hitting a 2-1/2-week high at $1,008.50 on Friday. (Reporting by Apeksha Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Richard Pullin and Subhranshu Sahu)
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-precious/precious-gold-rises-as-u-s-rate-hike-view-grounds-dollar-idUSL3N1SL1HV |
ATHENS (Reuters) - Greek electricity utility Public Power Corp (PPC) will invite investors to submit expressions of interest for the sale of two coal-fired units next week.
Greece and its lenders have agreed that PPC will divest about 40 percent of its coal-fired capacity to help to open up the sector after an EU court ruled that PPC abused its dominance in the coal market.
An invitation for the expression of interest for three coal-fired units and a license to build a new one was flagged on the company’s website on Friday but was later retracted. A company official said Public Power will address the invitation on May 31, according to the sale’s timetable.
The sale is a condition of the country’s latest international bailout and has drawn fierce protest from unions.
Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou; Writing by Renee Maltezou; Editing by David Goodman
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eurozone-greece-publicpower-sale/greeces-public-power-corp-prepares-for-sale-of-coal-fired-units-idUSKCN1IQ142 |
VANCOUVER, B.C., May 25, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NetworkWire – Sunniva Inc. (" Sunniva " or the “ Company ") (CSE:SNN) (OTCQX:SNNVF) plans to release its results for the first quarter 2018, after market close on Wednesday, May 30, 2018.
The Company's executive management will discuss the results during a conference call on Thursday, May 31, 2018 at 11:00 am Eastern Time/8:00 am Pacific Time. To participate in the call, please dial 1-800-319-4610, or (604) 638-5340. An audio replay will be available shortly after the call by dialing 1-855-669-9658 or (604) 674-8052 and entering access code 2365. The replay will be available for two weeks after the call.
About Sunniva Inc.
Sunniva, through its subsidiaries, is a vertically integrated medical cannabis company operating in the world’s two largest cannabis markets – Canada and California – where we are committed to delivering safe, high-quality products and services at scale. Our vision is to become the lowest cost, highest quality cannabis producer in the markets we serve by building large scale purpose-built current Good Manufacturing Practices greenhouses, offering better quality assurance with cannabis products free from pesticides, providing better patient and doctor access to cannabis education and sourcing better therapeutic delivery devices. Sunniva’s management and board of directors have a proven track record for creating significant shareholder value both in the healthcare and biotech industries.
For more information please visit: www.sunniva.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contact Information:
Dr. Anthony Holler
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Investor Relations Contact:
George Jurcic
Manager, Investor Relations
587-430-0680
[email protected]
Corporate Communications Contact:
NetworkNewsWire (NNW)
New York, New York
www.NetworkNewsWire.com
212.418.1217 Office
[email protected]
Source:Sunniva Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/25/globe-newswire-sunniva-inc-to-announce-2018-first-quarter-results-on-may-30-2018.html |
BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Romania’s government aims to prioritize building 759 kilometers of motorway through public-private partnerships in the European Union’s least-developped state, deputy prime minister Viorel Stefan said on Tuesday.
In addition to three new motorway segments primarily targeting the poorer southern part of the country, Stefan also presented plans to build or upgrade several hospitals. The projects, which could be worth up to 20 billion euros overall, could start in 2019, Stefan said.
Public-private partnerships would also help speed up the works, with motorways seen finalised within five years, he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, centrist President Klaus Iohannis expressed concern at the slow pace at which the government was tapping EU development funds. Of the 31.3 billion euros Brussels has allotted for Romania during 2014-2020, Bucharest has tapped only 4.9 billion euros, he said.
Reporting by Luiza Ilie
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-romania-government-infrastructure/romanian-government-seeks-to-partner-private-firms-for-759-km-of-motorway-idUSKCN1IN2DJ |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First Majestic Silver Corp. (“First Majestic”) (NYSE:AG) (TSX:FR) (Frankfurt:FMV) and Primero Mining Corp. (“Primero”) are pleased to announce the completion of the plan of arrangement (the “Arrangement”) previously announced in the joint news release of First Majestic and Primero dated January 12, 2018.
Under the arrangement, which took effect as of 12:01 am (Vancouver time) this morning, First Majestic has acquired all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Primero. Shareholders of Primero will receive 0.03325 First Majestic shares for each share of Primero held.
Keith Neumeyer, President and CEO of First Majestic said, “With this closing, First Majestic is integrating a large, world-class, silver and gold mine into its portfolio of operating mines. The San Dimas mine, becoming our seventh mine in Mexico, will result in a transformational leap forward in our production profile with an estimated doubling of profitable ounces produced.”
“In the near future, we will be communicating our plan for San Dimas which will include ways to further improve productivity over the next 12 months,” continued Mr. Neumeyer. “I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome Wheaton Precious Metals, the Primero shareholders and the employees of San Dimas into the First Majestic family.”
With the Arrangement now complete, it is expected that Primero’s shares will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) in approximately 2-3 business days in accordance with the rules of the TSX.
First Majestic expects to announce later today the closing of the termination of the silver purchase agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. relating to the San Dimas Mine and the implementation of the new precious metals purchase agreement with Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. on the San Dimas Mine, as further discussed in the joint news release of January 12, 2018.
In connection with the Arrangement, holders of Primero’s $75 million 2020 convertible debentures (the “Debentures”) previously approved an amendment to the terms of their governing indenture pursuant to which the Debentures will mature on the next business day following the effective date of the Arrangement. As such, all Debentures will mature and will be repaid in full in accordance with the terms of the indenture on May 11, 2018.
ABOUT FIRST MAJESTIC
First Majestic is a mining company focused on silver production in Mexico and is aggressively pursuing the development of its existing mineral property assets. The Company presently owns and operates seven producing silver mines; the San Dimas Silver/Gold Mine, the Santa Elena Silver/Gold Mine, the La Encantada Silver Mine, the La Parrilla Silver Mine, the San Martin Silver Mine, the Del Toro Silver Mine and the La Guitarra Silver Mine. Production from these seven mines is projected to be between 27 to 30 million silver equivalents ounces in 2018.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION contact [email protected] , visit our website at www.firstmajestic.com or call our toll free number 1.866.529.2807.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF
FIRST MAJESTIC SILVER CORP.
“signed”
Keith Neumeyer
President & CEO
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes certain “Forward‐Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and “forward‐looking information” under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “estimate”, “expect”, “target”, “plan”, “forecast”, “may”, “schedule” and similar words or expressions, identify forward‐looking statements or information. These forward‐looking statements or information relate to, among other things: the termination of the existing silver purchase agreement and implementation of the new precious metal purchase agreement; the date of de-listing of Primero’s shares; the future plans for and the development of the San Dimas Mine; future silver production; future growth potential for First Majestic; plans to improve productivity; and repayment of the Debentures.
These statements reflect the parties’ respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the respective parties, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward‐looking statements or information and the parties have made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: failure to meet the necessary conditions to closing the termination of the existing silver purchase agreement (including failure to file all necessary security registrations); decisions by the Toronto Stock Exchange with respect to de-listing of Primero’s shares; the synergies expected from the Arrangement not being realized; business integration risks; fluctuations in general macro-economic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets and the market price of First Majestic’s shares; fluctuations in the spot and forward price of silver, gold, base metals or certain other commodities (such as natural gas, fuel oil and electricity); fluctuations in the currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar and Mexican peso versus the U.S. dollar); changes in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments in Canada or Mexico; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations, pressures, cave-ins and flooding); and the factors identified under the caption "Risk Factors" in First Majestic’s Annual Information Form, and under the caption "Risk Factors" in Primero’s Annual Information Form.
Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward‐looking statements or information. Although the parties have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. The parties do not intend, and do not assume any obligation, to update these forward‐looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.
Source:First Majestic Silver Corp | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-first-majestic-completes-acquisition-of-primero.html |
LONDON (Reuters) - Iran will react to U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision about the nuclear deal based on its own national interests, its deputy foreign minister said on Tuesday, shortly before Trump announces his final decision on the deal.
“Iran is monitoring U.S. and European stance closely, and will react to U.S. decision based on its own national interests,” Abbas Araqchi was Quote: d as saying by IRNA after a meeting with envoys from France, Britain, Germany and the European Union in Brussels.
Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Hugh Lawson
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nuclear-iran-araghchi/iran-says-will-react-to-trumps-decision-based-on-national-interests-irna-idUSKBN1I929C |
RYE, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LICT Corporation (“LICT” or the “Company”, OTC Pink ®: LICT) is today announcing that its Board of Directors (the “Board”) has increased the Company’s share repurchase authorization. Prior to this increase, there had been 305 shares remaining for repurchase under the Board’s prior authorizations. The Board has now increased that amount by 900 shares to a total of 1,205 shares currently authorized for repurchase by LICT. LICT continues its buyback program because it believes that the current markets under values the long term prospects of the company. LICT intends to buy its shares from time to time in the marketplace as it deems appropriate.
This release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. It should be recognized that such information is based upon assumptions, projections and forecasts which may not prove to be correct or may develop differently from the manner originally expected. Such forward-looking information must be read and interpreted in light of the cautionary statements set forth in documents filed by LICT on its website, www.lictcorp.com .
LICT is a holding company with subsidiaries in telecommunications and multimedia, and actively seeks acquisitions, principally in its existing business areas.
LICT is listed on OTC Pink ® under the symbol “LICT”. Its web address is set forth above.
Release: 18-6
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522006022/en/
LICT Corporation
Robert E. Dolan, 914-921-8821
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Source: LICT Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/business-wire-lict-corporation-increases-share-repurchase-program.html |
ROME (Reuters) - Pressure on Italy’s prime minister-designate and president over who should be a member of government is “unacceptable”, a source close to the president said on Thursday, after repeated calls by party leaders for the naming of a eurosceptic economy minister.
President Sergio Mattarella invited little-known law professor Giuseppe Conte to form a government on Wednesday. But Mattarella’s aides also made it known he did not want the economist Paolo Savona to become economy minister.
On Thursday, the leaders of the 5-Star Movement and League parties that are backing the nascent coalition government defended Savona and said they wanted him in the cabinet.
It’s “unacceptable” that there be any sort of “diktat” that limits the powers of the president and prime minister-designate to choose the members of the future government, the source said.
Reporting by Massimiliano Di Giorgio; writing by Steve Scherer
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-ministers/pressure-on-italian-president-pm-over-ministers-unacceptable-source-close-to-president-idUSKCN1IP2K6 |
April 30 (Reuters) - UK’S OFFICIAL RECEIVER -
* 36 CARILLION EMPLOYEES, WHOSE POSITIONS ARE NO LONGER REQUIRED WILL LEAVE BUSINESS LATER THIS WEEK
* IN TOTAL, TO DATE 11,450 JOBS HAVE BEEN SAVED AND 2,257 JOBS HAVE BEEN MADE REDUNDANT THROUGH CARILLION'S LIQUIDATION Source text ( bit.ly/2HGHY0z ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-uks-official-receiver-says-36-cari/brief-uks-official-receiver-says-36-carillion-employees-will-leave-business-later-this-week-idUSFWN1S70GB |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 08, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (“MGX” or the “Company”) (CSE:XMG) (OTCQB:MGXMF) (FSE:1MG) is pleased to announce it has acquired an additional 10,331.32 acres of Oil and Gas Leases (“Leases”) located within the Company’s unitized 80,380-acre Blueberry Unit (“Blueberry Unit”). The newly acquired leases are located within the proposed 3D seismic geophysical survey area, which is scheduled to commence in August and will include approximately 9,000 data points. To date the Company has conducted a paleontology survey and is nearing completion of the archeological survey.
Under terms of the Purchase and Sale Agreement (the “Agreement”), MGX has the option to earn a Net Revenue Interest (“NRI”) on 9,158.4 gross/net acres within the Company’s area of mutual interest. Details of the Agreement are as follows:
Purchase Price of US$145,000. An initial installment of $50,000 has been paid with the remaining installments due on September 5, 2018 ($50,000) and March 5, 2019 ($45,000). Seller delivered 83.0% NRI on 8,481.53 acres, and 82.5% on remaining 677.31 acres. On or before December 15, 2021, MGX will drill a well on the largest of the acquired leases to a TVD of 8,000' or to a depth sufficient to test the Cane Creek Shale (Cycle 21) of the Paradox Formation. MGX has the option to extend the drilling obligation for an additional three years in exchange for payment of an additional $100,000. MGX also has an option to acquire an additional lease covering 1,172.48 acres if and when that lease is issued by the BLM.
The Blueberry Unit (oil, gas and lithium) and Lisbon Valley Claims (lithium) now consists of approximately 115,000 acres of oil and gas leases and 118,000 acres of largely overlying and contiguous mineral claims. Brine content within the Lisbon Valley oilfield have been historically reported as high as 730 ppm lithium (Superior Oil 88-21P).
The Project is being simultaneously explored for oil, gas, lithium and other brine minerals to determine locations for deployment of the Company’s lithium and mineral extraction technology.
Blueberry Unit
MGX is currently earning a 75% working interest in the Project, with the remaining interest primarily controlled by the Paradox Partner. The Paradox Partner has been engaged by MGX as subcontracted operator of the Project. The Project is host to National Instrument (N.I) 51-101 estimated prospective resources (the “Estimate”) consisting of leasehold and royalty interests in San Juan County, Utah and Miguel County. Colorado. The estimate was prepared by the Ryder Scott Company, L.P. (“Ryder Scott”), an independent qualified reserves evaluator within the meaning of N.I. 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities (“NI 51-101”), with an effective date of June 30, 2017. The Estimate was prepared in accordance with N.I. 51-101 and the Canadian Oil and Gas Evaluation.
Estimated Gross Volumes Unrisked Prospective (Recoverable) Hydrocarbon Resources Leasehold Interest in San Juan County, Utah and San Miguel County, Colorado of MGX MINERALS INC. As of June 30,2017 Formation ULTIMATE RECOVERY OIL – MMBO ULTIMATE RECOVERY GAS – BCF COC* LOW BEST HIGH LOW BEST HIGH Paradox Clastics CB2 41.799 59.498 85.324 33.441 47.602 68.266 0.075 CB3 41.915 60.641 85.833 33.536 48.517 68.671 0.075 CB4 12.766 18.745 26.692 10.213 14.781 21.355 0.075 CB5 33.185 48.065 68.841 26.548 38.453 55.074 0.075 CB6 6.603 9.607 13.874 5.283 7.686 11.100 0.045 CB7 1.892 2.735 3.948 1.514 2.188 3.158 0.032 CB8 19.108 27.525 39.079 15.287 22.022 31.264 0.068 CB9 11.452 16.671 23.711 9.162 13.337 18.970 0.068 CB10 14.565 21.169 30.088 11.652 16.936 24.073 0.068 CB11 2.021 2.929 4.244 1.617 2.344 3.396 0.032 CB12 9.352 13.609 19.525 7.482 10.887 15.620 0.045 CB13 9.333 13.158 19.297 7.468 10.815 15.438 0.045 CB14 3.195 4.621 6.634 2.556 3.697 5.308 0.045 CB15 6.455 9.432 13.633 5.164 7.546 10.908 0.045 CB16 2.752 3.987 5.768 2.202 3.190 4.615 0.045 CB17 3.770 5.390 7.835 3.016 4.313 6.269 0.040 CB18 4.673 6.728 9.572 3.739 5.383 7.658 0.045 CB19 16.690 24.226 34.542 13.358 19.381 27.636 0.068 CB20 2.931 4.253 6.118 2.435 3.402 4.895 0.040 CB21
(Cane Creek) 35.336 51.338 73.971 28.272 41.073 59.177 0.097 CB22 5.635 8.261 11.957 4.508 6.609 9.566 0.045 Leadville 1.000 2.100 4.000 153.000 231.700 341.600 0.066 *COC – Chance of Commerciality = Chance of Discovery * Chance of Development
Lisbon Valley and Paradox Basin Geology
The Project is proximate to Lisbon Valley oilfield which has approximately 140 wells. According to production statistics, as reported by the Utah Department of Natural Resources, Oil, Gas and Mining Division, cumulative lifetime production within the Lisbon Valley oilfield has totaled 51.4 million barrels of oil as of June 2017 (“Oil Production by Field, Utah Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil, Gas and Mining”; June 2017; Click Here ). The Paradox Basin has been noted by the USGS as having one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields in the United States (“Assessment of Oil and Gas Resources in the Paradox Basin Province…”; USGS; 2011; Click Here ).
Grant of Options
The Company also announces it has granted 4,100,000 incentive stock options (the “Options”), vesting immediately, in accordance with the terms of the Company’s stock option plan. The Options can be exercised into common shares of the Company at a price of $0.89 per share for a period of three years from the date of grant. Directors and officers of the Company received 2,300,000 of the Options granted.
About MGX Minerals
MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com .
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information or (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com .
Contact Information Jared Lazerson President and CEO Telephone: 1.604.681.7735 Web: www.mgxminerals.com
Source:MGX Minerals Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/globe-newswire-mgx-minerals-acquires-additional-10000-acres-of-oil-and-gas-rights-at-paradox-basin-utah-petrolithium-project.html |
May 29, 2018 / 6:18 PM / Updated an hour ago UPDATE 1-Golf-U.S. Women's Open preparations hampered by torrential rain Reuters Staff
* Some players yet to play practice round (Updates with quotes)
By Andrew Both
SHOAL CREEK, Ala., May 29 (Reuters) - Officials will have little choice but to allow players to use preferred lies at this week’s U.S. Women’s Open, Lexi Thompson said on Tuesday as rain kept the Shoal Creek course closed.
It was already damp in places before being hit by subtropical storm Alberto which dumped torrential rain on the course overnight and into Tuesday morning, turning parts of it into a sloppy bog.
Many of the top players managed a full practice round on Monday, but late arrivals among the 156-woman field who did not get that opportunity will go into Thursday’s first round lacking familiarity with the par-72 layout.
The U.S. Golf Association (USGA) is famously reluctant to allow preferred lies, a rule under which players can lift, clean and place their balls except when in the rough.
The rule is often used in wet conditions at regular tournaments in the interests of fairness, so that players can wipe mud from their balls. It also often allows for a speedy resumption after a rain delay.
“I would think that they would have to play the ball up,” American world number three Thompson said on Tuesday, meaning preferred lies.
“I played it yesterday and it was pretty wet in some spots and some of the fairways are a little bare in some spots.
“The rain has not helped that situation... so I think it will be a little unfair if they don’t.”
But world number one Park In-bee sounded ready to play the ball as it lies.
“I’ll be surprised if they play lift, clean and place,” said the 2008 and 2013 winner.
“Coming into the U.S. Women’s Open, I always try to play the ball with mud or try to play with wet ground conditions because we’ve never played lift, clean and place,” said the South Korean.
“We just play from wherever it is and however the condition is. These are probably the wettest conditions I have ever seen in the U.S. Women’s Open. We don’t know how bad it’s going to be.”
USGA officials were scheduled to issue an update on the course condition later on Tuesday.
South Korean Park Sung-hyun is the defending champion at Shoal Creek, which last hosted a men’s major in 1990, when Australian Wayne Grady won the PGA Championship. (Reporting by Andrew Both; Editing by Christian Radnedge and Ken Ferris) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/golf-women-uschamp/update-1-golf-u-s-womens-open-preparations-hampered-by-torrential-rain-idINL5N1T0669 |
A daily digest of The Wall Street Journal’s coverage of energy companies, commodity markets and the forces that shape them. Send us tips, suggestions and complaints: [email protected] Sign up for this newsletter: http://on.wsj.com/EnergyJournalSignup LOOMING IRAN DECISION PUTS FLOOR IN OIL MARKET Growing expectations the U.S. will pull out of the Iran nuclear deal by a self-imposed May 12 deadline WSJ Wealth Adviser Briefing: Bitcoin, Portfolio Tweaks, Big Gulps Next Investors Bet on a Faster Fed | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2018/05/03/energy-journal-oil-prices-steady-as-deadline-on-iran-nuclear-deal-nears/ |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Conservatives in the U.S. House of Representatives have told their Republican leaders a farm bill vote scheduled for Friday should not happen until they are given a chance to consider an immigration bill.
U.S. Representative Jim Jordan (R-OH) walks into a Speaker's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas “We don’t think there should be a farm bill vote until we deal with immigration,” Representative Jim Jordan, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, told Reuters, adding they have relayed the message to leadership.
The Freedom Caucus has about 30 members in the 435-seat House and they have been pushing for consideration of a conservative immigration bill. If caucus members oppose the farm bill, it could derail its chances in the Republican-controlled chamber, where Democrats oppose it for changes it would make to nutrition assistance programs.
Reporting By Richard Cowan, Susan Cornwell and Amanda Becker; Editing by Chris Reese
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-congress-farmbill/farm-bill-prospects-in-u-s-house-clouded-by-immigration-debate-idUSKCN1II2W2 |
The firm’s Global Transaction Advisory Group Expands in France to Meet Local Market Demand and address growing cross-border M&A requirements
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leading global professional services firm Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) has announced the appointment of four Paris-based Managing Directors, Jonathan Gibbons, Guillaume Martinez, Frederic Steiner and Donatien Chenu, to the firm’s Global Transaction Advisory Group. These appointments advance A&M’s strategic expansion plans to meet local market demand in France, enhance its cross-border M&A offering and help clients address increasingly complex regional, European and global regulatory requirements.
The addition of Messrs. Gibbons, Martinez, Steiner and Chenu, all formerly with one of the Big Four in France, completes the latest phase of A&M’s European strategic growth plan following the launch of the firm’s Stockholm office and Nordics expansion in 2017 that added to existing transaction advisory activities in the U.K., Germany, and Netherlands. They will bolster A&M’s suite of integrated global transaction advisory services that provide clients with a differentiated offering for due diligence and transaction advisory requirements.
A&M’s market share continues to expand with the firm’s European practices experiencing strong growth over the past two years leading to work on a range of flagship European private equity deals. With A&M’s operational focus and market leading capabilities in Private Equity and Corporate Performance Improvement, A&M is uniquely placed to provide a differentiated approach to due diligence and take on the challenges of current market conditions faced by clients.
Antonio "Tony" Alvarez III , Managing Director and A&M’s European Practice lead, said, “These appointments support our global expansion strategy along with our capability building plans in France and Europe. New audit regulation and rotation rules are impacting the provision of non-audit services and generating greater conflicts in providing those services to clients. As growing numbers of Big Four professionals across Europe look beyond the traditional firms, A&M’s platform is acknowledged to be less restrictive enabling greater access for practice growth.”
Paul Aversano , Managing Director and Global Practice Leader of A&M’s Global Transaction Advisory Group, said, “The growth of our transaction advisory presence in France supports the firm’s commitment to meet local market needs and global market M&A demands with our unique and differentiated approach. These appointments are the latest of several growth areas in France and Europe for A&M to enable us to continue our European expansion.”
Managing Director and European Practice Lead with A&M’s Transaction Advisory Group, David Evans , added, “Jonathan’s, Guillaume’s, Frederic’s, and Donatien’s in-depth knowledge advances our ability to help private equity firms and corporate clients maximize value on a pan-European basis. We expect the French team to grow rapidly as client needs continue to escalate.”
Tarek Hosni , the France country leader and Managing Director with A&M Paris, stated, “The addition of these senior transaction professionals will enable us to increase our scale and service for French private equity firms as well as France based multinationals. A leading protagonist of positive transformation in France, we now also intend to deliver in France our internationally recognized expertise in transaction advisory services. This marks the start of our future growth plans for A&M France.”
A&M’s new Transaction Advisory Managing Directors have extensive cross-border and global transaction experience working with private equity and multi-national corporations throughout Europe and the world. The team’s collective experience spans numerous sectors including TMT, manufacturing, retail and consumer goods and financial services. For more information on Messrs. Gibbons, Martinez, Steiner and Chenu, please click on the links to their bios below:
Jonathan Gibbons
Guillaume Martinez
Frederic Steiner
Donatien Chenu
About Alvarez & Marsal
Companies, investors and government entities around the world turn to Alvarez & Marsal (A&M) when conventional approaches are not enough to make change and achieve results. Privately held since its founding in 1983, A&M is a leading global professional services firm that provides advisory, business performance improvement and turnaround management services.
With over 3000 people across four continents, we deliver tangible results for corporates, boards, private equity firms, law firms and government agencies facing complex challenges. Our senior leaders, and their teams, help organizations transform operations, catapult growth and accelerate results through decisive action. Comprised of experienced operators, world-class consultants, former regulators and industry authorities, A&M leverages its restructuring heritage to turn change into a strategic business asset, manage risk and unlock value at every stage of growth.
When action matters, find us at alvarezandmarsal.com . Follow A&M on LinkedIn , Twitter and Facebook .
Note to Editor:
About Alvarez & Marsal Global Transaction Advisory Group
A&M’s Global Transaction Advisory Group provides investors and lenders the answers needed to get the deal done. We combine our firm’s deep operational, industry and functional resources with Big Four-quality financial accounting and tax expertise to assess key deal drivers and focus on the root cause of any critical deal issues. As the largest transaction advisory practice outside the Big Four, our global integrated teams help private equity, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and hedge funds as well as corporate acquirers unlock value across the investment lifecycle.
The firm’s Global Transaction Advisory Group includes over 350 professionals in 22 offices throughout the U.S., Latin America, Europe, India and Asia. Our global team has extensive industry knowledge across multiple sectors including, but not limited to, dedicated industry verticals in healthcare, software & technology, energy and financial services.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180515005088/en/
Alvarez & Marsal
Helene Willberg, +46 70 589 9763
Managing Director
or
Sandra Sokoloff, +1 212-763-9853
Senior Director of Global Public Relations
or
Margaret Cameron-Waller, +44 (0)207 7155202
Director of Marketing U.K. & Europe
Source: Alvarez & Marsal | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/business-wire-alvarez-marsal-appoints-four-new-managing-directors-in-its-paris-office.html |
MINNEAPOLIS, May 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GWG Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:GWGH), a financial services company committed to transforming the life insurance industry through innovative products and services, today announced its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Highlights for the Quarter
Realized $15 million in face value of policy benefits from its portfolio of life insurance assets, the sixth consecutive quarter that benefits realized exceeded premiums paid on a trailing twelve month (TTM) basis. Reported a total portfolio of $1.76 billion in face value of policy benefits at quarter end. Announced the successful completion of our $150 million Series 2 Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering. Announced the launch of a new digital MGA insurtech initiative using M-Panel technology. Strategic investment in The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. expected to close in the second quarter.
“Thus far in 2018 we have continued to build and refine the key components that we believe are necessary to create value for all of our stakeholders,” said Jon Sabes, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “These include a growing balance sheet with sufficient liquidity to support our growth plans, a highly rated portfolio of life insurance policies which is nearing the milestone of one thousand insured lives, a pending transaction with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. that we believe will provide additional equity and a diversified earnings stream, and a leading position in applying advanced epigenetic technology to the global life insurance industry. While, in the short term, our insurtech initiatives may challenge our financial results, over the long term they should become a key element that, in conjunction with our other businesses, provide our company an optimal blend of high growth opportunity and earnings stability.”
1. Financial & Operating Highlights
($ Thousands except per share information) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Revenue $ 14,542 $ 20,088 Expenses 23,720 20,134 Per Share Data 1 : Net Income (Loss) 2 (2.22 ) (0.32 ) Adjusted Non-GAAP Net Income 3,4 0.46 1.33 Capital Raised 78,526 52,048 Liquidity 5 170,068 107,000 Life Insurance Portfolio 6 1,758,066 1,447,558 Life Insurance Acquired 6 94,353 104,755 Life Insurance Realized 6 14,504 18,975 TTM Benefits / Premiums 7 113.3 % 112.7 % Attributable to common shareholders Per basic and fully diluted share outstanding Per fully diluted share outstanding See Non-GAAP Financial Measures below Includes cash, restricted cash and policy benefits receivable as of March 31, 2018 and 2017 Face amount of policy benefits The ratio of policy benefits realized to premiums paid on a trailing twelve month (TTM) basis
Total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $14.5 million, compared to $20.1 million in the first quarter of 2017 due to the following factors: Lower net gain realized on life insurance policy benefits of $5.0 million (on maturities of $14.5 million) in the first quarter of 2018 as compared to net gain realized of $7.8 million (on maturities of $19.0) in the first quarter of 2017. Lower unrealized gain from policy acquisitions of $7.0 million for the quarter versus $10.6 million in the first quarter of 2017 reflecting lower policy acquisition volume due to continued price competition in the broker market. A charge of $4.9 million related to the fair value impact of updating life expectancy estimates on certain policies in our portfolio versus a charge of $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Total expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $23.7 million, compared to $20.1 million in the first quarter of 2017. The increase was due to the following factors: Increased interest expense of $2.8 million due to increase in average debt outstanding and interest rates on our senior credit facility. Increased compensation expense of $0.4 million. Total expenses excluding interest and fees were higher by $0.8 million versus the first quarter of 2017.
2. Life Insurance Portfolio Statistics
Portfolio Summary:
Total portfolio face value of policy benefits $ 1,758,066,000 Average face value per policy $ 1,866,000 Average face value per insured life $ 2,088,000 Average age of insured (yrs.)* 81.9 Average life expectancy estimate (yrs.)* 6.9 Total number of policies 942 Number of unique lives 842 Demographics 75% Males; 25% Females Number of smokers 37 Largest policy as % of total portfolio 0.75 % Average policy as % of total portfolio 0.11 % Average annual premium as % of face value 2.88 %
Distribution of Policies and Benefits by Current Age of Insured:
Percentage of Total Min Age Max Age Policies Policy Benefits Wtd. Avg.
Life
Expectancy
(yrs.)* Number of
Policies Policy
Benefits 95 100 11 16,154,000 1.3 1.2 % 0.9 % 90 94 102 194,996,000 2.8 10.8 % 11.1 % 85 89 203 440,490,000 4.9 21.6 % 25.1 % 80 84 206 447,747,000 6.6 21.9 % 25.5 % 75 79 181 320,696,000 8.9 19.2 % 18.2 % 70 74 167 258,110,000 10.7 17.7 % 14.7 % 60 69 72 79,873,000 9.6 7.6 % 4.5 % Total 942 1,758,066,000 6.9 100.0 % 100.0 % * Averages presented in the tables above are weighted averages by face amount of policy benefit
3. Life Insurance Policy Origination
Life Insurance Portfolio Activity:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Total policy benefits purchased $ 94,353,000 $ 104,755,000 Total life insurance policies purchased 59 73 Average policy benefit purchased $ 1,599,000 $ 1,435,000 Direct policy benefits purchased $ 5,000,000 $ 23,505,000 Direct insurance policies purchased 11 20
The Company continued the restructuring of its business development and sales teams to effectuate the D100 strategy to originate or purchase 100 percent of its life insurance policies directly from consumers by working with life insurance professionals. Life insurance policy purchases rebounded somewhat in the first quarter of 2018 but were still lower versus the first quarter of 2017 reflecting continued high levels of price competitiveness in the broker market. The Company expects this to continue throughout 2018 and until we find success with our D100 strategy. The Company continues to see strong interest in its value proposition from major participants in the independent life insurance distribution hierarchy, and recently increased policy submissions from these direct channels. “We are encouraged by an increasing direct origination pipeline and plan to increase the sales rollout to this distribution hierarchy in 2018, but recognize that pull-through to scaled policy purchases will take additional time,” Sabes said.
4. Strategic Investment in The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.
On January 18, 2018, the Company entered into a Master Exchange Agreement to govern a strategic relationship with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. (BEN), among others, that we expect will provide us with a significant increase in our assets, common shareholder equity and earnings.
The material terms and conditions of the Master Exchange Agreement were described in GWG Holdings’ Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 18, 2018. Under the Master Exchange Agreement, we, on the one hand, and BEN, among others, on the other hand, could terminate the Master Exchange Agreement prior to the closing under certain circumstances, including if the conditions to closing of the transaction had not been fulfilled by April 30, 2018 (the “Closing Conditions Date”).
On April 30, 2018, the Company entered into a First Amendment to amend the Master Exchange Agreement to extend the Closing Conditions Date until June 30, 2018. The parties continue to work together to complete the remaining closing conditions and anticipate closing in the second quarter of 2018.
5. Insurtech Initiative
The Company’s insurtech subsidiary, Life Epigenetics Inc., continues to position itself as a leader in the research, testing and application of epigenetics to human mortality prediction and life insurance underwriting. “We have taken several important steps in readying for market critical elements of our mortality-predicting M-Panel technology,” Sabes said. “In addition, we have developed the ability to identify tobacco and alcohol use through epigenetic analysis and are taking steps to create a digital MGA that will allow consumers to avail themselves of the benefits of M-Panel technology when purchasing life insurance. Passing these milestones and initiating additional business models around M-Panel technology will move us rapidly towards bringing life insurance underwriting into the modern era and transforming the global life insurance value chain.”
First Quarter 2018 Insurtech Highlights:
CEO Jon Sabes has written a chapter in “The Insurtech Book” to be published May 14 by international publisher John Wiley and Sons about his experience licensing the lifespan prediction technology from UCLA and its potential to change the life insurance and financial service industries. Life Epigenetics has developed breakthroughs in identifying tobacco and alcohol use through the analysis of epigenetic material. This capability represents a major change in how life insurance will be underwritten and sold. The Company announced the formation of a digital MGA initiative that will put the Company at the forefront of using advanced technology for life insurance underwriting.
6. Additional Information
A) Gain on Life Insurance Policies:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Change in estimated probabilistic cash flows $ 19,005,000 $ 14,034,000 Unrealized gain on acquisitions 6,974,000 10,602,000 Premiums and other fees paid (12,197,000 ) (11,090,000 ) Change in discount rates - - Change in life expectancy evaluation (4,868,000 ) (1,942,000 ) Face value of matured policies 14,504,000 18,975,000 Fair value of matured policies (9,549,000 ) (11,179,000 ) Gain on life insurance policies $ 13,869,000 $ 19,400,000
B) Policy Benefits Realized and Premiums Paid (TTM):
Quarter End Date Portfolio
Face Amount ($) 12-Month
Trailing
Benefits Realized 12-Month
Trailing Premiums Paid 12-Month
Trailing
Benefits/Premium
Coverage
Ratio March 31, 2015 754,942,000 46,675,000 23,786,000 196.2 % June 30, 2015 806,274,000 47,125,000 24,348,000 193.5 % September 30, 2015 878,882,000 44,482,000 25,313,000 175.7 % December 31, 2015 944,844,000 31,232,000 26,650,000 117.2 % March 31, 2016 1,027,821,000 21,845,000 28,771,000 75.9 % June 30, 2016 1,154,798,000 30,924,000 31,891,000 97.0 % September 30, 2016 1,272,078,000 35,867,000 37,055,000 96.8 % December 31, 2016 1,361,675,000 48,452,000 40,239,000 120.4 % March 31, 2017 1,447,558,000 48,189,000 42,753,000 112.7 % June 30, 2017 1,525,363,000 49,295,000 45,414,000 108.5 % September 30, 2017 1,622,627,000 53,742,000 46,559,000 115.4 % December 31, 2017 1,676,148,000 64,719,000 52,263,000 123.8 % March 31, 2018 1,758,066,000 60,248,000 53,169,000 113.3 %
Webcast Details
Management will host a webcast on Monday, May 14 at 4:30 pm Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial and operating results. The webcast will be on a listen-only mode that will give viewers access to PowerPoint slides that illustrate points made during the webcast. Questions can be asked of the Company’s presenters via the webcast control panel and will be answered at the end of the presentation. The webcast can be accessed at http://get.gwgh.com/earningswebcast .
A replay of the webcast will be available at http://get.gwgh.com/earningscall-5-14-2018 .
About GWG Holdings, Inc.
GWG Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:GWGH) is a financial services company committed to transforming the life insurance industry through innovative products and services. The Company was founded to earn non-correlated returns from life insurance assets and create opportunities for consumers to obtain significantly more value for their life insurance policies from the secondary market compared to the traditional options offered by the insurance industry. The Company is extending its business in the life insurance industry through the application of advanced epigenetic technology. Since 2006, the Company has provided seniors over $498 million in value for their life insurance and owns a portfolio of $1.76 billion in face value of policy benefits as of March 31, 2018.
For more information about GWG Holdings, email [email protected] or visit www.gwgh.com .
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "would," "target" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about our estimates regarding future revenue and financial performance. The Company may not actually achieve the expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements the Company makes. More information about potential factors that could affect our business and financial results is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information will also be set forth in our future quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.
Media Contacts:
Dan Callahan
Director of Communication
GWG Holdings, Inc.
(612) 746-1935
[email protected]
GWG HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 (unaudited) A S S E T S Cash and cash equivalents $ 141,212,907 $ 114,421,491 Restricted cash 16,552,256 28,349,685 Investment in life insurance policies, at fair value 687,389,479 650,527,353 Secured MCA advances 1,639,818 1,661,774 Life insurance policy benefits receivable 12,302,730 16,658,761 Other assets 7,402,317 7,237,110 TOTAL ASSETS $ 866,499,507 $ 818,856,174 L I A B I L I T I E S & S T O C K H O L D E R S’ E Q U I T Y LIABILITIES Senior credit facility with LNV Corporation $ 209,447,613 $ 212,238,192 L Bonds 469,729,977 447,393,568 Accounts payable 3,611,900 6,394,439 Interest and dividends payable 15,896,267 15,427,509 Other accrued expenses 4,066,763 3,730,723 TOTAL LIABILITIES $ 702,752,520 $ 685,184,431 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK (par value $0.001; shares authorized 100,000; shares outstanding 98,358 and
98,611; liquidation preference of $98,932,000 and $99,186,000 as of March 31,
2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 90,915,026 92,840,243 SERIES 2 REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK (par value $0.001; shares authorized 150,000; shares outstanding 134,951 and
88,709; liquidation preference of $135,712,000 and $89,208,000 as of March
31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 121,454,205 80,275,204 COMMON STOCK (par value $0.001: shares authorized 210,000,000; shares issued and outstanding
5,813,555 as of both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017) 5,813 5,813 Additional paid-in capital - - Accumulated deficit (48,628,057 ) (39,449,517 ) TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY 163,746,987 133,671,743 TOTAL LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 866,499,507 $ 818,856,174
GWG HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 REVENUE Gain on life insurance policies, net $ 13,868,745 $ 19,399,819 MCA income 66,810 246,577 Interest and other income 606,117 441,949 TOTAL REVENUE 14,541,672 20,088,345 EXPENSES Interest expense 16,063,337 13,244,215 Employee compensation and benefits 3,742,669 3,163,062 Legal and professional fees 1,173,629 946,348 Other expenses 2,740,577 2,780,322 TOTAL EXPENSES 23,720,212 20,133,947 INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES (9,178,540 ) (45,602 ) INCOME TAX EXPENSE (BENEFIT) - (500 ) NET INCOME (LOSS) (9,178,540 ) (45,102 ) Preferred stock dividends 3,704,484 1,867,760 NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS $ (12,883,024 ) $ (1,912,862 ) NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE Basic $ (2.22 ) $ (0.32 ) Diluted $ (2.22 ) $ (0.32 ) WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING Basic 5,813,555 5,912,946 Diluted 5,813,555 5,912,946 Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures for evaluating financial results, planning and forecasting, and maintaining compliance with covenants contained in borrowing agreements. The application of current GAAP (generally accepted account principals) standards during a period of significant growth in the Company’s business, in which period the Company is building a large and actuarially diverse portfolio of life insurance, results in current period operating performance that may not be reflective of the Company’s long-term earnings potential. Management believes that the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures permit investors to better focus on this long-term earnings performance without regard to the volatility in GAAP financial results that can occur during this phase of growth.
Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the Company are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide an alternative method for assessing our financial condition and operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, including other companies within our industry. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable amounts prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP to the non-GAAP financial measures described above can be found below.
Adjusted Non-GAAP Net Income . The Company calculates adjusted non-GAAP net income by recognizing the actuarial gain accruing within our life insurance policies at the expected internal rate of return of the policies it owns without regard to fair value. The Company nets this actuarial gain against our adjusted costs during the same period to calculate our net income on an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 GAAP net loss attributable to common shareholders $ (12,883,000 ) $ (1,913,000 ) Unrealized fair value gain (1) (16,645,000 ) (13,884,000 ) Adjusted cost basis increase (2) 25,997,000 21,722,000 Accrual of unrealized actuarial gain (3) 6,601,000 4,910,000 Total adjusted Non-GAAP net income attributable to common shareholders $ 3,070,000 $ 10,835,000 Non-GAAP net income per share: Basic 0.53 1.83 Diluted 0.46 1.33 Average shares outstanding: Basic 5,813,555 5,912,946 Diluted 7,699,287 8,689,649 Reversal of unrealized GAAP fair value gain on life insurance policies for current period. Adjusted cost basis is increased to include interest, premiums and servicing fees that are expensed under GAAP (non-GAAP Investment Cost Basis). Accrual of actuarial gain at the expected internal rate of return based on the non-GAAP Investment Cost Basis for the applicable period.
Source:GWG Holdings, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/globe-newswire-gwg-holdings-reports-results-for-first-quarter-ended-march-31-2018.html |
Published: May 13, 2018 10:34 a.m. ET Share
A rush of creditors trying to seize assets has disrupted Venezuela’s oil exports at a time when they already are plunging AFP/Getty Images Venezuelan oil exports are tanking
By Spencer Jakab
Death spiral is an overused term, but it is justified when describing Venezuela’s oil industry right now. Energy consumers and investors should pay attention.
Though production at national oil company Petróleos de Venezuela SA has been falling fast, investors have assumed the company could keep global markets supplied and keep hard currency flowing to the country. Those assumptions are starting to unravel.
ConocoPhillips COP, +0.56% has moved to take control of PdVSA facilities in the Caribbean after winning a $2 billion legal judgment tied to Venezuela’s seizure of its assets in 2007. That move alone hurts Venezuela because that storage and refining infrastructure is needed to blend the country’s heavy crude with lighter varieties and make it suitable for sale abroad. Energy economist Philip Verleger estimates the issue could cut off exports of as much as 500,000 barrels a day out of the 1.4 million Venezuela produces. Coupled with renewed sanctions on Iran, the cutback could push oil prices CLM8, -1.19% LCON8, -0.37% above the current multiyear highs.
Now Conoco’s gambit has set off a rush by others to seize the assets that PdVSA holds outside of Venezuela, including tankers and oil cargoes. Canadian gold miner Rusoro, for example, is going after Citgo Holding, the Venezuelan-owned U.S. refiner. Citgo is a vital link to the U.S. market for Venezuela and one of its only assets not shielded by being physically within its borders. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/venezuelas-oil-meltdown-is-getting-worse-1526220000?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=1?mod+mktw |
ROME (Reuters) - Italy should hold a repeat election on July 8 if no last-minute deal can be reached to form a new government following an inconclusive vote two months ago, the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and the far-right League said on Monday.
League leader Matteo Salvini and 5-Star chief Luigi Di Maio proposed the date after a face-to-face meeting in parliament, as President Sergio Mattarella holds a final round of consultations to try to broker a political deal between the parties.
Reporting By Gavin Jones
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics-election/italys-league-5-star-say-july-8-best-date-for-repeat-election-idUSKBN1I81CV |
May 30, 2018 / 10:16 AM / Updated 3 hours ago TherapeuticsMD's therapy for menopause-related condition gets approval Tamara Mathias 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Women’s healthcare company TherapeuticsMD Inc won its first-ever U.S. approval on Wednesday with the drug regulator clearing its hormone therapy for a painful condition triggered by menopause after rejecting it a year earlier. A view shows the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed/File Photo
The company’s shares were volatile, oscillating between gains and losses. They had risen more than 50 percent since the U.S. FDA declined to approve the treatment and then agreed to let the company reapply without a new study.
“Given the drug’s review history and apparent market skepticism as to its approvability, the FDA’s decision should be viewed as a major event,” Cantor Fitzgerald analyst William Tanner said.
The treatment, Imvexxy, has been approved for use in two doses to treat moderate-to-severe dyspareunia, or vaginal pain associated with sex, but comes with a black box warning, the regulator’s strictest, flagging risks of cardiovascular disorders, probable dementia and endometrial and breast cancers.
On a call with analysts, Chief Executive Officer Robert Finizio said the drug’s label was better than expected, despite the warning.
Dyspareunia is a symptom of vulvar and vaginal atrophy, a condition triggered by the loss of female hormone estrogen after menopause that the company estimates affect about 32 million women in the United States.
The company said its 4 mcg dose is set to be the lowest available on the market, at a time when the FDA is pushing for lower doses of hormone therapies.
“When you have the lowest effective dose, that’s a huge advantage,” Finizio said.
Imvexxy is expected to bring in peak U.S. sales of $650 million by 2032, according to an estimate by Jefferies analyst Matthew Andrews.
The company, which plans to conduct a post-approval observational study, plans to price Imvexxy on a par with currently available treatments.
Imvexxy is delivered through a softgel capsule inserted into the vagina, distinguishing it from competing products including Allergan Plc’s Estrace cream and NovoNordisk’s Vagifem insert.
The approval also turns the spotlight on TherapeuticsMD’s second hormone therapy, TX-001, which analysts expect to be approved by October.
TX-001, which will treat menopause symptoms, particularly hot flashes, is already being seen as a potential blockbuster by analysts.
Imvexxy and TX-001 are expected to rake in revenue of $112 million in 2019, according to Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Tanner. Reporting by Tamara Mathias in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-therapeuticsmd-fda/fda-approves-therapeuticsmds-hormone-therapy-idUSKCN1IV16D |
HENNIGSDORF, Germany and SAN DIEGO, May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
sphingotec GmbH will offer its next-generation sepsis, heart failure and acute kidney injury biomarkers penKid® and bio-ADM® on NEXUS IB 10 point-of-care (POC) testing platform, originally developed by Nexus Dx penKid® and bio-ADM® are first-in-class biomarkers to diagnose and monitor real-time kidney function and endothelial dysfunction which lead to shock in sepsis and congestion in acute heart failure POC testing of penKid® and bio-ADM® is set to add significant clinical benefit to emergency departments and intensive care units allowing on-site diagnosis, monitoring, and guidance in therapies of sepsis, decongestion in heart failure and acute kidney injury, thereby improving outcomes in acute heart failure, sepsis and other acute settings
German diagnostics company sphingotec GmbH (Hennigsdorf) and Nexus Dx (San Diego) have combined their technology platforms to market sphingotec's CE-marked acute biomarkers penKid® and bio-ADM® on Nexus' market-validated POC testing immunoassay platform IB10 to substantially improve decision-making in emergency departments (EDs) and intensive care units (ICUs).
This merger of technologies under the jointly owned holding company Polaris MediNet, LLC. allows emergency physicians for the first time to predict and monitor septic shock, monitor kidney function in acute settings and to monitor and diagnose congestion, including residual congestion - the major reason for re-hospitalization and post-discharge mortality in acute heart failure (AHF) - in emergency departments within a few minutes from whole blood without any sample preparation.
Each year, eight million people die from sepsis, 700,000 thereof by acute kidney injury (AKI). Sepsis causes $24 billion in direct annual costs for the U.S. healthcare system while acute heart failure's annual cost of $31 billion is expected to double by 2030. Details of the transaction are subject to confidentiality.
The capability of bio-ADM® to predict circulatory shock in sepsis patients and to predict and monitor residual, diuretic-resistant congestion has been clinically proven by sphingotec in clinical studies with over 20,000 Asian and Caucasian patients [1][2][3] . Furthermore, the functional kidney marker, penKid®, has been shown to predict, diagnose and monitor kidney dysfunction [4][5][6] . penKid® is a real-time surrogate marker for true (actual) kidney function (true GFR) allowing emergency physicians to timely monitor real-time kidney function in acute settings.
The Nexus IB10 POC platform is an easy-to-handle POC system, allowing the detection of biomarkers from whole blood with accuracy and precision. Thus, it is a great tool to bring valuable biomarkers to the physicians in ED and ICU.
"We are delighted to shortly start European distribution of our acute care biomarkers for therapy monitoring and adjustment on a great POC testing platform," said Dr. Andreas Bergmann, founder and CEO of sphingotec GmbH.
"The addition of sphingotec's next-generation biomarkers to the IB10 platform will allow the timely introduction of a complete solution for the hospital acute point of care market in AKI, AHF and sepsis diagnosis and monitoring," said Nam Shin, CEO of Nexus Dx Inc.
About sphingotec GmbH: sphingotec GmbH develops innovative biomarkers for diagnosis, prediction and monitoring of acute medical conditions, such as acute heart failure, acute kidney injury and circulatory shock, in order to support patient management and provide guidance for treatment strategies. Furthermore, sphingotec develops biomarkers for the risk prediction of common diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and breast cancer, in order to support prevention strategies.
About Nexus Dx Inc.: Nexus Dx, is a global provider of Near Patient Testing systems and advanced diagnostic solutions. The company is improving patient care by providing the medical community with rapid and reliable information at the point of care (POC), delivering patient information when and where it is needed most. The company has invested over $160 million to develop and market the IB10 analyzer system, a disc-based microfluidic immunoassay platform in which a rotating disk automatically separates plasma from whole blood for further analyses. Results of POC testing of troponin I, a cardiac Tnl/CK-MB/Myoglobin panel, NT-proBNP, NT-proBNP/Troponin I and a D-dimer Test are available within 20 minutes.
About Polaris MediNet, LLC: Polaris MediNet (San-Diego) is a holding company jointly owned by Nam Shin, CEO of Nexus Dx and sphingotec GmbH.
About penKid®: penKid® is the very first functional kidney marker that works in plasma, is independent from comorbidities and inflammation and provides timely information about the changing kidney function in critically ill patients. sphingotest® penKid® is non-inferior to the gold standard in vivo measurement of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and penKid® indicates two days earlier than the gold standard serum creatinine in patients developing acute kidney injury (AKI). These features enable physicians to predict, diagnose and closely monitor worsening and improving kidney function in critically ill patients. In congestive heart failure, penKid® allows to adjust diuretics dosage to the situation in individual patients.
About bio-ADM®: As a marker of acute vascular dysfunction, bio-ADM® enables both prediction of circulatory shock 48 h before blood pressure breakdown, e.g. in septic patients, and diagnosis of diuretic resistant congestion in acute heart failure patients.
A biomarker-assisted diuretics therapy in patients with congestive heart failure/cardio-renal syndrome, by simultaneous measurement of bio-ADM® and penKid®, targets lower re-hospitalization and mortality rates. Since 2017, sphingotest®bio-ADM® and sphingotest®penKid® immunoassays are distributed in Germany and Austria by bestbion Dx and marketed in China under an agreement with Shuwen Biotech Co. Ltd.
About congestive heart failure: About 26 million people globally suffer from congestive heart failure. The characteristic loss of pump function of the heart triggers cardiac remodeling - the heart gets stiffer, fibrotic, and cannot pump enough blood into the circulatory system. The lower pump efficacy causes lower oxygen saturation and results in congestion, which means that blood returning to the heart through the veins backs up, resulting in higher venous pressure and causing fluids to build up in the tissues (edema). About 80% of patients with congestive heart failure are also at risk to develop edema, because their microvasculature becomes leaky due to venous hypertension. Physicians try to prevent the worst case - deadly lung edemas - by administration of loop diuretics, which can reduce hypertension by increasing water excretion. However, not all patients fully respond to diuretics. Incomplete response to diuretics therapy is the most common cause of re-hospitalization and post discharge mortality in patients with congestive heart failure. It's not yet fully understood why patients with congestive heart failure often experience acute kidney injury (AKI). However, there is growing evidence that AKI can be attributed to congestion ("cardio-renal syndrome") and that, vice versa, AKI can trigger heart problems. Management of fluid balance with loop diuretics is challenging - if too much fluid is excreted from tissues, this will support development of AKI. On the other hand, if too little fluid is excreted, lung edemas could return. Besides that, a large proportion of patients with congestive heart failure does not fully respond to diuretics treatment, leading to undetected residual congestion. To date, physicians have no means to identify these patient group at discharge, resulting in high re-hospitalization and post-discharge mortality rates.
Septic shock is defined as a life-threatening organ dysfunction due to dysregulated host response to a proven or suspected infection which leads to a decline of Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP) < 65 mmHg, which is refractory to fluid resuscitation and requires vasopressors. Refractoriness to fluid resuscitation is defined as a lack of response to the administration of 30 mL of fluid per kilogram of body weight or is determined according to a clinician's assessment of inadequate hemodynamic results.
[1] Caironi et. al (2017) Circulating Biologically Active Adrenomedullin (bio-ADM) Predicts Hemodynamic Support Requirement and Mortality During Sepsis
[2] Marino et al. (2014) Plasma adrenomedullin is associated with short therm mortality
[3] Kremer et al. (2017) bio-ADM: a novel marker of congestion in patients with acute heart failure
[4] Beunders et al. (2017) Proenkephalin (PENK) as a Novel Biomarker for Kidney Function
[5] Siong Chan et al. (2018) Proenkephalin in Heart Failure
[6] Ng et al. (2017) Proenkephalin, Renal Dysfunction, and Prognosis in Patients with Acute Heart Failure
Contact
sphingotec GmbH
Neuendorfstr. 15a
16761 Hennigsdorf
Tel. +49-(0)3302 20565-0
[email protected]
http://www.sphingotec.com
SOURCE sphingotec GmbH | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/pr-newswire-sphingotec-is-adding-an-advanced-poc-testing-platform-to-portfolio.html |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Right after Republicans in the U.S. Senate passed their income tax overhaul in December, delivering tax cuts to businesses and most American taxpayers, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was buoyant.
Surrounded by jubilant fellow Republicans, he told reporters, “If we can’t sell this to the American people, we ought to go into another line of work.”
Four months later, McConnell’s attempt at levity could prove prophetic.
The most vulnerable Republican incumbents in the tightest congressional races in the November elections are talking less and less about the tax cuts on Twitter and Facebook, on their campaign and congressional websites and in digital ads, the vital tools of a modern election campaign, a Reuters analysis of their online utterances shows.
All told, the number of tax messages has fallen by 44 percent since January. For several congressmen in tough reelection fights, Steve Knight in California, Jason Lewis in Minnesota, and Don Bacon in Nebraska, messaging is down much more - as much as 72 percent.
Right after the tax law passed, lawmakers piggybacked on a surge of corporate announcements of tax-cut fueled bonuses to employees, wage hikes and job creation plans to tout the benefits of the bill to voters.
As those corporate announcements trailed off in March and April, so did Republican politicians’ messages about tax relief, the Reuters review found. With the exception of a flurry of news releases on or around April 17, when federal tax returns were due, few incumbents kept up the pace. The Reuters review did not capture candidates’ email, direct mail or private conversations with donors or voters or stump speeches.
Most of the 13 Republican incumbents in the most competitive reelection bids, and their aides, declined to answer Reuters’ questions on why they were communicating less online about the tax cuts. But a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted from March 14 to 29 found that just 3 percent of American adults were aware of receiving a material benefit from the Republican legislation.
Ford O’Connell, a Republican strategist, said that is why his party’s candidates need to energize voters by talking about other issues, too, like restricting immigration and stopping Democrats from taking control of the House of Representatives so that they cannot impeach President Donald Trump.
Jesse Hunt, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, acknowledged there “has been a downtick in what voters are hearing from members and businesses on the tax reform front.” He said it was because lawmakers had moved on to other issues.
“Candidates and members need to make sure that they stay focused on what is our signature achievement in this Congress,” Hunt said.
Five of the 13 candidates who did respond to Reuters said they do talk regularly to voters at events.
The Republican tax law sharply cut the corporate tax rate, encouraged corporations to repatriate overseas income at lower rates, and at least temporarily, cut taxes for the wealthy and most other Americans. Many of the benefits to individuals won’t become obvious until they file their tax returns in early 2019, and that is long after the congressional elections.
KOCH SPENDING The election cycle is still in its early stage, so the volume of talk on the tax overhaul could always increase. And even if politicians are reluctant to tout it, conservative financial supporters are showing an eagerness to fill the gap. Billionaires Charles and David Koch are spending $20 million to promote the benefits of the tax cuts in battleground states with digital ads and even door-to-door canvassing.
Some polling results suggest that taxes are not the burning issue for voters that Republicans hoped they would be. A Quinnipiac University poll released in March said only 8 percent of voters thought taxes was the most important issue in deciding how to vote in the congressional elections. It was fifth, behind healthcare, the economy, gun policy and immigration.
It is also harder for Republicans to talk about lower taxes in states with high local taxes like New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia. That also happens to be where 10 of the 17 most competitive congressional races are.
Many taxpayers in those states will pay more in federal taxes because the new law reduces the deduction for state and local tax payments. About one in four Americans expect their state and local income taxes to rise because of the Republican tax law, while only 11 percent expect them to fall, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll.
WHAT THEY DO SAY Barbara Comstock, locked in a tight race for reelection in Virginia’s 10th Congressional District, says she talks about the tax overhaul at campaign events.
The Reuters analysis shows that though she mentioned the benefits of the tax cuts 36 times in January in social media, she did so only 13 times in March and then 22 times in April. She said in an interview that she is reacting to constituents, whose interests have moved on to other issues.
Don Bacon, of Nebraska’s 2nd district, sees economic growth, and the threats posed by North Korea and Islamic State as the election-winning issues for Republicans. “Taxes will be one of the pillars of our campaign, but more indirectly. In the end, it’s going to be about an economy that’s growing.”
Republican Mike Coffman, whose reelection prospects are rated a toss-up in his Denver-area congressional district, has not been visible at all on taxes via social media. But his campaign spokesman, Tyler Sandberg, said Coffman talks about tax cuts regularly with supporters via email and with small business owners.
When they do talk about taxes, Republican candidates prefer to talk about the tax law in the context of how it is really a form of financial assistance to help families cope with college tuition, buy new cars, make mortgage payments, or even pay for summer camp.
Democrats, meanwhile, are attacking the new tax law as a boon for corporations and the wealthy that will add $1.5 trillion to the federal debt over the next decade.
They received some unexpected help from Republican Senator Marco Rubio last week. Rubio, who is not facing re-election this cycle, told the Economist magazine that benefits are going to corporations instead of employees.
“They bought back shares, a few gave out bonuses; there’s no evidence whatsoever that the money’s been massively poured back into the American worker,” he said.
Despite that criticism, some Republican incumbents are still making a determined effort to sell voters on the merits of the new tax law.
Dean Heller, 2018’s most vulnerable Republican senator, has been far and away the most aggressive on tax messaging. He has sent out 380 messages in the first four months of the year, or almost one-third of a total 1,287 messages.
But even his communications have dropped by 44 percent since the end of January.
“Let me be very clear, our campaign moving forward will be based on lower taxes and less regulation,” Heller said in an interview. ”The trend you’ve seen in the first quarter of this year, I assure you, is not going to be the trend over the next six months.”
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump gives remarks on tax cuts for American workers as Richard Kerzetski of Universal Plumbing, North Las Vegas, Nevada, listens during an event in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, U.S., April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo Reporting by David Morgan; Additional reporting by Chris Kahn; Editing by Damon Darlin and Ross Colvin
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election-taxcuts-insight/republicans-in-key-election-races-turn-down-volume-on-trumps-tax-cuts-idUSKBN1I80XB |
8:16 AM EDT
Nothing can last forever, including Warren Buffett’s reign as the king of investing.
At the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting this past weekend, Buffett said four executives had increasingly taken over the day-to-day running of the company, setting each of them up to succeed Buffett when the time comes. Here’s who they are. Greg Abel
Abel is chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy and vice chairman of non-insurance operations, having been promoted in January alongside Ajit Jain. He grew up in Edmonton, Alberta before moving to the U.S. after college. Of the four, Abel may be the most similar to Buffett in temperament and outlook. He reportedly “ has Buffett’s ear ,” and has earned the CEO’s praise for his great, innovative ideas. He also shares the executive’s values, placing a premium on integrity. Ajit Jain
Jain was raised in the Indian state of Orissa and first came to the U.S. to study at Harvard Business School. He was promoted to vice chairman of insurance operations in January alongside Abel. Where Abel matches Buffett’s values and temperament, Jain is praised for his ability to take calculated risk and earn money for the business. Buffett has said that Jain made more money for Berkshire than he himself had, and at one point told shareholders that if another person like Jain came along, they should trade him for Buffett. Todd Combs
Combs is one of two investment managers at Berkshire often mentioned as potential successors to Buffett. A former hedge fund manager, Combs arranged Berkshire’s largest acquisition . In 2016, he was invited to join the board of JP Morgan Chase & Co. after impressing Jamie Dimon. He’s credited with working behind the scenes to spearhead a health care joint venture between Buffett, Dimon, and Jeff Bezos and has been praised for his “indifference” to attention—a trait one Berkshire investor said one would want to see in Buffett’s successor. Ted Weschler
Another Berkshire investment manager in the running is Ted Weschler. Combs and Weschler have had nearly identical performance since they each joined the company in 2010 and 2011, respectively. They have both out-performed the S&P 500 in the course of their tenure at Berkshire, which is better than Buffett himself has done. Still, Weschler is most often mentioned as an also-ran to Combs’s rising star. SPONSORED FINANCIAL CONTENT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/07/warren-buffett-four-successors/ |
ABUJA (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Whenever the all-female Nigerian biker group D’Angels hit the streets, people would stare in amazement at the sight of women on motorbikes. So they made up their minds to use the attention for a good cause.
Enter the Female Bikers Initiative (FBI), which has already provided free breast and cervical cancer screening to 500 women in Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos.
This August, D’Angels and another female biker group in Lagos, Amazon Motorcycle Club, plan to provide free screening to 5,000 women - a significant undertaking in a country where many lack access to proper healthcare.
“What touched us most was the women,” D’Angels co-founder Nnenna Samuila, 39, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone from Lagos.
“Some asked if the bikes really belonged to us. Some asked if they could sit on our bikes. We decided to use the opportunity to do something to touch women’s lives.”
Breast and cervical cancer are huge killers in Nigeria, accounting for half the 100,000 cancer deaths each year, according to the World Health Organization.
Screening and early detection can dramatically reduce the mortality rate for cervical cancer in particular.
But oncologist Omolola Salako, whose Lagos charity partnered with the FBI last year, says there is not enough awareness of the need for screening.
“Among the 600-plus women we have screened since October, about 60 percent were being screened for the first time,” said Dr. Salako, executive director of Sebeccly Cancer Care. “It was the first time they were hearing about it.”
Even if women do know they should be screened, affordability is a barrier, said Salako, whose charity provides the service for free and also raises funds to treat cancer patients.
RAISING AWARENESS This year the bikers will put on a week of awareness-raising and mobile screening, after which free screenings will be available at Sebeccly every Thursday for the rest of the year.
Members of the two clubs and any other female bikers who want to join in will ride through the streets, to schools, malls and other public places, distributing fliers and talking to women about the importance of screening.
“All the bikers turn up,” said Samuila, one of five women on the FBI’s board of trustees. “We just need to tell them, this is the location for the activity, and this is what we need you to do.”
Last year their funds, from private and corporate donors, could only stretch to two mastectomies, and they hope they will be able to sponsor more treatments this year.
“We encourage this person to come, and then she finds out that something is wrong and you abandon her,” said Samuila, a former telecoms executive who now runs her own confectionery and coffee company.
“We would love to be able to follow up with whatever comes out of the testing.”
This is just the latest in a number of projects the bikers have organized.
In 2016 they launched Beyond Limits, a scheme to encourage young girls to fulfill their potential beyond societal expectations of marriage and babies.
They travel to schools to give talks and invite senior women working in science, technology and innovation to take part.
TURNING POINT Samuila formed D’Angels with 37-year-old Jeminat Olumegbon in 2009 after they were denied entry to the established, all-male bikers’ groups in Lagos.
“They didn’t want us. They were like, ‘No, women don’t do this. Women are used to being carried around. Why don’t you guys just be on the sidelines?’ That sort of pissed us off and we then went on to form our own club,” said Samuila.
In 2010, the pair rode from Lagos to the southern city of Port Harcourt to attend a bikers’ event, a 617-km (383-mile) trip that the men had told them was impossible for a woman.
“That was the turning point in our relationship with the male bikers,” said Samuila.
The two-day ride earned them a new respect from the male riders, some of whom now take part in the screening awareness programmes themselves.
In 2015 Olumegbon, also an FBI board member, took on an even bigger challenge riding 20,000 km through eight West African countries in 30 days to raise funds for children in orphanages.
“I’ve been riding since 2007. At first, I was the only female riding, then I found Nnenna and the other girls,” she said.
“Because we started riding, more females decided to look inwards, and decided that they could do so as well.”
The bikers plan to extend their initiative to other parts of Nigeria, and have also received invitations from women riders in other West African countries.
For now though, they want to focus on making sure their efforts reach every woman in Lagos.
“When we speak to people on the streets, many don’t even know of cervical cancer,” said Samuila.
“It’s so painful to hear that so many people are dying from the disease when it can be prevented.”
Reporting by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani, 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 to see more stories.
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-women-bikers-feature/rebels-with-a-cause-the-women-bikers-saving-lives-in-nigeria-idUSKCN1II024 |
HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Opportune LLP , a leading global energy consulting firm, today announced that Jeff Borchers has joined the firm as Managing Director in its Tax practice. Mr. Borchers brings over 20 years of corporate tax, treasury, accounting and legal experience to the firm.
Based in Houston, Jeff’s principle focus will be on transaction services, financial reporting of income taxes and tax compliance.
Prior to joining Opportune, Jeff was with KPMG where he led the Houston practice’s Alternative Investments practice serving private equity firms and portfolio companies in all facets of taxation and signed off on tax provisions for large public company clients. Prior to KPMG, he served as Vice President – Tax & Assistant Treasurer at Willbros Group Inc. where he re-domiciled and restructured the company, reducing its overall effective tax rate, promoted tax compliance across all business units in multiple U.S. and international tax jurisdictions, settled U.S. and international tax disputes, participated in buy-side due diligence and managed Willbros’ cash and covenants under its credit facility during challenging times.
“We are pleased to welcome Jeff to our tax team in Houston,” said Opportune Partner Dean Price. “His expertise in corporate finance, M&A and tax reporting in the energy sector will add significant value to our clients.”
Jeff holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from DePaul University and a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from the John Marshall Law School.
About Opportune LLP
Opportune LLP is a leading global energy consulting firm specializing in adding value to clients across the energy industry, including upstream, midstream, downstream, power, commodities trading and oilfield services. Opportune’s service lines include: chemical engineering, complex financial reporting, dispute resolution, enterprise risk, outsourcing, process and technology, reserve engineering and geosciences, restructuring, strategy and organization, tax, transactional due diligence, and valuation. For more information on Opportune LLP, please visit our website at www.opportune.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514005131/en/
Opportune LLP
Bryan Sims, 713-237-4904
[email protected]
Source: Opportune LLP | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/business-wire-opportune-llp-adds-jeff-borchers-as-managing-director.html |
ABOARD USS HARRY S. TRUMAN (Reuters) - The routine begins with a raised hand waving furiously and ends, like a well-executed ballet, on one knee, arm extended forward and two pointed fingers signaling take-off.
U.S. Navy catapult officers, known as "shooters", are seen amid steam, following the takeoff of an F/A-18 fighter jet from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis The flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman rumbles as a fighter jet loaded with ordnance is catapulted into the sky, leaving behind it a trail of white mist and officers in color-coded jerseys racing back into position for the next aircraft.
“You’ve got to keep your head on the swivel,” said Lieutenant Melvin Gidden, one of the yellow-shirted catapult officers - or shooters - who launch and recover the planes through an elaborate sequence of hand signals.
“It’s busy, it’s jet exhaust blowing around, helicopter rotors twisting and turning and all kinds of stuff that’s going on.”
A U.S. naval strike force led by the Truman began sorties against Islamic State in Syria on Thursday, at the start of its months-long deployment in the Mediterranean Sea.
U.S. Navy catapult officers (in yellow vests), known as "shooters", signal to an F/A-18 fighter jet pilot for a safe take off, aboard the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, May 4, 2018. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis At 1,096-feet (333-metres), it is almost as long as the Empire State Building is tall – a city on the water for its 5,000-member crew.
But it is not like any other city. The 4.5-acre flight deck can hold 90 aircraft, including F/A-18F Super Hornet striker jets. Missiles are carried onto parked jets and sailors run on treadmills in the hangar.
On the deck, just feet away from the aircraft, shooters crouch to avoid being hit by a wing. Then there is the weather.
Slideshow (22 Images) “Sometimes it’s stressful because of the heat, sometimes it’s stressful because of the rain,” Gidden said. “But we’re out there rain, sleet or snow. We’ve got to launch them all.”
Air operations go on for about 12 hours daily and, to maintain rhythm, each pilot flies about once a day.
With such a hectic workplace, keeping spirits high is important - from picking a film for the crew to watch to getting food with the flavor of home on board.
Lieutenant Commander Riley Secrist, who handles food services, said new requests included soy and almond milk.
“Also Italian chocolate is becoming a thing,” he said.
In the galleys, where 18,500 meals are made every day, cooks furiously prepare the day’s menu, scribbled on a whiteboard: grilled chicken barbecue, beef stir fry, veggie medley. Petty Officer First Class Hocaly Pena, who has run a navy kitchen for 15 years, knows well the importance of food.
“If somebody is upset and comes to the line and sees something that they like, it cheers them up a little bit,” he said. “It brings a little bit of home out here.”
Editing by Alison Williams
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-carrier-life/dodging-planes-and-a-taste-of-home-life-on-a-u-s-aircraft-carrier-idUSKBN1IA1MB |
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE American: LTS; LTSL; LTS PrA) (the “Company”) today announced that it has commenced an underwritten registered public offering of senior notes due 2028 (the “Notes”), subject to market and certain other conditions. The Company intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase additional Notes in connection with the offering solely to cover overallotments, if any. The Notes are expected to be listed on the NYSE American and to trade thereon under the symbol “LTSF” within 30 days of the original issue date.
The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes.
Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering and BB&T Capital Markets, a division of BB&T Securities, LLC, Incapital LLC and Barrington Research Associates, Inc., are acting as co-managers for the offering.
The offering will be made pursuant to the Company’s existing shelf registration statement on Form S-3 previously filed with, and declared effective by, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The offering may be made only by means of a prospectus and a related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained from Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., Attn: Syndicate Department, 277 Park Ave, 26th Floor, New York, NY 10172, or by emailing [email protected] (telephone number 1-800-573- 2541). The preliminary prospectus supplement, dated May 22, 2018, and accompanying prospectus, dated April 27, 2017, each of which has been filed with the SEC, contain a description of these matters and other important information about the Company and should be read carefully before investing. You may also obtain these documents for free, by visiting the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov .
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in this offering or any other securities nor will there be any sale of these securities or any other securities referred to in this press release in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.
About Ladenburg
Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. (NYSE American: LTS, LTSL, LTS PrA) is a publicly-traded diversified financial services company based in Miami, Florida. Ladenburg’s subsidiaries include industry-leading independent advisory and brokerage (IAB) firms Securities America, Triad Advisors, Securities Service Network, Investacorp and KMS Financial Services, as well as Premier Trust, Ladenburg Thalmann Asset Management, Highland Capital Brokerage, a leading independent life insurance brokerage company, Ladenburg Thalmann Annuity Insurance Services, a full-service annuity processing and marketing company, and Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc., an investment bank which has been a member of the New York Stock Exchange for over 135 years. The company is committed to investing in the growth of its subsidiaries while respecting and maintaining their individual business identities, cultures, and leadership. For more information, please visit www.ladenburg.com .
This press release includes certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company’s offering of the Notes and the anticipated use of the net proceeds of such offering. These statements are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs and are subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors, including the United States Department of Labor’s rule and exemptions pertaining to the fiduciary status of investment advice providers to 401(k) plans, plan sponsors, plan participants and the holders of individual retirement or health savings accounts and the SEC’s proposed rules and interpretations concerning the standards of conduct for broker dealers and investment advisers when dealing with retail investors, future cash flows, a change in the Company’s dividend policy by the Company’s Board of Directors (which has the ability in its sole discretion to increase, decrease or eliminate entirely the Company’s dividend at any time) and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of the Company’s business. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include those set forth in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and other factors detailed from time to time in its other filings with the SEC. The information set forth herein should be read in light of such risks. Further, investors should keep in mind that the Company’s quarterly revenue and profits can fluctuate materially depending on many factors, including the number, size and timing of completed offerings and other transactions. Accordingly, the Company’s revenue and profits in any particular quarter may not be indicative of future results. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise, except as required by law.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005763/en/
For Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc.
Sard Verbinnen & Co
Emily Claffey/Benjamin Spicehandler
212-687-8080
Source: Securities America | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/business-wire-ladenburg-thalmann-announces-public-offering-of-senior-notes-due-2028.html |
April 30 (Reuters) - SANOFI SA:
* REG-SANOFI: FDA TO CONDUCT PRIORITY REVIEW OF CEMIPLIMAB AS A POTENTIAL TREATMENT FOR ADVANCED CUTANEOUS SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sanofi-fda-to-conduct-priority-rev/brief-sanofi-fda-to-conduct-priority-review-of-cemiplimab-as-potential-treatment-for-advanced-cutaneous-squamous-cell-carcinoma-idUSASO00040Q |
ISTANBUL, May 8 (Reuters) - Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding posted a net profit of 1.07 billion lira ($250 million) in the first quarter, up 59 percent from a year earlier, it said on Tuesday.
Its total revenues climbed 24 percent in the first quarter to 11.3 billion lira, it said in a statement to the Istanbul stock exchange. ($1 = 4.2740 liras) (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan Editing by Daren Butler)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/sabanci-results/sabanci-holding-q1-net-profit-rises-59-percent-idUSL8N1SF0FL |
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 23, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The following issues have been halted by IIROC / L'OCRCVM a suspendu la negociation des titres suivants:
Company / Société : People Corporation TSX-Venture Symbol / Symbole à la Bourse de croissance TSX : PEO Reason / Motif : At the Request of the Company Pending News / À la demande de la société en attendant une nouvelle Halt Time (ET) / Heure de la suspension (HE) 7:41 AM ET / 07 h 41 (HE) IIROC can make a decision to impose a temporary suspension of trading in a security of a publicly listed company, usually in anticipation of a material news announcement by the company. Trading halts are issued based on the principle that all investors should have the same timely access to important company information. IIROC is the national self-regulatory organization which oversees all investment dealers and trading activity on debt and equity marketplaces in Canada.
L'OCRCVM peut prendre la decision d'imposer une suspension provisoire des negociations sur le titre d'une societe cotee en bourse, habituellement en prevision d'une annonce importante de la part de la societe. Les suspensions de negociations sont imposees suivant le principe que tous les investisseurs devraient avoir un acces egal et simultane a l'information importante au sujet des societes dans lesquelles ils investissent. L'OCRCVM est l'organisme d'autoreglementation national qui surveille l'ensemble des societes de courtage et l'ensemble des operations effectuees sur les marches boursiers et les marches de titres d'emprunt au Canada.
Please note that IIROC is not able to provide any additional information regarding a specific trading halt. Information is limited to general enquiries only.
Veuillez prendre note que l'OCRCVM n'est pas en mesure de fournir d'informations supplementaires au sujet d'une suspension des negociations en particulier. L'information est restreinte aux questions generales.
IIROC Inquiries
1-877-442-4322 (Option 2)
Source:Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/globe-newswire-iiroc-trading-halt-suspension-de-la-negociation-par-locrcvm--peo.html |
(Reuters) - Noble Energy Inc’s ( NBL.N ) first-quarter profit topped analysts’ estimates, but the oil and gas producer’s weak current-quarter sales volume forecast sent its shares down 2.5 percent.
Noble, which drills oil wells in the DJ Basin as well as the Permian and Eagle Ford shale plays, said it expects second-quarter sales volume at between 340 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (Mboe/d) and 350 Mboe/d - lower than the previous quarter and a year ago.
“The market consensus was towards the higher end of guidance for the second quarter,” KLR Group analyst Gail Nicholson said.
Shares of Noble were down at $32.97 in afternoon trade.
“Slightly lower first-quarter volumes in conjunction with the midpoint of second-quarter guide below consensus is probably putting incremental weightage on the stock,” Nicholson said.
However, Noble raised its forecast for full-year sales volumes to between 350 Mboe/d and 360 MBoe/d, from a previous range of 343 MBoe/d to 353 MBoe/d to reflect accounting changes.
In the latest first quarter, total sales volume fell 5.5 percent to 361 MBoe/d. Reflecting the company’s new accounting method, ASC 606, total sales volumes came in at 370 MBoe/d.
Net income attributable to Noble soared to $554 million, or $1.14 per share, in the quarter ended March 31 from $36 million, or 8 cents per share, a year earlier, helped by a gain of about $795 million from asset sales.
Excluding items, it earned 35 cents per share, beating the average analyst estimate of 25 cents, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. The earnings beat was driven by a 30 percent jump in U.S. onshore shale production and higher crude oil prices.
Houston-based Noble’s total revenue rose 24 percent to $1.29 billion.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) light crude CLc1 futures averaged at $62.89 per barrel in the quarter, up 21.5 percent from a year earlier.
Shale producers, which have benefited from a surge in production over the past few years, are facing increasing calls from investors to use a windfall of cash to boost dividends and share buybacks.
Last week, Noble announced a 10 percent rise in its quarterly dividend rate.
Reporting by Taenaz Shakir in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-noble-energy-results/noble-energy-reports-surge-in-quarterly-profit-idUSKBN1I23GG |
* CEO very optimistic for full year target
* Not cost-effective sites to be shut
* Plans to sell further assets
* Confirms 2018 targets (Adds details, outlook, CEO)
VIENNA, May 9 (Reuters) - Wienerberger expects to meet its full-year earnings after reporting strong demand from Eastern Europe, and said it plans to shut less cost-efficient sites and restructure its ceramic pipe operations, its chief executive said.
Chief Executive Heimo Scheuch said he was “very optimistic” the Austrian brickmaker could reach its full-year target for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of between 450 and 470 million euros ($533 million - $557 million).
Last year’s EBITDA was 415 million euros.
The world’s largest brickmaker, which generates 90 percent of its sales in Europe, reported an adjusted EBITDA of 59.7 million euros for the first quarter, up from 46.1 million a year ago.
While Wienerberger benefitted from strong demand for its building materials in Eastern Europe, brick sales in its key markets Germany and Austria have not risen as expected due to fewer single-family houses being built, Scheuch told Reuters.
The company will shut down sites to address this issue, the CEO said, without giving a number of how many sites might be closed.
“We will exit older locations which are not cost-efficient,” the CEO said, adding that he expects Wienerberger’s number of plants to increase in the long term as it also bought new sites.
The group has a 2018 acquisition budget of 200 million euros and it hopes to cash in 100 million euros via selling non-performing assets.
“We will sell assets from all divsions... We are in negotiations with interested parties,” Scheuch said, when asked which assets he wanted to sell and whether there were talks ongoing. ($1 = 0.8452 euros) (Reporting by Kirsti Knolle; Editing by Biju Dwarakanath and Louise Heavens)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/wienerberger-results/update-1-brickmaker-wienerberger-upbeat-on-earnings-as-it-streamlines-business-idUSL8N1SG1AZ |
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., May 14, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TimefireVR, Inc. (OTCQB:TFVR) (the "Company"), d/b/a TeraForge, today is providing shareholders with a update on its Bitcoin Mining Operation and expansion strategy.
Recently, the Company entered into an agreement to purchase bitcoin mining equipment to be installed at Colocation Guard ( www.ColocationGuard.com ) in Brooklyn, NY. Led by Mr. Donald D’Avanzo, Director of Datacenter Operations, approximately 20 Antminer S9 Bitcoin Mining units were installed and have been running for approximately three weeks.
After successful Phase I implementation and operational execution of the initial mining units, the Company has invested in 20 additional S9 antminers plus 82 new L3 Litecoin antminers to improve the project hash rate. 32 new GPU mining rigs consisting of a total of 192 Nvidia Geforce GTX 1070 cards will be brought online to diversify the portfolio of cryptocurrency altcoins mined. The new units will allow the Company to mine the top five most profitable GPU altcoins; Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Monero, ZCash, and Ubiq.
Additionally Teraforge is working closely with ColocationGuard executive leadership to secure one of only three available anchor tenant slots in a new state-of-the-art dedicated mining facility located within the Northeast, currently referred to internally as ‘Site 4’ for security purposes.
Jonathan Read, Chief Executive Officer of TimefireVR, d/b/a TeraForge, stated, “We are pleased with the successful implementation of our bitcoin mining strategy with Donald and his team at their first class, secure, facility in New York. The seamless integration in a relatively short amount of time has offered us the luxury of exploring further investment and expansion opportunities. This phase is to thoroughly test our integration and predictive systems before we enter into a much larger build out of our capacity. We look forward to getting all of our new mining equipment up and running allowing us to diversify into other cryptocurrencies.”
The Company terminated its letter of intent (‘LOI’) to make a strategic investment and acquire a license in Cryptogram, LLC.
Mr. Read continued, “After careful review, in the best interest of the Company’s future and its shareholders, the Company has decided to terminate its LOI with Cryprogram. The Board and management agree to focus all of its efforts and working capital on its mining strategy.”
About ColoGuard Enterprise Solutions, LLC
As Brooklyn’s only data center and carrier-neutral hotel for all major fiber providers, ColocationGuard Enterprise Solutions, LLC (ColocationGuard) operates over 60,000 square feet of colocation space in both Brooklyn and Northern New Jersey. The company delivers 1Gig to 100Gig connections via numerous Tier1 providers with Points of Presence in the facility. Founded in 2003 to provide affordable enterprise colocation solutions for companies of all sizes, ColocationGuard has been the go-to data center for a range of sectors including Internet Carriers, Healthcare, and Financial Services. Located minutes from Wall Street, ColocationGuard is notable for its excellence in managed services, access to numerous Tier1 networks, and a direct path to 325 Hudson Street.
ColocationGuard is HIPAA and SSAE 16 compliant and provides 24/7/365 on-site technical support, diverse network routes via dark fiber, and a 100 percent uptime guarantee.
About TimefireVR Inc., d/b/a TeraForge
TimefireVR Inc., d/b/a TeraForge, is an Arizona based technology company focused on strategic investments in blockchain and cryptocurrency technologies. TeraForge is forging financial and technical innovation for blockchain enterprises through investments in tools, systems, and applications that will provide support for the blockchain and digital currency industries. TeraForge is actively seeking to acquire exciting young companies as well as pure technology teams in a variety of blockchain related fields. The Company has made an investment directly in ethereum and purchased bitcoin mining equipment located at Colocation Guard ( www.ColocationGuard.com ) in Brooklyn, NY. For more information please visit www.teraforge.com .
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains , including installation of additional mining . The words "believe," "may," "estimate," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "should," "plan," "could," "target," "potential," "is likely," "will," "expect" and similar expressions, as they relate to us, are intended to identify . We have based these largely on our current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that we believe may affect our financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Some or all of the results anticipated by these may not be achieved, Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those in the include regulatory and other developments in the markets for cryptocurrency including substantial price declines, the rising cost of electricity and computer servers used in mining. Further information on our risk factors is contained in our filings with the SEC, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017. Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.
Investor Contact: KCSA Strategic Communications Valter Pinto, Managing Director 212.896.1254 [email protected] www.KCSA.com
Source:TimefireVR, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/globe-newswire-timefirevr-provides-update-on-bitcoin-mining-operation-and-expansion-strategy.html |
Futures Now: Crude oil sinks 2 Hours Ago CNBC's Eric Chemi talks with Jeff Kilburg of KKM Financial and Jim Iuorio of TJM Financial about the big dip in crude. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/25/futures-now-crude-oil-sinks.html |
ALLEN, Texas, May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PFSweb, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFSW), a global commerce services company, is reporting results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
First Quarter 2018 Summary vs. Same Year-Ago Quarter
Total revenues were $78.4 million compared to $78.8 million. Service fee equivalent (SFE) revenue (a non-GAAP measure defined below) was $56.9 million compared to $57.9 million. Service fee gross margin increased 610 basis points to 37.0%. Net loss improved to $0.7 million or $(0.04) per share, compared to a loss of $4.9 million or $(0.26) per share. Adjusted EBITDA (a non-GAAP measure defined below) increased 21% to $4.4 million.
Management Commentary
“During the first quarter, we continued to perform at a high level for clients while executing on our profitability initiatives from 2017,” said Mike Willoughby, CEO of PFSweb. “This contributed materially to our strong service fee gross margin for the quarter, as did a greater proportion of revenue coming from our higher-margin LiveArea business unit. All of this resulted in our third consecutive quarter of double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth.
“I’m also pleased to announce that during the quarter, we made significant progress on our business unit segmentation between our PFS Operations and LiveArea Professional Services businesses. For the first time, the tables below provide revenue, gross profit, direct operating expenses and adjusted EBITDA for each segment in order to provide shareholders with valuable insight and transparency into the financial performance of our businesses.
“Our PFS Operations business unit generated strong results due to higher than forecasted transactional volumes for certain clients. PFS also experienced incremental project activities as we reconfigured certain client solutions after the holiday and completed the planned transition of a large client engagement that did not meet our margin targets.
“Our LiveArea Professional Services business unit also performed well for clients, but did experience some delays in new project launches and, as a result, we expect LiveArea revenue to be more back-loaded in 2018. Gross margins for this business unit were strong, although the delay in project-starts resulted in under-utilization of certain billable resources within LiveArea for Q1, negatively impacting the LiveArea direct operating expenses for the quarter.
“We are pleased to have started 2018 with an overall strong first quarter. As we look to the remainder of the year, we will continue to focus on leveraging our proven platform and eCommerce expertise to drive growth in service fee revenue, operational efficiency and profitability. Through these efforts, we are reiterating our 2018 business unit service fee equivalent (SFE) revenue guidance and corporate SFE revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance.”
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Total revenues in the first quarter of 2018 were $78.4 million compared to $78.8 million in the same period of 2017. Service fee revenue in the first quarter was $56.5 million compared to $57.3 million last year. Product revenue from the company’s last remaining client under this legacy business model was $9.8 million compared to $11.3 million in the same period of 2017.
SFE revenue was $56.9 million compared to $57.9 million in the year-ago quarter. The decline was driven by expected client transitions, including certain lower margin engagements, partially offset by new and expanded client relationships.
Service fee gross margin in the first quarter of 2018 increased 610 basis points to 37.0% compared to 30.9% in the same period of 2017. The increase was due to a focus on higher-margin engagements and service offerings, as well as improved operational efficiency and the transition of certain lower-margin engagements. The company also benefitted from a greater proportion of higher-margin LiveArea professional services revenue in the 2018 quarter.
Net loss in the first quarter of 2018 improved significantly to $0.7 million or $(0.04) per share, compared to a net loss of $4.9 million or $(0.26) per share in the same period of 2017. Net loss in the first quarter of 2018 included $0.6 million of stock-based compensation expense, $0.4 million in amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, $0.1 million of acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs, and $0.1 million deferred tax expense related to goodwill amortization. This compares to $0.5 million of stock-based compensation expense, $0.8 million in amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, $2.7 million of acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs, and $0.2 million deferred tax expense related to goodwill amortization in the same period of 2017.
Adjusted EBITDA increased 21% to $4.4 million compared to $3.7 million in the year-ago quarter. As a percentage of SFE revenue, adjusted EBITDA increased 150 basis points to 7.8% compared to 6.3% in the year-ago quarter, primarily due to the aforementioned increase in service fee gross margin.
Non-GAAP net income in the first quarter of 2018 increased significantly to $0.6 million compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $0.7 million in the first quarter of 2017.
At March 31, 2018, net debt (defined as total debt less cash and cash equivalents) decreased 8% to $26.1 million compared to $28.2 million at December 31, 2017. totaled $16.6 million compared to $19.1 million at December 31, 2017. Total debt at March 31, 2018 decreased to $42.7 million compared to $47.3 million at the end of last year.
2018 Outlook
PFSweb continues to expect 2018 SFE revenue to range between $237 million and $247 million, reflecting up to 5% growth from 2017. The company also continues to expect adjusted EBITDA to range between $24 million and $26 million, reflecting up to 13% growth from 2017.
The company continues to expect LiveArea service fee revenue to range between $95 million and $100 million, with PFS SFE revenue ranging between $142 million and $147 million.
Conference Call
PFSweb will conduct a conference call today at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time to discuss its results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
PFSweb CEO Mike Willoughby and CFO Tom Madden will host the conference call, followed by a question and answer period.
Date: Thursday, May 10, 2018
Time: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific time)
Toll-free dial-in number: 1-800-289-0438
International dial-in number: 1-323-794-2423
Conference ID: 6213385
Please call the conference telephone number 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. An operator will register your name and organization. If you have any difficulty connecting with the conference call, please contact Liolios at 1-949-574-3860.
The conference call will be broadcast live and available for replay here and via the investor relations section of the company’s website at www.pfsweb.com .
A replay of the conference call will be available after 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on the same day through May 24, 2018.
Toll-free replay number: 1-844-512-2921
International replay number: 1-412-317-6671
Replay ID: 6213385
About PFSweb, Inc.
PFSweb (NASDAQ:PFSW) is a global commerce services company that manages the online customer shopping experience on behalf of major branded manufacturers and retailers. Across two business units – LiveArea for strategy consulting, creative design, digital marketing, and web development services, and PFS Operations for order fulfillment, contact center, payment processing/fraud management, and order management services – they provide solutions to a broad range of Fortune 500® companies and household brand names such as Procter & Gamble, L’Oréal USA, Canada Goose, PANDORA, T.J. Maxx, the United States Mint, and many more. PFSweb enables these brands to provide a more convenient and brand-centric online shopping experience through both traditional and online business channels. The company is headquartered in Allen, TX with additional locations around the globe. For more information, please visit www.corporate.pfsweb.com .
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
This news release contains certain non-GAAP measures, including non-GAAP net income (loss), earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), adjusted EBITDA and service fee equivalent revenue.
Non-GAAP net income (loss) represents net income (loss) calculated in accordance with U.S. GAAP as adjusted for the impact of non-cash stock-based compensation expense, acquisition-related, restructuring and other (income) costs, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets and deferred tax expense for goodwill amortization.
EBITDA represents earnings (or losses) before interest, income taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Adjusted EBITDA further eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, as well as acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs.
Service fee equivalent revenue represents service fee revenue plus the gross profit earned on product revenue and does not alter existing revenue recognition.
Our service fee equivalent revenue target for 2018 includes an estimated gross margin on product sales of approximately $2 million (based on targeted product revenue of $33 million to $37 million) plus a targeted range of between $235 million to $245 million of service fee revenue.
The adjusted EBITDA outlook for 2018 has not been reconciled to the company’s net loss outlook for the same period because certain items that would impact interest expense, income tax provision (benefit), depreciation and amortization (including amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets), stock-based compensation, and acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs, all of which are reconciling items between net loss and adjusted EBITDA, cannot be reasonably predicted. Accordingly, reconciliation of adjusted EBITDA outlook to net loss outlook for 2018 is not available without unreasonable effort.
Non-GAAP net income (loss), EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA and service fee equivalent revenue are used by management, analysts, investors and other interested parties in evaluating our operating performance compared to that of other companies in our industry. The calculation of non-GAAP net income (loss) eliminates the effect of stock-based compensation, acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs, amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets, and deferred tax expense for goodwill amortization, and EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA further eliminate the effect of financing, remaining income taxes and the accounting effects of capital spending, which items may vary from different companies for reasons unrelated to overall operating performance. Service fee equivalent revenue allows client contracts with similar operational support models but different financial models to be combined as if all contracts were being operated on a service fee revenue basis.
PFS believes these non-GAAP measures provide useful information to both management and investors by focusing on certain operational metrics and excluding certain expenses in order to present its core operating performance and results. These measures should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results. The non-GAAP measures included in this press release have been reconciled to the GAAP results in the attached tables.
Forward-Looking Statements
The matters discussed herein consist of forward-looking information under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and is subject to and involves risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information. PFS' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 identifies certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in any forward looking statements made and investors are advised to review the Annual Report of the company and the Risk Factors described therein. PFS undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement for any reason, even if new information becomes available or other events occur in the future. There may be additional risks that we do not currently view as material or that are not presently known.
Company Contact:
Michael C. Willoughby
Chief Executive Officer
Or
Thomas J. Madden
Chief Financial Officer
972-881-2900
Investor Relations:
Sean Mansouri or Scott Liolios
Liolios Investor Relations
949-574-3860
[email protected]
PFSweb, Inc. and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (In Thousands, Except Share Data) (Unaudited) March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 ASSETS CURRENT ASSETS: $ 16,646 $ 19,078 Restricted cash 214 214 Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $375 and $373 at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 50,004 72,062 Inventories, net of reserves of $250 and $342 at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 6,660 5,326 Other receivables 4,754 5,366 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 6,893 6,633 Total current assets 85,171 108,679 PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT, net 23,120 24,178 IDENTIFIABLE INTANGIBLES, net 2,956 3,371 GOODWILL 45,961 45,698 OTHER ASSETS 3,742 3,861 Total assets 160,950 185,787 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY CURRENT LIABILITIES: Trade accounts payable $ 32,038 $ 45,070 Accrued expenses 24,388 29,074 Current portion of long-term debt and capital lease obligations 6,017 9,460 Deferred revenues 5,969 7,405 Performance-based contingent payments 4,000 3,967 72,412 94,976 LONG-TERM DEBT AND CAPITAL LEASE OBLIGATIONS, less current portion 36,685 37,866 DEFERRED REVENUES, less current portion 2,846 4,034 DEFERRED RENT 5,263 5,464 OTHER LIABILITIES 2,045 2,150 Total liabilities 119,251 144,490 COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY: Preferred stock, $1.00 par value; 1,000,000 shares authorized; none issued or outstanding - - Common stock, $0.001 par value; 35,000,000 shares authorized; 19,154,332 and 19,058,685 shares issued at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively; and 19,120,865 and 19,025,218 shares outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 19 19 Additional paid-in capital 151,032 150,614 Accumulated deficit (109,754 ) (109,281 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income 527 70 Treasury stock at cost, 33,467 shares (125 ) (125 ) Total shareholders' equity 41,699 41,297 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 160,950 $ 185,787
PFSweb, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (In Thousands, Except Per Share Data) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 REVENUES: Service fee revenue $ 56,487 $ 57,265 Product revenue, net 9,765 11,318 Pass-through revenue 12,169 10,185 Total revenues $ 78,421 $ 78,768 COSTS OF REVENUES: Cost of service fee revenue $ 35,608 $ 39,584 Cost of product revenue 9,316 10,725 Cost of pass-through revenue 12,169 10,185 Total costs of revenues $ 57,093 $ 60,494 Gross profit 21,328 18,274 SELLING, GENERAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES 20,659 21,718 Income (loss) from operations 669 (3,444 ) INTEREST EXPENSE, NET 605 637 Income (loss) before income taxes 64 (4,081 ) INCOME TAX EXPENSE 813 775 NET LOSS $ (749 ) $ (4,856 ) NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) $ 569 $ (733 ) NET LOSS PER SHARE: Basic $ (0.04 ) $ (0.26 ) Diluted $ (0.04 ) $ (0.26 ) WEIGHTED AVERAGE NUMBER OF SHARES OUTSTANDING: Basic 19,145 18,736 Diluted 19,145 18,736 EBITDA $ 3,647 $ 463 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ 4,415 $ 3,652
PFSweb, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Items to GAAP (In Thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 NET LOSS $ (749 ) $ (4,856 ) Income tax expense 813 775 Interest expense, net 605 637 Depreciation and amortization 2,978 3,907 EBITDA $ 3,647 $ 463 Stock-based compensation 646 524 Acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs 122 2,665 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ 4,415 $ 3,652 Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 NET LOSS $ (749 ) $ (4,856 ) Stock-based compensation 646 524 Amortization of acquisition-related intangible assets 438 770 Acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs 122 2,665 Deferred tax expense - goodwill amortization 112 164 NON-GAAP NET INCOME (LOSS) $ 569 $ (733 ) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 TOTAL REVENUES $ 78,421 $ 78,768 Pass-through revenue (12,169 ) (10,185 ) Cost of product revenue (9,316 ) (10,725 ) SERVICE FEE EQUIVALENT REVENUE $ 56,936 $ 57,858
PFSweb, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Consolidated Segment Information and Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Items to GAAP (In Thousands) Effective January 1, 2018, the company changed its organizational structure in an effort to create more effective and efficient operations and to improve client and service focus. As a result, the company is now presenting supplemental financial data below based on the reportable operating business segments of its PFS Operations and LiveArea Professional Services units, which are comprised of strategic businesses that are defined by the types of service offerings they provide. In addition, certain costs that are not fully directly allocable to a business unit are presented as Corporate selling, general, and administrative expenses.
The segment financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2018, reflects the financial performance for each of the segments based on the current financial presentation reviewed by the company’s Chief Operating Decision Makers. The company is continuing to evaluate its segregation of costs among the business units, including an effort to further allocate certain Corporate costs into the two operating business units to enhance cost focus and responsibility.
The segment financial data for the three months ended March 31, 2017, reflects the company’s current assessment for that period by business segment as if the PFS Operations and LiveArea Professional services segmentation had occurred as of the beginning of that period. Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 PFS Operations Revenues: Service fee revenue $ 34,922 $ 37,007 Product revenue, net 9,765 11,318 Pass-through revenue 11,800 9,911 Total revenues $ 56,487 $ 58,236 Costs of revenues: Cost of service fee revenue $ 25,338 $ 29,369 Cost of product revenue 9,316 10,725 Cost of pass-through revenue 11,800 9,911 Total costs of revenues $ 46,454 $ 50,005 Gross profit 10,033 8,231 Direct operating expenses 3,700 2,826 Direct contribution 6,333 5,405 Depreciation and amortization 1,541 1,936 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ 7,874 $ 7,341 TOTAL REVENUES $ 56,487 $ 58,236 Pass-through revenue (11,800 ) (9,911 ) Cost of product revenue (9,316 ) (10,725 ) SERVICE FEE EQUIVALENT REVENUE $ 35,371 $ 37,600
PFSweb, Inc. and Subsidiaries Unaudited Consolidated Segment Information and Reconciliation of Certain Non-GAAP Items to GAAP (In Thousands) Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 2017 LiveArea Professional Services Revenues: Service fee revenue $ 21,565 $ 20,258 Pass-through revenue 369 274 Total revenues $ 21,934 $ 20,532 Costs of revenues: Cost of service fee revenue $ 10,270 $ 10,215 Cost of pass-through revenue 369 274 Total costs of revenues $ 10,639 $ 10,489 Gross profit 11,295 10,043 Direct operating expenses 8,327 7,712 Direct contribution 2,968 2,331 Depreciation and amortization 692 992 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ 3,660 $ 3,323 Corporate Selling, general and administrative expenses $ (8,632 ) $ (11,180 ) Depreciation and amortization 745 979 EBITDA $ (7,887 ) $ (10,201 ) Stock-based compensation 646 524 Acquisition-related, restructuring and other costs 122 2,665 ADJUSTED EBITDA $ (7,119 ) $ (7,012 )
Source:PFSweb, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/globe-newswire-pfsweb-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
Company Bolsters Leadership Team to Support High Growth
PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Bill.com , the leading U.S. business payments network, today announced the appointment of Yael Zheng as Chief Marketing Officer and Vinay Pai as Senior Vice President of Engineering, adding experienced leadership to the company’s existing, strong executive team. Both taking on newly created roles, Zheng will lead all marketing functions to drive awareness, demand and growth, while Pai will lead technology teams, building out and strengthening the Bill.com product portfolio.
“The digitization of business payments is drastically simplifying how business gets done. By converting businesses from using paper checks to fast and sophisticated digital payments tightly integrated with accounting software, Bill.com is transforming how businesses pay and get paid. Both Vinay and Yael bring a track record of driving tremendous growth, and their leadership will enable us to continue to partner with top banks and leading accounting software providers and provide all businesses with our innovative payments solution,” said Bill.com CEO Renė Lacerte.
Over the course of her 20-plus-year career, Zheng has led marketing teams at technology companies positioning them for rapid growth and achieving market-leading positions. As Vice President of Marketing on the executive team at VMware, she led the corporate and worldwide marketing teams and oversaw key initiatives that supported the company's hyper growth to a post-IPO, multi-billion-dollar company. Most recently, Zheng was the Chief Marketing Officer at Tintri, where she grew the marketing team and operation and was instrumental in its IPO.
“As a leader, Bill.com has already experienced vast success, building a network with millions of members and fostering partnerships with some of the most trusted banks, technology partners and accounting firms. Still, there’s massive opportunity for growth as businesses continue to realize the efficiency of digital business payments,” said Zheng. “My experience working with high-growth companies will translate well in leading the marketing organization through this next phase of expansion.”
Prior to joining Bill.com , Pai was SVP of Engineering at First Data, where he led engineering for a point of sale product line within the company. Prior, as VP for Intuit Developer Platform, Pai led the business segment responsible for the QuickBooks ecosystem of third-party applications and developers. As the company’s VP of Engineering, Pai was responsible for the development of QuickBooks Online from 300,000 to 1.5 million customers. Pai has also held engineering leadership roles at Cassatt, Sun Microsystems and Schlumberger.
“Managing payments is essential to businesses, and an efficient payment platform requires advanced technology, scalability and operational rigor,” said Pai. “Bill.com has augmented its SaaS platform with the latest AI and machine learning technology to streamline payments, guard against fraud and reduce cumbersome data entry for many businesses. The highly scalable and flexible platform will continue to support and delight the rapidly growing customer base and ecosystem of partners.”
About Bill.com
Bill.com is the leading business payments network with 3 million members processing over $52 billion per year in payment volume. Bill.com helps businesses connect and do business by saving them more than 50 percent of the time typically spent on financial back-office operations. Bill.com partners with four of the top 10 largest U.S. banks, more than half of the top 100 accounting firms, major accounting software providers including Intuit and Xero, and is the preferred provider of digital payments solutions for CPA.com , the technology arm of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). Recognized as one of San Francisco Business Times’ and Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “2018 Best Places to Work,” Bill.com is headquartered in Palo Alto, California. The company has $200M in funding with its most recent investors including Temasek and JP Morgan Chase.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180501006395/en/
SutherlandGold Group for Bill.com
Sarah Shaev
[email protected]
Source: Bill.com | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/business-wire-bill-com-appoints-seasoned-marketing-and-engineering-executives-to-accelerate-massive-shift-from-paper-to-digital-payments.html |
RENO, Nev., May 21, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- BlackRidge Technology International, Inc . (OTCQB: BRTI), a leading provider of next generation cyber defense solutions, has appointed Brent Bunger, executive vice president of Ilan Investments, to its board of directors. Mr. Bunger's appointment increases the total number of board members to 7, with 5 independent members.
Mr. Bunger brings to BlackRidge Technology more than 20 years of commercial software experience as an executive of international commercial, multi-family and residential real estate businesses. He is currently executive vice president of Ilan Investments, an investment firm based in Houston, where he is responsible for the company's strategic direction of property and asset management, and structuring, underwriting, pricing, securitizing and syndicating commercial real estate loans and equity transactions including acquisitions and development of software company Cybersoft, Inc.
"We are pleased to have Brent join our board and look forward to his contributions during a transformative time for BlackRidge Technology," said Bob Graham, CEO of BlackRidge Technology. "Brent is a leader and understands our business, and the markets our disruptive solution addresses. His experience as an entrepreneur and a veteran of the capital markets will further strengthen our board's breadth of talent."
"Today's businesses and government agencies are under relentless cyber-attacks, and legacy architectures need a resilient approach to cyber defense that BlackRidge Technology provides," said Mr. Bunger. "BlackRidge's First Packet Authentication stops attacks at the earliest possible time and provides identity in the network connection. BlackRidge's technology is a key differentiator versus alternative cyber security products. In conjunction with Ilan's recent strategic investment in BlackRidge Technology, I am excited to leverage my expertise and join BlackRidge's board of directors," concluded Bunger.
Brent Bunger has served as Executive Vice President since 2009 at Ilan Investments. Brent was instrumental in the launch of Adara Communities and its vision to become the leader in the multi-family industry. Brent previously served as the Vice President of Business Development with Adara Communities among various other roles with its predecessor. Prior to joining Adara Communities, Mr. Bunger worked for CharterMac Mortgage Capital (Hunt Mortgage Group) in their CMBS and Agency multi-family loan underwriting division. Other previous employment positions focused on operations analysis and acquisition underwriting. Brent graduated with honors from Texas A&M University CC with a BBA in Finance with a minor in Real Estate. He has held a real estate brokerage license in the State of Texas and has been an active Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) since 2007.
About BlackRidge Technology
BlackRidge Technology provides an adaptive cyber defense solution that enables our customers and partners to deliver more secure and resilient business services in today's rapidly evolving technology and cyber threat environments. The BlackRidge Adaptive Trust solution provides end-to-end security that proactively isolates cloud services, protects servers and segments networks. Our patented First Packet Authentication™ technology authenticates user and device identity and enforces security policy on the first packet of network sessions. This new level of real-time protection blocks or redirects unidentified and unauthorized traffic to stop attacks and unauthorized access. BlackRidge was founded in 2010 to commercialize its military grade and patented network security technology. For more information, visit www.blackridge.us .
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements made in this release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "plan," "should," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "continue," or comparable terminology. While management has based any forward-looking statements included in this release on its current expectations, the information on which such expectations were based may change. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements, as a result of various factors including those risks and uncertainties described in the Risk Factors and in Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations sections of our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, as may be supplemented or amended by our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q and other public filings with the Commission (the "SEC"), which can be found on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . We urge you to consider those risks and uncertainties in evaluating our forward-looking statements. We caution readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as otherwise required by the federal securities laws, we disclaim any obligation or undertaking to publicly release any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statement contained herein (or elsewhere) to reflect any change in our expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Media Contact:
Sahl Communications
Kim Plyler
+1-484-554-5582
[email protected]
Investor Relations Contact:
MZ North America
Chris Tyson
+1-949-491-8235
[email protected]
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/blackridge-technology-appoints-brent-bunger-to-its-board-of-directors-300652169.html
SOURCE BlackRidge Technology International, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/pr-newswire-blackridge-technology-appoints-brent-bunger-to-its-board-of-directors.html |
LA JOLLA, Calif., May 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- CalciMedica announced that it named two independent members to its Board of Directors, Lakhmir Chawla, MD, currently Chief Medical Officer of La Jolla Pharmaceuticals Company (NASDAQ: LJPC), and Christopher Krueger, JD, MBA, a co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Escalier Biosciences. The two new Board members bring extensive clinical development and financing/transaction experience, respectively, to CalciMedica as it advances its novel acute pancreatitis agent, CM4620, through clinical development.
Dr. Chawla joined La Jolla Pharmaceuticals in 2015, and previously was a Professor of Medicine at the George Washington University, where he had dual appointments in the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine and in the Department of Medicine, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension. He was also the Chief of the Division of Intensive Care Medicine at the Washington D.C. Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Dr. Chawla designed and led the ATHOS 3 Phase 3 trial for La Jolla Pharmaceutical's FDA-approved drug for shock, Giapreza™. He is an internationally renowned expert in the field of acute care and especially acute kidney injury, and is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed publications.
Mr. Krueger is seasoned biotech executive, having negotiated and closed a broad range of strategic partnerships, R&D collaborations, technology licenses and M&A deals. He has also completed numerous equity and debt financings, including IPOs, PIPEs, preferred stock financings and convertible debt offerings. He is currently a co-founder and Chief Business Officer of Escalier Biosciences. Prior to this, he was Chief Business Officer of Akarna Therapeutics, and negotiated its acquisition by Allergan in 2016 for up to $1.2B. Previously, he served as a senior executive at Ardea Biosciences (acquired by AstraZeneca), Xencor, X-Ceptor Therapeutics (acquired by Exelixis) and Aurora Biosciences (acquired by Vertex Pharmaceuticals). Earlier in his career, Mr. Krueger was a corporate lawyer at Cooley LLP.
Michael Dunn, CalciMedica's president and chief operating officer, said, "We are very pleased that leaders of Dr. Chawla's and Mr. Krueger's caliber and experience recognize the opportunity that CalciMedica's clinical compound, CM4620, and other CRAC channel inhibitors represent. With their help, as well as that of the other dedicated Board members at CalciMedica, we will advance the development of these compounds, and ensure they become available to patients. We very much look forward to their contributions."
About CM4620
CM4620 is a potent and selective small molecule inhibitor of calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels. CRAC channels are found on many cell types, including immune cells and pancreatic acinar cells, where aberrant activation of these channels is thought to play a key role in the pathobiology of acute pancreatitis. CM4620 arose from CalciMedica's internal R&D, is patent protected, and in Phase 1 safety studies has been shown to be safe and well tolerated.
About CalciMedica, Inc.
CalciMedica is a privately-held, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on CRAC channel drug discovery and development for the treatment of acute and chronic inflammatory diseases. CRAC channels control the entry of calcium into immune and other cell types, and calcium is an important intracellular signaling molecule that modulates cytokine production and the immune response. For example, CRAC channels in T cells have been clinically validated as important drug targets through human mutations and the use of calcineurin inhibitors that act downstream from CRAC channels. CalciMedica is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit the company website at www.calcimedica.com .
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/calcimedica-names-two-senior-executives-to-its-board-of-directors-300640561.html
SOURCE CalciMedica, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/pr-newswire-calcimedica-names-two-senior-executives-to-its-board-of-directors.html |
May 24, 2018 / 1:00 PM / Updated 37 minutes ago Istanbul to stage 2020 Champions League final - UEFA Richard Martin 1 Min Read
KIEV (Reuters) - Istanbul’s Ataturk Olympic Stadium will host the 2020 Champions League final, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin announced after an executive committee meeting on Thursday.
The 76,000-capacity stadium hosted the thrilling 2005 showpiece where Liverpool came back from 3-0 down at halftime to draw 3-3 with AC Milan and win a penalty shoot-out. The venue beat competition from Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz, where Real Madrid defeated Atletico Madrid 4-1 after extra-time in the 2014 final. Reporting by Richard Martin; Editing by Christian Radnedge | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-uefa-2020final/istanbul-to-stage-2020-champions-league-final-uefa-idUKKCN1IP214 |
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May 16 (Reuters) - Macy’s Inc said stellar performance at its businesses helped push quarterly same-store sales and profit well above Wall Street estimates, signaling that the company was keeping up in a fiercely competitive retail landscape.
Macy’s shares surged more than 13 percent in premarket trading after the company also raised its full-year profit forecast and issued a comparable sales growth guidance that topped estimates.
Shares of rival department stores J.C. Penney, Kohl’s, Nordstrom and Target Corp also rose following the results.
Like its peers, Macy’s has faltered in the past few years as it struggled to adjust to a market where shoppers increasingly buy goods online. The company closed more than 100 stores since 2015 and cut thousands of jobs as mall traffic plummeted and customers defected to off-price and fast-fashion sellers.
“Tax cuts, bonuses and good tax refunds have all been a windfall to consumers who have responded by increasing spending,” said Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail. “This rising tide has floated most retail boats, Macy’s among them.”
Macy’s also said on Wednesday it would end a joint venture agreement with Fung Retailing Ltd in China, that it formed in 2015 with a 65 percent stake, but said it would remain active on Alibaba’s e-commerce platform TMall as well as social media channels.
First-quarter same-store sales rose 4.2 percent, easily beating Wall Street’s 1.4 percent average estimate, as sales rose at its Bloomingdale’s, Bluemercury and its own Macy’s stores. This was the second straight quarter of same-store sales growth.
The quarter also benefited from a change in accounting that shifted its Friends & Family promotional program from the second quarter to the first, the company said.
“We exceeded our expectations and saw strong performance across all three brands ... as well as across all geographic regions,” Chief Executive Officer Jeff Gennette said.
The company said it now expects adjusted profit of $3.75 to $3.95 per share for the year, up from a prior forecast of $3.55 to $3.75.
It also forecast full-year comparable sales at its owned plus licensed stores to rise between 1 percent and 2 percent. Analysts on average were expecting 0.3 percent growth, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Net income attributable to Macy’s shareholders nearly doubled to $139 million, or 45 cents per share, in the first quarter ended May 5. Excluding one-time items, it earned 48 cents per share.
Net sales rose 3.6 percent to $5.54 billion in the quarter.
Analysts on average were expecting earnings of 37 cents per share, and revenue of $5.36 billion. (Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/macys-results/rpt-update-2-macys-shares-surge-after-same-store-sales-profit-trounce-estimates-idUSL3N1SN55P |
May 8 (Reuters) - Oaktree Strategic Income Corporation :
* OAKTREE STRATEGIC INCOME CORPORATION ANNOUNCES SECOND FISCAL QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* OAKTREE STRATEGIC INCOME CORPORATION - QTRLY EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.29
* OAKTREE STRATEGIC INCOME CORPORATION - QTRLY TOTAL INTEREST INCOME $9.1 MILLION VERSUS $10.7 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-oaktree-strategic-income-reports-q/brief-oaktree-strategic-income-reports-q2-earnings-per-share-of-0-29-idUSASC0A0GF |
WASHINGTON—The Department of Homeland Security said Friday it would provide businesses another 15,000 H-2B visas to bring low-skilled foreign workers to the U.S. this summer, offering a modest infusion to the popular program.
The number of visas available each year for seasonal work is capped by statute at 66,000, evenly divided between the summer and winter seasons. Congress declined to lift that cap during negotiations this spring. It did, however, give the secretary of homeland security authority to issue up to 69,000... RELATED VIDEO Can the GOP Find Consensus on Immigration? House Speaker Paul Ryan's tussles with some Republican lawmakers on immigration underscore how the party has struggled to define their consensus position on the issue. Gerald F. Seib discusses their different stances on Dreamers, stricter immigration policies and the Mexico border wall. Photo: Getty Images | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-administration-makes-15-000-additional-h-2b-visas-available-1527279631 |
May 3 (Reuters) - GOODMAN HK FINANCE:
* UNIT OF GOODMAN HONG KONG LOGISTICS FUND AWARDED TENDER FOR ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY IN HONG KONG FOR A PRICE OF HK$2.75 BILLION Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-goodman-hk-finance-says-unit-of-go/brief-goodman-hk-finance-says-unit-of-goodman-hong-kong-logistics-fund-awarded-hk2-75-bln-property-tender-idUSFWN1S91F2 |
ORRVILLE, Ohio, - The J.M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) (the "Company" or "Smucker") today announced plans for the retirement of Barry C. Dunaway, President, Pet Food and Pet Snacks. He will be succeeded by David J. Lemmon, President, Canada, International and U.S. Away From Home. In addition, upon receipt of regulatory approval and closing of the planned acquisition of Ainsworth Pet Nutrition, LLC ("Ainsworth"), Jeffrey Watters, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ainsworth, will be named Senior Vice President and General Manager, Ainsworth, and will support the integration of the company into the Smucker pet food business as a key member of the pet leadership team.
A veteran of more than 30 years with The J.M. Smucker Company, Mr. Dunaway has led the Pet Food and Pet Snacks business since March 2016, following the Company's acquisition of Big Heart Pet Brands in March 2015. Prior to leading the pet business, he served as President, International and Chief Administrative Officer. While leading corporate strategy and development, Mr. Dunaway was instrumental in the acquisition and integration of numerous transformational, bolt-on, and enabling transactions resulting in the Company's significant growth. His retirement is effective July 31.
"Throughout his career, Barry Dunaway has made significant contributions to increasing the scale of our Company and expanding the breadth of our categories and brand portfolio," said Mark T. Smucker, Chief Executive Officer. "He has been instrumental in our growth strategy, including acquiring and building our pet business, now one of our core business areas. He has been a steward of the values that have contributed to our Company's culture and long-term success. We are grateful for his contributions over three decades and for the role he will play in the coming months to plan for the seamless integration of Ainsworth Pet Nutrition."
A 24-year veteran of the Company, Dave Lemmon was named to his current position in August 2017, having served previously as Vice President and Managing Director of Canada and International from 2012 to 2016 and Vice President and Managing Director, Canada, from 2007 to 2012. Prior to leading the Canadian business, he held various sales and marketing leadership roles within the Company. He joined Smucker in 1994 from Colgate Palmolive.
"Dave Lemmon is one of our most experienced General Managers, with a proven track record of delivering strong results and growing the businesses and brands under his management," said Mr. Smucker. "In addition to his deep understanding of the Smucker portfolio and organization, he has extensive experience developing and managing customer relationships across a range of categories and brands, including pet food and pet snacks. We are delighted to have such a strong leader – of organizations, people and transformational change – as the head of this important business."
Jeff Watters joined Ainsworth in 2009 as Executive Vice President. As President and Chief Executive Officer, he had oversight of the company's fast-growing portfolio, including its flagship brand, Rachael Ray™ Nutrish®. Mr. Watters came to Ainsworth from Del Monte, where he served as Senior Vice President of the company's Pet Products division and Managing Director of Star-Kist Seafood after joining in 2002 as part of a spinoff from Heinz. Earlier in his career, Mr. Watters worked in brand management with The Clorox Company and in sales and customer marketing with Kraft Foods Inc.
"We are also grateful to have Jeff Watters' strong leadership and vast experience with pet food and snacks as we continue to grow the Ainsworth business, pending closing of the acquisition," said Mr. Smucker. "Jeff's exceptional management capabilities, proven track record of growing businesses, and delivering results are well known, and we could not have a better partner as we lay the foundation for the next phase of growth in our pet business."
Mr. Lemmon will assume his new responsibilities on June 25, at which time Mr. Dunaway, the current pet leadership team, and Mr. Watters (pending closing of the Ainsworth transaction) will report to him. Until his retirement, Mr. Dunaway will serve as Executive Advisor, Pet. Mr. Watters' team at Ainsworth will continue reporting to him.
In his new role, Mr. Lemmon will continue reporting to Mr. Smucker. Organization announcements regarding leadership of Canada, International and U.S. Away From Home will be communicated at a later date.
About The J.M. Smucker Company
For 120 years, The J.M. Smucker Company has been committed to offering consumers quality products that bring families together to share memorable meals and moments. Today, Smucker is a leading marketer and manufacturer of consumer food and beverage products and pet food and pet snacks in North America. In consumer foods and beverages, its brands include Smucker's ® , Folgers ® , Jif ® , Dunkin' Donuts ® , Crisco ® , Pillsbury ® , R.W. Knudsen Family ® , Hungry Jack ® , Café Bustelo ® , Martha White ® , truRoots ® , Sahale Snacks ® , Robin Hood ® , and Bick's ® . In pet food and pet snacks, its brands include Meow Mix ® , Milk-Bone ® , Kibbles 'n Bits ® , Natural Balance ® , and 9Lives ® . The Company remains rooted in the Basic Beliefs of Quality, People, Ethics, Growth, and Independence established by its founder and namesake more than a century ago. For more information about the Company, visit jmsmucker.com .
The J.M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein, except for the following, which are used under license: Pillsbury ® is a trademark of The Pillsbury Company, LLC and Dunkin' Donuts ® is a registered trademark of DD IP Holder LLC.
Dunkin' Donuts ® brand is licensed to The J.M. Smucker Company for packaged coffee products sold in retail channels such as grocery stores, mass merchandisers, club stores, and drug stores. This information does not pertain to Dunkin' Donuts ® coffee or other products for sale in Dunkin' Donuts ® restaurants.
View original content with multimedia: releases/the-jm-smucker-company-announces-leadership-changes-in-pet-business-300640413.html
SOURCE The J.M. Smucker Company | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/pr-newswire-the-j-m-smucker-company-announces-leadership-changes-in-pet-business.html |
New Executive Appointment to Drive SecOps Innovation for Industry-Leading Cloud Security Platform
BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Threat Stack, the leading Cloud Security platform for security and operations teams, today announced the appointment of Pete Cheslock as Vice President of Technical Operations. In this role, Cheslock will drive Threat Stack’s commitment to delivering the highest levels of security and operational efficiency to its rapidly growing user base.
Modern infrastructure demands that security and operations work together, and achieving this has been central to Threat Stack’s mission from its inception. Understanding the critical value of security and drawing on extensive DevOps experience, Cheslock has played a pivotal role in developing initiatives that drive operations while simultaneously integrating best security practices. As such, he has helped Threat Stack meet all of its key milestones and, most recently, played a major role in developing the new Threat Stack Cloud SecOps Program SM , which enables companies to securely leverage modern infrastructure and DevOps at scale.
“Threat Stack understands that cloud-enabled companies need assistance achieving security while maintaining peak operational efficiency,” said Brian M. Ahern, Threat Stack Chairman and CEO. “Cheslock’s understanding of modern-day cloud operations and cybersecurity requirements has made him a driving force since Threat Stack was founded and will ensure that our platform continues to evolve in a way that delivers the greatest value to companies operating in the cloud across all industry sectors.”
Cheslock joined Threat Stack during its launch in 2014 and served as Senior Director of Operations and Support. Before Threat Stack, he was Director of DevTools at Dyn and Director of Technical & Cloud Operations at Sonian, where he developed and managed automation and release engineering teams and projects. With over 20 years’ experience in Technical Operations, Cheslock has a deep understanding of the challenges and issues that security, development, and operations professionals face on a daily basis.
“I was originally recruited for Threat Stack’s pre-launch team, so I’m delighted to have the opportunity of contributing to the company’s ongoing product innovation strategy,” said Cheslock. “At Threat Stack, we have positioned ourselves as a leader that helps businesses derive the full benefits of operating in the cloud at scale while limiting risk, and I’m looking forward to working with my team to extend our vision and deepen the commitment we have to our customers’ success.”
About Threat Stack
Threat Stack enables growth-driven companies to scale securely and meet complex cloud security needs by identifying and verifying insider threats, external attacks, and data loss in real time. Purpose-built for today’s infrastructure, Threat Stack’s comprehensive intrusion detection platform combines continuous security monitoring and risk assessment to empower security and operations to better manage risk and compliance across their entire infrastructure, including cloud, hybrid cloud, and multi-cloud.
For more information, or to start a free cloud security trial, visit threatstack.com .
//www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180514005075/en/
fama PR for Threat Stack
Tim Morin, 617-986-5015
[email protected]
Source: Threat Stack | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/business-wire-threat-stack-names-pete-cheslock-vp-of-technical-operations.html |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday criticized last week’s referendum in Burundi as being marred by a lack of transparency and voter intimidation and condemned the government’s decision to suspend media outlets.
“The government allowed vigorous campaigning by the opposition during the designated two-week campaign period, but numerous cases of harassment and repression of referendum opponents in the months preceding the vote contributed to a climate of fear and intimidation,” the State Department said in a statement.
The referendum on Thursday granted changes that could allow the current president of Burundi to stay in office until 2034.
Reporting by Makini Brice; Editing by Doina Chiacu
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-burundi-politics-usa/u-s-says-burundi-constitutional-referendum-marred-idUSKCN1IM1TX |
WALTHAM, Mass., May 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:EYEG) (“EyeGate” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage, specialty pharmaceutical company with two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye, today announced financial results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018, and provided an update on recent corporate and operational activities.
First Quarter 2018 and Recent Business Highlights:
Announced completion of an $11.25 Million Public Offering Granted new patent for Iontophoretic Contact Lens Technology Received milestone payment for Confirmatory Phase 3 Clinical Study of EGP-437 in Anterior Uveitis with the fulfillment of enrollment Completed submission of Investigation Device Exemption (IDE) Amendment and received feedback on Second Pilot Study of Ocular Bandage Gel (EyeGate OBG) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Participated in the 30 th Annual ROTH Conference, as well as the BIO CEO & Investor Conference
“During the first quarter of 2018, we were able to reinforce our core platforms at EyeGate with several strategic accomplishments, as well as operational achievements that help solidify our direction moving forward,” said Stephen From, President and Chief Executive Officer of EyeGate Pharmaceuticals.
“Regarding EyeGate’s clinical operations,” Mr. From continued, “Our clinical story has advanced with the submission of the investigation device exemption (IDE) amendment for the second pilot study of ocular bandage gel (EyeGate OBG), which summarized the company’s response to the original IDE. The clarity provided by the FDA’s response will help EyeGate move forward with an essential second pilot study for our lead product. This combined with our extensive patent profile will allow EyeGate to continue the development pathway that has already been outlined.”
Mr. From also commented, “We continue to advance our clinical programs, and with several significant upcoming milestones, we are striving towards our core objectives of improving patients’ lives and increasing shareholder value.”
First Quarter 2018 Financial Review
EyeGate’s revenue for the first quarter of 2018 totaled $1.096 million, compared with $0.185 million in the first quarter of 2017. The increase of revenue generated is attributable to the Valeant milestone payments earned during the first quarter of 2018.
EyeGate’s net loss in the first quarter of 2018 was $2.38 million, compared with $2.92 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Research and development expenses were $2.521 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared with $1.815 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase of $0.706 million was primarily due to increases in clinical and other activity related to EGP-437, including the Phase 3 trial for the treatment of anterior uveitis, as well as related work for Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls (CMC).
General and administrative expenses were $0.954 million for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared with $1.289 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The decrease of $0.335 million was primarily due to decreases in personnel-related costs, as well as lower professional fees incurred during the first quarter of 2018.
Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 totaled $3.65 million, compared with $7.81 million as of December 31, 2017. The decrease in cash and cash equivalents was primarily attributable to cash outflows to fund the Company’s operations.
About EyeGate
EyeGate is a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products using its two proprietary platform technologies for treating diseases and disorders of the eye.
EyeGate’s CMHA-S platform is based on a cross-linked thiolated carboxymethyl hyaluronic acid (CMHA-S), a modified form of the natural polymer hyaluronic acid (HA), which is a gel that possesses unique physical and chemical properties such as hydrating and healing when applied to the ocular surface. The ability of CMHA-S to adhere longer to the ocular surface, resist degradation and protect the ocular surface makes it well-suited for treating various ocular surface injuries.
EGP-437, EyeGate’s other product in clinical trials, incorporates a reformulated, topically active corticosteroid, Dexamethasone Phosphate, that is delivered into the ocular tissues through EyeGate’s proprietary innovative drug delivery system, the EyeGate II Delivery System. For more information, please visit www.EyeGatePharma.com .
EyeGate Social Media
EyeGate uses its website ( www.EyeGatePharma.com ), Facebook page, corporate Twitter account, and LinkedIn page as channels of distribution of information about EyeGate and its product candidates. Such information may be deemed material information, and EyeGate may use these channels to comply with its disclosure obligations under Regulation FD. Therefore, investors should monitor EyeGate’s website and its social media accounts in addition to following its press releases, SEC filings, public conference calls, and webcasts. The social media channels that EyeGate intends to use as a means of disclosing the information described above may be updated from time to time as listed on EyeGate’s investor relations website.
Forward-looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are “forward-looking” and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These “forward-looking” statements include statements relating to, among other things, the commercialization efforts and other regulatory or marketing approval efforts pertaining to EyeGate’s products, including EyeGate’s EGP-437 combination product and those of Jade Therapeutics, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of EyeGate, as well as the success thereof, with such approvals or success may not be obtained or achieved on a timely basis or at all. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from the statements set forth in this press release, including, among other things, certain risk factors described under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in EyeGate’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 2, 2018 or described in EyeGate’s other public filings. EyeGate’s results may also be affected by factors of which EyeGate is not currently aware. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. EyeGate expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to such statements to reflect any change in its expectations with regard thereto or any changes in the events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.
Contact:
Joseph Green / Andrew Gibson
Edison Advisors for EyeGate Pharmaceuticals
646-653-7030 / 7019
[email protected] / [email protected]
Source:EyeGate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/globe-newswire-eyegate-pharmaceuticals-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-provides-business-update.html |
May 1 (Reuters) - U.S. Food and Drug Administration :
* U.S. FDA SAYS FDA, FTC TAKE ACTION AGAINST COMPANIES “MISLEADING KIDS” WITH E-LIQUIDS THAT RESEMBLE CHILDREN’S JUICE BOXES, CANDIES AND COOKIES
* FDA - ISSUED 13 WARNING LETTERS TO COS FOR SELLING E-LIQUIDS USED IN E-CIGARETTES WITH LABELING THAT CAUSE THEM TO RESEMBLE KID-FRIENDLY FOOD PRODUCTS
* FDA - SEVERAL OF THE COMPANIES RECEIVING WARNING LETTERS WERE ALSO CITED FOR ILLEGALLY SELLING E-LIQUIDS USED IN E-CIGARETTES TO MINORS
* FDA - SOME EXAMPLES OF PRODUCTS IN WARNING LETTERS INCLUDE “ONE MAD HIT JUICE BOX,” “VAPE HEADS SOUR SMURF SAUCE,” “V’NILLA COOKIES & MILK” Source text for Eikon:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-fda-ftc-take-action-against-cos-mi/brief-fda-ftc-take-action-against-cos-misleading-kids-with-e-liquids-idUSFWN1S80A5 |
Twenty-First Century Fox will hold a special meeting on July 10 for its stockholders to vote on a proposed merger with Walt Disney, the company said on Wednesday. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/fox-sets-disney-deal-vote-for-july-10.html |
Pictures | Tue May 29, 2018 | 8:05am EDT Editors Choice Pictures
Volcanic gases rise from the Kilauea lava flow that crossed Pohoiki Road near Highway 132, near Pahoa, Hawai. REUTERS/Marco Garcia Reuters / Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Volcanic gases rise from the Kilauea lava flow that crossed Pohoiki Road near Highway 132, near Pahoa, Hawai. REUTERS/Marco Garcia Close 1 / 24
A soldier is seen after U.S. President Donald Trump attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery as part of Memorial Day observance, Arlington, Virginia. REUTERS/Eric Thayer Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 A soldier is seen after U.S. President Donald Trump attends a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery as part of Memorial Day observance, Arlington, Virginia. REUTERS/Eric Thayer Close 2 / 24
A demonstrator fires a homemade mortar towards riot police during a protest against Nicaragua's Monday, May 28, 2018 A demonstrator fires a homemade mortar towards riot police during a protest against Nicaragua's 3 / 24
Golden State Warriors center Jordan Bell reacts after a score against the Houston Rockets during the second half of game seven of the Western conference finals. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Reuters / Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Golden State Warriors center Jordan Bell reacts after a score against the Houston Rockets during the second half of game seven of the Western conference finals. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports Close 4 / 24
A police officer is seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege, Belgium. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Reuters / Tuesday, May 29, 2018 A police officer is seen on the scene of a shooting in Liege, Belgium. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir Close
Lightning illuminates the sky above the Swiss Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) in Bern, Switzerland. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Lightning illuminates the sky above the Swiss Federal Palace (Bundeshaus) in Bern, Switzerland. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth Close
Lava shoots out of a fissure Monday, May 28, 2018 Lava shoots out of a fissure
Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo leaves in a police vehicle after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Ann Wang Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Detained Reuters journalist Kyaw Soe Oo leaves in a police vehicle after a court hearing in Yangon, Myanmar. REUTERS/Ann Wang Close 8 / 24
German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with Mevluede Genc in Dusseldorf, Germany, to mark the 25th anniversary of an arson attack killing two Turkish women and three girls by right-wing extremists in Solingen. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen Reuters / Tuesday, May 29, 2018 German Chancellor Angela Merkel meets with Mevluede Genc in Dusseldorf, Germany, to mark the 25th anniversary of an arson attack killing two Turkish women and three girls by right-wing extremists in Solingen. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen Close 9 / 24
Guests from places within Denmark and Northern Europe sit together at the engagement party of a resident in Mjolnerparken, a housing estate that features on the Danish government's "Ghetto List", in Copenhagen, Denmark. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Reuters / Tuesday, May 29, 2018 Guests from places within Denmark and Northern Europe sit together at the engagement party of a resident in Mjolnerparken, a housing estate that features on the Danish government's "Ghetto List", in Copenhagen, Denmark. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly Close 10 / 24
Swan and its cygnet are seen in the nest made partly of rubbish from the lake near Queen Louise's Bridge in Copenhagen, Denmark. Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Swan and its cygnet are seen in the nest made partly of rubbish from the lake near Queen Louise's Bridge in Copenhagen, Denmark. Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix/via REUTERS Close 11 / 24
Afghan girls read the Koran in a madrasa, or religious school, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Afghan girls read the Koran in a madrasa, or religious school, during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Kabul, Afghanistan. REUTERS/Mohammad Ismail Close 12 / 24
French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Mamoudou Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old... more Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 French President Emmanuel Macron meets with Mamoudou Gassama, 22, from Mali, at the Elysee Palace in Paris. Mamoudou Gassama living illegally in France is being honored by Macron for scaling an apartment building over the weekend to save a 4-year-old child dangling from a fifth-floor balcony. Thibault Camus/Pool via Reuters Close 13 / 24
A devotee prays ahead of Vesak Day at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 A devotee prays ahead of Vesak Day at Kong Meng San Phor Kark See Monastery in Singapore. REUTERS/Edgar Su Close
Flooding is seen in Ellicott City, Maryland. Todd Marks/via REUTERS Flooding is seen in Ellicott City, Maryland. Todd Marks/via REUTERS Close 15 / 24
Buddhist monks walk around Mendut temple during the practice of Pradakshina ahead of Vesak Day in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Hendra Nurdiyansyah/ via REUTERS Buddhist monks walk around Mendut temple during the practice of Pradakshina ahead of Vesak Day in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. Antara Foto/Hendra Nurdiyansyah/ via REUTERS Close
Lava approaches Puna Geothermal Venture Monday, May 28, 2018 Lava approaches Puna Geothermal Venture in the Leilani Estates near Pahoa, Hawaii. REUTERS/Marco Garcia Close 17 / 24
Gilberto Gomez and Lidia Gonzalez hold pictures of their daughter Claudia Gomez, a 19-year old Guatemalan immigrant who was shot by an U.S. Border Patrol officer, at their home in San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala. REUTERS/Luis Echeverria Gilberto Gomez and Lidia Gonzalez hold pictures of their daughter Claudia Gomez, a 19-year old Guatemalan immigrant who was shot by an U.S. Border Patrol officer, at their home in San Juan Ostuncalco, Guatemala. REUTERS/Luis Echeverria Close 18 / 24
An employee walks past fixing mechanisms for the painting "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which was recently damaged after a man attacked it with a metal pole, at the State Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow, Russia. REUTERS/Maxim... more Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 An employee walks past fixing mechanisms for the painting "Ivan the Terrible and His Son Ivan on November 16, 1581", which was recently damaged after a man attacked it with a metal pole, at the State Tretyakov Gallery
People play cricket in front of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, Britain. REUTERS/Lee Smith Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 People play cricket in front of Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland, Britain. REUTERS/Lee Smith Close 20 / 24
Workers construct an art installation entitled The Mastaba, made of plastic barrels, by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, on the Serpentine Lake, in London. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Workers construct an art installation entitled The Mastaba, made of plastic barrels, by artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, on the Serpentine Lake, in London. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls Close
Lava pours into the ocean after crossing Highway 137 near Kapoho, Hawaii. REUTERS/Marco Garcia Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 Lava pours into the ocean after crossing Highway 137 near Kapoho, Hawaii. REUTERS/Marco Garcia Close 22 / 24
An attendee reads a newspaper during the 2018 National Memorial Day Parade held by the American Veterans Center, in Washington. REUTERS/Toya Sarno Jordan Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 An attendee reads a newspaper during the 2018 National Memorial Day Parade held by the American Veterans Center, in Washington. REUTERS/Toya Sarno Jordan Close
People walk on Bamburgh beach in Northumberland, Britain. REUTERS/Lee Smith Reuters / Monday, May 28, 2018 People walk on Bamburgh beach in Northumberland, Britain. REUTERS/Lee Smith Close | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/news/picture/editors-choice-pictures-idUSRTX66O46 |
May 18 (Reuters) - BWX Technologies Inc:
* BWX TECHNOLOGIES ANNOUNCES PRICING OF SENIOR NOTES OFFERING
* BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC - PRICED ITS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED OFFERING OF $400.0 MILLION AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF 5.375% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2026
* BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC - PRICED ITS PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED OFFERING OF $400.0 MILLION AGGREGATE PRINCIPAL AMOUNT OF 5.375% SENIOR NOTES DUE 2026
* BWX TECHNOLOGIES INC - IN CONNECTION WITH NOTES OFFERING, BWXT INTENDS TO ENTER INTO AN $800.0 MILLION SENIOR SECURED CREDIT AGREEMENT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-bwx-technologies-announces-pricing/brief-bwx-technologies-announces-pricing-of-senior-notes-offering-idUSASC0A2Y4 |
WASHINGTON, May 11 (Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Bullard on Friday spelled out the case against any further interest rate increases, saying rates may already have reached a “neutral” level that is no longer stimulating the economy.
Going further at this point, he said, risks nipping off business investment that might follow the recent corporate tax cut, upset healthy conditions in the labor market, and leave inflation expectations short of the central bank’s goal.
There are “reasons for caution in raising the policy rate further given current macroeconomic conditions,” Bullard said in remarks to the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce in Springfield, Mo.
Bullard has made a series of arguments in recent years for halting further rate increases until it is clear that inflation, growth and market interest rates have shifted to a higher, more dynamic “regime.”
His colleagues have proceeded to gradually raise rates nonetheless, and currently expect to do so two more times this year. Many economists and analysts argue they will likely add an additional quarter-point increase this year as the impact of burgeoning federal deficits and a recent tax cut are felt in an economy with low unemployment and inflation edging up towards the Fed’s two percent target.
Bullard, who is not a voting member of the Fed’s policy committee this year, said he felt they may be moving too fast. While inflation now appears close to 2 percent, Bullard said his estimate of market-based inflation expectations show that investors “believe there is currently little inflationary pressure in the U.S.”
Leaving rates steady, he said, would “re-center inflation expectations at the target.”
He laid out a similar case for giving businesses more time to invest, and for extending what he sees as a healthy balance in job markets where building wage pressures offer companies a choice between paying more to workers or investing more capital to raise productivity.
“This is an equilibrium process, not an inflationary one,” Bullard said, and “it is not necessary to disrupt” it with higher interest rates.
He also flagged an evolving debate at the Fed about how much further rates can rise before they are neutral and no longer “accommodative.” That is a sensitive line the central bank may be hesitant to cross, but to Bullard it has already arrived.
The Fed’s current policy rate of between 1.5 and 1.75 percent is already “pressing against” estimates of the neutral rate, he said, another argument against going further. (Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-fed-bullard/st-louis-feds-bullard-says-rates-already-near-neutral-no-more-raises-needed-idUSN9N1RF027 |
GREELEY, Colo., JBS USA will hold its first quarter 2018 earnings conference call on Wednesday, May 16, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. Eastern (7:00 a.m. Mountain). The call will be open to investors in the Company’s bonds and term loan, as well as lenders to the Company’s revolving credit facility and prospective investors, securities analysts and market makers. More information about the call will be posted to the Company’s website at www.jbssa.com . On the website, please go to the “Investors” page and select the “JBS USA bond investors” link. Financial statements and related data for the first quarter 2018 will be made available to investors on the Company’s website prior to the call.
About JBS USA
JBS USA is a leading processor of beef and pork in the United States, the number one processor of beef in Australia in terms of daily slaughtering capacity, and the number two processor of chicken in the U.S., the U.K., and Mexico through its subsidiary, Pilgrim’s Pride Corporation. The Company processes, prepares, packages and delivers fresh, processed and value-added beef, pork, chicken, and lamb products for sale to customers in the United States and international markets. In addition to the U.S. and Australia, the Company has processing facilities in Canada (beef), U.K. and Europe (chicken), and Mexico (chicken). The Company is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of JBS S.A., the world’s largest animal protein producer.
CONTACT:
Dunham Winoto
Director, Investor Relations
[email protected]
970-506-8192
Web site: http://www.jbssa.com/
SOURCE: JBS USA
Source:JBS USA, LLC | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-jbs-usa-to-host-first-quarter-2018-earnings-conference-call-may-16-2018.html |
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina, Grupo Clarín S.A. will host a conference call and webcast presentation on Friday, May 11, 2018 at 11:00am Eastern Time (12:00pm Buenos Aires time) to discuss its First Quarter 2018 Earnings Results.
Presentations will be in English, based on the earnings release, which will be distributed on Thursday, May 10, 2018 after the markets close.
Those interested in connecting via conference call are invited to please dial 1-877-830-2576 toll free from the U.S., 0-800-666-0250 from Argentina, or 1 (785) 424-1726 from elsewhere 5-10 minutes prior to the start time. The Conference ID is CLARIN.
The webcast presentation will be available at:
https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/1117/25812
There will be a replay available, for two weeks, starting four hours after the conclusion of the conference call. To access the replay, please dial 1-844-488-7474 toll free from the U.S., or 1-862-902-0129 from anywhere outside the U.S. The replay passcode is: 90150428
The webcast presentation will be archived at http://www.grupoclarin.com.ar/ir
About the Company
Grupo Clarín is the largest media company in Argentina and a leading company in printing and publishing and broadcasting and programming markets. Its flagship newspaper – Diario Clarín – is one of the highest circulation newspapers in Latin America. Grupo Clarín is the largest producer of media content in Argentina, including news, sports and entertainment and reaches substantially all segments of the Argentine population in terms of wealth, geography and age.
Investor Relations Contacts
In Buenos Aires:
In London:
In New York
Grupo Clarín S.A.
Jasford IR
i-advize Corporate Communications
Agustín Medina Manson / Patricio Gentile
Alex Money
Melanie Carpenter
Tel: +54 11 4309 7215
Tel: +44 20 3289 5300
Tel: +1 212 406 3692
Email: [email protected]
E-mail: [email protected]
Email: [email protected]
: releases/grupo-clarin-sa-to-host-conference-call-and-webcast-presentation-to-discuss-first-quarter-2018-results-300644511.html
SOURCE Grupo Clarín S.A. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/pr-newswire-grupo-claran-s-a-to-host-conference-call-and-webcast-presentation-to-discuss-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
May 1 (Reuters) - Aviva PLC:
* AVIVA PLC (“AVIVA”) ANNOUNCES THAT IT WILL COMMENCE A SHARE BUY-BACK OF ITS ORDINARY SHARES FOR UP TO A MAXIMUM AGGREGATE CONSIDERATION OF £600 MILLION.
* DIVIDEND YIELD ON AVIVA SHARES CURRENTLY STANDS AT 5.2%*, AND WITH DIVIDEND EXPECTED TO GROW FURTHER, BOARD BELIEVES A BUY-BACK IS A COMPELLING USE OF AVIVA’S EXCESS CAPITAL.
* AVIVA HAS ENTERED INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS LTD (‘CITIGROUP’) TO CONDUCT SHARE BUY-BACK PROGRAMME ON ITS BEHALF AND TO MAKE TRADING DECISIONS UNDER PROGRAMME INDEPENDENTLY OF AVIVA.
* PROGRAMME WILL COMMENCE ON 1 MAY 2018 AND WILL END NO LATER THAN 31 DECEMBER 2018.
* AVIVA HAS RECEIVED REGULATORY APPROVAL FOR BUY-BACK FROM PRA. Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Reporting By Sinead Cruise)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-aviva-announces-600-mln-stg-share/brief-aviva-announces-600-mln-stg-share-buyback-plan-idUSFWN1S71G2 |
May 10 (Reuters) - Superconductor Technologies Inc:
* SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.20 * FIRST QUARTER 2018 NET REVENUES WERE $246,000, COMPARED TO $1,000 IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF 2017 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-superconductor-technologies-report/brief-superconductor-technologies-reports-q1-loss-per-share-of-0-20-idUSASC0A1BK |
in 7 minutes BRIEF-Sharing Economy International Enters Into An Exclusivity Agreement With OOB Media HK Limited Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
May 10 (Reuters) - Sharing Economy International Inc :
* SHARING ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL ENTERS INTO AN EXCLUSIVITY AGREEMENT WITH OOB MEDIA HK LIMITED REGARDING POTENTIAL ACQUISITION OF A MAJORITY INTEREST IN OOB MEDIA (SICHUAN) LIMITED
* SHARING ECONOMY INTERNATIONAL INC - UNIT ENTERED AGREEMENT WITH OOB MEDIA HK LIMITED FOR POTENTIAL ACQUISITION OF 100% OF SHARES OF OOB HK | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-sharing-economy-international-ente/brief-sharing-economy-international-enters-into-an-exclusivity-agreement-with-oob-media-hk-limited-idUSASC0A1BT |
BEFORE WE BEGIN, an important disclaimer: Roger Federer isn’t supposed to be doing this. Playing pro tennis, that is. Especially not pro tennis like... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/roger-federer-cant-be-stopped-1527080506 |
* Venezuela election stirs worries on oil output, sanctions
* Russell 2000 small-cap index hits record high
* Gold falls to 2018 low (Updates to with close of U.S. markets)
By Laila Kearney
NEW YORK, May 21 (Reuters) - Global stock markets rallied broadly on Monday after the United States and China agreed to halt a trade war, while oil hit multi-year highs on political uncertainty and potential sanctions on Venezuela.
The U.S. trade battle with China was put “on hold” after the world’s two largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats in favor of hashing out a broader deal, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday.
In addition to the trade truce, Wall Street indexes rose on news of $28 billion in U.S. merger deals.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 298.2 points, or 1.21 percent, to 25,013.29, the S&P 500 gained 20.04 points, or 0.74 percent, to 2,733.01, and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.70 points, or 0.54 percent, to 7,394.04.
The small-cap Russell 2000 index hit a record high for a fourth straight session.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 0.26 percent and MSCI’s gauge of stocks across the globe gained 0.40 percent.
In the short term, analysts said they expect stocks to continue to trend higher barring a major negative event.
“This is an indication of what we’ll see near term, because we are through earnings, relatively light on macro data, and with geopolitics it seems like some of the emotion has been reduced between now and the Korean summit,” said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.
The U.S.-China trade news also boosted the U.S. dollar to a five-month high against a basket of currencies as investors pared short positions on the greenback before starting to sell off again.
The dollar index fell 0.12 percent, with the euro up 0.14 percent to $1.1792. Gold, meanwhile, sank to a low for the year so far.
The Japanese yen weakened 0.22 percent versus the greenback to 111.00 per dollar, while sterling was last trading at $1.3432, down 0.29 percent.
The yen was pressured by recent weaker Japanese data, expectations of falling safe-haven demand with the easing of the U.S.-China trade war, and elevated U.S. Treasury yields, analysts said.
The euro turned slightly positive after suffering from concerns about political uncertainty in Italy.
Italy’s far-right League and the 5-Star Movement agreed on a candidate to lead their planned coalition government and to implement spending plans seen by some investors as threatening the sustainability of the country’s debt pile.
Italy’s 10-year bond yield rose to its highest level since April 2017 before easing back.
U.S. Treasuries, which were steady ahead of $99 billion in new supply scheduled for this week, were supported by safety buying prompted by the surging Italian borrowing costs.
Meanwhile, oil prices soared to their highest level since 2014 after Venezuela’s presidential election spurred worries that the country’s oil output could fall further. The market is also weighing the possibility of additional U.S. sanctions on Venezuela following its presidential election.
U.S. crude rose 1.8 percent to $72.56 per barrel and Brent was last at $79.52, up 1.29 percent on the day.
Crude prices climbed further on U.S. President Donald Trump’s discussions with Russia and China about issuing new debt to Venezuela.
Expectations that U.S. sanctions on Iran could curb the country’s crude exports have also led crude prices higher in recent weeks.
Additional reporting by Julien Ponthus in London, Medha Singh, Jessica Resnick-Ault and Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss in New York Editing by Leslie Adler
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-stocks-rise-on-u-s-china-trade-truce-venezuela-worries-lift-oil-idUSL2N1SS1K7 |
NEW YORK, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SSC) ("SSC" or the "Company"), announced today that it will report for first quarter 2018 financial results on May 15, 2018.
SSC's management, including Bruno Wu (Executive Chairman & CEO), Bob Benya (President, Director & Chief Revenue Officer), and Jason Wu (Interim CFO), will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 15, 2018, U.S. Eastern Time (8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Beijing/Hong Kong Time).
Webcast Link:
via 'Events & Presentation' section of SSC's corporate website or https://78449.themediaframe.com/dataconf/productusers/ssc/mediaframe/24571/indexl.html (link will be active closer to actual earnings release date)
Dial-in Number:
(Toll-Free US & Canada): 877-407-3107; (International): 201-493-6796
SSC management encourages investors to email their questions in advance of the webcast/call and time permitting, management will answer the submitted questions. Please email [email protected] .
About Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. ( http://www.sevenstarscloud.com/ )
SSC is aiming to become a next generation Artificial-Intelligent (AI) & Blockchain-Powered, Fintech company. By managing and providing an infrastructure and environment that facilitates the transformation of traditional financial markets such as commodities, currency and credit into the asset digitization era, SSC provides asset owners and holders a seamless method and platform for digital asset securitization and digital currency tokenization and trading.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains certain statements that may include "forward looking statements." All statements other than statements of historical fact included herein are "forward-looking statements." These forward looking statements are often identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believes," "expects" or similar expressions, involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, they do involve assumptions, risks and uncertainties, and these expectations may prove to be incorrect. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. The Company's actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors, including those discussed in the Company's periodic reports that are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on its website ( http://www.sec.gov ). All forward-looking statements attributable to the Company or persons acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by these factors. Other than as required under the securities laws, the Company does not assume a duty to update these forward-looking statements.
CONTACT:
Jason Finkelstein
Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc.
646-532-6468
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/seven-stars-cloud-to-report-q1-2018-results-and-host-earnings-call-tuesday-may-15-300641366.html
SOURCE Seven Stars Cloud Group, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/pr-newswire-seven-stars-cloud-to-report-q1-2018-results-and-host-earnings-call-tuesday-may-15.html |
May 15, 2018 / 9:03 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Schoolbags not linked to back pain in children: study Shereen Lehman 4 Min Read
(Reuters Health) - Schoolbag use doesn’t appear to increase the risk of back pain in children and adolescents, according to an Australian review of previous studies. A young girl sitting in a shopping trolley looks at schoolbags in a school stationery section at a supermarket in Nice August 23, 2012. REUTERS/Eric Gaillard
Guidelines published by different organizations recommend limits on backpack weight for children, ranging from 5 percent to 20 percent of their body weight. However, there have been no reviews summarizing the scientific literature, say the authors.
“According to popular opinion, schoolbags are a problem for kids. Many parents and even health professionals believe that schoolbags can be harmful for children, being the cause of their back pain,” study leader Tie Parma Yamato of the University of Sydney in New South Wales told Reuters Health in an email.
The main factors said to cause back pain in kids are the weight of the schoolbag, the way kids wear them and the design of the bag, but the lack of review evidence is concerning, said Parma Yamato.
“Because of this, we decided to investigate the research in this area to better understand the relationship between schoolbags and back pain,” she said.
As reported in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, Parma Yamato and colleagues reviewed 69 studies related to schoolbag use and back pain. The studies involved a total of more than 72,000 children.
Five of the studies looked at schoolbag use and the development of back pain over time. One of the studies reported that children who said they have difficulty carrying their schoolbags had a higher risk of persistent back pain and another found that the perceived weight of schoolbags was associated with high back pain risk.
However, when the investigators reviewed the studies, they didn’t find evidence that schoolbag characteristics such as weight, design and carriage method increased the risk of developing back pain in children and adolescents.
Evidence from the other 64 studies, which didn’t follow kids over time, didn’t show any consistent pattern of association between schoolbag use and back pain.
The analysis has some limitations given that so few studies followed the children over time, and those that did were at moderate to high risk of bias.
Still, the take-home message for parents is that they should not be overly worried about schoolbags as a cause of back pain for their children, said Parma Yamato.
“People mistakenly think back pain in kids is an injury and so look for a cause of the back injury and the schoolbag is an easy target to lay blame at,” she said.
In fact, she said, “Physical activity and load are actually good for the spine, so we want kids to be physically active and to carry loads.”
People still believe in the outdated view that poor posture causes back pain and so when they see a child carrying a backpack on one shoulder they mistakenly think the posture adopted will harm them, said Parma Yamato.
“If a child is experiencing an episode of back pain it may make sense to temporarily reduce the load if this relieves the pain, but once they recover it is fine to return to a normal load in the schoolbag,” she said.
SOURCE: bit.ly/2rmcYMh British Journal of Sports Medicine, online May 2, 2018. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-kids-backpain/schoolbags-not-linked-to-back-pain-in-children-study-idUKKCN1IG397 |
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc . (NYSE: SAIL) (“SailPoint” or the “Company”) today announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 17,808,000 shares of its common stock by selling stockholders of the Company at a public offering price of $22.50 per share. The offering was upsized from the previously announced 15,000,000 shares. Such selling stockholders have also granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 2,671,200 additional shares of SailPoint’s common stock. SailPoint will not receive any proceeds from the sale of the shares being offered, but will bear the costs associated with the sale of the shares, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions. The offering is expected to close on May 29, 2018, subject to customary closing conditions.
Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Jefferies LLC and RBC Capital Markets, LLC are acting as book-running managers for the offering. KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., Piper Jaffray & Co., Canaccord Genuity LLC, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and BTIG, LLC are acting as co-managers.
The offering is being made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the final prospectus, when available, may be obtained from: Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, New York 10014; Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, or by telephone at (866) 471-2526 or by email at [email protected] ; Citigroup Global Markets Inc. c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717 or by calling (800) 831-9146; Jefferies LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Prospectus Department, 520 Madison Ave, 12th Floor, New York, New York 10022, Telephone: 877-547-6340, Email: [email protected] ; or RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Attention Equity Syndicate, 200 Vesey Street, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10281-8098, or by telephone at (877) 822-4089 or by email at [email protected] .
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with, and declared effective by, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
About SailPoint
SailPoint, a leading provider of enterprise identity governance solutions, brings the Power of Identity to customers around the world. SailPoint’s open identity platform gives organizations the power to enter new markets, scale their workforces, embrace new technologies, innovate faster and compete on a global basis. As both an industry pioneer and market leader in identity governance, SailPoint delivers security, operational efficiency and compliance to enterprises with complex IT environments. SailPoint’s customers are among the world’s largest companies in a wide range of industries, including: 7 of the top 15 banks, 4 of the top 6 healthcare insurance and managed care providers, 9 of the top 15 property and casualty insurance providers, 5 of the top 15 pharmaceutical companies, and 11 of the largest 15 federal agencies.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180523006539/en/
Investor Relations:
ICR for SailPoint
Staci Mortenson, 512-664-8916
[email protected]
or
Media Relations:
SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc.
Jessica Sutera, 978-278-5411
[email protected]
Source: SailPoint Technologies Holdings, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/business-wire-sailpoint-announces-upsizing-and-pricing-of-follow-on-offering-by-selling-stockholders.html |
U.S. government bond prices edged lower Monday as investors looked ahead to a series of debt auctions and releases of inflation data.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note settled at 2.950%, compared with 2.946% Friday.
Yields, which rise when bond prices fall, have barely moved in recent sessions as investors wait for more... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/treasurys-steady-ahead-of-auctions-inflation-data-1525704241 |
May 3 (Reuters) - StoneCastle Financial Corp:
* STONECASTLE FINANCIAL CORP REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q1 REVENUE VIEW $4.2 MILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S * Q1 NET INVESTMENT INCOME $0.41 PER SHARE Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-stonecastle-financial-corp-q1-sale/brief-stonecastle-financial-corp-q1-sales-43-million-idUSASC09ZQ0 |
May 2 (Reuters) - GENERIX GROUP FRANCE SA:
* REG-GENERIX GROUP - 2017 / 2018 REVENUE: +12% OF GROWTH
* Q4 REVENUE EUR 18.1 MILLION VERSUS EUR 17.5 MILLION YEAR AGO
* CONFIRMS PROSPECTS FOR SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN GROUP EBITDA OVER FY Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-generix-group-q4-revenue-up-at-eur/brief-generix-group-q4-revenue-up-at-eur-18-1-million-idUSFWN1S918K |
A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a securities fraud lawsuit against Ocwen Financial Corp, saying investors suing the mortgage servicer failed to show that it misled them about its regulatory compliance.
In a decision on Monday, U.S. District Judge Robin Rosenberg said allegedly misleading statements cited in the proposed class action either were not false or were not the kind of statements that can support securities claims, such as opinions or vague statements of optimism.
To read the full story on WestlawNext Practitioner Insights, click here: bit.ly/2HKrC6V
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/ocwen-securities-dismissal/judge-dismisses-investors-securities-lawsuit-against-ocwen-idUSL1N1S81I1 |
May 2, 2018 / 7:10 AM / in 2 minutes UPDATE 2-Indivior's Q1 profit slips, shares fall on top drug let-down Reuters Staff
* Q1 profit down 5 pct, revenue falls 3.8 pct
* Shares drops as much as 6 pct before clawing back
* U.S. market share of Suboxone Film drops to 55 pct
* Company to share Sublocade sales of data in Q2 (Adds shares, analyst comment, details on Sublocade)
By Justin George Varghese
May 2 (Reuters) - Britain’s Indivior posted a drop in first-quarter profit, as its blockbuster treatment, Suboxone Film, lost market share in the U.S. due to stiff competition from generic versions, the maker of drugs that treat opioid addiction said.
Shares in Indivior, which was spun out from Reckitt Benckiser in 2014 and has risen about three-fold since, were down as much as 6 percent in early trading before clawing back most of it to trade 1.3 percent down on Wednesday.
Indivior’s shares have taken a beating in recent months after losing a couple of legal cases in its battle to protect the patent of Suboxone Film, which generates 80 percent of its revenues.
Generic rivals in tablet form are already on the U.S. market which is grappling with an opioid addiction epidemic that killed 33,000 people 2015, but Suboxone Film leads the market for a version which is placed under the tongue to suppress cravings.
Indivior is also in patent disputes with Allergan Plc’s Actavis Laboratories, Endo International’s Par Pharmaceutical and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries.
The market share of the company’s best-selling opioid addiction drug fell to 55 percent year-to-date from 60 percent last year.
Indivior posted a 5 percent fall in pretax profit to $111 million, while revenue fell 3.8 percent to $255 million.
But the company said it continued to expect net revenue in the range of $1.13 billion to $1.17 billion and net income in the range of $290 million to $320 million in 2018.
Analysts at Morgan Stanley said they did “not expect material consensus estimate revisions for the year as both sales and costs will be phased toward the second half of 2018.”
Indivior, which launched a once-a-month injectable drug to suppress opioid craving in the United States in February, hopes Sublocade will become a blockbuster medicine but expects initial sales to be slow.
The company said that “the launch to date is progressing well, with positive patient and physician feedback and strong initial payor coverage.”
Sublocade, which could be launched in Canada, Australia and Europe from late 2019, is designed to eliminate the risk that treatment drugs could be missed or misused. Indivior said it planned to share sales data from the second quarter this year.
“We expect the early promise of the launch to translate into accelerating prescription trends in the coming quarters and our confidence that Sublocade will achieve at least $1 billion in peak annual net revenue has been further strengthened,” Chief Executive Shaun Thaxter said. Reporting by Justin George Varghese in Bengaluru Editing by Sunil Nair and Edmund Blaitr | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/indivior-results/update-1-indiviors-q1-profit-falls-as-blockbuster-drug-disappoints-idUSL3N1S9209 |
Cramer's game plan: Strong consumer spending could drive upside surprises 15 Hours Ago Jim Cramer looks ahead to key stocks and events he'll watch as a slew of retail companies report earnings. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/11/cramers-game-plan-consumer-spending-could-drive-upside-surprises.html |
May 19, 2018 / 10:25 AM / Updated 6 hours ago UPDATE 3-Super Rugby results Reuters Staff 1 Min Read May 19 (OPTA) - results from the Super Rugby matches on Saturday Sunwolves (10) 26 Stormers (17) 23 Blues (12) 24 Crusaders (29) 32 Waratahs (15) 41 Highlanders (0) 12 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/rugbyunion-super-results/update-2-super-rugby-results-idUKMTZXEE5JZ0RHAQ |
May 8, 2018 / 1:28 Japan to host G20 finance chiefs' meeting over June 8-9 next year - minister Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Tuesday that Japan will host a G20 financial leaders’ meeting in Fukuoka, western Japan, over June 8-9 next year. Japan's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso arrives at G-20 plenary during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
Japan will chair next year’s G20 leaders’ summit meeting in the western Japanese city of Osaka on June 28-29, 2019.
Aso made the announcement at a news conference after a cabinet meeting. Reporting by Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Eric Meijer | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-japan-economy-g20/japan-to-host-g20-finance-chiefs-meeting-over-june-8-9-next-year-minister-idUKKBN1I905H |
May 4, 2018 / 11:21 AM / in 11 minutes Shares in transport firm Ceva Logistics drop in Swiss debut Oliver Hirt 3 Min Read
ZURICH (Reuters) - Shares in transport group Ceva Logistics ( CEVAL.S ) fell more than 8 percent on their Swiss market debut on Friday as even pricing at the bottom end of its share offer range failed to spur demand in Switzerland’s biggest IPO this year. FILE PHOTO: CEO Xavier Urbain of transport firm Ceva Logistics addresses a news conference on the occasion of the company's planned flotation on the Swiss stock exchange in Zurich April 20, 2018. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
Owned by private equity firm Apollo ( APO.N ), Ceva Logistics raised 1.2 billion Swiss francs (886 million pounds) in an offering of new shares that included CMA CGM Group taking a roughly 25 percent stake.
By mid-session, the stock was down 8.1 percent from the offer price of 27.50 francs per share.
One market participant said the stock was too expensive compared with listed Swiss peers like Kuehne+Nagel ( KNIN.S ) and Panalpina ( PWTN.S ).
Turbulent markets have put the brakes on deals and listings, with several scrapped IPOs - including those of Chinese conglomerate HNA Group’s Gategroup and Swissport in Switzerland - costing bankers money in recent months.
“Investors can take their pick given the large number of European IPOs,” one banker said. “They have hardly made any money from IPOs of late so they are taking a very close look in the meantime.”
Newcomers like Deutsche Bank’s ( DBKGn.DE ) funds unit DWS ( DWSG.DE ) and Bavarian drugmaker Dermapharm ( DMPG.DE ) are trading below their issue prices.
The next test of sentiment comes with next week’s listing of scientific publisher Springer Nature, which plans to raise up to 1.6 billion euros (1.4 billion pounds).
In Switzerland, the next big deal could be for packing group SIG, which sources say plans an IPO in the second half.
Antibiotics group Polyphor ( POLN.S ) starts trading in Switzerland on May 15 in a deal meeting relatively brisk demand.
Ceva Logistics, whose clients include Ikea, Amazon ( AMZN.O ) and Volkswagen ( VOWG_p.DE ), is using proceeds from its share sale to reduce debt.
One person familiar with the situation said around of a quarter of the shares sold went to hedge funds and the rest mostly to institutional investors. Interest was slight from Swiss investors, especially retail, another source said. Writing by Michael Shields; Editing by Mark Potter | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ceva-logistics-ipo/shares-in-transport-firm-ceva-logistics-drop-in-swiss-debut-idUKKBN1I519G |
May 15, 2018 / 2:16 PM / Updated 15 minutes ago Dominion seeks U.S. OK to work on Atlantic Coast natgas pipe in North Carolina Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Dominion Energy Inc asked U.S. federal energy regulators for permission to start construction in North Carolina on parts of its $6 billion-$6.5 billion Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina:
* In a filing late on Monday, Dominion asked the Director of the Office of Energy Projects at the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to begin construction on some properties in North Carolina where tree felling has occurred or where there are no trees.
* On Friday, FERC granted Dominion permission to proceed with pipeline construction in parts of West Virginia.
* Dominion has said it expects to complete the project in late 2019.
* The 600-mile (966-km) Atlantic Coast project is designed to carry about 1.5 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio to customers in Virginia and North Carolina.
* One billion cubic feet of gas is enough to fuel about 5 million U.S. homes for a day.
* Atlantic Coast is a partnership between units of Virginia energy company Dominion (48 percent), North Carolina’s Duke Energy Corp (47 percent) and Georgia energy company Southern Co (5 percent). Dominion will build and operate the pipe.
* To feed gas into Atlantic Coast and other pipelines, Dominion also wants to build the 38-mile (61-km) Supply Header project in West Virginia and Pennsylvania at a cost of about $500 million. Reporting by Scott DiSavino; editing by Jonathan Oatis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-dominion-inc-atlantic-coast-natgas/dominion-seeks-u-s-ok-to-work-on-atlantic-coast-natgas-pipe-in-north-carolina-idUSKCN1IG25J |
May 18, 2018 / 3:49 AM / Updated an hour ago METALS-Aluminium drops for third session on rising stockpiles, nickel up Reuters Staff 5 Min Read (Adds nickel, updates prices) By Manolo Serapio Jr MANILA, May 18 (Reuters) - London aluminium futures slipped for a third straight session on Friday as inventories increased, easing worries over a supply shortage in the aftermath of U.S. sanctions on major Russian producer Rusal. On-warrant aluminium stocks in warehouses certified by the London Metal Exchange - inventories that are not earmarked for delivery - surged by 153,075 tonnes or 18 percent on Wednesday, LME data showed on Thursday. MALSTX-TOTAL Three-month aluminium on the London Metal Exchange was down 0.7 percent at $2,277 tonne, as of 0331 GMT, not far above Thursday's two-week low of $2,248.50. "Markets are less worried of a prolonged deficit as Rusal (is) set to boost aluminium exports after the U.S. relaxed its sanctions against Rusal in late April," Commonwealth Bank of Australia analyst Vivek Dhar said in a note. "LME aluminium cancelled warrants are now on par with levels before the sanctions were announced, potentially meaning that we could see some stability at these price levels." About two weeks after imposing sanctions on Rusal, the United States last month gave American customers of Russia's biggest aluminium producer more time to comply with sanctions, and said it would consider lifting them if Rusal's major shareholder, Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska, ceded control of the company. NICKEL: Nickel outperformed other metals, with the LME price rising to a nearly one-month high of $14,830 a tonne. In Shanghai, the most-traded July nickel contract climbed more than 2 percent to an intraday peak of 110,200 yuan per tonne, its loftiest since June 2015. Nickel is the best performing metal on LME this year, gaining nearly 16 percent so far, with stocks of the metal at LME warehouses at the lowest since July 2014. MNI-STOCKS NICKEL DEFICIT: The global nickel market deficit widened to 15,700 tonnes in March from a revised deficit of 6,600 tonnes in the previous month, the International Nickel Study Group said. COPPER: LME copper dropped 0.2 percent to $6,869 a tonne following a two-day gain. In Shanghai, the most-traded July copper contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange rose 0.4 percent to 51,280 yuan ($8,051) a tonne. MARKETS: The dollar hit a four-month high against the yen, buoyed by a rise in U.S. Treasury yields that suggests a more upbeat outlook for the world's largest economy. Asian stocks edged up. JINCHUAN: China's Jinchuan Group International Resources plans to double its African copper and cobalt production in the next two to three years. VEDANTA: Vedanta Resources Plc's Thootukudi copper smelter, one of India's biggest, will remain shut until at least June 6. 0331 GMT Three month LME copper 6869 Most active ShFE copper 51280 Three month LME aluminium 2277 Most active ShFE aluminium 14775 Three month LME zinc 3084.5 Most active ShFE zinc 23720 Three month LME lead 2365 Most active ShFE lead 19585 Three month LME nickel 14755 Most active ShFE nickel 109530 Three month LME tin 20615 Most active ShFE tin 144770 LME/SHFE COPPER LMESHFCUc3 297.61 LME/SHFE ALUMINIUM LMESHFALc3 -2104.08 LME/SHFE ZINC LMESHFZNc3 379.9 LME/SHFE LEAD LMESHFPBc3 463.67 LME/SHFE NICKEL LMESHFNIc3 -2058.48 ($1 = 6.3693 Chinese yuan) (Reporting by Manolo Serapio Jr.; Editing by Richard Pullin and Sherry Jacob-Phillips) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-aluminium-drops-for-third-session-on-rising-stockpiles-nickel-up-idUSL3N1SP1NQ |
May 15, 2018 / 8:31 PM / Updated 20 minutes ago Berkshire Hathaway doubles Teva bet, confirms Apple purchases Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc ( BRKa.N ) on Tuesday said it has more than doubled its investment in generic drugmaker Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd ( TEVA.TA ), and confirmed it has become Apple Inc’s ( AAPL.O ) second-largest shareholder. FILE PHOTO: Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Inc, pauses while playing bridge as part of the company annual meeting weekend in Omaha, Nebraska U.S. May 6, 2018. REUTERS/Rick Wilking/File Photo
Berkshire said it owned about 40.5 million Teva American depositary receipts (ADRs) worth about $693 million as of March 31, up from 18.9 million ADRs three months earlier.
The disclosure was made in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission detailing Berkshire’s U.S.-listed stock holdings as of March 31.
Berkshire also said it boosted its Apple stake to about 239.6 million shares worth more than $40 billion as of March 31, up from 165.3 million shares three months earlier. Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, editing by G Crosse | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-investment-funds-berkshire-hatha/berkshire-hathaway-doubles-teva-bet-confirms-apple-purchases-idUKKCN1IG36Y |
May 11 (Reuters) - Empyrean Capital Partners LP:
* EMPYREAN CAPITAL PARTNERS, LP REPORTS 6.4 PERCENT PASSIVE STAKE IN CONSTRUCTION PARTNERS INC AS OF MAY 4 - SEC FILING Source text: ( bit.ly/2rBKvSJ )
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-empyrean-capital-partners-reports/brief-empyrean-capital-partners-reports-6-4-pct-passive-stake-in-construction-partners-idUSFWN1SI1FP |
ATHENS, May 16 (Reuters) - Greece on Wednesday presented an alternative proposal to privatise its gas utility DEPA to its international lenders, hoping to reach an agreement later this week, its energy minister said on Wednesday.
The proposal was made as Athens and representatives from its European Union and International Monetary Fund creditors resumed talks on the country’s final bailout review, aiming to secure an initial agreement on the Greek reform progress by May 24.
After eight years of financial help by its lenders, Greece exits its third bailout programme in August.
“We submitted our proposal and there will be a consultation so that we conclude on Saturday,” Energy Minister George Stathakis told reporters after meeting mission chiefs from the EU and the IMF.
Under its bailout-mandated privatisation scheme, Greece should have launched the sale of its 65 percent stake in DEPA earlier this year.
But Athens proposed on Wednesday that DEPA be broken into two entities; one for the wholesale and retail gas supply business and the other for the distribution network and international activities, a source close to the matter said.
The aim is that Greece keeps a minority stake in the first company and a majority stake in the second one, the source added.
DEPA imports gas mainly from Russia and supplies power producers, big industries and households across Greece. It has teamed up with foreign firms for the construction of gas interconnections with Bulgaria and Italy. (Reporting by Angeliki Koutantou, editing by Louise Heavens)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/eurozone-greece-bailout-depa/greece-presents-alternative-plan-to-privatise-gas-company-depa-idUSL5N1SL5SH |
May 2, 2018 / 10:45 AM / Updated 2 minutes ago AmerisourceBergen sees Memphis plant back on track by 2019; shares rise Tamara Mathias , Anuron Kumar Mitra 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - Drug distributor AmerisourceBergen Corp ( ABC.N ) posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday and said it expects its Memphis facility to be fully operational by fiscal 2019, sending its shares up 5 percent.
Operations at the troubled facility, which produced around half the compounded drugs the company supplied, is expected to resume in phases, starting this year.
The company has spent about $22 million since the beginning of the year to fix problems at the facility, Chief Financial Officer Tim Guttman said on a conference call, adding any income contribution this year is expected to be nominal.
The Memphis plant was acquired as part of a 2015 buy of PharMEDium Healthcare Holdings and has remained closed since December following inspections by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Since the closure, revenue from AmerisourceBergen’s PharMEDium unit has been hit, but the drug distributor is confident of regaining customers it had lost, noting most clients had simply moved their business in-house.
“There’s just not another large sophisticated competitor out there,” CFO Guttman said.
AmerisourceBergen has repeatedly been rapped on the knuckles by regulators and state authorities who have cited violations and raised public health concerns relating to several facilities in its PharMEDium business.
But the company noted its other plants remain open and called a recent FDA warning concerning its Lake Forest, Illinois facility “procedural”.
Quarterly sales from the pharmaceutical distribution services unit, which houses PharMEDium, rose to $39.45 billion, beating estimates of $39.17 billion according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
The company reiterated its adjusted earnings per share forecast of between $6.45 to $6.65 for 2018, but said it expected earnings to be at the bottom end of that range.
“Amerisource delivered a messy but likely better than feared second quarter,” EvercoreISI analyst Ross Muken said, noting some investors feared a forecast cut as deep as 20 to 30 cents.
Excluding items, the company earned $1.94 per share. Analysts were expecting $1.82 per share.
Net income fell 30 percent to $287.5 million, hurt by a lower revenue from PharMEDium and high operating expenses.
Revenue rose 10.5 percent to $41.03 billion, beating estimates of $40.64 billion, helped by sales from stores bought as part of its acquisition of H.D. Smith. Reporting by Tamara Mathias and Anuron Kumar Mitra in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-amerisourcebergn-results/amerisourcebergen-quarterly-profit-falls-30-percent-idUSKBN1I31BJ |
May 21 (Reuters) - DAVIDsTEA Inc:
* TDM ASSET MANAGEMENT PTY LTD REPORTS 12.2 PERCENT STAKE IN DAVIDSTEA INC AS OF MAY 10 - SEC FILING
* TDM ASSET MANAGEMENT - PURCHASED DAVIDSTEA'S SHARES BASED ON TDM’S BELIEF THAT SHARES, WHEN PURCHASED, WERE UNDERVALUED Source text: ( bit.ly/2kgg8hs ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tdm-asset-management-reports-122-p/brief-tdm-asset-management-reports-12-2-pct-stake-in-davidstea-inc-idUSFWN1SS0VC |
May 18, 2018 / 10:23 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Super Rugby results Reuters Staff 1 Min Read May 18 (OPTA) - results from the Super Rugby matches on Friday Hurricanes (24) 38 Reds (20) 34 Saturday, May 19 fixtures (GMT) Sunwolves v Stormers (04:15) Blues v Crusaders (06:35) Waratahs v Highlanders (08:45) Sharks v Chiefs (12:05) Lions v Brumbies (14:15) Jaguares v Bulls (20:40) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/rugbyunion-super-results/super-rugby-results-idUKMTZXEE5IX63E5I |
May 16 (Reuters) - CGI Group Inc:
* CGI ACQUIRES IT CONSULTING FIRM FACILITÉ INFORMATIQUE TO STRENGTHEN ITS CANADIAN MARKET LEADERSHIP POSITION
* CGI GROUP INC - THROUGH MERGER, 350 PROFESSIONALS WILL JOIN ABOUT 11,000 CGI PROFESSIONALS IN CANADA FROM COAST-TO-COAST AND 73,000 WORLDWIDE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cgi-acquires-it-consulting-firm-fa/brief-cgi-acquires-it-consulting-firm-facilit-informatique-to-strengthen-its-canadian-market-leadership-position-idUSASC0A2LJ |
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