Month: February 2017

UK’s Lloyds bank turning corner after years of crisis

Lloyds Banking Group says its underlying profits rose slightly in the fourth quarter as it began to move beyond past scandals and a government rescue during the financial crisis. The bank says underlying profit, which excludes one-time items like restructuring costs, increased to 1.79 billion pounds from 1.76 billion pounds a year earlier.

Ahead of the Bell: US home sales

The National Association of Realtors reports on January sales of existing U.S. homes Wednesday at 10 a.m. Eastern. Economists forecast sales will tick up to a seasonally adjusted 5.55 million, up from 5.49 million in December.

Cohen-backed Metro Bank Defies Brexit Uncertainty With Pledge To Double In Size

Metro Bank has defied uncertainty brought about by Britain’s vote to leave the EU and stuck to its guns on growth targets, reiterating Wednesday a pledge to double in size by 2020. The upstart lender, who counts Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management as its largest shareholder, reported its second quarterly profit against a backdrop of overarching economic uncertainty and said that it has seen no significant change in customer behaviour since the U.K voted to leave the European Union in June last year.

Europe Will Climb the Wall of Worry, Says Fund Manager

Europe has started 2017 out of favor; but once it grows 10%, American investors will rush in, a fund manager predicts. European stocks are likely to deliver good returns for investors willing to put up with the political turmoil that is in store for this year, if interest rates have bottomed, a fund manager focused on the Continent has told TheStreet .

AccorHotels Beats Expectations as Former French President Sarkozy Checks In

Operating profit was 3% ahead of analyst expecations but couldn’t save the stock from falls as margins at its key HotelServices unit slid. Europe’s biggest hotel operator AccorHotels posted a forecast-topping a 696 million of operating profit for 2016 and checked in a new board member, welcoming former French president Nicolas Sarkozy as head of international strategy.

Nike is Ready to To Rally – Buy the Breakout Now

Nike shares have been making a series of lower highs and lower lows since the end of 2015, and the price action has formed a large declining channel. The stock price has recently penetrated the downtrend line of the channel and the pattern price projection targets a potential move back up to the all-time highs.

Tesla Motoring Towards All-Time Intraday High Pre-Earnings

Tesla is a speculative stock with both bull and bear market trends over the past five years that’s currently on a strong post-election bull market run-up. Shares of Tesla are in bull market territory, up 55.7% since their post-election day low of $178.19 set on Nov. 14. The most important reason to like the stock is the creative entrepreneurial spirit of its CEO Elon Musk.

Lloyds Swings to Fourth-Quarter Profit as It Boosts Dividend

Lloyds Banking Group Plc, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, swung to a fourth-quarter profit even as it faced more than 700 million pounds of conduct and restructuring charges. Pretax profit was 973 million pounds, compared to a loss of 507 million pounds a year earlier, the London-based bank said in a statement Wednesday, falling short of analysts’ estimates for 1.38 billion pounds.

The Latest: North Korea says women suspects should be freed

Journalists wait outside North Korean Embassy in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. The women suspected of fatally poisoning a scion of North Korea’s ruling family were trained to coat their hands with toxic chemicals then wipe them on his face, police said Wednesday, announcing they were now seeking a North Korean diplomat in connection with the attack.

China’s thriving SUV-only automaker looks to global growth

In this Sunday, Feb. 19, 2017 photo, Wei Jianjun, chairman of Great Wall Motors Ltd. speaks during a press conference after attending a reception celebrating it sales passing the one million mark, at the Great Wall headquarters in Baoding in north China’s Hebei province. A decade ago, Wei saw opportunity as the bulky vehicles started to shed their image as a farm tool.

Trump admin lays out new approach to illegal immigration

In this photo taken Feb. 7, 2017, released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, an arrest is made during a targeted enforcement operation conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement aimed at immigration fugitives, re-entrants and at-large criminal aliens in Los Angeles. The Trump administration is wholesale rewriting the U.S. immigration enforcement priorities, broadly expanding the number of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally who are priorities for deportation, according to a pair of enforcement memos released Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2017.

China Shares Rise For a 3rd Day

China’s main share indexes rose for a third day on Wednesday to approach three-month highs, though gains were capped as speculators sold some recently-listed financial sector stocks. The blue-chip CSI300 index rose 0.2 percent, to 3,489.76 points.

China’s $9 Trillion Moral Hazard Problem Grows Too Big to Ignore

China may be about to embark on its most ambitious — and perilous — campaign to convince investors that they can’t depend on a bailout during the country’s next market upheaval. In a rare show of cooperation, the nation’s main financial regulators are drafting new rules for asset-management products that aim to make clear the investments have no government guarantee, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News on Tuesday.

Range Rover Unveils First Addition to Its SUV Line Since 2010

Range Rover is expanding its sport utility vehicle lineup to four models, adding the Velar between its entry-level Evoque and the pricier Range Rover Sport. The all-new Velar will be slightly taller than the squat $41,800 Evoque, and feature a more rounded exterior design than the boxier $65,650 Range Rover Sport, according to drawings released by U.K. manufacturer Land Rover.

Airbus Earnings Slide on A350 Costs, A320Neo Engine Holdups

Airbus Group SE’s earnings fell 3.6 percent last year as a late surge in aircraft deliveries failed to offset costs from ramping up output of the A350 twin-aisle model and the impact of engine glitches that curbed handovers of the latest A320 narrow-body. Earnings before interest and tax before one-time items dropped to 3.96 billion euros in 2016 from 4.11 billion euros a year earlier, Toulouse, France-based Airbus said in a statement Wednesday.

Lloyds boosted by lower PPI payments

Lloyds Banking Group has reported a 158% increase in annual pre-tax profits to A 4.24bn as a result of a reduction in payment protection insurance provisions. The UK government’s stake in Lloyds has now fallen below 5% and it has said it wants to return the bank to full private ownership this year.

Military plane cost hits Airbus profits

Its net income fell by 63% to 995m euros , although revenue went up 3% to 66.5bn euros . The results are the first since Airbus started simplifying the company by mixing its European business with the parent company, previously called EADS.

Airlines told to pay flight compensation

All had told the Civil Aviation Authority that they did not pay compensation when their delays meant passengers missed a connecting flight. “Airlines’ first responsibility should be looking after their passengers, not finding ways in which they can prevent passengers upholding their rights.

European Stocks Called Higher as Global Equities Return to Winning Form

European stocks are expected to add to gains again Wednesday as benchmarks around the world test record and multi-month highs amid renewed economic optimism and solid corporate earnings. European stocks are expected to add to gains again Wednesday as benchmarks around the world test record and multi-month highs amid renewed economic optimism and solid corporate earnings.

Nikkei Closes Flat as Yen’s Retreat Halts

Japan’s Nikkei share average was little changed on Wednesday, unable to extend a two-day winning run as the yen’s retreat against the dollar halted and capped the broader market. Trading was limited with investors staying on the sidelines as they awaited the minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve’s latest meeting for clues on interest rate hikes.

Total CEO Says OPEC Needs to Prolong Cuts to Eliminate Surplus

OPEC and Russia will need to prolong their six-month deal to cut oil output if they plan to trim the global inventory glut that has kept a lid on prices, said Total SA Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne. “If they want really to have an impact on the market, which means to have the inventories going down because inventories are quite high, it will have to be extended beyond May,” Pouyanne said Tuesday in a Bloomberg television interview in New York.

Kansas governor to wield veto pen on tax bill

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback, speaks of the tax bill he was sent last week at the Kansas Chamber annual dinner in Topeka, Kan., Tuesday night, Feb. 21, 2017. Brownback said Tuesday that he will veto a bipartisan bill that would roll back personal income tax cuts he’s championed to help balance the state budget.

Chinese Streaming Giant iQiyi Raises $1.5B

The cash infusion will boost the Netflix-like streaming service in its ongoing battle for market share against Tencent and Alibaba. iQiyi, the Netflix-like streaming video subsidiary of Chinese search giant Baidu, has raised $1.53 billion in new funds to fuel its investments in original content and compete with rivals.

Depomed Reports 33% Increase in 2016 Net Product Sales

While companies in the opiod sector have had to deal with headlines about abuse as well as pharma pricing controversies, Depomed reported increased sales across its product line. Depomed , a pharmaceutical company focused on developing products to treat pain and best known for its drug NUCYNTA, finished 2016 with full-year, non-GAAP adjusted earnings of $1.15 per share.

Sexual Harassment Allegations Light Fire Under Uber

Uber may end up doing Lyft a big favor if it can’t effectively manage the bad press swirling around the company. Now Uber has taken the bold step of retaining former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to look into allegations of discrimination and sexual harassment made over the weekend by Susan Fowler, a former engineer at the San Francisco-based company.