Business

US stocks dip on lower oil, earnings, ending Nasdaq streak

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks fell modestly Friday on mixed earnings and lower oil prices, ending Nasdaq’s streak of 10 straight gains that included three straight closing records. Petroleum-linked shares including Dow member Chevron and Halliburton fell as oil prices dropped on worries about excess supply. General Electric was the biggest loser in the Dow, tumbling 2.9 percent after signaling it expects 2017 earnings to be on the low end of […]

Volkswagen fined $154 mn more in US for dieselgate

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Volkswagen must pay an additional $154 million to California to settle state environmental charges in the latest penalty in the scandal over its use of emissions “defeat devices,” regulators announced Thursday. The sum is on top of $533 million VW already paid to California in the so-called dieselgate conspiracy, in which software allowed cars to pass emissions tests, while still spewing nitrogen oxide far above legal limits. “This payment […]

IMF approves $1.8 billion loan for Greece ‘in principle,’ no funds released

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The International Monetary Fund late Thursday approved a new, $1.8 billion loan program for Greece but will not release any funds immediately, in a highly unusual compromise step. The IMF last month announced it would revive the seldom-used option of approving a loan “in principle,” in order to convince eurozone finance ministers to release desperately-needed new funds to Greece. The latest 8.5 billion euro disbursement from the eurozone loan program […]

Microsoft profit rises on shift to cloud computing

SAN FRANCISCO, United States (AFP) — Microsoft on Thursday reported that its quarterly profit climbed to $6.5 billion, lifted by its shift to computing services hosted in the internet cloud. The United States technology giant said revenue in the recently ended quarter rose to $23.3 billion, with $7.4 billion of that due to its “intelligent cloud” offerings. “Innovation across our cloud platforms drove strong results this quarter,” Microsoft chief executive Satya Nadella said in a […]

Unilever first half profits soar 22.4 percent

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — Food and consumer products giant Unilever said Thursday profits soared in the first half of 2017, raking in 3.3 billion euros after the Anglo-Dutch firm spurned a takeover bid by US rival Kraft Heinz. The 22.4 percent hike in the first six months compared to the same period last year showed “a substantial step-up in profitability despite the persisting volatile global trading environment,” chief executive Paul Polman said. “The transformation of […]

Daimler recalls 3 million diesel cars over emissions

BERLIN, Germany – German luxury car maker Daimler, which is being investigated for alleged emissions cheating, announced Tuesday a voluntary recall of more than three million Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles in Europe. It said it had already launched a service action for other models and that, “in order to effectively improve the emissions of additional model series, Daimler has now decided to extend the service action to include over three million Mercedes-Benz vehicles.” The Stuttgart-based company […]

Dollar, stocks down as Trump health care blow fuels tax concerns

HONG KONG, China (AFP) — The dollar sank with most Asian equities Tuesday as two Republican senators rejected their party’s bill repealing Obamacare, effectively killing it and throwing Donald Trump’s economic agenda into doubt. Global markets soared for months after Trump’s November election on hopes his big-spending, tax-cutting policies would fire the world’s top economy. But an ongoing crisis surrounding the White House has hobbled the tycoon’s presidency, with opposition to his controversial health care […]

Tokyo stocks down at break as exporters, banks fall

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — Tokyo stocks ended Tuesday morning in negative territory as a strong yen hit exporters and banks following a three-day weekend in Japan. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell 0.63 percent, or 127.00 points, to 19,991.86 by the break, falling below the key 20,000 level, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was down 0.56 percent, or 9.14 points, to stand at 1,616.34. © Agence France-Presse

Puma raises forecast after leap in sales and profits

FRANKFURT MAIN, Germany (AFP) — German sporting goods firm Puma raised its sales and profits forecasts for the full year Monday, saying it enjoyed strong second-quarter performance and was confident for the second half. The Bavaria-based firm now expects to increase sales between 12 and 14 percent, adjusting for currency effects — up from “a low double-digit percentage” increase previously. That would mean growth up to twice as fast as last year’s, when high-profile sponsorships […]

Qualcomm CEO sees settlement with Apple

ASPEN, United States (AFP) — Qualcomm chief executive Steve Mollenkopf said Monday the chipmaker’s legal war with Apple is about defending his company’s business model, but predicted an eventual out-of-court settlement. “At its core it’s really about the price… what to pay for technology,” Mollenkopf told a forum at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference in Aspen, Colorado. “We have contracts and people want to pay less.” But Mollenkopf said the disputes are likely to be […]

US stocks end flat to open heavy earnings week

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Wall Street stocks finished little changed Monday at the start of a week dominated by earnings from Bank of America, Netflix and other giants. Equities paused in a quiet session after both the Dow and S&P 500 finished at records on Friday following solid earnings from JPMorgan Chase and other large banks. Bank of America and Goldman Sachs report results early Tuesday, while IBM, Visa and General Electric will […]

London stock market wins China boost

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — London’s stock market rebounded Monday, with miners buoyed by solid Chinese economic growth figures, while eurozone indices were steady to slightly lower. Asia equities mostly increased in value following another record close on Wall Street before the weekend. United States stocks were essentially flat to start the week, with the Dow and S&P 500 retreating a bit from Friday’s records, but the the Nasdaq edging higher ahead of a […]