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RALEIGH, N.C., May 01, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- First-Citizens Bank & Trust Company (First Citizens Bank) announced that the merger of HomeBancorp Inc. and its subsidiary, HomeBanc, into First Citizens Bank is effective today (May 1).
The 13 HomeBanc branch offices will initially operate as HomeBanc, a division of First Citizens Bank. Customers should bank as they normally do at their existing branches. HomeBanc customer accounts will be converted to First Citizens Bank’s systems and new First Citizens signage will be installed at a later date.
Frank B. Holding Jr., chairman and CEO of First Citizens Bank, said: “We look forward to introducing ourselves to HomeBanc customers. In the months to come, our new customers will enjoy a robust banking experience, with expanded services and products. We look forward to building lasting relationships and continuing to provide exceptional service.”
On March 27, the shareholders of Tampa-based HomeBancorp voted to approve the merger agreement with Raleigh, N.C.-headquartered First Citizens Bank. The merger was also approved by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks.
HomeBanc customers should continue to use their current checks and cards. They will still have online and mobile access to their accounts. Customers with questions about their accounts can contact a representative at any of the HomeBanc division branches. For questions about First Citizens Bank, they can call the First Citizens Customer Care Center, 1.888.323.4732, between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. Eastern time daily.
The completed merger will enhance First Citizens Bank’s presence in Florida, specifically in the Tampa and Orlando areas, which are new markets for the company.
The HomeBanc division has 13 retail branches in Lake Mary, Winter Park, Lakewood Ranch (Sarasota), Belleair Bluffs, Countryside (Clearwater), Dunedin, Kenneth City, Pinellas Park, Seminole, Largo, St. Petersburg, and in Tampa on North Dale Mabry Highway and in Westchase.
In addition to the HomeBanc branches, First Citizens Bank operates 15 branches in Florida — northeast (Duval and St. Johns counties), southeast (Martin, Palm Beach, Broward and Dade counties) and southwest (Collier and Lee counties) — with a commercial/business banking office in Sarasota.
First Citizens Bank Southeast Region Executive Ron Sanchez has added oversight of the HomeBanc division to his management of the bank’s operations in Florida. Sanchez is a veteran banker with 34 years of experience, nine at First Citizens. He is also responsible for the bank’s markets in Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee and Maryland.
Founded in 1898 and headquartered in Raleigh, N.C., First Citizens Bank serves customers at more than 500 branches in 19 states. First Citizens Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares Inc. (Nasdaq:FCNCA), which has $34 billion in assets. For more information, call toll free 1.888.FC DIRECT (1.888.323.4732) or visit firstcitizens.com . First Citizens Bank. Forever First®.
Contact: Barbara Thompson First Citizens Bank 919.716.2716
Source:First Citizens Bank | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/globe-newswire-first-citizens-bank-completes-merger-with-homebancorp-homebanc.html |
WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Van Ness Feldman LLP is pleased to announce that Jason Larrabee , former Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior, has joined the firm’s Washington, DC office as a Senior Policy Advisor. Mr. Larrabee brings over twenty years of public sector experience to the firm, having worked in various positions in Congress, including most recently, as Chief of Staff to Congressman Jeff Denham (R-CA).
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180523006400/en/
Jason Larrabee (Photo: Business Wire)
Announcing Mr. Larrabee’s arrival, firm Chair Richard Agnew , said “We are delighted to have Jason as part of our government relations team. His time in public service, experience in regulatory matters since early in his career, and deep understanding of our clients’ industries are assets. In addition to his considerable experience with natural resources law and policy and special focus on water and agriculture, Jason’s familiarity with the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee significantly complements the firm’s public policy capabilities. I look forward to our clients having the opportunity to work with Jason in achieving their business imperatives.”
Mr. Larrabee will utilize his experience at DOI and in Congress to focus on providing clients with policy guidance and strategic advice on natural resources, agriculture, energy, and transportation policy issues, including those related to the Department of Transportation, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the General Services Administration, and railroads.
During his time at the Department of the Interior, Mr. Larrabee also provided policy guidance on a diverse array of matters ranging from concessionaire issues to the Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, Land and Water Conservation Fund, migratory birds, National Environmental Policy Act, National Parks, permitting, recreation, and wildlife refuges.
Mr. Larrabee holds an M.B.A. from Drexel University and a B.A. from California State University, Chico. Mr. Larrabee can be reached at 202.298.1877 or via email at [email protected] .
With over 100 professionals in Washington, DC and Seattle, Van Ness Feldman is known for the enduring relationships we build with clients. The firm is a nationwide leader in law and government relations pertaining to energy, the environment, natural resources, native affairs, health care, land use, and real estate. Learn more at www.vnf.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180523006400/en/
Van Ness Feldman LLP
Lisa Pavia, 202-298-1899 (Washington, DC)
or
Saira Rhodes, 206-623-9372 (Seattle, WA)
Source: Van Ness Feldman LLP | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/business-wire-van-ness-feldman-welcomes-former-doi-principal-deputy-assistant-secretary-jason-larrabee-to-government-relations-practice.html |
May 5, 2018
It’s the end of an era for the Jeep Wrangler.
The last of the Jeep Wrangler’s old model, a white 2018 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited, just came off the assembly line, paving the way for the newer version to take its place. The old model, called the JK internally, was in production for 12 years, according to USA Today . Since production of the line began in 2006, more than 2 million of those Wranglers were sold.
Of course, this doesn’t mean it’s the end for the Jeep Wrangler. The SUV’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is set to retool the launch for its latest Wrangler line, dubbed the JL, which debuted at last year’s Los Angeles Auto Show. It’s lighter and more fuel efficient with steel parts swapped out for aluminum. It’s also got backup camera, hood vents and new taillights.
The Wrangler is an iconic car line , especially in the United States with roots tracing back to World War II. End of an Era: Jeep employee Skip Arnal poses with the last Jeep JK Wrangler produced in Toledo, Ohio! Jeep ended production of the JK/JKU on Friday after 2,165,678 Jeeps were built! Jeep employees thank all Jeep Wrangler owners for buying and loving the product. #ToledoJeepFest pic.twitter.com/AeyPKZy8BF | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/05/last-jeep-wrangler-old-model/ |
May 14, 2018 / 2:24 PM / Updated 11 minutes ago German military to move forward with plan to lease Israeli drones Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
BERLIN (Reuters) - The German Defence Ministry will notify lawmakers shortly that will proceed with plans to lease Israeli-built Heron-TP surveillance drones, a programme that was delayed last year, Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen told top military officers on Monday.
The ministry had postponed its plan to lease five of the unarmed drones, a deal valued by security sources at around 1 billion euros, amid concerns over their future use raised by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) in the final months of the last coalition government.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and SPD agreed in their new coalition accord signed in February to lease the drones built by Israel Aerospace Industries [ISRAI.UL], while work continues on a separate programme to develop a new European-built drone.
Von der Leyen said the required notification would be sent to parliament soon, but gave no details.
Defence ministry officials say lawmakers will be asked to review two separate, nearly completely negotiated contracts - one with Airbus, which will manage the drone programme, and one with the Israeli government to cover training, infrastructure and logistics for the unmanned planes.
The SPD, in a surprise move, had blocked the long-planned lease of the drones last summer, citing concerns about a possible future arming of the aircraft. But SPD officials later agreed to proceed with leasing the unarmed aircraft and insisting on a full debate about the ethical, constitutional and legal ramifications of arming the drones in the future.
In a reply to a query by Left party member Andrej Hunko, dated March 5, a ministry official said the government planned to seek options for two additional Heron-TP aircraft.
Germany also plans to move ahead to negotiate the acquisition of three unmanned, higher-altitude MQ-4C Triton drones built by Northrop Grumman Corp after the U.S. State Department approved the sale on April 4.
The ministry hopes to receive a bid from Northrop for three of the drones in the third quarter, and wants to start using them by the mid-2020s, a ministry spokeswoman said. Reporting by Andrea Shalal; Editing by Michael Nienaber and Toby Chopra | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-germany-military-drones/german-military-to-move-forward-with-plan-to-lease-israeli-drones-idUKKCN1IF1XZ |
May 10 (Reuters) - ContraFect Corp:
* CONTRAFECT ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.26 * CONTRAFECT - AS OF MARCH 31, 2018, HAD CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND MARKETABLE SECURITIES OF $39.9 MILLION, COMPARED TO $46.9 MILLION AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2017
* ANTICIPATES THAT CURRENT CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS AND MARKETABLE SECURITIES ARE SUFFICIENT TO FUND OPERATIONS THROUGH Q2 OF 2019 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-contrafect-announces-q1-loss-per-s/brief-contrafect-announces-q1-loss-per-share-0-26-idUSASC0A1CU |
May 23, 2018 / 10:42 AM / in 11 minutes CORRECTED-Target first-quarter sales jump, profit falls short of estimates Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Corrects analyst sales estimate in paragraph 4 to $16.58 billion from $16.63 billion)
NEW YORK, May 23 (Reuters) - Target Corp reported a slightly better than expected 3 percent rise in comparable sales in the first quarter, helped by traffic at its stores and website, but the company’s profit came in below analyst forecasts.
Analysts on average had expected sales at stores open at least a year to increase 2.9 percent, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Excluding items, Target earned a profit of $1.32 per share in the quarter ended May 5, below the average estimate of $1.39 per share.
Sales rose to $16.78 billion, topping the average estimate of $16.58 billion. (Reporting by Nandita Bose in New York; Editing by Meredith Mazzilli) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/target-results/target-first-quarter-sales-jump-profit-falls-short-of-estimates-idUSL3N1ST5GW |
FIFA bids for mini-World Cup Wednesday, May 02, 2018 - 01:13 Sat, 28 Apr, 2018 - (1:07) Follow Reuters: Reuters Plus | Reuters News Agency | Brand Attribution Guidelines | Careers
Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters , is the world’s largest international multimedia news provider reaching more than one billion people every day. Reuters provides trusted business, financial, national, and international news to professionals via Thomson Reuters desktops, the world's media organizations, and directly to consumers at Reuters.com and via Reuters TV. Learn more about Thomson Reuters products: | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/02/fifa-bids-for-mini-world-cup?videoId=423256817 |
AIRPORT CITY, Israel, May 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Highlights
Q1 2018 revenues totaled NIS 1.4 billion, a decline of 28% compared with Q1 2017 Q1 2018 net profit totaled NIS 27 million compared with NIS 88 million for Q1 2017 The backlog of orders increased to NIS 13.7 billion; The backlog does not include an additional NIS 3.2 billion of projects that the Company has won The Company will hold an investor conference call on May 29 at 10am ET, 5pm Israel Time
Shikun & Binui Ltd. (TASE: SKBN.TA), a global construction and infrastructure company headquartered in Israel, reported its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Main Financial Results for the First Quarter of 2018:
Revenues totaled NIS 1.4 billion , a decrease of 28% compared with the first quarter of 2017. The decline was primarily due to the pace of progress in Solel Boneh Israel compared with the previous year, mainly the Ashalim and Mesilot (Railroad Tracks) projects, together with a decline in revenues from the International Construction (excluding the US) segment due to the slowdown of its activities in Nigeria and the completion of its projects in the previous year in Ghana, Togo and Uganda.
Gross margin was 12% compared with 11% in the first quarter of 2017. The gross profit for the quarter totaled NIS 156 million compared with NIS 206 million for the first quarter of 2017.
Net profit for the quarter totaled NIS 27 million compared with NIS 88 million for the first quarter of 2017 . It is emphasized that the net profit in the first quarter of 2017, as published in the financial statements of last year, was before the effect of adopting accounting standard IFRS 15.
The Company's cash flow for the quarter, excluding investments in land inventories and concessions arrangements, totaled NIS (381) million. Cash flow including those investments totaled NIS (728) million.
1. CONSTRUCTION
Solel Boneh
Continued significant activity and broadening of construction offering: total revenue for the quarter was NIS 740 million. During February 2018, Solel Boneh completed the acquisition of Menora Izo Aharon , a private company that engages in the execution, construction and maintenance of complex electrical systems for lighting, railroad crossings, intersection traffic control and other applications. The company employs 235 workers. The acquisition is a pillar of the strategy to broaden construction offerings and is expected to be complementary and synergistic with other activities. Primary mega projects in process during the first quarter of 2018: Gilboa Pumped Storage, Ashalim thermo solar, Tel Aviv Light Rail (Red Line of the Western Section), Tze'elim, the Southern Barrier (on the Gaza border) and others.
International Infrastructure & Construction (excluding the United States)
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2018 were NIS 320 million. In February 2018, the Company signed an agreement to build a new airport in Uganda for USD 309 million. The Company continues to buy significant quantities of dollars in Nigeria at the NIFEX exchange rate , given the ability to receive dollar allocations at the current rate of exchange and the Company is translating its financial reports based on the NIFEX exchange rate (339 naira/dollar as of March 31, 2018). Segment 1 of the Colombia Toll Roads Project is in the handover process; work on segments 2 and 3 is expected to be completed after the originally scheduled time period and negotiations are currently underway to extend the work period. Significant changes in the route of Segments 4 and 5 may be required due to the discovery of water springs. As a result, the project's funders have halted further fund withdrawals until a new plan has been approved for expediting the construction. Subsequent to the balance sheet date, the Company decided to examine the realization of its indirect holdings in its subsidiary, SBI International Holdings AG, either by way of a share transaction or by the sale of activities and / or assets (in whole or in part); this includes seeking appropriate proposals and examining the implications of such proposals. It should be clarified that no decision to sell this activity has been made and there is no certainty at this stage regarding the results of the above-mentioned examination and/or the feasibility of such a transaction, its scope and terms. At this stage there is no impact of the above on the company's financial results
US Infrastructure & Construction
Total revenues for the first quarter of 2018: NIS 106 million from the Texas SH-288 project. As of the beginning of the first quarter of 2018, the Company is reporting the results of the US Infrastructure & Construction segment separately in order to better track its progress in accordance with Shikun & Binui's strategic objectives.
Development of the Backlog* (in NIS millions)
* Backlog as of March 31, 18, does not include contracting projects in both Israel and internationally, totaling NIS 3.2 billion, which the Company has won as of that date of the financial report and thereafter, including projects in the roads sector in Nigeria for $300 million, $120 million in Ethiopia and $120 million in Guatemala, and including a project for the construction of a sorting and recycling facility at the Dan Region Sewage complex in Rishon LeZion for NIS 750 million (Shikun & Binui's portion of which is 50%); the establishment of this project is conditional upon completion of the financial closing. These do not include the execution of those projects carried out during the period up to the date of this report. In addition, the relative decrease in the backlog as of December 31, 2017 and thereafter is attributed, amongst others factors, on the effects of the early adoption of accounting standard IFRS 15.
2. RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE DEVELOPMENT
Apartment Sales
During the first quarter of 2018, the Company sold 354 apartments (at a 100% share) totaling NIS 354 million, including 82 units in Israel and 272 units in Europe. In Europe, most of the apartment sales were in Poland, where 123 units were sold; Serbia, where 73 units were sold; the Czech Republic, where 52 units were sold; and Romania, where 24 units were sold. In Israel, the Company began planning for the construction of 657 apartments and commercial space in Or Yam, in Or Akiva. In addition, it initiated marketing efforts for new projects in Givat Shmuel, Ashkelon, Kfar Yona and Harish, and building began for projects in Rishon Letzion and Givat Shmuel.
The following table represents additional data regarding the Company's sale of apartments (signed contracts) during the first quarter 2018:
Apartment Units Under Company Management Including Partner Share
Consolidated Companies
Companies Under Joint Control
Israel
Sales (NIS millions)
158
138
-
Number of apartment sale contracts signed
82
71
-
Average price of apartments sold (NIS thousands)
1,923
1,938
-
Europe
Sales (NIS millions)
196
143
12
Number of apartment sale contracts signed
272
210
15
Average price of apartments sold (NIS thousands)
722
682
781
The following is data regarding the Company's delivery of apartments to customers during the first quarter of 2018:
Consolidated Companies
Companies Under Joint Control
Europe
Revenues from apartments delivered (NIS millions)
0.19
11
Number of units delivered
1
14
Average price of apartments delivered (NIS thousands)
290
780
Adoption of Standard IFRS 15 – based on this accounting standard, the Company recognizes revenues from Israeli apartment sales gradually based on the rate of construction. Revenues from the sale of apartments outside of Israel are recognized at the time of delivery, unchanged from the previous policy. 3. PROJECTS & IGAs (INCOME GENERATING ASSETS)
Awarded a project to plan, finance, construct and operate a municipal waste recycling facility: in April 2018, the Tender Committee awarded this project to Shikun & Binui and its partner G.E.S. (in equal shares). The cost of the project's construction phase is expected to total NIS 750 million. The Company's subsidiary, Solel Boneh holds 50% of the rights in the project's construction contract and will build the facility together with G.E.S. Initiation of the project is contingent upon successful completion of the project's financing. The total concession period is 29.5 years. The Company continues to carry out its strategy for generating value from projects and freeing up resources for new projects:
o The Company has entered into a process for selling 45% of its rights in the Carmel Tunnels project and 40% of its rights in the North Roads project. Purchase offers were received from a group of investors (including institutional investors) under the framework of a special-purpose limited partnership designated for the purchase, whose investors will be the limited partners and an entity controlled by the Company that will serve as General Partner. If the transaction is completed, the Company expects to recognize a profit of NIS 250-300 million and a cash flow of NIS 580 million is expected.
o The Company has entered into a process for selling its rights in the Generi 2 Government Campus project. If and when the sale is completed, the Company expects to recognize NIS 25-30 million in post-tax profit and expects NIS 70 million in cash flow. The transaction is expected to be completed in January 2019. Significant progress with the Company's portfolio of Renewable Energy projects:
o Initiation of the construction of the approximate 120MW Tze'elim photovoltaic (PV) project.
o Received a conditional license to convert the Etgal power plant to natural gas and to expand its generation capacity from 26MW to 186MW.
o Began construction of 6 high voltage PV projects totaling up to 60MW.
o eAdvancement in the financial closing process of the construction of high voltage PV projects totaling up to 25MW.
Changes in the Company's Credit Ratings:
Ma'alot : In March 2018, Ma'alot S&P notified the Company that it has added the Company's securities (ilA) to its watch-list with a negative outlook. Midroog: In February 2018, Midroog notified the Company that it had placed the Company's ilA1 debentures on its watch-list with a negative outlook. In March 2018, Midroog lowered the rating of the Company's debenture series 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 from A1.il to A2.il with a negative outlook and removed the Company from its watch-list with a negative outlook.
Suspicions Related to the Activities of SBI:
In July 2017, a former employee of SBI International Holdings AG, a Swiss company that is a granddaughter subsidiary of the Company (hereinafter: "SBI AG"), filed a claim with the Labor Court in Israel against the Company, SBI AG, its parent company (SBI Infrastructures Ltd.), its associated subsidiary (SBI – E&M Ltd.) and a manager of the Kenyan branch of SBI AG. Amongst others, in the claim the employee alleged entitlement to various payments related to the termination of his employment with the Kenyan branch of SBI AG and that a mediation proceeding (that was subsequently suspended and not completed) had been held between the parties on those allegations. Furthermore, the employee raised allegations of improper conduct at SBI AG, tantamount to allegations of bribery of foreign officials. Upon receipt of the claim, SBI AG launched an investigation regarding the allegations of improper conduct, through means of external and independent bodies: a Swiss law firm which hired the services of an international accounting firm specializing in investigative auditing, to assist in the investigation. As a result of the launch of an investigation by the Israeli police, the internal investigation was not complete, there were no findings, and their efforts were directed to collecting material for the World Bank (see below). Furthermore, in September 2017, SBI AG, at its own initiative, contacted the general prosecution authorities in Bern, Switzerland, through its Swiss legal advisors, and notified them of the allegations that were raised by the former employee and of the steps SBI AG plans to take to examine the allegations, the main one being an independent investigation as mentioned above. Since then the prosecution authorities in Switzerland have received updates regarding the investigation of the Israeli police (under which employees of the foreign sub-subsidiary were questioned and/or investigated). SBI AG does not know if the Swiss authorities will take investigative steps and what the outcome maybe. In February 2018, the Company became aware that SBI AG had been notified by the INT department of the World Bank (the department that examines allegations concerning integrity) that the World Bank plans to conduct an audit in connection with several projects of SBI AG in Kenya. The audit has commenced and includes the collection of evidence by the World Bank. SBI AG is cooperating with the investigative actions and is acting to provide the materials requested by the World Bank. It is further noted that during the years 2014-2015, requests had been received from the INT department of the World Bank to provide materials and cooperate with an audit, and in January 2016 a letter was received that informed of the World Bank's intention to conduct an audit in connection with projects of SBI AG in Guatemala. SBI AG cooperated at that time with the request and provided materials. As of the date of this report, no further request has been received from the World Bank on the matter of Guatemala. The Company is unable at this time to assess the results of the World Bank's audits and the exposures in respect thereto. If as a result of the audits of the World Bank, it is found that the conduct of SBI AG was improper, it is possible that the World Bank will impose sanctions, the main one being suspension for a certain period of time from participating in future tenders of projects financed by the World Bank, along with other possible sanctions including refunding money that was received by SBI AG from loans provided by the World Bank or correcting damages. It is noted that even before the audits of the World Bank are completed, it is possible that unilateral or agreed restrictions will be imposed (the in-principle possibility of adopting a self-suspension restriction was raised by the Bank and at this time SBI AG has notified the World Bank that it any case, it has no intention of participating in any tenders for projects financed by the World Bank that are expected in the next six months). On February 20, 2018, the Israeli police began an open investigation. Since that date, present and past employees and officers of the Company, SBI AG, and the subsidiary that holds shares of SBI AG (SBI Infrastructures Ltd.), including employees who have had completed their employment with such companies a few years ago were detained for questioning and/or called to testify by the Israeli police. Some of the people that were questioned were at the time placed under arrest for various periods of time and/or released to house arrest and/or released under restrictions. According to minutes of hearings that were held with respect to some of those employees at the Rishon LeZion Magistrates' Court, the investigation probably concerns suspicions of bribing foreign officials, conspiring to commit a crime, false entry in business records and disruption of the judicial process. In addition, bank accounts and current assets of the Company and other Group companies were frozen (and were released after a short time pursuant to an agreed arrangement as described below) and the offices of the Company and other Group companies in Israel and abroad were searched and documents were seized. On February 21, 2018, SBI AG reached an interim arrangement with the Israeli police to deposit an amount in dollars equivalent to NIS 250 million in a forfeiture fund managed by the Administrator General in the Ministry of Justice, as seized money. Proximate to that date, SBI AG deposited the aforesaid amount against a release of the freeze on the bank accounts and current assets of the companies that were seized as aforesaid, pursuant to the aforesaid interim arrangement that was approved by the Rishon LeZion Magistrates' Court. In the arrangement, it was stated that it does not constitute any kind of admission to a debt or liability on the part of the companies. The money was transferred directly from the account of SBI AG to an account managed under the Administrator General in the Israeli Ministry of Justice. Pursuant to the terms of the arrangement and the provisions of law, if another court decision is not rendered, and if and to the extent a statement of charges is not filed by the end of six months from the issuance date of the Court's decision regarding this matter (that would be August 24, 2018 at the latest), the seized amount will be returned to SBI AG. The Magistrate's Court has the authority to extend the period on terms that will be determined and both parties are permitted to file a request with the Court at the end of the said period. In the event of an indictment being filed, the court has the authority to decide that in addition to any punishment, property shall be forfeited that has the same value of the property involved in the crime as well as property that was used to commit the crime, made it possible to commit it or was designated for that purpose and also in the same value of the property that was received, directly or indirectly, as payment for the crime or as a result of committing the crime, or was designated for that purpose. A motion to certify a class action was filed against the Company and officers and three motions to disclose documents were filed in the framework of preliminary proceedings of a derivative claim (one of them also against the subsidiary and against SBI AG, which was struck out on May 14, 2018). See Note 4.B to the financial statements for 2017 for details. Consolidated subsidiaries of the Group that operate in foreign countries have not received receipts or documents (hereinafter: "supporting documents") in respect of certain expenses paid in cash in connection with work performed by them as mentioned in Note 32.B to the financial statements for 2017. Furthermore, provisions were created in the books without such supporting documents. Those expenses and provisions were approved by the managers of the branches and subsidiaries as applicable. In view of the police investigation, the audit of the World Bank and the events that followed as described above, the Company is unable to assess whether the expenses paid as aforesaid included any illegal payments as well as the effects that arise from the payment of all those expenses.
Conference Call
Company management will host a conference call on May 29, 2018 starting at 10am Eastern Time, 7am Pacific Time, 3pm UK Time or 5pm Israel Time. To participate, please call one of the following teleconferencing numbers:
US: +1-866-229-7198
UK: 0-800-4048-418
Israel: 03-918-0692
International: +972-3-918-0692
For those unable to participate, the teleconference will be available for replay on the Company's website at http://en.shikunbinui.co.il/ beginning 24 hours after the call.
About the Shikun & Binui Group
The Shikun & Binui Group is a global construction and infrastructure company that operates in Israel and internationally in seven segments: 1) infrastructure and construction contracting outside of Israel (excluding the United States); 2) US infrastructure and construction contracting; 3) infrastructure and construction contracting within Israel; 4) real estate development within Israel; 5) real estate development outside of Israel; 6) renewable energy; and 7) concessions. The Group's activities focus on large, highly complex projects carried out for entities in private and public sectors with a focus on sustainability.
This summary announcement was prepared solely for the convenience of the reader and does not replace Shikun & Binui Ltd.'s (hereafter – "the Company") full report. The information contained in this announcement is, by its nature, incomplete. All of its contents are provided as a supplement to the Company's report, and are subject to the declarations therein stated. This announcement includes forecasts, assessments, estimates and other information relating to the Company or its subsidiaries, or to other parties or to future events and matters, the extent of whose realization is not certain and is not under the sole control of the Company (forward-looking information, as defined in the Securities Law-1968). The key facts and data serving as the basis for this information are facts and data, among others, related to the current status of the Company and its businesses, facts and data relating to the current status of the operating segments in which the Company engages in its areas of operation, and other macroeconomic facts and data known to the Company on the preparation date of this presentation.
It is understood that forward-looking information does not constitute a fact and is based solely on subjective assessments. Forward-looking information is uncertain and for the most part, is not under the Company's control. The realization or non-realization of the forward-looking information will be influenced, among others, by the risk factors that characterize the Company's operations, as well as developments in the general environment and external factors that impact the Company's operations. The Company's future results and achievements could differ significantly from those presented in this presentation. The Company is not obligated to update or modify the said forecast or assessment, and is not obligated to update this announcement. This announcement does not constitute an offer to purchase the Company's securities or an invitation to receive such offers. An investment in securities in general, and in the Company in particular, carries risk. One must take into account that past data do not necessarily indicate future performance.
Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statement of Financial Position as at
Mar-31
Mar-31
Dec-31
2018
2017
2017
(Unaudited)
(Audited)
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents
1,635,240
1,985,246
2,029,574
Bank deposits
547,568
660,940
657,668
Short-term loans and investments
73,193
70,532
63,050
Short-term loans to investee companies
4,959
4,606
31,854
Trade receivables – accrued income
2,759,388
2,969,245
2,454,935
Inventory of buildings held for sale
1,541,471
1,262,046
1,395,986
Receivables and debit balances
489,128
598,557
498,838
Other investments, including derivatives
322,507
153,976
241,641
Current tax assets
22,571
15,243
19,692
Inventory
196,427
215,842
176,145
Assets classified as held for sale
654,472
9,071
105,352
Total current assets
8,246,924
7,945,304
7,674,735
Receivables and contract assets
in respect of concession arrangements
657,291
881,753
923,267
Non-current inventory of land (freehold)
807,212
568,667
789,699
Non-current inventory of land (leasehold)
664,846
353,779
426,609
Investment property, net
865,211
918,496
842,943
Land rights
13,248
13,041
13,179
Receivables, loans and deposits
507,036
543,949
522,795
Investments in equity-accounted investees
634,538
688,029
598,512
Loans to investee companies
501,524
635,925
612,054
Deferred tax assets
202,716
77,023
162,932
Property, plant and equipment, net
942,471
986,296
875,593
Intangible assets, net
292,392
234,182
150,238
Total non-current assets
6,088,485
5,901,140
5,917,821
Total assets
14,335,409
13,846,444
13,592,556
Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements
Condensed Consolidated Interim Statement of Financial Position as at
Mar-31
Mar-31
Dec-31
2018
2017
2017
(Unaudited)
(Audited)
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
Liabilities
Short-term credit from banks and others
1,164,185
1,087,932
1,036,026
Subcontractors and trade payables
1,331,316
1,373,188
1,460,075
Short-term employee benefits
138,608
144,850
136,860
Payables and credit balances including derivatives
555,752
674,371
616,135
Current tax liabilities
104,330
115,280
105,653
Provisions
259,963
246,445
246,019
Payables - customer work orders
1,471,982
1,567,656
1,376,856
Advances received from customers
408,484
420,006
336,685
Dividend payable
-
73,789
-
Liabilities classified as held for sale
381,290
-
-
Total current liabilities
5,815,910
5,703,517
5,314,309
Liabilities to banks and others
2,629,407
2,237,430
2,477,801
Debentures
3,434,637
3,620,980
3,402,211
Employee benefits
50,907
51,406
49,843
Deferred tax liabilities
115,939
121,354
105,719
Provisions
104,003
105,930
102,795
Excess of accumulated losses over cost of investment and deferred credit balance in investee companies
54,704
30,860
48,130
Total non-current liabilities
6,389,597
6,167,960
6,186,499
Total liabilities
12,205,507
11,871,477
11,500,808
Equity
Total equity attributable to owners of the Company
1,861,274
1,767,891
1,849,025
Non-controlling interests
268,628
207,076
242,723
Total equity
2,129,902
1,974,967
2,091,748
Total liabilities and equity
14,335,409
13,846,444
13,592,556
C ondensed Consolidated Interim Statement of Income
For the three-month period ended
For the year ended
Mar-31
Mar-31
Dec-31
2018
2017
2017
(Unaudited)
(Audited)
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
NIS thousands
Revenues from work performed and sales
1,355,418
1,886,705
6,437,307
Cost of work performed and sales
(1,199,428)
(1,680,449)
(5,586,065)
Gross profit
155,990
206,256
851,242
Gain on sale of investment property
2,971
640
3,217
Selling and marketing expenses
(10,204)
(8,677)
(40,049)
Administrative and general expenses
(97,583)
(90,320)
(380,824)
Share of profits (losses) of equity accounted
investees (net of tax)
(976)
24,011
59,816
Other operating income
6,484
76,215
219,622
Other operating expenses
(11,462)
(6,456)
(130,028)
Operating profit
45,220
201,669
582,996
Financing income
100,609
62,644
199,436
Financing expenses
(94,480)
(138,743)
(422,471)
Net financing expenses
6,129
(76,099)
(223,035)
Profit before taxes on income
51,349
125,570
359,961
Taxes on income
(24,117)
(37,440)
(61,655)
Profit for the period
27,232
88,130
298,306
Attributable to:
Owners of the Company
17,099
77,336
230,927
Non-controlling interests
10,133
10,794
67,379
27,232
88,130
298,306
Basic earnings per share (in NIS)
0.04
0.19
0.58
Diluted earnings per share (in NIS)
0.04
0.19
0.57
Consolidated Financial Statements
Operating Segments
For the three month period ended March 31, 2018 (unaudited)
Infrastructures and construction (Israel)
Infrastructures and construction (international) (excluding USA)
Infrastructures and construction (USA)
Real estate development (Israel)
Real estate development (international)
Concessions
Renewable energy
Other
Adjustments
Consolidated
NIS thousands
Total external revenues
666,513
322,158
106,343
273,998
18,276
10,764
60,465
9,261
(112,360)
1,355,418
Inter-segment revenues
72,510
-
-
19
-
-
-
-
(92,529)
-
Total revenues
739,023
322,158
106,343
274,017
18,276
10,764
60,465
9,261
(184,889)
1,355,418
Segment profit (loss) before income tax
28,497
11,807
14,793
59,796
(9,155)
23,666
(10,850)
(7,764)
(59,441)
51,349
For the three month period ended March 31, 2017 (unaudited)
Infrastructures and construction (Israel)
Infrastructures and construction (international) (excluding USA)
Infrastructures and construction (USA)
Real estate development (Israel)
Real estate development (international)
Concessions
Renewable energy
Other
Adjustments
Consolidated
NIS thousands
Total external revenues
962,392
460,456
70,581
364,915
19,992
73,765
9,082
11,435
(85,913)
1,886,705
Inter-segment revenues
97,211
-
-
19
-
-
-
-
(97,230)
-
Total revenues
1,059,603
460,456
70,581
364,934
19,992
73,765
9,082
11,435
(183,143)
1,886,705
Segment profit (loss) before
27,740
44,871
9,602
50,189
(10,010)
75,834
(6,432)
(16,129)
(50,095)
125,570
Consolidated Financial Statements
Operating Segments
For the three month period ended December 31, 2017 (audited)
Infrastructures and construction (Israel)
Infrastructures and construction (international) (excluding USA)
Infrastructures and construction (USA)
Real estate development (Israel)
Real estate development (international)
Concessions
Renewable energy
Other
Adjustments
Consolidated
NIS thousands
Total external revenues
3,229,094
1,508,804
345,405
1,382,599
247,775
145,359
36,689
37,939
(496,357
6) 437,307
Inter-segment revenues
291,770
-
-
76
-
-
-
-
(291,846)
-
Total revenues
3,520,864
1,508,804
345,405
1,382,675
247,775
145,359
36,689
37,939
(788,203
6) 437,307
Segment profit (loss) before income tax
114,603
85,111
44,933
274,692
47,711
120,431
6,977
(109,465)
(225,032)
359,961
IR Contacts:
Company External Investor Relations
Inbal Uliansky Ehud Helft
+972(3)6301058 GK Investor Relations
[email protected] +1-617-418-3096
[email protected]
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shikun--binui-announces-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-300655399.html
SOURCE Shikun & Binui Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/28/pr-newswire-shikun-binui-announces-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
DENVER, April 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: MDC) today announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of thirty cents ($0.30) per share on the Company's common stock. The dividend will be paid on Wednesday, May 23, 2018 to shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 16, 2018.
About M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1972. MDC's homebuilding subsidiaries, which operate under the name Richmond American Homes, have built and financed the American Dream for more than 195,000 homebuyers since 1977. MDC's commitment to customer satisfaction, quality and value is reflected in each home its subsidiaries build. MDC is one of the largest homebuilders in the United States. Its subsidiaries have homebuilding operations across the country, including the metropolitan areas of Denver, Colorado Springs, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, Riverside-San Bernardino, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, Jacksonville, South Florida, Seattle and Portland. The Company's subsidiaries also provide mortgage financing, insurance and title services, primarily for Richmond American homebuyers, through HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation, American Home Insurance Agency, Inc. and American Home Title and Escrow Company, respectively. M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "MDC." For more information, visit www.mdcholdings.com .
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mdc-holdings-declares-quarterly-cash-dividend-300639614.html
SOURCE M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/30/pr-newswire-m-d-c-holdings-declares-quarterly-cash-dividend.html |
TORONTO, May 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ - Metro Supply Chain Group ("Metro") announced today that it has acquired Total E-com Home Delivery Inc. , a Mississauga-based operation with 18 years' experience in door to door fulfilment of "big and bulky" online retail purchases.
Total E-com Home Delivery was started in 2000 as an early response to shifting consumer purchasing trends and the specific delivery challenges that online retailing presented. The company currently has a substantial Canada-wide delivery network with specific competencies in big and bulky (also known as 'two-person') and other specialized delivery requirements.
Total E-com Home Delivery's operations will continue under Metro's Metro To Home division, which leverages leading-edge software to optimize delivery capabilities for major home furnishings and big box retailers.
"This is a significant development for our direct-to-consumer large item ('two-person') delivery operations," says Metro CEO, Chiko Nanji, of the recent acquisition. "It increases our volume exponentially while adding strong relationships that expand our network and reach in the Canadian market."
Metro Group President, Martin Graham, agrees that this is an important day for Metro To Home: "The acquisition of Total E-com Home Delivery has a number advantages that support our strategic growth plans for the division. At the same time, we provide considerable value to its existing client base in terms of supply chain and warehousing capabilities."
Louise Boulanger, Total E-com Home Delivery owner and founder, is excited to be joining the Metro family. "In this industry, we're driven by a passion to continuously improve the customer experience," she explains. "Merging our efficiencies with Metro's is an opportunity to really move that vision forward."
About Metro Supply Chain Group
The Metro Supply Chain Group of Companies is a Canadian-owned leading provider of third-party logistics (3PL) services across North America and Europe with more than 6,000 associates on the team. It supplies customized services to all industries with a significant presence in the consumer-packaged goods, retail, automotive, fashion and e-commerce sectors. The Group manages over 12 million sq. ft. of strategically located warehousing and co-pack centers and has transportation solutions that include managed transport services, dedicated fleet management and global time critical logistics response. For more information, visit metroscg.com .
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/metro-supply-chain-group-expands-its-big-and-bulky-home-delivery-operations-with-new-acquisition-300644639.html
SOURCE Metro Supply Chain Group | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/pr-newswire-metro-supply-chain-group-expands-its-big-and-bulky-home-delivery-operations-with-new-acquisition.html |
The Turkish lira dropped as much as 5% on Wednesday to a fresh low, adding to the currency’s steep slide this year over the central bank’s lack of action on interest rates that analysts think is desperately needed to combat high inflation.
In morning trade in Europe, the dollar rose to as high as 4.92 lira, before settling back toward 4.85. The currency is now at its weakest level against the dollar since the lira was re-denominated in 2005.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-lira-tumbles-5-to-fresh-low-1527077242 |
May 1 (Reuters) - Regis Corp:
* REGIS CORP Q3 SHR $0.21 EXCLUDING ITEMS * REGIS CORP QTRLY POSITIVE SAME-STORE SALES COMPS OF 1.6% Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-regis-reports-q3-eps-010-from-cont/brief-regis-reports-q3-eps-0-10-from-continuing-operations-idUSASC09YH9 |
May 14, 2018 / 8:16 AM / Updated 29 minutes ago Italy's 5-Star, League granted more time to find government deal Crispian Balmer , Gavin Jones 4 Min Read
ROME (Reuters) - Italy’s anti-establishment 5-Star Movement and far-right League won more time on Monday to put together a government, amid suggestions they were struggling to agree on a prime minister to enact their big-spending policies. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Anti-establishment 5-Star Movement Luigi Di Maio looks on during a news conference at the Foreign Press Club in Rome, Italy, March 13, 2018. REUTERS/Tony Gentile/File Photo
Looking to end 10 weeks of deadlock following inconclusive elections, the two parties had been expected to present their coalition plans and the name of their candidate to head the new administration at a meeting with President Sergio Mattarella.
But after spending barely 30 minutes in Mattarella’s office, 5-Star leader Luigi Di Maio told reporters that their program was still a work in progress. He also declined to say who might be their choice of prime minister.
“We agree we have to move quickly, but as we are writing what will be the government program for the next five years, it’s very important for us to do it as well as possible, so we told the president we needed a few more days,” Di Maio said. Related Coverage Italy economist Sapelli will not be candidate for PM: 5-Star source
The president granted the request and, in a sign it might still take some time before a new government is installed, the League said it would hold an informal referendum of its voters on May 19 and 20 on any deal. 5-Star has also said it will put any accord to an online ballot of its members.
The two parties are looking to implement massive tax cuts, abolish unpopular pension reform and introduce new welfare payments to Italy’s growing army of poor. FILE PHOTO: League party leader Matteo Salvini leaves after a meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella during the second day of consultations at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi/File Photo
They have said they are ready to battle European Union budget restrictions to drive through their program in the face of concerns it could weaken finances in the country with the second-largest debt pile in Europe.
Mattarella, normally a low-profile figure, warned at the weekend about the importance of running sound public finances and maintaining Italy’s traditional pro-EU positions.
The president, who has the final word on nominating a premier, has also reminded both sides that he is not obliged to accept their recommendation for prime minister. FILE PHOTO: Italian President Sergio Mattarella speaks to the media during the second day of consultations at the Quirinal Palace in Rome, Italy, April 5, 2018. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi EU RULES
Both Di Maio and League leader Matteo Salvini have agreed to abandon their own ambitions to lead the government, but crossed vetoes appear to have scotched an array of other candidates.
A 71-year-old university professor, Giulio Sapelli, was briefly in the spotlight on Monday, saying he had spoken to both leaders and was willing to do the job, but within minutes a 5-Star source denied he was their pick for the top office.
After their separate meetings with Mattarella, Di Maio and Salvini denied that disagreements over who should be premier were to blame for the delay in reaching a coalition pact.
“We’re not discussing names. I’m proud that we are discussing, even heatedly, about the kind of Italy we want to create,” said Salvini, adding there were differences on issues including immigration, justice reform and infrastructure.
He told reporters he also wanted the incoming government to stand up to European Union rules, which his party has repeatedly blamed for Italy’s anemic economy.
“Either I manage to create a government that renegotiates these external constraints or it’s a book of fairy tales and I don’t want to take anyone for a ride.”
The economic promises made by both parties during the election campaign seem incompatible with Europe’s budget rules, though markets have so far seemed relatively unfazed at the prospect of the nascent coalition.
5-Star emerged as the largest party after the March 4 vote, while the League was part of a centre-right bloc that won the most seats. The two agreed to seek a deal between themselves last week after all other options dried up. Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Catherine Evans and Hugh Lawson | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-italy-politics/italys-president-to-hold-government-talks-with-5-star-league-in-afternoon-idUSKCN1IF0UJ |
May 17 (Reuters) - Enbridge Inc:
* ENBRIDGE ANNOUNCES SIMPLIFICATION OF CORPORATE STRUCTURE WITH PROPOSALS TO ACQUIRE ALL OF THE OUTSTANDING SPONSORED VEHICLE EQUITY SECURITIES
* ENBRIDGE TO BUY-IN SPONSORED VEHICLES IN EXCHANGE FOR ENBRIDGE COMMON SHARES
* FIXED EXCHANGE RATIOS REFLECT AN AGGREGATE VALUE OF CAN$11.4 BILLION, OR 272 MILLION ENBRIDGE COMMON SHARES
* IF COMPLETED, ANTICIPATED TO HAVE NEUTRAL IMPACT ON CO’S THREE-YEAR FINANCIAL GUIDANCE, WITH POTENTIAL FOR POSITIVE IMPACTS BEYOND 2020
* ENBRIDGE - POST-CLOSING ALL SPONSORED VEHICLE EQUITY SECURITYHOLDERS WOULD HOLD SAME PUBLICLY TRADED EQUITY SECURITY IN STREAMLINED CORPORATE VEHICLE
* ROLL-UP RESULTS IN ALL OF CORE LIQUIDS AND GAS PIPELINE ASSETS BEING HELD UNDER ONE EFFECTIVE AND STREAMLINED ENTITY, ENBRIDGE
* UNDER PROPOSAL, SEP UNITHOLDERS WILL RECEIVE 1.0123 COMMON SHARES OF ENBRIDGE PER SEP UNIT, REPRESENTING A VALUE OF US$33.10 PER SEP UNIT
* ENBRIDGE - BELIEVES DEAL MITIGATES SIGNIFICANT RISK SEP FACES IN ITS CURRENT MLP FORM AS IT ADVANCES ITS REGULATORY,RATE CASE STRATEGIES
* ENBRIDGE INCOME FUND’S ABILITY TO COST-EFFECTIVELY RAISE CAPITAL HAS DETERIORATED AND IS NO LONGER A COST-EFFICIENT SPONSORED VEHICLE
* EEP UNITHOLDERS WILL RECEIVE 0.3083 COMMON SHARES OF ENBRIDGE PER EEP UNIT
* EEQ SHAREHOLDERS WILL RECEIVE 0.2887 COMMON SHARES OF ENBRIDGE PER EEQ SHARE
* ENF SHAREHOLDERS WILL RECEIVE 0.7029 COMMON SHARES OF ENBRIDGE PER ENF SHARE
* ENBRIDGE- POST-CLOSING ALL SPONSORED VEHICLE EQUITY SECURITYHOLDERS WOULD HOLD SAME PUBLICLY TRADED EQUITY SECURITY IN A STREAMLINED CORPORATE VEHICLE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-enbridge-announces-simplification/brief-enbridge-announces-simplification-of-corporate-structure-with-proposals-to-buy-all-of-the-outstanding-sponsored-vehicle-equity-securities-idUSFWN1SO0AS |
May 4, 2018 / 2:12 PM / in 6 hours U.S. prison officials rescind policy restricting books behind bars Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. prison officials have rescinded a controversial new policy that would have made it harder and more expensive for federal inmates to receive books by banning direct delivery from publishers, book clubs and bookstores. FILE PHOTO: A security officer gives directions at the Federal Correctional Complex in Coleman, Florida, U.S., March 3, 2008. REUTERS/Scott Audette/File Photo
The Bureau of Prisons policy would have imposed a seven-step process with a 30 percent price markup and would have allowed purchases only through a private vendor, according to a copy of a memo by a Florida prison warden.
After the move prompted concern from inmates’ families and prison reform advocates, the agency said on Thursday that the proposed restrictions had been part of efforts to curb contraband from entering the 122 federal prisons.
The memos have been rescinded and are under review “to ensure we strike the right balance between maintaining the safety and security of our institutions and inmate access to correspondence and reading materials,” the prisons bureau said in an email.
The decision to pull the restrictions followed a grilling by Democratic lawmakers of the bureau’s director, Mark Inch, during a House of Representatives Judiciary subcommittee hearing in April.
Asked about the Florida prison memo, Inch said he was not aware of the policy but that inmates still had access to books in prison libraries.
“I will certainly communicate if there’s a misperception that we are withholding educational and recreational books of any form, because that is certainly not the case,” he said.
Under a 2011 policy, the roughly 183,000 federal prisoners can receive books from a publisher, book club, or bookstore. Inmates at minimum-security prisons can also get paperback books from any source, including family and friends.
At Florida’s Coleman prison, the restrictions were to have taken effect on May 14 and would have mandated that prisoners file an electronic request including the 13-digit International Standard Book Number, according to the March 29 memo by the warden.
The memo was made available to Reuters by Families Against Mandatory Minimums, a Washington advocacy group.
The Bureau of Prisons did not respond to a query about how many prisons had already adopted the books policy, nor to identify the private vendor or explain the reason for the price markup.
In January New York state prison officials began sharply limiting the books and packages that could be mailed to state prisoners. Governor Andrew Cuomo canceled the policy after an outcry from inmates’ families and prison reform advocates. Reporting by Ian Simpson; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Susan Thoma | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-prisons-books/u-s-prison-officials-rescind-policy-restricting-books-behind-bars-idUSKBN1I51O8 |
May 11, 2018 / 12:55 AM / a minute ago Soaring dollar notches up fourth consecutive week of gains Tommy Wilkes , Saikat Chatterjee 5 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - The dollar consolidated gains on Friday and is set for a fourth consecutive week of gains as markets grow optimistic about the outlook for the U.S. currency in the coming weeks despite notching up some relatively quick recent gains. A money changer holds stacks of US dollar notes in Jakarta, August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Beawiharta
While some investors have been quick to point to the widening interest rate differentials in favour of the United States as a significant factor in the dollar’s surge, the currency has essentially benefited from a broadening recovery compared with a loss of economic momentum in Europe.
That slowdown in growth has made policymakers in Europe and Britain more cautious about ending 2008 financial crisis-era policies, with bond markets gradually dialling back expectations of a UK rate hike to end-2018 while the European Central Bank is set to raise interest rates only in the second half of 2019.
“We are finally starting to see the dollar rise meaningfully and I think this move has further legs to run given the divergence in monetary policy trends between U.S. and Europe,” said SEB senior currency strategist Richard Falkenhall, who expects the euro to weaken to about $1.15.
Against a basket of its rivals, the dollar consolidated gains and was down 0.1 percent at 92.52, edging further from Wednesday’s 4-1/2-month high of 93.42.
It is on track for a fourth consecutive week of gains, its longest weekly winning streak since the fourth quarter of 2016. The dollar has risen nearly 4 percent in the last month.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch strategists said the main catalyst for the dollar’s surge was the lack of improvement in euro zone economic data prompting investors to unwind record short-dollar bets, particularly against emerging market currencies.
Positioning data shows hedge funds have reduced their net speculative short bets against the dollar by $10 billion to about $18 billion in the week of May 4 - still large by historical standards despite some softening in U.S. inflation data.
U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected in April, which would support gradual, rather than more aggressive, rate increases by the Federal Reserve.
Commerzbank strategists said the inflation data only signals a pause in the dollar’s recovery,
“The dollar’s rally is likely to have ended for now. But of course U.S. dollar strength could hardly go on as quickly and smoothly as it had done for the past weeks,” they said.
The euro edged 0.1 percent higher at $1.1935 but was off its 2018 lows of $1.1823 hit on Wednesday.
The single currency had started 2018 on a run as investors bet on a stronger euro zone economy and tighter monetary policy, but is now down year-to-date against the dollar.
The euro has so far weathered the impact from rises in Italian bond yields on signs the two anti-establishment parties could sweep to power as they made “significant steps” towards forming a government after weeks of political stalemate.
However, Italy’s next prime minister could be an independent figure who is not a member of either the anti-establishment 5-Star movement or the far-right League, and a government could be sworn in next week if all goes well, a senior 5-Star member said in a newspaper interview published on Friday.
Currency trading was generally quiet on Friday after a busy week, with most major pairs holding within small ranges.
The dollar traded flat against the yen at 109.33 yen, off its three-month top of 110.05 yen touched on May 2.
The Australian dollar, which had been hit by the loss of its long-cherished status as the highest yielding currency in the developed world as U.S. rates have risen, bounced back to $0.7558 from Wednesday’s 11-month low of $0.7413.
The dollar’s retreat should also take the heat off emerging market currencies that have been battered by worries about rising dollar costs and about capital outflows to the United States.
Political uncertainty in specific emerging markets has also hurt some emerging market currencies.
The Turkish lira, however, fell a further half a percent to 4.267 to the dollar, although that was off the record low of 4.3780 hit on Wednesday. Additional reporting by Hideyuki Sano in TOKYO; Editing by Louise Ireland | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-global-forex/dollar-steps-back-from-2018-peak-on-softer-us-inflation-idUSKBN1IC02E |
The LME sees fresh opportunities in Asia, says its CEO 4 Hours Ago Matthew Chamberlain of the London Metal Exchange also discusses how his organization could contribute to the wider strategy of its parent company, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/16/the-lme-sees-fresh-opportunities-in-asia-says-its-ceo.html |
May 31, 2018 / 6:30 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago Britain's competition watchdog clears Informa-UBM deal Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
(Reuters) - Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Thursday that Informa’s ( INF.L ) 5.6 billion pound ($7.45 billion) takeover of rival UBM ( UBM.L ) did not qualify for an investigation.
The deal, announced in December, will create a global leader in business events and conferences, almost a decade after UBM tried to buy Informa. Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; editing by Kate Holton | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-ubm-m-a-informa/britains-competition-watchdog-clears-informa-ubm-deal-idUKKCN1IW0J4 |
May 27, 2018 / 4:22 PM / Updated an hour ago Soccer: Son must step up to become World Cup great, says South Korea coach Shin Michael Church 3 Min Read
HONG KONG (Reuters) - Son Heung-min needs to overcome his status as a marked man after an impressive season for Tottenham Hotspur if he is to establish himself among the game’s elite at the World Cup in Russia, says South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - International Friendly - Northern Ireland vs South Korea - National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, Britain - March 24, 2018 South Korea's Son Heung-Min is substituted Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
Son has emerged as a leading light of Asian soccer since moving to Tottenham from Bayer Leverkusen in 2015, becoming an integral part of Mauricio Pochettino’s exciting and dynamic team over the last three seasons.
The 25-year-old scored 12 times in 27 starts for Spurs in the past season as the north London club finished third in the Premier League, however Son has yet to make a similar impact for his country.
And Shin believes the former Hamburg SV winger has become a victim of his own success.
“He’s done well with Tottenham and he’s one our best attacking options,” Shin told Reuters.
“He enhances our team totally with his attacking ability. FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - International Friendly - Northern Ireland vs South Korea - National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, Belfast, Britain - March 24, 2018 South Korea coach Shin Tae-yong Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff
“Honestly speaking, when he plays for Tottenham, Son Heung-min has great attacking partners like Harry Kane and Dele Alli and there’s a synergy between them when they play.
“In our team, Son’s partners are maybe at a little bit of a lower level and that makes it a little bit harder for him to show his ability when he plays for the national team.”
Son is the main attraction of a Korean side that will travel to the World Cup hoping to secure a place in the knockout phase of the competition for only the third time in the country’s history.
The Koreans have appeared at every World Cup since 1986 and reached the semi-finals on home soil in 2002, the first time the country had progressed beyond the group phase. FILE PHOTO: South Korea men's national football team player Son Heung-min attends their inaugural ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, May 21, 2018. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji
They qualified for the last 16 in 2010, losing against Uruguay to a late Luis Suarez goal, before being eliminated in the group phase in Brazil four years ago. Sights are being set once more on securing a place in the second round in Russia. DAUNTING TASK
Drawn to play Sweden, Mexico and defending champions Germany, the task facing Shin and his team appears daunting.
For the former Seongnam Ilhwa coach, who steered the club to the Asian Champions League title in 2010 and will be making his World Cup debut on the sidelines, Son needs to step up to the challenge facing him in Eastern Europe.
“Son still plays well for the national team, but when he plays for Tottenham there are many good players and opposing defenses are not only focusing on him,” he said.
“But when he plays for the national team, the opposition focuses on defending against Son Heung-min. Sometimes he has struggled to overcome that but now I think he’s doing well.
“But to become a big player, he has to overcome that barrier.” Reporting by Michael Church, Editing by Christian Radnedge | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-kor-son/soccer-son-must-step-up-to-become-world-cup-great-says-south-korea-coach-shin-idUSKCN1IS0KV |
Current Chairman to also serve as interim CEO; Special Committee of Board to support management of the Company until successor is appointed
MINNEAPOLIS & REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Stratasys Ltd. (NASDAQ: SSYS), a global leader in additive technology solutions, today announced that Ilan Levin has decided to step down from his positions as Chief Executive Officer and Director, effective June 1, 2018.
Elchanan (Elan) Jaglom, the Company’s current Chairman of the Board, will serve as CEO until a successor is appointed. Mr. Jaglom’s service in the position of Chairman and CEO simultaneously requires shareholder approval in accordance with Israeli law. Stratasys plans to call a shareholder meeting to seek that approval. Mr. Levin will provide ongoing consultancy services to the Company following his resignation, as needed.
The Company’s Board of Directors has appointed an Oversight Committee to help support the management of the Company during the interim period, until a successor is appointed. The committee is comprised of the Company’s Vice Chairman of the Board, Executive Director and former CEO, David Reis, along with additional Directors Scott Crump, previous Chairman and Founder, and Dov Ofer.
The Company’s Board of Directors also established an Executive Search Committee, composed of Mr. Jaglom and Victor Leventhal, the Chairman of the Compensation Committee of the Company’s Board of Directors, to oversee the engagement of an international executive search firm to help identify a new Chief Executive Officer.
“The Board of Directors is appreciative of Ilan’s contributions to Stratasys and Objet for over 15 years,” said Elan Jaglom, Stratasys’ Chairman of the Board. “Ilan has implemented a number of key decisions as CEO that have kept the Company strong and ready for future expansion. We thank Ilan for his dedicated leadership of our Company during this phase in Stratasys’ history.”
Stratasys is a global leader in additive technology solutions for industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Healthcare, Consumer Products and Education. For nearly 30 years, a deep and ongoing focus on customers’ business requirements has fueled purposeful innovations—1,200 granted and pending additive technology patents to date—that create new value across product lifecycle processes, from design prototypes to manufacturing tools and final production parts. The Stratasys 3D printing ecosystem of solutions and expertise—advanced materials; software with voxel level control; precise, repeatable and reliable FDM and PolyJet 3D printers; application-based expert services; on-demand parts and industry-defining partnerships—works to ensure seamless integration into each customer’s evolving workflow. Fulfilling the real-world potential of additive, Stratasys delivers breakthrough industry-specific applications that accelerate business processes, optimize value chains and drive business performance improvements for thousands of future-ready leaders. Corporate headquarters: Minneapolis, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel. Online at: www.stratasys.com , http://blog.stratasys.com and LinkedIn .
Stratasys is a registered trademark and the Stratasys signet is a trademark of Stratasys Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries or affiliates. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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Source: Stratasys Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/business-wire-stratasys-announces-resignation-of-ilan-levin-as-ceo-and-director.html |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Rising trade tensions have introduced uncertainty to a U.S. economy that is otherwise in good shape, but their resolution could also hold upside for the U.S. depending on the policies that end up being enacted, St. Louis Federal Reserve bank president James Bullard said on Friday.
St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard speaks at a public lecture on "Slow Normalization or No Normalization" in Singapore May 26, 2016. REUTERS/Edgar Su New tariffs and negotiations with trading partners pursued by the Trump administration “have introduced uncertainty into financial markets and by extension the U.S. economy,” Bullard said. “Whether the trade talks will translate into actual policy is a good question. It could translate into something that is better. There is both downside and upside.”
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-bullard-trade/feds-bullard-trade-debate-poses-risks-but-could-also-hold-upside-for-u-s-idUSKBN1IC1PD |
CARSON, Calif., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solis Tek, Inc. (OTCQB:SLTK), a vertically integrated cannabis technology innovator, manufacturer and distributor, is pleased to provide an update on its business transition, including expected targets and milestones for its recently acquired cannabis cultivation and processing facility in Arizona, and its first quarter 2018 operating results.
Over the next few weeks, the Board and management plan on rebranding the corporate entity and public company name to better reflect management’s strategy to transition to high growth opportunities in legalized cannabis jurisdictions, including cultivation and processing. The Company will continue to aggressively develop and innovate its lighting division as Solis Tek Digital Lighting and its nutrients division as Zelda Horticulture.
In regard to the recently acquired cannabis cultivation and processing facility in Arizona, the Company has planned for 50,000 square feet of cultivation and 10,000 square feet of processing, which will be funded by the recently raised $2.5 million and future commitments from its previously disclosed financial partner. Management is targeting for processing to begin by November 2018 potentially generating up to $500,000 in processing revenue per month and targeting ramping up to $1 million per month over time. Management also expects to begin the cultivation build out imminently with its sights on a first crop in January 2019, and a capacity of producing 8,000 pounds per year, which would equate to $10 million at current wholesale prices.
Solis Tek Chief Executive Officer, Alan Lien, commented, “We are very excited with the transformation of our business strategy and the incredible growth opportunities our team has identified in the legalized cannabis industry. We look forward to a multi-prong approach in growing our business and creating long-term shareholder value through varying segments of the legalized cannabis industry in the United States and potentially in Canada and overseas. We remain confident in our Solis Tek lighting and newly introduced Zelda Horticulture nutrients, but feel this is the right time and opportunity to expand to the touching the plant segment, which will lead to higher and more predictable revenue growth and profitability. Additional details of our plans will be announced over the next few weeks and we look forward to communicating with our current shareholders and prospective new shareholders.”
Financial Results for the First Quarter Ended March 31, 2018:
Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $1,011,749 and $2,901,826, respectively, a decrease of $1,890,077 or 65%. The decrease was due to several negative factors during the first quarter of 2018, as compared to the first quarter of 2017.
Such factors included, market instability and uncertainty, reports of over-capacity and price declines at the wholesale level. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions messaging, the Administration’s stance and announcements on marijuana enforcement, particularly the rescinding of the Cole Memorandum and giving the Federal US Attorneys “free-reign” as to enforcement priorities set a very negative tone and caused hesitation from buyers in the cannabis industry. Industry-wide build-outs slowed and were pushed-out.
Specific reasons to beset to Solis Tek, included a change at the Chief Executive Officer level and change of message and direction. Solis Tek had previously been a retail driven company servicing our 500+ hydro-stores targeting the home and hobbyist growers. Solis Tek restructured its sales force to five nationwide commercial cultivation account managers and had to re-program the sales team, change pricing and change marketing strategies. Its recent shift to convert to a commercial mindset, also altered its inventory strategy to longer fulfillment and lead times.
Cost of sales for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, was $533,925 and $1,781,304, respectively. Gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, was $477,824 and $1,120,522, respectively. The decrease in gross profit of $642,698, or 57% was primarily due to our decrease in revenue. As a percentage of revenue, gross profit for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was 47% compared to 39% for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase in gross profit percentage was due to the change in product mix sold.
Selling, general and administrative expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $3,448,271 and $4,764,655, respectively, a decrease of $1,316,384 or 28%. For the three months ended March 31, 2018, stock-based compensation expense decrease $1,857,866 to $1,780,288, compared to $3,638,154 for the prior year period. Excluding stock-based compensation expense, our SG&A increased $541,482 due to the recording of a $449,000 severance obligation to our former Chief Executive Officer, and $92,482 in increased operating expenses to support our operations.
Research and development (“R&D”) expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 was $51,878 and $82,770, respectively, a decrease of $30,892 or 37%. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily due to decreased employee compensation and royalty expense.
Other income for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $2,651,620 as compared to other expense of $24,171 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The increase in other income was due to the recording of a gain on the extinguishment of derivatives of $674,254, a gain on the change in fair value of derivative liability of $2,630,052, and financing costs of $607,717, all of which did not exist during the prior year period. Interest expense increased over the prior year period by $20,798 due to our increase in borrowings.
Net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2018 was $370,705 compared to net loss of $3,751,987 for the three months ended March 31, 2017. The decrease in net loss was due to the increase in other income and expenses, decreased operating expenses, offset by decreased revenues and gross profit as discussed above.
About Solis Tek, Inc.
Solis Tek, Inc. (OTCQB: SLTK ) is a vertically integrated technology innovator, developer, manufacturer and distributor focused on bringing products and solutions to commercial cannabis growers in both the medical and recreational space in legal markets across the U.S. For nearly a decade, growers have used Solis Tek's lighting solutions to increase yield, lower costs and grow better to maximize their return on investment. The Company's customers include retail stores, distributors and commercial growers in the United States and abroad. For more information, please visit our website, www.solis-tek.com .
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect the Company's current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investors Contact:
Hayden IR
917-658-7878
[email protected]
SOLIS TEK INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 (Unaudited) ASSETS Current Assets Cash $ 1,222,553 $ 967,943 Accounts Receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts and returns
of $285,013 and $396,499 358,068 417,484 Inventories, net 2,032,995 1,684,463 Advances to suppliers – formerly a related party 540,050 735,730 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 150,275 134,374 Total current assets 4,303,941 3,939,994 Property and equipment, net 120,333 138,243 Other assets 52,980 37,980 TOTAL ASSETS $ 4,477,254 $ 4,116,217 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT Current Liabilities Accounts payable and accrued expenses $ 1,253,797 $ 1,124,349 Due to former related party vendor 274,125 381,457 Note payable - related parties 800,000 1,145,000 Convertible note payable, current portion, net of discount of $1,263,889
and $1,055,556, respectively 486,111 194,444 Due to related parties 113,103 146,534 Capital lease obligations, current portion 6,074 9,665 Loans payable, current portion 6,429 8,476 Total Current Liabilities 2,939,639 3,009,925 Loans payable, net of current portion 17,481 17,481 Convertible note payable, net of current portion, net of discount of $0 and
$500,000, respectively - - Notes payable related parties, net of current portion Derivative liability 2,808,041 7,415,000 Total liabilities 5,765,161 10,442,406 Series-A Convertible Preferred Shares, net of discount of $50,000
and $351,000, no par value, 50,000 and 351,000 shares issued and
outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively Commitments and Contingencies Shareholders’ Deficit Preferred stock, no par value, 20,000,000 shares authorized; no shares
issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017,
respectively - - Common stock, $0.001 par value, 100,000,000 shares authorized;
41,230,982 and 38,522,034 shares issued and outstanding at March 31,
2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 41,231 38,522 Additional paid-in-capital 14,483,968 9,077,690 Accumulated deficit (15,813,106 ) (15,442,401 ) Total Shareholders’ Deficit (1,287,907 ) (6,326,189 ) TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT $ 4,477,254 $ 4,116,217 The accompanying notes are an integral part of these condensed consolidated financial statements.
SOLIS TEK INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 (Unaudited) Sales $ 1,011,749 $ 2,901,826 Cost of goods sold (including $412,722 and $1,465,996 from a former related
party) 533,925 1,781,304 Gross profit 477,824 1,120,522 Operating expenses Selling, general and administrative expenses 3,448,271 4,764,655 Research and development 51,878 82,770 Total operating expenses 3,500,149 4,847,425 Loss from operations (3,022,325 ) (3,726,903 ) Other income (expenses) Financing costs (607,717 ) - Change in fair value of derivative liability 2,630,052 - Gain on extinguishment of derivative liability 674,254 - Interest expense (including $22,913 and $23,622 to related parties) (44,969 ) (24,171 ) Total other income (expenses) 2,651,620 (24,171 ) Loss before income taxes (370,705 ) (3,751,074 ) Provision for income taxes - 913 Net loss $ (370,705 ) $ (3,751,987 ) BASIC NET LOSS PER SHARE $ (0.01 ) $ (0.10 ) DILUTED NET LOSS PER SHARE $ (0.01 ) $ (0.10 ) WEIGHTED AVERAGE COMMON SHARES OUTSTANDING Basic and Diluted 39,994,645 36,388,724
SOLIS TEK INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STAEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Month Ended March 31, 2018 2017 (Unaudited) (Unaudited) Cash Flows from Operating Activities Net loss $ (370,705 ) $ (3,751,987 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities Provision for allowance for doubtful accounts and sales returns (111,486 ) 52,487 Provision for inventory reserves (4,640 ) - Depreciation and amortization 17,910 17,745 Fair value of vested stock options 561,671 Fair value of common stock issued for services 718,200 3,663,154 Fair value of common stock issued to employees 500,417 - Financing costs 607,717 - Change in the fair value of derivative liability (2,630,052 ) - Gain on extinguishment of derivative liability (674,254 ) - Changes in Assets and Liabilities (Increase) Decrease in: Accounts receivable 170,902 (710,169 ) Inventories (343,892 ) 865,984 Advances to suppliers 195,680 (192,857 ) Prepaid expenses and other (15,902 ) (2,254 ) Other assets (15,000 ) - (Decrease) Increase in: Accounts payable and accrued expenses 129,448 183,461 Due to former related party vendor (107,332 ) (661,238 ) Due to related parties (33,431 ) 3,422 Net cash used in operating activities (1,404,749 ) (532,252 ) Cash Flows from Investing Activities Purchase of property and equipment - (3,200 ) Net cash used in investing activities - (3,200 ) Cash Flows from Financing Activities Proceeds from sale of common stock 1,068,000 400,000 Proceeds from exercise of warrants 941,996 - Proceeds from notes payable related parties - 300,000 Payments on notes payable related party (345,000 ) (20,000 ) Payments on capital lease obligations (3,591 ) (3,355 ) Payments on loans payable (2,046 ) (2,039 ) Net cash provided by financing activities 1,659,359 674,606 Net increase in cash 254,610 139,154 Cash beginning of period 967,943 275,783 Cash end of period $ 1,222,553 $ 414,937 Interest paid $ 56,344 $ 10,999 Taxes paid $ - $ - Non-Cash Financing Activities Extinguishment of derivative liability $ 1,302,653 $ - Common shares issued upon conversion of Series A preferred $ 316,500 $ -
SOLIS TEK INC.
RECONCILIATION OF ADJUSTED EBITDA TO NET LOSS
(UNAUDITED)
Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP Financial Measure)
In addition to our GAAP results, we present Adjusted EBITDA as a supplemental measure of our performance. However, Adjusted EBITDA is not a recognized measurement under GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income, income from operations or any other performance measure derived in accordance with GAAP or as an alternative to cash flow from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. We define Adjusted EBITDA as net income (loss), plus other expense, net, provision for income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation. Non-GAAP adjustments to our results prepared in accordance with GAAP are itemized below. You are encouraged to evaluate these adjustments and the reasons we consider them appropriate for supplemental analysis. In evaluating Adjusted EBITDA, you should be aware that in the future we may incur expenses that are the same as or similar to some of the adjustments in this presentation. Our presentation of Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an inference that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or non-recurring items.
Set forth below is a reconciliation of Adjusted EBITDA to net loss for the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017.
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2018 (Unaudited) (Unaudited) Net loss $ (370,705 ) $ (3,751,987 ) Provision for income taxes - 913 Other (income) expense, net Financing costs 607,717 - Gain on extinguishment of derivatives (674,254 ) Change in fair value of derivative liability (2,630,052 ) - Interest expense 44,969 24,171 Total other (income) expense, net (2,651,620 ) 24,171 Depreciation and amortization expense 17,910 17,745 Stock-based compensation expense 1,780,288 3,663,154 Adjusted EBITDA $ (1,224,127 ) $ (46,004 ) We present Adjusted EBITDA because we believe it assists investors and analysts in comparing our performance across reporting periods on a consistent basis by excluding items that we do not believe are indicative of our core operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA has limitations as an analytical tool, which includes, among others, the following:
Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect our cash expenditures, or future requirements, for capital expenditures or contractual commitments;
Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect changes in, or cash requirements for, our working capital needs;
Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect interest expense, or the cash requirements necessary to service interest or principal payments, on our debts; and
Although depreciation and amortization are non-cash charges, the assets being depreciated and amortized will often have to be replaced in the future, and Adjusted EBITDA does not reflect any cash requirements for such replacements.
Source:Solis Tek, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/globe-newswire-solis-tek-provides-update-on-transition-of-business-and-announces-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
May 2 (Reuters) - ESCORT TEKNOLOJI:
* REPORTED ON MONDAY Q1 NET PROFIT AT 943,524 LIRA VERSUS 1.4 MILLION LIRA YEAR AGO
* Q1 REVENUE AT ZERO VERSUS 1.5 MILLION LIRA YEAR AGO Source text for Eikon:
Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL8N1S90SD |
The “caravan” of Central Americans at the southern U.S. border seeking asylum has some conservatives wringing their hands about a Hispanic invasion. They should instead be asking what’s behind the destabilization of the countries these desperate migrants have fled.
Central American corruption, statism and crony capitalism have led to poverty and exclusion. The region’s classical liberals understand this connection and have fought to strengthen the rule of law. But their efforts have been undermined by the drug trade financing... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/george-soros-and-the-caravan-1525635094 |
May 7, 2018 / 6:26 PM / Updated 22 minutes ago Egypt to share footage with Italy next week as part of probe of student's death Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s state prosecutor said on Monday a team of Italian experts would go to Cairo next week to take part in the retrieval of CCTV recordings as part of the investigation into the 2016 killing of Italian student Giulio Regeni. A man holds a placard during a vigil to commemorate Giulio Regeni, who was found murdered in Cairo a year ago, in downtown Rome, Italy January 25, 2017. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi
Regeni had been doing postgraduate research into Egyptian trade unions before his death in 2016. His body, showing signs of torture, was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Cairo.
The Egyptian public prosecutor Nabil Sadek said in a statement he had invited Rome’s chief prosecutor Giuseppe Pignatone in a telephone call on Sunday to send a delegation to attend the retrieval of the Cairo metro CCTV recordings on May 15.
Sadek said Cairo had agreed to give the Italian delegation a copy of the recordings.
“The Rome chief prosecutor has decided to send a delegation headed by his assistant, Sergio Colaiocco, and comprising Italian technical experts to attend the retrieval process, on which both sides pin high hopes to reach the truth about the incident and to uncover its perpetrators,” the statement said.
“They agreed that the Rome prosecution will obtain a copy of what is retrieved at the end of the process.”
Egypt agreed last year to allow experts from Italy and a German company that specialises in salvaging CCTV footage to examine cameras in Cairo, but the timing of the trip was not known.
Egyptian officials have repeatedly denied any involvement in Regeni’s death.
The case has strained ties between Egypt and Italy, which recalled its ambassador over the case. Relations were restored in August last year when Rome said it would return its envoy to Cairo and continue to search for Regeni’s killers. Editing by Andrew Roche | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-italy-egypt-regeni/egypt-to-share-footage-with-italy-next-week-as-part-of-probe-of-students-death-idUKKBN1I823R |
May 30, 2018 / 11:12 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago Standard Life Aberdeen sees extra annual savings of 100 million pounds from Phoenix sale Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Standard Life Aberdeen ( SLA.L ) on Wednesday said it expected to save an extra 100 million pounds a year in ‘efficiency savings’ by 2020 after it completes the sale of its insurance business to Phoenix Group ( PHNX.L ).
The company, which on Tuesday said it planned to return as much as 1.75 billion pounds to investors, said the savings would come as a result of its revised operating model and were in addition to cost synergies of 250 million pounds a year. Reporting by Simon Jessop; editing by Emma Rumney | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-standard-life-aberdeen-m-a-savings/standard-life-aberdeen-sees-extra-annual-savings-of-100-million-pounds-from-phoenix-sale-idUKKCN1IV1C5 |
May 23, 2018 / 5:12 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Egyptian orphans score with football academy Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian sports academy is looking for the country’s next big football star among orphans and street children, hoping to give them a shot at improving their lives.
Founded by former professional football player Tamer Begato, Children Without Shelter organizes matches between young boys willing to demonstrate their football skills before asking them to join the academy.
“I started observing stories of the young children and how their whole dream was to become a hero or champion. They were taken with becoming a football champion,” Begato said.
“I felt that through football I can bring out a talent inside a boy, without him already knowing he has the talent. He could become very big in football, or a any other field.”
Funded by Begato, the academy was founded this year and now trains over fifty children between the ages of eight and fourteen.
While the training is largely focused on football skills and tactics, children also receive behavioral and psychological care in hope to eventually help them integrate into society.
“There has to be psychological support and rehabilitation before they start playing football (full time)” said psychologist and trainer Ghada Abdelrahim.
“They could play football but the main goal and psychological comfort for the child would not be achieved. This is what we work on in our program,” she added.
According to the United Nations there are around 150 million street children around the world, and a 2014 study by Egypt’s National Institute for Social and Criminal Studies estimated that there are more than 16,000 street children in Egypt, a country of more than 95 million. Reporting by Mostafa Salem, Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Toby Chopra | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-soccer-academy-orphans/egyptian-orphans-score-with-football-academy-idUSKCN1IO2PM |
May 11 (Reuters) - Real Goods Solar Inc:
* RGS ENERGY REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS * RGS ENERGY QTRLY NET SALES $4.2 MILLION VERSUS $1.4 MILLION
* RGS ENERGY - QTRLY NET LOSS $4.3 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-rgs-energy-reports-q1-net-loss-43/brief-rgs-energy-reports-q1-net-loss-4-3-mln-idUSASC0A1U8 |
First Quarter
Total revenue of $2.20 billion Achieved sequential growth in consumer revenue Broadband trends improved sequentially The first quarter of positive CTF FiOS ® broadband net additions since acquisition Net income of $20 million Adjusted EBITDA 1 of $908 million
NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR) today reported financial 2018.
“In the first quarter we achieved growth in consumer revenue, reflecting the early results of the substantial initiatives we have underway across the company,” said Dan McCarthy, President and CEO. “We are also extremely pleased with the continued improvement in subscriber trends in our California, Texas and Florida (CTF) markets, most notably that we have achieved our first quarter of positive FiOS broadband net additions. We also have begun to improve the trends in the Legacy markets. The entire Frontier team remains focused on continuing to enhance the customer experience, achieving further improvements in churn, maintaining strong cash flow, and strengthening the balance sheet. We are very confident that we have the opportunity for sustained growth in consumer, and improvement in commercial.”
Consolidated Results
The Company adopted the new revenue recognition standard ASC 606 using the modified retrospective method effective January 1, 2018. The table below reflects the quarter under ASC 606, as well as what the first quarter results would have been under ASC 605, the prior accounting standard. For comparison, we have also included our fourth quarter results as reported under ASC 605.
1 See “Non-GAAP Measures” for a description of this measure and its calculation. See Schedule A for a reconciliation to net income/(loss).
$ in millions (except ARPC) Q1 2018 Q1 2018 Q4 2017 As Reported Excluding As Reported (Under ASC 606) Adoption (Under ASC 605) of ASC 606 Revenue Consumer $ 1,128 $ 1,089 $ 1,086 Commercial 974 917 941 Subsidy and Other Regulatory Revenue 97 187 190 Total Revenue $ 2,199 $ 2,193 $ 2,217 Data & Internet Services 985 942 939 Voice Services 702 670 687 Video Services 280 309 310 Other 135 85 91 Total Customer Revenue 2,102 2,006 2,027 Subsidy and Other Regulatory Revenue 97 187 190 Total Revenue $ 2,199 $ 2,193 $ 2,217 Net Income/(Loss) $ 20 $ 14 $ (1,029 ) Adjusted EBITDA $ 908 $ 901 $ 919 Adjusted EBITDA Margin 41.3 % 41.1 % 41.5 % Consumer ARPC $ 86.21 $ 83.26 $ 81.61 Consolidated revenue for the first quarter 2018 was $2.20 billion. Within consolidated revenue, consumer revenue was $1.13 billion, commercial revenue was $974 million and subsidy and other regulatory revenue was $97 million. For the fourth quarter 2017, consolidated revenue was $2.22 billion, consumer revenue was $1.09 billion, commercial revenue was $941 million and subsidy and other regulatory revenue was $190 million.
Net income for the first quarter of 2018 was $20 million. Net loss for the first quarter attributable to common shares was $(33) million, for a diluted net loss per common share of $(0.44). Adjusted EBITDA totaled $908 million, for an adjusted EBITDA margin 2 of 41.3%. For the fourth quarter of 2017, net loss was $(1.03) billion. Net loss for the fourth quarter attributable to common shares was $(1.08) billion, for a diluted net loss per common share of $(13.91). Adjusted EBITDA totaled $919 million for an adjusted EBITDA margin of 41.5%.
2 See Note 1, above. Adjusted EBITDA margin is a non-GAAP measure of performance, calculated as adjusted EBITDA, divided by total revenue. See “Non-GAAP Measures” for a description of this measure and its calculation. See Schedule A for a reconciliation to net loss.
As of the end of the first quarter, the Company had attained approximately $275 million in annualized cost synergies, and the Company remains on track to achieve its target of $350 million in annualized run-rate cost synergies by mid-2018.
For the first quarter of 2018, net cash provided from operating activities was $251 million and operating free cash flow 3 was $(46) million, which reflects cash interest payments of $593 million, or 40% of the $1.5 billion expected annual cash interest expense. Over the four-quarter period ending March 31, 2018, net cash provided from operating activities was $1,801 million and operating free cash flow was $632 million.
Consumer Business Highlights
Revenue was $1.13 billion; the improved trend was driven by improved product mix and better base management. Customer churn improved to 1.94% (1.71% for Legacy and 2.30% for CTF operations). Average Revenue Per Customer (ARPC) of $86.21.
Commercial Business Highlights
Revenue of $974 million. Excluding the impact of ASC 606, the commercial revenue decline was caused by the Small, Medium, and Enterprise (SME) portion of the business. Total commercial customers of 441,000 compared to 453,000 during the fourth quarter of 2017. Carrier/wholesale revenue was roughly stable sequentially.
Capital Structure and Capital Allocation
In January 2018, Frontier amended its credit facilities to provide increased flexibility in managing its capital structure. In March 2018, Frontier issued $1.6 billion aggregate principal amount of Second Lien Secured Notes due 2026. Frontier used the proceeds and cash on hand to repurchase $1.65 billion aggregate principal amount of notes due in 2020 and 2021. As of March 31, 2018, Frontier’s leverage ratio (as calculated in accordance with its credit agreements) was 4.77:1. The leverage ratio was 4.59:1 as of December 31, 2017. The Board of Directors has declared a regular and final quarterly dividend on the Convertible Preferred of $2.78125 per share, payable in cash on June 29, 2018 to holders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2018. The Convertible Preferred will convert to common stock on June 29, 2018. Frontier remains committed to reducing debt and improving its financial leverage profile.
3 Operating free cash flow is a non-GAAP measure of liquidity derived from net cash provided from operating activities. See “Non-GAAP Measures” for a description of this measure and its calculation and Schedules A for a reconciliation to net cash provided from operating activities.
Guidance
Guidance for 2018 remains unchanged.
Adjusted EBITDA – Approximately $3.6 billion Capital expenditures – $1.0 billion to $1.15 billion Cash taxes – Less than $25 million Cash pension/OPEB – Approximately $150 million Cash interest expense – Approximately $1.5 billion for the full year; second quarter cash interest payments of approximately $150 million Operating free cash flow – Approximately $800 million
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Frontier uses certain non-GAAP financial measures in evaluating its performance, including EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA, adjusted EBITDA margin, operating free cash flow, and adjusted operating expenses, each of which is described below. Management uses these non-GAAP financial measures internally to (i) assist in analyzing Frontier's underlying financial performance from period to period, (ii) analyze and evaluate strategic and operational decisions, (iii) establish criteria for compensation decisions, and (iv) assist in the understanding of Frontier's ability to generate cash flow and, as a result, to plan for future capital and operational decisions. Management believes that the presentation of these non-GAAP financial measures provides useful information to investors regarding Frontier’s financial condition and results of operations because these measures, when used in conjunction with related GAAP financial measures (i) provide a more comprehensive view of Frontier’s core operations and ability to generate cash flow, (ii) provide investors with the financial analytical framework upon which management bases financial, operational, compensation, and planning decisions and (iii) present measurements that investors and rating agencies have indicated to management are useful to them in assessing Frontier and its results of operations.
A reconciliation of these measures to the most comparable financial measures calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP is included in the accompanying tables. These non-GAAP financial measures are not measures of financial performance or liquidity under GAAP, nor are they alternatives to GAAP measures and they may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other companies.
EBITDA is defined as net income (loss) less income tax expense (benefit), interest expense, investment and other income, pension settlement costs, gains/losses on extinguishment of debt, and depreciation and amortization. EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA by total revenue.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as EBITDA, as described above, adjusted to exclude acquisition and integration costs, certain pension/OPEB expenses, restructuring costs and other charges, stock-based compensation expense, goodwill impairment charges, and certain other non-recurring items (e.g., storm-related costs and work stoppage costs). Adjusted EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing adjusted EBITDA by total revenue.
Management uses EBITDA, EBITDA margin, adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EBITDA margin to assist it in comparing performance from period to period and as measures of operational performance. Management believes that these non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors in evaluating Frontier’s operational performance from period to period because they exclude depreciation and amortization expenses related to investments made in prior periods and are determined without regard to capital structure or investment activities. By excluding capital expenditures, debt repayments and dividends, among other factors, these non-GAAP financial measures have certain shortcomings. Management compensates for these shortcomings by utilizing these non-GAAP financial measures in conjunction with the comparable GAAP financial measures.
Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to Frontier common shareholders is defined as net income (loss) attributable to Frontier common shareholders and excludes acquisition and integration costs, restructuring costs and other charges, pension settlement costs, goodwill impairment charges, certain income tax items and the income tax effect of these items, and certain non-recurring items (e.g., storm-related costs and work stoppage costs). Adjusting for these items allows investors to better understand and analyze Frontier’s financial performance over the periods presented.
Management defines operating free cash flow, a non-GAAP measure, as net cash provided from operating activities less capital expenditures. Management uses operating free cash flow to assist it in comparing liquidity from period to period and to obtain a more comprehensive view of Frontier’s core operations and ability to generate cash flow. Management believes that this non-GAAP measure is useful to investors in evaluating cash available to service debt and pay dividends. This non-GAAP financial measure has certain shortcomings; it does not represent the residual cash flow available for discretionary expenditures, as items such as debt repayments and preferred stock dividends are not deducted in determining such measure. Management compensates for these shortcomings by utilizing this non-GAAP financial measure in conjunction with the comparable GAAP financial measure.
Adjusted operating expenses is defined as operating expenses adjusted to exclude depreciation and amortization, acquisition and integration costs, goodwill impairment charges, certain pension/OPEB expenses, stock-based compensation expense, one-time storm-related and work stoppage costs, and restructuring costs and other charges. Investors have indicated that this non-GAAP measure is useful in evaluating Frontier’s performance.
The information in this press release should be read in conjunction with the financial statements and footnotes contained in Frontier’s documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Conference Call and Webcast
Frontier will host a conference call today at 4:30 P.M. Eastern time. In connection with the conference call and as a convenience to investors, Frontier furnished today, under cover of a Current Report on Form 8-K, additional materials regarding first quarter 2018 results. The conference call will be webcast and may be accessed in the Webcasts & Presentations section of Frontier's Investor Relations website at www.frontier.com/ir .
A telephonic replay of the conference call will be available from 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time on May 1, 2018, through 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time on May 6, 2018, at 888-203-1112 for callers dialing from the U.S. or Canada, and at 719-457-0820 for those dialing from outside the U.S. or Canada. Use the passcode 2051415 to access the replay. A webcast replay of the call will be available at www.frontier.com/ir .
About Frontier Communications
Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ: FTR) is a leader in providing communications services to urban, suburban, and rural communities in 29 states. Frontier offers a variety of services to residential customers over its fiber-optic and copper networks, including video, high-speed internet, advanced voice, and Frontier Secure ® digital protection solutions. Frontier Business offers communications solutions to small, medium, and enterprise businesses. More information about Frontier is available at www.frontier.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This earnings release contains " ," related to future, not past, events. Forward-looking statements express management’s expectations regarding Frontier’s future business, financial performance, and financial condition, and contain words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "see," "may," "will," "would," or "target." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. For Frontier, particular uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different than those expressed in such include: competition from cable, wireless and wireline carriers, satellite, and OTT companies, and the risk that Frontier will not respond on a timely or profitable basis; Frontier’s ability to successfully adjust to changes in the communications industry, including the effects of technological changes and competition on its capital expenditures, products and service offerings; Frontier’s ability to implement organizational structure changes; risks related to the operation of Frontier’s properties and ability to retain or attract new customers; Frontier’s ability to realize anticipated cost savings and meet commitments made in connection with the Verizon acquisition; reductions in revenue from voice customers that Frontier cannot offset with increases in revenue from broadband and video subscribers and sales of other products and services; Frontier’s ability to maintain relationships with customers, employees or suppliers; Frontier’s ability to attract/retain key talent; the effects of governmental legislation and regulation on Frontier’s business; the impact of regulatory, investigative and legal proceedings and legal compliance risks; government infrastructure projects that impact capital expenditures; continued reductions in switched access revenue as a result of regulation, competition or technology substitutions; the effects of changes in the availability of federal and state universal service funding or other subsidies to Frontier and its competitors; Frontier’s ability to meet its remaining CAF II broadband buildout obligations on a timely basis; Frontier’s ability to effectively manage service quality and meet mandated service quality metrics; Frontier’s ability to successfully introduce new product offerings; the effects of changes in accounting policies or practices, including potential future impairment charges with respect to intangible assets; Frontier’s ability to effectively manage its operations, operating expenses, capital expenditures, debt service requirements and cash paid for income taxes and liquidity; the effects of changes in both general and local economic conditions in the markets that Frontier serves; the effects of increased medical expenses and pension and postemployment expenses; the effects of changes in income tax rates, tax laws, regulations or rulings, or federal or state tax assessments; Frontier’s ability to successfully renegotiate union contracts; changes in pension plan assumptions, interest rates, discount rates, regulatory rules and/or the value of Frontier’s pension plan assets, which could require Frontier to make increased contributions to its pension plans; adverse changes in the credit markets; adverse changes in the ratings given to Frontier’s debt securities by nationally accredited ratings organizations; the availability and cost of financing in the credit markets; covenants in Frontier’s indentures and credit agreements that may limit Frontier’s operational and financial flexibility as well as its ability to access the capital markets in the future; the effects of state regulatory cash management practices that could limit Frontier’s ability to transfer cash among its subsidiaries or dividend funds up to the parent company; the effects of severe weather events or other natural or man-made disasters, which may increase operating expenses or adversely impact customer revenue; the impact of potential information technology or data security breaches or other disruptions; and the risks and other factors contained in Frontier’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q. These risks and uncertainties may cause actual future results to be materially different than those expressed in such . Frontier has no obligation to update or revise these and does not undertake to do so.
Frontier Communications Corporation Consolidated Financial Data For the quarter ended ($ in millions and shares in thousands, except per share amounts) March 31, 2018 (1) December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Statement of Operations Data Revenue $ 2,199 $ 2,217 $ 2,356 Operating expenses: Network access expenses 372 388 411 Network related expenses 483 491 (2)
493 (2)
Selling, general and administrative expenses 469 456 (2)
542 (2)
Depreciation and amortization 505 514 579 Goodwill impairment - 2,078 - Acquisition and integration costs - 10 2 Restructuring costs and other charges 4 27 12 Total operating expenses 1,833 3,964 (2)
2,039 (2)
Operating income (loss) 366 (1,747 ) (2)
317 (2)
Investment and other income (loss), net 8 (3 ) (2)
- (2)
Pension settlement costs - 6 43
Gain on extinguishment of debt 33 1 - Interest expense 374 377 388 Income (loss) before income taxes 33 (2,132 ) (114 ) Income tax expense (benefit) 13 (1,103 ) (39 ) Net income (2) Less: Income attributable to the noncontrolling interest in a partnership
Net Income (loss) 20 (1,029 ) (75 ) Less: Dividends on preferred stock 53 53 54 Net loss attributable to Frontier common shareholders
$ (33 ) $ (1,082 ) $ (129 ) Weighted average shares outstanding - basic 77,416 77,805 77,591 Weighted average shares outstanding - diluted 77,416 77,805 77,591 Basic net loss per common share $ (0.44 ) $ (13.91 ) $ (1.67 ) Diluted net loss per common share $ (0.44 ) $ (13.91 ) $ (1.67 ) Other Financial Data: Capital expenditures - Business operations $ 297 $ 308 $ 315 Capital expenditures - Integration activities $ - $ 15 $ 1 Dividends paid - Common stock $ - $ 47 $ 124 Dividends paid - Preferred stock $ 53 $ 53 $ 54 (1) We adopted Accounting Standard Update 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606)” on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective application. This method does not impact the prior periods, which continue to reflect the accounting treatment prior to the adoption of ASC 606. As a result, for items that were affected by our adoption of ASC 606, financial results of periods prior to January 1, 2018 are not comparable to the current period financial results. To provide comparability to our results, we provide a supplemental schedule (see Schedule D) which contains certain financial information on a pre adoption of ASC 606 basis. (2) Effective January 1, 2018, Frontier adopted ASU 2017-07, “Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost.” The standard requires certain benefit costs to be reclassified from operating expenses to non-operating expenses. This change in policy was applied using a retrospective approach and accordingly we have reclassified $1 million and $3 million of net operating expenses as non-operating expense for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively. Additional pension settlement costs of $6 million and $43 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively, were reclassified from operating expense to non-operating expense. Frontier Communications Corporation Consolidated Financial Data For the 2018 (1) December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 ($ in millions)
Selected Statement of Operations Data Revenue: Data and internet services $ 985 $ 939 $ 993 (2) Voice services 702 687 751 Video services 280 310 347 Other 135 91 68 Customer revenue 2,102 2,027 2,159 (2) Subsidy and other regulatory revenue 97 190 197 Total revenue $ 2,199 $ 2,217 $ 2,356 (2) Other Financial Data Revenue: Consumer $ 1,128 $ 1,086 $ 1,164 Commercial 974 941 995 (2) Customer revenue
2,102 2,027 2,159 (2) Subsidy and other regulatory revenue 97 190 197 Total revenue $ 2,199 $ 2,217 $ 2,356 (2) (1) We adopted Accounting Standard Update 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606)” on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective application. This method does not impact the prior periods, which continue to reflect the accounting treatment prior to the adoption of ASC 606. As a result, for items that were affected by our adoption of ASC 606, financial results of periods prior to January 1, 2018 are not comparable to the current period financial results. To provide comparability to our results, we provide a supplemental schedule (see Schedule D) which contains certain financial information on a pre adoption of ASC 606 basis. (2) Includes revenue from Frontier Secure Strategic Partnerships business, which was sold in May of 2017, of $25 million for the three months ended March 31, 2017.
Frontier Communications Corporation Consolidated Financial and Operating Data For the 2018 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Customers (in thousands) 4,765 4,850 5,220 Consumer customer metrics Customers (in thousands) 4,324 4,397 4,736 Net customer additions/(losses) (74 ) (89 ) (155 )
Average monthly consumer revenue per customer
$ 86.21 (1)
$ 81.61 $ 80.62 Customer monthly churn 1.94 % 1.98 % 2.37 % Commercial customer metrics Customers (in thousands) 441 453 484 Broadband subscriber metrics (in thousands) Broadband subscribers 3,895 3,938 4,164 Net subscriber additions/(losses) (43 ) (63 ) (107 ) Video (excl. DISH) subscriber metrics (in thousands) Video subscribers 934 961 1,065 Net subscriber additions/(losses) (28 ) (20 ) (80 ) Video - DISH subscriber metrics (in thousands) DISH subscribers 227 235 266 Net subscriber additions/(losses) (8 ) (9 ) (8 ) Employees 22,081 22,736 26,878 (2)
(1) We adopted Accounting Standard Update 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606)” on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective application. This method does not impact the prior periods, which continue to reflect the accounting treatment prior to the adoption of ASC 606. As a result, for items that were affected by our adoption of ASC 606, financial results of periods prior to January 1, 2018 are not comparable to the current period financial results. To provide comparability to our results, we provide a supplemental schedule (see Schedule D) which contains certain financial information on a pre adoption of ASC 606 basis. (2) At March 31, 2017, we had approximately 1,900 employees from our Frontier Secure Partnerships business, which was sold in May 2017. Frontier Communications Corporation Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Data ($ in millions)
March 31. 2018 December 31, 2017 ASSETS
Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 201 $ 362 Accounts receivable, net 778 819 Other current assets 223 142 Total current assets 1,202 1,323 Property, plant and equipment, net 14,321 14,377 Other assets - principally goodwill 9,155 9,184 Total assets $ 24,678 $ 24,884 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY
Current liabilities: Long-term debt due within one year $ 1,060 $ 656 Accounts payable and other current liabilities 1,606 1,852 Total current liabilities
2,666 2,508 Deferred income taxes and other liabilities 3,157 3,132 Long-term debt 16,470 16,970 Equity 2,385 2,274 Total liabilities and equity $ 24,678 $ 24,884 Frontier Communications Corporation Consolidated Cash Flow Data For the ($ in millions)
2018 2017 Cash flows provided from (used by) operating activities: Net income (loss) $ 20 $ (75 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided from (used by) operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 505 579 Gain on extinguishment of debt (33 ) - Pension settlement costs - 43 Stock-based compensation expense 4 3 Amortization of deferred financing costs 9 9 Other adjustments (9 ) - Deferred income taxes 12 (41 ) Change in accounts receivable 9 105 Change in accounts payable and other liabilities (261 ) (312 ) Change in other current assets (5 ) (11 ) Net cash provided from operating activities 251 300 Cash flows provided from (used by) investing activities: Capital expenditures - Business operations (297 ) (315 ) Capital expenditures - Integration activities - (1 ) Proceeds on sale of assets 10 70 Other (2 ) 3 Net cash used by investing activities (289 ) (243 ) Cash flows provided from (used by) financing activities: Proceeds from long-term debt borrowings 1,600 - Long-term debt payments (1,627 ) (38 ) Financing costs paid (26 ) (6 ) Premium paid to retire debt (16 ) - Dividends paid on common stock - (124 ) Dividends paid on preferred stock (53 ) (54 ) Capital lease obligation payments (10 ) (10 ) Other (5 ) (6 ) Net cash provided used by financing activities (137 ) (238 ) Decrease in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash (175 ) (181 ) Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at January 1, 376 522 Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at March 31, $ 201 $ 341 Supplemental cash flow information: Cash paid (received) during the period for: Interest $ 593 $ 577 Income tax refunds, net $ - $ (3 ) SCHEDULE A Frontier Communications Corporation Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures For the quarter ended ($ in millions)
March 31. 2018 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 EBITDA
Net income (loss) $ 20 $ (1,029 ) $ (75 ) Add back (subtract): Income tax expense (benefit) 13 (1,103 ) (39 ) Interest expense 374 377 388 Investment and other (income) loss, net (8 ) 3 - Pension settlement costs - 6 43 Gain on extinguishment of debt (33 ) (1 ) - Operating income (loss) 366 (1,747 ) 317 Depreciation and amortization 505 514 579 EBITDA 871 (1,233 ) 896 Add back: Acquisition and integration costs - 10 2 Pension/OPEB expense 22 20 22 Restructuring costs and other charges 4 27 12 Stock-based compensation expense 4 4 3 Storm-related costs - 13 - Work stoppage costs 7 - - Goodwill impairment - 2,078 - Adjusted EBITDA $ 908 $ 919 $ 935 EBITDA margin 39.6 % -55.6 % 38.0 % Adjusted EBITDA margin 41.3 % 41.5 % 39.7 % Free Cash Flow
Net cash provided from operating activities $ 251 $ 665 $ 300 Add back (subtract): Capital expenditures - Business operations (297 ) (308 ) (315 ) Capital expenditures - Integration - (15 ) (1 ) Operating free cash flow $ (46 ) $ 342 $ (16 ) SCHEDULE B Frontier Communications Corporation Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures For the 2018 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 ($ in millions, except per share amounts)
Net Income
(Loss)
Basic Earnings
(Loss) Per
Share
Net Income
(Loss)
Basic Earnings
(Loss) Per
Share
Net Income
(Loss)
Basic Earnings
(Loss) Per
Share
Net loss attributable to
Frontier common shareholders $ (33 ) $ (0.44 ) $ (1,082 ) $ (13.91 ) $ (129 ) $ (1.67 ) Acquisition and integration costs - 10 2 Restructuring costs and other charges 4 27 12 Pension settlement costs - 6 43 Gain on extinguishment of debt (33 ) (1 ) - Goodwill impairment - 2,078 - Storm-related costs - 13 - Work stoppage costs 7 - - Effect of tax reform - (830 ) Certain other tax items (1) 4 8 1 Income tax effect on above items: Acquisition and integration costs - (3 ) (1 ) Restructuring costs and other charges (1 ) (10 ) (4 ) Pension settlement costs - (2 ) (15 ) Gain on extinguishment of debt 9 1 - Goodwill impairment - (256 ) - Storm-related costs - (5 ) - Work stoppage costs (2 ) - - (12 ) (0.15 ) 1,036 13.32 38 0.49 Adjusted net loss attributable to Frontier common shareholders (2) $ (45 ) $ (0.58 ) $ (46 ) $ (0.59 ) $ (91 ) $ (1.18 ) (1) Includes impact arising from federal research and development credits, changes in certain deferred tax balances, state tax law changes, state filing method change, and the net impact of uncertain tax positions. (2) Adjusted net income (loss) attributable to Frontier common shareholders may not sum due to rounding.
SCHEDULE C Frontier Communications Corporation Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures For the quarter ended ($ in millions)
March 31. 2018 December 31, 2017 March 31, 2017 Adjusted Operating Expenses
Total operating expenses $ 1,833 $ 3,964 (1)
$ 2,039 (1)
Subtract: Depreciation and amortization 505 514 579 Goodwill impairment - 2,078 - Acquisition and integration costs
- 10 2 Pension/OPEB expense 22 20 (1) 22 (1)
Restructuring costs and other charges 4 27 12 Stock-based compensation expense 4 4 3 Storm-related costs - 13 - Work stoppage costs 7 - - Adjusted operating expenses $ 1,291 $ 1,298 $ 1,421 (1) Effective January 1, 2018, Frontier adopted ASU 2017-07, “Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost.” The standard requires certain benefit costs to be reclassified from operating expenses to non-operating expenses. This change in policy was applied using a retrospective approach and accordingly we have reclassified $1 million and $3 million of net operating expenses as non-operating expense for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017, respectively. Additional pension settlement costs of $6 million and $43 million for the three months ended December 31, 2017 and March 31, 2017 , respectively, were reclassified from operating expense to non-operating expense. SCHEDULE D Comparability Disclaimer: We adopted Accounting Standard Update 2014-09, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers (ASC 606)” on January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective application. This method does not impact the prior periods, which continue to reflect the accounting treatment prior to the adoption of ASC 606. As a result, for items that were affected by our adoption of ASC 606, financial results of periods prior to January 1, 2018 are not comparable to the current period financial results. To provide comparability to our results, we provide the following supplemental schedule which contains certain financial information on a pre adoption of ASC 606 basis.
Frontier Communications Corporation Consolidated Financial Data For the three months ended March 31, 2018 Impact Amounts Excluding Adoption of Adoption of As reported ($ in millions)
As reported ASC 606 ASC 606 December 31, 2017 Selected Statement of Operations Data Revenue: Data and Internet services $ 985 $ (43 ) $ 942 $ 939 Voice services 702 (32 ) 670 687 Video services 280 29 309 310 Other 135 (50 ) 85 91 Revenue from contracts with customers 2,102 (96 ) 2,006 2,027 Subsidy and other regulatory revenue 97 90 187 190 Total revenue $ 2,199 $ (6 ) $ 2,193 $ 2,217 Other Revenue Data Revenue: Consumer $ 1,128 $ (39 ) $ 1,089 $ 1,086 Commercial 974 (57 ) 917 941 Revenue from contracts Revenue from contracts with customers 2,102 (96 ) 2,006 2,027 Subsidy and other regulatory revenue 97 90 187 190 Total revenue $ 2,199 $ (6 ) $ 2,193 $ 2,217 For the three months ended March 31, 2018 Impact of Amounts Excluding Adoption of Adoption of As reported ($ in millions)
As reported ASC 606 ASC 606 December 31, 2017 Statement of Operations Data Revenue $ 2,199 $ (6 ) $ 2,193 $ 2,217 Operating expenses: Network access expenses 372 (3 ) 369 388 Network related expenses 483 - 483 491 Selling, general and administrative expenses 469 4 473 456 Depreciation and amortization 505 - 505 514 Goodwill impairment - - - 2,078 Acquisition and integration costs - - - 10 Restructuring costs and other charges 4 - 4 27 Total operating expenses 1,833 1 1,834 3,964 Operating income (loss) 366 (7 ) 359 (1,747 ) Investment and other income (loss), net 8 - 8 (3 ) Pension settlement costs - - - 6 Gain on extinguishment of debt 33 - 33 1 Interest expense 374 - 374 377 Income (loss) before income taxes 33 (7 ) 26 (2,132 ) Income tax expense (benefit) 13 (1 ) 12 (1,103 ) Net Income (loss) 20 (6 ) 14 (1,029 ) Less: Dividends on preferred stock 53 - 53 53 Net loss attributable to Frontier common shareholders
$ (33 ) $ (6 ) $ (39 ) $ (1,082 ) Other financial data: Consumer ARPC $ 86.21 $ 2.95 $ 83.26 $ 81.61
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180501006707/en/
Frontier Communications Corporation
Investors:
Luke Szymczak, 203-614-5044
VP, Investor Relations
[email protected]
or
Media:
Brigid Smith, 203-614-5042
AVP, Corporate Communications
[email protected]
Source: Frontier Communications Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/business-wire-frontier-communications-reports-2018-first-quarter-results.html |
President Donald Trump repaid his personal lawyer Michael Cohen for a hush payment to porn star Stormy Daniels , Rudy Giuliani , one of the lawyers representing the president in the special counsel's probe, said Wednesday night.
Giuliani, a former federal prosecutor and mayor of New York, made the remark on Wednesday night's edition of "Hannity" on Fox News. His statements appear to directly contradict the version of events proffered by both Trump and Cohen about the payment.
"Funneled through a law firm, and the president repaid it," Giuliani told host Sean Hannity .
Hannity video tweet
The $130,000 payment to Daniels came as part of a nondisclosure pact brokered by Cohen shortly before the 2016 election in exchange for Daniels' silence about an alleged affair with Trump.
Daniels' lawyer, Michael Avenatti, told CNBC: "This is exactly what we predicted would ultimately be shown. Every American, regardless of their politics, should be outraged."
Asked if Giuliani's admission is evidence of a campaign finance violation, Avenatti simply said, "Yes."
In a string of carefully worded tweets Thursday morning, Trump denied that the payment made to Daniels came from campaign contributions, saying: "Money from the campaign, or campaign contributions, played no roll in this transaction."
In his tweets, Trump validated Guiliani's remarks on Fox News and undermined his own and Cohen's previous assertions that Trump knew nothing about the payment to Daniels. Trump also denied the affair.
Donald Trump tweet 1
Donald Trump tweet 2
Donald Trump tweet 3
In an interview with The New York Times after the Wednesday night interview, Giuliani reiterated his assertion that it did not amount to a campaign-finance violation – and he shared details of the payments from Trump to Cohen, saying "we have all the documentary proof for it."
Giuliani told the newspaper that, after the campaign, Trump started paying $35,000 a month out of his "personal family account." Overall, the former mayor told the Times, Trump had paid Cohen $460,000 or $470,000, which included "incidental expenses."
Giuliani also told the Times that he had spoken with Trump before and after his interview with Hannity. The president and other lawyers on the team knew what he would tell the Fox News host, he added.
Trump said last month that he didn't know about Cohen's payment to Daniels. Cohen has previously maintained that he made the payment himself, and with his own funds.
Giuliani told Hannity that the payment "is going to turn out to be perfectly legal."
"That money was not campaign money. Sorry, I'm giving you a fact now that you don't know. It's not campaign money. No campaign finance violation," Giuliani said.
On April 5, Trump, in one of his few public statements about Daniels, denied knowledge of the payment .
But Giuliani said Wednesday night only that Trump did not know "the specifics."
Asked by Hannity whether Trump knew about the payment, Giuliani said Trump "didn't know about the specifics of it, as far as I know."
But, Giuliani added: "He did know about the general arrangement that Michael would take care of things like this."
In a later exchange, Giuliani said that the money "that was paid by his lawyer [Cohen], the president reimbursed that over the period of several months."
But in a Wall Street Journal interview earlier Wednesday, Giuliani reportedly said Trump was "probably not aware" of the payment at the time it was made in October 2016.
"Remember October 2016, hardly will recall any of that in detail. I don't remember it clearly either," he told the newspaper.
Why Comey was fired Giuliani turned heads earlier in the lengthy television interview, when he said Trump's motive for firing FBI Director James Comey was that Comey would not say that he wasn't a target of an FBI investigation .
"He fired Comey because Comey would not – among other things – say that he wasn't a target of the investigation," Giuliani said.
Trump, Giuliani he added, "is entitled that. Hillary Clinton got that and he couldn't get that. He fired him and he said, 'I'm free of this guy.'"
The White House has said Trump fired Comey over his handling of the investigations into Clinton during the campaign.
But in an interview with NBC News' Lester Holt in May 2017, Trump said, "When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, 'You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story.'"
White House lawyer Ty Cobb and a White House spokeswoman did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. Neither Cohen nor one of his lawyers immediately responded to CNBC's requests for comment .
—CNBC's Mike Calia , Christina Wilkie and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/giuliani-trump-reimbursed-lawyer-michael-cohen-for-stormy-daniels-payment.html |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s trade surplus with the United States widened to $22.19 billion in April, from $15.43 billion in March, customs data showed on Tuesday.
Containers are seen at the Yangshan Deep Water Port in Shanghai, China April 24, 2018. REUTERS/Aly Song For January-April, China’s trade surplus with the United States was $80.4 billion.
The world’s two largest economies have threatened each other with tens of billions of dollars’ worth of tariffs in recent months, leading to worries that Washington and Beijing may engage in a full-scale trade war that could damage global growth and roil markets.
The Trump administration has drawn a hard line in trade talks, demanding a $200 billion cut in the Chinese trade surplus with the United States, sharply lower tariffs and advanced technology subsidies.
Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Kim Coghill
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-trade-usa/chinas-trade-surplus-with-u-s-widens-to-22-19-billion-in-april-idUSKBN1I90AB |
May 23, 2018 / 12:35 AM / Updated an hour ago Foreign media start marathon journey to North Korea nuclear test site Hyonhee Shin 5 Min Read
SEOUL (Reuters) - International journalists left on a marathon journey to a North Korean nuclear test site on Wednesday, after Pyongyang belatedly cleared a number of South Korean media to witness what it says will be the dismantling of its only nuclear test facility.
Travel will involve an 11-hour train ride, a four-hour bus journey and then a hike of another hour, a reporter with Russia’s RT said on Twitter.
North Korea has suspended talks with the South and threatened to pull out of an upcoming summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump, but the invitation to media was seen as an indication that its unexpected offer to end its nuclear tests still held.
North Korea invited international media to observe the destruction with explosives of the Punggye-ri site, but not experts as initially promised, casting doubt over how verifiable the plan is and whether it will be safe.
It had also declined to take the South Korean reporters after calling off planned inter-Korean talks in protest against U.S.-South Korean “Max Thunder” air combat drills. North Korea has always justified its nuclear programme as a deterrent against perceived U.S. hostility.
Reporters from news outlets from the other countries said on Twitter they arrived in the North Korean port city of Wonsan on Tuesday. The eight South Koreans arrived in Wonsan on Wednesday, where they were forced to leave their radiation detectors, satellite phones and Bluetooth mouses before they all set off for the test site, according to South Korean media pool reports.
North Korea had announced it would use explosives to close test tunnels, expected on Thursday or Friday.
Seoul’s unification ministry welcomed Pyongyang’s decision to accept the South Koreans.
“We hope for an early realisation of complete denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula through a North Korea-U.S. summit and dialogue of various levels, starting with the abolition of the nuclear test site,” ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun told a news briefing. SUMMIT IN DOUBT
North Korea’s last-minute acceptance of South Korean reporters came amid concerns that Kim was starting to back away from his promise to scrap the nuclear programme, which it has pursued in defiance of years of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
The North has threatened to pull out of the summit with Trump in Singapore on June 12 if Washington demands it unilaterally abandons its nuclear arsenal. It has also criticised the Max Thunder drills. A South Korean flight carrying South Korean journalists, who will visit the nuclear testing site at Punggye-ri, arrives at Kalma airport in Wonsan, North Korea, May 23, 2018. News1/Pool via REUTERS
Trump said on Tuesday there was a “substantial chance” the summit would not take place.
China said that both the United States and North Korea were still making preparations for the summit and Beijing hoped both sides can “clear away distractions.”
“We really hope that all sides, especially the United States and North Korea, can seize the opportunity, meet each other halfway, and resolve in a balanced way each other’s concerns,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing.
“We still look forward to the meeting between the U.S. and North Korean leaders proceeding smoothly and achieving positive results.”
Lu said China had played a positive role on the Korean peninsula, after Trump reiterated his suggestion that Kim’s recent meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping had influenced Kim to harden his stance ahead of the summit.
Seoul is seeking to mediate between the United States and North Korea, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in visiting Washington on Tuesday to urge Trump to seize the rare opportunity to meet Kim.
High-level intra-Korea talks will likely resume after Friday, once Max Thunder finishes, Moon’s media secretary Yoon Young-chan said.
A senior South Korean official told reporters on condition of anonymity: “Given the North’s thinking and statements alike, we would be able to turn around the mood after the Max Thunder drills from the current standoff and restart dialogue.”
North Korea has rejected unilateral disarmament and given no indication that it is willing to go beyond statements of broad support for the concept of universal denuclearisation.
It has said in previous, failed talks that it could consider giving up its arsenal if the United States provided security guarantees by removing its troops from South Korea and withdrew its so-called nuclear umbrella of deterrence from South Korea and Japan. Slideshow (4 Images)
The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Additional reporting by Joori Roh and Josh Smith in SEOUL, and Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Nick Macfie | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-northkorea-missiles-southkorea/north-korea-has-accepted-list-of-south-korea-reporters-to-visit-nuclear-test-site-official-idUKKCN1IO01W |
Schmidt's Naturals, a personal care products company owned by Unilever , now accepts bitcoin for online payments.
Michael Cammarata, co-founder and CEO of Schmidt's, told CNBC that in an era of cryptocurrency the company is giving consumers what they want.
"Some of the [website's] subscribers were like, 'Hey, we want to be able to pay in bitcoin,'" he said Tuesday on " Power Lunch ."
Now customers can shop on the company's website for a variety of natural products — including deodorant, toothpaste and soap — and check out with bitcoin.
The company uses BitPay, a bitcoin payment service provider, for online transactions.
Bitcoin was priced around $8,500 on Tuesday. While the price disparity between a single bitcoin and a bar of soap, for example, may be huge, Cammarata said BitPay allows users to pay a fraction of each bitcoin. In addition, most shoppers use the coins to buy monthly or yearly subscriptions, not "one-off purchases," he said.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC Michael Cammarata, CEO of Schmidt's Naturals. Subscriptions, he said, are "totally customizable," allowing customers to order on a long-term basis and decide what and how much they want. Cammarata said that so far, most people using bitcoin are parents who are buying yearly subscriptions, or packages of toiletries, for their college kids.
Schmidt's is the first Unilever store to accept bitcoin as a payment. It started on Monday. The company, which Unilever recently acquired , also sells products at retailers such as Target , Macy's , Bloomingdale's and drug stores nationwide, Cammarata said. But for now, bitcoin can only be used for payments on the website.
And, for now, bitcoin is the only digital coin accepted. But Cammarata said the payment method might expand to include cryptocurrencies such as ripple and ethereum.
"We're going to start with bitcoin and see how it goes," Cammarata said. "If the demand is there we'll expand." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/now-you-can-pay-for-natural-personal-care-products-using-bitcoin.html |
NEW YORK, May 23- Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has acquired Paradex, a platform that enables users to trade virtual coins directly with each other, the San Francisco- based company said on Wednesday. Coinbase plans to make some enhancements to the technology and launch Paradex's services to customers outside of the United States, enabling them to trade "... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/reuters-america-coinbase-acquires-cryptocurrency-trading-platform-paradex.html |
In the iconic closing scenes of “Mary Poppins,” its star, Julie Andrews, grasps her parrot-headed umbrella and flies off into the clouds.
Perhaps it was only coincidence, but when Ms. Andrews relocated to London a few years later, the house she lived in was distinctly similar to the film’s white-plastered period townhouse on a tree-lined street.
That... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/inside-the-london-home-of-mary-poppins-1527085849 |
TOKYO, May 24 (Reuters) - The dollar lost momentum on Thursday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting were seen as dovish and U.S. President Donald Trump proposed looking into imposing new tariffs on imported cars.
The euro was hampered by concerns over economic slowdown in the currency bloc and political risks in Italy, staying near a six-month low against the dollar and a nine-month low versus the yen.
The dollar’s index against a basket of six major currencies stepped back to 98.897 from its five-month high of 94.195 following the Fed’s minutes.
While the minutes showed most policymakers thought it likely another interest rate increase would be warranted — in line with market expectations — they also revealed the Fed would tolerate inflation rising above its goal for a time.
“The minutes suggested the Fed is not in a hurry to raise interest rates. The U.S. stock markets seem to like that they were not too hawkish,” said Ayako Sera, market economist at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust bank.
The dollar’s fall accelerated as Trump appeared to have opened a new front in trade war by considering new tariffs, this time on cars, just days after Washington agreed with China to put “on hold” its plan to impose tariffs on $150 billion worth Chinese goods.
Against the yen, the dollar shed 0.3 percent to 109.73 yen 110.03 in early Asian trade, a day after it had fallen 0.73 percent, its biggest fall in nearly three months.
The safe-haven Swiss franc also ticked up 0.15 percent to 0.9943 franc to the dollar. It hit a three-week high of 0.9894 per dollar on Wednesday.
The euro bounced back slightly to $1.1704 after hitting a six-month low of $1.1676 on Wednesday but the common currency was held back by economic and political worries in Europe.
IHS Markit’s Euro Zone Composite Flash Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), considered a good guide to the euro zone’s economic health, sank in May to an 18-month low, suggesting the continent’s strong growth last year has lost steam.
Investors were unnerved by political developments in Italy, where the coalition government proposed by the anti-establishment 5-Star and far-right League could tap eurosceptic economist Paolo Savona as economy minister.
The common currency was soft against the yen, hitting a nine-month low of 128.24 yen on Wednesday.
The British pound licked its wounds at $1.3374, after hitting a five-month low of $1.3305 following weak UK inflation data. (Reporting by Hideyuki Sano Editing by Eric Meijer)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-forex/forex-dollar-loses-steam-on-fed-minutes-trump-tariffs-euro-under-pressure-idUSL3N1SV090 |
May 23, 2018 / 12:36 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Household debt biggest risk to Swedish economy, central bank says Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - High levels of household debt are the greatest risk to Sweden’s financial system despite a recent cooling off in the housing market, the central bank said in its semi-annual stability report, published on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: Chairman of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Stefan Ingves attends a news conference at the ECB headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, December 7, 2017. Picture taken December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski
House prices have surged for years, but the market has wobbled since autumn last year. The Riksbank said it expected the market to stabilize and debt to rise more moderately in future, but it said that prices could fall further.
A further decline in prices could damage the economy .
“For a long time, we have had a big problem in dealing with developments in the housing market in a good way,” Riksbank Governor Stefan Ingves said.
“There is a risk today in the perspective of the finance sector and that could lead to problems for growth and the economy in general.”
Most analysts expect house prices to start recovering this year.
“We have seen a downward trend from September up until a couple months ago for the real estate market and we have probably come down 10 percent,” SEB CEO Johan Torgeby said. “Now it feels like things have stabilized in the short term. I can’t predict the future, but this is probably quite healthy.”
Banks’ vulnerability to the housing market has increased for decades, Ingves said, with around 80 percent of lending linked to the property market.
Swedish banks are also closely linked, owning around 16 percent of each other’s mortgage bonds, and rely heavily on market funding, which could dry up in a crisis.
“If something were to happen with market funding, then that could easily lead to big problems,” Ingves said.
Banks had total mortgage lending of around 3.1 trillion Swedish crowns (264.8 billion pounds) in 2017, compared with Sweden’s gross domestic product of 4.6 trillion.
Sweden’s four major banks have an overwhelming share - around 80 percent - of the market. But mortgage margins are chunky and several new players have entered the market in recent years.
Companies like Enkla and Stabelo match borrowers with lenders or offer mortgages backed by bonds or directly by investors, reducing the role for banks.
The Riksbank said that competition was healthy and that a less concentrated market could also reduce risks. But it warned that the same supervisory mechanisms should apply to new entrants and existing mortgage providers.
Borrowers from non-banks, for example, are not subject to the same rules regarding mortgage repayments.
“The new business models have not been tested in a declining mortgage market, which could entail new risks,” the central bank said.
“It is therefore important that all future mortgages, regardless of lender, are subject to a thorough credit assessment and covered by current and future relevant macroprudential regulation.” Reporting by Simon Johnson and Niklas Pollard, editing by Larry King | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-sweden-cenbank-stability/household-debt-biggest-risk-to-swedish-economy-central-bank-says-idUKKCN1IO1RL |
May 24, 2018 / 2:03 PM / in 24 minutes U.S. existing home sales drop 2.5 percent in April Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
WASHINGTON, May 24 (Reuters) - U.S. home sales dropped more than expected in April as a shortage of properties for sale continued to weigh on the market.
The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday that existing home sales fell 2.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.46 million units last month. March’s sales pace was unrevised.
The retreat in existing home sales comes after two straight months of increases. Such sales account for about 90 percent of U.S. home sales. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast existing home sales to decline 0.2 percent last month.
On a year-on-year basis, existing home sales fell 1.4 percent in April.
Across the nation’s four regions, sales slid the most in the Northeast, which saw a decline of 4.4 percent. Sales also fell in the South and West, while the Midwest was unchanged.
The U.S. unemployment rate is now at a 17-1/2-year low, but a lack of housing inventory has hampered sales. This has also pushed up home prices, keeping many first-time buyers out of the market. Mortgage rates are also at a seven-year high.
The number of previously owned homes for sale increased 9.8 percent to 1.80 million units in April, but housing inventory was down 6.3 percent from one year ago. Supply has declined for 35 consecutive months on a year-on-year basis.
“Home sales are stuck and they are not breaking out,” NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said. “With the interest rate rising ... it is burdening consumers on housing costs.”
At April’s sales pace, it would take 4.0 months to clear the current inventory, down from 4.2 months a year ago.
The median house price increased 5.3 percent from one year ago to $257,900 in April. It marked the 74th straight month of year-on-year price gains. (Reporting by Lindsay Dunsmuir; Editing by Paul Simao) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-economy-housing/u-s-existing-home-sales-drop-2-5-percent-in-april-idUSL2N1SP0XQ |
Acquisition complements PDI’s solution portfolio, expands its reach within the Petroleum Supply Chain, and extends its Professional Services Team and Support to the Pacific Northwest Region
ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- PDI Software, ( www.pdisoftware.com ) a leading provider of software solutions to convenience retailers and wholesale petroleum marketers, today announced it has acquired DM2, a privately held company with corporate headquarters in Vancouver, Washington. PDI has acquired DM2 to better serve customers and deepen its expertise in petroleum wholesale.
Today’s acquisition will add additional expertise to PDI’s strong professional services team and bolster the company’s cardlock and lubricants knowledge. The acquisition will also provide PDI with a regional presence on the U.S. West Coast to better service customers in that area.
Founded nearly 30 years ago, DM2 provides back office enterprise resource planning (ERP) automation solutions for over 200 customers. The company has been a leading supplier of technology to wholesale petroleum marketers in the U.S. PDI will acquire DM2’s intellectual property, development and support resources – strengthening its overall operations.
“We are pleased to add DM2’s clients, employees and expertise to our existing portfolio,” said Jimmy Frangis, chief executive officer, PDI. “The addition of DM2’s software further demonstrates our commitment to the wholesale petroleum industry, expanding our professional services team and developing our presence on the U.S. West Coast. DM2 has hundreds of great clients, and we look forward to serving their business needs for years to come.”
The acquisition of DM2 continues PDI’s strategy of developing, acquiring, and supporting best-in-class industry solutions for the petroleum wholesale and logistics industries worldwide.
“Since 1989 DM2 had a clear strategy of providing integrated and automated solutions for petroleum marketers that enabled the company to do more with less resources, and manage by exception to better control operations. DM2 tailored its software to meet specific core petroleum distribution needs and partnered with best-in-class solution providers to provide fully integrated solutions,” said Scott Burkard, chief executive officer, DM2.
PDI and DM2 share a common philosophy to help businesses run better and thrive, by providing enterprise management software that customers rely on to drive operational efficiencies, increase margins and deliver exceptional experiences.
“This acquisition further solidifies the company’s commitment to innovating, growing and looking for opportunities that create value and make a difference for PDI’s customers, partners and employees,” added Frangis. “PDI is committed to providing customers with the best solutions on the market that will create easy, end-to-end support for their entire global operations. Our goal is to continue bringing together the best people, applying the best processes, and combining the best products, so we continue to be a relevant and valued partner for our customers, while preparing them to meet the demands of tomorrow’s tech-driven world.”
About PDI
PDI ( www.pdisoftware.com ) helps convenience store retailers and petroleum wholesale marketers worldwide thrive in a digital economy with enterprise management software. Over 1,200 customers operating more than 100,000 locations trust PDI to optimize their entire operations, whether they are a wholesaler or single site, multi-site, dealer or a franchise operator. PDI’s enterprise, wholesale and logistics management software solutions and retail back office systems have been designed around the evolving needs of customers for more than 35 years. We reimagine enterprise management to help our customers transform their business and deliver exceptional experiences.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530005445/en/
PDI Software
Cederick Johnson, 254-410-7600
Director, Industry Marketing & Communications
[email protected]
Source: PDI | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/business-wire-pdi-acquires-dm2-a-expanding-its-capabilities-and-team-serving-wholesale-petroleum-marketers.html |
May 22, 2018 / 9:59 AM / Updated 4 minutes ago Israel says Palestinian request to ICC has no legal validity Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
JERUSALEM, May 22 (Reuters) - Israel on Tuesday questioned the legal validity of a Palestinian request to the International Criminal Court to investigate alleged human rights violations linked to Israeli settlement policies in occupied territories.
“The purported Palestinian referral is legally invalid, and the ICC lacks jurisdiction over the Israeli-Palestinian issue, since Israel is not a member of the Court and because the Palestinian Authority is not a state,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said in a statement, calling the move a “cynical step”. (Editing by Jeffrey Heller) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/icct-israel-palestinians-reaction/israel-says-palestinian-request-to-icc-has-no-legal-validity-idUSJ7N1PG02F |
May 9 (Reuters) - Livexlive Media Inc:
* LIVEXLIVE LAUNCHES OTT STREAMING APP ON ROKU, AMAZON FIRE TV AND APPLE TV DEVICES Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-livexlive-launches-ott-streaming-a/brief-livexlive-launches-ott-streaming-app-on-roku-amazon-fire-tv-and-apple-tv-devices-idUSFWN1SG160 |
May 17 (Reuters) - Valero Energy Corp:
* VALERO ENERGY CORP FILES FOR POTENTIAL DEBT SHELF OFFERING; SIZE NOT DISCLOSED - SEC FILING Source text: ( bit.ly/2wPawUj ) Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-valero-energy-files-for-potential/brief-valero-energy-files-for-potential-debt-shelf-offering-idUSFWN1SO0PK |
May 4 (Reuters) - Capital First Ltd:
* MARCH QUARTER CONSOL PROFIT 952.5 MILLION RUPEES VERSUS PROFIT 708.3 MILLION RUPEES YEAR AGO
* MARCH QUARTER CONSOL REVENUE FROM OPERATIONS 10.94 BILLION RUPEES VERSUS 7.49 BILLION RUPEES YEAR AGO
* RECOMMENDED DIVIDEND OF 2.80 RUPEES PER SHARE * SAYS CO APPROVED ISSUE OF NCDS PROGRAM OF CO FOR FY 2018-19 BY WAY OF PRIVATE PLACEMENT BASIS
* CAPITAL FIRST - APPROVES ENABLING RESOLUTION TO RAISE FUNDS VIA ISSUE OF SECURITIES WORTH 6 BILLION RUPEES Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-indias-capital-first-march-qtr-con/brief-indias-capital-first-march-qtr-consol-profit-rises-idUSFWN1SB0AM |
BOULOGNE-BILLANCOURT, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Regulatory News:
Carmila (Paris:CARM) is expanding its presence in Spain with the acquisition of six shopping centres from the Pradera European Retail Fund. All the shopping centres are adjacent to a powerful Carrefour hypermarket and are either leaders or co-leaders in their catchment area. The total acquisition cost was €182 million , with an overall average effective yield of 6.3% .
The portfolio comprises assets located in Andalusia (Seville, Cordoba and Puerto de Santa Maria in Cadiz), Catalonia (Barcelone) and Alicante.
Carmila is pursuing its investment strategy by adding six new assets to its core target. It plans to use the different levers of its strategy on these assets to create value: refurbishment based on the “Air de famille” concept, revitalising the merchandising mix, optimising occupancy rates (averaging 95% 1 overall), developing specialty leasing, driving business growth using the digital marketing tools developed by Carmila (efficient websites, databases, “Le Kiosque des Services” and “Boost programs”), and extending the site, some of these assets having significant construction potential. The portfolio also offers considerable potential for growth in rentals over the next three to five years.
With the acquisition of Gran Via de Hortaleza in February 2018, more than 63,000 m² will have been added to Carmila’s Spanish portfolio in 2018 (+16%).
These acquisitions are financed by the €350 million bond issued in February (for more details, please see the company’s press release dated 28 February 2018).
“This acquisition forms part of Carmila’s core strategy. We are acquiring a portfolio of shopping centres that are leaders or co-leaders in their catchment area and offer significant potential for transformation and value creation. By doing so, we are expanding in our most dynamic market and accelerating the implementation of our acquisition plan by capturing the opportunities offered by the market.
Given the extensions already delivered since the IPO and the acquisitions made since the beginning of the year, Carmila is ahead of the €1.6-1.7 billion investment plan for the period 2017-2020, unveiled during the IPO”, explained Jacques Ehrmann, Carmila’s Chairman & CEO.
About the La Sierra shopping centre in Cordoba
Located in Andalusia’s third-largest city by population and purchasing power (with a catchment area of 190,000 inhabitants), this city-centre site is a leading destination thanks to its hypermarket and as a shopping destination. It receives 3.7 million visitors per year and comprises:
an 8,200 m² Carrefour hypermarket, a 17,600 m² shopping centre with 65 retail units, acquired by Carmila.
Built in 1994 and renovated and extended in 2016, the centre covers two levels with attractive international or best-in-class retail brands such as Zara and other Inditex chains, Benetton, Sfera and the city’s only H&M store.
It benefits from a strongly regular footfall: 12% of customers come once a week.
About the El Paseo shopping centre in Cadiz
Located in El Puerto de Santa Maria (Cadiz), with a catchment area of 400,000 inhabitants in a popular tourist region, this leading site receives 4.2 million visitors each year and comprises:
an 11,100 m² Carrefour hypermarket, a 10,500 m² shopping centre with 53 retail units, acquired by Carmila, complementary medium-sized stores owned by third parties and let to retail brands such as Toys’R Us and McDonald’s.
Carmila has also acquired 7,500 m² of development land at the site. This could be used to extend the centre.
Built in 1993, the centre is mainly oriented towards fashion (62%), with attractive retail brands such as Zara and other Inditex chains, H&M and Decimas.
About the Aljarafe shopping centre in Seville (Camas)
Located in Spain’s fourth-largest city, in Seville’s largest retail area and in a catchment area of 319,000 inhabitants, this site comprises:
a leading 11,400 m² Carrefour hypermarket renovated in 2016, a 12,000 m² shopping centre with 41 retail units, acquired by Carmila, the adjacent retail park comprising complementary specialised medium-sized stores.
Built in 1998, the shopping centre has a cinema and two medium-sized stores on the parking, currently let to Decathlon and Mc Donald’s. It has regular footfall: 13% of customers come once a week. A restructuring project is under consideration and will further enhance the site’s appeal.
It is part of a larger leading retail zone comprising strong, diversified and complementary medium-sized stores such as El Corte Inglès, Conforama, Leroy Merlin, Toys’R Us and Maison du Monde.
About the San Juan de Alicante shopping centre
Located in the northern suburb of Alicante (Spain’s eleventh-largest city), with a catchment area of 442,000 inhabitants, this leading site is home to:
a 13,100 m² Carrefour hypermarket, a 7,100 m² shopping centre with 33 retail units and medium-sized stores, acquired by Carmila.
Built in 1977, the centre features specialist medium-sized stores (DIY, toys, Feu Vert, Burger King).
About the Terrassa shopping centre in Barcelona
Located in the north-west suburbs of Barcelona, Spain’s second-largest city and with a catchment area of 527,000 inhabitants, this site comprises:
a leading 12,400 m² Carrefour hypermarket, a 7,400 m² shopping centre with 35 retail units and medium-sized stores, acquired by Carmila.
Built in 1978, this shopping centre is located in the region’s main retail area. It has a mid-sized DIY store and enjoys regular footfall: 12% of customers come once a week. An ambitious expansion project is currently under consideration at this site.
About the Manresa shopping mall in Barcelona
Also located in the north-west suburbs of Barcelona, with a catchment area of 307,000 inhabitants, this site comprises:
a 10,300 m² Carrefour hypermarket, the leading store in the local area, a 2,300 m² shopping centre with 29 retail units, acquired by Carmila, other medium-sized stores (Decathlon, DIY), a cinema and restaurants.
Built in 1991, this centre has no nearby competitors. The hypermarket is therefore a strong market leader in the local area. The shopping centre mainly comprises services complementing the Carrefour store. It benefits from its loyal and regular customers and from a reinforced attractiveness thanks to specialised mid-sized stores located beside.
** | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/04/business-wire-carmila-expands-in-spain-with-the-acquisition-of-six-shopping-centres-for-a182-million.html |
Consumer confidence at 128.0 in May 3 Hours Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/29/consumer-confidence.html |
Google launched a new page that makes it easier for users to stop it from tracking everything you do online. (It knows a lot of what you do. Check out our guide that shows how to download everything Google knows about you for some insight.)
The changes are part of Google's effort to meet new European General Data Protection Regulations, but anyone in the world can use the tools to stop Google from logging web activity, location history, device information, voice commands sent to Google Assistant, YouTube Search history and more.
It's really easy to do, just keep in mind that turning some of this off might mean that some of Google's services won't be automatically configured to give you the best experience based on what you've done in the past.
If your privacy is more important than convenience, here's how to get Google to stop logging everything you do.
Turn off tracking Visit Google's Activity Tracking page Scroll down the page and turn off tracking for each category by tapping the blue pill-shaped icon on the right side of the page. You're looking for boxes that look like this:
Do this for Web & App Activity, Location History, Device Information, Voice & Audio Activity, YouTube Search History and YouTube Watch History. There's a confirmation box that pops up each time, so click "turn off" to confirm the change. The blue pill and box will turn grey when it's off, so each box will look like this:
You've now stopped Google from logging much of what you do online. There's one more thing.
Turn off personalized advertisements Click " Ads " at the bottom of the Activity Controls page . Turn off "Ads Personalization" by tapping the blue pill-shaped icon on the right. That's it. Now you've disabled Google from logging how you use your devices, where you've been, what you've searched and more.
show chapters Google has a lot of data on you — here's how to download it 8:59 AM ET Fri, 30 March 2018 | 01:39 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/how-to-stop-google-from-tracking-me-online.html |
May 15, 2018 / 9:09 AM / in 30 minutes Vodafone weighs on Britain's FTSE after CEO steps down Reuters Staff
(For a live blog on European stocks, type LIVE/ in an Eikon news window)
* FTSE 100 flat
* Vodafone falls 2.5 pct
* CEO to step down in October
LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - The announcement of the departure of Vodafone’s boss later this year hit shares in the world’s second largest mobile operator and held back Britain’s leading stocks index on Tuesday morning.
Data showing the UK jobless rate was steady at 4.2 percent and that wage growth slowed as expected in April had little impact.
The FTSE blue-chip benchmark was broadly flat by 0840 GMT while Vodafone shares, index heavyweights, were the worst performer with a 2.5 percent fall.
Vodafone, which also announced its full-year results, said CEO Vittorio Colao, who spent 10 years reshaping the group into a digital communications powerhouse would be replaced by its current finance director.
“With positive results across the board, one would expect markets to react by buying the shares, and yet investors are clearly taking a dimmer view about the company’s prospects with the CEO of 10 years on his way out”, said Accendo Markets analyst Artjom Hatsaturjants.
“After 10 years of stability under Colao, Vodafone is potentially setting sail into uncharted waters,” Hatsaturjants added.
Corporate updates from Easyjet and Taylor Wimpey prompted steep rises in the shares of the British low-cost airline and builder, up 2.9 percent and 2.8 percent respectively.
EasyJet reported strong first-half results and said it would expand its holiday business while Taylor Wimpey raised its ordinary dividend and said it would pay a special pay-out of 350 million pounds in 2019.
Shares in Land Securities dipped about 1 percent as Britain’s largest listed property developer posted a slight fall in full-year adjusted net asset value per share.
The British banking sector also posted gains mirroring lenders across Europe after strong results from Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank and quarterly pre-tax profit ahead of analysts’ expectations from Commerzbank
There were losses however for Britain’s CYBG, down 6.1 percent after it reported a loss of 76 million pounds for the first half of the year on Tuesday and gave no update on its bid for Virgin Money. The latter fell 5 percent.
Amid smaller companies, Northgate surged above 10 percent after it said full-year profits would be in line with guidance. (Reporting by Julien Ponthus Editing by Keith Weir) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-stocks/vodafone-weighs-on-britains-ftse-after-ceo-steps-down-idUSL5N1SM3FK |
SAVANNAH, Ga., May 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, CRG announced the sale of its 1 million square foot build-to-suit facility in Savannah, Georgia for Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a Berkshire Hathaway Company to Griffin Capital Company, LLC for $57 million.
The new facility will allow Shaw to expand its distribution and warehouse capacity in the area. The new cross dock facility sits on 70-acres and will provide access to Shaw's current operations adjacent to the site.
"We are seeing unprecedented industrial demand in the Savannah industrial market," CRG Southeast Partner Mike Demperio said. "In working with our capital market experts, it became evident to us that the deepening of the Port, the reopening of the Panama Canal, the larger Panamax ships combined with what we perceived as demand for space were the ingredients that would make us successful."
Clayco was the design-builder on the project and its subsidiary BatesForum was the architect. The building was completed in April 2018.
Esmael Hill of The Net Lease Group (NLG) represented the seller in the transaction. NLG also arranged equity to finance the construction of the facility, which CRG originally developed on a speculative basis.
Also, in the Southeast region, CRG developed an 832,000 square feet building for Shaw Industries adjacent from the site referenced above. Additionally, CRG has the following projects under development in the region:
The Cubes at Inland 85 A 324-acre site in Spartanburg County, South Carolina. Building 1 is a 500,000-square foot speculative warehouse building. The Cubes at Locust Grove A 1,000,993-square foot speculative building available for lease in the I-75 corridor of Atlanta, Georgia. The Cubes at Bridgeport A 560-acre industrial mega site with 8.5 million square feet of potential warehouse space located in the southwest I-85 corridor of Atlanta, Georgia. Currently, another 1,002,150-square foot building is now under construction.
E-commerce is driving business at CRG, along with an evolution in the technology and quality of buildings. As the industry begins to measure cubic feet and maximize racking space, CRG's "The Cubes" industrial brand is part of its leadership effort to meet this tremendous demand in the speculative warehouse market. In addition to The Cubes, CRG plans to build a minimum of 10,000,000 square feet on an annual basis worth about $650 million of its Class A industrial product per year.
About CRG
CRG is Clayco, Inc.'s private real estate development firm that acquires, develops, and operates real estate assets. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri with offices in Chicago, Sacramento, Atlanta, Pittsburgh and northern New Jersey, the CRG team has developed more than 5,000 acres of land and delivered over 160 million square feet of commercial, industrial, and multi-family assets exceeding $9 billion in value. For more information visit www.realcrg.com .
About The Cubes
The Cubes is a North American industrial brand owned and developed by CRG. The Cubes represents CRG's philosophy of developing for the future and anticipating the enhanced needs of next generation industrial users. The Cubes are designed with an emphasis on sustainability, and implement state-of-the-art specifications, including maximum clear heights, dock doors and trailer storage to keep pace with the shift to consumer centric logistic strategies. The Cubes are located on advantageous sites that take into consideration both logistics and labor supply, always with the end user in mind.
About Clayco
Clayco is a full-service, turnkey real estate development, master planning, architecture, engineering and construction firm that delivers clients around the world the highest quality solutions on time, on budget, and above and beyond expectations. With over $2 billion in revenue for 2017, Clayco specializes in the "art and science of building," providing fast track, efficient solutions globally for commercial, institutional and residential related building projects. For more information visit www.claycorp.com .
CONTACT
Brittany Burke, CRG
314-239-5779
[email protected]
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/crg-announces-57-million-sale-of-build-to-suit-for-shaw-industries-group-in-savannah-300647774.html
SOURCE CRG | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/14/pr-newswire-crg-announces-57-million-sale-of-build-to-suit-for-shaw-industries-group-in-savannah.html |
NEW DELHI/SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Iran is readying the first commercial exports of its West Karoun crude oil grade for May or June, two sources familiar with the matter said, even as fresh economic sanctions against the country loom.
A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf July 25, 2005. REUTERS/Raheb Homavandi/File Photo Iran has already been shipping samples of the grade to customers since production from the West Karoun oilfields in southwest Iran nearly doubled in the past year to 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), the sources said. A new export facility allows West Karoun to be shipped directly rather than blended with other grades.
“Initial cargoes of West Karoun will be sold on a spot basis as the quality of the crude is yet to be established.” said one of the two sources.
This means that buyers have no obligation to take regular amounts of the crude as they do under the long-term off-take agreements that are typical for Middle East oil sales.
Iran used to sell crude only under long-term deals before economic sanctions were imposed in 2012, but began spot sales after sanctions were lifted in 2016 to regain market share.
“Some refiners have taken the sample,” the second source said, adding West Karoun is new production so Iran “needs to wait for the quality to stabilise”.
Iran’s effort to develop demand for West Karoun suggests Tehran hopes to sell the oil even in the face of possible new sanctions.
The United States and some European countries agreed to impose the earlier economic sanctions to halt Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons programme. The United States, China, Great Britain, the European Union, Russia and France agreed to lift the sanctions in return for Iran halting some nuclear activities and allowing inspections of atomic sites.
U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened to pull out of the deal by not extending sanctions waivers when they expire on May 12, unless European signatories of the accord fix what he calls its “flaws”.
Trump is scheduled to announce his decision on the nuclear deal at 2 p.m. EST (1800 GMT) on May 8, four days before the waiver decision.
Uncertainty over the United States’ participation in the nuclear deal has partially fuelled a rally in global oil prices to over three-year highs.
The sanctions cut Iran’s crude exports from a peak of 2.5 million bpd before 2012 to a little more than 1 million bpd. The country re-emerged as a major oil exporter when they were removed.
Reporting by Nidhi Verma in NEW DELHI and Florence Tan in SINGAPORE; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/iran-oil/iran-prepares-to-export-new-oil-grade-amid-sanctions-threat-sources-idINKBN1I91AB |
Canada bombing injures 15, two suspects flee 4:04am EDT - 00:54
Authorities say 15 people have been wounded, with several critically injured, after two unidentified men set off a bomb inside a restaurant about 20 miles west of Toronto. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Authorities say 15 people have been wounded, with several critically injured, after two unidentified men set off a bomb inside a restaurant about 20 miles west of Toronto. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2IJjmbT | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/25/canada-bombing-injures-15-two-suspects-f?videoId=430134013 |
The final results of Iraq's first post-Islamic State (ISIS) election , held last weekend, have revealed a shock win for controversial anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Now in a position to potentially determine much of the country's future, the Shia leader, who has railed against both U.S. and Iranian influence, could dramatically change the landscape for major powers that have invested heavily in Iraq .
A firebrand religious leader with millions of loyal followers, Sadr gained infamy shortly after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion by directing deadly attacks against American troops with his Mahdi Army, which also attacked Iraq's Sunnis.
Lately, he has shifted his focus to anti-corruption campaigns and advocating for Iraq's poor. But he's in the rare position of opposing both the U.S. and Iran — several of his election rallies triggered chants of "Iran out!" among his followers, voicing the desire for an Iraqi state run by Iraqis.
America's role in the balance "Is it the end of America's presence? It's too early to say," Robert Ford, who served as political counselor to the U.S. embassy in Baghdad from 2004 to 2006 and was later the last U.S. ambassador to Syria, told CNBC in a phone call.
"Were I giving advice (to Washington), I'd say don't panic yet. We'd be much better off giving the Iraqis some space and dealing with them when they are ready to deal," he said.
Otherwise, Ford warned, the Sadrists could view U.S. involvement as malign manipulation. American diplomats in Iraq are already in discussions with Iraqi politicians, and the Donald Trump administration seems intent on keeping troops there to push back on Iran.
Sadr agreed to a cease-fire in his fight against the U.S. a decade ago — although if Washington were to launch another large-scale occupation, regional experts warn that could change.
Tom A. Peter | The Christian Science Monitor | Getty Images A masked interpreter, left, patrols the streets of Baghdad with a US Army unit. America's long-term presence in the country remains uncertain, and Iraq's parliament in March overwhelmingly voted to demand a timetable for a withdraw of coalition forces. Sadr could demand a timeline for a U.S. withdrawal or significant concessions on the U.S. role in Iraq, something his followers strongly support. More than 5,000 troops remain in Iraq following the defeat of ISIS there late last year.
But while the cleric clearly opposes the presence of U.S. troops, he hasn't voiced an issue with civilians, including the continued staffing of the U.S. embassy, Ford said. He suggested that this may be where Washington should focus, while maintaining a military training mission within the embassy's rubric.
"Once [the Americans] get around to the fact that this is a region where warlords and militia leaders become politicians — and he's also a cleric and has this legitimacy — it's hard not to deal with him." -Renad Mansour, Iraq research fellow at Chatham House It's all about optics, Ford stressed. "How you make adjustments to minimize that American role, even if you try to keep an American role, that's going be the art the Trump administration is going to have to work on."
In any case, he added, "I wouldn't be building a brand new $10 million military facility anytime soon."
Like it or not, the Americans will have to try and work with this new reality, said Renad Mansour, an Iraq-focused research fellow at Chatham House. "Once they get around to the fact that this is a region where warlords and militia leaders become politicians — and he's also a cleric and has this legitimacy — it's hard not to deal with him."
Iran watching closely Meanwhile, how the Iraqi government is formed in the coming months is something Tehran will be monitoring very closely.
HAIDAR HAMDANI | AFP | Getty Images Iraqi Shiite cleric and leader Moqtada al-Sadr (C-L) shows his ink-stained index finger and holds a national flag while surrounded by people outside a polling station in the central holy city of Najaf on May 12, 2018 as the country votes in the first parliamentary election since declaring victory over the Islamic State (IS) group. Sadr didn't personally run for prime minister, so he can't actually take up the role. But depending on the formation of parliament — normally, a complex 90-day process requiring negotiations and compromises among political blocs — he could play a dominant role in choosing who does, and that could threaten Iran's interests.
Most bets were on current Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to win, a leader credited with leading the fight against ISIS and effectively balancing ties with the U.S. and regional neighbors. His positive relationship with Washington gained him distrust from Tehran.
But Abadi finished in a meager third place behind the Iranian-backed militia leader Hadi al-Amiri , head of the Badr Brigade, an organization created by Iran during the 1980s to fight Saddam Hussein in the Iran-Iraq war. Amiri was among Tehran's favorites to win — and this dynamic could create a rift in parliament between Iran loyalists and Sadr supporters.
New alliances In recent years, Sadr has pledged a commitment to relinquish sectarianism. He's recently reached out to Sunni Gulf neighbors like Saudi Arabia and the UAE , and projected pan-Iraqi nationalism by filling his party with candidates from across Iraq's demographic spectrum. Sadr's party, the Sairoon Alliance, is an unusual mix of secular Shia and Sunni elements as well as Iraq's community party.
"He's not necessarily being antagonistic with the U.S.," said Mansour. "And he has actually, since meeting with (Saudi) Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, proven to be an asset against Iran."
Pool | Press Office of Iranian Supreme Leader | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani (C) attends Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's (not seen) meeting with the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in Tehran, Iran on September 18, 2016. Bin Salman and other Gulf allies are expanding their engagement with Baghdad in an effort to counter the presence of their Iranian arch-rivals.
"A strong result for Sadrists is not great news for the U.S., but it is not the worst news either," despite the violent history between the two, according to Marcus Chenevix, Middle East and global politics researcher at TS Lombard. "Sadr is relatively independent of Iranian control, much more so than Amiri. So this will result in a more difficult relationship with the Iraqi government, but it will not create a rift between Iraq and the West."
"Overall," he added, "I would say that this is a poor result for Iran."
A violent history Iraq's deep sectarian divisions, which have long fueled violence in the country, serve as a major obstacle to security and reconstruction. A leader who can effectively bridge these divides will be crucial for Iraq's stability.
Many fear that politicians loyal to Iran like Amiri, the Iran-backed militia leader who won the second-most votes, could exacerbate sectarian tensions that risk enabling the resurgence of ISIS.
Iran's interests in Iraq can be traced back to the 1980s Iran-Iraq war, a bloody conflict marked by trench warfare and chemical weapons that saw hundreds of thousands dead on both sides. When Saddam was toppled and the country fell into chaos, Tehran saw an opportunity: it would gain control of its political system and economy to such an extent that Iraq could never again pose a military threat.
And through its geographic and religious links to the country, Iran saw Iraq as a new launch pad from which it could extend its influence throughout the region, more easily accessing its proxies in Syria and Lebanon.
As the U.S. withdrew from Iraq in 2011, this proved easy. And Shia militias funded and trained by Iran — the Popular Mobilization Forces — later played a pivotal role in defeating ISIS, cementing its clout in the country.
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE | AFP | Getty Images Fighters of Hashed Al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization units) flash the victory gesture as they hold upside down a banner bearing the logo of the Islamic State (IS) group, during the advance in the town of Tal Afar, west of Mosul, after the Iraqi government announced the launch of the operation to retake it from IS control, on August 26, 2017. Now, the Tehran-founded Badr Brigade controls Iraq's interior ministry, commanding a force of 37,000 federal police officers. And Iranian proxies last year gained control of the oil-rich Kirkuk province, after helping Baghdad wrest it from the Kurds in the wake of Kurdistan's failed independence referendum.
'A potential showdown' "Sadr has long had a difficult relationship with some of the Iranian-backed militias like Badr," Ambassador Ford said. "That means that whatever official Iranian presence is in Iraq, I suspect Sadr will want that out too."
But although Sadr has clashed with Iran, it'll be much more difficult to limit Tehran's influence given its entrenched place in Iraqi politics — "setting the stage for a potential showdown between Sadr and Tehran over Iraq's future," said Ryan Turner, senior risk analyst at PGI Group.
Feisal al-Istrabadi, the founding director of Indiana University's Middle East Studies Center who served as Iraq's ambassador to the UN from 2004 to 2007, warned against a divorce in U.S.-Iraq engagement.
"I don't think any government would have wanted a relatively sizeable U.S. presence in Iraq," Istrabadi told CNBC. "My hope, however, is that the mistake of 2011 will not be repeated," he said, alluding to the Obama administration's withdrawal of troops, after which even intelligence cooperation and training ceased. The ensuing power vacuum was blamed for both Iran's expanded power and the rise of ISIS a few years later.
"I hope the Iraqis and Americans have learnt what a colossal mistake that was and will eschew the same errors going forward."
Hemn Baban | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Reconstruction works continue in Mosul, Iraq after 9 months long anti Daesh operations on January 25, 2018. Officials in Baghdad estimate $100 billion will be needed to rebuild the war-battered country. More than 2 million Iraqis remain displaced, and Iraq is ranked as one of the most corrupt countries on the planet , mired in poverty despite its massive oil reserves.
The election was an indictment of the political establishment, state corruption, and poor living conditions above anything else. Iraq cannot afford to shun much-needed investment and its relationships with the West, regional experts say.
"I think that working with Western countries on the development of Iraq would logically be in Sadr's interests," Istrabadi said. "Whether he will let ideology interfere is another matter." | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/iraq-election-result-challenges-foreign-influence-from-us-to-iran.html |
DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Flowserve Corporation (NYSE: FLS), a leading provider of flow control products and services for the global infrastructure markets, today announced that it plans to release its results for the 2018 first quarter after the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on Thursday, May 10.
The following morning, on Friday, May 11, 2018, the company will hold its conference call with the financial community at 11 a.m. Eastern time. Scott Rowe, president and chief executive officer, and other members of management will present.
The earnings materials and webcast of the conference call can be accessed by shareholders and other interested parties at www.flowserve.com under the "Investor Relations" section.
About Flowserve: Flowserve Corp. is one of the world’s leading providers of fluid motion and control products and services. Operating in more than 55 countries, the company produces engineered and industrial pumps, seals and valves as well as a range of related flow management services. More information about Flowserve can be obtained by visiting the company’s Web site at www.flowserve.com .
Safe Harbor Statement: This news release includes Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended. Words or phrases such as "may," "should," "expects," "could," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "forecasts," "predicts" or other similar expressions are intended to identify , which include, without limitation, earnings forecasts, statements relating to our business strategy and statements of expectations, beliefs, future plans and strategies and anticipated developments concerning our industry, business, operations and financial performance and condition.
The included in this news release are based on our current expectations, projections, estimates and assumptions. These statements are only predictions, not guarantees. Such are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. These risks and uncertainties may what is forecast in such , and include, without limitation, the following: a portion of our bookings may not lead to completed sales, and our ability to convert bookings into revenues at acceptable profit margins; changes in global economic conditions and the potential for unexpected cancellations or delays of customer orders in our reported backlog; our dependence on our customers’ ability to make required capital investment and maintenance expenditures; risks associated with cost overruns on fixed-fee projects and in taking customer orders for large complex custom engineered products; the substantial dependence of our sales on the success of the oil and gas, chemical, power generation and water management industries; the adverse impact of volatile raw materials prices on our products and operating margins; our ability to execute and realize the expected financial benefits from our strategic manufacturing optimization and realignment initiatives; economic, political and other risks associated with our international operations, including military actions or trade embargoes that could affect customer markets, particularly Middle Eastern markets and global oil and gas producers, and non-compliance with U.S. export/re-export control, foreign corrupt practice laws, economic sanctions and import laws and regulations; increased aging and slower collection of receivables, particularly in Latin America and other emerging markets; our exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates, including in hyperinflationary countries such as Venezuela; our furnishing of products and services to nuclear power plant facilities and other critical processes; potential adverse consequences resulting from litigation to which we are a party, such as litigation involving asbestos-containing material claims; a foreign government investigation regarding our participation in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Program; expectations regarding acquisitions and the integration of acquired businesses; our ability to anticipate and manage cybersecurity risk, including the risk of potential business disruptions or financial losses; our relative geographical profitability and its impact on our utilization of deferred tax assets, including foreign tax credits; the potential adverse impact of an impairment in the carrying value of goodwill or other intangible assets; our dependence upon third-party suppliers whose failure to perform timely could adversely affect our business operations; the highly competitive nature of the markets in which we operate; environmental compliance costs and liabilities; potential work stoppages and other labor matters; our inability to protect our intellectual property in the U.S., as well as in foreign countries; obligations under our defined benefit pension plans; and other factors described from time to time in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
All included in this news release are based on information available to us on the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statement.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503006807/en/
Flowserve
Investor Contacts:
Jay Roueche, 972-443-6560
Vice President, Investor Relations & Treasurer
or
Mike Mullin, 972-443-6636
Director, Investor Relations
--
Media Contact:
Lars Rosene, 972-443-6644
Vice President, Corporate & Marketing Communications
Source: Flowserve Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/business-wire-flowserve-announces-dates-for-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
BERLIN, May 15 (Reuters) - The mood among German investors remained unchanged at its lowest level in five and a half years in May, a survey showed on Tuesday, reflecting persisting concerns that Europe’s biggest economy could be hit be a trade dispute with the United States.
The ZEW research institute said its monthly survey showed a reading for economic sentiment among investors remained unchanged at -8.2 , the lowest since November 2012. This was in line with the Reuters consensus forecast.
A separate gauge measuring investors’ assessment of the economy’s current conditions edged down to 87.4 from 87.9 last month. The Reuters consensus forecast was for a reading of 86.2.
“The U.S. decision to back out of the nuclear treaty with Iran and fears of a further escalation of the international trade conflict with the U.S., as well as a further rise in crude oil prices, have had an overall negative impact on economic expectations in Germany”, ZEW researcher Achim Wambach said. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber Editing by Madeline Chambers)
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/germany-economy-zew/trade-dispute-iran-conflict-cloud-german-investor-morale-idUSEONI580SG |
WALTHAM, Mass., May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Syndax," the "Company" or "we") (Nasdaq: SNDX), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies, today announced updated results from multiple cohorts of the ongoing Phase 2 ENCORE 601 trial of entinostat in combination with KEYTRUDA ® (pembrolizumab), Merck's anti-PD-1 (programmed death receptor-1) therapy. This data will be presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting being held June 1-5, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois.
ENCORE 601 is a Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of entinostat in combination with pembrolizumab across multiple cohorts of PD-(L)1 treatment-naïve and pre-treated cancers, including non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma and microsatellite stable colorectal cancer (MSS-CRC). Confirmed objective responses with the combination regimen have been observed across all cohorts. Updated data continue to demonstrate a manageable toxicity profile for the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination, with treatment emergent adverse events observed consistent with those previously reported. The ENCORE 601 study also incorporates an extensive biomarker assessment of pre- and on-treatment blood and tumor samples from all patient cohorts with the goal of identifying a patient enrichment strategy that may predict enhanced clinical benefit across various cohorts and, therefore, potentially inform the design of future registration-directed studies.
"The additional data from the ENCORE 601 program continue to support the potential for the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination to serve as an effective therapeutic option across a variety of indications," said Briggs Morrison, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syndax. "We are especially pleased to be able to share preliminary findings from our efforts to identify biomarkers that could aid in predicting which patients may derive a clinical benefit from this combination therapy. We have now identified a potential registration pathway in NSCLC and look forward to providing further updates as our plans come together."
NSCLC Update
The PD-(L)1 pretreated NSCLC cohort, which enrolled patients who have received prior chemotherapy and anti-PD-(L)1 treatment, provides the most mature dataset from the Company's ongoing biomarker analyses. At the time of data cut-off, there were 6 confirmed partial responses (PRs) among the first 57 patients enrolled, for an 11% objective response rate (ORR) (95% CI: 4-21%) among patients treated with the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination regimen. A total of 4 of the 6 responders were negative for PD-(L)1 expression at study entry. Among the 57 patients enrolled, 22 were refractory to prior PD-(L)1 therapy, and only 4 had a documented prior response to PD-(L)1 therapy. Median duration of prior PD-(L)1 therapy was < 6 months and the median time between last dose of prior PD-(L)1 therapy and first dose with the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination was 65 days. The median duration of response (DOR) to the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination was 4.6 months, with the longest observed response over 14 months. At the time of the data cut-off, 7 patients remain on study.
Blood samples were collected and analyzed for 51 of the 57 NSCLC patients enrolled. By measuring pre-treatment baseline levels of classical peripheral blood monocytes (CD14 + CD16 - HLA - DR hi ), the Company has been able to identify a subset of patients that appears to exhibit enhanced clinical benefit to the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination regimen. Preliminary results from this assessment indicate that patients characterized by elevated baseline levels of monocytes ("high monocyte" subset, n=14) had a confirmed ORR of 29% (4 PRs/14 patients) and a Progression Free Survival (PFS) of 5.4 months, which compares favorably to the 2.8 month benefit recently demonstrated in NSCLC patients treated with third-line chemotherapy following progression after platinum doublet and PD-(L)1 treatment¹. In contrast, the subgroup of patients characterized by lower baseline levels of monocytes ("low monocyte" subset, n=37) had a confirmed ORR of 5% (2 PRs/37 patients) and a PFS of 2.5 months. The overall patient population (n=57) achieved a PFS of 2.7 months.
Based upon these findings, the Company has identified a potential registration path in patients with NSCLC who have progressed on a PD(L)1 inhibitor. The trial is anticipated to commence by the end of 2018.
"Monocyte levels may reflect the ability of the immune system to respond after elimination of immune suppression," said Dmitry I. Gabrilovich, M.D., Ph.D., Christopher M. Davis Professor and Program Leader, Immunology, Microenvironment and Metastasis Program at The Wistar Institute. "The data from this PD-1 pre-treated population suggest that monocytes are associated with positive clinical outcome from entinostat combined with pembrolizumab, and if confirmed, can potentially be used for patient selection in future studies."
"NSCLC patients whose disease has progressed on PD-(L)1 and chemotherapy are in need of options that offer meaningful clinical benefits. Initial findings from this cohort of NSCLC patients receiving the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination provide encouraging benefit in ORR and PFS," said Leena Gandhi, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Thoracic Medicine Oncology Program at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center. "Although more data is needed, promising results for a population of patients with high monocyte counts further highlight that a selection strategy may lead to enhanced benefits for patients."
Melanoma and MSS-CRC Update
Within the anti-PD-1 pretreated melanoma cohort, a total of 6 confirmed PRs (ORR 18%; 95% CI: 6.8-34.5%) and 3 unconfirmed PRs were observed in the 34 evaluable patients at the time of the data cut-off. Among these patients, 16 were PD-1 refractory, and only 2 had a documented response to prior anti-PD-1 therapy. The majority of these evaluable patients, 22 of 34, previously received the anti-CTLA-4 antibody YERVOY ® (ipilimumab) in addition to an anti-PD-1 regimen. Two of the 3 patients with unconfirmed responses had progressive disease within 6 weeks of the scan, while the third patient discontinued due to an adverse event. The median duration of prior anti-PD-1 therapy was < 6 months, and the median time between last dose of prior anti-PD-1 therapy and first dose with the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination was 64 days. The median DOR to the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination was 9.1 months. Four of the 34 patients remain on therapy as of the data cut-off date, while 3 of the 34 evaluable patients received therapy for over a year.
Enrollment in this cohort was recently completed (n=55), and further efficacy analyses and biomarker assessments from the recently enrolled patients will be utilized to supplement and strengthen the Company's development strategy for melanoma.
Within the MSS-CRC cohort, 16 patients were initially enrolled, with a median of three lines of prior therapy in the advanced setting. One patient from the initial patient cohort had a confirmed PR and remains on treatment at >6 months. Nine patients experienced stable disease as best response, 2 for at least 4 months. As the Company recently announced, following discussions with investigators and collaborator Merck, the decision was made to expand enrollment of this cohort to include a total of 37 patients in the first stage of the Simon-two stage study. Enrollment is expected to resume into the modified stage 1 cohort by the end of the second quarter, with at least three responses required to advance to the second stage, at which point an additional 47 patients would be enrolled. A decision on whether to continue to the second stage of this cohort is expected in the first half of 2019. As with the other ENCORE 601 cohorts, peripheral blood and pre- and on-treatment biopsies are being evaluated.
The data announced today will be presented in poster presentations at the upcoming ASCO meeting:
Title : Efficacy and safety of entinostat (ENT) and pembrolizumab (PEMBRO) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) previously treated with anti-PD-(L)1 therapy
First Author : Leena Gandhi, MD, PhD, NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center
Abstract Number : 9036
Poster Session : Lung Cancer—Non-Small Cell Metastatic
Poster Board : 359
Date and Time : Sunday, June 3, 2018, 8:00-11:30 AM CT, Hall A
Title : Efficacy and safety of entinostat (ENT) and pembrolizumab (PEMBRO) in patients with melanoma progressing on or after a PD-1/L1 blocking antibody
First Author : Sanjiv S. Agarwala, MD, St. Luke's Hospital
Abstract Number : 9530
Poster Session : Melanoma/Skin Cancers
Poster Board : 357
Date and Time : Monday, June 4, 2018, 1:15-4:45 PM CT, Hall A
Title : ENCORE 601: A phase 2 study of entinostat in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with microsatellite stable metastatic colorectal cancer
First Author : Nilofer Saba Azad, MD, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Abstract Number : 3557
Poster Session : Gastrointestinal (Colorectal) Cancer
Poster Board : 50
Date and Time : Sunday, June 3, 2018, 8:00-11:30 AM CT, Hall A
Conference Call and Webcast
In connection with today's announcement, Syndax's management team will host a conference call and live audio webcast at 8:30 a.m. ET today, Thursday, May 17, 2018.
The live audio webcast and accompanying slides may be accessed through the Events & Presentations page in the Investors section of the Company's website at www.syndax.com . Alternatively, the conference call may be accessed as follows:
Conference ID: 5778787
Domestic Dial-in Number: 1-855-251-6663
International Dial-in Number: 281-542-4259
Live webcast: https://edge.media-server.com/m6/p/j4astqtk
For those unable to participate in the conference call or webcast, a replay will be available for 30 days on the Investors section of the Company's website, www.syndax.com .
About Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Syndax Pharmaceuticals is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing an innovative pipeline of cancer therapies. The Company is developing its lead product candidate, entinostat, a once-weekly, oral, small molecule, class I HDAC inhibitor, in combination with exemestane and several approved PD-1/PD-L1 antagonists. The Company's pipeline also includes SNDX-6352, a monoclonal antibody that blocks the colony stimulating factor 1 (CSF-1) receptor, as well as a portfolio of potent and selective inhibitors targeting the binding interaction of Menin with MLLr. For more information, please visit www.syndax.com or follow the Company on Twitter and LinkedIn .
Citations
¹ Costantini et. al., ERJ Open Res 2018; 4:00120-2017
Syndax's Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "may," "will," "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "intend," "believe" and similar expressions (as well as other words or expressions referencing future events, conditions or circumstances) are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on Syndax's expectations and assumptions as of the date of this press release. Each of these forward-looking statements involves risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements about the progress, timing, clinical development and scope of clinical trials and the reporting of clinical data for Syndax's product candidates, and the potential use of our product candidates to treat various cancer indications. Many factors may cause differences between current expectations and actual results including unexpected safety or efficacy data observed during preclinical or clinical studies, clinical trial site activation or enrollment rates that are lower than expected, changes in expected or existing competition, changes in the regulatory environment, failure of Syndax's collaborators to support or advance collaborations or product candidates and unexpected litigation or other disputes. Other factors that may cause Syndax's actual results to differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements in this press release are discussed in Syndax's filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including the "Risk Factors" sections contained therein. Except as required by law, Syndax assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in expectations, even as new information becomes available.
Syndax Contacts
Investor Contact
Melissa Forst
Argot Partners
[email protected]
Tel 212.600.1902
Media Contact
David Rosen
Argot Partners
[email protected]
Tel 212.600.1902
SNDX-G
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/syndax-announces-updated-results-from-phase-2-encore-601-trial-of-entinostat-in-combination-with-keytruda-pembrolizumab-300650233.html
SOURCE Syndax Pharmaceuticals, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/pr-newswire-syndax-announces-updated-results-from-phase-2-encore-601-trial-of-entinostat-in-combination-with-keytrudaa-pembrolizumab.html |
CNBC.com Source: Cars.com
Shares of Cars.com jumped 8.8 percent Wednesday after a report the online car retailer hired J.P. Morgan to explore a possible sale.
Shares rose 1 percent in after-hours trading.
The New York Post reported Wednesday afternoon, citing a source, that Cars.com has hired J.P. Morgan to explore strategic options that include a potential sale of the company. The source said a sale looks likely, at possibly $40 a share.
Cars.com has a $1.9 billion market value and closed at $26.59 a share Wednesday, down 7.8 percent for the year.
In March, the company said its board would add two directors supported by activist investor Starboard Value. Starboard is the second-largest investor in Cars.com and had a 9.4 percent stake in outstanding shares as of March 31, according to FactSet.
Representatives for Cars.com and J.P. Morgan did not immediately respond to a CNBC request for comment. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/cars-com-shares-leap-after-report-the-company-hired-j-p-morgan-to-explore-a-potential-sale.html |
MIDLAND, Texas, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Reserves LP ("Legacy") (NASDAQ:LGCY) today announced first quarter results for 2018 including the following highlights:
Announced transaction to transition from MLP to C-Corp; Divested non-core Mid-Con assets with $15.4 million of plugging liability for $25.3 million in cash proceeds, further rationalizing our asset base and focusing our capital deployment; Brought 20 wells online late in the quarter with average peak rates exceeding expectations. These additional wells bring the total to 67 wells drilled and completed since commencement of the horizontal drilling program; Generated net income of $64.4 million; Generated Adjusted EBITDA of $70.7 million; and Reduced commodity price risk by adding 6,000 Bbls/d of 2019 WTI crude oil swaps at average swap price of $58.88 per barrel.
Paul T. Horne, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Legacy's general partner, commented, "We started 2018 focused on our two-rig horizontal Permian drilling program having brought an additional 20 wells online late in the quarter with peak rates, on average, exceeding our expectations. Due to our lease-wide development approach, we experienced significant non-productive time during the quarter including dewatering and temporary shut-ins of offset wells. While this operational approach enables us to focus on maximizing long-term lease-wide economics, it certainly can hamper short-term field-level production results. We remain excited about our previously-announced transaction that will transition Legacy to a C-Corp and currently anticipate a mid-2018 closing of the transaction. We continue to believe this transition will be a crucial step in our move to a growth-oriented development company and play an important part in future company success."
Dan Westcott, President and Chief Financial Officer of Legacy's general partner, commented, "Q1 proved to be an inflection point in Legacy's history as we announced our intention to transition to a C-Corp. We remain convinced of the key benefits of the transaction and, as we continue to work through the requisite steps to complete this transition, we will continue to focus on the efficient operation of our PDP base and development of our substantial horizontal Permian resource.
"We are thankful for the recent rise in oil prices. However, such increase has heightened the level of industry activity in the oil-rich Permian Basin and we, like other operators in the Basin, are now seeing some associated negative effects including wider commodity price differentials, third-party service constraints and increased production interference from increased development in and offsetting our densely developed leasehold. As longstanding, experienced players in the Permian, we will continue to utilize our strong local relationships and work through these industry-wide challenges. Despite some newly-projected delays and recently widened price differentials, we are very pleased with our well performance and expect continued success in our revised 2018 outlook. Importantly, we remain confident that our asset quality is high and our opportunity set deep."
Updated 2018 Guidance
The following table sets forth certain assumptions used by Legacy to estimate its anticipated results of operations for 2018 based on Legacy's expected 2018 capital program. These estimates do not include any acquisitions of additional oil or natural gas properties. In addition, these estimates are based on, among other things, assumptions of capital expenditure levels, current indications of supply and demand for oil and natural gas and current operating and labor costs. The guidance set forth below does not constitute any form of guarantee, assurance or promise that the matters indicated will actually be achieved. The guidance below sets forth management's best estimate based on current and anticipated market conditions and other factors. While we believe that these estimates and assumptions are reasonable, they are inherently uncertain and are subject to, among other things, significant business, economic, regulatory, environmental and competitive risks and uncertainties that could cause materially from those we anticipate, as set forth under "Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information."
Q2-Q4 2018E Range
FY 2018E Range
($ in thousands unless otherwise noted)
Production:
Oil (Bbls/d)
18,400
-
21,000
18,101
-
20,060
Natural gas liquids (Bbls/d)
1,925
-
2,200
2,053
-
2,261
Natural gas (MMcf/d)
158
-
171
158
-
168
Total (Boe/d)
46,658
-
51,700
46,487
-
50,321
Weighted average NYMEX differentials:
Oil (per Bbl)
$(10.00)
-
$(7.50)
$(7.94)
-
$(6.06)
NGL realization (1)
54%
-
60%
54%
-
59%
Natural gas (per Mcf)
$(0.75)
-
$(0.55)
$(0.64)
-
$(0.49)
Expenses:
Lease operating expenses (2)
$128,000
-
$138,000
$173,585
-
$183,585
Ad valorem and production taxes (% of revenue)
7.00%
-
7.50%
7.02%
-
7.39%
Cash G&A expenses (3)
$25,000
-
$28,000
$34,502
-
$37,502
Commodity derivative realizations
$(6,000)
-
$(6,000)
$(8,795)
-
$(8,795)
Adjusted EBITDA (4) :
$217,000
-
$262,000
$287,698
-
$332,698
(1)
Represents the projected percentage of assumed WTI crude oil prices.
(2)
Excludes ad valorem and production taxes.
(3)
Consistent with our definition of Adjusted EBITDA, these figures exclude LTIP and transaction costs.
(4)
Adjusted EBITDA is a Non-GAAP financial measure. This measure does not include pro forma adjustments permitted under our credit agreements relating to acquired and divested oil or gas properties. A reconciliation of this measure to the nearest comparable GAAP measure is available on our website.
Note: Figures above assume Q1 2018 realized pricing and NYMEX strip pricing at April 25, 2018 (2018 Avg Oil $65.50 / $2.85 Gas).
LEGACY RESERVES LP
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING DATA
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
(In thousands, except
per unit data)
Revenues:
Oil sales
$
93,411
$
49,142
Natural gas liquids (NGL) sales
7,396
5,050
Natural gas sales
36,672
45,355
Total revenue
$
137,479
$
99,547
Expenses:
Oil and natural gas production, excluding ad valorem taxes
$
45,585
$
49,228
Ad valorem taxes
2,382
1,989
Total oil and natural gas production
$
47,967
$
51,217
Production and other taxes
$
7,326
$
4,159
General and administrative, excluding LTIP and transaction costs
$
9,502
$
8,623
Transaction costs
1,782
32
LTIP expense
12,806
1,897
Total general and administrative
$
24,090
$
10,552
Depletion, depreciation, amortization and accretion
$
36,547
$
28,796
Commodity derivative cash settlements:
Oil derivative cash settlements (paid) received
$
(4,894)
$
3,139
Natural gas derivative cash settlements received
$
2,099
$
1,097
Production:
Oil (MBbls)
1,547
1,037
Natural gas liquids (MGal)
9,244
7,653
Natural gas (MMcf)
14,280
15,592
Total (MBoe)
4,147
3,818
Average daily production (Boe/d)
46,078
42,422
Average sales price per unit (excluding derivative cash settlements):
Oil price (per Bbl)
$
60.38
$
47.39
Natural gas liquids price (per Gal)
$
0.80
$
0.66
Natural gas price (per Mcf)
$
2.57
$
2.91
Combined (per Boe)
$
33.15
$
26.07
Average sales price per unit (including derivative cash settlements):
Oil price (per Bbl)
$
57.22
$
50.42
Natural gas liquids price (per Gal)
$
0.80
$
0.66
Natural gas price (per Mcf)
$
2.72
$
2.98
Combined (per Boe)
$
32.48
$
27.18
Average WTI oil spot price (per Bbl)
$
62.91
$
51.62
Average Henry Hub natural gas index price (per MMbtu)
$
3.08
$
3.02
Average unit costs per Boe:
Oil and natural gas production, excluding ad valorem taxes
$
10.99
$
12.89
Ad valorem taxes
$
0.57
$
0.52
Production and other taxes
$
1.77
$
1.09
General and administrative excluding transaction costs and LTIP
$
2.29
$
2.26
Total general and administrative
$
5.81
$
2.76
Depletion, depreciation, amortization and accretion
$
8.81
$
7.54
Financial and Operating Results - Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2018 Compared to Three-Month Period Ended March 31, 2017
Production increased 9% to 46,078 Boe/d from 42,422 Boe/d primarily due to additional oil production from our horizontal drilling operations in Howard County, Texas and Lea County, New Mexico and production attributable to the additional working interests that reverted to us in connection with making an acceleration payment (the "Acceleration Payment") under our amended and restated joint development agreement with TSSP. This was partially offset by natural production declines and individually immaterial divestitures completed in 2018 and 2017. Average realized price, excluding net cash settlements from commodity derivatives, increased 27% to $33.15 per Boe in 2018 from $26.07 per Boe in 2017 driven by the significant increase in commodity prices and increase in oil production as a percentage of total production. Average realized oil price increased 27% to $60.38 in 2018 from $47.39 in 2017 driven by an increase in the average WTI crude oil price of $11.29 per Bbl and increased Permian production which has realized better differentials than our other regions. Average realized natural gas price decreased 12% to $2.57 per Mcf in 2018 from $2.91 per Mcf in 2017. This decrease is primarily a result of widening realized regional differentials and our adoption of ASC 606 partially offset by an increase in average Henry Hub natural gas index price of $0.06 per Mcf. Finally, our average realized NGL price increased 21% to $0.80 per gallon in 2018 from $0.66 per gallon in 2017. Production expenses, excluding ad valorem taxes, decreased to $45.6 million in 2018 from $49.2 million in 2017, primarily due to cost containment efforts across all operating regions partially offset by increased well count related to our Permian horizontal drilling program and expenses associated with the additional working interests that reverted to us in connection with making the Acceleration Payment. On an average cost per Boe basis, production expenses excluding ad valorem taxes decreased 15% to $10.99 per Boe in 2018 from $12.89 per Boe in 2017. General and administrative expenses, excluding unit-based Long-Term Incentive Plan ("LTIP") compensation expense, increased to $11.3 million in 2018 from $8.7 million in 2017 due to general cost increases. LTIP compensation expense increased $10.9 million due to the recent rise in our unit price. Cash settlements paid on our commodity derivatives during 2018 were $2.8 million compared to cash receipts of $4.2 million in 2017. The change in cash settlements is a result of the combination of higher commodity prices and reduced nominal volumes hedged in Q1 2018 compared to Q1 2017 as well as lower contracted hedge prices. Total development capital expenditures increased to $59.7 million in 2018 from $23.7 million in 2017. The 2018 activity was comprised mainly of our horizontal drilling program in Lea County, NM and Howard County, TX.
Commodity Derivative Contracts
We enter into oil and natural gas derivative contracts to help mitigate the risk of changing commodity prices. As of April 30, 2018, we had entered into derivative agreements to receive average prices as summarized below.
NYMEX WTI Crude Oil Swaps:
Time Period
Volumes (Bbls)
Average Price per
Bbl
Price Range per Bbl
April-December 2018
2,282,500
$54.76
$51.20
-
$63.68
2019
2,190,000
$58.88
$57.15
-
$61.20
NYMEX WTI Crude Oil Costless Collars. At an annual WTI market price of $40.00, $50.00 and $65.00, the summary positions below would result in a net price of $47.06, $50.00 and $60.29, respectively for 2018.
Average Long
Average Short
Time Period
Volumes (Bbls)
Put Price per Bbl
Call Price per Bbl
April-December 2018
1,168,750
$47.06
$60.29
NYMEX WTI Crude Oil Enhanced Swaps. At an annual average WTI market price of $40.00, $50.00 and $65.00, the summary positions below would result in a net price of $65.50, $65.50 and $73.50, respectively for 2018.
Average Long Put
Average Short Put
Average Swap
Time Period
Volumes (Bbls)
Price per Bbl
Price per Bbl
Price per Bbl
April-December 2018
96,250
$57.00
$82.00
$90.50
Midland-to-Cushing WTI Crude Oil Differential Swaps:
Time Period
Volumes (Bbls)
Average Price per
Bbl
Price Range per Bbl
April-December 2018
3,025,000
$(1.13)
$(1.25)
-
$(0.80)
2019
730,000
$(1.15)
$(1.15)
NYMEX Natural Gas Swaps (Henry Hub):
Average
Price Range per
Time Period
Volumes (MMBtu)
Price per MMBtu
MMBtu
April-December 2018
27,200,000
$3.23
$3.04
-
$3.39
2019
25,800,000
$3.36
$3.29
-
$3.39
Location and quality differentials attributable to our properties are not reflected in the above prices. The agreements provide for monthly settlement based on the difference between the agreement fixed price and the actual reference oil and natural gas index prices.
Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q
Financial results contained herein are preliminary and subject to the final, unaudited financial statements and related footnotes included in Legacy's Form 10-Q which will be filed on or about May 2, 2018.
Conference Call
As announced on April 19, 2018, Legacy will host an investor conference call to discuss Legacy's results on Thursday, May 3, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. (Central Time). Those wishing to participate in the conference call should dial 877-870-4263. A replay of the call will be available through Thursday, May 10, 2018, by dialing 877-344-7529 and entering replay code 10119507. Those wishing to listen to the live or archived webcast via the Internet should go to the Investor Relations tab of our website at www.LegacyLP.com . Following our prepared remarks, we will be pleased to answer questions from securities analysts and institutional portfolio managers and analysts; the complete call is open to all other interested parties on a listen-only basis.
About Legacy Reserves LP
Legacy Reserves LP is a master limited partnership headquartered in Midland, Texas, focused on the development of oil and natural gas properties primarily located in the Permian Basin, East Texas, Rocky Mountain and Mid-Continent regions of the United States. Additional information is available at www.LegacyLP.com .
Additional Information for Holders of Legacy Units and Where to Find It
Although Legacy has suspended distributions to both the 8% Series A and Series B Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Units (the "Preferred Units"), such distributions continue to accrue. Pursuant to the terms of Legacy's partnership agreement, Legacy is required to pay or set aside for payment all accrued but unpaid distributions with respect to the Preferred Units prior to or contemporaneously with making any distribution with respect to Legacy's units. Accruals of distributions on the Preferred Units are treated for tax purposes as guaranteed payments for the use of capital that will generally be taxable to the holders of such Preferred Units as ordinary income even in the absence of contemporaneous distributions.
In addition, Legacy's unitholders, just like unitholders of other master limited partnerships, are allocated taxable income irrespective of cash distributions paid. Because Legacy's unitholders are treated as partners that are allocated a share of Legacy's taxable income irrespective of the amount of cash, if any, distributed by Legacy, unitholders will be required to pay federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes on their share of Legacy's taxable income, including its taxable income associated with cancellation of debt ("COD income") or a disposition of property by Legacy, even if they receive no cash distributions from Legacy. As of January 21, 2016, Legacy has suspended all cash distributions to unitholders and holders of the Preferred Units. Legacy may engage in transactions to de-lever the Partnership and manage its liquidity that may result in the allocation of income and gain to its unitholders without a corresponding cash distribution. For example, if Legacy sells assets and uses the proceeds to repay existing debt or fund capital or operating expenditures, Legacy's unitholders may be allocated taxable income and gain resulting from the sale without receiving a cash distribution. Further, if Legacy engages in debt exchanges, debt repurchases, or modifications of its existing debt, these or similar transactions could result in "cancellation of indebtedness" or COD income being allocated to Legacy's unitholders as taxable income. For tax purposes, Legacy repurchased $187 million of its 6.625% Senior Notes at $0.70 per $1.00 principal amount on December 31, 2017. Unitholders will be allocated gain and income from asset sales and COD income and may owe income tax as a result of such allocations notwithstanding the fact that Legacy has suspended cash distributions to its unitholders. The ultimate effect of any such allocations will depend on the unitholder's individual tax position with respect to its units. Unitholders are encouraged to consult their tax advisors with respect to the consequences of potential transactions that may result in income and gain to unitholders.
Additionally, if Legacy's unitholders, just like unitholders of other master limited partnerships, sell any of their units, they will recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and their tax basis in those units. Prior distributions to unitholders that in the aggregate exceeded the cumulative net taxable income they were allocated for a unit decreased the tax basis in that unit, and will, in effect, become taxable income to Legacy's unitholders if the unit is sold at a price greater than their tax basis in that unit, even if the price received is less than original cost. A substantial portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be ordinary income to Legacy's unitholders due to the potential recapture items, including depreciation, depletion and intangible drilling.
In connection with the proposed transaction that will transition Legacy from an MLP to a C-Corp (the "Transaction"), Legacy Reserves Inc. ("New Legacy") has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") a registration statement on Form S-4, which includes a preliminary proxy statement of Legacy and a preliminary prospectus of New Legacy (the "proxy statement/prospectus") which Legacy plans to mail to its unitholders to solicit approval for the merger.
INVESTORS AND UNITHOLDERS ARE URGED TO READ THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED OR TO BE FILED WITH THE SEC CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY WHEN THEY BECOME AVAILABLE BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT LEGACY AND NEW LEGACY, AS WELL AS THE TRANSACTION AND RELATED MATTERS.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities shall be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of Section 10 of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.
A free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus and other filings containing information about Legacy and New Legacy may be obtained at the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov . In addition, the documents filed with the SEC by Legacy and New Legacy may be obtained free of charge by directing such request to: Legacy Reserves LP, Attention: Investor Relations, at 303 W. Wall, Suite 1800, Midland, Texas 79701 or emailing [email protected] or calling 855-534-5200. These documents may also be obtained for free from Legacy's investor relations website at https://www.legacylp.com/investor-relations .
Legacy and its general partner's directors, executive officers, other members of management and employees may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from Legacy's unitholders in respect of the Transaction that will be described in the proxy statement/prospectus. Information regarding the directors and executive officers of Legacy's general partner is contained in Legacy's public filings with the SEC, including its definitive proxy statement on Form DEF 14A filed with the SEC on April 6, 2018.
A more complete description will be available in the registration statement and the proxy statement/prospectus.
Cautionary Statement Relevant to Forward-Looking Information
This press release includes " " within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, without limitation, statements regarding the expected benefits of the Transaction to Legacy and its unitholders, the anticipated completion of the Transaction or the timing thereof, the expected future growth, dividends, distributions of the reorganized company, and plans and objectives of management for future operations. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release that address activities, events or developments that Legacy expects, believes or anticipates will or may occur in the future, are . Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "targets," "projects," "believes," "seeks," "schedules," "estimated," and similar expressions are intended to identify such . These rely on a number of assumptions concerning future events and are subject to a number of uncertainties, factors and risks, many of which are outside the control of Legacy, which could cause results to differ materially from those expected by management of Legacy. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, realized oil and natural gas prices; production volumes, lease operating expenses, general and administrative costs and finding and development costs; future operating results; and the factors set forth under the heading "Risk Factors" in Legacy's filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The reader should not place undue reliance on these , which speak only as of the date of this press release. Unless legally required, Legacy undertakes no obligation to update publicly any , whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
LEGACY RESERVES LP
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
(In thousands, except
per unit data)
Revenues:
Oil sales
$
93,411
$
49,142
Natural gas liquids (NGL) sales
7,396
5,050
Natural gas sales
36,672
45,355
Total revenues
137,479
99,547
Expenses:
Oil and natural gas production
47,967
51,217
Production and other taxes
7,326
4,159
General and administrative
24,090
10,552
Depletion, depreciation, amortization and accretion
36,547
28,796
Impairment of long-lived assets
—
8,062
Gain on disposal of assets
(20,395)
(5,524)
Total expenses
95,535
97,262
Operating income
41,944
2,285
Other income (expense):
Interest income
12
1
Interest expense
(27,368)
(20,133)
Gain on extinguishment of debt
51,693
—
Equity in income of equity method investees
17
11
Net gains (losses) on commodity derivatives
(1,704)
34,669
Other
275
(40)
Income before income taxes
64,869
16,793
Income tax expense
(487)
(421)
Net income
$
64,382
$
16,372
Distributions to Preferred unitholders
(4,750)
(4,750)
Net income attributable to unitholders
$
59,632
$
11,622
Income per unit - basic and diluted
$
0.78
$
0.16
Weighted average number of units used in computing net income per unit -
Basic
76,350
72,103
Diluted
76,657
72,103
LEGACY RESERVES LP
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(UNAUDITED)
ASSETS
March 31,
2018
December 31,
2017
(In thousands)
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents
$
—
$
1,246
Accounts receivable, net:
Oil and natural gas
66,254
62,755
Joint interest owners
21,074
27,420
Other
2
2
Fair value of derivatives
15,034
13,424
Prepaid expenses and other current assets
7,575
7,757
Total current assets
109,939
112,604
Oil and natural gas properties using the successful efforts method, at cost:
Proved properties
3,423,592
3,529,971
Unproved properties
29,492
28,023
Accumulated depletion, depreciation, amortization and impairment
(2,093,640)
(2,204,638)
1,359,444
1,353,356
Other property and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization of $11,746 and $11,467, respectively
2,739
2,961
Operating rights, net of amortization of $5,855 and $5,765, respectively
1,162
1,251
Fair value of derivatives
14,150
14,099
Other assets
8,175
8,811
Investments in equity method investees
Total assets
$
1,495,609
$
1,493,082
LIABILITIES AND PARTNERS' DEFICIT
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable
$
3,363
$
13,093
Accrued oil and natural gas liabilities
72,602
81,318
Fair value of derivatives
18,164
18,013
Asset retirement obligation
3,214
3,214
Other
42,602
29,172
Total current liabilities
139,945
144,810
Long-term debt
1,296,953
1,346,769
Asset retirement obligation
258,554
271,472
Fair value of derivatives
628
1,075
Other long-term liabilities
643
643
Total liabilities
1,696,723
1,764,769
Commitments and contingencies
Partners' deficit
Series A Preferred equity - 2,300,000 units issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017
55,192
55,192
Series B Preferred equity - 7,200,000 units issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017
174,261
174,261
Incentive distribution equity - 100,000 units issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017
30,814
30,814
Limited partners' deficit - 76,658,829 and 72,594,620 units issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively
(461,236)
(531,794)
General partner's deficit (approximately 0.02%)
(145)
(160)
Total partners' deficit
(201,114)
(271,687)
Total liabilities and partners' deficit
$
1,495,609
$
1,493,082
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
"Adjusted EBITDA" is a non-generally accepted accounting principles ("non-GAAP") measure which may be used periodically by management when discussing our financial results with investors and analysts. The following presents a reconciliation of this non-GAAP financial measure to its nearest comparable generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP") measure.
Adjusted EBITDA is presented as management believes it provides additional information concerning the performance of our business and is used by investors and financial analysts to analyze and compare our current operating and financial performance relative to past performance and such performances relative to that of other publicly traded partnerships in the industry. Adjusted EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures of other publicly traded limited partnerships or limited liability companies because all companies may not calculate such measures in the same manner.
Certain factors impacting Adjusted EBITDA may be viewed as temporary, one-time in nature, or being offset by reserves from past performance or near-term future performance. Financial results are also driven by various factors that do not typically occur evenly throughout the year that are difficult to predict, including rig availability, weather, well performance, the timing of drilling and completions and near-term commodity price changes.
"Adjusted EBITDA" should not be considered as an alternative to GAAP measures, such as net income, operating income, cash flow from operating activities, or any other GAAP measure of financial performance.
The following table presents a reconciliation of our consolidated net income (loss) to Adjusted EBITDA:
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018
2017
(In thousands)
Net income
$
64,382
$
16,372
Plus:
Interest expense
27,368
20,133
Gain on extinguishment of debt
(51,693)
—
Income tax expense
487
421
Depletion, depreciation, amortization and accretion
36,547
28,796
Impairment of long-lived assets
—
8,062
Gain on disposal of assets
(20,395)
(5,524)
Equity in income of equity method investees
(17)
(11)
Unit-based compensation expense
12,806
1,897
Minimum payments received in excess of overriding royalty interest earned (1)
522
445
Net (gains) losses on commodity derivatives
1,704
(34,669)
Net cash settlements (paid) received on commodity derivatives
(2,795)
4,236
Transaction costs
1,782
32
Adjusted EBITDA
$
70,698
$
40,190
(1)
Minimum payments received in excess of overriding royalties earned under a contractual agreement expiring December 31, 2019. The remaining amount of the minimum payments is recognized in net income.
CONTACT:
Legacy Reserves LP
Dan Westcott
President and Chief Financial Officer
(432) 689-5200
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legacy-reserves-lp-announces-first-quarter-2018-results-and-updated-2018-guidance-300641551.html
SOURCE Legacy Reserves LP | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/pr-newswire-legacy-reserves-lp-announces-first-quarter-2018-results-and-updated-2018-guidance.html |
Patrick Mylund Nielsen (left) and Amber Baldet, former leaders of JPMorgan Chase's blockchain team. How JPMorgan Chase Learned to Love the Blockchain America’s biggest bank is figuring out how to collaborate with cryptocurrency hacker types like Amber Baldet and Patrick Mylund Nielsen—and the cultural collision could soon pay off. By Robert Hackett 6:30 AM EDT
Amber Baldet flings an oversize yellow die atop a display counter at a Best Buy near Times Square in Manhattan.
Five.
“It’s odd,” says Baldet. The outcome dictates her choice of laptop. Today she’s making all her decisions this way—a precaution intended to confound any trailing spies. Dressed in an army-green flannel shirt and black leather boots with studs, Baldet selects a $249 Lenovo computer, the “odd” designee, vs. a neighboring $169 “even” option.
“You sure you don’t want to roll again until you get the cheaper one?” asks Patrick Mylund Nielsen, her colleague. Negative. He whisks the box to a cashier.
On the mid-March Tuesday when this eccentric shopping trip takes place, Baldet is head of the blockchain program at JPMorgan Chase , the biggest bank in America and No. 20 on the Fortune 500. And Nielsen is lead engineer of the JPMorgan Chase–built blockchain Quorum , a distributed accounting ledger adapted from the technology behind the cryptocurrency network Ethereum .
The pair is taking off from work today … sort of. They’re planning to load data onto the laptop—a “burner,” literally to be incinerated—as part of a process aimed at upgrading the code behind Zcash , a cryptocurrency similar to Bitcoin except with significant privacy enhancements. Zcash enables anonymity, in theory, through mathematical techniques called “zero knowledge proofs.” To contribute their portion of the code for the proofs, Baldet and Nielsen must cook up a secret formula—and destroy the ingredients. If a bad actor compromised the data, the troublemaker could manufacture an infinite supply of Zcash, an inadmissable proposition.
“What are you going to use this for?” inquires a blue-shirted checkout clerk, scanning the package’s bar code.
“Doing one thing, and then we’re going to destroy it,” Nielsen deadpans. Any hint of grin is obscured under his chest-length thicket of beard. The sales rep, undeterred, continues his script. “Do you need an extended warranty, or Microsoft Office Suite?”
“Nope,” Nielsen says. “We’re going to destroy it.”
A crease forms on the salesman’s forehead. “Are you doing an experiment or something?” he probes.
“We’re going to smash it and then burn—”
“Yup! It’s for science,” Baldet chimes in. She hands the salesman a slip of paper bearing a QR code. “That’s what we’re working on, if you get bored you can look it up.” Nielsen, left, and Baldet participating in a "cryptographic ceremony" in New York. Robert Hackett
The project is indeed a science experiment—not one typical of two ostensible Wall Streeters, but one that could benefit their employer. Indeed, JPMorgan Chase’s relationship with Zcash represents a very unusual alliance for a mainstream bank. The firm has incorporated the cryptography behind Zcash into Quorum, where one day it may shield transactions among banks from prying eyes. Along with Australia and New Zealand Banking Group and the Royal Bank of Canada, the financial titan in the fall formed an “interbank information network” to explore how to use Quorum to make global payments more efficient. Although the venture is in its early stages, JPMorgan Chase says the program, and others like it, could help reduce transaction-processing delays from weeks to hours; at the scale of the bank’s treasury-services business, which facilitates a staggering $6 trillion in payments per day, the technology could be a game changer.
But given the peculiar nature of the day’s task , Baldet and Nielsen are cautious about not overstepping the bank’s perceived boundaries. While leaving Best Buy, Baldet emphasizes to me that she doesn’t want this cryptoconjuring expedition to reflect on JPMorgan Chase in any way. “Just make clear we’re doing this in a personal capacity,” she insists.
“They think we’re batshit crazy.”
Based on his denunciations of Bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon might seem like the last person on earth who would employ Baldet and Nielsen. His criticisms have commanded headlines and earned him demonization (sometimes literally, in the form of the nickname “Jamie Demon”) on cryptocentric blogs. Speaking at Fortune’s Global Forum in San Francisco in November 2015, Dimon predicted that governments would crack down on ungoverned moneys: “You’re wasting your time with Bitcoin,” he asserted. Last September, as Bitcoin prices began a run-up to near-$20,000 highs, Dimon reiterated his skepticism. “Bitcoin is a fraud,” he said, promising to fire any employees who traded it. A month later, he added, “If you’re stupid enough to buy it, you’ll pay the price for it one day.” Rank 20 2017 Company Profile: JPMorgan Chase Revenues 12%* *Total Return to Shareholders assumes the 2007–2017 Annual Rate.
Dimon later said he regretted airing his opinion. But as a man who runs a financial behemoth that handles a quarter of the U.S. dollar supply on any given day, Dimon has good reason to be cynical about an asset class that defies governance and whose price fluctuates wildly and without warning. Yes, JPMorgan Chase employs more than 50,000 technologists—almost twice the total number of employees at Facebook . But compared with the bank’s many mission-critical tech operations—functions that sustain the flow of value that lets businesses and consumers get paid, take out loans, and invest in new endeavors—cryptocurrency can seem like both a financial pip-squeak and a distracting sideshow. Still, behind Dimon’s public dismissals lies a subtler truth about the bank’s relationship to cryptocurrencies, blockchains, and their enticing if still unrealized potential. “We actually use it. It’ll be useful in a lot of different ways. God bless the blockchain.”
Jamie Dimon: CEO, JPMorgan Chase
On the heels of Dimon’s blunt October rejection, Adam Ludwin , CEO of Chain, a Nasdaq- and Visa-backed startup building blockchains for the financial industry, addressed an open letter to Dimon elucidating the potential value of cryptotechnologies. The piece racked up nearly half a million reads, and promptly crossed the desk of Dimon, who arranged a call with his interlocutor. “He could have easily said, you know, how dare you use my name as clickbait, but instead his perspective was that he appreciated the note and the thinking in it,” Ludwin recalls of their conversation. “I was, in turn, impressed that he took it seriously.” Employees at the JPMorgan Chase technology hub across the street from the Hudson Yards development in New York. The company employs more than 50,000 technologists—almost double the total number of employees at Facebook. Chris Goodney—Bloomberg via Getty Images
Indeed, as down as Dimon may seem on cryptocoins, he has lavished praise on the technology undergirding them. “God bless the blockchain,” he said last year, at the same conference where he questioned the intelligence of Bitcoin buyers. And he has given employees a long leash to work on experimental technologies drawn from the freewheeling cryptocurrency world, with far greater autonomy than most banks have conferred.
Quorum, for instance, is a derivation of a software client that uses the Google-conceived programming language Go. When the cryptocommunity makes improvements to Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency network by market value after Bitcoin, JPMorgan Chase’s blockchain crew can piggyback on those updates. Similarly, Quorum’s “zero-knowledge security layer,” which enables transactions involving digital tokens, was built in collaboration with the Zerocoin Electric Coin Co., makers of Zcash.
When Dimon’s “fraud” comment lit up social media, Amber Baldet retweeted coverage with her take: “¯\_(ツ)_/¯,” the unflappable shrug emoji, iconic among a generation weaned on the web. At last fall’s Money 20/20 fintech conference, she offered a more nuanced response. “For most other banks it probably makes sense to stand up and say, ‘Blockchain good, Bitcoin bad,’ because you can completely draw a hard line between the two. Given the activity that JPMorgan has had both with Ethereum and with the folks who created Zcash … it’s less sensical.”
Multinational corporations are sprawling organizations—collections of independent thinkers who encompass a diversity of dreads and dreams. The beliefs of their top officers don’t always match, or neatly summarize, the sentiments within. And in JPMorgan Chase’s blockchain efforts, a financial giant’s cautious, bottom-line-oriented leadership has coexisted, often fruitfully, with the entrepreneurial, anarchic energies of a new technology’s architects.
In truth, the bank has made enormous strides in blurring the lines between public blockchains—the Wild West world of cryptocurrencies—and business-friendly private or “permissioned” blockchains, the building blocks of future efficient financial infrastructures. As these technologies mature, their ascendance may owe a lot to the kinds of odd-couple relationships that linked Dimon and Baldet.
In February 2015 , an unusual job listing appeared on JPMorgan Chase’s website. “You care about disruption,” the description read, in part. “You have an opinion on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and you are probably ambivalent about the prospect of working for a large financial institution.” As the Wall Street Journal characterized the self-deprecation at the time: “They need people who aren’t eager to work for them.”
JPMorgan Chase wanted fresh blood—a desire known to many a century-old institution in days of technologic upheaval. To tap it, the bank created a skunkworks in 2014 called New Products Development. The team pursued the buzziest topics, including cloud computing, digitization, and developer-friendly programming interfaces—and it’s where Amber Baldet eventually landed. Clovyr CEO and co-founder (and JPMorgan Chase alumna) Amber Baldet. Photographed by Bryan Derballa for Fortune
Baldet was an unlikely banker from the start. She has long had an affinity for counterculture and hung around hacker circles. She moved to New York in 2008, taking a job at a boutique hedge fund just as the firm—and the economy—unwound. She later joined a consultancy, Capco, where she did work for JPMorgan Chase before moving there full-time in 2012. Her rebelliousness persisted; during Occupy Wall Street, she posed for a portrait by Molly Crabapple, an activist-artist known for depicting life at Guantánamo Bay. In the scene, Baldet wears shades and leans on a sign that reads, “Wall Street workers for realistic fiscal reform. There are more of us than you think.” It now hangs at the New York Historical Society.
At JPMorgan Chase, Baldet found her way to New Products Development, working at first on machine learning. As enthusiasm for enterprise blockchains surged, the group doubled down on strategic investments in such projects. The company pumped funds into Digital Asset, a startup helmed by Blythe Masters, a former JPMorgan Chase executive credited, controversially, with inventing the credit default swap. The bank was a founding member of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance, a consortium of businesses exploring that technology, as well as of the Linux Foundation’s cross-industry blockchain collaboration group, later dubbed Hyperledger.
“For most other banks it makes sense to stand up and say, ‘blockchain good, Bitcoin bad.'”
Amber Baldet, former JPMorgan Chase blockchain leader
Concurrently, the bank went further still, building its own technology in-house. It soon became clear, however, that the compliance-conscious culture of the bank wouldn’t be a seamless fit with the share-everything ethos of blockchain tinkerers. In recent years, JPMorgan Chase’s blockchain experiments have been promising; keeping their creators in the fold has proved challenging.
Among the first test cases was a distributed ledger known as Juno. Blockchain systems often tucker out under heavy use; Juno was designed to make them more resilient. Technologist Stuart Popejoy led the project’s development with his main coder, Will Martino. What they were doing was so new to JPMorgan Chase, however, that the bank had little experience with releasing open-source software to fall back on. (Martino wound up releasing Juno’s code under his personal account on Github, a code-sharing website.) When the team unveiled Juno at a Hyperledger meeting in 2016, JPMorgan Chase declined to issue a press release about it. “It became clear to us if we really wanted to realize the potential of this technology, we needed to go out on our own,” Popejoy told Fortune. They left the bank that year; their new project, Kadena, has raised nearly $15 million, and the founders say they’ve signed on a Fortune 100 health care company as a client.
Clovyr chief technology officer and cofounder and JPMorgan Chase alumnus Patrick Mylund Nielsen. Photographed by Bryan Derballa for Fortune
By then, Baldet had become the de facto leader of the product team’s blockchain efforts. Her first hire was Christine Moy, a former securities trader who worked for a stint under Masters. They were eventually joined by Patrick Nielsen, a former researcher at Kaspersky Lab, the lately embattled Russian antivirus maker; eventually, Nielsen became the lead developer on Quorum.
Over time, Quorum began to resemble a blockchain that mainstream financial-service providers could rally behind. Its ease of use and its private messaging tool, Constellation, meant it could provide confidentiality that would be table stakes for many banking clients. And its forward-looking zero knowledge security layer promised to bring more value—privately settling digital asset swaps—in the future. JPMorgan Chase’s regulatory regime, meanwhile, had grown to embrace new-product culture: By the time the group was ready to release Quorum under an open-source software license, it could do so in a way that met compliance, and the bank released it under an official Github account for JPMorgan Chase.
“They were early to experimentation with what other banks would have viewed as untouchable technologies,” says Chain’s Ludwin, referring to Ethereum and Zcash. “I give Amber a lot of credit for that, and also [credit] Jamie for enabling that.”
Still, Quorum’s adoption and even its future at JPMorgan Chase are far from assured. Because Quorum is open-source, the bank must carefully navigate antitrust regulations, since such collaborative efforts involve coordinating with other banks. For that reason and others, industry insiders have speculated that Quorum would be better off overseen by a group like Hyperledger or a financial-industry consortium, like FINOS. Lori Beer, JPMorgan Chase’s chief information officer, says its fate is yet to be decided. “We believe it’s a really fantastic asset,” Beer says. “We’ll continue to assess what is the best approach to evolve and grow Quorum.”
That evolution won’t take place under Baldet and Nielsen, however; in April, they announced their resignation . “We simply wanted to move more quickly than was really possible at a highly regulated entity,” Baldet says.
Baldet and Nielsen envision a world, not far off, where permissioned (business-ready) and public (Bitcoin-like) blockchains are joined much more closely. Baldet compares the state of blockchains today to the period a few years ago when corporations were weighing using public clouds such as Amazon Web Services or Microsoft’s Azure. Eventually, they settled on hybrid architectures that include both private and public clouds, enabling more resilient, efficient ways of doing business. (Christine Moy, who succeeded Baldet as head of the JPMorgan Chase team, sees the blockchain world similarly; she recently told the website Coindesk, “Maybe someday this will all converge.”) That’s part of Baldet’s and Nielsen’s impetus to found Clovyr , their new startup, which takes its name from the cloverleaf infrastructure of highway on-ramps and off-ramps. Masters: Mackenzie Stroh—Contour by Getty images; Popejoy: Courtesy of Kadena; Baldet: Bryan Derballa
Clovyr will serve blockchain-curious developers, businesses, and consumers. Baldet’s product ideas include a browserlike tool for desktops to help users plug into competing blockchains and play with decentralized apps, in order to experiment with the latest innovations. Nielsen has started writing preliminary code, and the company has begun fundraising. There doesn’t have to be one winner in the blockchain race, in their view. Businesses and people—including Jamie Dimon—should be able to cobble together whatever pipes and component parts work best for them.
But before Clovyr’s mid-May launch , Baldet and Nielsen have one last task to complete to benefit Quorum and JPMorgan Chase, in an event I’ve come to Baldet’s Brooklyn apartment to witness. Her cat, Lily, prances around the living room and mews while the duo dismantle a laptop—the last stage of the Zcash code-contribution ceremony.
The day prior, the duo had conducted video-recorded interviews in New York’s Times Square and Union Square, using huge umbrellas to block eyes-in-the-sky from snooping. They interviewed a Canadian couple, an Israeli actor smoking a spliff, and a Buddhist monk, among others, for their thoughts on privacy, cryptocurrency, and surveillance. They caught footage of pigeons flapping around parks, taxis honking, and a Jamaican lady yelling an obscenity at them on the subway. The goal was to generate data in the form of a video file that would be impossible for anyone to reproduce, and then to feed that video into a program that converted it into foundational code for the privacy tech at the heart of Zcash.
With that work completed, it’s time for destruction. On Baldet’s rooftop, she whips out a propane blowtorch and melts the computer’s innards, taking special care to incinerate the memory chips. An acrid miasma emanates from the pan in which the detritus sits. “We’re making a nice PCB stew,” Baldet says.
Back in her kitchen, Nielsen identifies an insufficiently demolished piece of the computer. Baldet places it in a pan on her stovetop. She turns on a range-hood vent, and lets the flame rip—frying the metal and plastic bits. She and Nielsen waft smoke through the exhaust fan. A faint white cloud escapes heavenward. And thus the ritual concludes.
This article originally appeared in the June 1, 2018 issue of Fortune. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/longform/jpmorgan-chase-tech-blockchain/ |
Quarterly Revenue, Gross Margin and EPS at or above High-End of Guidance Range
Expects Sequential Revenue Growth of 17% to 24% in Second Quarter
SAN JOSE, Calif., May 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pixelworks Inc. (NASDAQ:PXLW), a leading provider of power efficient visual processing solutions, today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
First Quarter and Recent Highlights
Shipped volume production orders in support of recently launched Xiaomi Blackshark’s gaming smartphone Further expanded the number of engagements with mobile OEMs to incorporate Iris display processor Unveiled full feature set of 4 th generation Iris mobile display processor Announced collaboration with Wanda Film Group to establish Film Innovation & Ecosystem Lab in China and develop new technologies for film production and cinema displays Satisfied all remaining convertible debt obligations from the 2017 acquisition of ViXS Systems
President and CEO of Pixelworks, Todd DeBonis, commented, “First quarter revenue was at the high-end of our guidance range, reflecting solid performance across our business and expected seasonality in the digital projection market. Favorable product mix contributed to better than anticipated gross margin, and our continued focus on operational efficiencies helped to drive lower than expected operating expenses. As a result, we delivered sequential bottom-line improvement despite the first quarter traditionally being a seasonally soft quarter.
“Since the start of the year, we have made notable progress on our mobile initiative, as highlighted by our recent win for Pixelworks 3 rd generation Iris display processor in the Xiaomi Blackshark smartphone. Additionally, today we formally unveiled the full features and advanced video capabilities of our 4 th generation mobile display processor, for which we already have multiple active customer engagements. During the first quarter, we also continued to advance the development project with our video delivery customer in Japan, where we are seeing increased traction for consumer electronics applications that leverage Pixelworks XCode family of advanced decoding and transcoding SoCs.
“The relevance of Pixelworks advanced display processing and video delivery technology continues to grow with the prevailing demand for higher quality displays, and we are experiencing increased customer interest across all of our end markets. In addition to our extensive efforts to capitalize on this momentum and drive further adoption of our existing solutions, we are continuing to make meaningful investments in product development as part of cultivating potential expanded opportunities. As a result of our ongoing efforts and progress, we are increasingly confident that Pixelworks is well positioned to deliver sustainable growth and increased profitability in the coming quarters.”
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Revenue in 2018 was $15.3 million, compared with revenue of $18.4 million in the prior quarter and $22.7 million in 2017. The fourth and first quarters of 2017 included approximately $1.0 million and $9.2 million of legacy end-of-life (EOL) product revenue, respectively. The sequential decrease in first quarter 2018 revenue reflects typical seasonality in the Company’s digital projection business.
On a GAAP basis, gross profit margin in 2018 was 51.0%, compared with 49.7% in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 54.6% in 2017. First quarter 2018 GAAP operating expenses were $9.1 million compared with $12.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2017 and $9.0 million in the year-ago quarter.
For 2018, the Company recorded a GAAP net loss of $598,000, or $(0.02) per share, compared with a GAAP net loss of $3.6 million, or $(0.10) per share, in the prior quarter and GAAP net income of $2.8 million, or $0.09 per diluted share, in 2017.
On a non-GAAP basis, first quarter 2018 gross profit margin was 54.2%, compared with 56.9% in the fourth quarter of 2017 and 54.8% in the year-ago quarter. First quarter 2018 non-GAAP operating expenses were $7.8 million, compared with $10.6 million in the prior quarter and $8.3 million in 2017. First quarter 2018 operating expenses, on both a GAAP and non-GAAP basis, included the recognition of approximately $2 million of offsets to R&D related to the Company’s ongoing co-development project with a large digital projector customer.
For 2018, non-GAAP net income was $38,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to a non-GAAP net loss of $379,000, or $(0.01) per share, in the previous quarter and non-GAAP net income of $3.8 million, or $0.12 per diluted share, in 2017. Adjusted EBITDA in 2018 was $1.3 million, compared to $778,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017 and $5.0 million in 2017.
Business Outlook
Pixelworks expects revenue to be between $18.0 million and $19.0 million for the second quarter of 2018. Additional guidance will be provided as part of the Company’s earnings conference call.
On April 27, 2018, Pixelworks’ Board of Directors approved a restructuring plan to further streamline the Company’s operations and increase efficiencies in certain areas of the business. The Company expects this restructuring to be substantially completed by the end of the third quarter ending September 30, 2018, and anticipates related charges totaling approximately $2.0 million to be recorded during the second and third quarters of 2018.
Conference Call Information
Pixelworks will host a conference call today, May 2, 2018, at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Time, which can be accessed by calling 877-359-9508 and using passcode 5398377. A Web broadcast of the call can be accessed by visiting the Company's investor page at www.pixelworks.com . For those unable to listen to the live Web broadcast, it will be archived for approximately 30 days. A replay of the conference call will also be available through Thursday, May 10, 2018, and can be accessed by calling 855-859-2056 and using passcode 5398377.
About Pixelworks, Inc.
Pixelworks creates, develops and markets high efficiency visual display processing and advanced video delivery solutions for the highest quality display and streaming applications. The Company’s 20 year history of Image Processing innovation has yielded 500+ patents covering Display Processing and Video Delivery. The Company is headquartered in San Jose, CA. For more information, please visit the Company’s web site at www.pixelworks.com .
Note: Pixelworks and the Pixelworks logo are registered trademarks of Pixelworks, Inc.
This earnings release makes reference to non-GAAP gross profit margins, non-GAAP operating expenses, non-GAAP net income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) per share, which exclude amortization of deferred revenue fair value adjustment, inventory step-up and backlog amortization, amortization of acquired intangible assets, acquisition and integration related costs, stock-based compensation expense, restructuring expenses, fair value adjustment on convertible debt conversion option, discount accretion on convertible debt fair value, gain on extinguishment of convertible debt and a tax benefit associated with new tax treatment under the tax reform, which are all required under GAAP as well as the tax effect of the non-GAAP adjustments. The press release also makes reference to and reconciles GAAP net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA, which Pixelworks defines as GAAP net income (loss) before interest expense and other, net, income tax provision, depreciation and amortization, as well as the specific items listed above.
Pixelworks management uses these non- internally to understand, manage and evaluate the business and establish its operational goals, review its operations on a period to period basis, for compensation evaluations, to measure performance, and for budgeting and resource allocation. Pixelworks management believes it is useful for the Company and investors to review, as applicable, both GAAP information and non- to help assess the performance of Pixelworks’ continuing businesses and to evaluate Pixelworks’ future prospects. These non-GAAP measures, when reviewed together with the GAAP financial information, provide additional transparency and information for comparison and analysis of operating performance and trends. These non-GAAP measures exclude certain items to facilitate management’s review of the comparability of our core operating results on a period to period basis.
In calculating the above non-GAAP results, management specifically adjusted for certain items related to the acquisition of ViXS Systems, Inc., including amortization of acquired intangible assets, impact of inventory step up and deferred revenue both related to fair valuing the items, acquisition and integration related costs such as accounting and legal fees and CEO severance, restructuring expenses related to a reduction in workforce, accretion on convertible debt of ViXS fair value adjustments on embedded derivative features of such convertible debt and extinguishment of such convertible debt. Management considers these items as either limited in term or having no impact on Pixelworks’ cash flows, and therefore has excluded such items to facilitate a review of current operating performance and comparisons to our past operating performance.
Because the Company’s non- are not calculated in accordance with GAAP, they may not necessarily be comparable to similarly titled measures employed by other companies. These non- should not be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the comparable GAAP measures, and should be read only in conjunction with the Company’s consolidated financial results as presented in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation between GAAP and non- is included in this earnings release which is available in the investor relations section of the Pixelworks' website.
Safe Harbor Statement
This release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements may be identified by use of terms such as “begin,” “continue,” “will,” “expect”, “believe,” “anticipate” and similar terms or the negative of such terms, and include, without limitation, statements about the Company’s digital projection, mobile and OTA businesses, including market movement and demand, customer engagements, and growth in the mobile and video delivery markets, synergies and additional guidance. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements for purposes of this release, including any projections of revenue or other financial items or any statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. Such statements are based on management's current expectations, estimates and projections about the Company's business. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Actual results could vary materially from those contained in forward looking statements due to many factors, including, without limitation: whether the Company will be able to implement the restructuring program as planned, whether the expected amount of the costs associated with the restructuring program will differ from or exceed the Company's estimates and whether the Company will be able to realize the full amount of estimated savings from the restructuring program or within the timeframe expected; our ability to execute on our strategy, including the integration of ViXS; competitive factors, such as rival chip architectures, introduction or traction by competing designs, or pricing pressures; the success of our products in expanded markets; current global economic challenges; changes in the digital display and projection markets; seasonality in the consumer electronics market; our efforts to achieve profitability from operations; our limited financial resources and our ability to attract and retain key personnel. More information regarding potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results and could cause actual results to those discussed in the forward-looking statements is included from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 as well as subsequent SEC filings.
The forward-looking statements contained in this release speak as of the date of this release, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
[Financial Tables Follow]
PIXELWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2018 2017 2017 Revenue, net (1) $ 15,292 $ 18,448 $ 22,710 Cost of revenue (2) 7,490 9,288 10,318 Gross profit 7,802 9,160 12,392 Operating expenses: Research and development (3) 4,463 6,695 4,906 Selling, general and administrative (4) 4,614 5,068 4,139 Restructuring 19 439 — Total operating expenses 9,096 12,202 9,045 Income (loss) from operations (1,294 ) (3,042 ) 3,347 Interest income (expense) and other, net (5) 972 (919 ) (93 ) Income (loss) before income taxes (322 ) (3,961 ) 3,254 Provision (benefit) for income taxes (6) 276 (409 ) 433 Net income (loss) $ (598 ) $ (3,552 ) $ 2,821 Net income (loss) per share: Basic $ (0.02 ) $ (0.10 ) $ 0.10 Diluted $ (0.02 ) $ (0.10 ) $ 0.09 Weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 35,183 34,359 29,283 Diluted 35,183 34,359 31,146 (1) Includes deferred revenue fair value adjustment $ — $ 68 $ — (2) Includes: Amortization of acquired intangible assets 298 298 — Inventory step-up and backlog amortization 122 949 — Stock-based compensation 66 64 53 (3) Includes stock-based compensation 595 527 314 (4) Includes: Stock-based compensation 539 556 422 Amortization of acquired intangible assets 101 101 — Acquisition and integration — (45 ) — (5) Includes: Gain on debt extinguishment (1,272 ) (29 ) — Discount accretion on convertible debt fair value 69 124 — Fair value adjustment on convertible debt conversion option — 621 — (6) Includes benefit related to tax reform — (343 ) —
PIXELWORKS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION *
(In thousands, except per share data)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2018 2017 2017 Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP gross profit GAAP gross profit $ 7,802 $ 9,160 $ 12,392 Amortization of acquired intangible assets 298 298 — Inventory step-up and backlog amortization 122 949 — Stock-based compensation 66 64 53 Deferred revenue fair value adjustment — 68 — Total reconciling items included in gross profit 486 1,379 53 Non-GAAP gross profit $ 8,288 $ 10,539 $ 12,445 Non-GAAP gross profit margin 54.2 % 56.9 % 54.8 % Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP operating expenses GAAP operating expenses $ 9,096 $ 12,202 $ 9,045 Reconciling item included in research and development: Stock-based compensation 595 527 314 Reconciling items included in selling, general and administrative: Stock-based compensation 539 556 422 Amortization of acquired intangible assets 101 101 — Acquisition and integration — (45 ) — Restructuring 19 439 — Total reconciling items included in operating expenses 1,254 1,578 736 Non-GAAP operating expenses $ 7,842 $ 10,624 $ 8,309 Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP net income (loss) GAAP net income (loss) $ (598 ) $ (3,552 ) $ 2,821 Reconciling items included in gross profit 486 1,379 53 Reconciling items included in operating expenses 1,254 1,578 736 Reconciling items included in interest expense and other, net (1,203 ) 716 — Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments 99 (157 ) 155 Benefit related to tax reform — (343 ) — Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 38 $ (379 ) $ 3,765 Non-GAAP net income (loss) per share: Basic $ 0.00 $ (0.01 ) $ 0.13 Diluted $ 0.00 $ (0.01 ) $ 0.12 Non-GAAP weighted average shares outstanding: Basic 35,183 34,359 29,283 Diluted 37,306 34,359 31,146 *Set forth above are reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The non-GAAP financial measure disclosed by the company has limitations and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the reconciliations from GAAP to Non-GAAP actuals should be carefully evaluated. Please refer to " ” in this document for an explanation of the adjustments made to the comparable GAAP measures, the ways management uses the non-GAAP measures, and the reasons why management believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors.
PIXELWORKS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE *
(Figures may not sum due to rounding)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2018 2017 2017
Dollars per share Dollars per share Dollars per share Basic Diluted Basic Diluted Basic Diluted Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP net income (loss) GAAP net income (loss) $ (0.02 ) $ (0.02 ) $ (0.10 ) $ (0.10 ) $ 0.10 $ 0.09 Reconciling items included in gross profit 0.01 0.01 0.04 0.04 — — Reconciling items included in operating expenses 0.04 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.03 0.02 Reconciling items included in interest expense and other, net (0.03 ) (0.03 ) 0.02 0.02 — — Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments — — — — 0.01 — Benefit related to tax reform — — (0.01 ) (0.01 ) — — Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 0.00 $ 0.00 $ (0.01 ) $ (0.01 ) $ 0.13 $ 0.12 *Set forth above are reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The non-GAAP financial measure disclosed by the company has limitations and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the reconciliations from GAAP to Non-GAAP actuals should be carefully evaluated. Please refer to " ” in this document for an explanation of the adjustments made to the comparable GAAP measures, the ways management uses the non-GAAP measures, and the reasons why management believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors.
PIXELWORKS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP GROSS PROFIT MARGIN *
(Figures may not sum due to rounding)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2018 2017 2017 Reconciliation of GAAP and non-GAAP gross profit margin GAAP gross profit margin 51.0 % 49.7 % 54.6 % Amortization of acquired intangible assets 1.9 % 1.6 % — % Inventory step-up and backlog amortization 0.8 % 5.1 % — % Stock-based compensation 0.4 % 0.3 % 0.2 % Amortization of deferred revenue fair value adjustment 0.0 % 0.4 % — % Total reconciling items included in gross profit 3.2 % 7.4 % 0.2 % Non-GAAP gross profit margin 54.2 % 56.9 % 54.8 % *Set forth above are reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The non-GAAP financial measure disclosed by the company has limitations and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the reconciliations from GAAP to Non-GAAP actuals should be carefully evaluated. Please refer to " ” in this document for an explanation of the adjustments made to the comparable GAAP measures, the ways management uses the non-GAAP measures, and the reasons why management believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors.
PIXELWORKS, INC.
RECONCILIATION OF GAAP AND NON-GAAP FINANCIAL INFORMATION *
(In thousands)
(Unaudited) Three Months Ended March 31, December 31, March 31, 2018 2017 2017 Reconciliation of GAAP net income (loss) and adjusted EBITDA GAAP net income (loss) $ (598 ) $ (3,552 ) $ 2,821 Gain on debt extinguishment (1,272 ) (29 ) — Stock-based compensation 1,200 1,147 789 Amortization of acquired intangible assets 399 399 — Tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments 99 (157 ) 155 Inventory step-up and backlog amortization 122 949 — Discount accretion on convertible debt fair value 69 124 — Restructuring 19 439 — Fair value adjustment on convertible debt conversion option — 621 — Benefit related to tax reform — (343 ) — Amortization of deferred revenue fair value adjustment — 68 — Acquisition and integration — (45 ) — Non-GAAP net income (loss) $ 38 $ (379 ) $ 3,765 EBITDA adjustments: Depreciation and amortization $ 826 $ 863 $ 839 Interest expense and other, net 231 203 93 Non-GAAP provision for income taxes 177 91 278 Adjusted EBITDA $ 1,272 $ 778 $ 4,975 *Set forth above are reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measure to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure. The non-GAAP financial measure disclosed by the company has limitations and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial measure prepared in accordance with GAAP, and the reconciliations from GAAP to Non-GAAP actuals should be carefully evaluated. Please refer to " ” in this document for an explanation of the adjustments made to the comparable GAAP measures, the ways management uses the non-GAAP measures, and the reasons why management believes the non-GAAP measures provide useful information for investors.
PIXELWORKS, INC.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited) March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 ASSETS Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 20,611 $ 27,523 Accounts receivable, net 4,451 4,640 Inventories 2,589 2,846 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 3,736 1,328 Total current assets 31,387 36,337 Property and equipment, net 5,871 5,605 Other assets, net 1,341 1,338 Acquired intangible assets, net 5,457 5,856 Goodwill 18,407 18,407 Total assets $ 62,463 $ 67,543 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY Current liabilities: Accounts payable $ 3,092 $ 1,436 Accrued liabilities and current portion of long-term liabilities 12,574 16,387 Current portion of income taxes payable 355 445 16,021 18,268 Long-term liabilities, net of current portion 1,173 1,487 Income taxes payable, net of current portion 2,353 2,282 Convertible debt — 6,069 Total liabilities 19,547 28,106 Shareholders’ equity 42,916 39,437 Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity $ 62,463 $ 67,543 Contacts:
Investor Contact
Shelton Group
Brett Perry
P: +1-214-272-0070
E: [email protected]
Company Contact
Pixelworks, Inc.
Steven Moore
P: +1-408-200-9221
E: [email protected]
Source:Pixelworks, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/02/globe-newswire-pixelworks-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Medical device firm Attune Medical has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for new models of its EnsoETM TM targeted temperature management device to raise or maintain patient temperature with Cincinnati Sub-Zero’s Norm-O-Temp ® Hyperthermia System . This is the company’s first clearance specifically focused on the warming application to combat patient hypothermia.
Two models of the EnsoETM, which manages patient temperature through the esophagus, are included in the clearance: EnsoETM with ENFit, which allows for enteral fluid administration through the device, and the original EnsoETM.
The EnsoETM (formerly Esophageal Cooling Device or ECD) is designed to modulate and control patient temperature through a single-use, fully-enclosed system that is inserted into the esophagus. Two lumens attach to an external heat exchange unit while a third, independent, lumen simultaneously allows gastric decompression and drainage, as well as the administration of enteral fluids such as tube feeds and medications in some models. The EnsoETM can be rapidly placed by most trained healthcare professionals, in similar fashion to a standard gastric tube, and can be used to control patient temperature in the operating room, recovery room, emergency room, and/or intensive care unit. No other products on the market are cleared for use in the esophageal environment for whole-body temperature modulation.
Attune’s Vice President of Clinical and Field Operations Maria Gray, MA, RN, commented, “This new FDA clearance for use of our EnsoETM with the Norm-O-Temp will specifically serve to offer surgeons and anesthesiologists another option to counteract hypothermia in the OR for the longest and most complex cases. With a broadening interest in temperature management, and increased needs in the operating room, we are addressing the importance of warming patients to avoid complications like increased blood loss, post-operative infections, and prolonged length of stay.”
Formerly known as Advanced Cooling Therapy, Attune Medical has developed proprietary medical device technology that simplifies access to the patient’s core to efficiently control core temperature. Whether warming or cooling, the company’s technology platform optimizes, or “tunes”, patient temperature safely and effectively.
Attune Medical (as Advanced Cooling Therapy) received US FDA de novo clearance for the EnsoETM (Esophageal Cooling Device or ECD) in 2015 for use with the Medi-Therm III by Stryker ® . The company received FDA 510(k) clearance in 2016 for use with the Blanketrol ® II and III Hyper-Hypothermia systems made by Cincinnati Sub-Zero, a Gentherm Company, and FDA 510(k) clearance for use with the Altrix System by Stryker ® in 2017. The EnsoETM model for use with enteral feeding was cleared by the FDA in January 2018. It received its CE Mark in Europe in 2014, with an expanded indication for use up to 120 hours in 2016 and a CE Mark for use with the Altrix System by Stryker ® in 2017. It is also licensed for sale in Canada and Australia.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180522005131/en/
for Attune Medical
Lisa Owens, 210-601-6647
[email protected]
Source: Attune Medical | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/business-wire-breakthrough-start-up-attune-medical-receives-fda-clearance-for-use-of-ensoetmtm-to-warm-patients-with-cincinnati-sub-zeroas.html |
RODRIGUEZ LIVE FIRE COMPLEX, South Korea—Fifteen miles south of the demilitarized zone, a U.S. tank battalion is preparing for the possibility that the detente on the Korean Peninsula doesn’t last.
In heavy rain last week, the men steered an Abrams tank equipped with a mine plow through a muddy field that resembles conditions at the border, then steered another across a makeshift bridge.
About... RELATED VIDEO What Could Go Wrong at a Trump-Kim Summit? A meeting between President Donald Trump and North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un could be a diplomatic breakthrough, but both men are nothing if not unpredictable. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/as-u-s-and-north-korea-talk-peace-soldiers-prepare-for-the-alternative-1526031004 |
Rookie left-hander Eric Lauer shut out the Dodgers over six innings to earn his first major league win, and Eric Hosmer hit his second two-run homer in as many games Sunday afternoon as the San Diego Padres defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-0 in the rubber match of their three-game series in Monterrey, Mexico.
Lauer (1-1) allowed seven hits and a walk with five strikeouts, lowering his ERA from 10.13 to 5.79 in his third big league start.
Relievers Craig Stammen, Kirby Yates and Brad Hand completed the Padres’ first shutout of the season, with Hand striking out the side in a perfect ninth. The save was Hand’s ninth of the season and second in as many games in the Mexico series.
The shutout was as much as case of missed opportunities for the Dodgers as dominance by Padres pitchers. Los Angeles stranded runners in each of the first eight innings and went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving a total of 13 runners on base.
Ross Stripling made the spot start for the Dodgers on the same day staff ace Clayton Kershaw (left biceps tendinitis) was placed on the 10-day disabled list. A late substitution for scheduled starter Rich Hill (finger), Stripling held the Padres scoreless on three hits and two walks with five strikeouts in four innings.
However, the Padres got to the Dodgers’ bullpen.
Travis Jankowski greeted left-handed reliever Tony Cingrani — who was a part of the Dodgers’ four-pitcher no-hitter in the series opener Friday night — with a fifth-inning single, and Hosmer followed with his fifth homer of the season and third in five games.
The Padres added a run in the seventh. Jankowski opened the inning against Pedro Baez with his second triple in as many games. He scored on Franchy Cordero’s third single of the game — a liner to center off Yimi Garcia.
There were a total of 22 stranded runners in the game with Cordero having the game’s only hit with runners in scoring position.
—Field Level Media
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/baseball-mlb-sd-lad-recap/lauer-padres-blank-dodgers-to-win-mexico-series-idUSMTZEE57BYRYSC |
May 4 (Reuters) - Macquarie Group Ltd:
* AS AT MARCH 31, BANK CET1 RATIO 11.0% * GROUP’S RESULT FOR FY19 IS CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO BE BROADLY IN LINE WITH FY18
* MACQUARIE’S SHARE BUYBACK PROGRAM REMAINS IN PLACE * INTENDS TO REDEEM MACQUARIE GROUP CAPITAL NOTES (MCN) $600 MILLION HYBRID IN JUNE 2018
* INTENDS TO BUY SHARES TO SATISFY MEREP REQUIREMENTS OF APPROXIMATE VALUE $460 MILLION; BUYING PERIOD FOR MEREP WILL START ON MAY 14
* OFFER OF MACQUARIE GROUP CAPITAL NOTES 3 HYBRID SECURITIES WILL BE LAUNCHED SHORTLY
* UNDER SHARE BUYBACK, NO BUYING OCCURRED DURING 2H18 Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-macquarie-group-ltd-says-bank-cet1/brief-macquarie-group-ltd-says-bank-cet1-ratio-11-0-as-at-march-31-idUSFWN1SA1GU |
Here are some of the companies with shares expected to trade actively in Thursday’s session. Stock movements reflect premarket trading. —Down 0.2%: A U.S. transportation-safety agency said it would begin examining the fiery crash of a Tesla Model S car that killed two teenagers in Florida Tuesday evening, marking the fourth active federal probe involving the company’s vehicles. —Down Consumer Inflation Pressures Are Still Modest Next Brexit & Beyond: A Question for the EU That Can No Longer Be Ducked | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://blogs.wsj.com/moneybeat/2018/05/10/stocks-to-watch-tesla-ford-fox-booking-holdings-qualcomm-nvidia-roku-wells-fargo-l-brands/ |
FRANKFURT, May 7 (Reuters) - Hannover Re said on Monday that net profit rose 3.3 percent in the first quarter and raised its guidance for 2018 gross premiums.
The increase in profit to 273.4 million euros ($326.74 million) is better than the 256 million euros that analysts had forecast in a Reuters poll.
$1 = 0.8368 euros Reporting by Tom Sims Editing by Maria Sheahan
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/hannover-re-results/hannover-re-reports-rise-in-q1-profit-raises-gross-premiums-guidance-idUSFWN1SD04U |
May 26, 2018 / 3:36 PM / Updated 2 hours ago Greek Tsitsipas aiming to continue rise in Paris Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - Beware a Greek bearing a backhand from the Gods. FILE PHOTO: Tennis - ATP - Monte Carlo Masters - Monte-Carlo Country Club, Monte Carlo, Monaco - April 16, 2018 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece celebrates winning his first round match against Canada’s Denis Shapovalov REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/File Photo
Stefanos Tsitsipas most probably will not win the French Open this year but such have been the strides he has made the 19-year-old could be a dangerous floater in the men’s draw.
A year ago the Athenian was ranked 205th but arrived at Roland Garros as the world number 40.
The first Greek player to reach the ATP’s top 100 he made everyone sit up and take notice in April when he became the first from his country for 45 years to contest an ATP Tour final, losing to Rafa Nadal in Barcelona.
On the way he beat then world number seven Dominic Thiem and Spanish claycourt specialist Pablo Carreno Busta.
A week later he beat then world number eight Kevin Anderson on the way to the semi-finals in Estoril.
So there will be plenty of attention on him next week in his fourth Grand Slam main draw appearance.
Should he beat Spanish qualifier Carlos Taberner and record a first grand slam win it could set up the standout match of the second round — against Austrian Thiem, the only man to beat Nadal on clay in the past 12 months.
Former French Open champion Jim Courier, working as a commentator for ITV, will be having a word with his producer to make sure he is calling that potential clash.
“He is really talented, a great flowing backhand and he’s about six foot three so he’s about the perfect build for the modern game, and he played awfully well in Barcelona,” Courier told Reuters by telephone.
“He has a tough draw with Thiem second round. He’s a danger for sure though even if Thiem is such a physical player. I hope I get to call that match if they get there.”
Tsitsipas’s rise has sparked a wave of interest in tennis in Greece with the teenager saying “it has gone viral”.
“Many people were talking about it and I had plenty of interviews that I did on big channels in Greece for big media centres. It got people’s attention,” he said recently.
“There were some politicians who congratulated me, so I was very happy I got so much attention. It makes me motivated to do even better in the future, and become even more popular. I hope to inspire more people to play tennis in Greece.”
Tsitsipas’s easy-on-the-eye style, especially a stylish backhand he can hit with searing pace, has helped him push into the Next Gen of players who are expected to take the men’s game into the future — the likes of world number three Alexander Zverev, Denis Shapovalov and Chung Hyeon.
He beat Shapovalov in Monte Carlo this year — a result that sparked his claycourt season.
“I have done big improvements since last year,” Tsitsipas, who trains at the Mouratoglou Academy in France, said. “I have maybe stepped into another level.” Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tennis-frenchopen-tsitsipas/greek-tsitsipas-aiming-to-continue-rise-in-paris-idUKKCN1IR0IJ |
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran and other self-made millionaires and billionaires didn't simply happen upon success. They made smart decisions and investments along the way, all of which helped them build wealth and which could help you, too.
There are no guarantees that these investments will make you rich. Still, according to people with experience, here are five of the smartest things you can do with your money.
Warren Buffett: Invest in companies you know If you're investing your money in the stock market, "never invest in a business you cannot understand," says the self-made billionaire and investing legend .
Stick with companies and industries you're familiar with because, at the end of the day, "risk comes from not knowing what you're doing," Buffett says.
show chapters Warren Buffett's secret to investing lays in the game of baseball 2:26 PM ET Thu, 2 Feb 2017 | 00:48 Barbara Corcoran: Invest in your wardrobe When the real estate queen rented her first apartment in 1973, she collected a $360 commission check, ran over to Bergdorf Goodman and "blew it on a new coat," she says . "It was the smartest thing I could have done with the money because, in it, I felt powerful."
Corcoran, who now stars on ABC's "Shark Tank," was onto something. As research shows , dressing for success can work: When employees wear nicer clothes, they can be more likely to achieve more.
show chapters How Barbara Corcoran made $66 million in 2001 8:27 AM ET Fri, 9 March 2018 | 01:33 David Bach: Invest in a home The self-made millionaire and personal finance expert says buying a home is an escalator to wealth .
What's more, "if millennials don't buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none," Bach says . "The average homeowner to this day is 38 times wealthier than a renter."
show chapters Millennials are making a big mistake by not owning their homes, says one financial expert 12:22 PM ET Mon, 24 April 2017 | 00:49 Richard Branson: Invest in your relationships "The key to success in business is all about people, people, people," the billionaire entrepreneur writes on his blog. "It should go without saying, if you look after your people, your customers and bottom line will be rewarded too."
In fact, "the most important skills I had to learn to be successful were people skills," 67-year-old tells CNBC Make It . As for how to develop solid interpersonal skills, paying attention and being a great listener are key.
show chapters Richard Branson: This is the most important skill to be successful 9:39 AM ET Thu, 19 Oct 2017 | 00:52 Mark Cuban: Invest in yourself by paying off debt The best investment anyone can make is "paying off your credit cards," says the self-made billionaire . "Paying off whatever debt you have."
The money saved on interest by not having debt is better than any return you could get by investing your money, he says: "Whatever interest rate you have — it might be a student loan with a 7 percent interest rate — if you pay off that loan, you're making 7 percent. That's your immediate return, which is a lot safer than trying to pick a stock or trying to pick real estate, or whatever it may be."
This is an update of a previously published story.
Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook !
Don't miss: Warren Buffett and Mark Cuban agree: Avoid debt at all costs
show chapters Why Mark Cuban and other famous people don't use credit cards 10:18 AM ET Fri, 26 May 2017 | 00:58 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/11/mark-cuban-warren-buffett-and-others-share-smart-ways-to-grow-money.html |
May 2 (Reuters) - XPO Logistics Inc:
* QTRLY EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.50; QTRLY ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.61; QTRLY REVENUE $4.19 BILLION VERSUS $3.54 BILLION
* SAYS REAFFIRMED FY 2018 TARGET FOR ADJUSTED EBITDA OF AT LEAST $1.6 BILLION
* SAYS REAFFIRMED 2017–2018 TARGET FOR CUMULATIVE FREE CASH FLOW OF ABOUT $1 BILLION
* SAYS ON TRACK TO DELIVER ABOUT $625 MILLION OF FREE CASH FLOW IN 2018
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.51, REVENUE VIEW $3.92 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-xpo-logistics-qtrly-adjusted-earni/brief-xpo-logistics-qtrly-adjusted-earnings-per-share-0-61-idUSB8N1KP00C |
Philadelphia-based industry leader to provide integrated insurance solutions to broad spectrum of life sciences clients
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Matt Corcoran, one of the life sciences industry’s foremost insurance authorities, has joined Alliant as Vice President. The Philadelphia-based industry specialist will provide integrated insurance and risk management solutions to a broad spectrum of clients as Alliant continues to strengthen its presence within this key vertical.
“Matt will provide our team with a powerful combination of technical acumen and strategic thinking,” said Peter Arkley, President, Alliant Specialty. “His unmatched expertise provides us with the opportunity to offer clients across all areas of the life sciences industry a highly specialized approach designed for the complex and often unpredictable nature of their business.”
Throughout his career, Corcoran has gained extensive experience working with clients in a broad range of industry sectors, including pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, medical devices, contract manufacturing, and healthcare-related technology, as well as healthcare-focused venture capital and private equity firms.
Prior to joining Alliant, Corcoran was Emerging Life Sciences Leader within the Philadelphia office of a global insurance brokerage firm. There, he grew and serviced a diverse portfolio of clients with both national and international operations.
Corcoran is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. He can be reached in the Wayne, PA office of Alliant at (610) 635-3326 or at [email protected] .
About Alliant Insurance Services
Headquartered in Newport Beach, CA, Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. provides property and casualty, workers’ compensation, employee benefits, surety, and financial products and services to clients nationwide, including public entities, tribal nations, healthcare, energy, law firms, real estate, construction, and other industry groups. More information is available on the company’s website at www.alliant.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180510005230/en/
Alliant Insurance Services
Lynda Lane
Senior Vice President and Corporate Director
Marketing and Corporate Communications
(949) 260-5050
[email protected]
Source: Alliant Insurance Services, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/10/business-wire-life-sciences-specialist-matt-corcoran-joins-alliant.html |
MINNEAPOLIS (Reuters) - San Francisco Federal Reserve President John Williams said on Tuesday the Fed’s current statement and its description of loose monetary policy “served its purpose” through years of crisis recovery, but will have to be replaced with a new sense of how the Federal Open Market Committee looks at the economy and the path of policy.
“That language still works today,” Williams said. But as interest rates approach neutral, a point that could be reached this year or early next, “We will have to come up with something at some point...That will be a committee decision about how best to describe where money policy is positioned.”
Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Andrea Ricci
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-fed-williams-statement/feds-policy-language-served-its-purpose-will-need-revisit-williams-idUSKCN1IG2YQ |
May 31, 2018 / 9:16 AM / Updated an hour ago Bearish bets piling up on most Asian currencies as risk sentiment sours: Reuters poll Nikhil Nainan 4 Min Read
(Reuters) - Investors increased bearish bets on most Asian currencies in the past two weeks, with short positions on the Philippine peso at the highest since 2008, as rising oil prices and turmoil in Italy dampened appetite for riskier assets, a Reuters poll showed. FILE PHOTO: A Philippines Peso note is seen in this picture illustration June 2, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas White/Illustration/File Photo
Sentiment was further hurt by renewed trade tensions between the world’s two biggest economic superpowers, the United States and China, which could inflict collateral damage on other Asian economies.
Bearish bets on the Philippine peso rose to their highest since October 2008, the poll of 9 respondents showed.
The peso has been one the region’s worst performers and looks set to come under further pressure following the central bank’s decision to cut its banks’ required reserves by one percentage point last week.
The move is expected to add to inflationary pressures from higher fuel and rice prices, which prompted the central bank to raise policy rates for the first time in three years earlier this month. Some economists expect another rate hike in June.
Short positions on the Indian rupee rose to their highest since August 2013, even though the Reserve Bank of India is also seen turning hawkish.
Most analysts in a separate Reuters poll expect the central bank to hike rates in August on concerns that already above-target inflation will climb further.
Short positions in the Indonesian rupiah increased slightly, hitting their highest since October 2015, despite two rate hikes by its central bank in two weeks to shore up the faltering rupiah.
The rupiah was among the worst hit among Asian assets as rising U.S. bond yields and a firmer dollar sparked capital flight from many emerging economies.
The rupiah strengthened 0.8 percent on Thursday after Bank Indonesia raised the benchmark rate by 25 basis points in an out-of-cycle policy meeting on May 30, as expected. That followed a hike earlier this month and pushed the key rate to 4.75 percent.
Though both the rupee and the rupiah have rebounded recently, helped by a reversal in oil prices and monetary intervention, policy tightening by their central banks risks curbing the countries’ economic growth.
Investors also upped their short positions on the Malaysian ringgit, after reversing bullish bets on the currency earlier this month following the opposition’s shock election victory. Many market players are concerned over the impact of the new government’s promises on the country’s fiscal position.
Investors also trimmed their long positions on the Chinese yuan amid conflicting signs over whether Beijing and Washington were making progress in talks to avoid a full-blown trade war.
After an apparent thaw following negotiations in mid-May, tensions flared again this week after the White House said it would press ahead with tariffs and restrictions on Chinese companies, triggering a warning from Beijing that it is ready to fight back.
“The re-ignition of the Sino-U.S. trade tensions will also dampen risk sentiments going forward,” OCBC Bank said in a note on May 30.
The yuan is on track to fall 1.2 percent against the dollar in May, its worst month since November 2016.
The Asian currency positioning poll is focused on what analysts and fund managers believe are the current market positions in nine Asian emerging market currencies: the Chinese yuan, South Korean won, Singapore dollar, Indonesian rupiah, Taiwan dollar, Indian rupee, Philippine peso, Malaysian ringgit and the Thai baht.
The poll uses estimates of net long or short positions on a scale of minus 3 to plus 3. A score of plus 3 indicates the market is significantly long U.S. dollars. The figures include positions held through non-deliverable forwards (NDFs). Reporting by Nikhil Kurian Nainan; Additional reporting by Susan Mathew in Bengaluru; Editing by Kim Coghill | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/asia-forex-emerging/bearish-bets-piling-up-on-most-asian-currencies-as-risk-sentiment-sours-reuters-poll-idINKCN1IW0Z2 |
April 30 (Reuters) - Revive Therapeutics Ltd:
* REVIVE THERAPEUTICS ANNOUNCES EXCLUSIVE LICENSE AGREEMENT WITH WISCONSIN ALUMNI RESEARCH FOUNDATION FOR CANNABINOID DELIVERY TECHNOLOGY Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-revive-therapeutics-announces-excl/brief-revive-therapeutics-announces-exclusive-license-agreement-with-wisconsin-alumni-research-foundation-for-cannabinoid-delivery-technology-idUSFWN1S70NQ |
May 2, 2018 / 11:21 AM / Updated 19 minutes ago Yum comparable sales miss estimates as Pizza Hut, KFC disappoint Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Fast food restaurants operator Yum Brands Inc’s ( YUM.N ) sales at established outlets fell well short of Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, as fewer diners visited Pizza Hut and KFC than expected. FILE PHOTO: A Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) logo is pictured on a sign in North Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. April 6, 2017. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Worldwide sales at Yum’s restaurants open for at least a year rose 1 percent in the three months ended March 31, while analysts had expected a 2 percent increase, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Same-store sales at KFC and Pizza Hut also missed expectations.
The results come as U.S. fast food chains including Yum Brands and McDonald’s Corp ( MCD.N ) are competing fiercely for customers’ loyalty with dollar menus, discounts and new breakfast items.
Yum said total revenue fell 3 percent to $1.37 billion (1 billion pounds) but topped estimates of $1.09 billion, thanks to stronger sales at Taco Bell.
Yum’s net income rose to $433 million or $1.27 per share in the first quarter, from $280 million or 77 cents per share a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Yum earned 90 cents per share.
Yum’s shares fell about 1 percent in premarket trading on Wednesday. Reporting by Aishwarya Venugopal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-yum-brands-results/yum-brands-comparable-sales-miss-estimates-idUKKBN1I31EP |
BERLIN, May 8 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump’s new ambassador to Germany, Richard Grenell, said on Twitter that German firms operating in Iran should halt activities there immediately after Trump announced the United States was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal.
Grenell posted on Twitter shortly after Trump said he would immediately reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran, saying, “US sanctions will target critical sectors of Iran’s economy.”
He added: “German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.” (Reporting by Michelle Martin Editing by Andrea Shalal)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/iran-nuclear-germany-grenell/german-firms-should-wind-down-iran-operations-immediately-u-s-envoy-idUSS8N1RX001 |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday floated a plan to fine ZTE Corp ( 000063.SZ ) ( 0763.HK ) and shake up its management as his administration considered rolling back more severe penalties that have crippled the Chinese telecommunications company.
People stand at ZTE's booth during Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 27, 2017. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/Files Trump’s proposal ran into immediate resistance in Congress, where Republicans and Democrats accused the president of bending to pressure from Beijing to ease up on a company that has admitted to violating sanctions on Iran.
Their reaction could complicate Trump’s efforts to win concessions from China that would narrow a $335 billion annual trade gap.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said U.S. technology companies have been hurt by an April Commerce Department decision that prohibits them from selling components to China’s second-largest telecommunications equipment maker. ZTE shut down most of its production after the ruling was announced.
“They can pay a big price without necessarily damaging all of these American companies,” Trump said.
Trump said ZTE may instead face a fine of up to $1.3 billion, new management and a new board of directors, though it was not clear whether he had the legal authority to impose new financial penalties.
Before Trump spoke, Republicans and Democrats in Congress were already taking action to prevent him from easing pressure on ZTE.
The Senate Banking Committee voted 23-2 to make it harder for the president to modify penalties on Chinese telecommunications firms. Lawmakers said they were examining other ways to prevent him from bending to Chinese demands, perhaps by attaching restrictions to a military bill or other must-pass legislation.
“Unfortunately, every time President Xi flatters our president, he seems to back off a tough deal,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, who accused Trump of jeopardizing national security for what he described as minor trade concessions.
Congress last year passed a law that required the administration to impose new sanctions on Russia, though similar action this year could be more difficult as the November elections draw near.
According to sources familiar with the discussions, a proposed trade deal with China would lift a seven-year ban that prevents U.S. chipmakers and other companies from selling components to ZTE, which makes smartphones and telecommunications networking gear.
In return, China would eliminate tariffs on U.S. agriculture or agree to buy more farm products from the United States.
Slideshow (3 Images) The U.S. Commerce Department imposed the ban in April after it determined that ZTE had broken an agreement after it pleaded guilty to shipping U.S. goods and technology to Iran.
The ban has threatened the viability of ZTE by cutting off access to companies that supply 25 percent to 30 percent of its components. Suppliers include some of the biggest U.S. tech companies, including Alphabet Inc’s ( GOOGL.O ) Google, which licenses its Android operating system to ZTE, and chipmaker Qualcomm Inc ( QCOM.O ).
The U.S. Department of Defense has also stopped selling ZTE’s mobile phones and modems in stores on its military bases, citing potential security risks.
NATIONAL SECURITY U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers that the treatment of ZTE was not “a quid pro quo or anything else” related to trade, and said national security concerns would be taken into consideration.
“I can assure you that whatever changes or decisions that are made in Commerce will deal with the national security issues,” Mnuchin told a U.S. Senate appropriations subcommittee.
Republican Senator Marco Rubio said he thought China had gotten the upper hand in recent negotiations on trade and North Korea denuclearization.
“China knows there are those in the administration that desperately want a deal,” he said.
The Republican-controlled House of Representatives is weighing several possible changes to a defense-policy bill that would also keep up the pressure on ZTE. One proposal would block the sale of ZTE products and those of another Chinese company, Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL], until national security officials certify they are safe.
Another proposal would require the director of national intelligence to consider the security implications of any changes to the ZTE ban, while a third would require reports on quid pro quo offers between the U.S. and Chinese governments over any possible plan.
One sanctions expert questioned whether Trump has the legal authority to impose new fines on ZTE, which agreed last year to pay $1.19 billion, including $890 million in fines and penalties, and an additional penalty of $300 million that could still be imposed.
“It looks like this is going to be a case where they’ll have some minor tweaks and declare a victory and move onto the next case,” said Washington lawyer Douglas Jacobson, who represents ZTE suppliers.
Additional reporting by Karen Freifeld, Amanda Becker, Richard Cowan, Susan Heavey, Doina Chiacu and David Lawder in Washington and Michael Martina in Beijing; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Chris Sanders, Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker
Advertise with Us | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-china/trump-floats-large-fine-management-changes-for-chinese-firm-zte-idINKCN1IN2I7 |
NEW YORK, May 18, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Standard Motor Products, Inc. (NYSE: SMP), an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the purchase of up to $20 million of its common stock under a stock repurchase program.
Stock will be purchased from time to time, in the open market or through private transactions, as market conditions warrant. The Company intends to fund the stock repurchase program through its revolving credit facility. The stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Any repurchased shares will be held as treasury stock and will be available for general corporate purposes, including funding existing equity compensation plans.
Under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Standard Motor Products cautions investors that any forward-looking statements made by the company, including those that may be made in this press release, are based on management's expectations at the time they are made, but they are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events or performance to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results, events or performance to differ materially from those risks and uncertainties discussed in this press release are those detailed from time-to-time in prior press releases and in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. By making these forward-looking statements, Standard Motor Products undertakes no obligation or intention to update these statements after the date of this release.
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/standard-motor-products-inc-announces-new-stock-repurchase-program-300650804.html
SOURCE Standard Motor Products, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/18/pr-newswire-standard-motor-products-inc-announces-new-stock-repurchase-program.html |
May 14 (Reuters) - Tidewater Inc:
* TIDEWATER REPORTS RESULTS FOR THE THREE MONTHS ENDED MARCH 31, 2018
* QUARTERLY LOSS PER SHARE $1.67 * QUARTERLY REVENUE $91.5 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-tidewater-quarterly-loss-per-share/brief-tidewater-quarterly-loss-per-share-1-67-idUSASC0A23S |
April 30, 2018 / 10:42 PM / Updated 14 hours ago Anxiety in middle age linked to dementia later Lisa Rapaport 3 Min Read
(Reuters Health) - People with moderate to severe anxiety in middle age may be more likely to develop dementia as they get older, a recent study suggests.
Researchers examined data from four previously published studies that tracked a total of almost 30,000 people for at least a decade. In each of the smaller studies, there was a clear connection between anxiety in midlife and dementia later on, researchers report in BMJ Open.
“If people are living with moderate to severe anxiety we would encourage them to seek help,” said senior study author Natalie Marchant of University College London in the UK.
“Therapies already exist that have been shown to be effective for treating anxiety (for example talking therapies and mindfulness-based interventions), and while we do not yet know whether they would also reduce risk of developing dementia, alleviation of anxiety symptoms and stress would be a definite benefit to (the) patient,” Marchant said by email.
The study wasn’t a controlled experiment designed to prove whether or how anxiety might directly contribute to the development of dementia. Researchers were also unable to formally pool all the data from the four smaller studies, so they couldn’t calculate the magnitude of the increased dementia risk associated with anxiety.
It’s possible dementia might follow an anxiety diagnosis in middle age because moderate to severe anxiety appears to increase stress hormones, and chronic elevation of these hormones may consequently damage brain regions such as those associated with memory, Marchant said.
Scientists don’t yet know whether treating anxiety, and thus reducing the chronic elevation of these hormones, would reduce risk for dementia, Marchant added.
Anxiety can also be a symptom of dementia, and that makes it difficult to firmly establish whether it’s also an independent risk factor for dementia, said Dr. Costantino Iadecola, director of the Feil Family Brain and Mind Research Institute at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City.
“Anxiety disorders need to be treated in their own right, independently of potential associations (causal or not) with cognitive impairment later in life,” Iadecola, who wasn’t involved in the study, said by email. “I would stress the importance of treating anxiety disorders as an essential step in maintaining mental health, not because of possible links to dementia, which remain unproven.”
The current study isn’t designed to explain how anxiety and dementia might be connected, Iadecola added.
“We cannot say with confidence that anxiety is a cause (risk factor), an early manifestation of the dementia, or only coincidentally associated with it,” Iadecola added.
SOURCE: bit.ly/2HCKWXP BMJ Open, online April 30, 2018. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-dementia-anxiety/anxiety-in-middle-age-linked-to-dementia-later-idUKKBN1I12D6 |
HONG KONG—More than a dozen technology companies from China are rushing to go public abroad , in an enticing opportunity for investors but one that has generated poor returns recently.
Shares of most Asian tech companies that have listed in New York and Hong Kong since the start of 2017 have notched lackluster performances, with the bulk trading below their initial public offering prices after strong early gains.
That could pose challenges for the many private Chinese tech companies hoping to take advantage of buoyant markets to go public. Together, these companies could sell at least $50 billion in new shares if they list in the coming months. The first will likely be smartphone maker Xiaomi Corp., which recently filed paperwork for a Hong Kong listing.
Mobile phones on display at a press conference by Xiaomi and CK Hutchison in Hong Kong on May 3. Xiaomi is hoping to raise at least $10 billion in what could be the world’s largest IPO since 2014. Photo: anthony wallace/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Xiaomi is hoping to raise at least $10 billion in what could be the world’s largest IPO since 2014 and is targeting a $70 billion to $80 billion valuation, people familiar with the matter previously told The Wall Street Journal . That is down from a previous goal of $100 billion .
Some bankers and deal advisers say Xiaomi’s coming share sale will serve as a bellwether for other tech unicorns, or private companies with valuations above $1 billion. If Xiaomi’s IPO and trading debut don’t go well, that might lead other companies to reconsider their timing and valuation targets.
“If you had asked me six months ago, I’d say ‘no problem’ for many of these companies looking to go public,” said Timothy Atwill, head of investment strategy at Seattle-based Parametric Portfolio Associates , which manages $14 billion in assets in China and other emerging markets. “Asia tech was very much in favor…but 2018 so far has been a very uneven return story.”
Some 16 Asian tech or internet companies have raised more than $100 million in IPOs in New York or Hong Kong since the start of 2017. Shares of 12 of them—which are mostly from China—are trading below their offering prices, according to data from Dealogic and FactSet.
The six Asian tech IPOs in Hong Kong are down 8.3% on average from their IPO prices through Friday’s closing, while the 10 that listed in New York are averaging a 9.6% decline. Their performance contrasts with newly listed companies broadly, which have chalked up average gains of 32% in Hong Kong and 22% in New York over the same period, Dealogic says.
Some Chinese tech IPOs have drawn high subscription rates, but that hasn’t always translated into outperformance after listing. Ping An Healthcare & Technology Co. , a unit of Chinese financial giant Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. of China Ltd. , had a weak trading debut earlier in May after raising $1.1 billion in a highly subscribed IPO in Hong Kong.
Shares of the company, which operates an online health platform called Good Doctor, fell as much as 8.9% below their IPO price in the first few days of trading before regaining ground. They traded at 54.70 Hong Kong dollars, or U.S.$6.97, through Friday, a hair below their IPO price of 54.80 Hong Kong dollars.
In another troubling sign, the largest IPO so far this year received a weak reception from investors last week. While not a tech company, insurer AXA Equitable Holdings Inc. priced its $2.75 billion stock sale well below expectations.
Investors are likely to be more cautious in the wake of those IPOs, market participants say.
Didi Chuxing employees outside a drivers’ center in Toluca, Mexico. Photo: carlos jasso/Reuters Besides Xiaomi, other highly valued private companies planning or discussing large IPOs later this year include music-streaming company Tencent Music Entertainment Group , ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing Technology Co. and online services platform Meituan-Dianping . All three companies were valued at more than $30 billion in recent fundraising transactions or private-market trades in their shares.
Company executives and bankers are optimistic that the markets can absorb a string of large tech IPOs this year, many of which are expected to trade at higher valuations than the recently minted public companies. Some say coming deals are likely to attract institutional investors looking for exposure to China from names expected to rival large global companies.
And it isn’t uncommon for shares of tech companies to recover strongly after a weak start. Shares of Facebook Inc., which went public at a valuation of $104 billion, sank over 50% from the IPO price before a multiyear surge that has taken the company’s valuation past $500 billion.
Shares of Chinese internet giants Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. TCEHY 0.42% doubled last year. They are both valued at around $500 billion, ranking among the world’s 10 largest public companies.
Some recent IPOs were done in a period of “global euphoria,” said a senior Hong Kong investment banker. That led to aggressive, unsustainable pricing, some market participants say.
China Literature Ltd. , a unit of Tencent and China’s largest online publishing website, has lost about one-third of its value after nearly doubling in its first trading day in November. It recently traded 28% above its IPO price.
Hong Kong-listed gaming firm Razer Inc. has dropped 46% from its opening day close. Yixin Group Ltd. , a Chinese online car retailer, is down 46% from its first-day close. Both are trading below their offer prices.
Shares of Chinese online lender Qudian Inc., which counts Alibaba as a backer, have lost more than half their value since the company went public in October, despite a 47% pop on its first trading day that valued it at over $9 billion at its peak. Shortly after Qudian’s IPO, Chinese authorities announced new regulatory curbs on online lenders that have weighed on it and other financial-technology stocks.
Write to Steven Russolillo at [email protected] and Julie Steinberg at [email protected] | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/soft-chinese-tech-ipos-test-next-wave-of-listings-1526290205 |
May 1 (Reuters) - Urban One Inc:
* URBAN ONE, INC. ANNOUNCES DEFINITIVE AGREEMENT TO SELL THE ASSETS OF WPZR-FM IN DETROIT
* DEAL FOR TOTAL CONSIDERATION OF $12.7 MILLION * TO GET 3 FM TRANSLATORS THAT SERVICE DETROIT METROPOLITAN AREA; SIGNALS WILL BE COMBINED WITH EXISTING FM TRANSLATOR TO MULTICAST DETROIT PRAISE NETWORK Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-urban-one-announces-definitive-agr/brief-urban-one-announces-definitive-agreement-to-sell-the-assets-of-wpzr-fm-in-detroit-idUSASC09YSU |
May 29, 2018 / 11:22 PM / Updated 23 minutes ago Reporter beaten to death in northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A journalist was beaten to death in the northeastern Mexican state of Tamaulipas on Tuesday, local prosecutors said, becoming the third reporter in Mexico to be killed in the past two weeks.
The body of Hector Gonzalez, a local correspondent for national daily newspaper Excelsior, was found in the state capital Ciudad Victoria, the Tamaulipas attorney general’s office said in a statement.
Gonzalez is at least the sixth journalist to be killed this year in Mexico, where violence has surged to record levels.
Mexico is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for reporters. Last year, 12 reporters were killed there, according to free-speech advocacy group Article 19.
Bordering Texas, Tamaulipas is one of the most lawless states in the country, and has long been ravaged by turf wars between gangs to control drug-trafficking and crime rackets. Another reporter was found dead in the state in January.
Local state prosecutors said they were still investigating what was behind the murder of Gonzalez, who covered security matters in Tamaulipas, among other subjects.
Murders reached a record high in Mexico in 2017, and there were more murders in the first four months of this year than in the same period last year, according to official data.
The spike in violence has battered the popularity of President Enrique Pena Nieto and fuelled support for leftist presidential hopeful Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who leads public opinion polls ahead of elections on July 1. Reporting by Lizbeth Diaz | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-mexico-violence/reporter-beaten-to-death-in-northern-mexican-state-of-tamaulipas-idUKKCN1IU2XA |
May 2, 2018 / 8:47 PM / Updated 7 hours ago Cricket-Langer named Australia coach Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
SYDNEY, May 3 (Reuters) - Justin Langer has been named as Australia’s head coach on a four-year contract, Cricket Australia said on Thursday.
Former opening batsman Langer replaced Darren Lehmann, who resigned after the test series in South Africa this year which was marred by a ball-tampering scandal.
Lehmann was not involved in the ball-tampering incident in the third test in Cape Town after which Australia captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner were banned from international cricket for a year.
The 47-year-old Langer played in 105 test matches and scored more than 7,500 runs, including 23 centuries
He has been head coach of Western Australia and the Perth Scorchers since November, 2012. (Reporting by Ed Osmond in London, Editing by Toby Davis) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/cricket-australia-langer/soccer-liverpool-reach-champions-league-final-despite-roma-defeat-idINL8N1S9631 |
MADRID, May 9 (Reuters) - The Spanish Constitutional Court has suspended a law that would have allowed the Catalan parliament to vote in former leader Carles Puigdemont as their regional head in absentia, a court spokesman said on Wednesday.
The law, passed last week in the Catalan parliament, will be suspended while judges consider whether the law breaches the country’s constitution.
The Spanish government earlier appealed the law, which would have allowed the former leader to be elected at a distance while he waits in Berlin for German courts to rule on a Spanish request to extradite him. (Reporting By Jesús Aguado; editing by Isla Binnie)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/spain-politics-catalonia-court/spains-constitutional-court-suspends-catalan-law-to-elect-puigdemont-idUSE8N1PR015 |
May 31, 2018 / 11:49 AM / Updated 8 hours ago Man who encouraged attack on Prince George admits terrorism charges Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - A British man, who suggested Islamist militants should target four-year-old Prince George - destined to be Britain’s future king - pleaded guilty to terrorism offences on Thursday. Husnain Rashid, who has pleaded guilty to terrorism offences relating to Britain's Prince George, is seen in this undated photograph issued by the Greater Manchester Police in Manchester, Britain, May 31, 2018. GMP/Handout via REUTERS
Husnain Rashid, 32, posted information on the Telegram messaging service to encourage jihadis to carry out attacks along with information to help them with possible targets such as soccer stadia.
Prosecutors said this included posting a picture of Prince George, son of Queen Elizabeth’s grandson Prince William and his wife Kate and third-in-line to the throne, next to a silhouette of a jihadi fighter.
The post included the address of his school in southwest London which he started attending last September and was accompanied with the caption “even the royal family will not be left alone”.
Rashid had initially denied the charges but during his trial at Woolwich Crown Court he changed his plea to guilty, admitting three counts of engaging in conduct in preparation for terrorism and one count of encouraging terrorism, police said.
He will be sentenced on June 28.
Prosecutors said posts by Rashid, from Nelson in northwest England, also included a street map of New York’s Sixth Avenue with the caption “New York Halloween Parade. Have you made your preparations? The Countdown begins.” Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Stephen Addison | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-security-princegeorge/man-who-encouraged-attack-on-prince-george-admits-terrorism-charges-idUKKCN1IW1JN |
May 8 (Reuters) - Intercept Pharmaceuticals Inc:
* INTERCEPT PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS, ISSUES 2018 OCALIVA NET SALES GUIDANCE AND PROVIDES BUSINESS UPDATE
* Q1 REVENUE $36 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $38.2 MILLION * 2018 WORLDWIDE OCALIVA NET SALES CURRENTLY EXPECTED TO BE BETWEEN $170 MILLION AND $185 MILLION
* INTERCEPT - CONFIRMING PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED 2018 NON-GAAP ADJUSTED. OPERATING. EXPENSES GUIDANCE RANGE OF BETWEEN $390 MILLION AND $410 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-intercept-pharmaceuticals-says-201/brief-intercept-pharmaceuticals-says-2018-worldwide-ocaliva-net-sales-currently-expected-to-be-between-170-mln-185-mln-idUSASC0A0F3 |
May 7 (Reuters) - Suzhou New District Hi-Tech Industrial Co Ltd :
* Says it will pay cash dividend of 0.145 yuan(before tax)/A share for 2017 to shareholders of record on May 10
* The company’s shares will be traded ex-right and ex-dividend on May 11 and the dividend will be paid on May 11
Source text in Chinese: goo.gl/yLAcss
(Beijing Headline News)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-suzhou-new-district-hi-tech-indust/brief-suzhou-new-district-hi-tech-industrial-to-pay-a-shares-div-for-fy-2017-on-may-11-idUSL3N1SE35Y |
We'll start taking people to space next year: Branson 10 Hours Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/30/well-start-taking-people-to-space-next-year-branson.html |
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — In a story April 24 about pecan growers, The Associated Press erroneously reported the size of a pecan farm near Granbury, Texas. It is 1,400 acres, not 14,000 acres.
A corrected version of the story is below:
US pecan growers seek to break out of the pie shell
The humble pecan is being rebranded as more than just pie
By EMILY SCHMALL
Associated Press
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The humble pecan is being rebranded as more than just pie.
Pecan growers and suppliers are hoping to sell U.S. consumers on the virtues of North America's only native nut as a hedge against a potential trade war with China, the pecan's largest export market.
The pecan industry is also trying to crack the fast-growing snack-food industry.
The retail value for packaged nuts, seeds and trail mix in the U.S. alone was $5.7 billion in 2012, and is forecast to rise to $7.5 billion by 2022, according to market researcher Euromonitor.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based American Pecan Council, formed in the wake of a new federal marketing order that allows the industry to band together and assess fees for research and promotion, is a half-century in the making, said Jim Anthony, 80, the owner of a 1,400-acre pecan farm near Granbury, Texas.
Anthony said that regional rivalries and turf wars across the 15-state pecan belt — stretching from the Carolinas to California — made such a union impossible until recently, when demand for pecans exploded in Asian markets.
Until 2007, most U.S. pecans were consumed domestically, according to Daniel Zedan, president of Nature's Finest Foods, a marketing group. By 2009, China was buying about a third of the U.S. crop.
The pecan is the only tree nut indigenous to North America, growers say. Sixteenth-century Spanish explore Cabeza de Vaca wrote about tasting the nut during his encounters with Native American tribes in South Texas. The name is French explorers' phonetic spelling of the native word "pakan," meaning hard-shelled nut.
Facing growing competition from pecan producers in South Africa, Mexico and Australia, U.S. producers are also riding the wave of the Trump Administration's policies to promote American-made goods.
Most American kids grow up with peanut butter but peanuts probably originated in South America. Almonds are native to Asia and pistachios to the Middle East. The pecan council is funding academic research to show that their nuts are just as nutritious.
The council on Wednesday will debut a new logo: "American Pecans: The Original Supernut."
Rodney Myers, who manages operations at Anthony's pecan farm, credits the pecan's growing cachet in China and elsewhere in Asia with its association to rustic Americana — "the oilfield, cowboys, the Wild West — they associate all these things with the North American nut," he said.
China earlier this month released a list of American products that could face tariffs in retaliation for proposed U.S. tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese goods. Fresh and dried nuts — including the pecan — could be slapped with a 15-percent tariff, according to the list. To counter that risk, the pecan council is using some of the $8 million in production-based assessments it's collected since the marketing order was passed to promote the versatility of the tree nut beyond pecan pie at Thanksgiving.
While Chinese demand pushed up prices it also drove away American consumers. By January 2013, prices had dropped 50 percent from their peak in 2011, according to Zedan.
U.S. growers and processers were finally able in 2016 to pass a marketing order to better control pecan production and prices.
Authorized by the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, federal marketing orders help producers and handlers standardize packaging, impose quality control and fund research, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees 28 other fruit, vegetable and specialty marketing orders, in addition to the pecan order.
Critics charge that the orders interfere with the price signals of a free, unfettered private market.
"What you've created instead is a government-sanctioned cartel," said Daren Bakst, an agricultural policy researcher at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Before the almond industry passed its own federal marketing order in 1950, fewer almonds than pecans were sold, according to pecan council chair Mike Adams, who cultivates 600 acres of pecan trees near Caldwell, Texas. Now, while almonds appear in everything from cereal to milk substitutes, Adams calls the pecan "the forgotten nut."
"We're so excited to have an identity, to break out of the pie shell," said Molly Willis, a member of the council who owns an 80-acre pecan farm in Albany, Georgia, a supplement to her husband's family's peanut-processing business. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/01/the-associated-press-correction-pecan-branding-story.html |
May 15, 2018 / 8:17 PM / Updated an hour ago Neymar to Real would be tough for Barcelona, says Messi Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - It would be a major blow to Barcelona if Neymar moved from Paris St Germain to Real Madrid, the Brazil striker’s ex-team mate Lionel Messi said on Tuesday. Soccer Football - Ligue 1 - Paris St Germain vs Stade Rennes - Parc des Princes, Paris, France - May 12, 2018 Paris Saint-Germain's Neymar and Kylian Mbappe celebrate winning Ligue 1 with the trophy REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
The Argentine, who won the Champions League and two of his La Liga titles with Neymar alongside him at Barcelona, said he had spoken to the Brazilian about rumours linking him with a return to Spain.
“It would be terrible, because of all that Ney means to Barcelona,” Messi told Argentina’s TyC Sports. “If he ends up at Real Madrid it would be a major blow to us. And on a footballing level Madrid would be much stronger than they already are.”
When asked if he had told the Brazilian not even to think about going to Madrid, a smiling Messi said: “He knows what I think, I’ve already told him!”
Neymar left Barcelona last August, becoming the world’s most expensive football player in a transfer that upset many Barcelona fans.
Yet media reports that he might leave the French capital and move to Madrid have been circulating for months, prompting the PSG chairman to declare earlier this week that Neymar will “2000 percent” be in Paris next season.
The Brazilian has refused to talk about the speculation and said he is concentrating on recovering from a foot injury in time for next month’s World Cup.
Messi, the five-times World Player of the Year, said he was looking forward to the tournament in Russia and was targeting at least a semi-final place with Argentina.
Beaten finalists four years ago in Brazil, Argentina have not won a major international title since 1993 when they lifted the Copa America.
They reached the final of the same tournament in 2015 and 2016 but lost both times and Messi said the successive failures weighed heavily.
“It’s a weight that we carry and we want to overcome it,” he said.
Argentina kick off their World Cup campaign against Iceland on June 16 and then face Nigeria and Croatia.
They have struggled under coach Jorge Sampaoli, who took over last year and has won just five of his 10 games in charge.
Argentina beat Italy 2-0 in a March friendly but that victory was sandwiched by a 4-2 loss to Nigeria and a 6-1 hammering by Spain.
Spain are one of the favourites for the tournament, Messi said, along with Brazil, Germany and France. Reporting by Ramiro Scandolo, Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Toby Davis | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-argentina-messi-neymar/neymar-to-real-would-be-tough-for-barcelona-says-messi-idUKKCN1IG35R |
LONDON, May 9 (Reuters) - Vodafone Group has agreed to a nearly $23 billion deal to buy operations in four European countries from John Malone’s Liberty Global, the Wall Street Journal said on Wednesday, citing Liberty CEO Mike Fries.
The world’s second biggest mobile operator said in February it was in talks about buying Liberty’s assets in the continental European countries where they overlap: Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/liberty-global-ma-vodafone/vodafone-seals-23-bln-deal-to-buy-liberty-global-assets-wsj-idUSL8N1SG1RG |
May 18 (Reuters) - Cuebiq:
* CUEBIQ SAYS SECURED $27 MILLION IN SERIES B FINANCING CO-LED BY GOLDMAN SACHS PSI, NASDAQ VENTURES, TRIBECA VENTURE PARTNERS, AMONG OTHERS Source text for Eikon:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-cuebiq-says-secured-27-million-in/brief-cuebiq-says-secured-27-million-in-series-b-financing-idUSFWN1SP0SY |
Staking out another bold space objective, Elon Musk said the latest configuration of his rocket is designed to fly as many as 10 times without any scheduled maintenance, and ultimately could be refurbished and blast off at least 100 times.
Speaking Thursday before the first planned launch of an upgraded SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Mr. Musk spelled out his long-term vision of reusability, a concept he has pioneered to revolutionize space transportation. The mission from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center was aborted by a last-minute... RELATED VIDEO SpaceX Successfully Lands Two of Three Booster Rockets SpaceX landed two of its three reusable rocket boosters at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Tuesday. Photo: Getty Images (Originally Published February 7, 2018) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-predicts-rocket-launches-will-be-as-routine-as-airline-flights-1525988078 |
44% Increase in Homebuilding Revenue; 28% Increase in Net New Home Orders; 33% Increase in Dollar Value of Orders; 19% Increase in Dollar Value of Backlog
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- William Lyon Homes (NYSE: WLH), a leading homebuilder in the Western U.S., announced results for its first quarter ended March 31, 2018. On March 9, 2018, the Company completed its acquisition (the “RSI Acquisition”) of RSI Communities, a Southern-California and Texas-based homebuilder, and three related real estate assets (together, “RSI Communities”). The Company’s consolidated ended March 31, 2018 include the financial results of RSI Communities from the date of acquisition.
2018 First Quarter Highlights (Comparison to 2017 First Quarter)
Net income available to common stockholders of $8.3 million, or $0.21 per diluted share Adjusted net income available to common stockholders of $10.9 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 million, or $0.11 per diluted share in the prior period, up 167% and 145%, respectively Pre-tax income of $15.4 million, up 123% Adjusted pre-tax income of $18.5 million, up 169%, which excludes transaction expenses of $3.1 million, before tax New home deliveries of 740 homes, up 48% Net new home orders of 1,106, up 28% Dollar value of orders of $602.7 million, up 33% Dollar value of homes in backlog of $752.1 million, up 19% Units in backlog of 1,460, up 33% Average sales locations of 84, up 2% Active sales locations of 105 as of March 31, 2018 Average sales price (ASP) of new homes delivered of $503,200, down 3% Home sales revenue of $372.4 million, up 44% Homebuilding gross margin percentage of 17.5% Adjusted homebuilding gross margin percentage of 22.7% SG&A percentage of 12.7%, compared to 13.0% Adjusted EBITDA of $41.7 million, up 108%
“We executed on several strategic initiatives during the first quarter of 2018, including the closing of the RSI acquisition, marking our entry into Texas and enhancing our presence in Southern California, while meaningfully expanding our exposure to the attractive entry-level buyer segment, and executing a high-yield offering to fund a portion of the acquisition purchase price and refinance our nearest term senior notes maturities,” said Matthew R. Zaist, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We also experienced a strong start to the spring selling season and delivered another quarter of year-over-year improvement in net new home orders, which increased 28% to 1,106, and represents a monthly absorption rate of 4.4 net new home orders per community, and an associated dollar value of orders of $602.7 million, a 33% increase over the same period last year. This strong trend continued into April, with 481 net new home orders, or a monthly absorption rate of 4.5.”
Mr. Zaist continued, “We are very pleased with our overall financial results for the quarter, with significant improvements in homebuilding revenues to $372.4 million, up 44%, adjusted pre-tax income of $18.5 million, up 169%, adjusted net income of $10.9 million, up 167%, and adjusted earnings per share on a diluted basis of $0.27, up 145%.”
Mr. Zaist added, “The strong start to 2018 and strategic execution of the RSI acquisition position us well to achieve our goals for the year, and our expectations for the full year include new home deliveries of approximately 4,400 to 4,750 units, home sales revenue of approximately $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion, and pre-tax income before non-controlling interest of approximately $175 million to $185 million, inclusive of RSI transaction expenses and purchase accounting.”
Home sales revenue for the first quarter of 2018 was $372.4 million, as compared to $258.9 million in the year-ago period, an increase of 44%, which was driven by an increase in deliveries of 48% to 740, partially offset by the decrease in average sale price to $503,200, from $518,700, driven in part by the contribution from lower priced communities associated with RSI projects for the three weeks at the end of the quarter. Average sales price for William Lyon Homes’ stand-alone business for the first quarter was approximately $530,000. Contributions from the RSI Acquisition for the last 23 calendar days of the first quarter consisted of 80 new home deliveries and 101 net new home orders.
Homebuilding gross margin percentage for homes closed during the first quarter of 2018 was 17.5%, up 190 basis points from prior year. Excluding closings from the RSI Acquisition, homebuilding gross margin percentage was 17.8%, up 220 basis points year-over-year. Adjusted homebuilding gross margin percentage for the quarter was 22.7%.
Sales and marketing expense during the first quarter of 2018 was 6.1% of homebuilding revenue, compared to 5.7% in the year-ago quarter, which is primarily driven by the impact of the adoption of ASC 606, which was adopted on January 1, 2018, requiring the Company to record certain selling costs that were previously recorded as cost of sales to sales and marketing expense. General and administrative expenses were 6.6% of homebuilding revenue, compared to 7.3% in the first quarter of 2017.
The dollar value of homes in backlog was $752.1 million as of March 31, 2018, an increase of 19% compared to $634.2 million as of March 31, 2017. The increase is driven by a 33% increase in units in backlog to 1,460 units compared to 1,099 in the prior year. The average sales price of homes in backlog decreased to $515,200 from $577,100 in the prior year, due to a higher number of homes in backlog from entry level buyers, which represent 46% of homes in backlog.
RSI Communities Acquisition and Senior Notes Issuance
On March 9, 2018, the Company completed its previously announced acquisition of RSI Communities, a Southern California- and Texas-based homebuilder, and three additional related real estate assets, for an aggregate cash purchase price of approximately $475 million, which included working capital adjustments upon closing. The Company incurred certain costs in the first quarter related to the transaction, in an amount of approximately $3.1 million on a pre-tax basis, and an amount of approximately $2.6 million on an after-tax basis.
Also on March 9, 2018, the Company issued $350.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 6.00% Senior Notes due September 1, 2023. The Company used the proceeds from the offering to finance a portion of the RSI Acquisition as described above, as well as to repay all of the Company’s outstanding principal amount of $150.0 million 5.75% Senior Notes due 2019. With this most recent refinancing transaction, the Company’s next maturity date for Senior Notes is August 2022.
Balance Sheet Update
At quarter end, totaled $50.5 million, owned real estate inventories totaled $2.1 billion, total assets were $2.6 billion and total equity was $853.7 million. Total debt to book capitalization was 60.4%, and net debt to net book capitalization was 59.5% at March 31, 2018, compared to 60.1% and 59.2% at March 31, 2017, and 54.5% and 49.6% at December 31, 2017, respectively.
Conference Call
The Company will host a conference call to discuss these results today, Tuesday, May 8, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The call will be available via both the telephone at (855) 851-4524 or (720) 634-2900, conference ID #6481508, or through the Company’s website at www.lyonhomes.com in the Investor Relations section of the site.
A replay of the call will be available through May 15, 2018 by dialing (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406, conference ID #6481508. A webcast replay of the call will also be available on the Company’s website approximately two hours after the broadcast.
About William Lyon Homes
William Lyon Homes is one of the largest Western U.S. regional homebuilders. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, the Company is primarily engaged in the design, construction, marketing and sale of single-family detached and attached homes in California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Washington and Oregon, and, with the consummation of the RSI Acquisition, Texas. Its core markets include Orange County, Los Angeles, the Inland Empire, the San Francisco Bay Area, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, Portland, Seattle and, with the consummation of the RSI Acquisition, Austin and San Antonio. The Company has a distinguished legacy of more than 60 years of homebuilding operations, over which time it has sold in excess of 103,000 homes. The Company markets and sells its homes under the William Lyon Homes brand in all of its markets except for Washington and Oregon, where the Company operates under the Polygon Northwest brand.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this release and the accompanying comments during our conference call that are not historical information may constitute “forward-looking statements” as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, forward-looking statements related to: anticipated pre-tax income, gross margin performance, backlog conversion rates, operating and financial results for the second quarter of 2018 and full year 2018 and beyond, community count growth and project performance, market and industry trends, the continued housing market recovery, average sale price of homes to be closed in various periods, SG&A percentage, future cash needs and liquidity, minority interest from our homebuilding joint ventures, leverage ratios and reduction strategies, land acquisition spending, financial services and ancillary business performance and strategies; the anticipated benefits to be realized from the RSI acquisition; the anticipated financial or operational performance resulting from the RSI Communities transaction, and estimated new home deliveries, home sales revenue and community count on a combined Company basis. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and actual results may differ materially from those projected or implied. The Company makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or changes in these expectations. Further, certain forward-looking statements are based on assumptions of future events which may not prove to be accurate. Factors that may impact such forward-looking statements include, among others: the Company’s ability to successfully integrate RSI Communities’ homebuilding operations with its existing operations; any adverse effect on the Company’s, or RSI Communities’, business operations following the acquisition; adverse weather conditions; the availability of labor and homebuilding materials and increased construction cycle times; the availability and timing of mortgage financing; our financial leverage and level of indebtedness and any inability to comply with financial and other covenants under our debt instruments; continued volatility and worsening in general economic conditions either internationally, nationally or in regions in which we operate; increased outside broker costs; increased costs of homebuilding materials; changes in governmental laws and regulations and compliance, increased costs, fees and delays associated therewith; government actions, policies, programs and regulations directed at or affecting the housing market (including the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”), the Dodd-Frank Act, tax benefits associated with purchasing and owning a home, and the standards, fees and size limits applicable to the purchase or insuring of mortgage loans by government-sponsored enterprises and government agencies), the homebuilding industry, or construction activities; changes in existing tax laws or enacted corporate income tax rates, including pursuant to the TCJA; worsening in markets for residential housing; the impact of construction defect, product liability and home warranty claims, including the adequacy of self-insurance accruals, and the applicability and sufficiency of our insurance coverage; defects in manufactured products or other homebuilding materials; decline in real estate values resulting in impairment of our real estate assets; volatility in the banking industry, credit and capital markets; restraints on foreign investment; terrorism or other hostilities involving the United States and other geopolitical risks; building moratorium or “slow-growth” or “no-growth” initiatives that could be implemented in states in which we operate; changes in mortgage and other interest rates; conditions in the capital, credit and financial markets, including mortgage lending standards and the availability of mortgage financing; changes in generally accepted accounting principles or interpretations of those principles; competition for home sales from other sellers of new and resale homes; cancellations and our ability to realize our backlog; the occurrence of events such as landslides, soil subsidence and earthquakes that are uninsurable, not economically insurable or not subject to effective indemnification agreements; limitations on our ability to utilize our tax attributes; whether an ownership change occurred that could, under certain circumstances, have resulted in the limitation of our ability to offset prior years’ taxable income with net operating losses; the timing of receipt of regulatory approvals and the opening of projects; the availability and cost of land for future development; and additional factors discussed under the sections captioned “Risk Factors” included in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. New risk factors may emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risk factors on our business.
WILLIAM LYON HOMES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(in thousands except number of shares and per share data)
(unaudited)
Three Three Months Months Ended Ended March 31, March 31, 2018 2017 Operating revenue Home sales $ 372,385 $ 258,854 Construction services 983 - 373,368 258,854 Operating costs Cost of sales — homes (307,308 ) (218,455 ) Construction services (983 ) - Sales and marketing (22,693 ) (14,705 ) General and administrative (24,521 ) (18,946 ) Transaction expenses (3,130 ) - Other (298 ) (440 ) (358,933 ) (252,546 ) Operating income 14,435 6,308 Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures 932 249 Other income, net 35 345 Income before extinguishment of debt 15,402 6,902 Loss on extinguishment of debt - (21,828 ) Income (loss) before (provision for) benefit from income taxes 15,402 (14,926 ) (Provision for) benefit from income taxes (2,814 ) 5,630 Net income (loss) 12,588 (9,296 ) Less: Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests (4,260 ) (704 ) Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 8,328 $ (10,000 ) Income (loss) per common share:
Basic $ 0.22 $ (0.27 ) Diluted $ 0.21 $ (0.27 ) Weighted average common shares outstanding: Basic 37,931,256 36,908,320 Diluted 39,855,683 36,908,320 WILLIAM LYON HOMES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(in thousands, except number of shares and par value per share)
March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 (unaudited) ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $ 50,473 $ 182,710 Receivables 14,018 10,223 Escrow proceeds receivable 1,552 3,319 Real estate inventories Owned 2,051,817 1,699,850 Not owned 282,169 - Investment in unconsolidated joint ventures 5,406 7,867 Goodwill 118,877 66,902 Intangibles, net of accumulated amortization of $4,640 as of March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 6,700 6,700 Deferred income taxes 47,716 47,915 Lease right-of-use assets 14,757 14,454 Other assets, net 32,921 21,164 Total assets $ 2,626,406 $ 2,061,104 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Accounts payable $ 88,853 $ 58,799 Accrued expenses 99,378 111,491 Liabilities from inventories not owned 282,169 - Revolving credit facility 85,000 - Land notes payable - 589 Construction notes payable 2,291 - Joint venture notes payable 84,955 93,926 5 3 / 4 % Senior Notes due April 15, 2019 - 149,362 7% Senior Notes due August 15, 2022 346,924 346,740 6% Senior Notes due September 1, 2023 343,274 - 5 7 / 8 % Senior Notes due January 31, 2025 439,903 439,567 1,772,747 1,200,474 Commitments and contingencies Equity: William Lyon Homes stockholders’ equity Preferred stock, par value $0.01 per share; 10,000,000 shares authorized and no shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 - - Common stock, Class A, par value $0.01 per share; 150,000,000 shares authorized; 34,454,130 and 34,267,510 shares issued, 33,202,209 and 33,135,650 shares outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 345 344 Common stock, Class B, par value $0.01 per share; 30,000,000 shares authorized; 4,817,394 shares issued and outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 48 48 Additional paid-in capital 447,770 454,286 Retained earnings 334,122 325,794 Total William Lyon Homes stockholders' equity 782,285 780,472 Noncontrolling interests 71,374 80,158 Total equity 853,659 860,630 Total liabilities and equity $ 2,626,406 $ 2,061,104 WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING INFORMATION
(unaudited)
Three 2017 Consolidated Consolidated Percentage % Total Total Change Selected Financial Information (1) (dollars in thousands) Homes closed 740 499 48 % Home sales revenue $ 372,385 $ 258,854 44 % Cost of sales (excluding interest and purchase accounting adjustments) (287,769 ) (206,847 ) 39 % Adjusted homebuilding gross margin (2) $ 84,616 $ 52,007 63 % Adjusted homebuilding gross margin percentage (2) 22.7 % 20.1 % 13 % Interest in cost of sales (18,804 ) (11,608 ) 62 % Purchase accounting adjustments (735 ) - N/M Gross margin $ 65,077 $ 40,399 61 % Gross margin percentage 17.5 % 15.6 % 12 % Number of homes closed California 210 121 74 % Arizona 105 94 12 % Nevada 74 48 54 % Colorado 93 38 145 % Washington 94 70 34 % Oregon 104 128 (19 %) Texas 60 - N/M Total 740 499 48 % Average sales price of homes closed California $ 642,000 $ 677,400 (5 %) Arizona 305,100 284,200 7 % Nevada 664,500 636,400 4 % Colorado 430,800 561,300 (23 %) Washington 581,600 621,100 (6 %) Oregon 450,500 428,300 5 % Texas 246,200 - N/M Company Average $ 503,200 $ 518,700 (3 %) Number of net new home orders California 283 265 7 % Arizona 108 128 (16 %) Nevada 109 77 42 % Colorado 144 61 136 % Washington 179 152 18 % Oregon 209 182 15 % Texas 74 - N/M Total 1,106 865 28 % Average number of sales locations during period California 22 24 (8 %) Arizona 6 9 (33 %) Nevada 12 11 9 % Colorado 15 11 36 % Washington 9 7 29 % Oregon 15 20 (25 %) Texas 5 - N/M Total 84 82 2 % (1) For the 2018 period presented, the Company is reporting in seven segments: California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and Texas. Texas is a new reporting segment resulting from the RSI Acquisition completed in 2018. For the 2017 period presented, the Company reported in six segments: California, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado, Washington, and Oregon. (2) Adjusted homebuilding gross margin is a financial measure that is not prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or U.S. GAAP. It is used by management in evaluating operating performance and in making strategic decisions regarding sales pricing, construction and development pace, product mix and other operating decisions. We believe this information is meaningful as it isolates the impact that interest and purchase accounting adjustments have on homebuilding gross margin and allows investors to make better comparisons with our competitors. WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OPERATING INFORMATION
(unaudited)
As of March 31, 2018 2017 Consolidated
Consolidated Percentage % Total Total Change Backlog of homes sold but not closed at end of period California 388 368 5 % Arizona 164 238 (31 %) Nevada 121 88 38 % Colorado 223 98 128 % Washington 176 134 31 % Oregon 177 173 2 % Texas 211 - N/M Total 1,460 1,099 33 % Dollar amount of homes sold but not closed at end of period (in thousands) California $ 282,484 $ 296,406 (5 %) Arizona 51,055 71,258 (28 %) Nevada 80,379 64,865 24 % Colorado 90,312 51,679 75 % Washington 115,375 80,619 43 % Oregon 76,433 69,413 10 % Texas 56,093 - N/M Total $ 752,131 $ 634,240 19 % Lots owned and controlled at end of period Lots owned (1) California 3,634 1,492 144 % Arizona 4,116 4,838 (15 %) Nevada 2,910 2,985 (3 %) Colorado 1,266 1,442 (12 %) Washington 1,377 1,225 12 % Oregon 2,226 1,422 57 % Texas 3,345 - N/M Total 18,874 13,404 41 % Lots controlled California 1,985 1,084 83 % Arizona 651 - N/M Nevada 12 38 (68 %) Colorado 822 77 968 % Washington 793 1,108 (28 %) Oregon 1,910 1,929 (1 %) Texas 3,763 - N/M Total 9,936 4,236 135 % Total lots owned and controlled California 5,619 2,576 118 % Arizona 4,767 4,838 (1 %) Nevada 2,922 3,023 (3 %) Colorado 2,088 1,519 37 % Washington 2,170 2,333 (7 %) Oregon 4,136 3,351 23 % Texas 7,108 - N/M Total 28,810 17,640 63 % (1) Certain lots in California and Texas are consolidated on the Company’s accompanying balance sheet in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 470, Debt (“ASC 470”).
WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Three Months Months Ended Ended March 31, March 31, 2018 2017 Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 8,328 $ (10,000 ) Net income, adjusted for transaction expenses and loss on extinguishment of debt, net of tax benefit (4) $ 10,885 $ 4,076 Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities $ 98,028 $ (41,381 ) Interest incurred $ 19,258 $ 19,424 Adjusted EBITDA (2) $ 41,712 $ 20,041 Adjusted EBITDA Margin (3) 11.2 % 7.7 % Ratio of adjusted EBITDA to interest incurred 2.2 1.0 Balance Sheet Data March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 Cash and cash equivalents $ 50,473 $ 182,710 Total William Lyon Homes stockholders’ equity 782,285 780,472 Noncontrolling interests 71,374 80,158 Total debt 1,302,347 1,030,184 Total capital $ 2,156,006 $ 1,890,814 Ratio of debt to total capital 60.4 % 54.5 % Ratio of net debt to total capital (net of cash) 59.5 % 49.6 % (1) Included in lots owned are 863 lots in California and 469 lots in Texas that are associated with a land banking transaction that is consolidated on the Company’s accompanying balance sheet in accordance with ASC 470. (2) Adjusted EBITDA means net income (loss) available to common stockholders plus (i) provision for (benefit from) income taxes, (ii) interest expense, (iii) amortization of capitalized interest included in cost of sales, (iv) stock based compensation, (v) , (vi) non-cash purchase accounting adjustments, (vii) cash distributions of income from unconsolidated joint ventures, (viii) equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures, (ix) transaction expenses, and (x) loss on extinguishment of debt. Other companies may calculate adjusted EBITDA differently. Adjusted EBITDA is not a financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted EBITDA is presented herein because management believes the presentation of adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to the Company’s investors regarding the Company’s financial condition and results of operations because adjusted EBITDA is a widely utilized indicator of a company's operating performance. Adjusted EBITDA should not be considered as an alternative for net (loss) income, cash flows from operating activities and other consolidated income or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States or as a measure of profitability or liquidity. A reconciliation of net (loss) income available to common stockholders to adjusted EBITDA is provided in the following table: (3) Calculated as Adjusted EBITDA as a percentage of operating revenue. WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
Three Three Months Months Ended Ended March 31, March 31, 2018 2017 Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 8,328 $ (10,000 ) Provision for (benefit from) income taxes
2,814 (5,630 ) Interest expense Interest incurred 19,258 19,424 Interest capitalized (19,258 ) (19,424 ) Amortization of capitalized interest included in cost of sales 18,825 11,608 Stock based compensation 3,181 1,676 Depreciation and amortization 2,056 449 Non-cash purchase accounting adjustments 735 - Cash distributions of income from unconsolidated joint ventures 3,575 359 Equity in income of unconsolidated joint ventures (932 ) (249 ) Transaction expenses 3,130 - Loss on extinguishment of debt - 21,828 Adjusted EBITDA $ 41,712 $ 20,041 WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
(4) Adjusted net income means net income (loss) available to common stockholders plus transaction expenses and loss for the extinguishment of the 8.5% Senior Notes. Adjusted net income is not a financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted net income is presented herein because management believes the presentation of adjusted net income provides useful information to the Company’s investors regarding the Company’s results of operations because adjusted net income isolates the impact of the one-time, non-recurring transaction expenses and infrequent extinguishment fees. Adjusted net income should not be considered as an alternative for net income, cash flows from operating activities and other consolidated income or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States or as a measure of profitability or liquidity. A reconciliation of net income available to common stockholders to adjusted net income (loss) is provided in the following table:
Three Three Months Months Ended Ended March 31, March 31, 2018 2017 Net income (loss) available to common stockholders $ 8,328 $ (10,000) Add: Transaction expenses 3,130 - Less: Income tax benefit applicable to transaction expenses (573) - Add: Loss on extinguishment of debt - 21,828 Less: Income tax benefit applicable to loss on extinguishment of debt - (7,752) Net income, adjusted for transaction expenses and loss on extinguishment of debt, net of tax benefits $ 10,885 $ 4,076 Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding 39,855,683 38,360,335 (5) Adjusted net income excluding noncontrolling interest per diluted share $ 0.27 $ 0.11 WILLIAM LYON HOMES
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL INFORMATION
(dollars in thousands)
(unaudited)
Adjusted pre-tax income means income (loss) before (provision for) benefit from income taxes plus transaction expenses and loss for the extinguishment of the 8.5% Senior Notes. Adjusted pre-tax income is not a financial measure prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Adjusted pre-tax income is presented herein because management believes the presentation of adjusted pre-tax income provides useful information to the Company’s investors regarding the Company’s results of operations because adjusted pre-tax income isolates the impact of the one-time, non-recurring transaction expenses and infrequent extinguishment fees. Adjusted pre-tax income should not be considered as an alternative for net income, cash flows from operating activities and other consolidated income or cash flow statement data prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States or as a measure of profitability or liquidity. A reconciliation of income (loss) before (provision for) benefit from income taxes to adjusted pre-tax income is provided in the following table:
Three Three Months Months Ended Ended March 31, March 31, 2018 2017 Income (loss) before (provision for) benefit from income taxes $ 15,402 $ (14,926) Add: Transaction expenses 3,130 - Loss on extinguishment of debt - 21,828 Pre-tax income, adjusted for transaction expenses and loss on extinguishment of debt $ 18,532 $ 6,902 (5) Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding as presented on the Consolidated Statement of Operations excludes any potentially issuable anti-dilutive shares due to the net loss reported for the period presented. Additional dilutive shares have been included in this calculation.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180508005681/en/
Investor/Media Contacts:
Financial Profiles, Inc.
Larry Clark, 310-622-8223
[email protected]
Source: William Lyon Homes | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/business-wire-william-lyon-homes-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
Indian child killer sentenced to death 23 days after arrest 5:30am EDT - 01:26
Naveen Gadke was arrested on April 20 and charged with the rape and murder of a baby girl in central India. Three weeks later a court sentenced the 26-year-old odd-job man to death in the fastest such trial known to have happened in modern India, a nation where public outrage is running high because of a series of rapes and related killings.
Naveen Gadke was arrested on April 20 and charged with the rape and murder of a baby girl in central India. Three weeks later a court sentenced the 26-year-old odd-job man to death in the fastest such trial known to have happened in modern India, a nation where public outrage is running high because of a series of rapes and related killings. //reut.rs/2IK1spD | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/25/indian-child-killer-sentenced-to-death-2?videoId=430146734 |
Political novice Conte named Italy's new PM Thursday, May 24, 2018 - 01:01
Giuseppe Conte, the law professor named as Italian prime minister on Wednesday after surviving accusations he inflated his academic credentials, must now prove he can lead the euro zone's third largest economy with no political experience. Scarlett Cvitanovich reports.
Giuseppe Conte, the law professor named as Italian prime minister on Wednesday after surviving accusations he inflated his academic credentials, must now prove he can lead the euro zone's third largest economy with no political experience. Scarlett Cvitanovich reports. //reut.rs/2GJrpzv | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/24/political-novice-conte-named-italys-new?videoId=429821158 |
NEW YORK, May 3 (Reuters) - Investors took advantage of higher yields in the debt market as U.S.-based government-Treasury funds attracted $530 million of net new cash in the week ended Wednesday, marking the group’s sixth straight week of inflows, according to Lipper data on Thursday.
Further out in the credit quality spectrum, U.S.-based high-yield “junk” bond funds attracted inflows of $526 million in the week ended Wednesday, following the previous week’s outflows of $2.49 billion, according to Lipper. (Reporting by Jennifer Ablan; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/investment-mutualfunds-lipper/u-s-based-government-treasury-funds-post-sixth-straight-week-of-inflows-lipper-idUSL1N1SA2AY |
May 11, 2018 / 7:25 PM / in an hour GLOBAL MARKETS-Dollar eases, stocks climb amid benign U.S.inflation Reuters Staff
(Adds oil, gold settlement prices)
* Dollar falls, poised to end flat for the week
* Oil down but near multi-year highs on Iran concerns
By Herbert Lash
NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar eased on Friday while an index of world stock markets gained and was poised for its best week since early March, as moderate inflation eased worries about a faster pace of U.S. interest rate hikes and boosted risk appetite.
The dollar fell for a third day against a basket of major currencies as traders booked recent gains, which were tied to widening interest rate gaps in favor of the United States and signs of slower growth elsewhere in the world.
Gold was set for its first weekly gain in four weeks after soft U.S. inflation data on Thursday suggested the Federal Reserve would show caution as it boosts interest rates.
Oil prices slipped but remained near 3-1/2 year highs as the prospect of new U.S. sanctions against Iran tightened the outlook for Middle East supply at a time when global crude production is just keeping pace with rising demand.
U.S. stocks gained as healthcare stocks led a rally even after President Donald Trump blasted drugmakers and healthcare “middlemen” for making prescription drugs unaffordable for Americans. Trump also said the pharmaceutical industry makes an “absolute fortune” at the expense of taxpayers.
The S&P healthcare index rose 1.18 percent as it became clear the U.S. administration had avoided taking aggressive and direct measures to cut drug prices.
The market is responding to exceptionally strong earnings growth and benign inflation, said Leo Grohowski, chief investment officer at BNY Mellon Wealth Management in New York.
The Cboe Volatility Index, a barometer of expected near-term volatility for the S&P 500 that often is referred to as Wall Street’s fear gauge, has fallen to levels last seen before the February market correction, Grohowski said.
“Not only has the market returned handsomely, but risk has also taken a breather,” he said.
MSCI’s gauge of stock markets across the globe gained 0.34 percent.
European shares edged higher, with the pan-regional STOXX 600 index of companies in 17 countries, closed up 0.11 percent for a seventh straight week of gains and the largest string of weekly advances since March 2015.
Shares in Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) rose 1.3 percent, having jumped as much as 9.4 percent, after U.S. private equity firm Silver Lake Management Co agreed to buy ZPG , the owner of British property websites Zoopla and PrimeLocation, for $3 billion.
On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 37.06 points, or 0.15 percent, to 24,776.59. The S&P 500 lost 0.29 points, or 0.01 percent, to 2,722.78 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 20.31 points, or 0.27 percent, to 7,384.67.
U.S. plans to reintroduce sanctions against Iran, which pumps about 4 percent of the world’s oil, has buoyed crude prices.
U.S. crude fell 66 cents to settle at $70.70 per barrel and Brent settled down 45 cents at $77.12.
The dollar index fell 0.12 percent, with the euro up 0.24 percent to $1.1941. The Japanese yen firmed 0.1 percent versus the greenback at 109.27 per dollar.
Central bankers around the world appear to have become more cautious as concerns over inflation and international trade cloud the global economy.
On Thursday, the Bank of England held rates against recent expectations and New Zealand’s Reserve Bank said the official cash rate will remain at 1.75 percent for “some time to come.”
This leaves the Fed as the only major central bank committed to rate hikes, but Thursday’s moderate inflation reading cast doubt over the pace of these hikes.
Benchmark 10-year notes rose 1/32 in price to yield 2.9677 percent.
U.S. gold futures for June delivery settled down $1.60 at $1,320.70 per ounce. (Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Chizu Nomiyama) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/global-markets/global-markets-dollar-eases-stocks-climb-amid-benign-u-s-inflation-idUSL1N1SI1D2 |
May 31, 2018 / 12:33 PM / Updated 3 hours ago U.S. consumer spending accelerates; job market strengthening Lucia Mutikani 5 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer spending posted its biggest gain in five months in April, a further sign that economic growth was regaining momentum early in the second quarter, while inflation continued to rise steadily. FILE PHOTO: A cashier counts out money at Macy's Herald Square in New York, U.S., November 28, 2013. REUTERS/Eric Thayer/File Photo
Other data on Thursday showed a bigger-than-expected drop in the number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits last week. Moderately rising inflation and a tightening labor market bolstered expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month.
“Consumer spending is accelerating and inflation is holding firm in a tightening labor market, so the Fed is likely to stay on course with those gradual rate hikes this year despite the signs of uncertainty elsewhere in the world from populism and trade protectionism,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 0.6 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. That was the largest rise since November and followed a 0.5 percent increase in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending advancing 0.4 percent. Spending was boosted by higher prices for gasoline and other energy products. Nondurable goods purchases surged 0.9 percent. There were also increases in purchases of long-lasting goods. Outlays on services rose 0.5 percent, lifted by demand for household utilities.
Prices continued to gradually rise last month. The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index excluding the volatile food and energy components increased 0.2 percent for the third straight month.
That left the year-on-year increase in the so-called core PCE price index at 1.8 percent. The core PCE index is the Fed’s preferred inflation measure. The U.S. central bank has a 2 percent inflation target.
Economists expect the annual core PCE price index will breach the Fed’s target in the coming months. The Fed increased borrowing costs in March and has forecast at least two more rate hikes for this year.
U.S. financial market were little moved by the data. The dollar fell against the euro on signs of easing political tensions in Italy. Prices for U.S. Treasuries rose.
Stocks on Wall Street were trading lower after the Trump administration decided to impose metal import tariffs on Canada, Mexico and the European Union, sparking new concerns of a trade war with the United States’ main allies. FILE PHOTO: Job seekers line up to apply during "Amazon Jobs Day," a job fair being held at 10 fulfillment centers across the United States aimed at filling more than 50,000 jobs, at the Amazon.com Fulfillment Center in Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S., August 2, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo
LABOR MARKET TIGHTENING The moderate inflation also helped support consumer spending last month. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in April after increasing 0.5 percent in the prior month. That suggests an acceleration in consumer spending after it grew at a 1.0 percent annualized rate in the first quarter, the slowest pace in nearly five years.
The solid consumer spending added to data on trade and industrial production that have left economists anticipating a pickup in economic growth in the second quarter.
Factory activity looks set to strengthen further, with the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago reporting its business barometer rose 5.1 points to 62.7 in May.
But the housing market appears to have taken a further step back. Contracts to buy previously owned homes dropped 1.3 percent in April, the National Association of Realtors said in another report on Thursday.
Gross domestic product estimates for the April-June period are above a 3.0 percent rate. The economy grew at a 2.2 percent pace in the first quarter.
Households dipped into their savings to fund purchases last month, with income growth remaining sluggish, a concern for some economists. Personal income rose 0.3 percent after a gain of 0.2 percent in March. Wages increased 0.4 percent. Savings fell to $419.6 billion last month from $445.7 billion in March.
“The real question is whether that level of consumption growth is sustainable and I just don’t think that is likely unless income gains accelerate,” said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania.
But with the labor market rapidly tightening, there is hope that wage growth will gain steam. In a separate report on Thursday, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended May 26.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims falling to 228,000 in the latest week. The labor market is viewed as being close to or at full employment. The jobless rate is near a 17-1/2-year low of 3.9 percent, within striking distance of the Fed’s forecast of 3.8 percent by the end of this year.
Labor market strength is likely to be underscored by May’s employment report, which is scheduled for release on Friday. According to a Reuters survey of economists, nonfarm payrolls probably increased by 188,000 jobs after rising by 164,000 jobs in April. Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Paul Simao and Andrea Ricci | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy/u-s-weekly-jobless-claims-fall-more-than-expected-idUSKCN1IW1NX |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. and Canadian state securities regulators announced Monday they have launched dozens of investigations into cryptocurrency scams.
FILE PHOTO: Representations of the Ripple, Bitcoin, Etherum and Litecoin virtual currencies are seen on a PC motherboard in this illustration picture, February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo The North American Securities Administrators Association announced the wide-ranging series of probes on Monday, dubbed “Operation Crypto-Sweep.” The investigations, some of which have already concluded, are aimed at unregistered securities offerings and initial coin offerings that promise significant returns without informing investors of the risks.
A task force convened by the group of state regulators in April has launched 70 investigations, with 35 already facing completed or pending enforcement actions.
Regulators have already sent cease and desist letters to several alleged schemes, including websites that relied on fake addresses and photos to appear legitimate when seeking investors. Officials said there will be additional enforcement actions to come against companies looking to defraud cryptocurrency investors.
“The actions we’ve taken to date are just the tip of the iceberg,” said Joe Borg, NASAA president and director of the Alabama Securities Commission.
Regulators invited the public to come forward with additional potential scams, while urging investors to be vigilant in seeking investments in the new arena.
The move by state regulators to crack down on cryptocurrency scams comes amid growing attention to virtual currencies by federal regulators, including the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
“You’re going to see in this space a lot more collaboration and cooperation going forward,” said Borg.
Reporting by Pete Schroeder; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Andrea Ricci
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-crypto-currencies-states/u-s-state-and-canadian-regulators-open-dozens-of-probes-into-cryptocurrency-scams-washington-post-idINKCN1IM1HY |
May 1 (Reuters) - Boomsense Technology Co Ltd:
* SAYS IT SCRAPS ASSET RESTRUCTURING, SHARE TRADE TO RESUME ON MAY 2 Source text in Chinese: bit.ly/2rbArk0 Further company coverage: (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-boomsense-technology-scraps-asset/brief-boomsense-technology-scraps-asset-restructuring-share-trade-to-resume-on-may-2-idUSL3N1S82Z6 |
Home Depot's rare sales miss 3:42pm BST - 00:54
Fewer customers visiting its stores and an unusually long winter crimped quarterly sales growth at Home Depot. As Fred Katayama reports, the rare sales miss hurt its stock. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Fewer customers visiting its stores and an unusually long winter crimped quarterly sales growth at Home Depot. As Fred Katayama reports, the rare sales miss hurt its stock. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2L4AFSm | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/15/home-depots-rare-sales-miss?videoId=427141477 |