SEATTLE/ORLANDO, Fla. (Reuters) - SpaceX Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk flew to the Seattle area in June for meetings with engineers leading a satellite launch project crucial to his space company’s growth.Within hours of landing, Musk had fired at least seven members of the program’s senior management team at the Redmond, Washington, office, the culmination of disagreements over th...Read More
Key collaborations are lifting the stocks from all-time-low territoryA pair of penny stocks are notably higher in early trading: KemPharm Inc (NASDAQ:KMPH) and OpGen Inc (NASDAQ:OPGN). KMPH stock is soaring after a licensing deal with KVK Tech to commercialize its opioid painkiller, Apadaz, and the drug developer will receive up to $3.4 million in pre-launch funds, and could get up to $53 million...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese intelligence officers conspired with hackers and company insiders to break into private companies’ computer systems and steal information on a turbo fan engine used in commercial jetliners, according to a U.S. indictment unsealed on Tuesday.The indictment said that at the time of the hacks, a Chinese-state owned aerospace company was working to develop a compar...Read More
BERLIN (Reuters) - A slim majority of Germans would like the Social Democrats (SPD), junior partners in Angela Merkel's coalition, to leave the government, with only the supporters of the chancellor's own conservatives keen for them to stay, a poll showed.The survey, conducted by pollster Civey for news portal t-online.de, strengthens the hand of the SPD's more radical wing, who say that the party...Read More
LONDON (Reuters) - British investors increased their fixed-income holdings and cut back their stock exposure in October, although they took a shine to North American companies within their equity allocations.Across global balanced portfolio strategies, exposure to bonds rose to 28.2 percent in October from 26.8 percent in September, reaching their highest level in a year, according to Reuters&rsqu...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gridlock, Blue Sweep or Red Repeat? Wall Street is closely watching the U.S. midterm Congressional elections next week, as policy decisions that could sway the economy, corporate decision-making and consumer spending hinge on the results.Should his fellow Republicans maintain or extend their grip on Congress, President Donald Trump may be emboldened to pursue more of his polit...Read More
Gold has dipped back below the 100-day moving average, whichis currently just shy of $1,220 per troy ounce, says Commerzbank. As of 9:35a.m. EDT, spot gold was $8.90 lower to $1,213.70 an ounce. “A firmer U.S.dollar and a noticeable recovery on the global stock markets are weighing onits price,” Commerzbank says. “Thus the technical picture has also becomesomewhat more gloomy aga...Read More
(Reuters) - Oil is likely to stay above $75 a barrel, fueled by supply disruptions exacerbated by U.S. sanctions on Iran, but further gains could be limited as economists and analysts see demand growth slowing next year due to trade wars and economic weakness.A survey of 46 economists and analysts forecast Brent crude LCOc1 to average $76.88 a barrel in 2019, up from the $73.75 forecast in Septemb...Read More
Canada's Barrick Gold and takeover target Randgold Resources are boosting their dividend payouts ahead of shareholder votes next week on their $6.1 billion deal, the miners said Wednesday.Barrick's all-stock purchase of the African miner, announced in September, spurred some analyst criticism because it lacked a premium for Randgold, which has a record of strong operational and financial performan...Read More
Kirkland Lake GoldLtd. (TSX, NYSE: KL; ASX: KLA) reports a jump in its third-quarter profit andupped output guidance for the full year. Third-quarter net earnings totaled$55.9 million, or 27 cents per share, compared to $43.7 million, or 21 cents,in the same period of 2017. Adjusted earnings for the July-September quarterwere $60.6 million, or 29 cents, up from $35.3 million, or 17 cents, a yearag...Read More
EA fell to an annual low on MondayAfter adding 4% yesterday on the back of Take-Two Interactive's (TTWO) successful "Red Dead" roll-out, the shares of Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ:EA) are down 4.3% ahead of the bell this morning. While the video game maker reported fiscal second-quarter earnings and revenue that exceeded analyst expectations, it forecast third-quarter revenue -- a period which e...Read More
The bearish brokerage notes come in reaction to the biotech's earnings reportThe hits keep on coming for Clovis Oncology Inc (NASDAQ:CLVS), with the shares down 18.7% in electronic trading, set to open at a new two-year low of $13.50 per share. Today's premarket downside comes in reaction to the cancer specialist's wider-than-expected third-quarter loss of $1.71 per share. The Rubrica maker also s...Read More
(Reuters) - Anthem Inc (ANTM.N) reported quarterly profit that beat Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, helped by lower costs at its commercial insurance business and the company raised its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.The insurer’s benefit expense ratio - an insurer’s spending on claims against the premiums it earns - narrowly missed the consensus estimate of 84.7 percent by b...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. labor costs accelerated in the third quarter as wages for both private and government workers surged amid tightening labor market conditions.The Employment Cost Index, the broadest measure of labor costs, increased 0.8 percent after an unrevised 0.6 percent rise in the second quarter, the Labor Department said on Wednesday. That left the year-on-year rate of increase at...Read More
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Alternative asset manager Carlyle Group LP (CG.O) on Wednesday missed estimates for earnings per unit for the third quarter, as the value of its private equity investments rose less than that one of its key rivals.Carlyle, which owns assets such as British premium car service Addison Lee and U.S. entertainment services provider Apex Parks Group, said quarterly economic net inc...Read More
Stock market indexes are hoping to pare steep October lossesU.S. stocks look ready for another strong showing, with the major indexes set to chip away at steep October losses. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), S&P 500 Index (SPX), and Nasdaq-100 Index (NDX) are trading far above fair value, getting a boost from the latest round of corporate earnings. The tech sector is poised to r...Read More
(Reuters) - After two years of wielding no practical political power in Washington, the Democratic Party faces a strong chance of winning control of the U.S. House of Representatives in next week’s election, with Republicans likely to keep the Senate.Taking a majority in even one of the chambers in the Nov. 6 elections would give Democrats a chance to more effectively oppose Republican Presi...Read More
(Reuters) - Yum Brands Inc (YUM.N) topped Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue and profit on Wednesday, as strong sales at its KFC and Taco Bell chains helped counter continued weakness at Pizza Hut.U.S. fast food chains, including Yum Brands and McDonald’s Corp (MCD.N), are fiercely competing to retain and add more customers with cheaper menu items, discounts and new breakfast me...Read More
BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Euro zone inflation accelerated last month, providing further rationale for the European Central Bank’s decision to dial back stimulus even as growth is slowing more sharply than most had forecast.Consumer price growth in the 19 countries sharing the euro picked up to 2.2 percent in October from 2.1 percent last month, Eurostat said in a preliminary report, hol...Read More
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia’s drive to fill state coffers to give itself a $200 billion buffer against threats like new U.S. sanctions is prudent, analysts say, but will come at the expense of economic growth.With oil prices high, Russia has been steadily siphoning revenues from its major export into the National Wealth Fund (NWF). It has also raised oil industry taxes, hiked value-added tax a...Read More