Finance news

• Kansas budget woes weigh on state's credit ratings

  03-05-2016 22:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Moody's Investors Service on Tuesday slapped a negative outlook on Kansas' Aa2 credit rating, citing the state's reliance on one-shot measures to balance its budget. Governor Sam Brownback plans to divert $185 million in sales tax revenue from the state' highway fund to the general fund and delay a $96.5 million fiscal 2016 pension payment to help fill the gap. "By continuing to balance its budget with unsustainable, nonrecurring resources, including pension underfunding, it is accum
  
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• Bankers say U.S. antitrust concerns weigh on deal activity

  03-05-2016 22:48 via news.yahoo.com
  Anti-trust concerns are preventing corporations from pursuing mergers more than other broad regulatory or economic issues, several senior investment bankers said during a panel on Tuesday at the Milken Institute's Global Conference. "It's that increasingly high bar that we're seeing from an anti-trust perspective," said Paul Stefanick, Deutsche Bank AG's head of corporate and investment banking in the Americas. Stefanick pointed to several deals that have recently fallen apart, including this we
  
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• Political ads and Super Bowl boost CBS in first quarter

  03-05-2016 22:40 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - CBS Corp, the owner of the most-watched U.S. TV network, reported a 10 percent rise in quarterly revenue, beating Wall Street estimates, as the U.S. presidential campaign and Super Bowl broadcast boosted spending on advertising. The New York-based company, whose earnings also handily beat expectations, said on Tuesday that advertising revenue jumped 31.3 percent in the first quarter ended March 31. "Advertising is poised for even more growth in the back half of the year as political
  
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• Wall Street loses ground on growth fears, oil slide

  03-05-2016 22:32 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after weak economic data in China and Europe reignited worries about global growth, while oil prices dropped for a second day, dragging down energy shares. Bucking the day's trend, Apple rose 1.6 percent to $95.18, breaking an eight-session streak of losses. Activity in China's factories shrank for the 14th straight month in April as demand stagnated, a private survey showed.
  
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• M&A slowdown clouds Wall Street view on stocks

  03-05-2016 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Worldwide merger deals have declined sharply from the frenetic pace that pushed them to record levels in 2015, a sign that could reflect broader weakness in the U.S. economy and vulnerability for U.S. stocks. Previous merger and acquisition activity bursts peaked in 2000 and 2007 and preceded big stock sell-offs. The number of deals is down 13 percent, as expectations of higher interest rates and more government regulation is making mergers seem more expensive and risky.
  
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• Wall Street falls on growth fears, oil decline

  03-05-2016 22:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after weak economic data in China and Europe reignited worries about global growth, while oil prices dropped for a second day, dragging down energy shares. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 138.88 points, or 0.78 percent, to 17,752.28, the S&P 500 lost 18 points, or 0.86 percent, to 2,063.43 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 54.37 points, or 1.13 percent, to 4,763.22. (Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch in New York; Editing by Nick Zieminsk
  
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• Wall St. falls on growth fears, oil decline

  03-05-2016 22:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Tuesday after weak economic data in China and Europe reignited worries about global growth, while oil prices dropped for a second day, dragging down energy shares.
  
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• Corporate earnings keep falling, but there are signs of life

  03-05-2016 21:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Are we there yet? It's another weak quarter on Wall Street, but there are some signs corporate America will come out of its recent funk.
  
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• Slump in Chinese manufacturing weighs on markets

  03-05-2016 21:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — More weakness in Chinese manufacturing weighed on U.S. and European financial markets on Tuesday, renewing concerns that the world's second-largest economy is slowing down. Those fears were compounded after European officials cut back their growth forecasts for that region's struggling economy.
  
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• UPDATE 1-Canadian Western Bank sets aside more money for loan losses

  03-05-2016 20:35
  
  May 3 (Reuters) - Canadian Western Bank's shares
  fell as much as 12 percent after the lender said it set aside
  more money to cover bad loans to oil companies.
  
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• Wall Street values Tesla Motors at $620,000 per car

  03-05-2016 20:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Company founder and CEO Elon Musk may not mention Tesla Motors Inc's stock price when his electric car company gives its latest financial update on Wednesday, but it will be front and center for investors divided over its seemingly rich valuation. After a rally that ended in April, Tesla's market capitalization is currently about $31 billion - equivalent to $620,000 for every car it delivered last year, or $63,000 for every car it hopes to produce in 2020. By comparison, General Motors Co's $48
  
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• Glencore considers selling gold mine worth over $2 billion: sources

  03-05-2016 20:08
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Mining company Glencore is considering selling its Vasilkovskoye gold mine in Kazakhstan, sources close to the deal said on Tuesday, confirming an earlier report in the Financial...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Nigerian stocks hit 5-week high on MSCI index news

  03-05-2016 19:57
  
  LAGOS, May 3 (Reuters) - Nigerian stocks climbed to a
  five-week high on Tuesday after index provider MSCI said it
  would not change the status of Nigerian securities on its
  frontier index.
  
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• Liberty House Group confirms bid for Tata Steel UK

  03-05-2016 19:44
  
  LONDON (Reuters) - Metals group Liberty House confirmed on Tuesday it had formally submitted a letter of intent to buy the British assets of Tata Steel.
  
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• Wall Street down sharply amid growth fears, oil slide

  03-05-2016 19:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was sharply lower in afternoon trading on Tuesday, with all 10 major S&P sectors in the red, after weak economic data out of China and Europe rekindled fears of a slowing global economy. Activity at China's factories shrank for 14 straight months in April as demand stagnated, a private survey showed. Oil prices dropped about 2 percent as rising output from the Middle East renewed concerns about global oversupply.
  
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• Wall St. down sharply amid growth fears, oil slide

  03-05-2016 19:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Activity at China's factories shrank for 14 straight months in April as demand stagnated, a private survey showed. Oil prices dropped about 2 percent as rising output from the Middle East renewed concerns about global oversupply. The CBOE Volatility index , often called Wall Street's fear index, rose 9.2 percent to 16.03.
  
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• Quintiles, IMS Health to merge in $9 billion deal

  03-05-2016 19:02
  
  (Reuters) - Contract medical research provider Transnational Holdings Incwill merge with healthcare information company IMS Health Holdings Incin a deal worth about $9 billion.
  
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• French government threatens Renault on chief's pay

  03-05-2016 19:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The French government threatened Tuesday to step in if the board of carmaker Renault fails to reconsider its decision to maintain the generous pay package of chief executive Carlos Ghosn. Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron told parliament: "The Renault board must meet again to draw the lessons from this vote. More than 54 percent of Renault shareholders had voted against the pay move on Friday, but the board ignored the result and rubber-stamped Ghosn's salary shortly afterwards.
  
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• EU's Tusk urges Greek debt deal 'very soon'

  03-05-2016 18:51 via news.yahoo.com
  
  EU President Donald Tusk urged the eurozone on Tuesday to swiftly close talks on fresh reform measures from debt-hit Greece, saying it would help global economic stability. "I urge finance ministers to reach an agreement very soon," Tusk told reporters as he entered talks in Brussels with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. Eurozone finance ministers are due to meet on May 9 to try to seal a deal on the first review of Greece's June 2015 bailout,
  
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• Germany to exit coal power 'well before 2050' : draft document

  03-05-2016 18:50 via news.yahoo.com
  By Markus Wacket BERLIN (Reuters) - Coal-fired power production in Germany should come to an end "well before 2050", according to a draft environment ministry document seen by Reuters on Tuesday on how Europe's biggest economy can achieve its climate goals. Calls have grown for Berlin to set out a timetable to withdraw from coal in power production, after global leaders clinched a climate-protection deal in Paris last December to transform the world's fossil-fuel driven economy. The government i
  
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• China and banks rattle European stocks

  03-05-2016 18:47 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - European stock markets slumped on Tuesday, dragged down by weak bank results and disappointing Chinese data as the EU cut its forecast for eurozone growth.
  
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• Saudi working on SME bourse rules for early 2017 launch - bourse chief

  03-05-2016 18:20 via news.yahoo.com
  Saudi Arabia is working to finalise the rules for a new stock market dedicated to small and medium-sized businesses that it expects to launch early in 2017, the chief executive of Tadawul, the kingdom's bourse, said on Tuesday. Tadawul announced last month that it planned to open the new exchange next year in a bid to improve access to capital and encourage better corporate governance. Saudi Arabia's economy is dominated by family businesses, many of whom have been reluctant to go public in the
  
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• South Africa rating downgrades could lead to capital outflows -central bank

  03-05-2016 18:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The impact of a possible further ratings downgrade on the South African economy and financial system could lead to increased capital outflows, the central bank said on Tuesday. Ratings agencies have warned of possible ratings cuts should Pretoria show a lack of commitment to reining in its budget deficit. The warnings came after President Jacob Zuma changed finance ministers twice in less than a week in December, initially replacing Nhlanhla Nene with a little known politician before recalling P
  
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• Wall Street drops more than 1 pct as growth fears resurface

  03-05-2016 17:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street was sharply lower, with the three major indexes falling more than 1 percent in late morning trading on Tuesday, after weak economic data out of China and Europe rekindled fears of a slowing global economy. Activity at China's factories shrank for the 14th straight month in April as demand stagnated, a private survey showed. Adding to the downward pressure, oil prices dropped about 2 percent as rising output from the Middle East renewed concerns about global oversupply.
  
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• Wall Street drops more than 1 percent as growth fears resurface

  03-05-2016 17:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Activity at China's factories shrank for the 14th straight month in April as demand stagnated, a private survey showed. Adding to the downward pressure, oil prices dropped about 2 percent as rising output from the Middle East renewed concerns about global oversupply. "We are reacting to the negative news overnight from China and Europe, and investors are waiting for the jobs data," said Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst, Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.
  
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• Airbus spared 1 billion euro tax bill in Safran space tie-up

  03-05-2016 17:30
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - Airbus Grouphas been spared a 1 billion euro ($1.15 billion) tax bill thanks to a deal with the French government over the company's plans to set up a new space launcher venture,...
  
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• Global stocks slide on global growth worries, U.S. yields fall

  03-05-2016 17:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock markets worldwide fell on Tuesday after weak Chinese factory data and a surprise rate cut by Australia's central bank unnerved investors, sending benchmark Treasury yields to nearly two-week lows.
  
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• CVS Health tops Street 1Q forecasts

  03-05-2016 17:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (AP) — Specialty drugs and retail expansions boosted CVS Health's first-quarter revenue by 18.9 percent, helping to offset higher costs and push results above Wall Street expectations.
  
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• Australian company seeks potash mining licence in Eritrea

  03-05-2016 17:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Edmund Blair NAIROBI (Reuters) - Australia mining group Danakali Ltd has applied to Eritrea for a mining licence for its Colluli Potash Project, which is expected to start production in 2019, the company's chief executive said. Eritrea, which became independent from Ethiopia in 1991 after years of fighting, wants to establish a mining industry to help to bolster its economy. Danakali Chief Executive Paul Donaldson said the aim was to secure project development funding, commercial offtake cont
  
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• France presses Renault to cut CEO pay after investor revolt

  03-05-2016 17:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  France will maintain pressure on Renault to rein in Carlos Ghosn's pay, Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday, after shareholders voted against the chief executive's 7.2 million euro ($8.3 million) payout for 2015. In comments to lawmakers, Macron railed against what he called Renault's "dysfunctional governance", after shareholders rejected Ghosn's pay package on Friday -- only to be immediately overruled by the carmaker's board. The government may consider firmer steps to limit exec
  
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• TSX falls as financials and energy lead broad-based losses

  03-05-2016 16:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell to a two-week low on Tuesday as financials and energy stocks led broad-based losses for the resource-linked market, while oil and global stocks also fell. Negative for investor sentiment, weak Chinese factory activity stoked concerns about the health of the global economy and European financial stocks fell after a string of weak first-quarter earnings reports from banks. The most influential movers on the index were Bank of Nova Scotia, which fe
  
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• U.S. April auto sales on pace for monthly record; fear sales peaking

  03-05-2016 16:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. auto sales in April were on course to set a new high for the month on Tuesday, with the industry also on pace to top the annual record set last year. General Motors Co estimated the seasonally adjusted annualized rate for April auto sales will be 17.6 million vehicles, more than the 17.5 million vehicles expected by analysts polled by Reuters. Many Wall Street analysts say the U.S. auto market is close to a cyclical peak and will begin to weaken.
  
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• Spain gears up for repeat election on June 26

  03-05-2016 16:38 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Sarah White and Blanca Rodríguez MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's King Felipe dissolved parliament on Tuesday and called a new national election for June 26 after a vote in December left such a fractured political landscape that no government could be formed. The new vote follows four months of fruitless coalition talks between Spain's four main parties after the inconclusive ballot stripped the conservative People's Party (PP) of acting prime minister Mariano Rajoy of its majority. Conducte
  
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• Nigerian stocks hit 5-week high on MSCI index news

  03-05-2016 16:37 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigerian stocks climbed to a five-week high on Tuesday after index provider MSCI said it would not change the status of Nigerian securities on its frontier index. MSCI last month said it would consult investors on the ease of access to the Nigerian stock market in the wake of currency controls introduced last year which could have led to it removing Nigeria from its frontier index. Nigeria's stock market, which has the second-biggest weighting behind Kuwait on the MSCI frontier index, gained 3.2
  
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• South African investment firm RMB Holdings to buy stake in Mall of Africa developer

  03-05-2016 16:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South African investment firm RMB Holdings Ltd. plans to expand its portfolio by buying a stake in unlisted Atterbury, builder of the Mall of Africa, one of the largest shopping venues in the country. RMB Holdings Limited, which holds a 34 percent stake in FirstRand, the largest banking group by value in Africa's most industrialised economy as its only major asset, said on Tuesday it will buy 25.01 percent of Atterbury. Although it did not put a price on the cost of investment for Attebury, RMB
  
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• Saudi plans new labor scheme to cut unemployment

  03-05-2016 16:13 via news.yahoo.com
  Saudi Arabia's government plans a new set of labor quotas and incentives to reduce unemployment as it tries to wean its economy off oil exports, Labour Minister Mufrej al-Haqbani said on Tuesday. "There is no doubt that unemployment is a looming specter and we will take all measures, whether job creation, job substitution or even, if required, increasing the Saudisation target," Haqbani told Reuters in an interview. Under a government program called Nitaquat ("Categories"), launched in 2011, com
  
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• Wall St opens lower as global growth fears resurface

  03-05-2016 16:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street opened lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese economic data and a surprise rate cut by the Australian central bank fanned worries about the health of the global economy. Australia's central bank also sprang a surprise by cutting interest rates to a record low of 1.75 percent, the first easing in a year as it seeks to restrain a rising currency and insulate the economy from creeping deflation. "The negative news out of China and Australia having to stimulate its economy again is spooking th
  
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• Nigerian stocks rise to 5-week high as MSCI keeps Nigeria on its frontier index

  03-05-2016 16:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigerian stocks climbed 3.3 percent to a five-week high on Tuesday after index provider MSCI said will not implement changes for any Nigerian securities in its frontier market index following feedback from investors. MSCI said last month it would seek feedback from investors on the ease of access to the Nigerian stock market in the wake of currency controls introduced last year which could lead to it removing Nigeria from its frontier market index.
  
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• Banks rattle European stocks

  03-05-2016 16:00 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - European stock markets slumped on Tuesday, dragged down by disappointing bank results, as the EU cut its forecast for eurozone growth.
  
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• Profits sagged at Swiss bank UBS as clients held back

  03-05-2016 15:53 via news.yahoo.com
  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — Swiss bank UBS Group AG says first-quarter profits dropped as turbulent markets and global economic and political uncertainty deterred clients from doing business.
  
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• CEO of Nigeria's Fidelity Bank remains in custody, shares down

  03-05-2016 15:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The chief executive of Nigeria's Fidelity Bank remained in custody on Tuesday, having been detained last week by the country's financial crimes agency, prompting the lender to appoint a temporary replacement. A spokesman for Nigeria's Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the agency obtained a court order to detain Fidelity Nnamdi Okonkwo and that he would remain in custody while the investigation continued. "It is an ongoing investigation that requires his attention and that was
  
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• Wall St. opens lower as global growth fears reemerge

  03-05-2016 15:33 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Wall Street opened lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese economic data and a surprise rate cut by the Australian central bank raised concerns about the health of the global economy.
  
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• Wall St set to open lower as weak Chinese data weighs

  03-05-2016 15:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street looked set to open lower on Tuesday as weak Chinese economic data and a surprise rate cut by the Australian central bank raised concerns about the health of the global economy. Australia's central bank also sprang a surprise by cutting interest rates to a record low of 1.75 percent. "The negative news out of China and Australia having to stimulate its economy again is spooking the market today," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at First Standard Financial in New York.
  
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• Pakistan shares end higher; rupee stable, o/n rate up

  03-05-2016 15:10
  
  KARACHI, May 3 (Reuters) - Pakistani stocks ended higher on
  Tuesday led by banks and on gains in shares of Oil and Gas
  Development Co Ltd, dealers said.
  
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• Fed's Lockhart: Two rate hikes this year 'certainly possible', flags Brexit risk

  03-05-2016 15:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The United States could see two further interest rate rises this year but uncertainties abound including the impact on the U.S. economy should Britain vote to leave the European Union, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said on Tuesday. On that front, Lockhart said that incoming data between now and the Fed's next meeting on June 14-15 "is not comprehensive by any stretch of the imagination" and that the upcoming Brexit vote in Britain raised risks. "It is the repercussions for the U.S. econo
  
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• New drugs help sparkling Pfizer results; company raises 2016 forecasts

  03-05-2016 15:07 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Global company sales jumped 20 percent to $13 billion, which was $1 billion more than Wall Street had expected. Pfizer said sales would be hurt in the fourth quarter of 2016, however, when those added days will be offset by fewer days. Credit Suisse analyst Vamil Divan said the results were impressive, with most drug categories beating sales expectations.
  
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• Oil drops as higher output stokes concern over supply glut

  03-05-2016 14:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Simon Falush LONDON (Reuters) - Oil fell on Tuesday as rising output from the Middle East renewed concerns about global oversupply while economic data painted a negative backdrop for the outlook for demand. Brent crude futures were trading 40 cents lower at $45.43 a barrel at 1234 GMT (0834 EDT), retreating from earlier gains. U.S. crude futures were down 53 cents at $44.25 a barrel. Iraq said its oil shipments from southern fields averaged 3.364 million barrels per day (bpd) in April, up fro
  
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• GE wants become big player in offshore wind, eyes Adwen takeover

  03-05-2016 14:22
  
  PARIS (Reuters) - General Electricwants to become a major player in the offshore wind industry and is interested in buying the Areva-Gamesa offshore joint venture Adwen, GE's new head of...
  
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• North Korea capital gears up for congress; South fears nuclear test

  03-05-2016 14:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By James Pearson PYONGYANG (Reuters) - North Korea's rain-soaked capital was festooned on Tuesday with banners celebrating leader Kim Jong Un ahead of a ruling party congress, as rival South Korea expressed concern that Pyongyang could conduct a nuclear test before or during the rare event. Flower pots lined balconies along streets that have been tidied as part of a 70-day campaign for the first Workers' Party congress in 36 years, which starts on Friday. At the congress, Kim is expected to decl
  
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• Higher farm output boosts Kenya's 2015 economic growth

  03-05-2016 14:09 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Duncan Miriri NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenya's economy grew by 5.6 percent last year, slightly faster than the year before, after abundant rains helped boost the production of vital exports such as tea and flowers, the statistics office said on Tuesday. The agricultural sector, which contributes nearly a quarter of Kenya's economic output, also grew 5.6 percent in 2015 from 3.5 percent the previous year, the director general of the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, told a news briefing. "This w
  
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