Finance news

• Global shares, bond yields plunge on fears for banks and global growth

  11-02-2016 23:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stock markets fell worldwide on Thursday on fears over the health of the global economy and the banking sector, with MSCI's global stock index dropping to more than 20 percent below its all-time high, while safe-haven 10-year Treasury yields hit their lowest since 2012. Doubts about central banks' ability to avoid deflation and stimulate economic growth have now pushed the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 index down 10.5 percent for the year. Yields on benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury notes hit 1.53 pe
  
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• Desperately seeking alternatives to negative rates: James Saft

  11-02-2016 23:47
  
  (Reuters) - Right about now would be the time to be considering alternatives to negative interest rates.
  
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• JPMorgan's Dimon buys more than $25 mln company stock -source

  11-02-2016 23:38
  
  NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co, recently bought 500,000 shares of the company's stock worth more than $25 million, according to a person...
  
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• CBS quarterly profit meets Wall Street targets but shares fall

  11-02-2016 23:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  CBS and other media companies are under pressure to show that they can survive and thrive as younger viewers turn away from traditional television. The owner of Showtime and CBS Sports Networks, radio stations and the Simon & Schuster publishing house has rolled out a Web-based subscription package, CBS All Access. Chief Executive Officer Les Moonves, who was just named chairman in place of controlling shareholder Sumner Redstone, said he did not plan to change strategy.
  
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• Banks drag Wall Street lower as growth fears, rate outlook weigh

  11-02-2016 23:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank shares dragged Wall Street lower on Thursday on concerns the slowing global economy will continue to pressure interest rates, while energy shares helped pare losses late in the session.
  
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• Global benchmark index drop confirms bear market

  11-02-2016 22:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stock indexes worldwide stumbled on Thursday on fears over the health of the global economy, with a global equity benchmark index closing the day more than 20 percent below its record high last May, confirming global stocks are in a bear market. MSCI's all-country world equity index, which tracks shares in 45 nations, was last down 4.73 points, or 1.32 percent, to 353.35.
  
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• Banks sell off but Wall Street ends far from lows

  11-02-2016 22:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank shares dragged Wall Street lower on Thursday on concerns the a slowing global economy will continue to pressure interest rates, but energy shares helped the market pare losses on a report that OPEC may move to cut oil production.
  
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• Dollar dives as global growth fears fester

  11-02-2016 22:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A slump in major stock markets and a jump in bond prices this week has forced traders out of risky positions, leading to the unwinding of the carry trade and repayment of cheap yen funds. Recent global market turmoil has prompted large-scale yen buying even though Japan recently lowered its interest rates below zero, which theoretically should reduce the yen's value. Doubts about the effectiveness of the Bank Of Japan's rate policy has prompted traders to ignore traditional fundamentals and pack
  
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• Weaker Canadian dollar may trigger takeovers on TSX, hollowing out investor choice

  11-02-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Corporate Canada is on sale for foreign buyers after the Canadian dollar plunged, potentially triggering takeovers that hollow out investor choice in an already concentrated stock market, portfolio managers warned. A narrower pool of investment choices would reduce the opportunity to diversify, exposing Canadian investors to greater risk amid a highly volatile period for stock markets. U.S. home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos Inc agreed this month to buy Cana
  
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• U.S. oil hits 12-year low on stockpile surge, risk aversion

  11-02-2016 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Barani Krishnan NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude slid on Thursday, hitting 12-year lows as domestic stockpiles grew, Goldman Sachs called for depressed prices until the second half of the year and investors fled from equities and other risky assets into safe havens such as gold. Prices came off session lows in post-settlement trade after the Wall Street Journal quoted UAE's energy minister as saying OPEC was ready to cooperate on production cuts. Most traders were skeptical, noting that Venezu
  
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• US stocks fall for fourth straight day

  11-02-2016 22:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks fell for the fourth day in a row as concerns about global economic weakness intensified, even as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated her confidence in the U.S. economy.
  
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• Analtsis - Earnings bolster Cisco, but raise concerns for broader IT spending

  11-02-2016 21:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc reported it is weathering a global slowdown in information-technology spending, but signs potential custome...
  
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• Earnings bolster Cisco, but raise concerns for broader IT spending

  11-02-2016 21:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sarah McBride SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Networking giant Cisco Systems Inc reported it is weathering a global slowdown in information-technology spending, but signs potential customers are putting some projects on hold exacerbated concerns about broader IT growth. Cisco shares rose 10 percent on Thursday, bucking the overall market after it set a profit target in line with Wall Street expectations despite the weaker spending it noted around the world by businesses. Cisco Chief Executive Chuck
  
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• DoubleLine's Gundlach: Gold to hit $1400 as investors lose faith in central banks

  11-02-2016 21:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Jeffrey Gundlach, the co-founder and chief executive officer of DoubleLine Capital, said on Thursday that gold prices are likely to reach $1400 an ounce as investors lose faith in central banks. "The evidence that negative rates are harmful and not helpful has piled up to the point that the 'In Central Banks We Trust' mantra has finally been laid bare as a hoax," Gundlach said. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen suggested the U.S. central bank could turn to negative interest rates in an economic
  
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• Iran's main opposition leaderless, but insists it's not a spent force

  11-02-2016 21:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Parisa Hafezi ANKARA (Reuters) - Hope for change is dwindling but not gone among supporters of Iran's main pro-reform opposition, although its leaders remain under house arrest and pragmatist President Hassan Rouhani looks incapable of achieving the freer society he promised. Mass disqualifications of reformist candidates are further undermining the chances of political and social change to match Iranians' expectations of a better economic life after Rouhani fulfilled his other election promi
  
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• South Africa's Zuma eyes foreign investors as opposition disrupts speech

  11-02-2016 21:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Wendell Roelf CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South African opposition members interrupted the annual state-of-the-nation speech by President Jacob Zuma on Thursday, repeatedly jeering a leader they accuse of mismanaging the flagging economy. Zuma's speech highlighted policies to revive the economy, at a time when the president is under fire over a taxpayer-funded security upgrade to his private home that cost 250 million rand (then $23 million). The worst drought in a century is forcing Africa's top g
  
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• US markets trim losses in late trading

  11-02-2016 21:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Declines in banks and other financial companies led a broad slide in U.S. stocks Thursday afternoon, but the market recovered somewhat from even steeper losses earlier in the day. The slump reflected heightened concerns about global economic weakness, even as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated her confidence in the U.S. economy. The latest slide put the stock market on track for its fourth loss in a row.
  
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• France's Hollande reshuffles cabinet with eye on 2017 election

  11-02-2016 21:21 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ingrid Melander and Elizabeth Pineau PARIS (Reuters) - French President Francois Hollande on Thursday broadened his cabinet to include the heads of two smaller left-wing parties, looking beyond his Socialist party in a bid to improve his faltering chances of re-election in 2017. Dogged by deep unpopularity and public anger over unemployment, Hollande hopes the reshuffle will widen his voter appeal and discourage other leftist candidates from running against him. Michel Sapin stays on as finan
  
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• Google developing virtual reality headset - WSJ

  11-02-2016 21:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Google is developing a virtual reality headset that works without a smartphone or computer, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. The headset will include a screen, high-powered processors and outward-facing cameras, the Journal reported, citing one person. Alphabet Inc's Google currently sells a virtual reality device made of cardboard into which users slide in their mobile phones. Since the launch in 2014, Google has shipped five million Google C
  
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• Yellen: Too early to determine impact of global developments

  11-02-2016 20:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen cautioned Thursday that global economic pressures pose risks to the U.S. economy but said it's too soon to know whether those risks are severe enough to alter the Fed's interest-rate policies.
  
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• Telus says Alberta weakness, competition hurt fourth-quarter profit

  11-02-2016 20:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alastair Sharp TORONTO (Reuters) - Telus Corp , one of Canada's three big telecom providers, reported a 16 percent drop in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday, hurt by increased wireless competition and sagging demand, partly due to economic weakness in the oil-producing province of Alberta. Shares in the Vancouver-based company were down 1.2 percent at C$39.37 in early afternoon trade. Telus said it would increase capital expenditures by 3 percent to C$2.65 billion this year, after spending he
  
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• Questions grow over banks as profit warnings pile up

  11-02-2016 20:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PARIS (AP) — Questions are growing over the financial health of banks, particularly in Europe and the U.S., as they face a toxic mix of low economic growth, bad loans and squeezed earnings.
  
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• Fed's Yellen sticks to her guns as global market rout worsens

  11-02-2016 20:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lindsay Dunsmuir and Jonathan Spicer WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen returned to Congress with a brave face on Thursday amid a worsening meltdown in global markets and growing skepticism the U.S. central bank can carry out its long-planned pivot to "normal" monetary policy. Testifying for a second straight day before lawmakers, Yellen repeatedly stressed that the Fed is not on a "pre-set path" even though, for now, she still expects it to gradually raise interest rat
  
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• S&P, Dow down over 10 percent for the year as Wall Street sinks

  11-02-2016 20:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  At its lowest on Thursday, the Nasdaq was 19.34 percent lower than its peak closing high on July 20, and about 35 points shy of being confirmed in bear territory. The S&P financial sector , already the worst performer among the 10 major sectors on the index, led the rout with a 3.23 percent decline, its steepest drop since Sept. 1. The rout in financial stocks is being led by banks as investors fear that the negative interest rates employed by a growing band of central banks to spur economic
  
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• L'Oreal reports glowing sales and operating margin in 2015

  11-02-2016 19:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  French cosmetics giant L'Oreal said Thursday that its sales and operating margin improved considerably last year, but profit fell by a third due to an asset sale in 2014. The 3.3 billion euro ($3.7 billion) net profit in 2015 was up 14 percent, however, if the 2.1 billion euros it booked for the sale of the 50 percent stake in of dermatological research lab Galderma to Nestle is stripped out of the results. "In a year marked by a worldwide economic slowdown and increased international volatility
  
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• Reduced expectations of Fed hike shift bond strategy: BlackRock

  11-02-2016 19:38
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc's chief strategist for fixed income said on Thursday his unit is shifting its approach to bond markets on new expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve may need to...
  
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• Direct reservations help TripAdvisor book profit beat

  11-02-2016 19:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Travel review website operator TripAdvisor Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as more users reserved hotels using a new system that allows direct bookings from its website. The results follow a strong showing by online travel company Expedia Inc and indicate that travel demand in key markets such as the United States and Europe was resilient despite concerns of slowing global economic growth. TripAdvisor's shares surged as much as 19 percent to $64.72, registering the
  
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• South Africa car industry faces tough 2016 as economy falters

  11-02-2016 19:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Nqobile Dludla JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's car sector, the country's largest manufacturing industry, faces a third successive year of declining sales as a weak economy and rising interest rates hit demand for vehicles, the head of its manufacturer' association said on Thursday. South Africa's central bank cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 0.9 percent from 1.5 percent, slightly above the 0.7 percent and 0.8 percent estimated by the International Monetary Fund and th
  
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• Saipem counting the cost of going solo in low oil price world

  11-02-2016 19:32
  
  MILAN, Feb 11 (Reuters) - A plunge in oil prices and little sign of recovery anytime soon have left Italian oil contractor Saipem ill-prepared to cope with life independent from former parent Eni,...
  
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• UPDATE 3-Direct reservations help TripAdvisor book profit beat

  11-02-2016 19:31
  
  Feb 11 (Reuters) - Travel review website operator TripAdvisor Inc reported better-than-expected quarterly revenue and profit as more users reserved hotels using a new system that allows direct...
  
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• What's behind the global stock market selloff?

  11-02-2016 19:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global stock markets are on their shakiest footing in years. Investors are fleeing stocks and running to safe-havens like bonds and gold, driven by concerns about economic growth the effectiveness of central banks' policies. At the same time, tumbling energy prices are upending the economies of oil-producing countries, further slicing into global economic growth.
  
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• UPDATE 3-SocGen shares slide after cautious 2016 outlook

  11-02-2016 19:26
  
  * Shares slide 13 percent (Recasts with comments from conference call)
  
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• S&P, Dow down over 10 pct for the year as Wall St sinks

  11-02-2016 19:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Investors dumped U.S. stocks across the board on Thursday, pushing the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 10 percent for the year, on fears over the health of the global economy. At its lowest on Thursday, the Nasdaq was 19.34 percent lower than its peak closing high on July 20, and about 35 points shy of being confirmed in bear territory. The rout in financial stocks is being led by banks as investors fear that the negative interest rates employed by a growing band
  
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• Low U.S. jobless claims underscore labor market strength

  11-02-2016 19:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting the labor market remains on solid footing despite slowing economic growth and a stock market rout.    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 269,000 for the week ended Feb. 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. "The economy might be sailing into a storm, the financial markets say, but if
  
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• Blackstone aims new fund at troubled offshore drilling market

  11-02-2016 19:11
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Blackstone Group has launched a fund to finance the troubled offshore drilling and services sector, the U.S. private equity firm said on Thursday, anticipating a buyer's market...
  
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• Och-Ziff posts first ever quarterly loss, shares slump

  11-02-2016 18:58
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Hedge fund company Och-Ziff Capital Management Group reported its first ever quarterly loss on Thursday after earning half as much in fees during the tail end of 2015.
  
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• L'Oreal 2015 sales up across markets, net profit down

  11-02-2016 18:53 via news.yahoo.com
  
  PARIS (AP) — Leading global cosmetics company L'Oreal saw its sales grow 12 percent last year, with increases across old and new markets despite difficulties in Brazil and global economic uncertainty.
  
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• Global stock markets plunge on Fed gloom

  11-02-2016 18:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A fierce sell-off gripped world markets Thursday after a warning by US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen over the global economy, while oil fell close to 13-year lows.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Tesla shares in top gear after strong car sales forecast

  11-02-2016 18:15
  
  Feb 11 (Reuters) - Shares of Tesla Motors Inc posted their biggest percentage gain in nearly two years, as investors shrugged off a bigger quarterly loss to focus on the company's aggressive sales...
  
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• US markets follow global shares lower

  11-02-2016 18:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The U.S. stock market veered sharply lower in midday trading as concerns about global economic weakness intensified, even as Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen reiterated her confidence in the U.S. economy.
  
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• US stocks extend losses; Dow -2.2%

  11-02-2016 18:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street stocks sharply extended losses Thursday morning after Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said it was "premature" to assess the impact of global market turmoil on the US economy. Near 1650 GMT, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was at 15,570.85, down 343.89 points (2.16 percent). The broad-based S&P 500 fell 33.61 (1.81 percent) to 1,818.25, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 59.05 (1.38 percent) to 4,224.54.
  
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• UPDATE 3-Avon turnaround in doubt after sales drop more than expected

  11-02-2016 18:04
  
  * Shares fall as much as 19 pct (Adds details from conference call, analyst comment; updates shares)
  
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• European markets down sharply at close

  11-02-2016 17:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Paris (AFP) - European stocks markets closed down sharply Thursday as markets were gripped by another fierce sell-off over concerns about banks, oil and the global economy.
  
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• FTSE ends sharply lower, UK banking index hits 7-year low

  11-02-2016 17:50
  
  LONDON, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Britain's top share index slumped on Thursday, with a sharp sell-off in major banking and mining stocks pushing the market down to its lowest level in more than three...
  
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• PM says may be hard to keep balanced budget promise

  11-02-2016 17:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government could find it hard to balance the budget by 2019/20 as promised if the economy continues to struggle, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in an interview published on Thursday. Trudeau, speaking to the French-language La Presse newspaper, also confirmed the budget deficit in the 2016/17 fiscal year would be larger than the C$10 billion ($7.1 billion) his new Liberal government initially committed to. ...
  
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• Low U.S. jobless claims underscore labour market strength

  11-02-2016 17:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell more than expected last week, suggesting the labour market remains on solid footing despite slowing economic growth and a stock market rout.    Initial claims for state unemployment benefits declined 16,000 to a seasonally adjusted 269,000 for the week ended Feb. 6, the Labor Department said on Thursday. "The economy might be sailing into a storm, the financial markets say, but i
  
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• Fed's Yellen sticks to her guns as market rout worsens

  11-02-2016 17:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen returned to Capitol Hill with a brave face on Thursday amid a worsening meltdown on global stock markets and growing skepticism the U.S. central bank can carry out its long-planned pivot to "normal" monetary policy. Yellen, testifying before the Senate Banking Committee, stressed the bright spots in the U.S. economic recovery while acknowledging that a weakened global economy and steep slide in equity markets is tightening financial conditions faster than the F
  
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• Wall St. tumbles; S&P, Dow down 10 percent for the year

  11-02-2016 17:30 via news.yahoo.com
  
  All 10 S&P major sectors were in the red, led by financials, especially banks. The financial sector , already the worst performing S&P sector this year, dropped 2.71 percent. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen stuck to her guns on her return to Capitol Hill on Thursday, saying a weakened global economy and steep slide in U.S. equity markets is tightening financial conditions faster than the Fed wants.
  
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• Lagarde set for second term as IMF chief

  11-02-2016 17:29 via news.yahoo.com
  
  IMF chief Christine Lagarde became assured Thursday of a second five-year term after the global financial institution announced there were no other candidates for the position. "One candidate, current Managing Director Christine Lagarde, has been nominated," the IMF executive board said in a statement. The United States, the largest IMF stakeholder and long a strong supporter of Lagarde's leadership in steering the crisis lender through a critical time for the global economy, swiftly declared it
  
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• Yellen: Global market turmoil impact still unclear

  11-02-2016 17:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Thursday that it is too early to fully understand the impact on US economic growth of the turmoil in global markets. Asked in a Senate hearing if the United States could be facing recession amid the global downturn, Yellen downplayed the chance of a contraction in the economy. Yellen reiterated her statement from a House of Representatives hearing on Wednesday that US economic growth faces rising risk from tighter financial conditions domestically and the
  
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