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Each... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/whats-wrong-with-the-broadway-musical-1525894408 |
President Donald Trump's administration should focus on pushing for structural changes in China , rather than on the massive trade imbalance between the world's two largest economies, a former U.S. government official said Monday.
"I'd say focus more on structural changes, getting market opening, fair treatment, level playing field, IP (intellectual property) issues, investment protection. Focus on those kind of issues that will allow you to sell on market terms," said Frank Lavin, who was formerly U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce for international trade.
Lavin said the U.S. administration should be wary of getting a deal from Beijing that would only be a short-term solution.
"If they give you a check, watch out. They're sort of buying you off and getting you just to go away for that money, so be careful of that," Lavin said.
Lavin's comments came after U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Sunday that the world's two largest economies agreed to drop their tariff threats while they work on a wider trade agreement.
On Saturday, Beijing and Washington said they would keep talking about measures under which China would import more energy and agricultural commodities from the United States to close its trade deficit with the U.S., which was $375 billion in 2017 .
During an initial round of talks this month in Beijing, Washington demanded that China reduce its trade surplus by $200 billion, Reuters reported. No dollar figure was cited in the countries' joint statement on Saturday.
show chapters US doesn't know what it wants from trade war with China: Moody's Analytics 11 Hours Ago | 03:52 Trump "made a mistake anchoring negotiations on that number," said Lavin, who is currently the chairman of Export Now, a business consultancy. He was formerly also U.S. ambassador to Singapore under the George W. Bush administration.
"Because demand in China for U.S. food isn't going to double in a year, demand for Boeings isn't going to double in a year, and U.S. productive capacity can't double in a year either," Lavin told CNBC's "Street Signs."
The top U.S. trade official, Robert Lighthizer, said that getting China to open its market to more U.S. exports was significant, but that it was far more important for the United States to resolve issues with China, such as forced technology transfers and cyber theft.
"Real structural change is necessary. Nothing less than the future of tens of millions of American jobs is at stake," U.S. Trade Representative Lighthizer said in a statement on Sunday.
Many of Trump's complaints about China are valid, Lavin added.
Even though the Chinese economy has been gradually opening up over the past two decades, "the openings in China have not kept pace with the economic growth of China and with the benefits China has gotten from the rest of the world being more open," he said.
'Baby steps' more likely than North Korea denuclearization Amid uncertainties over whether a high-profile meeting between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will eventually take place in Singapore, Lavin said it is likely to happen.
show chapters Trump-Kim summit likely to yield 'baby steps': Former US ambassador 12 Hours Ago | 02:27 But the outcome of an outright agreement of denuclearization from Pyongyang would be unlikely, he said.
"I'd be more positive about this process if some baby steps emerge, meaning I don't think we are likely to get a universal agreement to denuclearize North Korea, allow for inspections. I think that's unlikely and I think overly ambitious for a first meeting," said Lavin.
However, some "measurable baby steps" will help reassure the world that Kim is changing and that "it is a new North Korea," added Lavin. That could come in the form of family reunions, phone calls between North and South Korea and some steps toward currency convertibility, he said.
Pyongyang has in the past promised to back off its nuclear weapon development program, only to repeatedly backtrack.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Trump are set to meet on Tuesday in Washington before Kim meets with Trump on June 12 in Singapore.
Kim, on his part, will keep raising the price for denuclearization, such as bargaining for the unwinding of economic sanctions and some sort of military commitment from the U.S., like troop withdrawal from the region, Lavin predicted.
Reuters contributed to this story. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/21/us-china-trade-focus-on-structural-changes-not-deficit.html |
Worsening Italian crisis batters European markets 6:39pm IST - 01:53
A worsening political crisis in Italy provoked a second day of selling on European markets, with the euro cut to an 11-month low, stocks punished and short-term borrowing costs surging for the government in Rome. Kate King reports. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
A worsening political crisis in Italy provoked a second day of selling on European markets, with the euro cut to an 11-month low, stocks punished and short-term borrowing costs surging for the government in Rome. Kate King reports. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2H0vQWQ | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/29/worsening-italian-crisis-batters-europea?videoId=431410837 |
May 20, 2018 / 8:45 PM / Updated an hour ago Poor Venezuelans crowd pro-Maduro stations in hope of vote 'prize' Luc Cohen , Francisco Aguilar 4 Min Read
CARACAS/BARINAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Poor Venezuelans scanned state-issued “fatherland cards” at red tents after voting on Sunday in hope of receiving a prize promised by President Nicolas Maduro, a practice opponents said was akin to vote-buying. Venezuelan citizens check in at a "Red Point," an area set up by President Nicolas Maduro's party, to verify that they cast their votes during the presidential election in Barquisimeto, Venezuela, May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso
Leftist Maduro was expected to cruise to victory thanks to the heavy use of state resources, a ban on two of his most popular rivals, and a loyalist electoral council.
Maduro looked set to be re-elected to a six-year term in an election boycotted by the opposition and condemned by foes as the “coronation” of a dictator. Results are expected by late Sunday evening.
Maduro’s critics said the scheme was aimed at driving up the turnout by frightening hungry Venezuelans into thinking that if they do not vote, they could lose out on food rations and money transfers they depend on as hyperinflation and shortages have millions living hand-to-mouth.
Those benefits typically come via the fatherland cards. A Venezuelan citizens has her id checked at a "Red Point," an area set up by President Nicolas Maduro's party to verify that people cast their votes during the presidential election in Caracas, Venezuela, May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Marco Bello
A former bus driver, Maduro describes himself as Venezuela’s “worker president” and says initiatives like the fatherland card show he is trying to protect the country’s poor in the face of what he says is an “economic war” waged by right-wing rivals.
“This didn’t exist before, but I do it now because of the help I get,” said Jose Torres, 77, flashing an image of the late president, Hugo Chavez, that he keeps in his wallet after scanning his card at a “red point” in Lara state.
The opposition Democratic Unity coalition said the red points were stationed outside 80 percent of polling stations. Electoral Council President Tibisay Lucena had said the tents must be at least 200 meters (655 feet) from polling stations and that Maduro had assured her no cards would be scanned. Venezuelan citizens wait to check in at a "Red Point," an area set up by President Nicolas Maduro's party, to verify that they cast their votes during the presidential election in Maracaibo, Venezuela, May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Isaac Urrutia Jose Bula
But Reuters witnesses saw cards being scanned and several red points located much closer - with one inside the school where Maduro voted at dawn.
Henri Falcon, a former soldier and state governor who defied the boycott to challenge Maduro, said his team had registered around 900 complaints about the red points.
“The buying of votes, toying with people’s dignity, cannot continue,” said Falcon after voting in Lara.
During the campaign, Maduro had promised that voters who showed their fatherland cards at the polls would receive a “really good prize.”
It was not immediately clear what that was, but Falcon said he heard it was 10 million bolivars - a mere $13 at the black market rate, but about 10 times the monthly minimum wage.
Construction worker Josue Valecillos, 54, in Chavez’s home state of Barinas said volunteers scanned his card on a phone and vowed a quick transfer. “They offered me 10 million bolivars,” said Maduro supporter Valecillos.
Party volunteers pushed back at accusations of blackmail even as some acknowledged those who signed up would receive money. Volunteer Ruben Vega, who was manning a red point in the Caracas neighborhood of San Bernardino, said voters who scanned their cards “could” get a bank transfer of “a few million” bolivars.
“The point of the bonus is to encourage people to vote for the candidate they want,” said Vega, 55. “We are ‘Chavistas’, but what we want is that many people go out and vote, for whoever.” Additional reporting by Corina Pons in Barquisimeto, Andreina Aponte in Caracas and Tibisay Romero in Valencia; Writing by Luc Cohen; Editing by Peter Cooney and Sandra Maler | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-venezuela-election-irregularities/poor-venezuelans-crowd-pro-maduro-stations-in-hope-of-vote-prize-idUSKCN1IL0TA |
May 1 (Reuters) - SS&C Technologies Holdings Inc:
* Q1 GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.24 * SEES ADJUSTED REVENUE FOR Q2 2018 $895.0 MILLION – $915.0 MILLION
* SEES ADJUSTED REVENUE FOR 2018 $3,344.0 MILLION – $3,404.0 MILLION
* FY2018 REVENUE VIEW $3.36 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.54 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* Q2 REVENUE VIEW $877.6 MILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-ssc-technologies-reports-first-qua/brief-ssc-technologies-reports-first-quarter-2018-earnings-idUSASC09YQQ |
May 18, 2018 / 7:03 PM / Updated 28 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Malawi says World Bank, EU to unlock suspended budget aid Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LILONGWE, May 18 (Reuters) - Malawi’s finance minister said on Friday that economic stability would unlock budget support from the country’s western donors which had been suspended over graft allegations.
Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe said that the county had achieved economic stability and attained the desired goal of the International Monetary Fund’s approval of a $112.3 million loan which in turn has helped unlock frozen aid.
“With inflation at 9.7 percent in April, interest rates are falling, the exchange rate has stabilised and foreign reserves have soared to a historical level, it means that the target of economic stability has been achieved,” Gondwe told parliament when presenting his 2018/19 budget.
Both the World Bank and the European Union suspended budget support in 2012 over a corruption scandal in which public servants siphoned off millions of dollars.
Last month the IMF approved a new three-year loan arrangement for Malawi to assist the southern African country’s economic and financial reforms.
The fund said that Malawi had shown progress in achieving macroeconomic stabilisation following two years of drought.
Gondwe said the country will now focus on robust economic growth as the main target and forecast the economy to expand by 4.1 percent this year, supported by more infrastructure investment and social spending.
The growth forecast compares with 5.1 percent in 2017.
“World Bank returned with budget support during the current financial year and it is due to disburse another one in the early part of the next financial year. It is also expected that the EU could approve budget support for Malawi in the course of 2018/19,” he said.
Malawi has a total public debt of $3.50 billion, with about a third of that in external debt. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda Editing by Alexander Smith) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/malawi-budget/update-1-malawi-says-world-bank-eu-to-unlock-suspended-budget-aid-idUSL5N1SP5WA |
May 23, 2018 / 3:03 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago UPDATE 1-Brazil, truckers to hold talks on ending fuel protests Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
(Recasts to show talks on ending standoff set for this afternoon.)
BRASÍLIA/SÃO PAULO, May 23 (Reuters) - The Brazilian government and a group representing truck drivers were due to meet on Wednesday to try to negotiate an end to trucker protests this week over diesel prices that have affected transportation of goods ranging from auto parts to animal feed.
The two sides would meet in the afternoon at the office of Eliseu Padilha, President Michel Temer’s chief of staff, said a spokesman for ABCAM, which represents the protesters.
The talks will be the first such meeting since truckers began partially blocking roads in several states on Monday to protest a rise of about 50 percent in fuel prices in less than a year.
ABCAM scheduled a news conference for 5 p.m. (2000 GMT) in Brasília to discuss the outcome of talks with the government.
The government had no comment.
State-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA on Wednesday announced the second reduction this week in diesel and gasoline prices - part of the company’s new policy of announcing almost daily adjustments to reflect variations in global oil prices and foreign exchange rates.
Since the truckers’ protects started, Petrobras and the government have denied that there has been any political interference in the company’s pricing decisions.
Temer’s government said on Tuesday it would propose a reduction in the PIS/Cofins tax on diesel fuel in an effort to end the trucker protests.
That followed an initial proposal this week to cut only the separate CIDE fuel tax, which truckers complained accounted for only a fraction of the taxes on diesel fuel.
House Speaker Rodrigo Maia said late on Tuesday that the government was including the PIS/Cofins cut in a proposed law that would also boost payroll taxes, adding that the plan would be put to a congressional vote next Tuesday.
According to Petrobras, state and federal taxes make up 29 percent of the final price of diesel paid by the consumer. The average retail price of diesel is currently 3.595 reais per liter.
Brazil is a key global supplier of grains, meat, coffee and sugar — most of which reach ports by road. Soy futures rose in Chicago on Tuesday for a second straight day as the protests threatened to halt shipments of Brazil’s record soybean harvest.
Brazil’s third largest poultry and pork processor, Cooperativa Central Aurora Alimentos, said on Tuesday it planned to halt operations at 15 plants in the country on Thursday and Friday because of the road transport snarls. (Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello, Pedro Fonseca, Alberto Alerigi Writing by Ana Mano Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Frances Kerry) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brazil-transport/update-1-brazil-truckers-to-hold-talks-on-ending-fuel-protests-idUSL2N1SU0JS |
(Updates rand, bonds, stocks)
JOHANNESBURG, May 23 (Reuters) - South Africa’s rand steadied against the dollar in late afternoon trade on Wednesday, recovering from losses earlier in the session, as a rise in consumer price inflation (CPI) reduced prospects for further interest rates cuts.
At 1515 GMT, the rand was trading at 12.5650 against the dollar, not far off its close of 12.5625 on Tuesday. It had earlier weakened to a session low of 12.7050.
South Africa’s CPI jumped to 4.5 percent in April as a higher rate of value added tax and a sharp increase in fuel prices wiped away the previous month’s dip in prices.
“The South African Reserve Bank has acknowledged the favourable trend in inflation and growth in the early months of 2018, lowering the repo rate by 25 basis points in March,” said Elize Kruger, an economist at NKC African Economics.
“However, given the forecast of an upward trend in consumer inflation from here onwards, we forecast no further interest rate cuts, but that interest rates could remain unchanged at this level for a prolonged period.”
The central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged at 6.5 percent on Thursday, according to a Reuters survey of 25 economists.
The focus for markets this week is also on S&P Global Ratings’ sovereign ratings review on Friday.
In fixed income, the yield on the government bond due in 2026 fell 3 basis points to 8.52 percent, reflecting firmer prices.
Stocks tanked as investors across the globe sought refuge in safe havens on jitters about setbacks to U.S.-China trade talks.
Scandal-hit retailer Steinhoff set the tone, falling nearly 8 percent after saying it had repaid about 2 billion euros ($2.3 billion) of its debt in Africa after its local unit used the proceeds of a fundraising to pay back 16 billion rand ($1.3 billion) in shareholder loans.
The retailer has been fighting for survival after it discovered accounting irregularities in December, which sparked a sell-off in its shares that wiped more than $10 billion off its stock market value and led to multiple investigations globally.
The benchmark Top-40 index fell 2 percent to 50,599 points, while the wider All-share index shed 1.9 percent to 57,043 points. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Ed Stoddard; Editing by Mark Potter)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/safrica-markets/update-1-south-african-rand-steadies-ahead-of-rates-decision-stocks-tumble-idUSL5N1SU59E |
May 21 (Reuters) - Dova Pharmaceuticals Inc:
* DOVA PHARMACEUTICALS ANNOUNCES U.S. FDA APPROVAL OF DOPTELET® (AVATROMBOPAG)
* DOVA PHARMACEUTICALS INC - POSITIONED TO LAUNCH DOPTELET IN JUNE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-dova-pharmaceuticals-announces-us/brief-dova-pharmaceuticals-announces-u-s-fda-approval-of-doptelet-idUSASC0A32X |
May 15, 2018 / 3:56 PM / Updated an hour ago Lock de Jager injured in blow to Boks Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
PRETORIA (Reuters) - South Africa lock Lood de Jager is the latest injury setback for the Springboks ahead of the arrival of England’s touring team after tearing a pectoral muscle that requires surgery. FILE PHOTO: Britain Rugby Union - South Africa Captain's Run - Twickenham Stadium - 11/11/16 South Africa's Lood de Jager during the captain's run Action Images via Reuters / Andrew Boyers Livepic
De Jager was hurt in the Bulls’ 39-33 Super Rugby win over the Sharks on Saturday and will not available before September, team officials said on Tuesday.
He joins his successor as SA Rugby Player of the Year, Malcolm Marx, on the sidelines for the four tests in June — against Wales in Washington DC on June 2 and then three at home to England.
Marx has a hamstring injury.
South Africa will also miss Eben Etzebeth, who captained the team last year in the absence of Warren Whiteley, who is expected back from a knee injury in the coming weeks. Etzebeth is suffering from a long-standing shoulder injury. Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Johannesburg; Editing by Christian Radnedge | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-rugby-union-zaf/lock-de-jager-injured-in-blow-to-boks-idUKKCN1IG2GE |
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Adaptive Insights, Inc. today announced that it has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission relating to a proposed initial public offering of its common stock. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not been determined. Adaptive Insights intends to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ADIN."
Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch, Jefferies LLC, and RBC Capital Markets, LLC will act as bookrunners for the proposed offering. JMP Securities and Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. will act as co-managers.
This proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. Copies of the preliminary prospectus, when available, may be obtained from Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Attention: Prospectus Department, 180 Varick Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10014; and from BofA Merrill Lynch, NC1-004-03-43, 200 North College Street, 3rd floor, Charlotte, NC 28255-0001, Attention: Prospectus Department; or by email at [email protected] .
A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation, or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.
Adaptive Insights is headquartered in Palo Alto, CA.
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/adaptive-insights-files-registration-statement-for-proposed-initial-public-offering-300650450.html
SOURCE Adaptive Insights | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/pr-newswire-adaptive-insights-files-registration-statement-for-proposed-initial-public-offering.html |
May 17, 2018 / 12:10 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Macedonian PM sees solution to name dispute with Greece in June Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
SOFIA (Reuters) - Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev said on Thursday an agreement between Skopje and Athens to settle a decades old name dispute could be reached before a European Union summit in June. Macedonian Prime Minister Zoran Zaev gives a news conference at the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov
Zaev met his Greek counterpart Alexis Tsipras on the sidelines of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia.
“We have discussed one (specific) solution to the name dispute that could be acceptable for both sides, but we need to have further discussions in our countries,” Zaev told reporters in Sofia.
Macedonia’s NATO and EU accession process has been blocked by Greece which disputes the former Yugoslav republic’s name, saying it implies a territorial claim over its northern province with the same name. Reporting by Ivana Sekularac; Editing by Renee maltezou | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-macedonia-greece-name/macedonian-pm-sees-solution-to-name-dispute-with-greece-in-june-idUKKCN1II1OB |
May 1 (Reuters) - Wesdome Gold Mines Ltd:
* Q1 REVENUE ROSE 30 PERCENT TO C$26.2 MILLION * QTRLY EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.02 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-wesdome-qtrly-earnings-per-share-0/brief-wesdome-qtrly-earnings-per-share-0-02-idUSASC09YTU |
May 8 (Reuters) - Energy Fuels Inc:
* ENERGY FUELS TO RESUME VANADIUM PRODUCTION AT ITS WHITE MESA MILL IN 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-energy-fuels-to-resume-vanadium-pr/brief-energy-fuels-to-resume-vanadium-production-at-its-white-mesa-mill-in-2018-idUSFWN1SF0JS |
May 21, 2018 / 11:31 AM / Updated 16 minutes ago London underground drivers to hold two days of strike in June: union Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - London commuters will face major disruption next month after the train divers’ union said on Monday it would stage two 24-hour strikes on the underground rail line which serves the Canary Wharf financial district. An Underground tube sign is seen alongside a clock on London King's Cross railway station, London, Britain, January 26, 2018. REUTERS/Peter Cziborra/Files
Drivers on the Jubilee Line will walk out on June 6 and 14 over the imposition of new timetables, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) union said.
“Drivers are angry at the impact on work life balance and rightly see this move as the thin end of a very long wedge that could see processes and agreements unilaterally shredded by tube bosses,” said RMT General Secretary Mick Cash.
The Jubilee Line connects Canary Wharf with the capital’s political heart at Westminster, as well as Bond Street in London’s main shopping district. Reporting by Ana de Liz; editing by Michael Holden | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/britain-railway-strike/london-underground-drivers-to-hold-two-days-of-strike-in-june-union-idINKCN1IM12L |
May 31, 2018 / 2:38 PM / Updated 10 minutes ago Ireland may order banks to increase top-up capital buffer Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland’s central bank signalled that it might increase the amount of capital that banks must set aside as extra protection against risks from future crises, including Brexit. FILE PHOTO: Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery and Governor Philip R. Lane (R) speak at the publication of the Central Bank of Ireland's review of residential mortgage lending requirements in Dublin, Ireland November 23, 2016. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Along with other central banks, Ireland introduced a countercyclical capital buffer (CCyB) in 2016 to force banks to build a cushion of capital in periods of economic normality that would make them less exposed during a downturn.
The CCyB, calculated as a proportion of a bank’s core equity tier 1 (CET1) capital, has been set at zero since its introduction but can be increased to as high as 2.5 percent under parameters set by the central bank.
Central Bank Deputy Governor Sharon Donnery said on Thursday that it was timely for the bank to consider wider aspects of its policy toolkit and the arguments for raising the CCyB early in the economic cycle were “compelling”.
“While we remain a long distance away from the worst of the excesses in 2004-2007, it is important for us as policymakers to recognise the risks related to the stage of the economic and financial cycle. If necessary, we should also be willing to take actions to offset those risks,” Donnery said in a speech.
“The arguments in favour of setting a positive CCyB sufficiently early in the cycle, to build in resilience and mitigate pro-cyclicality in a downturn, are compelling.”
The bank’s next quarterly review of CCyB will take place at the end of June.
Donnery said Ireland’s economy, Europe’s fastest growing for the last four years, continued to perform strongly but the relatively low unemployment rate, rising property prices and a turn in the credit cycle were indicative of potential emerging cyclical risks.
She also pointed to external threats to the open economy, including the potentially significant challenges posed by neighbour Britain’s departure from the European Union and moves towards protectionism, particularly in the United States.
The minimal impact on credit growth and economic activity, as well as the time needed for implementation and a lag effect in data relevant to decision making are all reasons in favour of an early activation of the CCyB, Donnery said.
She also highlighted the example of other European countries such as Britain, Sweden and Lithuania who have introduced a positive CCyB rate. Reporting by Graham Fahy; Editing by Padraic Halpin and Susan Fenton | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-cenbank/ireland-may-order-banks-to-increase-top-up-capital-buffer-idUKKCN1IW20H |
738 COMMENTS President Donald Trump didn’t mince words last fall when he explained to Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones that he wouldn’t relent in his criticism of NFL players who were kneeling during the national anthem to protest social injustice.
“This is a very winning, strong issue for me,” Mr. Trump said in a phone call, according to a sworn deposition given by Mr. Jones and reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. “Tell everybody, you can’t win this one. This one lifts me.”
Mr. Jones was deposed in a grievance filed against the National Football League by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who contends that NFL teams have blackballed him over his anthem protests.
A White House official said that Mr. Trump was advising Mr. Jones on what he believed would be good for the country and good for the sport. “The majority of the American people agree with the president, love our country, love our flag and believe it should be respected,” the official said.
Nearly two years since Mr. Kaepernick’s initial protest, NFL owners last week voted to change league rules : Players on the field for the national anthem are required to stand, or their teams could face repercussions. The overhaul allows players to remain in the locker room for the anthem, which was previously banned, but it also permits teams to punish players that violate the new protocol.
Related
NFL Adopts New Anthem Policy to Quell Player Protests Trump’s Strange, Sports Radio-Style Weekend NFL Protests Spread as Trump’s Feud With Athletes Escalates How a Weakened ESPN Became Consumed by Politics “I brought it out,” Mr. Trump said of the issue in a Fox & Friends interview after the rule change was announced. “I think the people pushed it forward.”
Depositions given by Mr. Jones and other owners indicate that Mr. Trump’s criticism pushed the league to shift its stance. League executives publicly repeated the NFL’s aim to stay out politics. But privately, they made political calculations in response to Mr. Trump’s repeated hammering of the issue.
The controversy over anthem protests had already been raging for a year when Mr. Trump—at a stump speech in Alabama last September— said that if a hypothetical player knelt during the national anthem , his team’s owner should “get that son of a bitch off the field now.” On Twitter , he later encouraged owners to fire those players and suggested a boycott.
“I was totally supportive of [the players] until Trump made his statement,” Stephen Ross, the Miami Dolphins’ owner and creator of programs advocating for social justice, said in his deposition. Noting that owners’ conversations with Mr. Trump were relayed during a league meeting, he said: “I thought he changed the dialogue.”
Mr. Trump’s stance is a key point in Mr. Kaepernick’s grievance, which was filed last October. It alleges that the league and its 32 teams colluded to keep him unsigned last season because of his political views.
Mr. Kaepernick, who ignited the anthem demonstrations in 2016 to draw attention to racial inequality and other social justice issues, has remained unsigned despite statistics superior to other quarterbacks who have gotten jobs. His grievance argues that Mr. Trump was an “organizing force in the collusion” because of the president’s relationships with various NFL owners, many of whom have backed him with campaign contributions.
When the 2017 season began, only a handful of players were still kneeling. But Mr. Trump’s fiery comments in Alabama—just before the season’s third weekend—changed that. The following Sunday, players knelt en masse to directly rebuke the president.
Many owners took a knee alongside their players. Mr. Jones, in a high-profile Monday night game Sept. 25, knelt with his players before the anthem—but they stood when it was played.
At a stump speech in Alabama last September, Donald Trump said that if a hypothetical player knelt during the national anthem, his team’s owner should ‘get that son of a bitch off the field now.’ Photo: brendan smialowski/Agence France-Presse/Getty Images Publicly, the NFL fought back and touted the moment as a display of unity. Commissioner Roger Goodell called Mr. Trump’s comments “divisive.” The league’s chief spokesman, Joe Lockhart, called the president “out of touch” and said, “everyone should know, including the president, that this is what real locker-room talk is.”
Behind the scenes, the kerfuffle rankled a league that was already grappling with declining ratings. Messrs. Ross, Jones and Bob McNair, the owner of the Houston Texans, both said in their depositions that they believed the protests were financially hurting their teams.
Some owners were upset with the comments made by Mr. Lockhart, a former press secretary for President Bill Clinton, who they believed was furthering the feud with the president. Mr. Lockhart, who declined to comment, left the league after the season.
“You cannot piss off a large percentage of your constituency,” Mr. Jones said in his deposition. Regarding Mr. Lockhart, he said: “I was proud to see him go.”
Mr. Jones relayed his conversation with Mr. Trump in a meeting between owners to decide how to handle these protests, according to Mr. Ross’s testimony. Many owners disagreed with the president and his tactics. Mr. McNair, the Texans owner, said he didn’t like the players kneeling, but he thought Mr. Trump’s language was inappropriate. “I wished he hadn’t said it,” Mr. McNair said in his deposition. Representatives for Mr. McNair didn’t respond to requests for comment.
After Mr. Trump’s comments, Mr. Ross met with various Dolphins players several times and asked them to stay off the field in lieu of protesting. Later, “they informed the coach that they couldn’t, in their conscience, stay in the tunnel. They wanted to go out.” Miami’s coach allowed them. And they did.
Mr. Ross said Robert Kraft, the owner of the New England Patriots, also brought up a conversation with Mr. Trump with the owners. Mr. Kraft told the group he was friends with Mr. Trump, but thought the president was wrong in the way he handled this issue.
Mr. Goodell, the NFL’s commissioner who at the time was at the center of a budding war among the owners over his contract extension, was also influenced by Mr. Trump’s comments, Mr. Ross said in his deposition.
“We continue to abide by the confidentiality provision of the [collective bargaining agreement] and will not comment on the grievance,” an NFL spokesman said.
This off-season brought both new opportunity and scrutiny. The league’s owners had two scheduled meetings, in March and May, to discuss an array of topics, including the anthem. At the same time, a former teammate of Mr. Kaepernick’s who also had taken a knee during the anthem, Eric Reid, was going unsigned.
In May, Mr. Reid filed a collusion grievance against the league, like Mr. Kaepernick. The NFL Players Association also filed a grievance , saying a team violated league rules by asking Mr. Reid about his intentions during the anthem.
Then, when the owners met last week in Atlanta, the host city for next year’s Super Bowl, they changed the rule.
Mr. Jones declined to comment. In his deposition, which was taken before the rule change, he fought back against the idea that Mr. Trump reframed the conversation.
“Let’s [not] give him that much credit,” he said. “But I recognize he’s the president of the United States.”
—Louise Radnofsky contributed to this article.
Write to Andrew Beaton at [email protected] | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-trumps-pressure-influenced-the-nfl-to-change-its-anthem-rules-1527685321 |
May 15, 2018 / 3:59 PM / in a minute Bunge files for IPO of sugar mills business in Brazil Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
May 15 (Reuters) - Global commodities trader Bunge Ltd said on Tuesday it has filed for a potential initial public offering of the company’s sugar milling business in Brazil, Bunge Açúcar & Bionergia, with the Brazilian Securities Commission.
Bunge has tried to sell its eight Brazilian sugar and ethanol mills for four years, but a separate sale process has failed to attract firm interest from strategic or financial investors.
On May 8, people familiar with the matter told Reuters that the company had hired banks to prepare for a listing. (Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/bunge-brazil-ipo/bunge-files-for-ipo-of-sugar-mills-business-in-brazil-idUSL3N1SM646 |
May 10, 2018 / 12:05 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Church and religion take back seat as a secular Ireland votes on abortion Conor Humphries , Emily G Roe 7 Min Read
NENAGH/CORK, Ireland (Reuters) - Three decades after Ireland introduced one of the world’s only constitutional bans on abortion, the Church that was so pivotal in securing the law’s passage finds itself a minor player in the now mainly secular battle to repeal it. Pro-Life campaigners hold flags and posters ahead of a 25th May referendum on abortion law, in Wicklow, Ireland, May 8, 2018. Picture taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
A vote on May 25 on whether to scrap the 1983 ban is the latest referendum to gauge just how much has changed in Ireland, once one of Europe’s most socially conservative and staunchly Catholic countries.
Polls suggest the repeal camp is in the lead but the vote is much closer than three years ago when Ireland became the first country to back gay marriage in a national referendum. The one-in-five who are undecided are likely to decide the outcome, both sides say.
As in the gay marriage case, the role of the Catholic Church this time is tricky: some feel the Church should be out in front robustly defending one of its core teachings. Others worry moralising by celibate priests may prove counter-productive.
“The priests in a way are damned if they do and damned if they don’t,” leading anti-abortion activist Vicky Wall said as she campaigned in central Ireland against repeal.
The leaflets she distributed around the rural market town of Nenagh mentioned religion just once, to address concerns that campaigners in favour of the ban were imposing their beliefs on the country.
“Not true. You don’t have to be from any faith tradition to agree that human life should be protected... The right to life is first and foremost a human rights issue,” it read.
Religion was front and centre when Ireland voted to ban abortion in a 1983 referendum described by columnist Gene Kerrigan as part of a “moral civil war” between conservative Catholics and progressive liberals for the country’s future.
The eighth amendment to enshrine the equal right to life of mother and her unborn child was proposed by a coalition of Catholic groups who feared Ireland would follow the United States and United Kingdom into expanding access to abortion.
Protestant churches felt the wording was too rigid, but it passed by a margin of two to one.
The result showed the depth of Catholic influence in Ireland. But it also consolidated opposition when the implications of the ban became clear in a series of legal cases just as clerical abuse scandals rocked trust in the Church. Pro-Life campaigner Vicky Wall holds a poster ahead of a 25th May referendum on abortion law, in Wicklow, Ireland, May 8, 2018. Picture taken May 8, 2018. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland was transfixed by the 1992 case of a 14-year-old rape victim barred from leaving the country by judicial order after she told the police she was planning to get an abortion. The injunction was lifted by the Supreme Court on the grounds her life was deemed at risk by suicide.
A referendum later that year enshrined the right of women to travel for an abortion, legalising a stream of more than 3,000 women who go to Britain every year for terminations.
In 2012 a 31-year-old Indian immigrant died from a septic miscarriage after being refused an abortion that might have saved her life.
The ensuing outcry led to legislation the next year to allow abortion when a woman’s life is in danger and, combined with criticism from the United Nations and European Court of Human Rights, helped build political pressure for a referendum to repeal the ban. CHURCH BATTLE
With just over two weeks to go before the vote, the Church has only recently begun to get involved, putting up posters at a few churches and allowing some anti-abortion campaigners to speak from the pulpit during Mass.
The small interventions have caused a rare public split.
The liberal Association of Catholic Priests, which represents more than 1,000 priests in Ireland, called the sermons “inappropriate and insensitive” and said that they would be regarded by some as “an abuse of the Eucharist.”
“As leadership of an association made up of men who are unmarried and without children of our own, we are not best placed to be in any way dogmatic on this issue,” it said. Slideshow (3 Images)
Pastoral letters from some of the country’s 25 bishops have used increasingly emotive language in defence of the ban in recent days, however.
“We must not be naive about what is at issue in this Referendum. It is a great struggle between light and dark, between life and death,” Bishop of Cloyne William Crean said in his letter. “I invite you to CHOOSE LIFE!”
Campaigners on both sides say they are generally avoiding religion because they are afraid to alienate undecided voters and because it’s just not as relevant as it once was.
Seventy-eight percent of Irish people identified as Catholic in the 2016 census, down from 92 percent in 1991; 10 percent said they had no religion and 3 percent were Protestant. But a survey by national broadcaster RTE in 2006 showed Mass attendance had dropped to 48 percent from 81 percent since 1990. In 2011 the Dublin diocese said as few as 18 percent of Catholics in the capital went to Mass every week.
“I think telling voters to vote a particular way because God wants them to was never likely to be a winner for either campaign on either side,” said John McGuirk, spokesman for the Save the 8th umbrella group.
He described the campaign as a “much more secular battle” than 1983. While religious iconography featured in one recent national anti-abortion rally, campaigners are focussing on the science of how the foetus develops in the stages of pregnancy.
Yes campaigners, outfitted in the black sweatshirts with ‘Repeal’ in white that have become their symbol, talk about women’s rights and the medical dangers they say are created by the ban.
“It’s about the fact that ... women don’t get a say in what they do with their bodies under the eighth amendment,” said 22-year-old Fay Carrol, a chef from Dublin who lives in Cork.
Others argue that since abortion is a reality for Irish women - by travelling or by ordering pills online - it should be acknowledged and integrated safely into the health care system.
“To require women to be dying to access termination of pregnancy... to demand that women who were raped carry their pregnancy to term, these are unacceptable risks and unacceptable situations,” said Rhona Mahony, Master of Dublin’s Holles Street Maternity Hospital.
Even without the Church’s active involvement, some Yes campaigners are concerned that the conservatism linked to Ireland’s Catholic tradition still guides many voters’ views.
“People are struggling with that legacy of centuries of Catholic Church teaching,” said veteran women’s rights campaigner Ailbhe Smyth. “I think this is, and will be, a very tight referendum.” Additional reporting by Padraic Halpin; Editing by Sonya Hepinstall | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-ireland-abortion/church-and-religion-take-back-seat-as-a-secular-ireland-votes-on-abortion-idUKKBN1IB1OI |
PHILADELPHIA, PA, Five Below, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIVE), the trend-right, high-quality, extreme-value retailer for tweens, teens and beyond, today announced that its financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2018 will be released after market close on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. The company will host a conference call at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time to discuss the financial results.
Investors and analysts interested in participating in the call are invited to dial 412-902-6753 approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. A live audio webcast of the conference call will be available online at investor.fivebelow.com .
A taped replay of the conference call will be available within two hours of the conclusion of the call and can be accessed both online and by dialing 412-317-0088 and entering the access code 10120727. The replay will be available until June 20, 2018.
About Five Below:
Five Below is a leading high-growth value retailer offering trend-right, high-quality products loved by tweens, teens and beyond. We know life is way better when you’re free to “let go & have fun” in an amazing experience filled with unlimited possibilities. We make it easy to say YES! to the newest, coolest stuff because everything is just $5 and below across awesome Five Below worlds: Style, Room, Sports, Tech, Create, Party, Candy and Now. Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Five Below today has over 650 stores in 32 states. For more information, please visit www.fivebelow.com and a store!
Investor Contact:
Five Below, Inc.
Christiane Pelz
215-207-2658
[email protected]
Source:Five Below, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/globe-newswire-five-below-inc-announces-first-quarter-fiscal-2018-earnings-conference-call.html |
May 15 (Reuters) - Canopy Growth Corp:
* CANOPY GROWTH ENTERS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE OUTSTANDING SHARES OF RESEARCH ARM CANOPY HEALTH INNOVATIONS
* CANOPY GROWTH CORP - SHAREHOLDERS OF CHI WILL RECEIVE 0.3790 COMMON SHARES OF COMPANY FOR EACH COMMON SHARE OF CHI HELD
* CANOPY GROWTH CORP - WILL ISSUE OPTIONS TO BUY SHARES OF CO FOR OPTIONS PREVIOUSLY ISSUED BY CHI AND CANOPY ANIMAL HEALTH
* CANOPY GROWTH - CO, CHI, CANOPY ANIMAL HEALTH ENTERED INTO AGREEMENT PURSUANT TO WHICH CO WILL BUY UNOWNED INTEREST IN CHI, CANOPY ANIMAL HEALTH
* CANOPY GROWTH - IN AGGREGATE, WILL ISSUE ABOUT 3 MILLION SHARES, HAVING VALUE OF $91.6 MILLION WITH OPTIONS HAVING “IN-THE-MONEY” VALUE OF $9.7 MILLION
* CANOPY GROWTH CORP - CHI MANAGEMENT TEAM WILL REMAIN IN PLACE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ([email protected])
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-canopy-growth-enters-agreement-to/brief-canopy-growth-enters-agreement-to-acquire-outstanding-shares-of-research-arm-canopy-health-innovations-idUSFWN1SM0OK |
GENEVA, May 18 (Reuters) - The World Health Organization is discussing with Democratic Republic of Congo whether the government will give approval for the use of Mapp Biopharmaceutical’s experimental ZMapp treatment for Ebola, a senior WHO official said on Friday.
“We believe it’s likely in the coming days,” WHO’s Deputy Director-General of Emergency Preparedness and Response Peter Salama told a news conference in Geneva. (Reporting by Tom Miles and Kate Kelland Editing by Catherine Evans)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/health-ebola-zmapp/who-expects-to-get-approval-to-use-zmapp-ebola-drug-in-congo-idUSL5N1SP4W5 |
4 Hours Ago | 01:22
When Amazon entered the handmade business, many investors thought Etsy was doomed.
But Amazon's push into crafts hasn't derailed business at Etsy, which has seen its stock rise more than 100 percent since Amazon launched Amazon Handmade in 2015.
For Etsy CEO Josh Silverman, who took the helm of the specialty retailer in May 2017, Etsy's ability to fend off Amazon stems from differing business priorities, he told CNBC on Wednesday.
"If you think about the traditional strategic advantages of the mass e-tailers, it's about price, it's about convenience and it's about selection," Silverman told "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer.
Companies like Amazon typically achieve their low prices by buying products in bulk — 1,000 or 10,000 at a time — and passing the discounts on to consumers.
"Well, if you can buy 1,000 of anything, it doesn't belong on Etsy," Silverman said. "In terms of convenience, they warehouse everything in advance so they can ship it to you [the] next day. Well, a great many items on Etsy are made to order, so you simply can't warehouse them in advance."
As for selection, Silverman emphasized that Etsy's pool of 1.9 million sellers produce some 50 million handmade items for the website. Although Amazon's total product count is in the hundreds of millions, "no one else comes close" in the handmade world, he said.
"It's just not obvious that their advantages transfer directly into our space," Silverman said of mass e-tailers like Amazon. "If you're going to one place over and over again every day to buy all of the commodities of life, when you want something special, you want the antidote to that. You want something that feels different. And Etsy is all about special."
Etsy's online ecosystem serves some 30 million buyers. Gross merchandise sales, or how many goods are sold and bought on Etsy's platform, grew to $1 billion in the most recent quarter.
Silverman said on Wednesday that growing gross merchandise sales would benefit most specialty e-commerce retailers: "the more we can grow gross merchandise sales, the more everybody wins."
Etsy has also been investing in improving its search and discovery capabilities, buying machine learning play Blackbird in 2016 and moving its infrastructure to the Google Cloud.
But Etsy has another key mission: to make its platform easy-to-use for its sellers so they can focus on making products instead of "being businesspeople," the CEO said.
Over 75 percent of Etsy's sellers run one-person businesses, about 87 percent are women and some 97 percent work from home. Almost every county in the United States is home to an Etsy seller, Silverman said, emphasizing how important ease of use is for his platform.
"As the nature of work changes, as automation is changing the nature of work, creativity can't be automated. So the opportunity to take your creative power, your creative energy and turn that into a business we think is really important," Silverman said. "I think it's a movement that's happening across America and across the world." Watch Josh Silverman's full interview here: show chapters | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/etsy-ceo-on-amazon-handmade-it-doesnt-really-threaten-our-business.html |
Former Sen. Harry Reid (D., Nev.) has undergone surgery to remove a tumor on his pancreas, his family said Monday, and he will now start chemotherapy as part of his cancer treatment.
His family said doctors at Johns Hopkins cancer center in Baltimore spotted the tumor “early,” during a routine screening, and that the “prognosis for his recovery is good.” The statement said Mr. Reid, 78, who was the Democratic leader in the Senate for more than a decade, is resting with his family and is in good spirits.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/former-sen-harry-reid-undergoes-surgery-for-pancreatic-cancer-1526328422 |
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury's revenue, shares hit 10-yr high 8:40am EDT - 00:53
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has reported its highest annual revenue since 2007, when last of the seven-part original series written by J. K. Rowling was published, sending the company's shares to a 10-year high. As Sonia Legg reports, nearly 21 years after its debut, the Harry Potter series continued to drive sales for Bloomsbury, with special editions of the boy wizard's adventures boosting demand.
Harry Potter publisher Bloomsbury has reported its highest annual revenue since 2007, when last of the seven-part original series written by J. K. Rowling was published, sending the company's shares to a 10-year high. As Sonia Legg reports, nearly 21 years after its debut, the Harry Potter series continued to drive sales for Bloomsbury, with special editions of the boy wizard's adventures boosting demand. //reut.rs/2KN4ztw | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/22/harry-potter-publisher-bloomsburys-reven?videoId=429307946 |
May 30, 2018 / 10:57 AM / Updated 5 minutes ago Bank of Montreal follows rivals with forecast-beating results Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
TORONTO (Reuters) - Bank of Montreal ( BMO.TO ) on Wednesday reported second quarter results which were ahead of market expectations, helped by strong performances at its retail and wealth management businesses in Canada and the United States. FILE PHOTO: The logo of the Bank of Montreal (BMO) is seen on their flagship location on Bay Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren/File Photo
The results mean that all of Canada’s biggest five banks have reported earnings which were ahead of expectations during the latest quarter. The banks have benefited from improved profit margins as a result of the Bank of Canada raising interest rates three times since July, offsetting slower mortgage growth after Canada’s banking regulator introduced stricter lending rules in January.
Canada’s fourth biggest lender said earnings per share, excluding exceptional items, rose by 15 percent to C$2.20 in the quarter to March 31. Analysts had on average forecast earnings of C$2.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S data.
Bank of Montreal’s net income, excluding one-off items, rose 13 percent to C$1.5 billion ($1.15 billion).
The bank said net income, excluding one-off items, at its Canadian retail business increased by 11 percent to C$591 million and net income, excluding one-off items, at its U.S. retail business increased by 43 percent to C$359 million.
Net income at the bank’s investment banking business fell by 8 percent to C$286 million.
Bank of Montreal said it took a charge of C$192 million during the period, primarily relating to severance pay resulting from job cuts which are part of a drive by new Chief Executive Darryl White to improve efficiency at the bank.
White said in April that he wanted a “lighter structure” at the bank.
National Bank of Canada ( NA.TO ), Canada’s sixth biggest lender, on Wednesday reported earnings per share of C$1.44 in the second quarter, up 13 percent on the year before. Reporting by Matt Scuffham; editing by David Evans | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bmo-results/bank-of-montreals-quarterly-earnings-beat-market-expectations-idUSKCN1IV1AC |
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is recalling more than 228,000 pounds of Spam and another product made by Minnesota-based Hormel after four consumers complained about metal objects in the food.
The USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says the canned chicken and pork in question was produced in February at the company's plant in Fremont, Nebraska. The agency says "minor oral injuries" have been reported.
The recall covers 12-ounce metal cans containing "SPAM Classic" with a "Best By" date of February 2021 date. Those products were shipped throughout the U.S.
The production codes are F020881, F020882, F020883, F020884, F020885, F020886, F020887, F020888 and F020889.
The recall also includes 12-ounce metal cans of "Hormel Foods Black-Label Luncheon Loaf" with a "Best By" date of February 2021. Those products were shipped only to Guam, with production codes F02098 and F02108. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/29/oral-injuries-lead-to-recall-of-spam-and-another-hormel-product.html |
NEW YORK, May 23, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- EverGreene Architectural Arts Inc., the nation's largest specialty contractor of architectural arts, announces today the acquisition of long standing partner Conservation Solutions Inc. (CSI). CSI is an internationally recognized heritage preservation firm providing conservation services to public and private owners of cultural heritage property throughout the United States, specializing in the treatment of cultural heritage, historic sites, and artistic works.
By incorporating CSI into the EverGreene organization, the firm will expand its range of services in all areas of architectural conservation. EverGreene and CSI bring complementary teams with decades of collective experience. The combined group will provide clients with one point of contact for all conservation needs.
EverGreene will continue to be led by Jeff Greene, AIC - Professional Associate, Founder and Chairman and Alan Weiner, President. CSI's Mark J. Rabinowitz and Joseph Sembrat, will both serve as Vice President, Conservation Services / Principal Conservator and will also serve on EverGreene's Management Team. The Principal Conservators are Fellows of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC).
The company will continue to operate as EverGreene Architectural Arts Inc. The combined conservation practice from this date on will be known as Conservation Solutions.
About EverGreene Architectural Arts Inc.
Founded in 1978, EverGreene Architectural Arts Inc., the nation's largest specialty contractor of architectural arts, serves as the industry leader in historic preservation, restoration and conservation solutions, through its pre-construction, construction and new design services. EverGreene is headquartered in Brooklyn with offices in Chicago, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco.
For more information visit: https://evergreene.com
About Conservation Solutions Inc.
CSI is a national leader in conservation, performing condition assessments, documentation, materials testing, and treatment services for the preservation of cultural heritage and historic sites, and artistic works. CSI's main office is located in the Metro Washington, DC area with additional satellite locations throughout the US.
For more information visit: https://conservationsolutionsinc.com
For press inquiries, please contact:
Katherine DeMercurio
Marketing & Communications Manager
EverGreene Architectural Arts
[email protected]
T: 212-244-2800
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evergreene-architectural-arts-inc-acquires-heritage-preservation-leader-conservation-solutions-inc-csi-300653055.html
SOURCE EverGreene Architectural Arts | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/pr-newswire-evergreene-architectural-arts-inc-acquires-heritage-preservation-leader-conservation-solutions-inc-csi.html |
May 18, 2018 / 6:37 PM / Updated an hour ago Mumbai's lunch-carriers choose wedding gifts for Harry and Meghan Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
MUMBAI (Reuters) - A group of Mumbai’s dabbawalas - the Indian city’s famed lunch delivery men - were out shopping on Friday for a traditional sari dress and a kurta jacket as a wedding gift for Britain’s Prince Harry and his American fiancee Meghan Markle. Students of an art school give finishing touches to a painting created to commemorate the royal wedding of Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle, in Mumbai, India May 18, 2018. REUTERS/Francis Mascarenhas
Prince Harry and Markle will marry on May 19 in a ceremony in Windsor that is attracting huge attention around the world.
Back in 2005, Harry’s father Prince Charles invited some dabbawalas from Mumbai to his wedding with Camilla Parker Bowles. One of them was Sopan Mare.
“At the time of Prince Charles’ wedding, the royal family treated us like family. As Prince Harry and Meghan Markle wed, it almost seems like it’s a wedding in our family,” said Mare, who helped choose the gifts for Harry and Meghan in one of the city’s fabric shops. Dabbawalas, also known as tiffin carriers, purchase a saree and Kurta, traditional Indian clothing, as gifts for Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to mark the occasion of their wedding, in Mumbai, India, May 17, 2018. Picture taken May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui
Subhash Talekar, a spokesman for the Mumbai Dabbawalas’ Association, said they would send a traditional sari and a long, close-fitting kurta jacket from the state of Maharashtra, of which Mumbai is the capital.
At the Gurukul School of Art in central Mumbai, children were painting posters of Harry, Markle and Queen Elizabeth. Dabbawalas or tiffin carriers purchase a saree, a traditional Indian women's cloth and Kurta as gifts for Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the occasion of their wedding, in Mumbai, India, May 17, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui/File Photo
Even more thrilled were the women from the Mumbai-based NGO Myna Mahila Foundation, one of a handful of charities picked by the couple to attend the wedding.
“We have been preparing in terms of what will we be wearing and what we will be giving,” said founder Suhani Jalota, whose organization aims to break taboos around menstrual hygiene in India by offering women access to low-cost sanitary pads.
Jalota said her NGO planned to give the couple calligraphic portraits because Markle, who visited the foundation last year, had been a calligraphy artist.
Elsewhere, PETA animal rights activists in India said they had given Prince Harry and Markle a bull, rescued after he was injured, and called him “Merry” - a hybrid of the couple’s names.
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle now have a one-ton bull to call their own. Rescuing Merry is an ideal wedding present for a couple who want their day celebrated with charitable works and contributions,” PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement. Reporting by Rajendra Jadhav and Sankalp Phartiyal; Additional reporting by Abhirup Roy, Francis M. and Euan Rocha; Writing by Raissa Kasolowsky; Editing by Kevin Liffey | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-britain-royals-world-india/mumbais-lunch-carriers-choose-wedding-gifts-for-harry-and-meghan-idUKKCN1IJ2HZ |
LONDON (Reuters) - Iran signed a preliminary deal on Wednesday for a consortium of international companies to develop an oilfield, the first such contract since Washington withdrew from a nuclear agreement and said it would reinstate sanctions on Tehran.
National Iranian South Oil Company (NISOC) signed a so-called heads of agreement (HOA) with London-based Pergas, the oil ministry’s news agency SHANA said.
The consortium will aim to produce 655 million barrels of oil from the Keranj field in Khuzestan province, southwest Iran, over the next 10 years, SHANA said.
British Ambassador to Tehran Rob Macaire and Pergas managing director Colin Rowley were present at the signing ceremony in Tehran, it added.
“We hope that the UK government ... endorses the agreement,” Iranian oil minister Bijan Zanganeh was Quote: d as saying by SHANA.
Zanganeh added that he expected European countries to make up for the U.S. “betrayal” of the nuclear deal, and support Western companies that sign deals with Tehran.
The agreement was announced on the same day that French energy group Total ( TOTF.PA ) said it would pull out of a multibillion-dollar gas project in Iran if it couldn’t secure a waiver from U.S. sanctions.
Zanganeh said Tehran would spare no efforts to maintain its oil production and exports at current levels, and predicted it would overcome the difficulties resulting from the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal.
“The current situation will pass and Iran will emerge as a winner,” he was Quote: d as saying. “Iran is a peace-seeking nation, and honors its contracts,” he added.
Zanganeh also said oil prices at $60-$65 per barrel would be “logical” and that he believed the United States was trying to keep prices inflated to support U.S. shale oil growth.
“Despite what Americans say that they do not support high oil prices, the high prices of oil can justify shale production, increase investment and create more jobs in the United States,” Bijan Zanganeh was Quote: d as saying by Mehr news agency.
Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Editing by Richard Balmforth and Mark Potter
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-oil-iran-contract/iran-signs-oil-contract-with-pergas-to-develop-keranj-field-idUSKCN1IH2NZ |
May 3 (Reuters) - China Automotive Systems Inc:
* CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS ESTABLISHES JOINT VENTURE WITH KYB (CHINA) INVESTMENT CO., LTD. FOR EPS SYSTEMS
* CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS - NEW JV, HUBEI HENGLONG KYB AUTOMOBILE ELECTRIC STEERING SYSTEM, IS WITH JAPAN KYB CO LTD’S KYB (CHINA) INVESTMENT CO
* CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS - HUBEI KYB PLANS TO INVEST ABOUT RMB 960 MILLION IN JV AND HAVE REGISTERED CAPITAL OF RMB 320 MILLION
* CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS - JV’S BOARD WILL CONSIST OF 5 DIRECTORS, 3 OF WHOM WILL BE APPOINTED BY CAAS INCLUDING CHAIRMAN
* CHINA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS - CO’S PARTICIPATION WILL BE RMB 213.12 MILLION FOR 66.6% OWNERSHIP, FUNDED BY IN-KIND AND CASH Source text for Eikon:
Our | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-china-automotive-systems-establish/brief-china-automotive-systems-establishes-joint-venture-with-kyb-investment-co-for-eps-systems-idUSFWN1SA0KI |
LONDON, May 29 (Reuters) - Britain’s Rolls-Royce said on Tuesday it was tripling capacity to fix problems with its Trent 1000 engines that have left some of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner planes grounded.
Rolls-Royce will set out full details on how it intends to speed up necessary inspections and repairs on Wednesday, a spokesman for the engine manufacturer said, confirming a development first reported by the Financial Times.
Turbine blades in the Trent 1000 package C engines are not lasting as long as expected, requiring extra inspections and meaning airlines are having to ground some aircraft.
Air New Zealand and Virgin Atlantic are among the airlines affected. (Reporting by Sarah Young, writing by David Milliken, Editing by Robin Pomeroy)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/rolls-royce-hldg-trent1000/rolls-royce-says-tripling-capacity-to-fix-trent-1000-engine-problems-idUSL5N1T06OQ |
CHARLOTTE, N.C., May 22, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Barings Global Short Duration High Yield Fund (the “Fund”) (NYSE:BGH) announced its monthly dividend for May 2018 of $0.1482 per share, payable on June 1, 2018. Based on the Fund’s April 30, 2018 share price of $18.81 per share, the distribution represents an annualized yield of 9.45% per share. Based on current projections through the payable date, the Fund expects that this distribution will be comprised of net investment income.
In addition, the Fund announced estimated monthly distributions of $0.1482 per share for June 2018 and July 2018. The distribution schedule appears below:
Month Ex-Date Record Date Payable Date Amount 1 May 05/21/2018 05/22/2018 06/01/2018 $0.1482 June 06/20/2018 06/21/2018 07/02/2018 $0.1482 July 07/20/2018 07/23/2018 08/01/2018 $0.1482 The Fund seeks to pay a distribution at a rate that reflects net investment income actually earned. A portion of each distribution may be treated as paid from sources other than net investment income, including but not limited to short-term capital gain, long-term capital gain or return of capital. The final determination of the source and tax characteristics of these distributions will depend upon the Fund’s investment experience during its fiscal year and will be made after the Fund’s year end. The Fund will send to investors a Form 1099-DIV for the calendar year that will define how to report these distributions for federal income tax purposes.
The Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that is managed by Barings LLC. The Fund invests primarily in short-duration, global high yield bonds with the objective of seeking as high a level of current income as Barings determines is consistent with capital preservation, with a secondary objective of capital appreciation. The Fund expects to maintain a weighted average portfolio duration, including the effects of leverage, of 3 years or less.
Cautionary Notice: Certain statements contained in this press release may be "forward looking" statements. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date in which they are made and which reflect management’s current estimates, projections, expectations or beliefs, and which are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially. These statements are subject to change at any time based upon economic, market or other conditions and may not be relied upon as investment advice or an indication of the fund's trading intent. References to specific securities are not recommendations of such securities, and may not be representative of the fund's current or future investments. We undertake no obligation to publicly update forward looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Because the Fund is newly organized, its shares have a limited history of public trading. Investors should read the Fund’s prospectus and consider carefully the risks, investment objectives, charges and expenses associated with an investment in the Fund’s common shares. For a copy of the prospectus, please contact your securities representative.
About Barings
Barings is a $305 billion* global financial services firm dedicated to meeting the evolving investment and capital needs of our clients. We build lasting partnerships that leverage our distinctive expertise across traditional and alternative asset classes to deliver innovative solutions and exceptional service. Part of MassMutual, Barings maintains a strong global presence with over 1,800 associates and offices in 16 countries. Learn more, at www.barings.com .
Contacts:
Kelly Smith, Media Relations, (980) 417-5648, [email protected]
Brian Whelan, Corporate Communications, (980) 417-7700, [email protected]
*As of March 31, 2018.
1 Amounts represent estimates for June and July.
Source: Barings | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/22/globe-newswire-barings-global-short-duration-high-yield-fund-announces-may-monthly-distribution-of-0-point-1482-per-share.html |
May 14 (Reuters) - Cona Resources Ltd:
* CONA RESOURCES LTD. ANNOUNCES BORROWING BASE REDETERMINATION AND AMENDMENTS TO ITS CREDIT FACILITY
* CONA RESOURCES LTD - BORROWING BASE AND COMMITMENT AMOUNT OF CREDIT FACILITY WAS REDUCED TO $300 MILLION FROM $325 MILLION
* CONA RESOURCES LTD - REVOLVING PERIOD OF CREDIT FACILITY WAS EXTENDED TO JULY 12, 2019 AND MATURITY DATE TO JULY 12, 2020 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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SAN RAMON, Calif., May 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SteadyMed Ltd. (Nasdaq:STDY), a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of drug product candidates to treat orphan and high-value diseases with unmet parenteral delivery needs, today provided a corporate update and announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Summary Corporate Update:
On April 29, 2018, SteadyMed and United Therapeutics Corporation (NASDAQ:UTHR) entered into a definitive merger agreement under which United Therapeutics will acquire SteadyMed for $4.46 per share in cash at closing and an additional $2.63 per share in cash upon the achievement of a milestone related to the commercialization of Trevyent®. The transaction, including the $75 million in contingent consideration, is valued at $216 million.
The validation and verification work on our lead drug product candidate Trevyent®, , which is in development for the treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH), is ongoing; the Trevyent NDA remains on track for resubmission to the FDA before the end of 2018.
In March 2018, SteadyMed received a notice of allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 14/456,416. The patent provides broad coverage for our PatchPump Drug Delivery Device, including its ECell displacement generating battery and prefilled drug reservoir.
“We are pleased that our progress towards NDA re-submission for Trevyent is on track for later this year,” said Jonathan Rigby, President and Chief Executive Officer of SteadyMed. “In addition, we believe that the proposed merger with United Therapeutics will help us realize our commitment to bring Trevyent to market to improve the lives of patients with PAH.”
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results Compared to First Quarter 2017 Financial Results
SteadyMed recorded no licensing revenues in the first quarter of 2018, compared to revenues of $315,000 in the first quarter of 2017. In the fourth quarter 2017, SteadyMed completed the recognition of revenue associated with the $3 million upfront payment received from Cardiome in 2015.
For the first quarter ended March 31, 2018, SteadyMed reported a net loss of $10.4 million, or $0.39 per share, compared to a net loss of $18.6 million, or $0.92 per share for the first quarter ended March 31, 2017. The current quarter's calculation of loss per share is based on 26,572,719 weighted-average shares outstanding compared to 20,139,826 shares outstanding in the prior-year period.
Total operating expenses for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 were $6.1 million, compared to $6.0 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. The increase in operating expenses was primarily attributable to an increase in general and administrative (G&A) expenses offset by decreases in research and development (R&D) expenses and sales and marketing (S&M) expenses.
R&D expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $3.9 million, compared to $4.1 million for the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in R&D expenses was primarily due to a decrease in use of sub-contractor services, and materials for Trevyent and our other development programs.
G&A expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $2.0 million, compared to $1.3 million for the first quarter of 2017. The increase in G&A expenses was primarily due to an increase in legal expenses related to the recently-announced merger agreement with United Therapeutics.
S&M expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $0.1 million compared to $0.6 million for the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in S&M was primarily due to decreases in consulting fees and salary expenses associated with the scaling back of the pre-commercialization plan for Trevyent in response to the refusal to file letter from the FDA for the Trevyent NDA.
In the first quarter of 2018, the Company recorded $4.2 million in financial expense, primarily as a result of the change in the fair value of the warrants issued in the April 2017 and August 2016 private placements compared to $12.7 million in financial expense for the first quarter of 2017 primarily as a result of the change in the fair value of the warrants issued in the August 2016 private placement.
As of March 31, 2018, SteadyMed had cash and cash equivalents of $26.6 million.
About SteadyMed
SteadyMed Ltd. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development of drug products to treat orphan and high value diseases with unmet parenteral delivery needs. The company's lead drug product candidate is Trevyent®, a development stage drug product that combines SteadyMed's PatchPump® technology with treprostinil, a vasodilatory prostacyclin analogue to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). SteadyMed intends to commercialize Trevyent in the U.S. and has signed an exclusive license and supply agreement with Cardiome Pharma Corp. for the commercialization of Trevyent in Europe, Canada and the Middle East. SteadyMed has offices in San Ramon, California and Rehovot, Israel. For additional information about SteadyMed please visit www.steadymed.com .
Forward Looking Statements
This press release contains within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements about the company's ability to advance its development-stage product candidates, including Trevyent, statements about the potential benefits of our development-stage product candidates and our PatchPump technology, statements about the potential benefits of orphan drug designation, and statements about our ability to obtain and maintain regulatory approval of our development-stage product candidates. Forward-looking statements reflect the company's current views with respect to certain current and future events and are subject to various risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk that Trevyent does not demonstrate clinical superiority to existing parenteral treprostinil products, that Trevyent is not approved for commercialization by the FDA, that Trevyent is not granted orphan drug exclusivity, and the risk that drug development involves a lengthy and expensive process with uncertain outcome. The risks, uncertainties and assumptions referred to above are discussed in detail in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q filed on May 15, 2018. The company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any to reflect events or circumstances that may arise after the date hereof except as may be required by law.
Contacts:
Marylyn Rigby
Senior Director, Investor Relations and Marketing
925-272-4999
[email protected]
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS U.S. dollars in thousands (except share data) Three months ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Unaudited Licensing Revenues $ 0 $ 315 Operating expenses: Research and development $ 3,921 $ 4,101 Sales and marketing 136 588 General and administrative 2,023 1,316 Total operating expenses 6,080 6,005 Total operating loss 6,080 5,690 Financial expense, net 4,159 12,721 Loss before taxes on income 10,239 18,411 Taxes on income 116 148 Net loss $ 10,355 $ 18,559 Net loss per share: Basic and diluted net loss per Ordinary Share $ 0.39 $ 0.92 Weighted average number of Ordinary Shares used in
computing basic and diluted net loss per share 26,572,719 20,139,826
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS U.S. dollars in thousands March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 Unaudited Assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 26,639 $ 32,453 Property and equipment, net 5,798 5,307 Other assets 728 731 Total assets $ 33,165 $ 38,491 Liabilities and shareholders' equity (deficit): Current liabilities 3,190 2,756 Liability related to warrants 15,544 11,343 Other non-current liabilities 596 581 Shareholders' equity 13,835 23,811 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 33,165 $ 38,491
Source: SteadyMed Therapeutics | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/15/globe-newswire-steadymed-provides-corporate-update-and-reports-first-quarter-2018-financial-results.html |
May 15 (Reuters) - Trez Capital Senior Mortgage Investment Corp:
* TREZ CAPITAL SENIOR MORTGAGE INVESTMENT CORPORATION ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* TREZ CAPITAL SENIOR MORTGAGE INVESTMENT CORP QTRLY EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.02 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-trez-capital-senior-mortgage-inves/brief-trez-capital-senior-mortgage-investment-corp-q1-earnings-per-share-0-02-idUSASC0A2HI |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China’s commerce ministry said on Wednesday Vice Premier Liu He will go to the United States to discuss trade at an appropriate time, accepting an invitation from U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Liu He, vice chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), pauses after casting his ballot during the seventh plenary session of the National People's Congress (NPC) at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee China and U.S. teams are in close communication, the ministry said in a statement on its website.
Reporting by Beijing Monitoring DESK
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-trade-china/china-confirms-vice-premier-liu-he-will-go-to-u-s-to-discuss-trade-idINKBN1IA0VA |
May 17 (Reuters) - Childrens Place Inc:
* THE CHILDREN’S PLACE REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q1 SALES $436.3 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $444 MILLION * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $2.21 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* REAFFIRMS FY 2018 ADJUSTED EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $7.95 TO $8.20
* GENERATED COMPARABLE RETAIL SALES OF NEGATIVE 1.8% IN Q1 * 2018 GUIDANCE ASSUMES A COMPARABLE RETAIL SALES INCREASE OF APPROXIMATELY 3.5% TO 4.5%
* FY EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $8.16, REVENUE VIEW $1.91 BILLION — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* SEES HIGH SINGLE DIGIT COMPARABLE RETAIL SALES INCREASE IN Q2 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: ([email protected])
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-the-childrens-place-reports-q1-ear/brief-the-childrens-place-reports-q1-earnings-per-share-1-78-idUSASC0A2QQ |
May 8, 2018 / 2:27 PM / in 2 hours French Labour minister summoned over PR contract Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - French judges have summoned Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud as part of an investigation into suspected financial misdemeanours by a state body she headed, a source close to the minister said on Tuesday. French Labour Minister Muriel Penicaud speaks during an interview with Reuters at her office in Paris, France, November 15, 2017. Picture taken November 15, 2017. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes - RC1F8CD18A60
Prosecutors launched a probe last year into the way a party promoting France at a consumer electronics fair in Las Vegas in 2016 was organised. President Emmanuel Macron was present at the party in his then-role as economy minister.
Penicaud will be questioned under caution on May 22, the source said, confirming a report by satirical newspaper Le Canard Enchaine. The procedure does not mean she will be put under formal investigation.
Macron has said any minister placed under formal investigation by magistrates must resign, although such investigations do not automatically lead to trial.
There was no open tender to organise the party for Business France, the body Penicaud led at the time. The job was performed by the Havas public relations agency.
Havas has said it had an 18-month contract with the state agency which allowed it to do the job without a public tender.
Penicaud said last year that she was the one who raised the alarm when an audit exposed a potential problem. Reporting by Elizabeth Pineau; writing by Sybille de La Hamaide; editing by Andrew Roche | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-politics-macron-vegas/french-labour-minister-summoned-over-pr-contract-idUKKBN1I91XZ |
May 8 (Reuters) - ARCA Biopharma Inc:
* ARCA BIOPHARMA ANNOUNCES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS AND PROVIDES CORPORATE UPDATE
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.20 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-arca-biopharma-q1-loss-per-share-0/brief-arca-biopharma-q1-loss-per-share-0-20-idUSASC0A0PI |
TOKYO (Reuters) - Flea market app operator Mercari Inc has received approval for an initial public offering in Tokyo that will raise up to $1.1 billion, a regulatory filing showed on Monday, giving investors a rare chance to buy into a Japanese unicorn.
Mercari, which offers a popular smartphone app that allows people to trade used items online, will list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange’s Mothers market on June 19, the filing with the Finance Ministry showed.
At Mercari’s indicative price range of 2,200-2,700 yen per share, the company will sell up to 117.6 billion yen ($1.1 billion) in shares and have a market value of 365.4 billion yen ($3.3 billion) upon listing.
The final price will be determined on June 11.
Founded in 2013, Mercari is a rare example of a unicorn - a startup with a valuation above $1 billion - in a country that is known for successful giant corporations but lacks a start-up scene.
The company is widely expected to use the funds from its IPO to finance overseas expansion. Gaining traction in the United States is crucial for Mercari’s global success, its chief executive told Reuters last month. [nL4N1RE09P]
Mercari’s U.S. business is headed by former Facebook Inc ( FB.O ) executive John Lagerling, who was hired last year. The app has been downloaded over 30 million times in the United States, versus 60 million in Japan.
Reporting by Chris Gallagher and Thomas Wilson; Editing by Himani Sarkar
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-mercari-ipo/japanese-marketplace-app-mercari-launches-1-1-billion-ipo-idUSKCN1IF0L5 |
The consumer stampede to streaming media from traditional broadcasters is claiming an unexpected victim: high-yield bond investors.
Telecommunications, cable and satellite companies have borrowed hundreds of billions of dollars in junk debt to build networks that would allow them to dominate their markets for decades to come.
The proliferation... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/cord-cutting-pain-spreads-to-high-yield-bond-market-1525780801 |
ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis’s top lawyer quit on Wednesday over a $1.2 million contract he co-signed with U.S. President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, a deal the Swiss drugmaker’s ex-CEO also said was a mistake.
FILE PHOTO: Swiss drugmaker Novartis' logo is seen at the company's plant in the northern Swiss town of Stein, Switzerland October 23, 2017. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo The contract with Michael Cohen’s Essential Consultants, the same firm used to pay porn star Stormy Daniels, has distracted Novartis’s efforts to improve its image after a series of missteps.
Current CEO Vas Narasimhan also said the contract was a major mistake at a meeting with investors in Basel on Wednesday and said Novartis was developing a principles-, not rules-based system to help avert corruption and guide employees’ behaviour.
“There will always be a way around the rule,” Narasimhan told investors. “Whereas if you ask the question, ‘Is this the right thing to do, are you comfortable with this being on the front page of the newspaper?’... that’s going to help get us to a better place.”
Since 2015, Novartis has paid out hundreds of millions in settlements and fines as a result of kickback allegations in South Korea, the United States and China and faces an investigation of alleged bribery in Greece. A trial for another U.S. kickbacks case is scheduled for 2019.
Former Novartis CEO Joe Jimenez, who had co-signed the contract with Cohen’s alongside general counsel Felix Ehrat, said there should have been more due diligence and he should have tried to fire Cohen in March 2017.
“We wanted to terminate the contract at that point, but in the end we decided there would be almost-certain litigation,” he said. “This was the mistake. We should have just ended our relationship at that point, regardless of what it was going to cost us.”
Novartis had been seeking help understanding the Trump administration’s thinking and was referred to Cohen by a third party, Jimenez told Reuters. He did not name the person.
U.S. lawmakers have demanded Novartis and AT&T, which also made payments to Cohen’s firm, provide details. Ron Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, has initiated an investigation.
CULTURE SHIFT Ehrat, Novartis’s general counsel since 2011, had been expected to leave within the next 1-1/2 years but now will be done June 1 following his resignation, while Jimenez stepped down on Feb. 1 and was replaced by Narasimhan.
Ehrat, who said he was quitting to take responsibility for the Cohen contract, will be replaced by chief ethics officer Shannon Klinger who Narasimhan elevated to the executive committee this year as he made cultural change a priority. Novartis said she had not been aware of the Cohen contact.
Novartis has also said Narasimhan had nothing to do with the Cohen contract and Chairman Joerg Reinhardt said that the board of directors was not aware of it at the time it was signed.
Narasimhan spent much of the Basel investor meeting reassuring analysts and shareholders that cultural change was a top priority.
Novartis shareholders have urged Narasimhan to exert more "moral influence" over perceived ethical shortcomings that Jimenez in 2016 blamed on a "results-oriented" sales culture and some bad actors. [ reut.rs/2Ipdn83 ]
Klinger cited changes to bonus schemes for Novartis’s drug sales force that are meant to avoid potential for corruption.
“Any one sales rep can have no more than 40 percent (bonus), so we think that by doing this we have also embedded our values and behaviours for our sales reps,” she said.
DRUG PIPELINE In his presentation to investors, Narasimhan highlighted a dozen medicines in the group’s pipeline that Novartis believes have $1-billion-plus annual sales potential, placing it on track to increase sales and expand profit margins through 2022.
The company will also consider pruning struggling operations, including the Sandoz generics unit’s U.S. pills business that has been hit by price pressure. It is also reviewing the future of the Alcon eye surgery division, reiterating that this could include a possible spin-off in early 2019.
Priority areas for M&A include cancer medicine, cell and gene therapies, liver disease and digital and data science.
Narasimhan made a big bet on gene therapy with an $8.7 billion deal to buy AveXis last month.
But Novartis is unlikely to mimic deals such as Takeda’s $62 billion takeover of Shire that are transforming the pharmaceuticals industry, Chief Financial Officer Harry Kirsch said.
“I don’t think there is a domino effect if some others were to merge or acquire large scale, that our hands would be forced in any way,” Kirsch told analysts.
Additional reporting by Ben Hirschler in London; Editing by Michael Shields/Louise Heavens/Alexander Smith/Jane Merriman
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When a Google executive found a high-end Bluetooth headset selling at a steep discount on the company's shopping site earlier this year, he didn't consider that the deal may have been too good to be true.
He ordered the product and waited. And waited. The expected delivery date passed. He tried calling the website's customer service number. It was disconnected.
The headset never arrived. The money was lost.
In reality, the merchant wasn't based in the U.S., as its website indicated. Google Shopping had sent the buyer about 8,000 miles away, to a bogus seller in Vietnam who took the Google employee's credit card information with no intention of ever sending out a headset.
The prospective buyer kicked the case over to his co-workers to start an investigation. But instead of simply banning the bad actor from listing new products, Google Shopping's trust and safety team initiated a global probe that ultimately tracked down 5,000 merchant accounts wrapped up in a sophisticated scheme to defraud users.
"I think we caught them right at the tip of when they were trying to scale up," Saikat Mitra, Google Shopping's director of trust and safety, told CNBC.
The story, which Mitra is sharing publicly for the first time, reflects Google's never-ending battle against scams, a fight that requires engineers and their increasingly sophisticated machine learning tools. It also illustrates the risks that consumers face as Google aggressively tries to win back product searches from Amazon and stay relevant in the future of e-commerce.
Although Google Shopping may look like a marketplace, it really isn't. Amazon and eBay operate shopping platforms that connect sellers with buyers and offer protections like money-back guarantees. Google, by contrast, sends shoppers off its site after they click on an item, and thus has no visibility into what happens after the transaction.
Nor does Google take responsibility for scams. If you order something from a sketchy website you found through Google Shopping and don't pay through a service like PayPal , which has its own robust fraud checks, you're likely out of luck.
Like Google's dominant search engine, Google Shopping is an advertising site. If you want a new camera, a pair of Comme des Garçons sneakers or a sequin backpack, and you start your search on Google , you'll be greeted with a big, scrollable list of ads. If you then click on Google's "Shopping" tab, you'll be directed to a more robust page where you can search products by price, color, or size. If you didn't notice the little "Sponsored" messages tag in the corner, you might not recognize all these listings as advertisements.
That model keeps Google in the high-margin business of online ads and away from the costly operations of holding inventory and managing a massive logistics and shipping network.
(Google also has a separate shopping product , called Express, that only partners with specific retailers and does guarantee purchases.)
E-commerce is a market Google can't afford to lose. Digital agency Merkel said its clients increased spending on Google Shopping by 40 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, and ad impressions on the shopping site surged 47 percent. Shopping is becoming even more important as the battle for users turns to voice-controlled speakers in the home, a market where the Amazon Echo has an early lead over Google Home.
Without owning and operating the platform, Google has less control over who sets up shop. For a business to create a Google Shopping ad, it has to follow a variety of policies meant to keep consumers safe. But, as the Bluetooth headset example illustrates, there's still room for fraudsters to game the system.
What Google's doing to keep its platform safe That's where Mitra has work to do.
Once his team was made aware of the Google employee's experience, it got to work using advanced data algorithms and looking for subtle connections between merchant accounts, Mitra said. Through machine learning, Google discovered a cluster of merchants with similar data and online habits. More than 5,000 well-designed websites that looked like they belonged to U.S. based companies were actually being run by a ring of scammers in Vietnam.
Google booted those merchants from its ads product and was able to recognize when members of the same group tried to rejoin the platform.
Mitra's team determined that the merchants had likely been preparing sleeper accounts for at least six months to make them look legitimate. When one shop got rejected, there were many more that would be on standby to fill the ranks.
"The coordination among them, and their persistence and desperation to get back on the system was stark," Mitra says. "That was really unique."
Scamming is nothing new to the internet, particularly when it comes to commerce. Counterfeit goods are a common problem across all platforms and something that Amazon has struggled with for years . In the past it was common for people to order goods through Google Shopping only to receive shoddily made products that looked nothing like the pictures. Those practices were hard to police, Mitra says, but Google addressed the issue by integrating seller reviews and requiring that all merchants meet a minimum review score.
show chapters Amazon sellers are not always trustworthy, but this new tool will expose them before you buy 1:35 PM ET Fri, 9 March 2018 | 01:56 Today, Google rejects about a quarter of the merchant applications that it receives. Once inventory is live, it continues to check against every shop's images, text, behaviors, or activity spikes. With millions of merchants and billions of product offers, Google relies on a combination of heuristics, artificial intelligence and human reviewers, who train the AI models and also manually review reports of fraud .
"Our mission is to make a platform like Google Shopping so safe, that people will feel like, 'OK, I found this through Google Shopping so I trust it,'" Mitra says.
As Google pushes deeper into commerce, the company has to simultaneously focus on growth and competition with Amazon while also preserving the trust its built up with consumers through search and other ad products. A November 2017 Survata study found that people trusted Google advertising more than that on any other platform.
That means when a user puts money down for a Bluetooth headset, it needs to arrive. Especially since Google won't be offering any refunds. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/how-google-weeds-out-fraud-in-its-shopping-tool-.html |
The consumer tells us what to do: Tilman Fertitta 2 Hours Ago Houston Rockets and Golden Nugget owner Tilman Fertitta discusses why he decided to purchase Waitr and get into the food delivery business. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/17/the-consumer-tells-us-what-to-do-tilman-fertitta.html |
MOSCOW, May 2 (Reuters) - Armenia’s national rail operator said on Wednesday it was suspending some rail services because anti-government protesters were blocking tracks.
The operator, South Caucasus Railways, said in a statement it was suspending goods services and suburban passenger services across the country, citing “unsanctioned blocking of tracks and interference in the operation of rail transport”. (Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan Writing by Christian Lowe Editing by Catherine Evans)
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© 2018 Reuters. All Rights Reserved. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/armenia-politics-protests-railways/protests-force-armenia-to-halt-some-rail-services-operator-idUSR4N1S4015 |
May 22, 2018 / 10:01 AM / Updated an hour ago French unions lead more protests against public service shakeup Sophie Louet 2 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - France’s labour unions, galled by years of public sector pay curbs and President Emmanuel Macron’s economic reforms, urged civil servants, hospital staff and other state employees to stop work on Tuesday and join nationwide street protests. French civil servants carry labour union flags as they march behind a banner during a national day of strikes by public sector workers, in Marseille, France, May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jean-Pauil Pelissier
It is the third time that the unions have sought to stage a show of strength in such a way since Macron began his five-year term in May 2017. A previous one drew some 320,000 people into the streets in March.
The 40-year-old leader has shown no sign of surrender so far. French civil servants carry labour union flags as they march behind a banner during a national day of strikes by public sector workers, in Marseille, France, May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Jean-Pauil Pelissier
Tuesday’s call came from all of the large labour unions plus many smaller ones and involved organisation of street rallies in about 140 cities, towns and villages across France. Slideshow (3 Images)
Postal workers, air traffic controllers, state teachers and public administration workers were urged to quit their posts and join marches to denounce what the unions say is an erosion of spending power and the public service itself under Macron.
One catalyst for their anger is a proposal to end certain sick leave perks and cut 120,000 government administration posts. Also on the cards is an increased recourse to contract hiring rather than the job-for-life recruitment that is standard in the civil service.
In all, France has about 5.7 million employees in government administration, state agencies, schools and hospitals.
The latest protest dovetails with one specific to France’s national railways: services have been disrupted for several days each week since early April by strikes over plans end the SNCF train company’s monopoly, and with it the hiring of rail workers on more protective contracts than other sectors.
“We’re demonstrating in defence of a public service that is there to serves everyone, wherever in the country they live,” Philippe Martinez, head of the Communist-linked CGT union, told RTL radio. Writing by Brian Love; Editging by Richard Balmforth | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-reform-publicworkers/french-unions-lead-more-protests-against-public-service-shakeup-idUKKCN1IN146 |
Q1 Leaf Group Revenue Grows 24% Year-over-Year to $33.7 Million Q1 Marketplaces Revenue Grows 32% Year-over-Year to $21.0 Million Q1 Media Revenue Grows 12% Year-over-Year to $12.8 Million Leaf Group Properties Reach Over 54 Million Average Monthly Unique Visitors in the U.S. during Q1
SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Leaf Group Ltd. (NYSE: LFGR), a diversified consumer internet company comprised of several marketplace and media properties, today reported financial ended March 31, 2018.
Financial Summary
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Marketplaces revenue $ 20,967 $ 15,876 Media revenue 12,780 11,362 Total revenue $ 33,747 $ 27,238 Net loss $ (5,925 ) $ (10,018 ) EPS - basic and diluted $ (0.26 ) $ (0.50 ) Adjusted EBITDA (1) $ (1,247 ) $ (4,425 ) Net cash used in operating activities $ (5,299 ) $ (7,699 ) Free cash flow (1) $ (7,001 ) $ (8,715 ) (1) These non-GAAP financial measures are described below and reconciled to their most directly comparable GAAP measures in the accompanying tables. Q1 2018 Financial Summary:
Leaf Group is comprised of two reporting segments: Marketplaces and Media.
For the first quarter of 2018:
Total revenue increased 24% year-over-year from $27.2 million to $33.7 million due to a 32% increase in Marketplaces revenue and a 12% increase in Media revenue. Marketplaces revenue increased 32% year-over-year from $15.9 million to $21.0 million due to a 25% increase in Society6 revenue, inclusive of Deny Designs acquired in May 2017, and a 103% increase in Saatchi Art revenue, inclusive of The Other Art Fair. Society6 revenue growth was driven by the acquisition of Deny Designs in May 2017 and an increase in average order value from price increases and a reduction in promotional discounts. Saatchi Art revenue growth was driven by the introduction of three art fairs hosted by The Other Art Fair, increased conversion on Saatchi Art, and a higher commission rate on Saatchi Art initiated in Q2 2017. Media revenue increased 12% year-over-year from $11.4 million to $12.8 million. The increase in Media revenue was primarily driven by a 25% increase in Livestrong revenue as a result of traffic growth and improved revenue per visit. Net loss was $(5.9) million for the quarter, improving 41% year-over-year and Adjusted EBITDA was $(1.2) million for the quarter, improving 72% year-over-year, reflecting revenue growth in both Marketplaces and Media, reduced Media operating expenses, and a decrease in Marketplaces expenses as a percentage of revenue. Cash and cash equivalents was $46.5 million at period end, reflecting $23.4 million in net proceeds from the follow-on offering of 3,373,332 shares of Leaf Group common stock completed in February 2018. On a consolidated basis, Leaf Group’s properties reached over 54 million average monthly unique visitors in the U.S. during Q1 (source: Jan – Mar 2018 U.S. comScore).
Operating Metrics (1) :
Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 %
Change
Marketplaces Metrics: Number of Transactions (2) 307,935 267,768 15 % Gross Transaction Value (3) (in thousands) $ 26,592 $ 19,675 35 % Media Metrics: Visits (4) (in thousands) 771,571 695,543 11 % Revenue per Visit (RPV) (5) $ 16.56 $ 16.34 1 % (1) Beginning in 2018, gross transaction value was added as an operating metric for the Marketplaces segment. Gross transaction value provides a measure of the overall volume that flows through the Company’s marketplaces in a given period. The Company will no longer be reporting on average revenue per transaction, video views and social media followers as management no longer uses these as key operating metrics to evaluate the business. (2) Number of transactions is defined as the total number of transactions successfully completed by a customer during the applicable period, excluding certain transactions generated by Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair that relate to the hosting of the art fairs, such as sales of leased space to artists, sponsorships fees and ticket sales. (3) Gross transaction value is defined as the total dollar value of Marketplaces transactions, excluding certain transactions generated by Saatchi Art’s The Other Art Fair that relate to the hosting of the art fairs, such as sales of leased space to artists, sponsorships fees and ticket sales. Gross transaction value is the total amount paid by the customer including the total product price, inclusive of artist margin, shipping charges, taxes, and is net of any promotional discounts. Gross transaction value does not reflect any subsequent cancellations, refunds or credits and does not represent revenue earned by the Company. (4) Visits are defined as the total number of times users access the company’s content across (a) one of its owned and operated properties and/or (b) one of its partners’ properties, to the extent that the visited partner web pages are hosted by the company. In each case, breaks of access of at least 30 minutes constitute a unique visit. (5) RPV is defined as Media revenue per one thousand visits. Conference Call and Webcast Information
Leaf Group will host a corresponding conference call and live webcast today at 4:30 p.m. Eastern time (1:30 p.m. Pacific time). To access the conference call, dial 833-287-0803 (U.S./CAN) or 647-689-4462 (International) and reference conference ID 2295616. To participate on the live call, analysts should dial-in at least 10 minutes prior to the commencement of the call. A live webcast also will be available on the Investor Relations section of Leaf Group’s corporate website at http://ir.leafgroup.com and via replay beginning approximately two hours after the completion of the call.
Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
To supplement its consolidated financial statements, which are prepared and presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), Leaf Group uses certain non-GAAP financial measures, as described below. These non-GAAP financial measures are presented to enhance the user’s overall understanding of Leaf Group’s financial performance and should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, the financial information prepared and presented in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures presented in this release, together with the GAAP financial results, are the primary measures used by the company’s management and board of directors to understand and evaluate the company’s financial performance and operating trends, including period-to-period comparisons, because they exclude certain expenses and gains that management believes are not indicative of the company’s core operating results. Management also uses these measures to prepare and update the company’s short- and long-term financial and operational plans, to evaluate investment decisions, and in its discussions with investors, commercial bankers, equity research analysts and other users of the company’s financial statements. Accordingly, the company believes that these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating the company’s operating results in the same manner as the company’s management and in comparing operating results across periods and to those of Leaf Group’s peer companies.
The use of non-GAAP financial measures has certain limitations because they do not reflect all items of income and expense, or cash flows, that affect the company’s financial performance and operations. An additional limitation of non-GAAP financial measures is that they do not have standardized meanings, and therefore other companies, including peer companies, may use the same or similarly named measures but exclude or include different items or use different computations. Management compensates for these limitations by reconciling these non-GAAP financial measures to their most comparable GAAP financial measures in the tables captioned “Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures” included at the end of this release. Investors and others are encouraged to review the company’s financial information in its entirety and not rely on a single financial measure.
The company defines Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (Adjusted EBITDA) as net income (loss) excluding interest (income) expense, income tax expense (benefit), and certain other non-cash or non-recurring items impacting net income (loss) from time to time, principally comprised of depreciation and amortization, stock-based compensation and acquisition, disposition and realignment costs. Management believes that the exclusion of certain expenses and gains in calculating Adjusted EBITDA provides a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of the company’s underlying core revenue and operating costs that is focused more closely on the current costs necessary to operate the company’s businesses, and reflects its ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful analysis of trends. Management also believes that excluding certain non-cash charges can be useful because the amounts of such expenses is the result of long-term investment decisions made in previous periods rather than day-to-day operating decisions.
The company defines Segment Operating Contribution as net income (loss) excluding corporate or unallocated expenses, interest (income) expense, income tax expense (benefit), and certain other non-cash or non-recurring items impacting net income (loss) from time to time, principally comprised of depreciation and amortization, and stock-based compensation. Management believes that the exclusion of certain expenses and gains in calculating Segment Operating Contribution provides a useful measure for period-to-period comparisons of the segment’s underlying revenue and operating costs that is focused more closely on the current costs necessary to operate the segment, and reflects the segment’s ongoing business in a manner that allows for meaningful analysis of trends. Management also believes that excluding certain non-cash charges can be useful because the amounts of such expenses is the result of long-term investment decisions made in previous periods rather than day-to-day operating decisions.
The company defines Free Cash Flow as net cash provided by (used in) operating activities net of cash flows from acquisition, disposition and realignment activities; capital expenditures to acquire property and equipment; and purchases of intangible assets. Management believes that Free Cash Flow provides investors with useful information to measure operating liquidity because it reflects the company’s underlying cash flows from recurring operating activities after investing in capital assets and intangible assets. Free Cash Flow is used by management, and may also be useful for investors, to assess the company’s ability to generate cash flow for a variety of strategic opportunities, including reinvesting in its businesses, pursuing new business opportunities and potential acquisitions, paying dividends and repurchasing shares.
About Leaf Group
Leaf Group Ltd. (NYSE: LFGR) is a diversified consumer internet company that builds enduring, creator-driven brands that reach passionate audiences in large and growing lifestyle categories, including art and design (Saatchi Art), fitness and wellness ( Livestrong.com ), and home and décor (Society6 and Hunker). For more information about Leaf Group, visit www.leafgroup.com .
Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press 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. The forward-looking statements set forth in this press release include statements regarding potential synergies achieved from acquisitions, the impact of strategic operational changes and our future financial performance. In addition, statements containing words such as “guidance,” “may,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “projections,” “business outlook,” and “estimate” or similar expressions constitute Actual results may differ materially from the results predicted, and reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties regarding the company’s future financial performance; could cause actual results or developments to differ materially from those indicated due to a number of factors affecting Leaf Group’s operations, markets, products and services; and are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the company’s industry, financial condition, operating performance and results of operations, including certain assumptions related thereto. Potential risks and uncertainties that could affect the company’s operating and financial results are described in Leaf Group’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ( http://www.sec.gov ) on March 1, 2018, as such risks and uncertainties may be updated from time to time in Leaf Group’s quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, information under the captions “Risk Factors” and “Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” These risks and uncertainties include, among others: the company’s ability to successfully drive and increase traffic to its marketplaces and media properties; the company’s ability to attract new and repeat customers and artists to its marketplaces and successfully grow its marketplace businesses; the impact of increasing mobile usage on the company’s marketplace businesses; changes in the methodologies of internet search engines, including ongoing algorithmic changes made by Google, Bing and Yahoo!; the effects of shifting consumption of media content and online shopping from desktop to mobile devices and/or social media platforms; the potential impact on advertising based revenue of lower ad unit rates, a reduction in online advertising spending, a loss of advertisers, lower advertising yields, increased availability of ad blocking software, particularly on mobile devices and/or ongoing changes in ad unit formats; the impact of certain changes made to the business model for the company’s media properties, including the ability to successfully launch, manage and grow new vertically focused web properties; our ability to effectively integrate, manage, operate and grow our recently acquired Deny Designs marketplace business; the company’s dependence on various agreements with a specific business partner for a significant portion of its advertising revenue; the company’s ability to effectively manage its expected uses of the proceeds from its recent follow-on offering of common stock; the company’s ability to successfully expand its current lines of business and grow new lines of business; changes in amortization or depreciation expense due to a variety of factors; potential write downs, reserves against or impairment of assets including receivables, goodwill, intangibles (including media content) or other assets; and the company’s ability to retain key personnel. From time to time, the company may consider acquisitions or divestitures that, if consummated, could be material. Any forward-looking statements regarding financial metrics are based upon the assumption that no such acquisition or divestiture is consummated during the relevant periods. If an acquisition or divestiture were consummated, actual results could differ materially from any The company does not intend to revise or update the information set forth in this press release, except as required by law, and may not provide this type of information in the future.
Leaf Group Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue: Product revenue $ 18,451 $ 14,584 Service revenue 15,296 12,654 Total revenue 33,747 27,238 Operating expenses: Product costs (exclusive of amortization of intangible assets shown separately below) (1) 13,337 10,534 Service costs (exclusive of amortization of intangible assets shown separately below) (1)(2) 6,287 5,790 Sales and marketing (1)(2) 6,989 6,724 Product development (1)(2) 4,710 4,750 General and administrative (1)(2) 7,308 7,653 Amortization of intangible assets 1,026 1,837 Total operating expenses 39,657 37,288 Loss from operations (5,910 ) (10,050 ) Interest income 18 43 Interest expense (1 ) (2 ) Other (expense) income, net (8 ) 3 Loss before income taxes (5,901 ) (10,006 ) Income tax expense (24 ) (12 ) Net loss $ (5,925 ) $ (10,018 ) Net loss per share - basic and diluted $ (0.26 ) $ (0.50 ) Weighted average number of shares - basic and diluted 22,957 19,942
(1)
Depreciation expense included in the above line items:
Product costs $ 182 $ — Service costs 654 743 Sales and marketing 8 9 Product development 20 23 General and administrative 565 655 Total depreciation $ 1,429 $ 1,430 (2)
Stock-based compensation included in the above line items:
Service costs $ 149 $ 155 Sales and marketing 210 201 Product development 508 396 General and administrative 1,341 1,326 Total stock-based compensation $ 2,208 $ 2,078 Leaf Group Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)
March 31, December 31, 2018 2017 Assets Current assets Cash and cash equivalents $ 46,523 $ 31,344 Accounts receivable, net 8,886 8,663 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 3,216 2,741 Total current assets 58,625 42,748 Property and equipment, net 11,988 11,665 Intangible assets, net 9,452 10,431 Goodwill 17,186 17,152 Other assets 1,093 1,246 Total assets $ 98,344 $ 83,242 Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity Current liabilities Accounts payable $ 1,619 $ 1,980 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 14,220 17,182 Deferred revenue 1,936 2,064 Total current liabilities 17,775 21,226 Deferred tax liability 51 40 Other liabilities 3,438 3,456 Total liabilities 21,264 24,722 Commitments and contingencies Stockholders’ equity Common stock 2 2 Additional paid-in capital 547,445 523,012 Treasury stock (35,706 ) (35,706 ) Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) 35 (17 ) Accumulated deficit (434,696 ) (428,771 ) Total stockholders’ equity 77,080 58,520 Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 98,344 $ 83,242 Leaf Group Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands)
Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Cash flows from operating activities Net loss $ (5,925 ) $ (10,018 ) Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities: Depreciation and amortization 2,455 3,267 Deferred income taxes 11 (57 ) Stock-based compensation 2,208 2,078 Other 100 1 Change in operating assets and liabilities, net of effect of acquisitions and disposals: Accounts receivable, net (323 ) 134 Prepaid expenses and other current assets (479 ) 903 Other long-term assets 55 1 Accounts payable (387 ) 40 Accrued expenses and other liabilities (2,886 ) (3,493 ) Deferred revenue (128 ) (555 ) Net cash used in operating activities (5,299 ) (7,699 ) Cash flows from investing activities Purchases of property and equipment (1,673 ) (1,058 ) Purchases of intangible assets (29 ) (46 ) Cash received from disposal of businesses and online properties, net of cash disposed — 385 Restricted deposits — 606 Other — 1 Net cash used in investing activities (1,702 ) (112 ) Cash flows from financing activities Proceeds from exercises of stock options and purchases under ESPP 148 309 Repurchases of common stock — (65 ) Proceeds from issuance of common stock 23,367 — Taxes paid on net share settlements of restricted stock units (1,402 ) (1,791 ) Cash paid for acquisition holdback — (119 ) Other (17 ) (16 ) Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities 22,096 (1,682 ) Effect of foreign currency on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (18 ) (4 ) Change in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash 15,077 (9,497 ) Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, beginning of period 32,300 51,957 Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, end of period $ 47,377 $ 42,460 Reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash Cash and cash equivalents $ 46,523 $ 41,504 Restricted cash included in other current assets 136 136 Restricted cash included in other long-term assets 718 820 Total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash shown in the statement of cash flows $ 47,377 $ 42,460 Leaf Group Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Reconciliations of Non-GAAP Financial Measures
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Three months ended March 31,
2018 2017 Adjusted EBITDA:
Net loss $ (5,925 ) $ (10,018 ) Add (deduct): Income tax (benefit) expense 24 12 Interest (income) expense, net (17 ) (41 ) Other expense (income), net 8 (3 ) Depreciation and amortization (1) 2,455 3,267 Stock-based compensation (2) 2,208 2,078 Acquisition, disposition and realignment costs (3) — 280 Adjusted EBITDA $ (1,247 ) $ (4,425 ) Free Cash Flow:
Net cash used in operating activities $ (5,299 ) $ (7,699 ) Purchases of property and equipment (1,673 ) (1,058 ) Purchases of intangible assets (29 ) (46 ) Acquisition, disposition and realignment cash flows (3) — 88 Free Cash Flow $ (7,001 ) $ (8,715 ) (1) Represents depreciation expense of the company’s long-lived tangible assets and amortization expense of its finite-lived intangible assets, including amortization expense related to its investment in media content assets as included in the company’s GAAP results of operations. (2) Represents the expense related to stock-based awards granted to employees, as included in the company’s GAAP results of operations. (3) Represents such items, when applicable, as (a) legal, accounting and other professional fees directly attributable to acquisition, disposition or corporate realignment activities and (b) employee severance and other payments attributable to acquisition, disposition or corporate realignment activities. Leaf Group Ltd. and Subsidiaries
Reconciliation of Segment Disclosure
(In thousands)
Three months ended March 31, 2018 2017 Segment Revenue: Marketplaces $ 20,967 $ 15,876 Media 12,780 11,362 Total revenue $ 33,747 $ 27,238 Segment Operating Contribution: Marketplaces (1) $ 61 $ (1,405 ) Media (1) 5,457 3,615 Add (deduct): Corporate expenses (2) (6,765 ) (6,915 ) Acquisition, disposition and realignment costs (3) — 280 Adjusted EBITDA $ (1,247 ) $ (4,425 ) Reconciliation to consolidated pre-tax income (loss): Adjusted EBITDA $ (1,247 ) $ (4,425 ) Add (deduct): Interest income (expense), net 17 41 Other income (expense), net (8 ) 3 Depreciation and amortization (4) (2,455 ) (3,267 ) Stock-based compensation (5) (2,208 ) (2,078 ) Acquisition, disposition and realignment costs (3) — (280 ) Loss before income taxes $ (5,901 ) $ (10,006 ) (1) Segment operating contribution reflects earnings before corporate and unallocated expenses and also excludes: (a) depreciation expense; (b) amortization of intangible assets; (c) share-based compensation expense; (d) interest and other income (expenses); and (e) income taxes. (2) Corporate expenses include corporate and unallocated operating expenses that are not directly attributable to the operating segments, including: corporate information technology, marketing and general and administrative support functions and also excludes the following: (a) depreciation expense; (b) amortization of intangible assets; (c) share-based compensation expense; (d) interest and other income (expenses); and (e) income taxes. (3) Represents such items, when applicable, as (a) legal, accounting and other professional service fees directly attributable to acquisition, disposition or corporate realignment activities and (b) employee severance and other payments attributable to acquisition, disposition or corporate realignment activities. (4) Represents depreciation expense of our long-lived tangible assets and amortization expense of our finite-lived intangible assets, including amortization expense related to our investment in media content assets, included in our GAAP results of operations. (5) Represents the expense related to stock-based awards granted to employees as included in our GAAP results of operations.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180508006436/en/
Leaf Group Ltd.
Investor Contacts:
Jantoon Reigersman
Chief Financial Officer
(310) 656-6253
[email protected]
or
Shawn Milne
Investor Relations
(415) 264-3419
[email protected]
or
Media Contact:
Sharna Daduk
(310) 917-6405
[email protected]
Source: Leaf Group Ltd. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/08/business-wire-leaf-group-ltd-reports-first-quarter-2018-results.html |
OXON HILL, Md. (Reuters) - For one young spelling ace aiming for the $40,000 top prize in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, Thursday will be a day of winning. For 40 others, it will mean losing and learning to move on.
The 91st annual Bee, which began Tuesday and ends Thursday evening, started with more than 500 spellers aged 8 to 15 and hailing from the United States and eight foreign countries. Forty-one spellers advanced to Thursday’s final rounds outside Washington, with a worldwide audience tuning in to a live broadcast of the finals on ESPN.
A taste of defeat can actually be beneficial for future challenges, said 1985 champion Balu Natarajan, whose 12-year-old son Atman Balakrishnan was eliminated from competition on Wednesday.
“First or not, just to have your kid in the spelling bee is pretty exciting,” said Natarajan, a sports medicine doctor in Chicago, who was 13 when he won the prize.
Asked whether he believed himself a natural-born speller, Balakrishnan credited his hard work, saying he wakes up between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m. on weekdays to study before he goes to school.
The finals also slipped out of reach for two sets of identical twins who were the first-ever twins to compete in the bee and who were were eliminated on Wednesday. Still, Aaron and Andrew Marcev, 11 year olds from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, who competed along with Pierce and Garrett Bryner, 13, of Price, Utah, said they came out ahead for having a teammate in the competition.
“We get to support each other,” said Aaron Marcev, who is older than his brother by five minutes.
“Most spellers have only one life, since it’s just themselves, but me and Andrew get to have two lives,” he added, referring to the number of “lives,” or turns, a player gets in a video game.
To prepare for the competition, the brothers studied together at the kitchen table for at least seven hours a week, said their mother, Deborah Marcev.
Reporting by Lacey Johnson; Additional reporting by Barbara Goldberg in New York; Editing by Frances Kerry
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/usa-spellingbee/u-s-spelling-bee-champ-to-win-crown-from-field-of-41-finalists-idINKCN1IW20J |
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group has shelved a restructuring plan which would have given the son of its aging chairman more control of the conglomerate, following opposition from investors including U.S. hedge fund Elliott Management Corp.
FILE PHOTO: Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo speaks at the company's new year ceremony in Seoul January 2, 2015. REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji The decision is a rare victory for an activist shareholder in South Korea, and comes at a time of growing public scrutiny of families controlling large conglomerates following a corruption scandal last year involving the Samsung Group.
Auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis Co Ltd, which controls Hyundai Motor Co, on Monday cited “uncertainty” about shareholder support for a restructuring plan at a meeting next week.
It also dropped a series of subsequent deals which would have enabled family members to secure a major stake in itself.
The firm said it will “supplement and improve” the plan, which is part of a broader bid by South Korea’s second-biggest conglomerate to reform its circular ownership structure, reduce regulatory risk and prepare the group for father-to-son switch.
“It’s a lesson that investors will no longer accept restructuring that only helps in succession,” said Professor Park Sang-in at Seoul National University. “The move raises uncertainty about restructuring at Hyundai and other family-run conglomerates.”
Hyundai Mobis’ decision also comes before a meeting of advisors of shareholder National Pension Service to decide whether to lend their approval. Opposition would have led other institutional investors to follow suit, Park said.
Hyundai Mobis’ plan involved spinning off its cash cow and combining it with logistics affiliate Hyundai Glovis Co Ltd, whose top shareholder is scion Chung Eui-son.
Proxy advisors at home and abroad joined Elliott in saying the deal undervalued the unit, and questioning its transfer to a company whose business was unrelated.
“As we pursued the plan, we also keenly felt that our communications with various shareholders and the market was inadequate,” Chung, the only son of 80-year-old Group Chairman Chung Mong-koo, said in a letter to shareholders.
Hyundai Mobis said it has cancelled a May 29 shareholder meeting where the restructuring plan was to be put to a vote. The firm needed two-thirds of votes of shareholders present.
“I think the most likely scenario is to adjust the deal to favour Mobis shareholders more, then pursue it again,” said analyst Yoo Ji-woong at eBest Investment & Securities.
Hyundai Motor Group in March announced a plan to streamline its ownership structure through a series of deals, responding to calls from the government and investors to reduce circular ownership structures. The plan involved giving the junior Chung a foothold in Hyundai Mobis, of which he owns no stake.
The following month, Elliott disclosed it held over $1 billion worth of shares in three Hyundai Motor Group firms, and called on the group to adopt a holding company strategy and boost shareholder returns.
“[Hyundai Group] will re-evaluate our restructuring plan to better enhance the Group’s business competitiveness and corporate governance as well as to strengthen shareholder value,” Hyundai Motor said in a statement. The group will develop “an updated plan so we can meet the high expectations our stakeholders have of us,” it said.
Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Joyce Lee; Additional reporting by Heekyong Yang; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Christopher Cushing
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hyundai-mobis-m-a/hyundai-mobis-drops-spin-off-plan-in-the-face-of-opposition-idUSKCN1IM0RA |
PLAINSBORO, N.J., May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:IART), a leading global medical technology company, today announced that it intends to offer, subject to market conditions and other factors, 5,250,000 shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. In connection with the offering, Integra expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase an additional 787,500 shares of common stock.
Integra intends to use the net proceeds from the offering, including any net proceeds received from an exercise of the underwriters’ option to purchase additional shares, to reduce outstanding revolving borrowings under Integra’s senior credit facility.
The shares will be issued pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3. Before investing in the offering, interested parties should read the prospectus and related preliminary prospectus supplement for such offering, the documents incorporated by reference therein and the other documents Integra has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo Securities are acting as joint book-running managers for the proposed offering. The offering is being made by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement, copies of which may be obtained, when available, from J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, c/o Broadridge Financial Solutions, 1155 Long Island Avenue, Edgewood, New York 11717 or by calling (866) 803-9204, or from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Attention: Equity Syndicate Department, 375 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10152, by calling (800) 326-5897 or by emailing [email protected] . Electronic copies of the prospectus and related prospectus supplement may be obtained by visiting EDGAR on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov .
This press release does not and shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities described herein, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any state or any jurisdiction. Any offer, if at all, will be made only by means of a prospectus and related prospectus supplement forming a part of the effective shelf registration statement.
About Integra
Integra LifeSciences is a global leader in regenerative technologies, neurosurgical and extremity orthopedic solutions dedicated to limiting uncertainty for clinicians, so they can focus on providing the best patient care. Integra offers a comprehensive portfolio of high quality, leadership brands that include AmnioExcel®, Bactiseal®, Cadence®, Certas™, Codman®, CUSA®, DuraGen®, DuraSeal®, ICP Express®, Integra®, MediHoney®, MicroFrance®, PriMatrix®, Salto Talaris®, SurgiMend®, TCC-EZ®, Titan™ and VersaTru™.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release that are not historical in nature constitute within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include Integra’s intention to conduct the offering and its intended use of proceeds from the offering. These are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions about Integra’s business. Integra’s actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these as a result of many factors, including but not limited to those set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” in Integra’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Integra’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. Integra undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any , whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You can identify these by forward-looking words such as “believe,” “may,” “could,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “seek,” “plan,” “expect,” “should,” “would” and similar expressions in this press release.
Investor Relations Contacts:
Sravan Emany
Vice President, Treasurer & Investor Relations
(609) 936-2488
[email protected]
Michael Beaulieu
Director, Investor Relations
(609) 750-2827
[email protected]
Media Contact:
Laurene Isip
Senior Director, Global Corporate Communications
(609) 750-7984
[email protected]
Source:Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corporation | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/globe-newswire-integra-lifesciences-announces-proposed-public-offering-of-common-stock.html |
Marriott beats, but offers weak guidance 1 Hour Ago | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/08/marriott-beats-but-offers-weak-guidance.html |
Precision medicine company names Chief Medical Officer, Chief Business Officer and Chief Technology Officer
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Gemini Therapeutics , a biotechnology company pioneering precision therapeutics for patients with high-risk genetic profiles linked to dry age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and rare systemic diseases, today announced the appointment of Claude Knopf as chief business officer and Sandra Rojas-Caro, M.D., as chief medical officer. In parallel, the company also announced the promotion of senior vice president for process development and manufacturing, Scott Lauder, Ph.D., to chief technology officer.
Gemini’s first-in-class therapeutic candidates are matched to molecular abnormalities found in patients with high-risk genetic profiles. The company’s multimodal pipeline includes monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins and AAV-mediated gene therapies.
“I am extremely proud of the strong leadership team we are building at Gemini,” said James McLaughlin, CEO, president and co-founder of Gemini Therapeutics. “Sandra and Claude bring deep expertise and Scott has been an invaluable contributor to our early progress. Their combined skill and experience will be crucial as we harness genetic insights and technology to develop precision therapeutics for AMD and rare complement-mediated genetic diseases.”
A seasoned executive and biotech veteran, Mr. Knopf joins Gemini from Pieris Pharmaceuticals, where he served as senior vice president and chief business officer and helped close key transformative partnering deals. Prior to that, he was senior vice president BD&L/M&A for Baxter Bioscience, and the spin-off Baxalta, where he helped expand the Oncology business and pipeline and strengthened the company’s Hematology and Immunology divisions. He also spent 12 years at Novartis in various leadership, business development and licensing roles in Europe and the United States. As chief business officer, Mr. Knopf will lead corporate development and oversee key operational functions as Gemini continues its growth trajectory and transitions to the next stage of its focused business model.
Dr. Rojas-Caro brings more than 20 years of experience across all phases of drug development, including successful global submissions, applied technology and translational biology environments. She was previously chief medical officer for Aeglea BioTherapeutics, a biotechnology company developing enzyme-based therapeutics to treat rare diseases and cancer. Prior to Aeglea, she served as group vice president of clinical research and development at Synageva BioPharma, where she played a key role in obtaining FDA approval of Kanuma for the treatment of lysosomal acid lipase deficiency. Dr. Rojas-Caro has also served as vice president and R&D project team leader for the Metabolic Rare Diseases Unit at Alexion following the acquisition of Synageva. As chief medical officer, Dr. Rojas-Caro will oversee the development and implementation of clinical and regulatory strategy and operations as Gemini advances multiple product development programs into the clinic.
Dr. Lauder is a protein chemist with a deep background in biologics CMC development—from discovery through manufacturing. Prior to joining Gemini, Dr. Lauder served as vice president of process sciences and clinical manufacturing at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals and global head of the Protein and Cell Sciences group at EMD Serono. Dr. Lauder has deep experience with a broad array of biologic formats including monoclonal antibodies and recombinant proteins, as well as bispecifics and engineered fusion proteins, advancing many to clinical proof of concept. In his new role as chief technology officer, Dr. Lauder will oversee Gemini’s CMC team and development of translational technology for the company’s precision therapeutics.
Gemini Therapeutics
Gemini Therapeutics is a precision medicine company focused on creating first-in-class, disease-modifying precision therapeutics for high-risk genetically-defined patient populations. Our therapeutic candidates are matched to molecular abnormalities found in patients with high clinical need. Launched with funding from leading life science investors and powered by academic partnerships around the world, we are pioneering precision therapeutics for dry AMD and rare complement-mediated genetic diseases.
For more information, visit www.GeminiTherapeutics.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530005400/en/
Ten Bridge Communications
Paul Goldsmith, 617-697-3479
[email protected]
Source: Gemini Therapeutics | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/business-wire-gemini-therapeutics-strengthens-senior-leadership-team-with-key-appointments-and-promotion.html |
May 23, 2018 / 12:42 PM / Updated 18 minutes ago Deutsche Bank looks to cut 10,000 jobs to reduce costs - WSJ Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank is planning to cut 10,000 jobs, or about a tenth of its global workforce, as part of efforts to reduce costs, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The headquarters of the Deutsche Bank is pictured in Frankfurt, Germany, March 19, 2018. REUTERS/Ralph Orlowski/File Photo
The Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported that job cuts were likely to extend into 2019.
Separately, Bloomberg News reported the bank was planning to withdraw from a number of equities markets across the globe.
The Bloomberg report, which also cited unidentified people, said that Deutsche would sharply scale back its presence in the United States, and had started cutting activities in Central Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Deutsche Bank, which holds its annual shareholder meeting on Thursday, declined to comment.
The loss-making bank said last month that it was planning to scale back its global investment bank and that equities was one of the areas it was looking at for possible cuts.
A person familiar with the matter told Reuters last month Deutsche Bank was expected to cut around 1,000 jobs or 10 percent of its workforce in the United States.
It has also said that it would cut back U.S. bonds trading and the business that services hedge funds.
The bank has been expected to announce further details of its reorganisation plans ahead of its AGM on Thursday.
Shareholders, fed up with a languishing share price and dwindling revenue, will call on the bank’s management to speed up the recovery process at the AGM.
Hans-Christoph Hirt, head of shareholder adviser Hermes EOS at Hermes Investment Management, told Reuters on Wednesday he wanted to see a “credible strategy with achievable targets.”
Deutsche Bank Chairman Paul Achleitner last month abruptly replaced CEO John Cryan with Christian Sewing amid investor complaints that the bank was falling behind in executing a turnaround plan.
“Critically, the most recent CEO appointment needs to work out,” Hirt said.
Deutsche Bank’s shares have fallen nearly 31 percent this year.
The bank, Germany’s biggest lender, is also under pressure from credit ratings agencies. Standard & Poor’s is expected to say by the end of the month whether it will cut Deutsche Bank’s rating after putting it on “credit watch” in April. Reporting by Tom Sims; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Jane Merriman | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-deutsche-bank-strategy/deutsche-bank-plans-to-exit-from-equities-markets-bloomberg-idUKKCN1IO1SG |
The Russian cybersecurity giant Kaspersky, desperate to regain trust after U.S. pushback against its alleged ties to Russian intelligence, is moving some of its key operations from Moscow to Zurich, Switzerland.
The antivirus maker said Tuesday that it’s moving its “assembly line” to Zurich so that its software can be finalized and verified by a third-party organization before making its way to customers.
Kaspersky is also moving the servers that store and process much of its Security Network information to Zurich, covering the data of customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, Japan, South Korea and Singapore.
“We chose [Zurich] for two reasons,” Kaspersky said in a Q&A . “First, Switzerland has maintained its policy of neutrality for two centuries. Second, the country has strong data protection legislation. We believe these two qualities make Switzerland the perfect place to move part of our sensitive infrastructure.”
Kaspersky Security Network is the cloud-based system through which Kaspersky collects data from the computers of its business customers, in order to spot and combat threats.
The Department of Homeland Security last year banned federal agencies from using Kaspersky software because Russia’s intelligence agencies could force the company to help spy on its customers. “The risk that the Russian government, whether acting on its own or in collaboration with Kaspersky, could capitalize on access provided by Kaspersky products to compromise federal information and information systems directly implicates U.S. national security,” the department said at the time.
We’re relocating a good part of our critical R&D infrastructure to Switzerland. A quick Q&A with details about Global Transparency Initiative: https://t.co/2WN1Z1p02f pic.twitter.com/6XRdZnSBTP
— Eugene Kaspersky (@e_kaspersky) May 15, 2018
“Storing [the Kaspersky Security Network data] in Switzerland under the supervision of an independent organization means that any access to this data is meticulously logged—and the logs can be reviewed at any moment should any concerns arise,” Kaspersky said.
The relocation is part of Kaspersky’s “Global Transparency Initiative” and it creates the company’s first “transparency center.” It is common for companies with government contracts to allow the secure inspection of their code, to check for hidden backdoors, and that’s what will also be on offer at Kaspersky’s Zurich facility.
As for the third-party organization that will review Kaspersky’s source code and keep an eye on its employees’ access to customers’ metadata, Kaspersky said it “supports the creation of a new, non-profit organization to take on this responsibility, not just for the company, but for other partners and members who wish to join.”
The plan is to relocate Kaspersky’s “assembly line” by the end of this year, and the data processing side by the end of 2019. Kaspersky also says it will open transparency centers in North America and Asia by 2020. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://fortune.com/2018/05/15/kaspersky-russia-spies-moscow-zurich-relocate/ |
May 10 (Reuters) - Equitable Group Inc:
* EQUITABLE GROUP REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 EARNINGS, INCREASES DIVIDEND
* EQUITABLE GROUP INC - QTRLY DILUTED EARNINGS PER SHARE OF $2.34
* EQUITABLE GROUP INC - MORTGAGES UNDER MANAGEMENT WERE $23.8 BILLION AT MARCH 31, 2018, UP 9% FROM $21.7 BILLION AT MARCH 31, 2017
* EQUITABLE GROUP - DECLARED QTRLY COMMON SHARE DIVIDEND OF $0.27 PER COMMON SHARE, REPRESENTING 17% INCREASE OVER QTRLY DIVIDENDS DECLARED IN MAY 2017 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-equitable-group-reports-qtrly-dilu/brief-equitable-group-reports-qtrly-diluted-earnings-per-share-of-2-34-idUSASC0A1O5 |
May 10 (Reuters) - Pipeline operator Shell Midstream Partners LP said on Thursday it would buy parent Royal Dutch Shell’s stake in the Amberjack Pipeline Co for $1.22 billion.
The Amberjack pipeline, located in the Gulf of Mexico, transports roughly 300,000 barrels per day of oil. (Reporting by John Benny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sai Sachin Ravikumar)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/amberjackpipeline-ma-shell-midstream/shell-midstream-to-buy-shell-stake-in-amberjack-pipeline-for-1-22-bln-idUSL3N1SH5E6 |
May 29, 2018 / 11:53 AM / Updated 40 minutes ago Macau court orders $5,000 fine but no jail time for casino hub's youngest lawmaker Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
HONG KONG (Reuters) - A Macau court on Tuesday levied a fine of $5,000 on the territory’s youngest lawmaker, but no jail time, at the conclusion of a trial viewed as a test case of transparency and conflict of interest in the world’s biggest gambling hub. Suspended lawmaker Sulu Sou poses on a street in Macau, China February 13, 2018. REUTERS/Staff
The lawmaker, Sulu Sou, 26, was ordered to pay a fine of 40,800 patacas ($5,060) on charges of aggravated disobedience over an unauthorised protest outside the home of the Chinese-controlled territory’s leader, Fernando Chui.
Macau law provides for Sou to be stripped of his duties as a legislator if he spends more than 30 days in jail.
“Sou was found guilty and has been issued a fine,” said the lawmaker’s assistant Rocky，who did not give his last name. Domestic media also reported the verdict.
Sou and his lawyer were not immediately available for comment. It was not clear if Sou would appeal the decision.
Sou, elected a lawmaker in September 2017, has been pressing for greater government accountability in a push by the New Macau Association, a pro-democracy group whose members are in their 20s and 30s.
Among the group was Scott Chiang, who faced charges of aggravated disobedience along with Sou and was fined 27,000 patacas ($3,348).
As a lawmaker, Sou had immunity from prosecution, but 28 of the 33 legislative assembly members in the former Portuguese colony voted on Dec. 4 to suspend him so that he could stand trial.
Sou’s case, which has prompted parallels with democracy activists such as Joshua Wong in neighbouring Hong Kong, was the first time a lawmaker had been suspended since Macau was established as a special administrative region of China in 1999.
While some activists in Hong Kong, the former British colony that returned to Chinese rule in 1997, have sought independence and taken to the streets to protest, Macau has seen little public opposition over the mainland’s policies in the enclave.
Public support for Sou and the New Macau Association has surged since last August, following the devastation wreaked by typhoon Hato, which killed at least nine people and left many residents infuriated at the government’s handling of the disaster.
Both Sou and Chiang had faced charges over a 2016 protest against a donation of 100 million yuan (11 million pounds) to Jinan University in China’s southern city of Guangzhou, by the Macau Foundation.
The New Macau Association said there was a conflict of interest, since Chui was deputy chairman of the university’s board and also chairman of the trustees of the government-linked Macau Foundation that says it distributes to charitable, social and grassroots causes.
Chui’s office did not respond to requests for comment.
($1=8.0640 patacas) | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/macau-politics-court/macau-court-orders-5000-fine-but-no-jail-time-for-casino-hubs-youngest-lawmaker-idINKCN1IU1D6 |
Vancouver, British Columbia, Emerald Health Sciences Inc. (the “ Acquiror ”) announces that on May 22, 2018, it sold, through a secondary offering, 2,000,000 common shares (the “ Shares ”) of Emerald Health Therapeutics, Inc. (the “ Issuer ”) of PO Box 24076, 4420 West Saanich Road, Victoria, British Columbia, V8Z 7E7.
Immediately before the transaction that triggered the requirement to file this report, the Acquiror had ownership of 45,234,242 Shares, representing approximately 34.4% of then issued and outstanding Shares. Following the transaction that triggered the requirement to file this report, the Acquiror held direct ownership of 43,234,242 Shares representing approximately 31.9% of the then issued and outstanding Shares. The Acquiror also holds 4,411,764 common share purchase warrants (the “ Warrants ”). Assuming the exercise of the Warrants, the Acquiror would own 47,646,006 Shares representing approximately 33.1% of the issued and outstanding Shares (on a partially-diluted basis giving effect only to the exercise of the Warrants).
The Acquiror disposed of the Shares for investment purposes. The Acquiror may sell additional Shares either on the open market or through private dispositions in the future depending on market conditions, reformulation of plans and/or other relevant factors.
This news release is being issued pursuant to Part 3 of National Instrument 62-103 The Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues of the Canadian Securities Administrators. A copy of the report filed by the Acquiror in connection with the acquisition of the Shares is available on the Issuer’s SEDAR profile, and it can also be obtained directly from the Acquiror by contacting the number shown above.
EMERALD HEALTH SCIENCES INC.
Stephen Hall, Chief Financial Officer
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the
Office 8262, The Landing 200 – 375 Water Street Vancouver, BC V6B 0M9 Phone: (778) 868-1582
Source:Emerald Health Sciences Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/23/globe-newswire-emerald-health-sciences-inc.html |
May 15, 2018 / 2:40 AM / Updated 25 minutes ago China tech giants bet on untangling logistics of Indonesian e-commerce Cindy Silviana , Ed Davies 7 Min Read
JAKARTA (Reuters) - In a warehouse on the outskirts of Indonesia’s capital, supervisors at e-commerce company Lazada use bikes or electric scooters to zip around a floor the size of four soccer fields, where up to 3,000 staff pack and dispatch goods around the clock.The warehouse is one of five that Lazada has opened across Indonesia to cut costs and expand its reach in an archipelago whose 17,000 islands are sprinkled across an area bigger than the European Union. Workers pacakge items for delivery at online retailer Lazada's warehouse in Depok, south of Jakarta, Indonesia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside
Chinese tech firms, including Lazada’s top investor, Alibaba Group Holding, have poured at least $6 billion into nearly every aspect of Indonesian e-commerce.
Lazada uses Alibaba’s inventory management systems and has tied up with ride-hailing companies, often using their motorbikes to deliver goods in a country with creaking infrastructure and traffic-clogged cities.
The payoff could be huge. It is a market forecast to grow from about $7 billion last year to $63 billion by 2027, according to Morgan Stanley.
“Indonesia, both in terms of the customers and behaviour, is a very unique challenge and we need to adapt,” Florian Holm, co-chief executive at Lazada Indonesia, told Reuters.
Lazada and Tokopedia, in which Alibaba is also an investor, dominate Indonesia in customer traffic, with more than 117 million monthly website visits each, according to data from e-commerce aggregator iPrice.
Alibaba doubled its investment in loss-making Lazada to $4 billion in April, underscoring its global ambition to secure a bigger share of the e-commerce market.
Between the investment and the rewards, however, lie enormous complexities.
The World Bank has said logistical costs swallow up around a quarter of Indonesia’s gross domestic product, citing bottlenecks in supply chains, long dwelling times in ports and lengthy trade clearances.
Lazada has opened warehouses in places like Balikpapan, on the coast of Borneo, to avoid hauling everything from Jakarta. Holm said that had in some cases reduced shipping costs by 90 percent.
Competitive pressure is growing. Another Chinese heavyweight, JD.com, arrived in Indonesia in 2016. And the U.S. giant Amazon, which opened a warehouse in Singapore last year, may be prepared to dip a toe into the Indonesian market soon. A worker uses a forklift to collect items at online retailer Lazada's warehouse in Depok, south of Jakarta, Indonesia March 26, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside CHINESE INFLUENCE
Indonesia’s e-commerce sales are set to rise from 3 percent of retail activity now to 19 percent by 2027, Morgan Stanley estimates. The same report said there were 159 million smartphones in Indonesia at the end of 2016, a number that could rise to 275 million by 2021.
Indonesia’s young population and room for improvement in transportation and communications add to the prospects for growth, the bank said.
That has attracted other Chinese companies. Tencent Holdings, which owns regional e-commerce player SEA, has entered the fray.
Tencent and JD.com have stakes in Indonesia’s ride-hailing firm Go-Jek, while JD.com has invested in online travel company Traveloka.
But Usman Akhtar, a partner at Bain & Co in Jakarta, said Indonesian companies such as Blibli, backed by a unit of the Djarum group, remain a force.
“I would not characterize Indonesia as turning into a replica of China’s e-commerce market, at least not yet,” said Akhtar, referring to how JD.com and Alibaba dominate in China.
Kusumo Martanto, who heads Blibli, told Reuters the company had seven warehouses in Indonesia with seven more planned, and said it was important for local e-commerce companies to compete against Chinese players.
Alibaba founder Jack Ma is on an Indonesian government steering committee for e-commerce, advising on areas such as tax, cyber security and human resources.
Indonesia’s communications minister, Rudiantara, said there was no conflict of interest in Ma’s role, describing him as a “guru” who could help sell the country’s potential.
But some policies seem to be turning toward Ma’s home turf. Slideshow (5 Images)
Indonesia, which is trying to tackle a shortage of talent in the digital sector, dropped sponsorships for 20 students to study in places like Australia and the United States.
Instead, 10 students will go to India and 10 to China to study this year “because the future of the digital economy is in China and India,” said the minister, who uses one name. EYING AMAZON
Caterine, a 30-year-old housewife who lives west of Jakarta, used to shop in conventional stores once a week, but after her baby was born six months ago, she has been shopping online two to three times a week for convenience.
“I prefer online shopping because it is quick. I can just click and click and the goods will arrive,” she said, adding she mostly used Shopee and Tokopedia for goods such as diapers and clothing.
Morgan Stanley said delivery times of all types across Indonesia are down to about 3 days from 10 days, while deliveries in big cities can take 24 hours or less.
While in urban areas delivery times have greatly improved, other parts of Indonesia’s e-commerce supply chain are still inefficient, said Willson Cuaca, co-founder of East Ventures, a tech investment fund.
“To send goods from point A to B, the logistics company needs at least two modes of transport,” he said, referring to the complications of operating across so many islands.
Amazon, by contrast, prefers to control its own supply chains from start to finish. But entering a market like Indonesia could require it to revisit that strategy.
Amazon Singapore did not respond to a request for comment on whether it had plans for Indonesia.
Much of the U.S. giant’s international focus has been on developing its business in India, even though some view its entry into Singapore last year as a stepping stone for expansion in the region.
“At this moment, I believe it is trying to test the market, by selling products through third-party sellers,” said Daniel Tumiwa of the Indonesian e-commerce Association.
Zhang Li, who heads JD.com’s Indonesian joint venture with Provident Capital JD.ID, was not overly concerned about competition from the likes of Amazon.
“E-commerce is a global and borderless business, so we have to prepare and do continuous improvement to make our customers happy,” Zhang said. Additional reporting by Jessica Damiana and Fanny Potkin in LONDON; Editing by Gerry Doyle | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-indonesia-tech-china/china-tech-giants-bet-on-untangling-logistics-of-indonesian-e-commerce-idUKKCN1IG07Y |
(Adds that no company besides J&J was found liable, comment by plaintiff lawyer)
By Tina Bellon
May 24 (Reuters) - A California jury on Thursday ordered Johnson & Johnson to pay $4 million in punitive damages to a woman who said she developed cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the company’s baby powder, pushing the total damages award in the case to $25.7 million.
The decision in Los Angeles Superior Court comes on top of $21.7 million in compensatory damages that the same jury awarded to the woman and her husband on Wednesday.
Joanne Anderson, 68, was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer closely linked to asbestos exposure. The case marked the second trial loss for J&J over similar allegations.
J&J has denied that its talc products contain asbestos or cause cancer, citing decades of testing by independent laboratories and scientists. But plaintiffs claim asbestos and talc, which are closely linked minerals, are intermingled in the mining process, making it impossible to remove the carcinogenic substance.
Of Wednesday’s $21.7 million in compensatory damages, J&J was assigned 67 percent of the liability, Anderson’s lawyer, Chris Panatier, said.
The jury found that the remaining percentage came from Anderson being a bystander to her husband’s work on asbestos-containing brakes.
In addition to J&J, Anderson and her husband last year sued a unit of Imerys SA, Cyprus Amax Minerals, a unit of Brenntag, Honeywell International and other talc suppliers. But all of those companies were dismissed from the lawsuit.
“Our clients are hopeful that this verdict can further bring light to this unbelievable example of corporate misconduct,” David Greenstone, a colleague of Panatier, said in a statement.
J&J in a statement said it was disappointed with the decision and would begin the appeals process. “We will continue to defend the safety of our product because it does not contain asbestos or cause mesothelioma,” the company said.
J&J is battling some 9,000 cases claiming its talc products cause ovarian cancer, but the talc litigants have recently focused on claims based on alleged asbestos contamination.
A New Jersey state court jury in April ordered J&J and Imerys Talc America to pay $117 million to a man who alleged he developed mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure from J&J Baby Powder.
An appeal is pending.
A California jury in November last year cleared J&J of liability in another mesothelioma lawsuit.
The company and Imerys’ U.S. unit, as well as a unit of U.S. drugstore chain Rite Aid, are also facing another mesothelioma trial in a South Carolina court. (Reporting by Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/johnsonjohnson-cancer-lawsuit/update-1-jj-must-pay-4-mln-in-punitive-damages-in-latest-asbestos-cancer-trial-idUSL2N1SV1XL |
May 14, 2018 / 1:38 AM / Updated 14 minutes ago HSBC says performs first trade finance transaction using blockchain Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
HONG KONG (Reuters) - HSBC Holdings Plc said on Monday it had performed the world’s first trade finance transaction using blockchain technology, a major step in boosting efficiency and reducing errors in the multi-trillion-dollar funding of international trade. HSBC bank is pictured in Geneva, Switzerland, November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse
HSBC and Dutch bank ING successfully completed the transaction for food and agricultural group Cargill, the British lender said in a statement.
The use of blockchain technology in the banking industry is expected to reduce the risk of fraud in letters of credit and other transactions as well as cut down on the number of steps used.
Letters of credit are one of the most widely used ways of reducing risk between importers and exporters, helping guarantee more than $2 trillion worth of transactions, but the process creates a long paper trail and takes between five and 10 days to exchange documentation.
“At the moment, buyers and suppliers use a letter of credit, typically concluded by physically transferring paper documents, to underpin transactions,” said Vivek Ramachandran, global head of innovation and growth at HSBC’s commercial banking unit.
“What this means for businesses is that trade finance transactions have been made simpler, faster, more transparent and more secure.”
Putting all of Asia Pacific’s trade-related paperwork into electronic form could slash the time it takes to export goods by up to 44 percent and cut costs by up to 31 percent, the HSBC statement said, citing a study by the United Nations. Reporting by Sumeet Chatterjee; Editing by Edwina Gibbs | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-hsbc-blockchain/hsbc-says-performs-first-trade-finance-transaction-using-blockchain-idUKKCN1IF03H |
HUNTSVILLE, Texas, May 17, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Mitcham Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ: MIND) announced today that it will release financial results for its fiscal 2019 first quarter ended April 30, 2018 after the market closes on Wednesday, June 6, 2018. In conjunction with the release, the Company has scheduled a conference call, which will be broadcast live over the Internet, for Thursday, June 7 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time / 8:00 a.m. Central Time.
What:
Mitcham Industries Fiscal 2019 First Quarter Earnings Conference Call
When:
Thursday, June 7, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern / 8:00 a.m. Central
How:
Live via phone -- By dialing (412) 902-0030 and asking for the Mitcham Industries call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time, or
Live over the Internet -- By logging onto the web at the address below
Where:
http://www.mitchamindustries.com
For those who cannot listen to the live call, a replay will be available through June 14, 2018 and may be accessed by dialing (201) 612-7415 and using pass code 13680079#. Also, an archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call at www.mitchamindustries.com for 90 days. For more information, please contact Donna Washburn at Dennard-Lascar Associates at 713-529-6600 or email [email protected] .
About Mitcham Industries
Mitcham Industries, Inc. provides technology to the oceanographic, hydrographic, defense, seismic and security industries. Headquartered in Huntsville, Texas, Mitcham has a global presence with operating locations in the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Russia, Hungary, Colombia and the United Kingdom. Mitcham's worldwide Marine Technology Products segment, which includes its Seamap and Klein Marine Systems units, designs, manufactures and sells specialized, high performance, marine sonar and seismic equipment. Through its Equipment Leasing segment, Mitcham believes it is the largest independent provider of exploration equipment to the seismic industry.
Contacts:
Rob Capps, Co-CEO
Mitcham Industries, Inc.
936-291-2277
Jack Lascar / Mark Roberson
Dennard Lascar Investor Relations
713-529-6600
View original content: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mitcham-industries-announces-fiscal-2019-first-quarter-earnings-release-and-conference-call-schedule-300649888.html
SOURCE Mitcham Industries, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/17/pr-newswire-mitcham-industries-announces-fiscal-2019-first-quarter-earnings-release-and-conference-call-schedule.html |
What a difference a year makes at General Electric.
This time in 2017 the company’s share price was $28, its quarterly dividend was 24 cents and its CEO was the cocksureJeff Immelt. Now its price and dividend are half as much and methodical boss John Flannery is struggling to pare down the conglomerate. Those first two are unequivocally bad news. The third may not be.
Mr.... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/turning-ges-sacred-cows-into-hamburger-1527109360 |
Gold sinks to 2018 low 57 Mins Ago Jim Iuorio of TJM Institutional Services and Brian Stutland of Equity Armor Investments discuss why gold hit a 2018 low. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/15/gold-sinks-to-2018-low.html |
May 1 (Reuters) - The margin of investors who are bearish on longer-dated U.S. Treasuries versus those who are bullish on them shrank to its slimmest since September, JPMorgan Chase & Co’s latest client survey showed on Tuesday.
The move came after benchmark 10-year Treasury yields last week reached 3 percent for the first time since January 2014 on concerns about rising inflation and government borrowing. The 10-year yield retreated below 3 percent on buying from investors attracted to those yield levels.
At 10:35 a.m. (1435 GMT), the 10-year Treasury yield was 2.976 percent, up 4 basis points from late on Monday. The share of investors who said on Monday they were “short,” or holding fewer Treasuries than their portfolio benchmarks, decreased to 28 percent from 36 percent a week earlier.
The share of investors who said they were “long” longer-dated Treasuries slipped to 19 percent from 21 percent the prior week.
The net shorts fell to 9 percent from 15 percent last week, marking the smallest difference between the shares of short and long investors since Sept. 18, JPMorgan said.
The share of investors who said they were neutral on longer-dated government debt grew to 53 percent from 43 percent, JPMorgan said.
JPMorgan surveyed clients, including bond fund managers, central banks and sovereign wealth funds, as well as market makers and hedge funds. (Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Dan Grebler)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/treasuries-jpmorgan/investors-least-bearish-on-longer-dated-u-s-bonds-since-sept-jpmorgan-idUSL1N1S80OG |
May 2, 2018 / 9:47 AM / Updated 32 minutes ago Nestle settles months-long pricing scrap with European retailers Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
ZURICH (Reuters) - Swiss food group Nestle ( NESN.S ) has clinched an agreement with European retailers to settle a months-long pricing row and get its products back on sale, the world’s biggest packaged food maker said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: The Nestle logo is seen during the opening of the 151st Annual General Meeting of Nestle in Lausanne, Switzerland April 12, 2018. REUTERS/Pierre Albouy/File Photo
“We are pleased that a balanced agreement has been reached and that Nestle products will soon be back on the shelves of the six members of the European retail alliance AgeCore,” a company spokesman said, confirming a report by Germany’s Lebensmittelzeitung.
Nestle, whose brands include KitKat chocolates and Thomy sauces, has for months faced off with AgeCore, a Geneva-based group representing six European retailers.
The group, which included Germany’s Edeka and Switzerland’s Coop, had boycotted Nestle products as they sought better supply terms.
An Edeka spokesman confirmed the settlement but said details of the accord were confidential. “We are switching back to normal operations with Nestle,” he added.
Edeka, Germany’s largest supermarket group, had last month recommended its stores expand the boycott of some Nestle products, escalating the pricing row that broke out in September.
Switzerland’s Coop had also broadened its boycott, banishing more Nestle products from its stores.
Coop said on Wednesday it would pass on results of the negotiated deal to customers as it puts Nestle products back on sale in the days ahead.
Coop would launch a two-week sale from mid-May offering up to 30 percent discounts on more than 500 Nestle products such as Nescafe instant coffee, Smarties sweets and Moevenpick ice-cream.
Another such Nestle brands promotion was planned for the months ahead, it said.
The dispute was the latest outward sign of tension between European retailers and suppliers at a time of changing consumer tastes and new online competition.
Nestle, under the leadership of new Chief Executive Mark Schneider, last year posted its weakest annual sales growth in at least two decades, which has prompted shareholder pressure to boost revenue and profit margins.
Its first-quarter sales growth was driven almost entirely by volume, illustrating how hard it is for consumer products makers to raise prices in a competitive retail environment.
Nestle shares were down 1.2 percent by midday, while the Stoxx European retail sector index .SX3P was down 0.4 percent. Reporting by Angelika Gruber in Zurich and Matthias Inverardi in Dueseldorf, writing by Michael Shields, editing by John Revill | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nestle-retailers-edeka/nestle-reaches-deal-to-settle-row-with-european-retailers-idUSKBN1I315D |
BEIJING (Reuters) - China is imposing more restrictions on companies which are trying to raise relatively low-cost funds overseas to help control their financing risks, the country’s state planner said on Thursday.
Local firms can sell debt overseas if the proceeds are used to support China’s economy, but they must “effectively prevent risks in medium- and long-term foreign debt and local debt risks”, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the Ministry of Finance said in a joint circular.
Companies and financial institutions that plan to issue medium- to long-term foreign debt cannot ask for or accept guarantees from local governments for financing activities, according to the statement.
They will also be banned from disclosing information on possible government credit support when they issue bond prospectuses to potential investors, and credit rating agencies cannot link corporate credit with local government finances, the agencies said.
Firms seeking to raise medium- and long-term foreign debt should use interest rate swaps, forward foreign exchange trading, options, swaps and other financial products to hedge currency and interest rate risks, they said.
Firms that have invested foreign debt in investment projects must establish a market-based investment return mechanism to form stable and sustained revenues, they added.
China’s outstanding foreign debt rose to $1.71 trillion at the end of 2017 from $1.68 trillion at the end of September, according to the latest official data.
Property developers in particular have been keen to borrow overseas given tightening regulatory restrictions and rising rates at home.
Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-debt/china-state-planner-takes-further-step-to-sever-local-government-debt-links-idUSKCN1II0QG |
May 8, 2018 / 11:44 PM / Updated 12 hours ago Jazz Pharmaceuticals to settle U.S. probe for $57 million Nate Raymond 2 Min Read
BOSTON (Reuters) - Jazz Pharmaceuticals Plc said on Tuesday it had agreed to pay $57 million to resolve a U.S. probe into its financial support of charities that offer assistance to Medicare patients seeking help to cover out-of-pocket drug costs.
The drugmaker said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it reached an agreement in principle with the U.S. Justice Department to pay the sum as part of a civil settlement.
Jazz, which produces the expensive narcolepsy drug Xyrem, said in the filing it could not guarantee its efforts to reach a final settlement would be successful.
The drugmaker has a program aimed at ensuring its compliance with applicable legal and regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical companies, including requirements relating to support of organizations providing financial assistance to Medicare patients, Jazz told Reuters in an emailed statement.
The company is among more than a dozen pharmaceutical manufacturers that have disclosed receiving subpoenas seeking for information related to their support of patient-assistance charities.
Drug companies are prohibited from subsidizing co-payments for patients enrolled in the Medicare government healthcare program for the elderly. But companies may donate to nonprofits providing co-pay assistance as long as they are independent.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts has been leading the industry-wide investigation.
In December, it announced a $210 million settlement with United Therapeutics Corp to resolve claims it used a charity as a conduit to illegally cover Medicare patients’ out-of-pocket costs in order to eliminate price sensitivity and boost sales. Reporting by Nate Raymond in Boston; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru Editing by Sandra Maler and Peter Cooney | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/us-jazz-phrmt-settlement/jazz-pharmaceuticals-to-settle-u-s-probe-for-57-million-idINKBN1I93IK |
Sweden announce squad ahead of World Cup in Russia 7:59am BST - 00:28
Sweden national team coach Janne Andersson says he is satisfied with the squad he'll be taking to Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals.
Sweden national team coach Janne Andersson says he is satisfied with the squad he'll be taking to Russia for the 2018 World Cup finals. //reut.rs/2L3ojK9 | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/16/sweden-announce-squad-ahead-of-world-cup?videoId=427215416 |
RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia and its Gulf allies basked on Wednesday in what they saw as a political victory over Iran, their rival for regional influence, after Washington withdrew from the international nuclear accord with Tehran.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain swiftly backed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Tehran, reflecting their concern about Iran’s ballistic missile program and support for militant groups.
“Paris and London may not like Trump’s decision, but how would the French or British feel if their capital cities came under direct threat by the Iranians?” editor-in-chief Faisal Abbas wrote in Saudi Arabia’s English-language Arab News daily next to a headline that read: “The deal is dead.”
In a coffee shop, Saudi businessman Ziad said the kingdom’s leadership was correct to challenge a deal that had eased sanctions in exchange for Tehran taking measures that would prevent it being able to make a nuclear weapon.
“Every couple of days, we have missiles coming from Yemen and we see evidence that they are made by Iran ... It is interfering in Syria, Yemen, Morocco. Other countries may accept that, but here in Saudi Arabia we don’t,” he said.
An hour later, at least four loud blasts rocked Riyadh. Authorities said they had intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting to oust the Iran-aligned Houthi movement from the capital and large parts of the country.
PROXY WARS The Sunni Muslim kingdom has been at loggerheads with Shi’ite Iran for decades, fighting a long-running proxy war in the Middle East and beyond that has influenced conflicts in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry accused Iran of using economic gains from the lifting of sanctions to develop ballistic missiles and support militants. It called for a “comprehensive view that is not limited to its nuclear program but also includes all hostile activities”.
Anwar Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, tweeted that Iran had been emboldened by the nuclear deal, and “its ballistic missile program became both offensive & exportable”.
Trump has employed similar arguments, criticizing the accord for failing to address Iran’s ballistic missile program, its nuclear activities beyond 2025, or its role in regional wars.
“He is supporting us not because we are Saudi Arabia or because we have oil, but because he thinks we are right,” said Mohammed, another Saudi businessman.
Oman, which orchestrated secret U.S.-Iran contacts that helped pave the way for the deal in 2015, was more measured.
“We believe the United States and the Islamic Republic of Iran are interested in realizing peace and stability in the region, and the choice of confrontation is not in the interest of either side,” its foreign ministry said.
Kuwait said in a statement that it “understands and respects” Trump’s decision.
Qatar, locked in a dispute with Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, meanwhile cautioned against a potential nuclear arms race in the region.
“It is in the interest of all parties to exercise restraint, wisdom and patience and to try to resolve differences through dialogue,” its foreign ministry said.
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a trade and transport boycott on Qatar in June, accusing it of financing militant groups and cozying up to Iran — charges it denies.
“SINISTER ACTIVITIES” “The Omani, Qatari, and Kuwaiti governments have all sought to maintain pragmatic relations — economic more than political — with Iran,” said Kristian Coates Ulrichsen from the Texas-based Rice University’s Baker Institute.
“There is likely to be a feeling of jubilation in Riyadh and Abu Dhabi that the Trump administration - or at least the White House - has now come round to their thinking on Iran’s threat to regional security.”
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump condemned Iran’s “sinister activities” including backing armed Islamist groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian Gaza Strip.
Abdulaziz al-Sager, head of the Jeddah-based Gulf Research Centre, said the message was significant in that it reflected Gulf concerns. “We’ve always said our concern about this agreement in 2015 was that Iran should not take it as ‘carte blanche’ to go and expand its territorial influence.”
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who serves as Saudi defense minister, told CBS News in March that his country would “without a doubt” develop nuclear weapons if Iran did so.
In an interview with CNN on Wednesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said: “We have made it very clear that if Iran acquires a nuclear capability, we’ll do everything we can to do the same.”
Iran had ruled out renegotiating the accord and threatened to retaliate if Washington withdrew.
It could do so by undermining the interests of Washington and its allies in the Middle East, perhaps by increasing support for Yemen’s Houthis. The Saudi Arabia and Emirati forces fighting the Houthis both receive military backing from the United States and other Western allies.
“There is a real risk of escalation, especially between Iran and Israel. While the Gulf states may want to see the U.S. and Israel try to cut Iran to size, I don’t think they want to get dragged into a direct confrontation themselves. The consequences could be severe,” said Joost Hiltermann, Program Director, Middle East and North Africa at the International Crisis Group.
Additional reporting by Marwa Rashad in Riyadh, Mohammed Ghobari in Aden and Makini Brice in Washington; Editing by Ghaida Ghantous and Angus MacSwan
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-gulf-reaction/gulf-arab-allies-jubilant-at-u-s-withdrawal-from-iran-deal-idUSKBN1I93CU |
May 2, 2018 / 10:45 AM / Updated 3 hours ago Exclusive: UTC set to win EU approval for $23 billion Rockwell Collins deal - sources Foo Yun Chee 3 Min Read
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - U.S. aerospace and industrial company United Technologies Corp ( UTX.N ) is set to win EU approval for the largest aerospace deal in history, a $23 billion bid for avionics maker Rockwell Collins ( COL.N ), people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. FILE PHOTO: United Technologies logo is displayed on a screen at the post where it's stock is traded on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., September 5, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo
The deal, announced in September last year, would create a new player in the top echelon of suppliers to Boeing ( BA.N ), Airbus ( AIR.PA ), Bombardier ( BBDb.TO ) and other plane makers.
The takeover would give UTC, maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines, more leverage to resist pressure from plane makers seeking price cuts.
Rockwell Collins’ software capability would also give UTC an edge in data crunching that allows airlines to spot problems in engines and other components before they fail.
UTC has offered to sell assets to address the European Commission’s concerns, the people said, declining to provide details. Analysts had said the deal could face a bumpier road in the EU than in the United States because of the merged company’s size and market power.
The EU competition enforcer, which is scheduled to decide on the deal by May 4, and UTC declined to comment.
UTC cleared a hurdle last month after key client Boeing said it had provided consent to the deal after raising initial concerns. Analysts said the combined company could make more than 50 percent of the systems content on a Boeing 787 aircraft by dollar value.
A source close to Airbus had told Reuters it had concerns about the merger. Problems at Pratt & Whitney have delayed European aircraft deliveries, and Airbus has publicly warned UTC to focus on delivering jet engines on time.
Rockwell Collins’ ( COL.N ) businesses are in avionics, seats and plane interiors. This is the second engines-to-seating supplier deal after French jet engine maker Safran ( SAF.PA ) acquired seat maker Zodiac Aerospace ( ZODFF.PK ) last year. Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Robert-Jan Bartunek and Elaine Hardcastle | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-rockwell-collins-m-a-utc-eu-exclusive/exclusive-eu-set-to-clear-23-billion-utc-rockwell-collins-deal-sources-idUSKBN1I31BN |
In the least surprising racing story of 2018, four-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon was elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Wednesday in his first year of eligibility.
Nov 22, 2015; Homestead, FL, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon walks off pit road after the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports / Reuters Picture Supplied by Action Images But Gordon certainly wasn’t the only worthy choice for the Class of 2019. Team owner Jack Roush, a brilliant innovator who has racked up victories and championships across a broad spectrum of motorsports, will join Gordon when the stellar class is officially ushered into the Hall on Feb. 1, 2019.
Team owner Roger Penske, who fostered the Hall of Fame career of driver Rusty Wallace and won his first championship in NASCAR’s top division in 2012 with driver Brad Keselowski, will accompany his fellow Ford team owner into the Hall.
Davey Allison, winner of 19 Cup races and one of the brightest stars in the sport before he succumbed to injuries sustained in a helicopter crash at Talladega in 1993, joined his father, Bobby Allison, as a member of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
Alan Kulwicki, whose life was cut short by a plane crash in 1993 less than five months after he became the last driver to win the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship as a “privateer,” was the fifth member of the Class of 2019 introduced by NASCAR Chairman and CEO Brian France.
If ever there was a “lock” for the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Gordon fills that role. Winner of 93 Cup points races — third all-time behind Richard Petty (200) and David Pearson (105) and ahead of Darrell Waltrip (84), Bobby Allison (84), Cale Yarborough (83) and Jimmie Johnson (83) — Gordon drove the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for 797 consecutive races from his debut in 1992 until he bowed out of the ride at the end of the 2015 season.
Now an analyst for FOX Sports, Gordon won four Cup championships, behind only Petty, Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Sr., who share the series record with seven each. Gordon won three Daytona 500s, four straight Southern 500s and a record five Brickyard 400s in his remarkable career.
“Man, I’m on cloud nine,” Gordon said during a televised interview after the announcement.
He follows his long-time crew chief Ray Evernham and team owner Rick Hendrick into the Hall.
“The significance of being there when Rick was inducted and being a part of it earlier this year with Ray, that’s when it really started to sink in with me about how special it would be,” said Gordon, who was named on a record 96 percent of ballots. “They dedicated their whole lives (to racing), and that’s the thing I see as a common thread of anybody that goes into the Hall of Fame.
“They sacrificed everything for racing and for NASCAR, and it became their life. To be honored by going into the Hall of Fame makes it all worthwhile and makes it very, very special.”
Roush, who was named on 70 percent of ballots, started his career in drag racing and sports cars but gravitated to NASCAR racing in 1988. An owner with a keen eye for talent, Roush supported the careers of such luminaries as NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and Greg Biffle.
“When we got started, I was just hoping I could stay in the sport for a while,” said Roush, who won Cup championships in 2003 with Kenseth and 2004 with Busch. “I can’t imagine that my name is up there with the 45 people that have already been inducted, with the things that they’ve accomplished.
“It’s rarefied air, and I’ve got to take a while to think about what it all means to me.”
In addition to the 2012 Cup championship, Team Penske has won the 2010 NASCAR Xfinity Series title and four of the last five Xfinity Series owners championships. In addition to his NASCAR accomplishments, Penske has won the Indianapolis 500 16 times as an owner.
“There were many great candidates,” Penske said in a SiriusXM NASCAR Radio interview after the announcement. “This is my day, and I’ll never forget it.”
Wallace was delighted for his former boss.
“I don’t know of anyone that has accomplished as much across all levels of motorsports as Roger Penske,” Wallace said. “I don’t know of anyone in motorsports that is as respected among all levels of racing and business as Roger.
“He’s my personal mentor and my personal hero. He has helped me immeasurably, both in racing and in business. I can’t say enough about Roger — he’s just an all-around fantastic person.”
Penske was named on 68 percent of the ballots submitted by Voting Panel members.
Davey and Bobby Allison, the only father/son combination to finish 1-2 in the Daytona 500, are the second father/son duo to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, joining Ned and Dale Jarrett.
“It’s was a great feeling of happiness, of weakness and everything,” Bobby Allison said of the moment when France announced his son’s name. “I just had to bend over and get a hold of myself. It was really good news.”
Davey Allison received 63 percent of the vote from panel members.
Kulwicki, who was named on 46 percent of ballots, rallied from a 278-point deficit to win the 1992 series title, edging Bill Elliott by 10 points — then the closest margin in Cup history — after a thrilling season finale at Atlanta in which Davey Allison also had a shot at the championship.
Former NASCAR executive and newsman Jim Hunter received the 2019 Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions to NASCAR. Known for his rapier wit and wise counsel, Hunter was instrumental in guiding the careers of an abundance of current and former NASCAR stars.
After his days as sports editor of the Columbia (S.C.) Record, Hunter served as public relations director for both Darlington Raceway and Talladega Superspeedway. He was later named president at Darlington and corporate vice president of International Speedway Corporation, before returning to NASCAR to lead the sport’s PR initiatives.
—By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Distributed by Field Level Media
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-motor-nascar-hall-of-fame/gordon-leads-four-other-legends-into-nascar-hall-of-fame-idUSKCN1IP0CD |
May 8 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories from selected Canadian newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
THE GLOBE AND MAIL ** The Ontario Liberal government is reversing a contentious piece of its new employment legislation around calculating public holiday pay, which business owners argued was both costly and flawed. tgam.ca/2jHi4z8
** Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc plans to change its name to Bausch Health Cos, as management takes another step toward remaking the company and distancing it from past controversies. tgam.ca/2rtkbe8
NATIONAL POST ** A Toronto-area police force is investigating an apparent leak after confidential police documents about an aborted drug arrest were used to try to discredit a man vying to be a candidate for the Ontario Progressive Conservatives. bit.ly/2wkgQDm
** The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission has concluded that payphone lines are not an essential service in a country where most people own cellphones. bit.ly/2I639t8 (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/press-digest-canada/press-digest-canada-may-8-idUSL3N1SF484 |
* HK->Shanghai Connect daily quota used 0.5 pct, Shanghai->HK daily quota used 1.6 pct
* HSI -0.1 pct, HSCE flat, CSI300 -0.8 pct
* Pyongyang abruptly called off talks with Seoul
May 16 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks barely changed on Wednesday, as renewed worries over North Korea and surging U.S. bond yields dampened sentiment in Asian markets. Investors were awaiting news from a second round of U.S.-China trade talks in Washington this week.
** The Hang Seng index ended 0.1 percent down at 31,110.20, while the China Enterprises Index was unchanged at 12,440.12 points. ** Pyongyang abruptly called off talks with Seoul, throwing a U.S.-North Korean summit into doubt. The cancellation could see tension on the Korean peninsula flare again even as investors worry about China-U.S. trade tensions and the sustainability of global economic growth.
** Meanwhile, strong U.S. retail sales and factory data on Tuesday pushed the U.S. 10-year yield through a key level to hit 3.095 percent, its highest since July 2011, raising worries about higher borrowing costs for companies worldwide. ** The sub-index of the Hang Seng tracking energy shares rose 0.3 percent, while the IT sector dipped 0.23 percent, the financial sector was 0.12 percent lower and property sector dipped 0.39 percent. ** The top gainer on Hang Seng was AAC Technologies Holdings Inc up 2.45 percent, while the biggest loser was Wharf Real Estate Investment Company Ltd, which ended 3.40 percent down. ** Around the region, MSCI’s Asia ex-Japan stock index was weaker by 0.01 percent while Japan’s Nikkei index closed down 0.44 percent . ** The yuan was Quote: d at 6.3686 per U.S. dollar at 08:30 GMT, 0.06 percent firmer than the previous close of 6.3725. ** As of the previous trading session, the Hang Seng index was up 4.12 percent this year, while China’s H-share index was up 6.2 percent. As of previous close, the Hang Seng climbed 1.12 percent this month. ** The top gainers among H-shares were Air China Ltd up 2.76 percent, followed by Hengan International Group Company Ltd gaining 2.04 percent and China Gas Holdings Ltd up by 2.02 percent. ** The three biggest H-shares percentage decliners were GF Securities Co Ltd which was down 1.70 percent, Byd Co Ltd which fell 1.4 percent and New China Life Insurance Co Ltd down by 1.2 percent. ** About 1.39 billion Hang Seng index shares were traded, roughly 82.5 percent of the market’s 30-day moving average of 1.68 billion shares a day. The volume traded in the previous trading session was 1.62 billion. ** At close, China’s A-shares were trading at a premium of 19.77 percent over the Hong Kong-listed H-shares. ** The price-to-earnings ratio of the Hang Seng index was 12.47 as of the last full trading day, while the dividend yield was 3.1 percent. (Reporting by the Shanghai Newsroom, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/china-stocks-hongkong-close/hong-kong-shares-barely-changed-amid-n-korea-trade-worries-idUSZZN2NAT00 |
FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Deutsche Boerse AG ( DB1Gn.DE ) plans to cut around 300 jobs as new CEO Theodor Weimer seeks to lower operating costs by 100 million euros ($120 million) through to 2020, Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: The German share prize index (DAX) board and the trading room of Frankfurt's stock exchange (Boerse Frankfurt) are photographed with a circular fisheye lens during afternoon trading session in Frankfurt, Germany, February 23, 2016. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach/File Photo The business daily, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said Weimer hoped to achieve the headcount reductions by offering older staff buyouts or early retirement.
“This will all be cushioned in a socially sensible way,” the newspaper Quote: d one source familiar with the matter as saying.
Deutsche Boerse named Wiemer, a former UniCredit banker, as CEO last November after Carsten Kengeter resigned amid an insider trading investigation.
Kengeter, who denied wrongdoing, had led talks on merging Deutsche Boerse with the London Stock Exchange ( LSE.L ) that unraveled after Britain’s referendum vote to leave the European Union.
Handelsblatt, citing company insiders, said few staff had been offered buyouts while Kengeter was at the helm and there would be willing takers if offers were made now. Deutsche Boerse employs more than 5,640 people.
Deutsche Boerse declined to comment on the report.
($1 = 0.8366 euros)
Reporting by Douglas Busvine and Tom Sims; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-deutsche-boerse-jobs/deutsche-boerse-to-cut-300-jobs-in-cost-cutting-drive-handelsblatt-idUSKBN1I32FJ |
There’s an inescapable question hanging over the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s equal parts absurd, confounding and magical. And it’s definitely not simple. That’s because there’s nothing simple about something that’s unprecedented.
How did the Vegas Golden Knights get to the Stanley Cup Finals?
This is not supposed to happen. The Knights are an... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-the-expansion-vegas-golden-knights-reached-the-stanley-cup-finals-1527183081 |
April 30 (Reuters) - AL SAGR COOPERATIVE INSURANCE CO :
* BOARD PROPOSES CASH DIVIDEND OF 0.75 RIYAL PER SHARE FOR 2017 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-al-sagr-cooperative-insurance-boar/brief-al-sagr-cooperative-insurance-board-proposes-fy-dividend-idUSFWN1S70QL |
LISBON (Reuters) - Love him or loathe him, there is no denying that Cristiano Ronaldo has had a profound effect on Portugal’s national team since making his debut against Kazakhstan in August 2003.
Soccer Football - La Liga Santander - Villarreal vs Real Madrid - Estadio de la Ceramica, Villarreal, Spain - May 19, 2018 Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their second goal with Gareth Bale REUTERS/Heino Kalis The Madeira-born forward is their captain, free kick and penalty taker, most-capped player and all-time leading scorer with 81 goals in 149 appearances.
In his 15 years of international football, he has helped Portugal to one European championship title, a runners-up spot, a semi-final and a World Cup semi-final — a record which puts many bigger nations to shame.
Ronaldo has scored for his country in seven major tournaments in a row — the last three World Cups and last four European championships.
Even at 33, he was Portugal’s leading scorer in the qualifying campaign for Russia with 15 goals.
Funchal’s airport is named after him although the naming ceremony last year was somewhat overshadowed by the unveiling of a statue of Ronaldo which was ridiculed on social media.
Dozens of sponsorship deals, where he has endorsed everything from fragrances to watches and clothes to a steel manufacturer, have turned him into one of the world’s richest sportsmen.
Always immaculately groomed, the five-times World Player of the Year likes nothing more than to celebrate a goal by lifting up his shirt to show off his rippling muscles.
He is usually last to go in a penalty shootout — which allowed him to score the winning kick for Real Madrid in the 2016 Champions League final but meant he missed out altogether in the Euro 2012 semi-final against Spain who won before his turn came.
There is sometimes a sense that Ronaldo is both the problem and the solution for Portugal.
Although his goals have rescued them on numerous occasions, there is often a feeling that his team would not have got into trouble in the first place if he had not insisted on taking, and wasting, every free kick.
He has taken more than 40 free kicks at major tournaments without converting and television pictures often show him remonstrating angrily with his younger team mates when the ball does not reach him.
Few in Portugal will say a bad word about him though.
When Ronaldo was carried off on a stretcher early in the Euro 2016 final against France — with a moth adding insult to injury by landing on his head — it seemed he was about to be denied the achievement he craved the most.
But with Ronaldo urging his team mates on from the touch-line, almost upstaging coach Fernando Santos, Portugal defied the odds to win the final 1-0.
And it was Ronaldo who was the first to put his hands on the trophy.
Writing by Brian Homewood in Berne; Editing by Peter Rutherford
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-soccer-worldcup-por-star/soccer-like-him-or-not-ronaldo-is-still-indispensable-for-portugal-idUSKCN1IM1NW |
(Adds details, new year trading)
LONDON, May 30 (Reuters) - British discount retailer B&M European Value reported a 25 percent rise in full-year profit on Wednesday, saying its cheaper offer was winning over customers in a difficult economic environment.
The fast-growing company, which finished the year with 576 B&M stores, reported profit before tax of 229.3 million pounds ($304 million) for the 53 weeks to end-March on sales of 2.98 billion pounds, up 22.4 percent.
It said categories such as food and groceries, DIY and pet care performed well, but cold weather in March hit demand for its new 2018 spring and summer ranges, taking the shine off what would have been a very strong second half.
The company, which also has a German business, said its British stores B&M in the UK, have delivered a “pleasing trading performance” in the early weeks of the new financial year.
Excluding the Easter week, it said its UK like-for-like revenue grew 3.1 percent in the first eight weeks of the year.
“Whilst there are five weeks still to go to the end of the period, we are confident of a solid outcome for the quarter,” the company said.
$1 = 0.7537 pounds Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton and Sarah Young
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May 30 (Reuters) - The following are the top stories on the business pages of British newspapers. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.
The Times
- Elizabeth Barrett, former head of dispute resolution at Slaughter and May, has been picked by the Financial Reporting Council to run its enforcement division, which is responsible for investigating and prosecuting accountants. bit.ly/2xqtjpl
- The co-chief executive of Standard Life Aberdeen Plc has shrugged off criticism of his position on the board of Sky Plc, the satellite broadcaster at the centre of complicated takeover talks, saying that "it isn't as time-consuming as you would think". bit.ly/2H2EyDU
The Guardian
- Business directors could be personally fined up to 500,000 pounds ($662,750) if they fail to prevent nuisance calls, under a government consultation on the issue. bit.ly/2H0xQyc
- The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, has called on the UK government to use its position as majority shareholder of Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc to block planned branch closures. bit.ly/2kAh5S4
The Telegraph
- Stobart Group Ltd has claimed it rejected a demand from former Chief Executive Andrew Tinkler for an 8 million pounds bonus before he launched a boardroom coup attempt, backed by the high-profile fund manager Neil Woodford. bit.ly/2xpRPqI
- The new boss of Dixons Carphone Plc blamed his predecessor for the retailer's ailing performance after news of a shock profit warning and plans to shut 92 stores wiped a fifth off its market value. bit.ly/2xoJIKW
Sky News
- Martin Sorrell is poised to be appointed executive chairman of a listed cash shell called Derriston Capital Plc , only weeks after his departure from one of the world's biggest advertising group WPP Plc. bit.ly/2L7OgaP
- Pret A Manger, the UK-based sandwich shop chain, is to be sold to the German-controlled company behind Krispy Kreme doughnuts for 1.5 billion pounds. All 12,000 workers will receive a 1,000 pounds windfall on completion of the sale, which is expected to take place in the summer. bit.ly/2kAcu1S
The Independent
- Business group EEF has slammed the UK government's 'max fac' Brexit plan, which would see the United Kingdom leaving the customs union but using technology to avoid a hard border with the EU. ind.pn/2L8uvzZ ($1 = 0.7544 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-press-business/press-digest-british-business-may-30-idUSL5N1T101F |
Prince Harry arrives for his big day Saturday, May 19, 2018 - 00:45
Prince Harry and his best man and brother Prince William arrive at St George's chapel in Windsor Castle. Rough cut (no reporter narration).
Prince Harry and his best man and brother Prince William arrive at St George's chapel in Windsor Castle. Rough cut (no reporter narration). //reut.rs/2LgTh1k | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/video/2018/05/19/prince-harry-arrives-for-his-big-day?videoId=428390535 |
Donald Trump once joked that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and not lose votes. That may be true—his approval ratings have inched up recently, tweetstorms and Stormy Daniels notwithstanding.
But can he be re-elected? He’s unlikely to face an opponent as unpopular and uninspiring as Hillary Clinton in 2020. His best hope may be John Kasich. The departing Ohio governor has made noises about challenging Mr. Trump in the primaries, but an independent bid would be better for the president.
... | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.wsj.com/articles/kasich-could-be-trumps-best-hope-1526511656 |
INSIGHT: Behind the scenes at the royal wedding 7:30am EDT - 00:53
The Royal Mews is preparing the horses to be used in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Windsor wedding May 19.
The Royal Mews is preparing the horses to be used in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Windsor wedding May 19. //reut.rs/2KuTNbV | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/video/2018/05/02/insight-behind-the-scenes-at-the-royal-w?videoId=423186138 |
May 22, 2018 / 9:50 PM / Updated 8 minutes ago Congress eases post-crisis bank rules in victory for Trump Pete Schroeder , Michelle Price 5 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives passed on Tuesday bipartisan legislation that would ease bank rules introduced in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, giving President Donald Trump a major legislative victory. U.S. President Donald Trump waves goodbye to South Korea's President Moon Jae-In after their meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
The vote eases some of the 2010 Dodd-Frank rules that have hurt smaller banks and community lenders and keeps the Republican president’s promise to try to spur more economic growth by cutting regulation, but does little for Wall Street.
It is a far cry from the repeal that Trump pledged on the campaign trail, leaving largely untouched the core Dodd-Frank provisions designed to ensure financial stability and other rules most hated by banks and conservative Republicans.
But industry lobbyists say Trump’s administration played a key role in getting the bipartisan legislation, which had been under discussion for years, across the finish line.
The bill, which was approved by the Senate in March after securing the backing of 17 Democrats, marks the first attempt to revise rules that aimed to prevent a repeat of the crisis that saw Wall Street lenders bailed out to the tune of $700 billion.
Republican critics say Dodd-Frank went too far and curbs banks’ ability to lend, hurting economic growth, while many Democrats say it provides critical protections for consumers and taxpayers.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday evening, White House officials hailed the legislation as another “milestone” in the administration’s mission to “revitalise the U.S. economy” by lifting barriers to business.
They said Trump aims to sign the bill into law at a formal ceremony within the week.
The bill, approved 258-159 in the House on Tuesday, raises the threshold at which banks are considered systemically risky and subject to stricter oversight to $250 billion from $50 billion. It also eases trading, lending and capital rules for banks with less than $10 billion in assets.
But it does not weaken the top U.S. consumer watchdog created by Dodd-Frank that has been consistently attacked by Republicans who say it oversteps its mandate.
Touching the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was a red line for Democrats, according to lobbyists. Related Coverage Small banks trump Wall Street on Dodd-Frank rewrite
Nor does the bill weaken Wall Street’s obligation to comply with the so-called Volcker Rule banning banks from making risky bets with their own money, or limit the ability of regulators to apply stricter rules to large institutions they deem critical to the financial system.
Speaking to Reuters on Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp, a key backer of the bill, said it aimed to fix problems with Dodd-Frank, not to weaken it.
“That’s going to improve Dodd-Frank not diminish or begin to erode Dodd Frank,” she added.
Still, some larger players secured a handful of niche provisions, most notably the nation’s largest custody banks.
The bill will allow the likes of BNY Mellon, State Street Corp and Northern Trust to exclude customer deposits they place with central banks from a stringent capital calculation requirement, potentially offering major capital relief.
They were able to successfully differentiate themselves from the Wall Street titans like Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan Chase & Co, in order to win over some sceptical lawmakers, said lobbyists.
The draft legislation also offers more favourable treatment for municipal bonds, a measure that analysts say is likely to help Citigroup Inc’s bond-trading business and help lower financing costs on infrastructure projects nationwide.
Consumer advocates and Democrats including Senator Elizabeth Warren have warned big banks will exploit these provisions, potentially increasing systemic risk.
But independent regulatory experts said the big banks were better off focusing their efforts on the regulatory agencies where Trump’s appointees are better-positioned to cut them material slack.
“This is a legislative win for the banks, but the biggest deregulatory bang for the buck is changing the referees, not the rules,” said Dan Ryan, PwC Banking & Capital Markets Leader.
“I don’t see any more financial services bills passing the Senate this year,” he said. Reporting by Pete Schroeder and Michelle Price; Editing by Lisa Shumaker and Darren Schuettler | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-house-banks/trump-set-to-sign-bill-easing-post-crisis-bank-rules-after-u-s-house-passage-idUKKCN1IN319 |
Wall Street wants the status quo on trade, says Kevin Kelly 7:54pm BST - 06:19
Benchmark Investments' CEO talks about the prospects for trade with Reuters' Fred Katayama just as the U.S. launches a second round of trade talks with China and Washington faces a deadline on a new NAFTA deal. ▲ Hide Transcript ▶ View Transcript
Benchmark Investments' CEO talks about the prospects for trade with Reuters' Fred Katayama just as the U.S. launches a second round of trade talks with China and Washington faces a deadline on a new NAFTA deal. Press CTRL+C (Windows), CMD+C (Mac), or long-press the URL below on your mobile device to copy the code https://reut.rs/2L6qPiG | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/video/2018/05/17/wall-street-wants-the-status-quo-on-trad?videoId=427830916 |
May 24, 2018 / 3:29 AM / Updated an hour ago China jails former insurance executive for 11 years over graft - state media Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
BEIJING (Reuters) - A Chinese court sentenced Wang Yincheng, the former president of the People’s Insurance Group of China, to 11 years in prison for graft on Thursday, the official People’s Daily said. Reporting by Beijing Monitoring Desk; Editing by Paul Tait | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-china-corruption/china-jails-former-insurance-executive-for-11-years-over-graft-state-media-idUKKCN1IP0F8 |
* Optical components makers rise after Trump’s ZTE decision
* NXP jumps on report China resumes Qualcomm deal review
* Xerox falls after scraping $6.1 bln deal with Fujifilm
* Indexes up: Dow 0.49 pct, S&P 0.46 pct, Nasdaq 0.59 pct (Updates to open)
By Sruthi Shankar
May 14 (Reuters) - Wall Street indexes rose on Monday, helped by gains in technology stocks after President Donald Trump softened his stance on Chinese technology company ZTE Corp, signaling easing U.S.-China trade tensions.
Trump on Sunday pledged to help ZTE “get back into business, fast” nearly a month after the U.S. Commerce Department banned American companies from selling to the firm for violating an agreement.
Trump’s comments came ahead of trade talks between Chinese Vice Premier Liu He and U.S. officials this week to resolve escalating trade disputes and drove big gains in the shares of U.S. suppliers to ZTE.
Optical components maker Acacia Communications jumped 16.1 percent, while Oclaro and Lumentum Holdings rose 5.8 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively.
“Some of the headlines point to signs that Trump might be watering down his tough talks on trade,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan Capital Securities in New York.
Also helping the mood was news that China had resumed its review of chipmaker Qualcomm’s proposed $44 billion takeover of NXP Semiconductors. NXP surged 10.3 percent and Qualcomm 3.3 percent.
The Philadelphia semiconductor index was up 1.9 percent.
At 9:55 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 120.76 points, or 0.49 percent, at 24,951.93, the S&P 500 was up 12.45 points, or 0.46 percent, at 2,740.17 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 43.40 points, or 0.59 percent, at 7,446.28.
The indexes posted solid gains last week, helped by a surge in oil prices, easing inflation fears and Apple’s rally that took the iPhone maker close to $1 trillion in market capitalization.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were trading above their 100-day moving averages, a key technical level that many traders believe is a sign that markets could gain further.
“It looks like the markets want to move up, and there seems to be a rosier outlook for geopolitics especially North Korea,” Cardillo said.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Washington would agree to lift sanctions on North Korea if the country agrees to completely dismantle its nuclear weapons program.
Nine of the 11 major S&P sectors were higher, with technology and energy sectors leading the gains.
Exxon rose 1.1 percent after Citigroup raised its price target on the stock.
The biggest decliner was Xerox, which tumbled 7.9 percent after the U.S. photocopier giant scrapped a planned $6.1 billion deal with Fujifilm Holdings.
Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.39-to-1 ratio on the NYSE. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by a 2.04-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.
The S&P index recorded 21 new 52-week highs and two new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 73 new highs and 15 new lows. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)
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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Strategic private security firm 360 Group International, Inc. today announced that Lorenzo Robert Savage III, a retired senior executive with the U.S. Secret Service, has been named CEO of the company effective immediately. Bill Kirkpatrick, founder of 360 Group and former CEO, will remain President of the firm.
Kirkpatrick said bringing Savage to the company “represents a key strategic development in advancing and expanding the mission of 360 Group International. The company’s ongoing growth and strength of reputation is the result of acquiring some of the most senior-level and experienced security experts in the world combined with best-in-class service to our customers.”
Under Mr. Savage’s leadership, 360 Group International is expanding or enhancing its capabilities in many security areas, including cybersecurity assessment and threat analysis. In his prior role, Mr. Savage oversaw the multi-jurisdictional Los Angeles Electronic Crimes Task Force.
“During a time when demands are increasing for comprehensive security and protection for events, individuals and corporations, I can’t think of a better person than Mr. Savage to lead 360 Group International,” Kirkpatrick said.
Mr. Savage most recently served as Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office after being appointed to the Senior Executive Service. In this role, he oversaw all Secret Service protective, investigative and intelligence investigations, tactical operations, and administrative programs while maintaining optimal security and safety levels for the third largest of the Secret Service’s 42 field offices. Mr. Savage began his Secret Service career in 1993 as a special agent assigned to the Washington Field Office and since then has steadily risen through the ranks. He has served in numerous managerial assignments, including directing the inner security perimeter for President George W. Bush. Mr. Savage received the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary’s Award of Excellence as the event coordinator for the 2011 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Leaders’ Meeting comprised of 21 World Leaders, including the President of the United States, held in Hawaii.
Based in Beverly Hills, 360 Group International is considered a premier protection and security agency. The company’s senior leadership team includes some of the country’s most experienced and respected law enforcement and security professionals, many of whom have been involved in international diplomatic security, federal law enforcement task forces, surveillance and counter-intelligence operations and other high-level security matters. The company consistently tailors its risk assessment programs to accommodate and forecast its clients’ security concerns.
Specialized, coordinated risk assessments by 360 Group International help identify, understand, and counter threats to corporate entities, executives and high net worth individuals and families. The company is proud of its highly-trained security personnel and the ability to provide the highest caliber of service to clients worldwide. They provide services to domestic and international organizations that require either operational security services or individually tailored training packages.
Mr. Kirkpatrick’s leadership contributed to 360 Group’s significant growth in recent years. Separating the CEO and President responsibilities will allow Mr. Savage to focus on strategic initiatives and expansion of services. As President, Mr. Kirkpatrick will work closely with Mr. Savage to further expand the company’s strategic capabilities. Mr. Kirkpatrick will continue to direct key staff and assignments for threat assessment analysis, investigations, rapid response reaction and event security. During his tenure, Mr. Kirkpatrick routinely coordinated with the U.S. Secret Service, military and law enforcement officials, as well as foreign government agencies that protect heads of state and other officials. He managed thousands of protective details for the world’s most prominent public figures.
About 360 Group International
360 Group International is an elite security firm providing corporate and executive protection, event security, threat assessments and security consulting to individuals, companies and government agencies around the world. The team includes former law enforcement professionals, military specialists and members of the intelligence community with the experience, international resources and training for current and emerging areas of security. Call 1-888-365-4360 for more information.
Full bios and additional information can be found at: www.360groupintl.com .
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180530005563/en/
Fraser Communications
Denis Wolcott, 213-200-1563
[email protected]
Source: 360 Group International | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/30/business-wire-360-group-international-names-savage-as-ceo.html |
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Police on Saturday raided a deluxe Kuala Lumpur apartment block at which relatives of ousted Prime Minister Najib Razak had been staying as they searched for sensitive documents the new government fears may be taken out of the country, two senior police officers said.
Ousted Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak speaks during a news conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer The swoop came as Malaysia’s new Prime Minister, Mahathir Mohamad, said he had stopped his predecessor from leaving the country because of suspected wrongdoing in connection with a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1MDB.
Police said they were acting after a complaint that a government vehicle had delivered dozens of boxes made to carry designer handbags and other items to the apartment for Najib’s wife, Rosmah Mansor.
Public disgust over alleged corruption was widely seen as one of the reasons behind the unexpected defeat of Najib’s long-ruling Barisan Nasional coalition in Wednesday’s general election.
Najib has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
A spokesman for Najib could not be immediately reached for comment. Reuters was unable to reach Najib himself, his wife, or other family members and close associates on Saturday night.
Reuters saw about 20 police officers enter the marble-floored lobby of the Pavilion Residences apartment block in the Malaysian capital, just as Mahathir was holding a news conference to announce key members of his cabinet.
They were aided by at least a dozen other plainclothes law-enforcement officers. Security personnel from the building - which is owned by Desmond Lim, a wealthy Malaysian businessman and supporter of Najib - were cooperative.
“We are looking for government documents that may have been illegally taken,” said a senior police officer, who requested anonymity as he was not authorized to talk to the media.
“The government are worried they could be sensitive and important, and could be taken out of the country.”
He declined to say whether any documents had been found and described the operation as “ongoing”.
According to the police, members of Najib’s family had been staying at the apartments, but they declined to name them.
ORANGE BOXES The police action followed a complaint lodged by two leaders of the youth wing of Mahathir’s political party, Bersatu.
The police report of the complaint, reviewed by Reuters, alleges that vans emblazoned with the logo of the department of the prime minister and cabinet delivered boxes for 50 Birkin handbags to Pavilion Residences on Thursday evening.
The report alleged that the boxes showed the name of the consignee as Rosmah Mansor.
Two photos provided with the report and reviewed by Reuters showed a van with the department’s logo and a shopping trolley filled with orange boxes. The location, the date and the contents of the boxes - including whether there were any of the handbags inside - could not be ascertained from the photos.
The Birkin handbags concerned would cost $200,000 each, the complaint said.
The senior police officer only confirmed “family members” of Najib had stayed in the apartment complex when Reuters asked if Rosmah had stayed there.
Another officer involved in the operation described the persons of interest as “VVIPs”, or very, very important persons.
Both police officers said investigators were not primarily interested in the luxury items but were chasing documents that could be vital for investigations into Najib’s administration.
ANNOUNCED OVERSEAS TRIP Kuala Lumpur’s police chief and an official police spokeswoman did not respond to requests for comment.
Najib said earlier on Saturday that he was going abroad for a week to rest, but just minutes later the Department of Immigration announced that he and his wife had been barred from leaving the country.
Mahathir, who was sworn in as prime minister on Thursday, has vowed to probe the loss of billions of dollars from state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB), which was founded by Najib.
U.S. Department of Justice documents allege that $681 million from 1MDB was transferred to the personal account of a person identified as Malaysian Official One, which U.S. and Malaysian sources have confirmed was Najib.
Najib has said the deposit was a donation by an unnamed member of the Saudi royal family which had been largely returned.
Reporting by Tom Allard; Editing by John Chalmers and Martin Howell
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-politics-raid-exclusive/exclusive-malaysian-police-raid-apartments-linked-to-ousted-pm-najibs-family-idUSKCN1ID0LF |
Dallas, TX, May 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: ZNGY), the nation's leading next-generation utility announced today it has elected Mr. Joshua Campbell to its Board of Directors and is also adding a new member to the executive leadership team, energy industry veteran, Mr. Chris Crabtree.
Since joining the company mid-2017, Mr. Campbell has served Zenergy as its Senior Vice President of Operations but will now transition out of that role to assume his new role and formal title of Senior Vice President of Administration & Planning. In this new capacity, Mr. Campbell will be responsible for all of the Company’s compliance, regulatory filings, long-term planning, interacting with critical vendors, and some back-office functions.
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to have been elected to Zenergy’s Board of Directors, a development I am humbled by and grateful for,” said Joshua Campbell, Zenergy’s newly elected Board member and Senior Vice President of Administration & Planning. “From day one, I embraced Zenergy’s vision and potential to be a game-changer in this industry. Today, I go to work each day with that same fervent belief that we can fulfill our mission of being the nation’s leading next-generation utility. I am excited to be a part of the veteran leadership team driving this aspiration forward.”
As part of this transition, the Company is also pleased to welcome Mr. Chris Crabtree who will be starting in his new role as Zenergy’s Senior Vice President of Operations, reporting directly to the CEO, effective June 1st. Mr. Crabtree, a Six Sigma Strategic Operations and Risk Management leader, boasts extensive experience in project management, directing complex operations, developing strategies and leading and motivating high-performance teams to advance critical initiatives while efficiently controlling costs and capturing ongoing savings.
Some of his relevant experiences include driving vendor reduction, efficiency generation, and Lean Six Sigma improvements, having managed budgets and P&L responsibility for global business units resulting in savings exceeding several millions of dollars. He also actively directed operations with full budget responsibility for six major operational units, including Customer Enrollment, Service and Maintenance, Customer Care, Credit and Collections, and Retention for all North American Markets.
Adept at cultivating partnerships and building lasting relationships, Mr. Crabtree has led a high-performance team of seven direct reports and a total team of up to 128 administrative and internal call-center employees and two outsourced call centers with more than 180 employees. Cumulatively, Mr. Crabtree possesses 22 years of business experience and 17 years of energy industry experience.
“I am delighted by the opportunity to join Zenergy’s executive leadership team of industry veterans. I have been following the company closely since its inception and have been encouraged by the progress they have made, “said Chris Crabtree, Zenergy’s new Senior Vice President of Operations. “I can hardly wait to roll up my sleeves and apply my work ethic and contribute my expertise to help fulfill Zenergy’s objectives.”
Zenergy CEO, Mr. Alex Rodriguez, said, “I am very excited to welcome Mr. Chris Crabtree to Zenergy. I have had the pleasure of knowing Mr. Crabtree a long time and the privilege of enjoying a good working relationship with him. His in-depth expertise in operations and overall pedigree speak for themselves and I have the utmost confidence in his ability to provide the right leadership to deploy and lead a very scalable operation.”
Zenergy encourages all shareholders and potential investors to subscribe to its corporate newsletter at www.zenergybrands.com to remain apprised of all major news and updates.
ABOUT ZENERGY BRANDS, INC.
Zenergy Brands, Inc. (OTCQB: ZNGY), is a next-generation energy and technology company operating in the emerging smart energy, conservation, and utility industries. The Company provides energy conservation, smart controls, and efficiency-based products and services as a fully integrated energy company. Zenergy is a public company, fully reporting to the SEC and currently trading on the OTCQB, a venture market designed for early-stage and developing U.S. and international companies. To learn more, visit www.zenergybrands.com or www.whatsizenergy.com , and follow the company’s social media accounts via the links below:
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain The words “believe,” “expect,” “should,” “intend,” “estimate,” “projects,” variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the company's current expectations and are subject to some risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. The company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the critical factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those by such forward-looking statements are risks detailed in the company's filings, which are on file at www.OTCmarkets.com .
INVESTORS & MEDIA CONTACT: Email: [email protected] Phone: (469) 228-1400 Fax: (469) 626-5101
Source:Zenergy Brand, Inc. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/03/globe-newswire-zenergy-brands-inc-announces-election-of-new-board-member-and-key-new-addition-to-executive-leadership-team.html |
May 22, 2018 / 9:02 PM / Updated 19 minutes ago Trump weighs 10 percent cut in EU steel, aluminium exports to U.S.- WSJ Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump is considering trade measures to cut EU steel and aluminium exports to the United States by about 10 percent, in a sign that Brussels’ concessions to secure tariff exemptions have not met White House demands, the Wall Street Journal said, citing EU officials familiar with the talks. U.S. President Donald Trump looks at a photographer after a meeting with South Korea's President Moon Jae-In at the White House in Washington, U.S., May 22, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria
Washington proposed two options for the European Union, a quota fixed at 90 percent of U.S. imports from the bloc in 2017 and a tariff-rate quota that would target the same 10 percent reduction via levies, the Journal quoted Poland's Entrepreneurship and Technology Minister Jadwiga Emilewicz as saying after EU governments discussed U.S. trade relations on Tuesday. on.wsj.com/2J1azkS
Trump has set tariffs of 25 percent on incoming steel and 10 percent on aluminium on grounds of national security but has granted EU producers an exemption until June 1 pending the outcome of the talks.
EU proposals to open its markets wider to U.S. products, including cars, appear not to have persuaded Washington to lift the threat of import tariffs on EU steel and aluminium, the EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said earlier on Tuesday. Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Bengaluru; Editing by Gareth Jones | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-usa-trade-eu-quotas/trump-weighs-10-percent-cut-in-eu-steel-aluminium-exports-to-u-s-wsj-idUKKCN1IN2XX |
Fed and agencies propose easing and modifying Volcker Rule 1 Hour Ago CNBC's Steve Liesman reports on the Federal Reserve and four regulatory agencies proposing changes to the Volcker Rule for financial institutions. | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.cnbc.com/video/2018/05/30/fed-volcker-rule.html |
May 17, 2018 / 4:08 PM / in 3 minutes Suzanne Scott to head Fox News Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Suzanne Scott on Thursday was named as the chief executive officer of Twenty First Century Fox Inc’s ( FOXA.O ) Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. FILE PHOTO: A Fox News channel sign is seen on a television vehicle outside the News Corporation building in New York City, in New York, U.S. November 8, 2017. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
Scott, who will be the first woman to head Fox News, was most recently president of programming at both networks.
Rupert Murdoch took charge of Fox News following the exit of Roger Ailes over sexual harassment charges. Ailes, who started Fox News in 1996, had turned the network into a booming voice for conservatives. He passed away in May 2017.
Scott will report to Rupert Murdoch, Twenty First Century Fox’s Executive Chairman and Lachlan Murdoch, chairman of Twenty First Century Fox, and the chairman and CEO of the proposed New Fox following Twenty First Century Fox’s deal with Walt Disney Co ( DIS.N ).
Fox agreed last year to sell the bulk of its film and TV assets to Disney in a $52.4 billion stock deal. The new Fox will include its news divisions, Fox sports, Fox television stations group, Fox Broadcasting Co and sports cable networks.
Fox News on Thursday also named Jay Wallace as its executive editor and president.
(This version of the story corrects paragraph 3 to say Rupert Murdoch took charge of Fox News after Ailes exit, removes reference to him being acting CEO in paragraph 2) Reporting by Laharee Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Sriraj Kalluvila | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-twenty-first-century-fox-moves-scott/suzanne-scott-to-head-fox-news-idUSKCN1II2D1 |
LONDON (Reuters) - British opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn joined thousands of workers marching through central London on Saturday to demand a “new deal” on working conditions and an end to what the organizers called the worst pay squeeze in modern history.
Demonstrators march in a public sector workers protest, organised by the Trades Union Congress (TUC), as part of its ‘A New Deal for Working People’ campaign, in central London, Britain May 12, 2018. REUTERS/Toby Melville The Trades Union Congress used the march to call for a higher minimum wage, improved job security and investment in public services as it released research saying that wages were still worth less in real terms than before the financial crisis.
“This demonstration today is about workers rights, it is about collective endeavor but above all, it’s a declaration that we’re around to campaign as long as it takes, to bring about that social justice and that decency in society,” Corbyn told the rally.
The TUC said real wages were not forecast to return to their pre-financial crash levels until 2025. It said that would mark the worst period of wage stagnation for two centuries.
Slideshow (4 Images) “It’s taking wages longer to recover from this crash than from the Great Depression and Second World War,” TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said.
Labour’s Corbyn told the rally a Labour government would increase training for young workers, build more homes, nationalize some sectors and give workers a greater say in how their companies are run, including whether they should be sold.
Prime Minister Theresa May’s government says it has boosted the pay of the lowest workers, increased employment and has invested in skills and training.
“Thanks to the hard work of the British people, our economy is at a turning point with inflation falling, unemployment at a 40-year low and debt due to start its first sustained fall in a generation,” a spokesman for the Treasury said.
Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Angus MacSwan
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/us-britain-politics/uks-corbyn-joins-london-workers-march-for-better-pay-idUSKCN1ID0NV |
CHICAGO and LONDON, Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII), a premier provider of executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services globally, has appointed Corinna Christophorou as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer.
Based in London, Christophorou has been working as Vice President for Market Development with Heidrick & Struggles in Europe and Africa. She has led the firm's business development, communications and marketing activities in the region for over three years. Previously, she has held senior leadership roles with global professional services firms, focusing on improving performance and profitability.
Christophorou has played an instrumental role in driving strong growth and elevation of the brand in Europe and Africa, working closely with Regional Managing Partner, Luis Urbano and the European Leadership team.
"Heidrick & Struggles has a long heritage of growing internal talent and Corinna's appointment as Chief Marketing Officer exemplifies this. Corinna's outstanding track record in business development and brand building brings renewed focus to the role. Having this key leadership role based in London underscores the firm's global credentials," said Mike Cullen, Chief Operating Officer.
About Heidrick & Struggles
Heidrick & Struggles (Nasdaq: HSII) serves the executive talent and leadership needs of the world's top organizations as a premier provider of executive search, leadership assessment and development, organization and team effectiveness, and culture shaping services globally. Heidrick & Struggles pioneered the field of retained executive search 65 years ago. Today, the firm serves as a trusted advisor, providing integrated leadership solutions and helping its clients change the world, one leadership team at a time. For more information about Heidrick & Struggles, please visit www.heidrick.com .
Media Contacts:
Chiara Pierdomenico +44 (0)20 7075 4236
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Alex Brown - +1 312.496.1871
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View original content with multimedia: releases/heidrick--struggles-promotes-european-leader-to-global-chief-marketing-officer-300656984.html
SOURCE Heidrick & Struggles | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/31/pr-newswire-heidrick-struggles-promotes-european-leader-to-global-chief-marketing-officer.html |
May 5, 2018 / 11:13 PM / in 3 hours UPDATE 2-Golf-Leader Day gets feet wet at Wells Fargo Reuters Staff
* Australian plays shot with feet in creek
* Uihlein fires 62, one off course record
* Woods has 68 to stand nine strokes back (Adds quotes)
May 5 (Reuters) - Jason Day needed to get his feet wet at the final hole to salvage a four-under-par 67 and take a two-stroke lead after the third round of the Wells Fargo Championship in North Carolina on Saturday.
The Australian took off his shoes and socks and stood in a small creek to play a shot to the green at the 18th before coming through with a par putt to stand at 10-under 203, two strokes ahead of Nick Watney (66).
Tiger Woods, who has struggled with his putting this week, was nine strokes off the lead after a 68 while Rory McIlroy rebounded from his 76 on Friday by going 10 strokes lower to sit seven off the lead.
Day struggled to get going but four birdies in six holes on the back nine saw him break free of the pack.
“It was a bit of a struggle through eight holes,” the former world number one told CBS television.
“Then a nice shot into the ninth hole for a tap-in birdie and a good drive down 10 kind of really started getting things in the right direction.”
Rookie Aaron Wise had tracked Day for most of the afternoon but bogeys on two of his last three holes dropped him into a tie for third with Peter Uihlein, who narrowly missed the course record with a nine-under 62, Bryson DeChambeau (66) and Englishman Paul Casey (69). Phil Mickelson also took advantage of the softer greens to shoot a seven-under 64 and move into 10th at five-under 208.
Woods picked up six birdies to reach one-under 212 but finished the round on a sour note with a three-putt bogey on 18.
The former world number one had moved to four under with three consecutive birdies from the 13th.
“I was so close to shooting about seven, eight-under today,” he told reporters. “I still didn’t have enough pace on a couple that I left on the lip.
“I’m close, I’m hitting the ball well enough to contend, to win this golf tournament, but I just haven’t made putts.”
Uihlein had five consecutive birdies from the fifth, an eagle at 10 and added two more birdies at the 14th and 15th as he missed McIlroy’s 2015 Quail Hollow record by one shot.
“The way the golf course was set up today it felt like you could get after it a bit,” he said. “It played a little easier than it did the first two days.”
McIlroy, at three-under 210, had four birdies in a row before also bogeying the last.
“I’m just not that comfortable with anything right now,” McIlroy told Golf Channel. “I’m trying really hard to hit it in the fairway and then trying really hard to get my irons on line. It’s all just a little bit of a struggle.” Reporting by Gene Cherry in Raleigh, | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://in.reuters.com/article/golf-wellsfargo/update-1-golf-day-gets-wet-but-leads-wells-fargo-by-two-strokes-idINL3N1SC08N |
April 30 (Reuters) - Heliospectra AB (publ):
* ORDER VALUE IS SEK 1.5 MILLION (USD $179,760). * ORDER WILL BE DELIVERED AND VISIBLE IN ACCOUNTS IN Q2 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage: (Gdynia Newsroom)
| ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://www.reuters.com/article/brief-heliospectragets-sek-15-mln-order/brief-heliospectragets-sek-1-5-mln-order-idUSFWN1S70YF |
May 24, 2018 / 3:12 PM / Updated 6 minutes ago Early ECB bank loan repayments loom, threaten to raise borrowing costs Dhara Ranasinghe 6 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Already facing a likely growth slowdown, the euro zone risks a sudden tightening of financial conditions next month should banks across the bloc use the opportunity to repay billions of euros in cheap loans taken from the European Central Bank. European Union flags flutter outside the European Central Bank (ECB) headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, April 26, 2018. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach
Such repayments could in turn boost the euro and the bloc’s borrowing costs, an unwelcome development for policymakers after data this week signalled economic growth probably failed to pick up in the second quarter of the year.
June brings the first early repayment date for almost 400 billion euros ($471 billion) of targeted long-term refinancing operations (TLTROs), designed by the European Central Bank to encourage lending to the real economy.
A first series of TLTROs was launched in 2014, and a second in 2016. They provided banks with interest-free funding and even the possibility of a rebate if they lent the cash on to businesses and households.
The loans had a four-year maturity, with a quarterly option to repay early from two years after the loan was taken out.
Early repayments for the first series of TLTROs fell due in 2016 and most of those loans were rolled over into the second series, analysts said.
According to Swedish bank Nordea, early TLTRO repayments in June could top 110 billion euros.
That estimate is based on a comparison with 2013, when unexpected early repayments of a previous series of cheap three-year loans totalling 137 billion euros offered by the ECB to help fight the euro zone debt crisis caught markets by surprise.
Graphic: The ECB's balance sheet - reut.rs/2Lq5j8W
Other banks’ estimates put the expected figure for next month in the region of 100 billion euros.
The ECB declined to comment on repayment expectations.
Peter Kinsella, head of currency and rates strategy at CBA, sees two reasons why banks will repay a sizeable portion of the TLTRO loans.
First, they no longer require the same degree of central bank support. CBA estimates that the average Tier 1 equity ratio, a measure of a bank’s financial strength, is around 14 percent versus 8 percent before the 2008 financial crisis.
The recovery in euro zone banks was highlighted by first quarter earnings — 85 percent of banks in the MSCI EMU index met or beat analyst expectations, according to I/B/E/S data.
Second, CBA says that because various regulatory levies faced by banks are proportional to the size of their balance sheets, early repayment of ECB loans will help reduce that balance sheet and in turn potential charges.
“If euro zone banks voluntarily repay a significant proportion ... we anticipate front-end euro zone yields may lift aggressively, because the early repayment implies a tightening of monetary conditions,” said Kinsella.
European Commission data shows euro area monetary conditions have already tightened in recent months, partly because of the euro’s strength at the start of 2018 and throughout last year.
A further tightening could take investors by surprise.
German two-year bond yields remain deeply negative, at minus 0.61 percent DE2YT=RR.
Some strategists said that while early TLTRO repayments was not their base-case for June, this could happen in September — the banks’ next opportunity to pay back the ECB early.
Traders say there were few immediate concerns about early loan repayments being made — especially since interest rates at minus 0.4 percent for two more years under the TLTRO remain attractive, and potentially shelter banks from a rate rise over that period.
Also, many banks are believed to be still assessing what they might do.
One strategist said it made financial sense for banks to start repaying these loans only when the maturity of the loans drops to a year because after that they become less attractive to hold.
Also, even if banks decide to repay their loans early, the ECB will still continue its 30 billion euros a month of bond purchases until September at least. That means its balance sheet will still be expanding and pumping cash into the economy.
For Nordea chief analyst Jan von Gerich, though, these ECB purchases may not be big enough to offset the impact of early TLTRO repayments.
“Given that the ECB is on the final stretch of its net bond purchases, the remaining bond purchases may never be able to compensate for the flow of early TLTRO repayments,” he said.
“The ECB’s balance sheet could start to contract well before the first rate hike and even before the end of the net bond purchases.”
This would stand in contrast to the U.S. Federal Reserve, which did not let its balance sheet start contracting until more than 1-1/2 years after its first post-crisis rate hike, he said.
For others, the incentive to pay back loans early was linked to facing up to the reality of the changing monetary policy backdrop globally.
“This is not an issue for right now, but it could be later in the year as central banks globally tighten their policies — essentially the unwinding of global QE,” said Patrick O’Donnell, investment manager at Aberdeen Asset Management. Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Sujata Rao and Kit Rees in LONDON and Balazs Koranyi in FRANKFURT; Editing by Catherine Evans | ashraq/financial-news-articles | https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-eurozone-tltros-ecb-analysis/early-ecb-bank-loan-repayments-loom-threaten-to-raise-borrowing-costs-idUKKCN1IP2OI |
-- Company’s innovative glycomics technology now addresses large population suffering from xerostomia --
CLAREMONT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Prisyna, the oral care division of Synedgen, founded to optimize oral health using advanced, proprietary glycomics technology, today announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its family of Moisyn™ products designed to treat xerostomia.
Xerostomia (also known as dry mouth, or dry mouth syndrome) is an unpleasant and challenging oral health condition that occurs when there is a decrease in the presence of saliva. Dry mouth affects a large percentage of the adult population, and as much as half of the elderly population in the United States. The symptoms of dry mouth significantly impact patient quality of life and often cause difficulty in chewing, swallowing and speaking, and can result in dry, thick oral mucus, painful oral tissues, bad breath, and sleep disturbance.
“With the FDA clearance for Moisyn products, patients will have access to a new treatment that can alleviate the symptoms of dry mouth and improve their oral health,” said Leo Pranitis, General Manager of Prisyna. “We are now able to offer patients an innovative new option for treating xerostomia using the first glycomics targeted therapy that has been shown in a clinical study to reduce pain and increase comfort. Data from this clinical study further validates our vision to bring better outcomes to the oral healthcare community through our glycomics technology.”
In a clinical study where patients used Moisyn up to four times daily, statistically significant reductions occurred in symptoms associated with dryness, ability to eat and swallow, mouth sensation and taste. Key symptoms treated by Moisyn included reduced mouth pain, improved ability to sleep, and improved sense of taste. As a result of treatment with Moisyn, patients in the study reported a reduction in food becoming lodged in the throat due to dryness and a change in the saliva thickness, positively affecting food choices as well as the quality of sleep. i
“Xerostomia, or dry mouth, is a challenging and frustrating oral health care issue that affects up to 20 percent of the adult population and nearly 50 percent of the elderly population in the U.S.,” said Joel Epstein, DMD, MSD, and principal investigator of a Moisyn clinical study. “Many of these patients have medical conditions such as autoimmune diseases or diabetes that can cause dry mouth, and dry mouth may be seen in people being treated for diseases such as cancer or as a side effect of certain medications. For patients living with xerostomia Moisyn can relieve the symptoms of dry mouth and could be an important contribution to overall oral health.”
About Xerostomia (Dry Mouth)
Xerostomia, or dry mouth, causes dryness in the oral cavity, most commonly the tongue and roof of the mouth. Typically, it is identified by a reduction or absence of oral saliva and can be brought on by a variety of conditions, including aging. Over 1000 prescription and non-prescription medications, including drugs for treating anxiety, depression, high blood pressure, allergies, and cancer are known to alter the production of saliva and cause dry mouth as a side effect.
Common problems stemming from dry mouth include tooth decay, disturbed sleep, dry throat, burning sensation in the throat, gum disease, oral infections, taste change, and difficulty speaking and swallowing.
About Prisyna
Prisyna, the oral healthcare division of Synedgen, is developing and commercializing a new class of oral health care products based on glycomics, a revolutionary approach using natural glycopolymers to target the mucosal interface. Prisyna uses this unique technology to develop oral health care products that clean the mouth, reduce pain and irritation on sensitive mucosal surfaces and improve overall oral health. Prisyna is building a family of environmentally safe products using cutting edge science to promote healthy teeth, gums and oral surfaces. http://www.prisyna.com/
i Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2017 Jan;123(1):76-83. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2016.09.008. Epub 2016 Sep 28.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180509005436/en/
MacDougall Biomedical Communications
Amanda Houlihan, 781-235-3060
[email protected]
Source: Prisyna | ashraq/financial-news-articles | http://www.cnbc.com/2018/05/09/business-wire-prisyna-receives-fda-510kaclearance-for-moisyntm-product-line-to-treat-dry-mouth.html |