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June 20, 2019
The Federal Reserve said it would freeze the key US interest rate in place on Wednesday – although it conceded that rates might ultimately trickle downward this year. There’s been much consternation among investors about which way the US central bank would go.
June 18, 2019
Last year, Huawei’s revenue grew 20% to $104 billion as it overtook Apple in global smartphone shipments. But the company is now expecting sales to decline to “just” $100 billion in 2019 – significantly less than the $120 billion it was previously forecasting.
June 13, 2019
French tech titan Dassault Systèmes announced a $6 billion acquisition of American software company Medidata Solutions on Wednesday, shining a light on previously announced major marriages…
June 11, 2019
Silicon Valley software darling Salesforce announced a $16 billion acquisition of data analytics firm Tableau on Monday – its biggest purchase to date.
June 10, 2019
Shares of recent stock market debutants Beyond Meat and Zoom Video Communications rose on Friday after both companies’ maiden updates surpassed forecasts.
June 7, 2019
China’s Hansoh Pharmaceutical raised $1 billion from its initial public offering on Thursday – Hong Kong’s second-biggest this year – valuing the company at over $10 billion.
June 5, 2019
The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which published the report, is a UK-based charity aiming to encourage companies and countries alike to better consider and disclose their effects on the environment. So, with some skin in the climate change game, its findings may be taken with a pinch of salt by some investors.
June 3, 2019
Late on Thursday, ride-hailing behemoth Uber reported its first set of quarterly results as a public company – and they were better than expected, which helped lift its stock on Friday. Before its lackluster initial public offering last month, Uber gave investors a steer on what its results were likely to be.
May 31, 2019
The gap between what long- and short-term government bonds pay investors has inverted more widely, potentially portending impending recession.Yields on long-term government bonds around the world are at their lowest levels in years.
May 30, 2019
Italian big spending found friends in Europe for a change on Wednesday: Mediaset, Italy’s largest broadcaster, announced it had bought a 10% stake in Germany’s ProSiebenSat.1.
May 28, 2019
UK retail sales data out on Friday showed shoots of growth – but the resignation of the country’s prime minister may leave the value of the British pound at risk. Better-off Brits have been splashing the cash: retail sales increased 1.8% in the three months to April compared to the three months before that.
May 23, 2019
On Wednesday, crude oil producer Saudi Aramco – the world’s most profitable company – inked a deal with American firm Sempra Energy to expand into the increasingly popular liquefied natural gas (LNG) market.
May 21, 2019
The US introduced the tariffs a year ago on “national security” grounds, charging a 25% levy on steel and a 10% tax on aluminum entering the country. Not only have these now been removed, but the US dropped demands for quotas on the amount of metal traded between the three.
May 16, 2019
Hiring in the US remains strong. 263,000 new jobs were created in April, while unemployment sank to 3.6% – its lowest level since back in the winter of ‘69. Wage growth, however – often seen as a sign of consumer spending power – was stuck at 3.2%, slightly below expectations. And despite the positive headlines, a slight cooling of activity in the key US services sector may have combined with fresh suggestions of a forthcoming interest rate cut to drive down the value of the dollar.
May 15, 2019
Japanese automaker Nissan warned that this year’s profit would be its lowest in over a decade on Tuesday – while the world’s biggest car company, German rival Volkswagen, made some positive emissions (for a change).
May 13, 2019
Ride-hailing behemoth Uber peeled onto the stock market on Friday in one of the largest American initial public offerings ever – but investors immediately pumped the brakes, sending its shiny new share price down 8%.
May 10, 2019
Europe’s largest telecommunications firm, Deutsche Telekom, dialed-in well-received first-quarter results on Thursday – but results from the UK’s BT weren’t as loud and clear.
May 9, 2019
Investors pulled further away from Lyft’s stock on Wednesday, sending it 6% lower despite the US ride-hailing company reporting better-than-expected quarterly results. In its first update since becoming a public company in March, Lyft revealed that its revenue last quarter almost doubled compared to the same time last year – and that, excluding one-off costs related to its initial public offering, it reduced its losses too, zooming past analysts’ estimates.
May 6, 2019
Adidas overtook investors’ estimates as the sportswear giant saw its profit climb 17% versus the same period last year. But rather than selling lots more sneakers and tracksuits, that high jump was due to Adidas reducing its raw material and marketing costs (direct online sales increased 40%), along with favorable currency movements.The company had already warned in March that sales would be hit by ongoing supply chain issues preventing it from meeting rampant demand for its mid-market gear in North America. Perhaps Adidas was more concerned with pushing sales 16% higher in China: the Asia-Pacific region is its most important market, accounting for more than a third of the company’s sales.
May 2, 2019
McGraw-Hill Education and Cengage, two of the world’s largest publishers of college textbooks, announced plans to merge on Wednesday, turning up the heat in an already fiercely competitive industry.
May 1, 2019
Apple’s cart brought up the rear of the FAANGs’ quarterly reporting on Tuesday. Its produce was firm and crunchy – and investors went to town on its shares, pushing them up 5%. What does this mean? Sales of iPhones, which still represent over half of Apple’s revenue, were more or less as expected. But previously tepid iPhone demand from China – responsible for Apple falling off investors’ trees in January – appeared to reheat last quarter, helping Apple to beat sales expectations overall. And as “services” revenue grew apace, rising 16% on last year, its high profit margin contributed more to Apple’s earnings fruit salad, helping profit to exceed expectations, too.
April 29, 2019
Oil’s recent upward slide hasn’t yet translated into bumper earnings for major oil companies. On Friday, French oil major Total and American sludgers ExxonMobil and Chevron reported underwhelming first-quarter results.
April 25, 2019
Sure, things are getting tougher for Facebook: costs are still rising (up 80% on the same time last year), as the company works to allay privacy concerns and plug data leaks. But that doesn’t seem to be turning people off Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp: monthly active users last quarter were up 8% on last year. And that scroller derby helped rake in more money from advertisers seeking to reach users – particularly Generation Z – across their timelines and Stories. Instagram has proved an especially lucrative cash cow for Facebook since its founders unfriended the company last year.
April 24, 2019
Long hoped-for product price hikes by P&G were to thank for its higher-than-expected sales and profit – and increased outlook for the rest of 2019. Rival Kimberly-Clark’s Monday report showed the same: higher prices offset the negative effects of a rising US dollar, helping the company exceed expectations.
April 22, 2019
Investors focused on Morgan Stanley’s trading business, as they did with rival banks’ earnings reports. Revenue there was 15% lower than last year: Morgan Stanley missed expectations on share trading, but surpassed them with its dealings in bonds, currencies, and commodities. Revenue from advising on swashbuckling merger deals, meanwhile, fell by a quarter versus last year – missing estimates.
