Month: December 2016

McCain calls for sanctions on Russia over election actions

U.S. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz., center, speaks as U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., left, and U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., right, listen during the meeting with Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite at the President palace in Vilnius,… Lithuania’s President Dalia Grybauskaite, right, welcomes U.S. Senator John McCain, R-Ariz. during a welcome ceremony in the Presidential palace in Vilnius, Lithuania, Thursday, Dec. 29, 2016.

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Nobody’s perfect and corporate executives are just like you and me. But when you’re running a publically traded company and billions in wealth is made or lost by a stock price swing, the stakes are much higher.

Trump Seeks Credit for 5,000 Sprint Jobs Already Touted

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump sought credit for Sprint Inc.’s commitment to create or bring back 5,000 jobs that the carrier says are part of broader U.S. hiring plans previously announced by Japan-based parent SoftBank Group Corp. Trump said SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son was among those behind the move to add workers. The Japanese billionaire, who Trump calls “Masa,” said earlier this month that he intends to invest $50 billion in the U.S. using a previously announced technology fund, creating 50,000 jobs.

Shorts Pick Wrong Time to Forget Toshiba Shares, Down 40%

So it goes for bears on Toshiba Corp., who’ve spent the last seven months covering short sales on the electronics maker after pushing them to a decade high in May. Bets against the stock hit the lowest level of the year this week, just in time for it to plummet more than 40 percent in three days on word of a writedown at its U.S. nuclear services unit. Now credit swaps are surging as rating agencies downgrade their outlook on the company.

Snapchat is using machine learning to work out who is most…

Snapchat has begun using a new machine learning technique to determine which of its users are most likely to swipe up and engage with an ad on the app, AdAge reported. The targeting technique allows advertisers to tell Snapchat whether they value ad engagement – such as swiping through to install an app, visit a website, or watch a movie trailer – versus simply reaching the maximum number of users.

Could Apple Supplier Foxconn Be Signalling U.S. Expansion Plans With LCD Move?

Foxconn takes a controlling stake in Sakai Display, which could signify the company’s LCD TV intentions as Trump boasts of SoftBank job creation. Terry Gou, the founder of A pple supplier Foxconn , could be moving closer to defining his U.S. expansion strategy with a tighter grip on a key LCD maker just as friendly rival Masayoshi Son’s $50 billion American investment pledge begins to take shape.

Why Now’s the Time to Invest in Gold

While generally speculative, an investment in gold has rarely appeared so reasonable and has become increasingly so recently. Several factors are behind a brighter sheen on the precious metal, including the stock market rally, the threat of trade wars, the hike in interest rates and gold’s own depressed price.

GNC’s Stock Is Unhealthy and Unlikely to Improve for a While

The troubled, nutritional retailer closed all its bricks-and-mortar locations for a day in an effort to revamp its pricing, but its methods seem misguided. Health and nutritional store GNC may be well known for selling protein powders to help weight lifters bulk up, but there’s one other thing the company desperately needs to boost : its stock.

Toshiba’s Looming Writedown Wipes Out Gain From 2016 Share Rally

Toshiba Corp.’s impending multibillion-dollar writedown has triggered one of the worst-ever share declines for a major Japanese company, with ratings downgrades and investor pessimism erasing almost all of its 87 percent rally this year. Shares in the electronics and industrial conglomerate fell 17 percent to 259 at the close on Thursday.

China Turns to $503 Billion Rail Expansion to Boost Growth

China plans to spend 3.5 trillion yuan to expand its railway system by 2020 as it turns to investments in infrastructure to bolster growth and improve connectivity across the country. The high-speed rail network will span more than 30,000 kilometers under the proposal, according to details released at a State Council Information Office briefing in Beijing Thursday.

Takata Gains on Report Up to $1 Billion U.S. Settlement Near

Takata Corp. shares rose by the daily limit after the Wall Street Journal reported the company is nearing a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve allegations of criminal wrongdoing related to its faulty air bags. Such an agreement may include pleading guilty to criminal misconduct and penalties of as much as $1 billion, the newspaper reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

TD Leads Canadian Stock Sales as Energy Deals Fuel Record Year

Toronto-Dominion Bank took top spot for managing Canadian stock sales in 2016 as large energy deals led by pipeline operator TransCanada Corp. helped set a record for equity financings. The amount raised from initial public offerings, secondary sales and equity-linked securities reached C$50.4 billion , up 17 percent from 2015, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

European Stocks Set For Pullback After Mixed Asia Session

European stocks are set to open lower Thursday in one of the final trading sessions of the year following a mixed session for major markets in Asia. Britain’s FTSE 100 index is called around 0.33% lower at the start of trading, according to financial bookmakers IG, following its record close of 7,106.08 on Tuesday.

Airbus A380 Woes Deepen as Emirates Delay Accelerates Cost Cuts

Airbus Group SE’s struggles with its A380 superjumbo are deepening as the planemaker delays deliveries of a dozen aircraft over the next two years to Emirates, the double-decker’s biggest buyer, potentially pushing the program into the red. Handovers of six A380s apiece originally planned for 2017 and 2018 will be shifted to a year later following an agreement between Emirates and engine supplier Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc, Airbus said Tuesday in an e-mailed statement.

China Would Outlast U.S. in Trade War, Pine River Letter Says

China would outlast the U.S. in a trade war, which is a “distinct possibility” next year after President-elect Donald Trump takes office, a commentator wrote in the $1 billion Pine River China Fund’s investor letter. China’s government would be better placed than the U.S. to marshal state resources to cushion the impact on exporters, wrote James Wang, a City University of Hong Kong professor who pens a monthly commentary for the fund.

Debbie Reynolds’ life in pictures

Debbie Reynolds, the mother of Carrie Fisher, died Wednesday at the age of 84, a day after the death of her daughter . The legendary Hollywood actress is best known for her roles in the musical “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Unsinkable Molly Brown,” which brought her an Oscar nomination.

Strained U.S.-Israeli Ties Reach Another Low After Kerry Speech

Strained U.S.-Israeli ties reached another low on Wednesday as Secretary of State John Kerry and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traded blame over the stalled Middle East peace process, with President-elect Donald Trump vowing a fresh start when he takes office on Jan. 20. Kerry, in a speech Wednesday in Washington, said Netanyahu’s policies backing the expansion of settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank were putting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict increasingly out of reach. Netanyahu, minutes later, accused Kerry of anti-Israel bias and said the U.S. focus on settlements was “unbalanced.”

Chinese Video Giant Leshi’s in Talks to Raise $1.4 Billion

Leshi Internet Information & Technology Co., the Chinese video-streaming service backed by the billionaire founder of cash-strapped online giant LeEco, said it’s in discussions to raise more than 10 billion yuan from a group of undisclosed strategic investors. The company sometimes described as a local Netflix plans to raise the money through a private issuance of stock and other avenues, it said in a filing with the Shenzhen stock exchange Wednesday.

VW Buys Mobile-Payment Provider PayByPhone for Parking Services

Volkswagen AG bought North American parking-payment operator PayByPhone in the latest move by Europe’s biggest carmaker to expand from manufacturing into mobility services. The purchase of Vancouver-based PayByPhone, which processed more than $250 million in transactions this year, will turn the German company’s Volkswagen Financial Services unit into the leader in mobile payments for parking, the automaker said Wednesday in a statement.

Futures Higher, but Will It Be Enough?; Asia Lower

Futures for U.S. markets were higher late Wednesday, indicating investors may have another shot at pushing the Dow Jones Industrials index over 20,000 before the end of the week, though a second bond sale Thursday may again tap pocketbooks. The Dow and Nasdaq added 0.03% at 9:16 p.m. EST while the S&P 500 gained 0.06%.

Tesla Motors, Inc. to Announce Vehicle Deliveries Next Week

Ahead of its important Model 3 launch next year, will the automaker meet expectations and potentially strengthen investor confidence in the company’s ability to keep growing? Here’s a look back at Tesla’s recent vehicle deliveries, and a look ahead at what to expect from deliveries during the important holiday quarter. In its third quarter, Tesla reported surprising growth in vehicle deliveries.

Singapore’s Year of Misbehaving Moneymen Puts MAS on High Alert

From the 1Malaysia Development Bhd.-linked scandal to a 333-count front-running case and the largest market-manipulation prosecution in Singapore’s history, this year’s allegations of moneymen behaving badly have put the city-state’s image as a squeaky-clean financial hub to the test. Regulators have responded with their busiest year of enforcement actions, shutting the local units of two Swiss banks, fining some of the world’s biggest lenders and seizing S$240 million of assets.

The White House throws cold water on Trump’s suggestion that…

President Barack Obama and President-elect Donald Trump spoke in what was described as a “positive” phone call on Wednesday, the White House announced in a statement. “Today’s call, like the others since the election, was positive and focused on continuing a smooth and effective transition,” the White House said in the statement.