Why is the nation’s financial industry concentrated in just a few very costly cities? The latest actions by the Charles Schwab Corp. suggest there’s less reason than there once was amid the squeeze the industry has been feeling since the Great Recession ended. In Schwab’s case, the discount brokerage firm slashed its fees, said it would buy a main rival ...
Read More »Bankers are actually playing with fire, once again
As 2019 draws to a close, there’s more than a whiff of banking deregulation in the air. The US has relaxed its lender stress tests and made it easier again for Wall Street to trade using its own funds. In Europe, capital requirements are being softened. The reining in of bank risk after the financial crisis is giving way to ...
Read More »US futures, Europe stocks fluctuate; pound weakens
Bloomberg US equity futures and European stocks drifted on Wednesday as investors digested a flurry of corporate news amid a lull in trade-war headlines. Bonds were mixed and the pound weakened. Contracts on the three main American equity benchmarks pointed to a directionless open a day after the S&P 500 Index closed just one index point higher at a new ...
Read More »FedEx plunges as bad results spur outlook cut
Bloomberg FedEx Corp plunged after cutting its profit forecast for the second straight quarter, as weak international demand hurt sales and the courier ramped up investment to handle soaring e-commerce deliveries. The results for the company’s fiscal second quarter were “breathtakingly bad,†with weakness in both the ground-delivery unit and air-cargo business, said Deutsche Bank AG analyst Amit Mehrotra. Adjusted ...
Read More »Hong Kong’s airlines facing job cuts, even bankruptcies
Bloomberg Hong Kong’s airlines face the prospect of further job cuts and even bankruptcies as anti-Beijing protests continue to deter tourists from the city, adding to the pressure on an industry already facing headwinds globally. Six months of anti-Beijing demonstrations have sent passenger traffic tumbling in Hong Kong, producing a cascade of profit warnings, flight cancellations and cost cuts at ...
Read More »Walmart taps ‘SWAT teams’ to handle 500 store remodels a year
Bloomberg American retailers remodel thousands of stores each year, but the process is rarely smooth. Now imagine the headaches for Walmart Inc., which overhauls 500 locations annually on its own. “Things always come up that you can’t plan for,†according to Tara Barnes, a store manager in Allen, Texas, whose location went through a refurbishment this summer. In the past ...
Read More »Southwest extends 737 Max cancellations until mid-April
Bloomberg Southwest Airlines Co. won’t schedule any flights on Boeing Co.’s 737 Max jets until April 13 — more than a month later than previously planned — further clouding the outlook for the best-selling aircraft that’s grounded globally after two fatal crashes. The airline, the biggest operator of the single-aisle jet, is extending the timeline from March 6 because of ...
Read More »Airlines are scrambling for Airbus jets Made in America
Bloomberg For US airlines, the phrase “Made in America†comes with a whole new financial imperative thanks to the trade fight between the Trump administration and Europe. In October, the White House levied a 10% tariff on European-built aircraft as part of a broader conflict over aviation industry subsidies. The move followed a World Trade Organisation ruling that EU assistance ...
Read More »Beyond Meat CEO hints at ‘poultry’ news
Bloomberg Beyond Meat Inc. is pushing further past its plant-based beef into poultry, and Chief Executive Officer Ethan Brown says that product line will finally get more attention in 2020. “You’ll see some exciting things from us in the poultry space in 2020,†Brown said in an interview with Bloomberg TV about his inclusion on this year’s Bloomberg 50 list. ...
Read More »Voting starts to pick new logo to represent the UAE to world
Dubai / WAM His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, invited the public to take part in selecting the new logo that will represent the ...
Read More »