Finance news

• Rebranding drops Spark's earnings

  18-02-2015 23:50 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Rebranding and new investments have dragged Spark's earnings down.
  
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• Sysco hires lawyers for possible merger fight with regulator

  18-02-2015 23:00
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Food distributing company Sysco Corp has hired top Washington litigators to defend itself if U.S. regulators file a lawsuit to stop its merger with rival US Foods , two...
  
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• As CEOs seek tax cuts, senator slams corporate tax haven use

  18-02-2015 22:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senator Bernie Sanders lashed out on Wednesday at widespread use of offshore tax havens by U.S. companies, and the liberal independent targeted a group that represents CEOs of big corporations and wants corporate taxes lowered. Sanders, top opposition member on the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, released a report decrying what he called "legalized tax fraud." It showed that 111 of the 201 member companies of the Business Roundtable are sheltering m
  
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• Shiller's CAPE won't save you, saving will

  18-02-2015 22:49
  
  (Reuters) - Even when it is coming from a Nobel Prize winner, the simplest financial advice is usually the best.
  
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• Webjet on track to lift full year earnings

  18-02-2015 22:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Travel website Webjet says it is on track to lift its full year underlying earnings despite reporting a flat first half profit.
  
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• Boston Scientific and Fossil are big market movers

  18-02-2015 22:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Boston Scientific Corp., up $1.84 to $16.68 The medical device maker will pay ...
  
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• J.P. Morgan Securities hires eight advisers since fall

  18-02-2015 22:17
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - J.P. Morgan Securities, JPMorgan Chase & Co's boutique wealth management business, said on Wednesday it hired eight advisers in the last six months who together managed $2...
  
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• US stock market ends mostly lower

  18-02-2015 22:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. stock market is ending with small losses after minutes from a Federal Reserve meeting in January showed that policymakers were in no hurry to raise interest rates.
  
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• Dow, S&P end down, though Fed minutes supportive

  18-02-2015 22:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Dow and S&P 500 edged down on Wednesday following losses in energy shares, but minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting that showed concern from policymakers about raising interest rates too soon limited the decline.
  
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• Fed policymakers inclined to wait before rate hike: minutes

  18-02-2015 22:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal Reserve policymakers appeared willing to wait longer to begin raising rates, in the absence of any inflationary pressures, the minutes of the Fed's January meeting showed Wednesday. Many members of the Federal Open Market Committee were more concerned about moving too soon and stifling economic growth, especially given the troubled economies in Europe and Asia, the record showed. The release of the FOMC's January 27-28 policy meeting record quickly dampened expectations of an i
  
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• U.S. regulators give three non-banks more time for living wills

  18-02-2015 21:30
  WASHINGTON, Feb 18 (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve and
  the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation gave three non-bank
  firms more time to submit plans that lay out how they can be
  wound down...
  
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• Interactive Brokers must pay $667,000 for portfolio selloff mishap -panel

  18-02-2015 21:16
  (Reuters) - Interactive Brokers LLC must pay $667,000 to a hedge fund after an arbitration panel found the discount brokerage firm’s system for selling securities from clients’ accounts to pay margin...
  
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• Fed officials in no hurry to raise rates

  18-02-2015 21:16 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials struggled last month to assess when economic data might prompt them to raise interest rates from record lows — and how best to convey their intentions to investors.
  
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• UPDATE 2-Virgin America gives positive outlook, but sees increased competition

  18-02-2015 21:15
  Feb 18 (Reuters) - Virgin America Inc on Wednesday forecast unit revenue for the current period in line with industry peers but said competition for travelers in New York and Dallas has heated...
  
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• How Hiring Decisions Are Made

  18-02-2015 21:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Years ago, I had a large office in the Wall Street area with a personal secretary screening my phone calls, opening mail, taking dictation, and managing my calendar. Since then of course, the business world has changed. The next phase had executives sharing a pool of secretaries using floppy discs working on word processors. That […]
  
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• REFILE-UPDATE 1-Virgin America gives positive outlook, but profit misses estimates

  18-02-2015 21:11
  Feb 18 (Reuters) - Virgin America Inc on Wednesday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit but forecast unit revenue for the current period in line with its industry peers, and its shares...
  
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• US stocks stay lower after Fed minutes

  18-02-2015 21:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market was slightly lower Wednesday afternoon after minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed that policy makers were less likely to raise interest rates in June than investors previously thought.
  
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• U.S. must invest to keep ahead of China in space, hearing told

  18-02-2015 21:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Brunnstrom WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's space program is catching up with that of the United States and Washington must invest in military and civilian programs if it is to remain the world's dominant space power, a congressional hearing heard on Wednesday. Experts speaking to Congress's U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission said China's fast advances in military and civilian space technology were part of a long-term strategy to shape the international geopolitical system
  
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• Cheaper crude oil subdues U.S. producer inflation; housing starts fall

  18-02-2015 20:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. producer prices recorded their biggest drop in more than five years in January as the cost of energy and a range of other goods tumbled, hinting at a disinflationary trend that could argue against the Federal Reserve raising interest rates. Other reports on Wednesday showed housing starts fell last month, while manufacturing output rose marginally, signs of moderate economic growth early in the first quarter. "That, along with persistently cool measures on inflation, will complicate de
  
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• Wall St. dips; briefly trims losses after Fed minutes

  18-02-2015 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stocks were down slightly on Wednesday, briefly trimming losses after minutes from the latest Federal Reserve meeting showed concern from policymakers about raising interest rates too soon. Fed policymakers expressed concern last month that raising interest rates too soon could pour cold water on the U.S. economic recovery, and fretted over the impact of dropping "patient" from the central bank's interest rate guidance. I think June is going to be hard for them to move, but that&#
  
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• HSBC whistleblower says would face Swiss trial under conditions

  18-02-2015 20:42
  
  ZURICH (Reuters) - Herve Falciani, the former HSBC employee who supplied information on the bank's clients and their tax situation, said he was willing to return to Switzerland to stand trial if he...
  
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• US stocks pare losses after Fed minutes

  18-02-2015 20:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Declines in the U.S. stock market eased Wednesday afternoon after minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting showed that policy makers do not appear ready to raise interest rates anytime soon.
  
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• Instant View: Federal Reserve minutes suggest slow path to rate hikes

  18-02-2015 20:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  * At the central bank's last policy-setting meeting in January, Fed officials debated the impact that stubbornly low inflation measures were having on the central bank's confidence in moving ahead with raising rates. * They also noted how China's economic slowdown and tensions in the Middle East and Ukraine posed downside risks to the U.S. economic growth outlook, according to minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's Jan. 27-28 meeting.
  
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• Fed officials worried about hiking rates too soon: minutes

  18-02-2015 20:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal Reserve policymakers expressed concern last month that raising interest rates too soon could pour cold water on the U.S. economic recovery, and fretted over the impact of dropping "patient" from the central bank's interest rate guidance. At the central bank's last policy-setting meeting in January, Fed officials debated the impact that stubbornly low inflation measures were having on the central bank's confidence in moving ahead with raising rates. They also note
  
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• Stocks slip ahead of Fed minutes; energy stocks drop

  18-02-2015 19:43 via news.yahoo.com
  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market pulled back from record levels on Wednesday. Declines were led by energy stocks, as the price of oil fell on speculation that a recent rally in the crude was excessive.
  
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• NYC and state sue UPS for illegally shipping cigarettes

  18-02-2015 19:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Karen Freifeld NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City and New York state sued United Parcel Service Inc. on Wednesday, seeking over $180 million in damages and penalties against the shipping company for allegedly delivering nearly 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes across the state. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accuses UPS of cheating the state and city of $29.7 million and $4.7 million, respectively, in tax revenue, according to a statement from New York Attorney Ge
  
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• European stocks up on Greek hopes; U.S. awaits Fed

  18-02-2015 19:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks in Europe marched higher to close at multi-year highs on Wednesday as investors brushed off uncertainty over Greece's negotiations with its creditors. Wall Street, meanwhile, was held in check ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting at 2 p.m. (7:00 p.m.) as investors await clues on the U.S. central bank's plans to raise interest rates. The Greek government said it will submit a request to extend a &q
  
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• U.S. tries to salvage ex-Jefferies trader's fraud conviction

  18-02-2015 19:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. government has urged a federal appeals court not to throw out a former Jefferies Group Inc managing director's conviction for defrauding mortgage bond investors after the financial crisis, which the court had warned it might do. In a Tuesday filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, U.S. Attorney Deirdre Daly of Connecticut said jurors could have reasonably concluded that defendant Jesse Litvak intentionally lied to cust
  
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• A Stock Market Alarm Is Sounding for the First Time Since 2007

  18-02-2015 19:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Moreover, the European Central Bank could soon pull its support of Greece's financial system, as imbalances build within the pan-Euro Target2 system amid Greek deposit outflows. This, along with ongoing strength in crude oil (which, in turn is boosting energy stocks), has whipped investors into frenzy, according to the latest Investors Intelligence survey. Higher risk appetites can also be seen in the inflows pouring into high-yield bond funds, totaling nearly $9 billion over the last three week
  
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• European shares mostly up on hopes for Greek deal

  18-02-2015 19:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe's main stock markets closed mostly up on Wednesday, buoyed by hopes that Greece's creditors will throw it a "lifeline" to ease its debt crisis and help it avoid a painful eurozone exit. London's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed flat at 6,898.08 points after reaching 15-year highs earlier in the day on news that Athens would seek an extension to its bailout. Athens appeared Wednesday to be nearing a deal with EU officials on extending its loan agreement to allow tim
  
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• U.S.-focused stock funds post first outflows in four weeks: ICI

  18-02-2015 19:03
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors in U.S.-based mutual funds pulled cash out of funds that specialize in U.S. stocks in the week ended Feb. 11 on greater prospects in international shares, data from the...
  
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• Divers discover huge hoard of gold coins off Israeli coast

  18-02-2015 18:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ori Lewis CAESAREA, Israel (Reuters) - Scuba divers have discovered a rare haul of gleaming 1,000-year-old gold coins inscribed in Arabic on the sea bed off Israel, a find archaeologists say may shed light on Muslim rule in that age. The treasure, which was probably exposed during recent winter storms, is thought to have sunk in a shipwreck near the ancient Roman port of Caesarea in the eastern Mediterranean. "(This is) a great treasure from a (vessel) that was probably taking the hoard,
  
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• U.S. labor secretary to hold more talks in West Coast ports dispute

  18-02-2015 18:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Steve Gorman LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez planned to hold a second round of talks with shipping company executives and union leaders for 20,000 dockworkers on Wednesday, seeking to broker a deal to end months of labor turmoil clogging cargo traffic at 29 West Coast ports. Perez was sent to San Francisco as an emissary of President Barack Obama, who has come under mounting pressure to intervene in a conflict that has reverberated through the trans-Pacific commercial s
  
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• Moldova approves pro-European gov't amid uncertainty

  18-02-2015 18:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) — Moldova's Parliament has approved a minority pro-European government relying on the support of the Communists, as economic turmoil caused the currency to plummet.
  
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• Creditors say RadioShack timed Ch. 11 for hedge fund trade -filing

  18-02-2015 18:09
  Feb 18 (Reuters) - Unsecured creditors of RadioShack Corp
  said the electronics retailer timed its bankruptcy to benefit a
  hedge fund trading strategy even though it cost the company
  millions of...
  
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• Britain's FTSE stalls after touching 15-year peak

  18-02-2015 18:08
  * Greek deal hopes underpin financials (Adds data, price updates)
  
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• Stocks slip lower ahead of Fed minutes; energy stocks drop

  18-02-2015 17:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. stock market on Wednesday pulled back from record levels. Declines were led by energy stocks in the afternoon, as the price of oil fell on speculation that a recent rally in the crude was excessive.
  
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• How to turn your dog into a cash cow

  18-02-2015 17:38
  
  (Reuters) - Your dog may never make it like the beagle Miss P, winner of the 2015 Westminster Kennel Club's best in show award, but he or she may still have a shot at becoming a YouTube star or...
  
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• Wall Street edges back from record, investors await Fed

  18-02-2015 17:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were modestly lower on Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 ended above 2,100 for the first time, as investors looked ahead to comments from the Federal Reserve. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will be released Wednesday afternoon, and market participants will scour them for hints about whether the central bank might change the language of its next policy statement to flag a possible increase in interest rates, which could come as early as June
  
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• Brazil finally gets some rain, but rationing still looms

  18-02-2015 17:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Heavy rains during Brazil's four-and-a-half-day Carnival holiday offered the first relief in months for the country's drought-stricken and economically crucial southeast, but was unlikely to end fears of water and electricity shortages. A cold front along Brazil's southeastern coast near the two principal cities of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro brought heavy rains on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday to most of the region and the neighboring center-west, home to much of the country's farm belt. The sout
  
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• Exclusive: EU regulators likely to probe deeper into GE, Alstom deal - sources

  18-02-2015 16:56
  
  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - General Electric's 12.4-billion-euro ($14.08 billion) bid for Alstom's power equipment business is likely to face a full-scale investigation by EU antitrust regulators, three...
  
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• European stocks climb on Greek hopes; U.S. awaits Fed

  18-02-2015 16:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chuck Mikolajczak NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks in Europe marched to multi-year highs on Wednesday as investors shrugged off uncertainty over Greece's negotiations with its creditors. Wall Street, meanwhile, was held in check ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Reserve's January meeting at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT) as investors await clues on the U.S. central bank's plans to raise interest rates. The Greek government said it will request a loan extension for up to six months o
  
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• Telecoms tycoon seeks to buy out Vivendi from Numericable-SFR

  18-02-2015 16:29
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - Billionaire Patrick Drahi is aiming to buy Vivendi's 20 percent stake in Numericable-SFR to strengthen his grip on France's No.2 telecoms group and prepare for a possible next round...
  
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• Nigeria fixes naira at 198/dollar in de facto devaluation

  18-02-2015 16:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank scrapped its bi-weekly currency auctions on Wednesday and a market body said it would sell dollars only at 198 naira, a move that amounts to a de facto devaluation of the currency of Africa's biggest economy. With elections due in less than six weeks, the changes let the central bank rein in its defence of the naira, on which it was spending more than $100 million a day, while avoiding the politically unpalatable word "d
  
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• U.S. college student borrowers, debt rise last year: N.Y. Fed

  18-02-2015 16:10
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - More U.S. students continued to borrow larger sums for their college education last year, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while total student loan...
  
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• Wall Street pulls back from record, investors await Fed

  18-02-2015 16:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were modestly lower on Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 ended above 2,100 for the first time, as investors looked ahead to comments from the Federal Reserve. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will be released Wednesday afternoon, and market participants will scour them for hints about whether the central bank might change the language of its next policy statement to flag a possible increase in interest rates, which could come as early as June
  
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• Wall St. pulls back from record, investors await Fed

  18-02-2015 16:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks were modestly lower on Wednesday, a day after the S&P 500 ended above 2,100 for the first time, as investors looked ahead to comments from the Federal Reserve. Minutes from the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee will be released Wednesday afternoon, and market participants will scour them for hints about whether the central bank might change the language of its next policy statement to flag a possible increase in interest rates, which could come as early as June
  
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• UPDATE 2-Garmin expects stronger dollar to slow growth

  18-02-2015 15:48
  Feb 18 (Reuters) - Garmin Ltd, a maker of GPS-based gadgets, said a stronger dollar would slow revenue growth and forecast a profit below market estimates for the full year.
  
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• Virgin America reports positive outlook but profit misses estimates

  18-02-2015 15:43
  Feb 18 (Reuters) - Virgin America Inc on Thursday reported a lower-than-expected quarterly profit but forecast unit revenue for the current period in line with its industry peers, and its shares rose...
  
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• BUZZ -Enphase Energy Inc: Strong Q4 results

  18-02-2015 15:40
  ** Shares of maker of microinverters for solar industry up 4.9 pct at $14.60 in early trading
  
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