Month: February 2017

U.S. Jan. Auto Sales Seen Down 3%, but Industry Still Rolling

Automakers on Wednesday are likely to report a 3% decline in U.S. auto sales for January after a surprisingly strong December stole some thunder from the start of the new year, industry analysts and economists said. Still, with December’s good showing pulling sales from January, normally the weakest month of the year in terms of sales volume, some analysts cautioned against putting too much emphasis on the month’s annualized selling rate.

Long layover? How about a workout at an airport gym?

In this Jan. 30, 2017 photo, ROAM Fitness CEO Cynthia Sandall poses inside the soon-to-be-open ROAM Fitness gym at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport in Linthicum, Md. Working out while waiting for your flight will soon be … an option at BWI, where the only gym at a U.S. airport past security will open this week, with plans for 20 more at airports by 2020.

Is a Super Bowl Ad Really Worth $5 Million?

The Super Bowl delivers advertisers a stunningly large audience watching live along with the added value of the rating, analysis, and dissection of each ad before as well as after the game. Last year’s game, when the Denver Broncos beat the Carolina Panthers, drew 111.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen .

GateHouse Media buys Dix Communications newspaper chain

The Dix Communications newspaper chain, with operations in northeastern and east-central Ohio, has been sold to GateHouse Media for $21.2 million. Dix Communications operations include a printing facility in Wooster and more than 30 daily and weekly newspapers, online-only publications and specialty publications.

Electrolux sees Q4 jump, weak South American market

Swedish home appliance maker Electrolux has reported a jump in fourth-quarter profits and a slight increase in sales, but cautioned about a weak market in South America hitting its earnings. The world’s second-largest appliance maker after U.S. rival Whirlpool, Electrolux said net profit for the period was 1.3 billion kronor , up from a 393 million kronor deficit a year earlier.

Anthem CEO says weighing 2018 participation in Obamacare plans

Anthem Inc. Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish on Wednesday laid out a list of short-term changes designed to stabilize the market as the new Republican administration and Congress seek to change Obamacare. Swedish said the changes, including tighter enrollment rules on the exchanges, are needed as the company determines to what extent it will participate in the exchanges in 2018.

Indian government cuts taxes, pledges to boost rural economy

Indian laborers work at a flyover construction site in Jammu, India, Wednesday, Feb.1, 2017. India’s finance minister Wednesday pledged relief for middle class taxpayers and small and medium-sized companies while planning billions of dollars in spending to double farmers’ incomes over the next five years and improve the country’s ramshackle infrastructure and provide cheap homes to people.

Premier League teams spent $270M on signings in January

Burnley’s Joey Barton, right, and Michael Keane, centre battle for the ball in the air with Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Leicester City, at Turf Moor, in Burnley., England, Tuesday Jan. 31, 2017. less Burnley’s Joey Barton, right, and Michael Keane, centre battle for the ball in the air with Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi during the English Premier League soccer match between Burnley and Leicester City, at … more Crystal Palace’s new signing Patrick van Aanholt runs during their English Premier League soccer match against AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium, Bournemouth, England, Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2017.

Growth in UK house prices weakens, Nationwide says

Annual UK house price inflation fell to its weakest level since November 2015 in January, according to mortgage lender Nationwide. The 0.2% rise in house prices last month was down from a 0.8% rise in December, although that left prices 4.3% higher than at this time in 2016.

VW, Robert Bosch Agree to Pay $1.6B to Settle U.S. Diesel Claims

Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.26 billion to fix or buy back nearly 80,000 polluting 3.0 liter diesel-engined vehicles — and could be forced to pay up to $4.04 billion if regulators don’t approve fixes for all vehicles, court documents filed late Tuesday showed. In December, VW said it had agreed to buy back 20,000 vehicles and expected to fix another 60,000.

Volkswagen to pay at least $1.2 billion for bigger diesels

Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $1.2 billion in buybacks and compensation to settle claims from U.S. owners of cars with larger diesel engines rigged to cheat on emissions tests. The proposed settlement filed late Tuesday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco covers some 75,000 Audi, Volkswagen and Porsche cars with 3.0-liter diesel engines.

HK Shares Ease After Long Holiday, Trump Policies Pressure

Hong Kong stocks eased on Wednesday as traders returned from a long holiday and caught up to losses in overseas markets amid growing worries over the policies of U.S. President Donald Trump. The benchmark Hang Seng index trimmed earlier losses and ended 0.18 percent down at 23,318.39 points in the first day of trading since Friday.

BT Board Jumps In to Purchase Stock After 21 Percent Decline

BT Group Plc directors and their relatives bought more than $700,000 of its stock Monday and Tuesday, providing a vote of confidence in the former British telecommunications monopoly one week after it suffered a 21 percent drop. The purchases, totaling more than 185,000 shares, were led by Anthony Ball, the former BSkyB chief executive officer and current BT board member, who bought 70,000 shares, and relatives of Chairman Mike Rake and audit & risk committee chairman Nick Rose, who bought 90,000 shares combined, according to a regulatory filing Tuesday.

Roche Sees Slower Profit Growth on Cost of Drug Transition

Roche Holding AG is bracing for slower earnings growth this year as its ageing cancer blockbusters face competition and the Swiss drugmaker readies a new generation of medicines. The world’s biggest maker of cancer drugs is pushing out new treatments such as the cancer immune therapy Tecentriq to buoy earnings as it faces the prospect of biosimilar competition for its top sellers Rituxan, Herceptin and Avastin, targeted tumor therapies that were revolutionary when they were first approved in the late 1990s and mid-2000s.

Diageo Expands Guinness Brand With Maryland Brewery

Diageo is betting Americans will put down their pale beer and opt for the dark stuff as it plans a brewery in Maryland to make its iconic Guinness stout. Diageo is betting that Americans will put down their pale beer and opt for the dark stuff as it plans to open a brewery in Maryland that will make its iconic Guinness stout.

European Apple Suppliers Advance After Stellar iPhone Sales Results

Imagination Technologies and other European suppliers to Apple rallied early Wednesday after the U.S. tech giant reported better-than-expected earnings backed by stellar iPhone sales. Chip designer Imagination jumped 3% to change hands a three-week high of 243 pence each by 08:30 GMT in London, while chip maker STMicroelectronics rose 2.2% in Paris to a 12.47 each, just a few cents shy of its all-time high of a 12.50 each.

Oil Prices Stabilize as Russia Joins OPEC in Production Cut

Oil steadied on Wednesday as Russia joined OPEC in cutting production to try to balance the market, although plentiful supply in places such as the United States dragged on prices. Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, were trading at $55.63 per barrel at 0749 GMT , up 5 cents from their last close.

German economy minister: Trump signals on trade ‘alarming’

Germany’s economy minister says the signals from President Donald Trump’s administration on trade so far are “alarming,” but that isolationism would also hurt the U.S. economy. Brigitte Zypries told Wednesday’s Bild daily that 60 percent of German exports go to Europe and only about 10 percent to the U.S. Asked what the German government can do to prevent a negative impact on German jobs, she replied: “We must talk, talk, talk.

European Stocks Higher, Volvo and Julius Baer Rise on Results

European shares rose on Wednesday, led by financials and industrials, as healthy corporate results from a slew of regional bluechips underpinned major benchmark indices. Shares in Swedish truck maker Volvo jumped more than 7 percent and were just shy of their highest in 6 years after the company topped profit forecasts.

EU gets breakthrough in cutting roaming costs

The European Union has clinched a breakthrough in cutting costly mobile-phone roaming costs in the bloc ahead of the summer holidays. The EU presidency announced Wednesday that officials from the 28 EU nations and the European parliament reached a deal on how much operators may charge each other for using their networks to provide roaming services, which should cut costs substantially.

Lawmakers Pushing Bills Aimed at Sexual Assault

As per Federal Communications Commission Regulations following is certified: Platte River Radio Inc. does not discriminate in the sale of commercial time, and will not accept advertising which, in its sole opinion, is purchased with intent to discriminate unlawfully on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity. The advertiser hereby certifies that its purchase of commercial time is not made for an unlawful discriminatory purpose, including specifically that it is not based upon a decision to place advertising on a station on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity.

TheStreet’s Guide to Trading in February

Where should you put your money in the month of February? TheStreet has the strategies and analysis to help guide your investment tactics for the coming month. As the Trump presidency heads into its first full month, TheStreet’s Trading Strategies feature analyzes several industries and asset classes that are likely to be affected in February.

On Trump’s Watch, Coal Players, Not Analysts, Hopeful

As the first full month of Donald Trump’s presidency begins, the coal industry is more optimistic about its prospects than it’s been since before his predecessor took office, fueled by promises to bring back thousands of lost coal miner jobs and reboot the industry. Coal companies are looking forward to a combination of legislation in Congress and executive actions by Trump to undo damage inflicted by the Obama administration that led to lower production and employment, according to Luke Popovich, a vice president of the National Mining Association, a top coal lobbying group.