Bloomberg Apple Inc. turned in a strong quarter with revenue, profit and forecasts all coming in ahead of analysts’ estimates. But that isn’t necessarily good for the hundreds of iPhone suppliers around the world, contrary to the market’s knee-jerk reaction. Apple’s better-than-expected results stemmed in part from the sale of ancillary goodies from games to cloud storage. None of those ...
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Australia proposes gender diversity rules for public companies
Bloomberg Australian authorities are formulating plans that would force public companies to reveal the proportion of women at various levels of their organisations, as well as steps they’re taking to increase female representation. ASX Ltd., which operates the country’s main stock exchange, wants businesses to formulate and disclose diversity policies, and also set representation targets for their boards, senior executives ...
Read More »Apple earnings show increasing immunity to smartphone malaise
Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s results confirmed that, while the days of double-digit smartphone industry growth are over, Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook has a plan to withstand the slowdown. The shares gained after the company reported iPhone sales in line with analysts’ expectations, gave a bullish revenue forecast and highlighted a surging services business. The numbers show that Cook’s strategy of ...
Read More »Euro-area factories fret about stronger euro as economic growth cools
Bloomberg Euro-area economic growth slowed in the first quarter, posing a challenge for the European Central Bank as it contemplates paring back monetary stimulus measures. The 0.4 percent expansion was the weakest in six quarters and followed a reading of 0.7 percent at the end of 2017. While temporary factors such as bad weather played a part, another report showed ...
Read More »Pound runs into resurgent political risks
Bloomberg Just when it looked like things couldn’t get any worse for the pound, political risks are back on the market’s radar. Sterling is vulnerable to Thursday’s local elections in England, the resurgence of Brexit uncertainties and the resignation of one of Prime Minister Theresa May’s key pro-European allies in government, according to strategists. The currency made a feeble recovery ...
Read More »GM’s crossovers keep profit rolling amid plant revamp
Bloomberg General Motors Co.’s hot-selling new crossovers are padding profit for the largest US automaker amid a costly retooling of truck factories and restructuring of Korean operations. Adjusted earnings fell to $1.43 a share in the first quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate for $1.24. The Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain drove better-than-expected revenue and buoyed GM through downtime at pickup ...
Read More »CVS ‘moving forward’ with Aetna deal as profit rises
Bloomberg CVS Health Corp. said it’s making progress in the regulatory review of its $68 billion deal to buy health insurer Aetna Inc. after first-quarter earnings came in higher than analysts anticipated. Both CVS and rival Express Scripts Holding Co. are trying to get their mega mergers approved by regulators, as drug middlemen combine with large insurers in the US ...
Read More »Xerox boss steps down putting $6.1bn Fujifilm deal in limbo
Bloomberg Xerox Corp.’s top executive and six board members agreed to step down in a victory for Carl Icahn’s battle against the company’s planned $6.1 billion takeover by Fujifilm Holdings Corp. The resignations, which include Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Jacobson and Chairman Robert Keegan, are part of an agreement with activist investors to settle a lawsuit that will put in ...
Read More »The myth that markets get prices right won’t die
At this point, the efficient markets hypothesis (EMH) makes for an easy rhetorical target. Precious few economists and financial professionals are willing to stand up in public anymore and assert that financial markets produce the best estimate of fundamental asset values. A series of enormous bubbles, plus decades of outsized profits for hedge funds like Renaissance Technologies, has turned into ...
Read More »Boeing to drive a harder bargain later
Boeing Co. is signaling it won’t take on extra baggage in its pursuit of a bigger services division, but it will still have to pay up to build one. The planemaker acquired KLX Inc. for $63 a share, or about $4.25 billion including debt. The catch is that Boeing is only buying KLX’s aerospace business, which distributes parts and provides ...
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