NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. crude rose on Wednesday, shrugging off data showing rising domestic fuel inventories and production, and both U.S. crude and Brent held within sight of three-year highs reached the previous day.Supplier cutbacks, steady demand growth, geopolitical tensions and a favorable structure in the futures market have attracted record investment in oil this year.A rise in U.S. gove...Read More
CoT data could also spell trouble for crude, if past is prologueThe United States Oil Fund (USO) has been in a channel of higher lows since mid-2017, and touched a new two-year high of $14 on April 19, shortly before a tweet from President Donald Trump briefly threw crude futures for a loop. However, USO options are sending up a signal not seen since around the oil price peak in mid-2014, accordi...Read More
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Alphabet Inc’s (GOOGL.O) Google unveiled on Wednesday its first Gmail redesign since 2013, capping what the company says was an expensive overhaul two years in the making to adopt security and offline functionality and better resemble Microsoft Outlook.It is Google’s most extensive update to software in its G Suite workplace bundle since accelerating efforts t...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - World markets entered 2018 speculating that the most synchronized global economic expansion in a decade was about to overheat but growth has since proved underwhelming.While missile strikes and threats of a global trade war have hogged the headlines, it’s an unexpected loss of economic momentum, particularly in Europe, that has frightened investors who played down politica...Read More
The yellow metal remains under pressure near $1,320/0z. The ounce troy of Gold navigates the area of 3-week lows. Higher USD, US yields keep the metal under pressure. The solid performance of the greenback has forced the ounce troy of the yellow metal to recede and trade in the vicinity of $1,320, or new multi-week lows. Gold remains under pressure Bullion remains fragile so far today, looking t...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - Eurowings has agreed the key points of a collective labor deal for pilots and cabin crew at its Austria-based unit with union Vida, the budget carrier said.Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) has been expanding its Eurowings business via the Austrian unit, known as Eurowings Europe, for which there was no collective agreement in place, although it has been in talks with the union for around 18...Read More
Defendant found not guilty of scheming to manipulate marketsExpert defense witness raised doubts about trading patternsIf anything is more precious than gold, it might be an acquittal.A former UBS Group AG precious metals trader was found not guilty on Wednesday of scheming to manipulate futures markets through a practice known as spoofing.Andre Flotron, 54, was cleared by a federal jury in New Ha...Read More
Twitter recorded a second straight quarter of profitsShares of Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) were up 5% earlier, after the social media firm recorded its second profitable quarter in the first three months of 2018 -- making it two in a row -- logging better-than-expected adjusted earnings of 16 cents per share on $655 million in revenue. Monthly active users also grew 6% year-over-year to 336 million, m...Read More
(Reuters) - Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) reported its second profitable quarter on Wednesday and topped Wall Street estimates for revenue and monthly active users, as advertisers in Asia and other markets outside the United States embraced its video ads.Daily active users (DAU) grew 10 percent year-over-year while overall monthly user numbers rose 3 percent to 336 million, just above a forecast of 334 mil...Read More
ZURICH (Reuters) - Credit Suisse delivered its best quarterly results on Wednesday since Chief Executive Tidjane Thiam launched his restructuring plan for Switzerland’s second-biggest bank in 2016, driven by its wealth management business.After 6.6 billion Swiss francs ($6.7 billion) of losses in 2015 and 2016, and a big tax writedown that wiped out gains last year, Credit Suisse posted 694...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump’s administration went before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday to defend the legality of his travel ban targeting people from several Muslim-majority countries, one of the most contentious actions of his presidency.The conservative-majority, nine-member court began hearing a scheduled hour of arguments in a challenge led by the state of Hawaii...Read More
Optimism toward Alphabet stock has been high in the options pitsShares of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are slightly higher this morning, after Stifel upgraded the FAANG stock to "buy" from "hold," and lifted its price target to $1,234 from $1,150. The covering analyst highlighted continued strength in search, YouTube, and advertising, while adding Google's products are more important to consumers t...Read More
Both companies noted strong demand for their automotive businessesLam Research (LRCX) last week sparked a sell-off in chip stocks when it reported a rare shipment miss. Then Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) added insult to injury just a day later when it gave a dim full-year outlook for smartphone demand. This was followed up in recent days by similarly downbeat forecasts from fellow chipm...Read More
It's been a rough 2018 for CMCSA stock Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is making headlines today, after the media giant formalized a nearly $31 billion offer for European broadcast giant Sky. The all-cash bid pits Comcast against Twenty-First Century Fox (NASDAQ:FOXA), which offered roughly $26.8 billion for Sky, setting up a bidding war between the two media conglomerates. In addition to the M...Read More
April 25 (Reuters) - Media company Viacom Inc said on Wednesday its quarterly profit more than doubled, driven by higher fees from international cable and satellite operators and strong growth in its Paramount Pictures division.Net income attributable to Viacom, which is exploring a merger with CBS Corp, rose to $256 million, or 64 cents per share, in the second quarter ended March 31 from $121 mi...Read More
(Reuters) - Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) topped Wall Street estimates for quarterly profit on Wednesday as the communications company cut expenses and added high-speed internet customers, offsetting a drop in cable TV subscriptions.The biggest U.S. cable provider said in its results that it added 379,000 customers for the internet service overall in the first quarter, while its main TV business was help...Read More
(Reuters) - Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday as it kept a tight leash on patient payouts, prompting the health insurer to raise its full-year profit forecast.The company said it was prioritizing investments throughout 2018 on infrastructure that can quickly respond to the evolving needs of its customers - a sign it may continue to steer clear of maj...Read More
(Reuters) - U.S. exchange operator Nasdaq Inc (NDAQ.O) on Wednesday reported a 14.6 percent rise in quarterly revenue, helped by higher trading volumes.Revenue from market services, the company’s largest business which oversees transactions, clearing and settlements, rose 21.3 percent to $735 million.Heightened volatility in February, after a prolonged calm in 2017, roiled global equities, b...Read More
Shares of blue chip BA are set to open higher after earningsComing off its longest losing streak in more than a year, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) is signaling a positive start. Specifically, futures on the blue-chip index are trading above fair value this morning, thanks to a positive earnings reaction for Boeing (BA) -- though pre-market upside is modest as the 10-year Treasury yield h...Read More
(Reuters) - Dow Jones Industrial Average futures erased losses on Wednesday after Boeing reported strong results and forecast, but concerns about rising U.S. bond yields and corporate costs continued to weigh on U.S. stocks.Boeing (BA.N), the world’s biggest planemaker, rose 2.1 percent after it reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit and raised its full-year forecast for earnings a...Read More