Finance news

• Citizens Bank signs SigFig for robo-adviser investment services

  01-12-2016 23:50
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rhode Island-based Citizens Bank said Thursday it is partnering with SigFig, a leading robo-adviser, to help manage the portfolios of the bank's 1.2 million middle-income...
  
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• TSX retreats from near 18-month high as bond yields rise

  01-12-2016 23:03 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Fergal Smith TORONTO (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Thursday, pulling back from an earlier near 18-month high as a jump in bond yields pressured defensive stocks, offsetting further gains for energy shares as oil rallied. The telecommunications group fell 1.3 percent, with BCE Inc down 1.5 percent at C$57.05, while consumer staples declined 1.7 percent as Alimentation Couche Tard Inc dropped 2.9 percent to C$60.19. Investors may be "beginning to think that there is a limit to h
  
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• Canada's TD Bank lowers earnings target in home market

  01-12-2016 22:49 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit in line with market expectations and lowered its earnings growth target in Canada, blaming sluggish economic growth in its domestic market. Chief Executive Bharat Masrani said the bank had pegged back its earnings target in Canada in the expectation that the country's economic output will remain modest in 2017 and 2018. "We think it is prudent to moderate our medium term growth expectation for t
  
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• Hedge fund returns mixed for November after market rally

  01-12-2016 22:48
  
  BOSTON (Reuters) - Some big hedge funds got a bump in November after Donald Trump's surprise U.S. presidential election victory sent stocks higher, but lagged behind the broader market's gains,...
  
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• November U.S. auto sales up 3.7 percent on back of steep discounts

  01-12-2016 22:42 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Hefty discounts helped boost November U.S. auto sales 3.7 percent, automakers reported on Thursday, putting the industry within reach of the annual sales record set in 2015. Bob Carter, senior vice president for Toyota Motor Corp’s U.S. sales arm, was upbeat nonetheless. “We have a very positive outlook on the U.S. economy over the next three years,” Carter told Reuters.
  
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• Climate change pushing U.S. fund managers out of apparel stocks

  01-12-2016 22:31
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retailers have long relied on sales of high-margin winter coats and boots to boost annual profits, but with the season becoming shorter and warmer, U.S. fund managers are...
  
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• S&P, Nasdaq dragged lower by tech; Dow hits record close

  01-12-2016 22:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  A sharp decline in technology stocks pulled both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes into the red on Thursday, while the Dow managed to notch a record closing high with a lift from bank and energy shares. Declines in Facebook , off 2.8 percent at $115.14, and Microsoft , down 1.8 percent to $59.18, sent the Nasdaq to its lowest close since Nov. 14, while the S&P 500 technology index dropped 2.3 percent, its worst daily performance since June 24. While the S&P 500 has gained more than
  
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• S&P, Nasdaq end lower with tech; Dow up

  01-12-2016 22:05 via news.yahoo.com
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sharp decline in technology stocks pulled both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 indexes into the red on Thursday, while gains in bank and energy shares helped push the Dow to a record high close. Based on the latest available data, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 68.49 points, or 0.36 percent, to 19,192.07, the S&P 500 had lost 7.72 points, or 0.35 percent, to 2,191.09 and the Nasdaq Composite had dropped 72.57 points, or 1.36 percent, to 5,251.11. (Reporting by
  
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• DoubleLine's Gundlach says Trump rallies seem to be 'losing steam'

  01-12-2016 20:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Financial markets could reverse their solid momentum at the latest by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration, DoubleLine Capital Chief Executive Jeffrey Gundlach said on Thursday. "The bar was so low on Trump to the point people were expecting markets will go down 80 percent and global depression - and now this guy is the Wizard of Oz and so expectations are high," Gundlach said. Gundlach had warned last month that federal programs take time to implement, rising mortgage rates
  
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• Wells Fargo to keep brokerage retirement plans under fiduciary rule

  01-12-2016 20:33
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Cosaid it will continue to offer individual retirement accounts that pay brokers commissions and will adjust procedures to comply with a new U.S. financial...
  
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• Canada's TD Bank lags rivals with in-line quarterly earnings

  01-12-2016 20:18 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Matt Scuffham TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto-Dominion Bank on Thursday reported fourth-quarter profit in line with market expectations, underperforming rivals, as slower growth in its domestic market overshadowed a stronger U.S performance. The bank said earnings, excluding one-off items, rose to C$1.22 per share in the fourth quarter through Oct. 31, from C$1.14 a year earlier, matching the average forecast of analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Total net income, excluding one-off i
  
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• Caterpillar says Wall Street 'too optimistic' on 2017 profit estimate

  01-12-2016 20:13 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Caterpillar Inc , the world's largest construction and mining equipment maker, said on Thursday analysts' earnings expectations for 2017 were "too optimistic" as oil prices remained volatile. Analysts on average were expecting 2017 revenue of $38 billion and earnings of $3.25 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. While the company said analysts' average revenue estimate of $38 billion for 2017 was a reasonable midpoint expectation, it added that it sees significant operating profit he
  
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• Wall Street steps into Skechers after CEO buys shares

  01-12-2016 20:07
  
  SAN FRANCISCO, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Skechers USA's stock
  was on track for its best day in over two years on
  Thursday after the shoe seller's chief executive bought $11
  million worth of the beleaguered...
  
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• Lower food prices weigh on Kroger's profit forecast

  01-12-2016 19:48 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Cincinnati, Ohio-based Kroger said it now expects this fiscal year's adjusted per share profit to be $2.10 to $2.15, down from its prior forecast of $2.10 to $2.20. Shares in the company, whose supermarket brands also include Ralphs and Fred Meyer, were up 0.9 percent to $32.58 in midday trading after that revised forecast essentially matched analysts' estimate of $2.13 per share for the fiscal year that ends Jan. 30, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Kroger, known as one of the supermarket
  
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• Fed may face unnerving shake-up under Trump administration

  01-12-2016 19:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Change at the Federal Reserve could come quickly with President-elect Donald Trump's team pledging to promptly fill high-level central bank jobs and roll out a tax and fiscal plan that could rewrite policymakers' core economic assumptions. Fed officials already say their plan to gradually increase interest rates may need to be accelerated to accommodate the new administration's economic proposals, which could push inflation higher. The concerns for Fed Chair Janet Yellen are broader as she faces
  
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• U.S. factory activity at five-month high, bottlenecks emerging

  01-12-2016 19:12 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. factory activity accelerated to a five-month high in November amid a pickup in new orders and production, suggesting that the manufacturing sector was regaining its footing after a prolonged slump. Thursday's report from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), which also showed some bottlenecks in the supply chain that could drive prices higher, was the latest indication that the economy continued to gain momentum in the fourth quarter. The ISM sa
  
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• Tech stocks weigh on S&P, Nasdaq

  01-12-2016 19:02 via news.yahoo.com
  
  (Reuters) - Losses in technology stocks dragged down the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 on Thursday, while gains in bank and energy shares propped up the Dow.
  
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• Britain's FTSE slips as higher costs hit consumer goods firms

  01-12-2016 18:47
  
  * Energy shares supported by crude oil(Follow European and UK stock markets in real time on the
  Reuters Live Markets blog on Eikon, see cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?pageId=livemarkets)
  
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• Automakers post strong November U.S. sales; are discounts inflating demand?

  01-12-2016 18:28 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Hefty discounts during a robust Black Friday weekend helped boost November U.S. auto sales between 4 percent and 5 percent, automakers reported on Thursday, which could catapult results this year above a record high in 2015. Industry analysts worried that the record discounts, also called incentives, were both artificially inflating demand and extending the auto sales boom ongoing since the 2008-09 economic crisis. Bob Carter, senior vice president of automotive operations for Toyota Motor Corp&
  
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• UPDATE 2-Automakers post strong Nov US sales; Are discounts inflating demand?

  01-12-2016 18:24
  
  DETROIT, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Hefty discounts during a robust
  Black Friday weekend helped boost November U.S. auto sales
  between 4 percent and 5 percent, automakers reported on
  Thursday, which could...
  
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• UPDATE 2-Parker-Hannifin to buy Clarcor to double filtration systems business

  01-12-2016 18:23
  
  * Both companies' shares touch record highs(Adds details from conference call)
  
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• Q&A: How José Andrés grew from apprentice to top chef

  01-12-2016 18:06
  
  NEW YORK (Reuters) - Award-winning chef and restaurateur José Andrés got his start the old-fashioned way - as a teenage apprentice.
  
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• S&P, Nasdaq dragged down by losses in tech stocks

  01-12-2016 17:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Losses in technology stocks dragged down the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 in choppy trading on Thursday, while bank and energy shares propped up the Dow. Declines in Facebook, Microsoft and Apple pushed the Nasdaq to a two-week low, while setting the S&P 500 technology index for its worst day since August. While Wall Street has rallied since the November election on hopes that President-elect Donald Trump's policies would be market friendly, technology stocks have gained the least, rising by a
  
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• Caterpillar says Wall Street's 2017 profit estimate 'too optimistic'

  01-12-2016 17:44 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Analysts on average were expecting 2017 earnings of $3.25 per share and revenue of $38 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. For 2016, the company had then forecast adjusted earnings of $3.25 per share and revenue of about $39 billion.
  
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• House tax chief urges business to avoid fight over tax breaks

  01-12-2016 17:39 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A chief proponent of Republican tax reform in Congress urged the business community on Thursday to avoid a battle over coveted tax breaks next year if companies hope to achieve reforms that lower tax rates to boost economic growth and productivity. "There's incredible pressure in Washington not to change a thing, for everyone to keep every special provision there is," said Representative Kevin Brady, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives tax committ
  
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• UPDATE 2-Carmat shares slump after France halts firm's heart implants

  01-12-2016 17:32
  
  * Carmat shares down around 30 pct since start of 2016(Adds agency comment, updates shares)
  
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• South Africa's rand flat ahead of S&P review, stocks fall

  01-12-2016 17:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  South Africa's rand weakened on Thursday as the dollar regained recent losses on improved economic data, while stocks kicked off the last month of the year on the backfoot as lower bullion prices hit gold mining shares. At 1550 GMT the rand had slipped 0.05 percent weaker to 14.0800 per dollar, struggling for clear direction ahead of a ratings decision by Standard & Poor's due on Friday. "The decision this week remains a close call, fifty-fifty in my opinion," said economist at Sanlam Arthur
  
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• Rise in malnutrition must be reversed before it creates health 'catastrophe': experts

  01-12-2016 17:25 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Alex Whiting ROME (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Malnutrition - which includes hunger and obesity - is on the rise and may affect half the world's population by 2035 unless governments take urgent action to reverse its spread, U.N. agencies and experts said on Thursday. The problem affects a third of the world's population and costs the global economy an estimated $3.5 trillion a year in healthcare and lost productivity, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. Middle income cou
  
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• UPDATE 2-Executive of Turkey's Dogan faces inquiry as Erdogan vows to 'cleanse'

  01-12-2016 17:14
  
  * Erdogan vows "cleanse" in media, business world(Recasts, adds comment and background)
  
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• Questions resurface about who would succeed longtime Goldman CEO

  01-12-2016 16:56 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Wall Street investment bank's president and chief operating officer, Gary Cohn, was widely considered Blankfein's heir apparent but is now a candidate to lead the White House budget office. Meanwhile, Michael Sherwood, who has also been floated over the years as a Blankfein successor, retired as Goldman's head of European operations last week.. While Cohn has not yet been officially picked for a role in the White House, his talks with President-elect Donald Trump cast light again on successi
  
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• Tunisia to sell stakes in Ooredoo, Orange telecom companies: official

  01-12-2016 16:55 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The Tunisian government will sell its stakes in telecom companies Orange Tunisia and Ooredoo next year, a senior official told Reuters on Thursday. "The government will sell next year its 10 percent stake in Ooredoo and its 51 percent holding in the company Orange Telecom," Habib Dabbabi, a junior minister in digital economy, told Reuters. The government will keep its 65 percent holding in Tunisia's third major telecoms company, Tunisie-Telecom, Dabbabi said.
  
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• US factories expanded for third straight month in November

  01-12-2016 16:36 via news.yahoo.com
  
  American factories expanded for the third straight month in November, another good sign for the American economy. The Institute for Supply Management says its manufacturing index came in at 53.2 last month, ...
  
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• US 30-year average mortgage rate rises to 4.08 percent

  01-12-2016 16:20 via news.yahoo.com
  
  WASHINGTON (AP) — Long-term U.S. mortgage rates marked a fifth week of surges in the aftermath of Donald Trump's election win, reaching their highest levels this year.
  
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• SCENARIOS -Beyond banks, investors seek other Italian referendum plays

  01-12-2016 16:17 via news.yahoo.com
  
  MILAN, Dec (Shanghai: 600875.SS - news) 1 (Reuters) - With (Other OTC: WWTH - news) only three days to go before Italians vote in a referendum that could tip their country into political chaos, investors are trying to work out how to play the ballot on the stock market. The prospect that Prime Minister Matteo Renzi could step down if, as polls suggest, his constitutional reform is rejected have already triggered a sell-off in banking stocks, considered as most vulnerable to political turmoil. He
  
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• UPDATE 1-GM, Ford, Toyota post strong November U.S. auto sales

  01-12-2016 16:14
  
  DETROIT, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Hefty discounts during a robust
  Black Friday weekend helped boost November U.S. auto sales
  between 4 percent and 5 percent, the first automakers to report
  said on Thursday,...
  
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• Oil prices jump as European stocks stumble

  01-12-2016 16:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices rose Thursday, building on a surge triggered by OPEC's output decision, while European stock markets retreated as attention switched to US jobs data and Italy's weekend referendum. World crude prices soared almost 10 percent on Wednesday after OPEC hammered out a deal to cut oil output for the first time in eight years. Joshua Mahony, market analyst at IG trading group, said that "whilst yesterday's announcement was over and above expectations, there still remain a number of hurdles t
  
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• Dow, S&P gain on oil rally; tech stocks weigh on Nasdaq

  01-12-2016 16:04 via news.yahoo.com
  
  The S&P 500 energy index rose 0.88 percent, with shares of Exxon and Chevron leading the gainers. Investors are now turning their attention to economic data to assess whether the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates at its meeting on Dec. 13-14. Some Fed officials have said President-elect Donald Trump's policies could boost inflation, pushing it closer to the central bank's 2 percent target.
  
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• REFILE-UPDATE 1-Aradigm's inhaled antibiotic fails late-stage study, shares sink

  01-12-2016 15:33
  
  Dec 1 (Reuters) - Aradigm Corp said on Thursday its
  inhaled antibiotic for a rare, incurable disorder affecting the
  lungs failed in a late-stage study, sending the company's shares
  down nearly 54...
  
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• US consumers should feel muted impact from rising oil price

  01-12-2016 15:24 via news.yahoo.com
  
  DALLAS (AP) — OPEC's decision to cut production gave an immediate boost to oil prices, but the impact on consumers and the U.S. economy is likely to be more modest and gradual.
  
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• Nigeria UBA gets $150 mln loan from African Development Bank

  01-12-2016 15:01 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Nigeria's United Bank for Africa (UBA) has secured a $150 million loan deal with the African Development Bank (AfDB) to support infrastructure projects in Africa's top economy, the bank said on Thursday. Nigeria is in its deepest recession in 25 years, brought on by low oil prices, which has seen foreign investors flee its financial markets, caused chronic dollar shortages and created risk aversion among local funds. "The line of credit comes at an opportune time and would boost efforts at reduc
  
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• Europe building up pipeline of big-league tech IPOs: investors

  01-12-2016 14:14 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Europe, which has long trailed Silicon Valley and China when it comes to creating independent global tech giants, is building up a pipeline of more meaty stock market candidates looking to list in 2017, Slush tech start-up conference attendees said. "I think we're building a generation of companies that will go public, and will provide bigger IPOs," Fred Destin at Accel Partners told Reuters. "We'll see (IPOs worth) 5-10 billion in the coming years - I'm certain of that," Destin said.
  
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• BRIEF-Media General announces extension of change of control offer

  01-12-2016 14:12
  
  * Media General announces extension of change of control
  offer
  
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• TD Bank boosted by strong U.S. performance

  01-12-2016 13:59 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Toronto-Dominion Bank , Canada's second-biggest lender, said on Thursday its fourth-quarter earnings grew, in line with market expectations, driven by strong growth at its U.S. retail business. The bank said its earnings rose to C$1.22 per share in the fourth quarter through Oct. 31, from C$1.14 a year earlier, matching the average forecast of analysts, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Chief Financial Officer Riaz Ahmed said he expected the bank to benefit from an improving U.S. economy dur
  
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• UPDATE 1-Engineering company Parker-Hannifin to buy Clarcor in $4.3 bln deal

  01-12-2016 13:52
  
  Dec 1 (Reuters) - Parker-Hannifin Corp, which makes
  motion and control systems for the industrial and aerospace
  markets, said on Thursday it would buy air filtration systems
  maker Clarcor Inc for...
  
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• UPDATE 1-Carmat shares slump after France halts heart implants

  01-12-2016 13:46
  
  * Carmat shares down around 30 pct since start of 2016(adds analyst comment, background)
  
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• U.S. stock futures lower ahead of economic data

  01-12-2016 13:45 via news.yahoo.com
  
  Oil prices were up 1 percent, building on a 9 percent gain from a day earlier after major producers decided to cut output and support prices. Gains in energy shares pushed the Dow and the S&P 500 to all-time highs on Wednesday, but Wall Street lost momentum due to losses in utility and technology stocks. The Dow closed slightly higher, while the S&P and the Nasdaq finished the day in negative territory.
  
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• AstraZeneca in broad drug deal with Bicycle worth up to $1 bln

  01-12-2016 13:42
  
  LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - AstraZeneca has signed a
  wide-ranging deal with private biotech firm Bicycle Therapeutics
  to develop a novel class of small molecule medicines for
  treating respiratory,...
  
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• UK factory growth cools as weak pound fuels cost pressures - PMI

  01-12-2016 13:41 via news.yahoo.com
  
  By Andy Bruce LONDON (Reuters) - British manufacturing growth cooled unexpectedly in November as factories grappled with soaring costs caused by sterling's slump after June's Brexit vote, even before this week's jump in oil prices. Britain's economy has performed much better than expected since June's vote to quit the EU. Wednesday's 10 percent surge in crude oil prices - after OPEC and Russia agreed to restrict production - pushed the dollar cost of oil close to levels not seen in 18 months, an
  
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• U.S. retirement investors not hitting post-election panic button

  01-12-2016 13:28
  
  CHICAGO (Reuters) - Emotion can drive investor behavior - and feelings are in overdrive following last month's election. Across the United States, the mood ranges from a state of mourning to...
  
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• GLOBAL MARKETS-Oil hits 6-week high after OPEC deal, sterling jumps

  01-12-2016 13:25
  
  LONDON, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Oil swept to a six-week high on
  Thursday after OPEC agreed to cut crude output to help clear a
  glut, while sterling hit a three-month peak after traders
  interpreted comments...
  
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