May, 2016

• 3 May

  HSBC beats estimates as costs contained

  

    Bloomberg HSBC Holdings Plc reported a bigger first-quarter profit than analysts forecast, as Chief Executive Officer Stuart Gulliver guided the Asia-focussed bank through turbulent global markets while paring back costs. Pretax profit fell to $6.1 billion from $7.1 billion a year earlier, the London-based bank said on Tuesday, beating the $4.3 billion average estimate of 14 analysts compiled by ...

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• 3 May

  Summit eyes Burj for Islamic banking entry

  

    Reuters Summit Bank has received approval from Pakistan’s central bank to conduct due diligence on Burj Bank, it said in a stock exchange filing, in the latest bid for the unlisted lender, which is seeking to boost capital through a stake sale. The acquisition of a majority shareholding in Burj Bank would fit the long term strategy of Summit ...

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• 3 May

  Commerzbank plunges as low rates hit sales

  

    BLOOMBERG Commerzbank AG fell as much as 9.4 percent in Frankfurt, the most in almost three months, after market turmoil and a squeeze to margins hurt sales and halved first-quarter profit. Net income fell to 163 million euros ($188 million) from 338 million euros a year earlier, the Frankfurt-based company said in a statement on Tuesday. Analysts expected profit ...

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• 3 May

  ANZ Bank profit slumps, repositions for future

  

    Sydney / AFP ANZ Bank’s interim net profit slumped 22 percent on Tuesday on the back of impairment and restructuring charges, but the result was welcomed by the market as the lender repositions for a challenging future. The Australia and New Zealand Banking (ANZ) Group’s result for the six months to March 31 came in at Aus$2.73 billion (US$2.0 ...

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• 3 May

  UBS misses estimates on lower wealth, trading income

  

    Bloomberg UBS Group AG said first-quarter profit dropped 64 percent, missing analyst estimates, as market turbulence eroded earnings at the wealth-management and securities units. The shares plunged. Net income declined to 707 million Swiss francs ($741 million) from 1.98 billion francs a year earlier, the Zurich-based bank said on Tuesday. That fell short of the 735 million-franc average estimate ...

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• 3 May

  USA construction spending up 0.3%, led by home building

  

    Bloomberg U.S. construction spending advanced in March to its highest level in more than eight years. Gains in home building and nonresidential construction offset a drop in government projects. Construction spending rose 0.3 percent in March after a 1 percent gain in February, the Commerce Department said on Monday. The back-to-back increases raised total spending to a seasonally adjusted ...

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• 3 May

  Hugo Boss earnings fall $108mn in Q1

  

    Berlin / Bloomberg Hugo Boss AG, the embattled German fashion retailer, reported its biggest drop in quarterly profit in at least six years and said it considers closing stores to reduce costs. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and other items declined 29 percent to 93.5 million euros ($108 million) in the first quarter, the Metzingen, Germany-based company ...

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• 3 May

  Lufthansa Air shares plunge on first-quarter loss

  

    Frankfurt / AFP Lufthansa shares nosedived on Tuesday after the German airline said one-off effects and price pressures pushed it into a loss in the first three months of the year. Lufthansa shares were among the biggest losers in morning trade on the Frankfurt stock exchange, shedding nearly six percent in a market that was down by around 1.4 ...

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• 3 May

  J&J to pay $55mn over ‘cancer link’

  

    New York / Bloomberg Johnson & Johnson must pay $55 million to a 62-year-old South Dakota woman who blamed her ovarian cancer on the company’s talcum powder in the second such trial loss this year. J&J is accused in more than 1,000 lawsuits in state and federal courts of ignoring studies linking its Shower-to-Shower product and Johnson’s Baby Powder ...

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• 3 May

  Boeing, Airbus clash heats up

    Washington / Bloomberg Boeing Co. is prepared to defend its rainmaker 737 jetliner as competition heats up at the top and bottom of the lucrative single-aisle market, Chief Executive Officer Dennis Muilenburg said. The threat to the US planemaker was underscored when Delta Air Lines Inc. announced orders last week for Bombardier Inc.’s all-new C Series jets and Airbus ...

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