Finance news

• Disney tops earnings estimates, picks up streaming stake

  09-08-2016 23:35 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue on Tuesday, fuelled by a 40 percent jump in revenue at its movie studio from hits including "The Jungle Book" and "Captain America: Civil War." The media company also said it was acquiring a 33 percent stake in BAMTech, a video-streaming company formed by Major League Baseball (MLB), for $1 billion. Disney has the option to acquire a majority ownership in the coming years. BAMTech, which is separate from Major
  
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• Several U.S. states unprepared for a recession: S&P

  09-08-2016 22:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Several U.S. states studied by S&P Global Ratings are ill-equipped to deal with an economic recession, hampered by the slow rebound in U.S. economic growth after the damage wrought by the Great Recession. Fiscal imbalances, slower state tax revenue growth and increased spending on social services have contributed to a challenging economic landscape, as real GDP has only increased at 2.1 percent per year since 2009, S&P said in a report issued on Tuesday. Real U.S. GDP growth of 2.43 perc
  
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• Italy PM Renzi says 'mistake' to personalize constitutional referendum

  09-08-2016 22:43 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Tuesday it had been a mistake to personalize a referendum, due to be held later this year, in which he originally promised to resign if he failed to convince voters to support the need for constitutional change. Political uncertainty linked to the vote on proposals Renzi says will bring stability after 70 years of revolving-door government has added to concerns about fragility in the euro zone's third-largest economy. "I made a mistake personalizing it
  
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• Oil slides, caps gains on Wall Street

  09-08-2016 22:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lewis Krauskopf NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices slipped on Tuesday amid worries about a stubborn global petroleum glut, weighing on energy shares and limiting gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ticked up to intraday record highs. Wall Street eked out gains following a strong session for European stock markets, with Germany's DAX index jumping 2.5 percent to its highest of 2016. The pound fell for the fifth day in a row after a Bank of England policymaker said the central ba
  
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• Nasdaq hits record high, other indexes hover near highs

  09-08-2016 22:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Nasdaq composite rose to a record high close on Tuesday while other major indexes hovered near their own recent all-time highs in a session with thin trading volume. A rally since late June has left the S&P 500 up nearly 7 percent in 2016, with many investors weighing stretched valuations against expectations for continued low interest rates. "We're probably going to consolidate and then head higher," said John Canally, chief economic strategist for LPL Financial.
  
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• US STOCKS-Nasdaq hits record high, other indexes hover near highs

  09-08-2016 22:24 via news.yahoo.com
  The Nasdaq composite rose to a record high close on Tuesday while other major indexes hovered near their own recent all-time highs in a session with thin trading volume. A rally since late June has left ...
  
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• Puerto Rico readies fiscal plan, awaits oversight board: governor

  09-08-2016 22:22 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Daniel Bases NEW YORK (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's governor said on Tuesday he expected to present an updated fiscal plan for the debt-laden U.S. territory shortly after the White House appoints members of a federal oversight board with authority to renegotiate its $70 billion of debt. "I expect this new fiscal plan will be ready once the board is announced," Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla told reporters in New York via a Skype video conference call from his office in San Juan. On June 30th,
  
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• GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil slides, caps gains on Wall Street

  09-08-2016 22:22 via news.yahoo.com
  Oil prices slipped on Tuesday amid worries about a stubborn global petroleum glut, weighing on energy shares and limiting gains on Wall Street after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq ticked up to intraday record ...
  
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• U.S. must bury coal to save miner jobs: Interior secretary

  09-08-2016 22:19 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Many of the jobs are gone for good, but ex-miners can repair the damaged land and shape a post-coal economy, Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said on a recent visit to coal country, offering up a future starkly different from Donald Trump's. Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, promises to return coal country to its glory days by repealing environmental regulations. "We will put our coal miners and steel workers back to work," he said in a speech in Detroit on Monday. Jewell, standing at
  
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• UPDATE 6-Valeant looks to sell billions in assets to cut debt, stock soars

  09-08-2016 22:18
  
  Aug 9 (Reuters) - Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Incwill sell billions of dollars of non-core
  assets and could accept offers for its main businesses, its
  chief executive said on Tuesday, as...
  
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• Serbian PM vows economic reforms in Soviet-style marathon speech

  09-08-2016 21:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ivana Sekularac BELGRADE (Reuters) - Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic vowed to step up Serbia's economic reforms and trim the bloated public sector on Tuesday in a 5-1/2 hour speech the opposition mocked as a Soviet-era talkathon without a toilet break. Vucic won a comfortable majority in an April election, but delayed forming a new cabinet while seeking a coalition to share responsibility for reforms.
  
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• Brazil's Oi seeks creditor protection for unit in Dutch court -sources

  09-08-2016 21:26
  
  By Guillermo Parra-Bernal and Ana ManoSAO PAULO, Aug 9 (Reuters) - A Dutch court has accepted a
  request by Brazilian phone carrier Oi SA
  to put one of its Netherlands-based units under...
  
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• Global stock index rises, led by Europe; pound weakens

  09-08-2016 20:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Germany's DAX index jumped 2.5 percent to its highest point of 2016. Wall Street was little changed, receding after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq set fresh intraday records, as energy shares dropped amid weaker oil prices. The pound fell for the fifth day in a row after a Bank of England policymaker said the central bank will probably have to loosen monetary policy further if the U.K.'s economy worsens.
  
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• Wall Street catches its breath after recent rally

  09-08-2016 20:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Wall Street hovered near record highs on Tuesday as weak oil prices offset gains in healthcare and technology stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged up to all-time highs before a decline in oil dulled the gains.[O/R] A rally since late June has left the S&P 500 up nearly 7 percent in 2016, with many investors weighing stretched valuations against expectations for continued low interest rates. "We're probably going to consolidate and then head higher," said John Canally, chief economic stra
  
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• Icahn praises Trump economic plan, says candidate will get blue-collar vote

  09-08-2016 20:33
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn said on CNBC on Tuesday that Donald Trump is "right on about the economy" and said "the Archie Bunker of the world" will vote for the...
  
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• US STOCKS-Wall Street catches its breath after recent rally

  09-08-2016 20:31 via news.yahoo.com
  Wall Street hovered near record highs on Tuesday as weak oil prices offset gains in healthcare and technology stocks. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq edged up to all-time highs before a decline in oil dulled the ...
  
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• Pound stumbles on easing prospects; stocks gain globally

  09-08-2016 20:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The pound fell for the fifth day in a row after a Bank of England policymaker said the central bank will probably have to loosen monetary policy further if the U.K.'s economy worsens. The Bank of England cut interest rates last week for the first time since 2009 in the wake of the country's vote to leave the European Union. With bond yields low in developed economies as central banks maintain accommodative monetary policies, investors have sought equities for yield, particularly stocks with high
  
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• Valeant's rosy forecast and promised changes, fire up shares

  09-08-2016 20:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a fast-growing Wall Street darling until its price-hiking business strategy made it a symbol of pharmaceutical company greed, said it's undergoing a restructuring as its new CEO attempts to return the debt-laden company to growth and respectability — without big price increases.
  
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• Icahn on CNBC:'Archie Bunker of the world' will vote for Trump

  09-08-2016 19:53
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn on CNBC said Tuesday that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is "right on the economy."
  
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• After resuming QE, Bank of England fails for first time to meet bond-purchase target

  09-08-2016 19:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Ana Nicolaci da Costa LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England fell 52 million pounds ($68 million) short of its target to buy more than a billion pounds of long-dated government debt on Tuesday, an early slip-up for one of its latest measures to stimulate Britain's economy. For the first time since it started buying government bonds to boost Britain's economy in 2009, the central bank failed to find enough willing sellers to meet its purchase target, pushing bond yields to record lows. Investo
  
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• S&P, Nasdaq off record highs as oil weighs

  09-08-2016 19:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 rose to 2,187.66, breaking its record for the fourth time this month, and the Nasdaq touched an all-time high of 5,238.53, before a 0.8 percent decline in oil took some sheen off the rally. The S&P 500 index's healthcare index rose 0.34 percent, helped by a 23 percent jump in Endo International after the company's quarterly profit beat estimates. "It has been an unloved rally, and one that has not been met by the infamous 'animal spirit'," said Eric Wiegand, senior portfolio
  
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• Scotland's Sturgeon makes surprise visit to Germany

  09-08-2016 19:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Erik Kirschbaum and Elisabeth O'Leary BERLIN/EDINBURGH (Reuters) - Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon met the deputy foreign minister of Germany on Tuesday, seeking to strengthen her ties with Europe's economic powerhouse in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the EU - a move Scotland overwhelmingly rejected. Sturgeon has said that Scotland, where 62 percent of voters backed staying in the European Union, must not be dragged out against its will and that she would start preparing for ind
  
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• MIT, NYU, Yale sued over fees for employee retirement plans

  09-08-2016 18:49
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Three well-known U.S. universities, MIT, New York University and Yale, have been accused of charging millions of dollars in excessive fees to participants in their retirement...
  
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• British bookie William Hill spurns $4.1 billion bid by Rank and 888

  09-08-2016 18:33
  
  (Reuters) - William Hillrejected a 3.16 billion pound ($4.11 billion) bid by smaller rivals Rank Groupand 888 Holdingson Tuesday, saying a 16 percent premium "substantially undervalued" the...
  
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• Here’s Why This Market Has Been a Stock Picker’s Nightmare

  09-08-2016 18:23 via news.yahoo.com
  
  After a terrifying start to the year, and a rip-roaring surge to new highs since June, it feels like someone tranquilized the stock market, which has drifted higher in four of the last five sessions as of mid-day Tuesday.
  
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• Germany's DAX hits 2016 high, boosted by Wall Street and earnings

  09-08-2016 18:21 via news.yahoo.com
  Germany's top share index hit a new high for 2016 on Tuesday as European shares advanced for a fifth straight session, boosted by new highs on Wall Street and strong results from companies like Munich Re. Germany's DAX closed up 2.5 percent, having hit 10,701.33, its highest level since the last trading day of 2015. The STOXX Europe 600 was up 0.9 percent, in positive territory for a fifth straight session.
  
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• U.S. economy seen growing at 3.7 percent in third quarter: Atlanta Fed

  09-08-2016 18:12
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is on track to grow at a 3.7 percent annualized rate in the third quarter in the wake of the latest data on wholesale inventories, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's...
  
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• World stocks rise on economic outlook

  09-08-2016 17:58 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Stock markets rose in most parts of the world Tuesday, with encouraging economic data in China and Europe combining with steady oil to keep investor mood positive. Figures pointing to a looming turnaround in China set the tone for optimism on the macro-economic front. Elsewhere, retail sales surprisingly recovered in Britain during July as warmer weather cancelled out economic uncertainty triggered by the vote to exit the European Union, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium and
  
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• Ontario Steel in bid for U.S. Steel Canada, including C$1 billion liabilities

  09-08-2016 17:48
  
  TORONTO (Reuters) - Ontario Steel Investment Ltd, a group that includes shareholders of Essar Global, said on Tuesday it has submitted an offer to purchase U.S. Steel Canada, which has been in...
  
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• Health, tech stocks power S&P, Nasdaq to record highs

  09-08-2016 17:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500, which marked its fourth all-time high this month, rose to 2,187.33, while the Nasdaq touched an all-time high of 5,235.93. The S&P 500 index's healthcare index rose 0.49 percent, helped by a 26 percent jump in Endo International and a 3 percent rise in Mylan . The information technology index rose 0.35 percent, lifted by a 7.4 percent rise in Charter Communications and a 0.6 rise in Amazon.com .
  
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• U.S. appeals court upholds SEC's use of administrative law judges

  09-08-2016 17:37
  
  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court upheld the Securities and Exchange Commission's use of in-house judges on Tuesday, dealing a blow to former radio host Raymond Lucia who argued that the...
  
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• Nigeria to allow banks to write-off some bad loans this year

  09-08-2016 17:12 via news.yahoo.com
  By Chijioke Ohuocha LAGOS (Reuters) - Nigeria's central bank is to allow banks to write-off bad loans this year that they have already made provisions for to help them to clean up their balance sheets. Pressure has been building on the country's banks, whose loan books have been hit by Nigeria's shrinking economy, plunging currency and foreign exchange shortages following the slump in oil prices. Africa's biggest oil exporter has been hammered by low crude oil prices, sales of which account for
  
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• Russia may allow Turkish food imports by year-end: Economy Minister

  09-08-2016 16:56 via news.yahoo.com
  ST PETERSBURG, Russia (Reuters) - Russia may open its market for Turkish food imports by the end of the year, Russia's Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev said on Tuesday. Ulyukayev said it was necessary first to do quality checks of Turkish products. (Reporting by Olesya Astakhova; Writing by Lidia Kely and Alexander Winning; editing by Katya Golubkova)
  
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• Rank And 888 Submit Offer For William Hill

  09-08-2016 16:27 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Casino giant Rank and online operator 888 have made a formal £3.6bn offer for a three-way merger with the high street bookmaker William Hill (Other OTC: WIMHF - news) . William Hill's board are reviewing the offer, before a formal response is released to the stock market. It stated that it was "not clear that a combination of William Hill with 888 and Rank will enhance William Hill's strategic positioning or deliver superior value to William Hill's strategy which is focused
  
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• MIDEAST STOCKS-Qatar snaps three-day winning streak, Saudi firms with oil

  09-08-2016 16:27 via news.yahoo.com
  * Qatar stays near nine-month high * Abu Dhabi pulls back as MSCI constituents weigh * Dubai's Shuaa up on futures market-maker news * Saudi petrochemical shares climb * Egypt's PHDC drops on Q2 profit slide By Celine Aswad DUBAI, Aug 9 (Reuters) - Qatar's stock market index ended a three-day winning streak on Tuesday as local investors booked profits while Saudi Arabia's index rose, helped by firmer oil prices. Doha's index, which had climbed as much as 0.7 percent earlier in the day, slipped i
  
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• U.S. wholesale inventories rise more than expected in June

  09-08-2016 16:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. wholesale inventories unexpectedly rose in June on gains in stocks of farm products and other nondurable goods, suggesting an upward revision to the second-quarter economic growth estimate. The Commerce Department said on Tuesday that wholesale inventories increased 0.3 percent after having been initially estimated as unchanged. Inventories for May were revised up to show a 0.2 percent rise instead of the previously reported 0.1 percent gain.
  
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• Britain's May, Iran's Rouhani agree to work on closer ties: IRNA

  09-08-2016 16:11 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DUBAI (Reuters) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May agreed in a telephone call on Tuesday to work on forming closer ties at various levels, a top Iranian official was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA. The two discussed expanding economic relations, especially in banking and insurance sectors, and regional cooperation, specifically in the fight against terrorism, Hamid Aboutalebi, Rouhani's deputy chief of staff tweeted, according to IRNA. (Re
  
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• Stocks advance on positive data, oil

  09-08-2016 16:06 via news.yahoo.com
  
  London (AFP) - Stock markets inched higher Tuesday in most parts of the world, with encouraging economic data in China and Europe combining with steady oil to keep investors' mood mildly positive.
  
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• Wall Street near record highs as oil, tech stocks lift

  09-08-2016 16:02 via news.yahoo.com
  The stock gave the biggest boost to the S&P and the Nasdaq. Microchip Tech soared 9.4 percent to $61.980 after the company's first-quarter revenue beat analysts' estimate. The Nasdaq Composite was up 9.67 points, or 0.19 percent, at 5,222.81.
  
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• Solid outlook from Valeant, promised changes, fire up shares

  09-08-2016 15:52 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Drugmaker Valeant Pharmaceuticals, a fast-growing Wall Street darling until its price-hiking business strategy made it a symbol of pharmaceutical company greed, said it's undergoing a restructuring as its new CEO attempts to turn it around and repair its tattered reputation.
  
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• BRIEF-SDC Investimentos says terms to sell stake in Soares da Costa not fulfilled

  09-08-2016 15:49
  
  * Says can not continue talks on sale of 33.3 percent stake
  of Soares da Costa Construcao to GAM Holdings as conditions for
  the sale are not fulfilled
  
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• EQT to buy patient-satisfaction survey provider Press Ganey

  09-08-2016 15:36
  
  (Reuters) - Press Ganey Holdings Inc , a provider of patient satisfaction surveys to healthcare firms, said on Tuesday it agreed to be bought by Swedish private equity group EQT in a deal valued at...
  
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• South Sudan says seeking massive $1.9 bln loan from China

  09-08-2016 15:27 via news.yahoo.com
  By Denis Dumo JUBA (Reuters) - South Sudan plans to ask China for a $1.9 billion loan - a sum equal to more than a fifth of its national output - to be used for infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges, its foreign affairs minister said on Tuesday. South Sudan's economy, which the World Bank values at $9.015 billion, has taken a hammering from a two-year civil war that ended in 2015, leading to a fall in oil production, its main source of revenue. Oil has accounted in the past for most
  
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• Ailing Zambia economy could hurt President Lungu in election

  09-08-2016 15:01 via news.yahoo.com
  By Stella Mapenzauswa LUSAKA (Reuters) - Informal currency trader Jabulani Lungu thinks Zambia's ruling Patriotic Front has had its chance, and he hopes this week's general elections will bring in a new party to steer the economy out of a slump. Like many other Zambians, Lungu, who is not related to President Edgar Lungu, is worried about rising food and transport costs, unemployment, chronic electricity shortages and a violent campaign in one of Africa's most peaceful countries. "The main issue
  
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• FTSE Moves: The London market rises on the back of strong earnings from financial stocks

  09-08-2016 14:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The London market lifted close to a 14-month high in afternoon trading, buoyed by gains in financial stocks. The FTSE 100 Index was 22.8 points higher at 6,832, after Standard Life stock hit its highest level since the UK's Brexit vote, following the insurer reporting an increase in assets under management. The FTSE 250 rose 44.3 points to 17,602.
  
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• Portugal to phase out power subsidies, avoid Spain example

  09-08-2016 14:34 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andrei Khalip and Shrikesh Laxmidas LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal is set to begin phasing out support for utilities generating renewable power, a top government official said, as Lisbon tackles high electricity prices that are hampering efforts to bolster its struggling economy. The secretary of state for energy, Jorge Seguro Sanches, told Reuters there will be no abrupt changes to contracts or legislation, while the eight-month old government will keep promoting renewable energy and push for p
  
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• Tanzania's current account benefits from strong gold prices, tourism boost

  09-08-2016 13:45 via news.yahoo.com
  Tanzania's current account deficit shrunk by 55 percent in the year to May, central bank data showed on Tuesday, as the country benefited from a jump in tourist arrivals and rising gold prices, and paid less for oil imports. Tanzania is Africa's fourth-largest gold producer and gold and tourism are its main sources of foreign income. The current account gap narrowed to $1.9 billion in the 12 months to May, from $4.2 billion a year earlier, the central bank said in its latest monthly economic rep
  
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• Bank of England's McCafferty urges 'gradual' approach to monetary stimulus

  09-08-2016 13:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Bank of England policymaker Ian McCafferty voted against resuming the central bank's government bond purchases last week because he thinks it should take a "more gradual" approach to economic stimulus. The BoE will probably have to loosen monetary policy further if the economy worsens, McCafferty said in a column published in the British newspaper the Times on Tuesday. Last week, the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time since 2009 and revived its bond purchases - so-called quant
  
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• Futures flat a day after S&P touches record high

  09-08-2016 13:31 via news.yahoo.com
  
  On Monday, Wall Street closed down in one of its lowest volume trading day this year, after the S&P slipped from its record high as healthcare stocks weighed. Investors will continue to assess the rest of second-quarter earnings and economic data to justify valuations. While earnings of S&P 500 companies are expected to decline at a slower rate than anticipated at the start of the season, investors worry that the earnings recession may spill into the third quarter.
  
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