symbol
stringlengths 1
9
| title
stringlengths 1
701
| text
stringlengths 1
140k
|
|---|---|---|
BMY | Ultragenyx RARE Posts Narrower Than Expected Loss In Q3 | Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical NASDAQ RARE reported loss per share of 1 74 in the third quarter of 2018 which was narrower than the loss of 1 87 in the year ago quarter Loss was also narrower than the Zacks Consensus Estimate loss of 1 94
For the third quarter Ultragenyx reported 11 8 million in total revenues Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 11 2 million
Total revenues included 3 6 million received from Bayer OTC BAYRY in relation to Ultragenyx s research agreement with the former to develop adeno associated virus gene therapies Ultragenyx recognized 5 4 million in profit sharing and royalty revenues from Japanese collaboration partner Kyowa Hakko Kirin for Crysvita Mepsevii product revenues were 2 1 million and UX007 revenues were 0 4 million
Please note that though UX007 is not an approved product the company recognizes sales from the candidate on a named patient basis This is allowed in certain countries prior to the commercial approval of a product
We remind investors that the FDA approved Crysvita in April for the treatment of X linked hypophosphatemia XLH in adult and pediatric patients aged one year or older Further Mepsevii an enzyme replacement therapy is the first and the only medicine approved for the treatment of children and adults with mucopolysaccharidosis VII MPS VII in the United States
Shares of Ultragenyx increased 14 2 year to date against the s decline of 16 6
Pipeline Updates
The company submitted regulatory filings in Canada Brazil and Colombia for Crysvita for the treatment of XLH Regulatory decisions in these markets are expected in 2019
The company is in discussions with the FDA regarding the regulatory pathway for Crysvita for the treatment of Tumor Induced Osteomalacia TIO
The European Commission EC approved the Marketing Authorization Application MAA for Mepsevii under exceptional circumstances for the treatment of non neurological manifestations of MPS VII Mepsevii is now approved for use in all 28 EU countries along with Iceland Liechtenstein and Norway The drug has also been launched in Germany
The FDA accepted Ultragenyx s proposal to submit a new drug application NDA for UX007 for the treatment of long chain fatty acid oxidation disorders LC FAOD based on currently available data The company will provide further details following a pre NDA meeting which is scheduled to take place by the end of 2018 Additionally discussions are progressing with the European Medicines Agency regarding a potential conditional marketing authorization in Europe
In October 2018 Ultragenyx announced that the phase III study evaluating UX007 in patients with Glut1 DS did not achieve its primary endpoint compared to placebo The company plans to discontinue further Glut1 DS clinical development for UX007 and expects no impact on plans for the LC FAOD indication
Positive top line data from the first two dose cohorts of the phase I II study of DTX301 gene therapy in ornithine transcarbamylase OTC deficiency showed normalization of ureagenesis in two patients and further support proof of concept The first patient in cohort 3 has been dosed Data from higher dose cohort 3 are expected in mid 2019
Ultragenyx exercised its option with REGENXBIO Inc NASDAQ RGNX to develop a gene therapy to treat patients with CDKL5 Deficiency Disorder CDD using REGENXBIO s adeno associated virus AAV vectors including AAV9
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Zacks Rank Other Stock to Consider
Ultragenyx currently carries a Zacks Rank 2 Hold
A better ranked stock worth considering is Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see
Bristol Myers earnings per share estimates have increased from 3 59 to 3 81 for 2018 and from 3 83 to 4 03 for 2019 over the past 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in all of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 11 99
Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest Strategies
It s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1
And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
C | UPDATE 2 ONGC taps Citi for Kosmos Ghana stake bid sources | India s ONGC hires bank for stake in coveted oil asset
Stake worth 3 bln 5 bln
Bids from international energy giants also expected
Adds background details quote
By Joseph Chaney and Narayanan Somasundaram
HONG KONG MUMBAI July 20 Reuters India s leading oil
producer ONGC has hired Citigroup to advise it on a bid for
Kosmos Energy s stake in an oil field in Ghana in a deal that
could be worth between 3 billion and 5 billion sources
familiar with the deal said
Private equity backed Kosmos which has received a total of
800 million in financing from Blackstone and Warburg Pincus
has hired Standard Chartered and Barclays Plc to sell its
stakes in the offshore Jubilee oil field
A potential sale of Kosmos stake in the Jubilee field is
being closely watched as the asset is one of the largest oil
finds in West Africa in the past decade
ONGC has been bidding for overseas blocks for almost a
decade said Kumar Manish an associate director at KPMG
To me in terms of risk Ghana is better than some of the
other countries that have huge oil reserves he added India
being a big ticket oil importer needs to secure supplies and
has to go to countries that have reserves
All three sources declined to be identified because they
were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter
Citigroup declined to comment when contacted by Reuters
ONGC representatives were not immediately available for
comment
ONGC is not Asia s only bidder for Kosmos s coveted stake
China s top offshore oil and gas producer CNOOC Ltd has hired
Goldman Sachs to advise it on its bid for the stake a source
told Reuters last month
Other bidders could include global energy players BP Plc
Shell Oil Exxon Mobil Corp and Italy s ENI SpA analysts and
dealmakers say
Texas based Kosmos has interests across Ghana Benin
Cameroon Morocco and Nigeria including the Jubilee Field in
Ghana s deep waters
DEADLINE EXTENSION
On Friday the bid deadline for the Jubilee stake was
extended and another date will be announced within the next 30
days two sources familiar with the matter said
The deadline extension gives bidders extra time to digest
major developments earlier this month Kosmos recently secured
a 750 million loan facility to fund development of the
discoveries It also gained approval from the Ghanaian
government for a phase one plan of development for the field
Any bid would need to be vetted by the Ghanaian government
and the extension allows the Ghanaian government to be more
involved in the auction before a winner is picked
Moreover Ghana s National Petroleum Corp GNPC is also
interested in buying the stake
The government has indicated and has informed the partners
that should Kosmos want to sell the Ghana National Petroleum
Corporation would be interested in buying Kwabena Donkor
Ghana s deputy energy minister told Reuters on the sidelines
of an African energy conference in early July
Jubilee is predicted to hold 1 2 billion barrels of oil
equivalent The entire field is valued at around 15 billion
Kosmos s partners in Jubilee include London listed Tullow
Oil plc and U S oil producer Anadarko Petroleum Corp
One source said the Indian giant is looking to partner with
an international oil firm in its bid for the stake
Editing by Lincoln Feast |
C | UPDATE 3 CNOOC explores 15 bln JV with Repsol source | Repsol rejected CNOOC s JV proposal last month source
Repsol says not eyeing tie up
Adds detail analyst background Repsol shares
By Joseph Chaney and Jonathan Gleave
HONG KONG MADRID July 21 Reuters China s CNOOC has
approached Repsol YPF about forming an international oil and gas
production venture sources familiar with the matter said on
Tuesday but the Spanish oil major said it was not interested in
such a tie up
State owned CNOOC wants to form a joint venture which would
take a stake in Repsol s often troubled Argentine unit YPF and
interests in some of Repsol s other assets a source familiar
with the matter said
CNOOC is interested in something more than YPF the
source told Reuters adding that a deal could be worth roughly
15 billion
Repsol rejected an initial joint venture proposal from
China s top offshore oil group which has been charged by
Beijing with securing overseas energy assets to fuel China s
economy made a month ago a second source said
Repsol denied it was in talks with on a joint venture or
that it was considering such a move
The company has been mulling a part sale of its interest in
YPF which has failed to meet Repsol s hopes at the time of its
acquisition of the South American oil and gas producer for some
time
David Thomas oil analyst at Citigroup said investors would
be nervous if Repsol agreed to offer stakes in choice assets
such as its Santos basin interests in Brazil in order to
offload some of its YPF stake
Repsol shares closed down 0 03 percent against a 0 88
percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European oil and gas sector index
CNOOC is eyeing a partnership with Repsol involving
upstream E and P exploration and production assets in its
global portfolio said the first source who has direct
knowledge of the deal but who was not authorised to speak
publicly about the process and so wished to remain anonymous
CNOOC is one of a number of companies including fellow
state owned Chinese energy giant CNPC parent company of
PetroChina which have approached Repsol about taking a stake in
YPF sources have previously told Reuters
Sources have said CNOOC is eyeing a 25 percent in YPF while
CNPC could be eyeing as much as a 75 percent stake
Goldman Sachs the bank advising Repsol on the sale of YPF
and CNOOC declined to comment
Additional reporting by Tom Bergin in London
Editing by Will Waterman and David Cowell |
C | FOREX Euro eases as stocks fall dampens sentiment | Euro down 0 2 percent at 1 4184
Dollar steadies more Bernanke testimony
Sterling pares some losses after BoE minutes
Euro zone May industrial orders fall 0 2 percent m m
Releads adds data quote updates prices
By Tamawa Desai
LONDON July 22 Reuters The euro was pressured against
the dollar on Wednesday when a recent rally in equity prices ran
out of steam dampening risk taking sentiment
The dollar held steady recouping earlier losses as U S
Treasury yields tumbled after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben
Bernanke said U S interest rates would stay low for some time
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down
0 5 percent snapping a seven day winning run U S stock
futures indexes were also lower pointing to a weaker open on
Wall Street
By 0924 GMT the euro was down 0 2 percent at 1 4184 after
hitting a seven week high on Tuesday at 1 4278 close to its
peak for the year
Traders reported hefty options activity in euro dollar at
1 4200 set to expire later in the day A holder of a digital
option will get payout if spot is above 1 4200 at expiry while
other expiries at 1 4200 are thought to total 1 billion euros
market participants say
Data showed euro zone industrial orders data unexpectedly
fell 0 2 percent in May compared with forecasts for a 1 9
percent rise month on month but reaction was limited
It looks not really consistent with what we had seen for
the euro area said Juergen Michels economist at Citigroup
adding he would not be surprised if the figures were
substantially revised in due course
Against the yen the euro fell 0 5 percent from U S late
trade on Tuesday to 132 55 yen
The dollar index a gauge of its performance against six
major currencies was flat at 78 960 after touching 78 591 on
Tuesday its lowest since June 3
STERLING OFF LOWS AFTER BOE MINUTES
Sterling pared some losses after minutes from the Bank of
England s latest policy meeting showed a unanimous decision to
maintain the bank s 125 billion pound asset buying total and
keep interest rates at 0 5 percent
The pound was at 1 6371 after falling to around 1 6312
although it was still down 0 4 percent on the day
Higher risk currencies such as the Australian and New
Zealand dollars edged down after rising in recent sessions
The Australian dollar fell 0 7 percent to 0 8125 after
hitting a five week high of 0 8193 on Tuesday The New Zealand
dollar slipped 0 3 percent to 0 6535 after rising to 0 6610 on
Tuesday
Levels look quite stretched for these big gainers said
Lee Hardman currency economist at Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ
Meanwhile traders will keep an eye on the second day of
Bernanke s congressional testimony
Bernanke was trying to improve policy credibility in the
market and anchor inflation expectations said BTM UFJ s
Hardman The dollar has been broadly stable and that is a sign
that Bernanke s message has come across well he said
The dollar eased 0 2 percent to 93 44 yen after shedding
about 0 5 percent on Tuesday
Bernanke will repeat his testimony before the Senate Banking
Committee at 1400 GMT and subsequently take questions
Additional reporting by Jamie McGeever Editing by Ruth
Pitchford |
C | Europe stocks halt winning run food oils retreat | FTSEurofirst 300 down 0 1 percent halts 8 day winning run
Credit Suisse s strong earnings boost banking stocks
Defensives drop energy shares dip along with oil
For up to the minute market news click on
By Blaise Robinson
PARIS July 23 Reuters European stocks were down 0 1
percent around midday on Thursday halting an eight session
winning run as falling food and utilities shares offset a rally
in banks sparked by Credit Suisse s upbeat results
Energy shares were also on the downside losing ground along
with crude oil prices Total was down 1 percent while Royal
Dutch Shell fell 0 8 percent
At 1100 GMT the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European
shares was down 0 1 percent at 889 32 points The index has
surged 9 2 percent since July 10 and is now up 7 percent on the
year
Credit Suisse climbed 5 1 percent after the lender s
second quarter profit beat forecasts helped by market share
gains in investment banking and hefty wealth management inflows
eclipsing a large fair value charge on its own debt
The upbeat results triggered gains in the banking sector
with Banco Santander up 1 percent and HSBC up 1 9 percent
ABB was also on the rise gaining 2 9 percent after the
Swiss engineering group said cost cutting limited a fall in
profit in the second quarter
The flow of better than expected earnings has boosted
sentiment although trading volumes remain relatively light
said Christian Jimenez president of Imene Investment partners
in Paris
Even if we get a few corrections we re back into an upside
trend and it looks like the market will stay in this trend for
a while But this is a trader s market more than a long term
investor s market he said
Pharma group Roche added 2 3 percent after the company gave
a bullish forecast for the next two years on the back of its 47
billion acquisition of Genentech and said it would expand
capacity for H1N1 flu drug Tamiflu
Shares of Publicis the world s third largest advertising
group by revenue rose 3 3 percent after it said it sees a
return to sales growth next year and kept its 2009 outlook
intact after the global economic downturn hit first half
earnings
Mining firms gained ground rising along with metal prices
Xstrata added 1 7 percent Rio Tinto climbed 1 9 percent and BHP
Billiton rose 1 5 percent
However food and utilities shares seen as defensive plays
lost ground with Nestle down 1 4 percent Unilever down 1 4
percent and E ON down 0 8 percent
Dutch telecoms group KPN lost 3 3 percent after it lowered
its revenue outlook as it sees no signs of a recovery at its
recession hit business units
END OF EARNINGS RECESSION
Around Europe UK s FTSE 100 index was down 0 3 percent
Germany s DAX index was down 0 2 percent and France s CAC 40
was 0 6 percent lower
Since reaching a record low in early March the FTSEurofirst
300 has soared 38 percent powered by gains in miners and
financial institutions with the DJ STOXX banking index up 121
percent and the basic resources index up 78 percent as fears
over the health of the global economy and the outlook for
corporate profits receded
Analysts are putting through more global earnings upgrades
than downgrades for the first time since August 2007 said
Robert Buckland strategist at Citigroup Global Markets
Financial conditions and economic expectations are also
improving It all suggests we could be approaching the end of
the global earnings recession he wrote in a note
Reporting by Blaise Robinson editing by Simon Jessop |
C | ANALYSIS Swiss franc still on the rise if only the SNB let it | Swiss franc would rise if SNB stopped intervening
Rate difference E European lending boom end boost franc
Uncertainty about next intervention level helps SNB
By Sven Egenter
ZURICH July 23 Reuters The Swiss National Bank s game
of cat and mouse with FX markets will continue for some time
because the Swiss franc has still plenty of reasons to rise and
the central bank has the will and the firepower to fight that
Markets have grown more wary of SNB interventions as the
central bank s tactics to foster uncertainty about intervention
levels is amplifying the effect of its threat
But the central bankers have not achieved what some analysts
say they may secretly be hoping for a significantly weaker
currency to give the ailing economy a much needed boost
The SNB will have to threaten to intervene for quite a
while said Citigroup analyst Michael Saunders adding the SNB
may be one of the last central banks to tighten monetary policy
The SNB pledged to stem an appreciation of the franc against
the euro as part of its drastic measures launched in March
which include rock bottom rates and the purchase of corporate
bonds to fight deflation and the worst recession in decades
SNB board member Thomas Jordan indicated in early July that
the SNB is ready to print and sell as many francs as needed as
interventions were key to its massive quantitative easing
What they would like is the currency to weaken Saunders
said However the central bank may be reluctant to pursue this
for fear of being accused of a beggar thy neighbour policy
The franc hit an all time high against the euro last autumn
as investors piled money in the traditional safe haven currency
in the wake of the collapse of Lehman Brothers
At a current rate of 1 52 per euro the franc is still 6
percent firmer than a year ago On a trade weighted basis the
franc has not eased at all since the launch of the intervention
LOTS OF SUPPORT
Even as the dollar has take over some of the franc s appeal
as a safe haven the SNB will have to remain on its toes as the
currency has still plenty of support
The franc cannot really weaken The rate differential with
the euro zone is too narrow said Ronald Plasser fixed income
portfolio manager at Bankhaus Schelhammer Schattera
The spread between the three month Swiss franc and euro
LIBOR narrowed to a low of 54 basis points as the European
Central Bank also cut rates to record lows before the crisis
the spread used to be between 1 5 and 2 5 percentage points
In addition one of the drags on the franc during the boom
reversed eastern European consumers stopped making use of low
franc rates to finance houses and consumption hit by the rising
franc and a deep recession
That flow represented a sort of carry trade against the
franc and was a capital outflow capping the franc for a
while Citigroup s Saunders said
Data from the Hungarian central bank for example show that
new franc loans and mortgages have collapsed to just some 12
billion Hungarian forints 62 68 million per month this year
a 90 percent drop compared to the 2007 2008 averages
In addition Swiss banks cut back assets in foreign
currencies at a much faster pace then liabilities effectively
going long on the franc Saunders said They are de facto
repatriating and this is supporting the currency
Finally the Swiss economy has weathered the crisis better
than other export oriented countries such as Japan or Germany as
Swiss consumers have proven more resilient and Swiss pharma
firms added some stability even to the hard hit export sector
TACTICS
Analysts acknowledge that the central bank has impressed the
markets Measured against its objectives to fight an
appreciation they have been effective said Ian Stannard
from BNP Paribas
The central bank has kept the franc mostly in a range
between 1 50 and 1 52 and brought volatility down to levels not
seen since the early stages of crisis in 2007
The tactics to let markets second guess intervention levels
increased the SNB s efficiency If you defend a level the
market will attack that level Stannard said If the market
does not know where that level is it will be more cautious
Markets long considered a 1 50 per euro the SNB s line in
the sand but doubts rose with the forceful intervention in June
when the central bank drove the rate up to nearly 1 54 again
Stannard sees the critical level now at around 1 5110 while
Unicredit analyst Armin Mekelburg for example bets on 1 5050
The SNB flexed its muscle more then once and stepped up its
efforts in late June as markets pushed the franc up again
In the first quarter the SNB s euro holdings indicate that
the central bank spent some 4 5 billion euros on interventions
in the second the amount rose to nearly 12 billion euros
The figures are a clear signal that the SNB will keep the
exchange rates stable around current levels as long as risks of
deflation persist at any price analysts at SEB said in a
note adding So don t bet against the SNB
Editing by Andy Bruce |
WMB | Williams Says Fed Cuts Have Put U S Economy on Strong Footing | Bloomberg The Federal Reserve s interest rate reductions this year have positioned the U S economy for solid growth in 2020 New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said
The housing market is actually picking up in the U S from where it was a year ago Consumer spending is very strong Williams said Friday during a talk in New York With the adjustments we ve already made lowering interest rates we ve got the economy on a very strong footing sustainable footing for good growth next year
Fed officials voted to leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday at the conclusion of their final policy meeting of 2019 following quarter point cuts at each of their last three meetings and signaled they would probably be on hold through the end of 2020 Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters afterward that in order to move rates up I would want to see inflation that s persistent and that s significant
Some of the risks that led U S central bankers to lower borrowing costs in the first place now seem closer to being resolved Williams said Earlier Friday the U S and China announced an agreement on trade negotiations that will roll back some tariffs And in the U K a decisive win for conservatives in a general election Thursday reduced uncertainties about the country s coming exit from the European Union
Inflation however remains muted despite the ongoing strength of job creation While the unemployment rate ticked down to 3 5 last month the inflation gauge Fed policy makers watch stood at 1 3 in October It has been mostly below the central bank s 2 target since that goal was announced in 2012
The New York Fed chief referred to the low unemployment rate as a sustainable place for us to be adding that he expected the economy to grow about 2 in 2020 and inflation to head back up to near the 2 goal over the next year or so |
WMB | Bloomberg climate plan would halve U S carbon emissions in 10 years | By Timothy Gardner ALEXANDRIA Va Reuters Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Friday unveiled a climate plan to slash U S carbon emissions by 50 in ten years by slapping tougher pollution standards on new gas fired power plants and replacing coal with cleaner energy sources like wind and solar The billionaire former New York City mayor has been active on climate change for years The plan catches him up to a crowded field of Democratic presidential hopefuls who have already detailed aggressive plans to eliminate U S greenhouse gas emissions tapping into what has become a crucial issue for Democratic voters Bloomberg announced his candidacy last month putting him among 15 Democrats vying to take on Republican President Donald Trump in the November 2020 election We have to start working as hard as we can building a 100 clean energy economy because the alternative is just too bad for all of us Bloomberg said at a news conference adding that he believes Trump is the wrong person for the job Trump has expressed doubts about the science of climate change has rolled back climate regulations to boost drilling and has moved to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement an international accord to fight global warming Bloomberg s plan would target 80 clean energy by 2028 and would be the first of several moves to take the country toward 100 clean energy quickly ideally before 2045 his campaign said Most other Democratic candidates also are seeking to move to a green economy within a couple of decades Bloomberg s plan would do so by setting stringent pollution limits on new gas fired plants and by ending all subsidies for fossil fuels Meanwhile it would create incentives to improve clean energy technology and invest in poor communities hurt by fossil fuel pollution or that are struggling to transition to a cleaner energy economy In the meantime Bloomberg said drillers would likely need to rely on hydraulic fracturing technology to produce fuel I think it s fair to say fracking is the only way we are going to get gas and oil out of the ground he said The real issue is having regulations where they don t have leaks Other candidates including U S senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren would ban fracking over concerns it can pollute ground water
In 2011 Bloomberg helped the Sierra Club a nonprofit green group launch Beyond Coal a campaign pressuring U S coal plants to shut He has also funded America s Pledge a coalition of states cities and business leaders committed to honoring the 2015 Paris Agreement |
WMB | Fed s Clarida Dismisses Weak Retail Sales Says Outlook Solid | Bloomberg Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Richard Clarida brushed aside news of weaker than expected retail sales in November and said the U S economy looks headed for a solid 2020 based on a strong labor market and a robust consumer
The U S consumer s never been in better shape in my professional career Clarida said Friday in an interview with Fox Business Network repeating an assertion he s made in recent months
Earlier on Friday the Commerce Department reported U S retail sales rose 0 2 in November from the prior month missing the median forecast of 0 5 in a Bloomberg survey and suggesting consumer spending will slow in the fourth quarter
Fed officials voted to leave interest rates unchanged Wednesday at the conclusion of their final policy meeting of 2019 following quarter point cuts at each of their last three meetings and signaled they would probably be on hold through the end of 2020 Fed Chairman Jerome Powell told reporters afterward that in order to move rates up I would want to see inflation that s persistent and that s significant
The economy s in a good place Clarida said We have the strongest labor market in 50 years We have low and stable inflation We have solid growth and our baseline outlook for the economy is more of the same in 2020
Clarida said it s too early to judge the impact on the economy of the Trump administration s so called phase one trade deal with China but added any reduction in uncertainty is a good thing
Also speaking on Friday New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said the central bank s interest rate reductions this year have positioned the U S economy for solid growth in 2020
The housing market is actually picking up in the U S from where it was a year ago Consumer spending is very strong Williams said Friday during a talk in New York With the adjustments we ve already made lowering interest rates we ve got the economy on a very strong footing sustainable footing for good growth next year
Some of the risks that led U S central bankers to lower borrowing costs in the first place now seem closer to being resolved Williams said Earlier Friday the U S and China announced an agreement on trade negotiations that will roll back some tariffs And in the U K a decisive win for conservatives in a general election Thursday reduced uncertainties about the country s coming exit from the European Union
Inflation however remains muted despite the ongoing strength of job creation While the unemployment rate ticked down to 3 5 last month the inflation gauge Fed policy makers watch stood at 1 3 in October It has been mostly below the central bank s 2 target since that goal was announced in 2012
The New York Fed chief referred to the low unemployment rate as a sustainable place for us to be adding that he expected the economy to grow about 2 in 2020 and inflation to head back up to near the 2 goal over the next year or so |
WMB | Fed policymakers see U S economy on good footing | By Jonnelle Marte and Lindsay Dunsmuir Reuters The U S economy is doing well and looks set to stay that way next year two top Federal Reserve policymakers said on Friday remarks that suggest they are content to leave interest rates where they are I think the economy is in a good place U S Federal Reserve Vice Chair Richard Clarida said in an interview with Fox Business Network adding that the consumer has never been in better shape We have the strongest labor market in 50 years we have low and stable inflation we have solid growth and our baseline outlook for the economy is more of the same in 2020 Speaking to students and faculty earlier in the day at the Borough of Manhattan Community College New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB summed it up this way The economy is performing about as well as we have seen in decades Williams and Clarida work closely with Fed Chair Jerome Powell who on Wednesday announced the U S central bank s well telegraphed decision to hold interest rates steady in a range of 1 5 to 1 75 and signaled borrowing costs would remain there for the foreseeable future The Fed cut rates three times from July to October in a mini easing cycle designed to sustain the U S economic expansion amid slowing global growth and a drop in business investment caused by uncertainty amid the 17 month long U S China trade war On Friday the world s two largest economies announcing a Phase 1 agreement that reduces some U S tariffs in exchange for increased Chinese purchases of American farm goods Any resolution of that uncertainty assuming it s a good deal is obviously a positive for the economic outlook Clarida said He added though that trade was just a number of risks the Fed will monitor This is obviously a negotiation it looks like it s going in a positive direction Clarida said But global developments more broadly have been something we ve been monitoring You ve had a global slowdown this year emerging markets have been slowing down there are muted inflation pressures So it s not just any one thing that we are focusing on Williams for his part said he expects the U S economy to grow about 2 annually over the next couple of years
Fed officials are working to keep inflation which is short of the central bank s 2 target from getting too low to give policymakers more room for adjusting monetary policy |
WMB | NBA roundup Harden s 54 carries Rockets | James Harden delivered another exceptional scoring performance and the Houston Rockets swept a brief two game swing against Eastern Conference opponents cruising past the host Orlando Magic 130 107 on Friday
Two nights after pairing 55 points with eight assists in Cleveland against the Cavaliers Harden posted 54 points and seven assists to subdue the Magic who have dropped three straight games
Harden drilled a franchise record tying 10 3 pointers to lead Houston past the Cavaliers He then finished 10 for 15 from behind the arc against Orlando en route to his fifth 50 point game of the season
Russell Westbrook chipped in 23 points seven rebounds and six assists while Ben McLemore shot 6 of 7 from long distance for 18 points off the bench Houston hit 22 of 39 3 point attempts en route to winning for the sixth time in eight games Evan Fournier led the Magic with 27 points and Aaron Gordon added 21
Los Angeles Lakers 113 Miami Heat 110
LeBron James compiled 28 points 12 assists and nine rebounds while leading visiting Los Angeles past Miami for its sixth consecutive victory
The Heat trailing 112 110 with 8 1 seconds left couldn t rebound a missed free throw by Kentavious Caldwell Pope After another foul and one more Caldwell Pope free throw Miami s Jimmy Butler missed a 3 pointer at the buzzer that could ve forced overtime
Anthony Davis added a game high 33 points 10 rebounds and three blocks for the Lakers who earned their 13th straight road win Butler the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week scored a team high 23 but his Heat lost at home for the first time this season falling to 11 1
Milwaukee Bucks 127 Memphis Grizzlies 114
Giannis Antetokounmpo returned from a one game absence to post 37 points and 11 rebounds and visiting Milwaukee rallied past Memphis for its 17th consecutive win
Milwaukee now has the second longest winning streak in franchise history The record of 20 was set during the team s 1970 71 championship season
Antetokounmpo who missed Wednesday s game because of soreness in his right quad keyed a fourth quarter surge that saw the Bucks pull away late Jaren Jackson Jr scored a career high 43 points for the Grizzlies sinking 9 of 15 from 3 point range
Los Angeles Clippers 124 Minnesota Timberwolves 117
Paul George scored 46 points and Kawhi Leonard added 42 as Los Angeles showed off its star power and held on for a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis Leonard and George became the first duo in Clippers history to each score at least 40 points in a game
Montrezl Harrell added 18 points off the bench as the Clippers won despite playing without a true point guard Patrick Beverley sat out after leaving the Wednesday game at Toronto with a concussion and Lou Williams NYSE WMB also was sidelined with a sore right calf
The Timberwolves went to work with their own scoring duo as Karl Anthony Towns scored 39 points and Andrew Wiggins added 34 Towns added 12 rebounds and stayed in the game despite an injury to his left knee with 1 42 remaining
Philadelphia 76ers 116 New Orleans Pelicans 109
Tobias Harris scored 31 points and host Philadelphia defeated New Orleans to remain unbeaten at home while winning its fifth straight game overall
Ben Simmons added 24 points and 11 assists while Joel Embiid had 24 points and 11 rebounds as the Sixers improved to 14 0 at home It s their longest winning streak at home to open a season since coming up with 22 in the championship season of 1966 67
Brandon Ingram led the Pelicans with 17 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter while former Sixer JJ Redick added 19 but New Orleans dropped its 11th consecutive game and fell to 2 11 on the road
Indiana Pacers 110 Atlanta Hawks 100
Georgia native Malcolm Brogdon collected 19 points and 12 assists as Indiana posted a victory at Atlanta
T J Warren scored 18 points and Doug McDermott added 16 off the bench for the Pacers who have won 10 of their past 13 overall and seven straight against Atlanta Domantas Sabonis recorded 12 points and 14 rebounds to secure his 11th consecutive double double
Trae Young scored a team leading 23 points on a 9 for 30 performance from the field for the Hawks who misfired on all 13 attempts from 3 point range in the first half en route to losing for their 14th time in 16 games De Andre Hunter had 21 points and Jabari Parker added 20 in a losing effort
Charlotte Hornets 83 Chicago Bulls 73
Devonte Graham scored a team high 16 points PJ Washington recorded 13 points and 10 assists and Charlotte beat host Chicago by holding the Bulls to the fewest points scored by an NBA team this season
Miles Bridges added 13 points for Charlotte which won its third game in a row despite scoring its fewest points in a game this season as well Bismack Biyombo had 12 points and Terry Rozier and Cody Zeller finished with 11 points apiece
Zach LaVine and Ryan Arcidiacono shared the team lead with 12 points apiece for the Bulls Lauri Markkanen and Thaddeus Young added 10 points apiece for Chicago which was outscored just 15 10 in the third quarter
Utah Jazz 114 Golden State Warriors 106
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 32 points and tied a franchise record with eight 3 pointers as Utah rallied from a double digit deficit in the first half to beat visiting Golden State
Donovan Mitchell scored 28 points and Rudy Gobert added 15 points and 15 rebounds as the Jazz improved to 10 3 at home just the third Western Conference team with double digit victories in its own building
Alec Burks scored 24 points and Damion Lee added 21 for the Warriors who have lost seven of their past eight games and 10 of their past 12 Golden State fell to 3 13 on the road
New York Knicks 103 Sacramento Kings 101
Julius Randle recorded 26 points and nine rebounds and New York beat host Sacramento to notch back to back victories for the first time this season
Elfrid Payton scored 16 points and Mitchell Robinson added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Knicks who overcame a 16 point third quarter deficit New York is 2 2 since Mike Miller took over as interim coach after the firing of David Fizdale
Buddy Hield scored 34 points and collected a career high 12 rebounds for the Kings who had a three game winning streak halted Sacramento s Harrison Barnes scored 18 points
Field Level Media |
WMB | U S Stocks Climb Toward Record on Trade Momentum Markets Wrap | Bloomberg U S equities climbed toward a new high and European stocks reached a record amid hopes that a partial trade deal between America and China will ease a key risk for investors heading into year end Treasuries fell
The S P 500 Index gained in the wake of the agreement announced Dec 13 that will see Washington reduce tariffs and Beijing increase purchases of American farm goods although many details are still to be ironed out In another positive sign the Federal Reserve Bank of New York s survey measure of general business conditions in the next six months jumped to a five month high The dollar retreated
The Stoxx Europe 600 became the latest major equity gauge to hit a new peak as it jumped for a fourth day led by gains in financial and industrial shares Stocks were mixed in Asia Equities in Shanghai rose after Chinese data showed industrial output and retail sales both exceeded expectations
The pound strengthened though it trimmed gains after U K factories posted the weakest performance in more than seven years European bonds mostly edged higher
The announcement of the preliminary U S China deal staved off a scheduled Dec 15 tariff hike a prospect that had loomed large for markets It remains unclear how China will follow through on pledges to boost American agricultural imports and how quickly the U S promise to roll back half of a September tariff hike will happen
Now that the good news is here what is next for stocks This week should be the last week with any decent volume as investors head for home for Christmas and the New Year s holiday Paul Nolte a portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago wrote to clients Slow volume should also mean modest moves in stocks so investors should be able to sleep easy and dream of sugar plum fairies to close out a very good year
China s threat of retaliation against Germany if it excludes Huawei Technologies Co as a supplier of 5G wireless equipment shows tensions remain high elsewhere
Elsewhere oil held near a three month high and gold was steady Turkey s lira dropped the most in almost two months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned of retaliation over potential U S sanctions
Here are some key events to watch for this week
Policy decisions are due Thursday from the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England Federal Reserve district bank presidents including Robert Kaplan of Dallas Eric Rosengren of Boston and John Williams NYSE WMB of New York are scheduled to speak this week Revised U S GDP data are due Friday Friday brings quadruple witching in the U S the simultaneous expiration date of stock index futures stock index options stock options and single stock futures Expect elevated trading volume particularly in the last hour of trading These are the main moves in markets |
WMB | Liberal bishop becomes Archbishop of York No 2 in Church of England | LONDON Reuters Anglican Bishop Stephen Cottrell a supporter of women clergy and a strong opponent of nuclear weapons is to be the new Archbishop of York The 61 year old Bishop of Chelmsford in eastern England will replace John Sentamu who is retiring and become the Church of England s second most senior clergyman behind the Archbishop of Canterbury Cottrell has been outspoken in his support for women clergy and has said everyone is welcome in the Church regardless of their sexuality He said he looked forward to being a voice for the North and helping to address the discrepancies of wealth and opportunity that often favor the South of Britain Ordained in 1985 after a brief stint in the film industry Cottrell began his ministry in southeast London before moving to the dioceses of Chichester in southern England and Wakefield in the North He replaced the openly gay priest Jeffrey John as bishop of Reading in 2004 after John was pressured to step down by then Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams NYSE WMB Cottrell then went on to become bishop of Chelmsford in eastern England a role he has held since 2010 In April he co signed a letter opposing a proposed service at Westminster Abbey to celebrate 50 constant years of patrols by the UK s nuclear deterrents saying there was no circumstance in which they should ever be used Sentamu Britain s first black archbishop welcomed Cottrell s appointment saying he has the Gospel in his belly and a tiger in his tank |
WMB | Asia Stocks Set for Mixed Start Dollar Advances Markets Wrap | Bloomberg Asian stocks were set to open mixed Wednesday as investors take a breather after the partial U S China trade deal that sent global equities close to record highs The dollar gained while 10 year Treasuries were steady
Futures were little changed in Japan fell in Australia and climbed in Hong Kong The S P 500 Index closed just one index point higher at a new record amid positive U S factory and construction data The pound dropped the most in a month as concerns about a no deal Brexit resurfaced
With global stocks at all time highs concerns linger over the details of the U S China trade accord At the same time the improving global economy is prompting investors to reassess the path for monetary policy in 2020 Two Federal Reserve policy makers reiterated that interest rates are on hold unless there s a material change in the outlook for the U S economy
Elsewhere West Texas intermediate crude briefly touched 61 a barrel for the first time in three months as strengthening outlooks for manufacturing and trade buoyed demand prospects Bitcoin s woes continued as the digital currency languished below 7 000
Here are some key events to watch for this week
Policy decisions are due Thursday from the Bank of Japan and the Bank of England Federal Reserve district bank presidents including Eric Rosengren of Boston and John Williams NYSE WMB of New York are scheduled to speak this week Revised U S GDP data are due Friday Friday brings quadruple witching in the U S the simultaneous expiration date of stock index futures stock index options stock options and single stock futures Expect elevated trading volume particularly in the last hour of trading These are the main moves in markets
Stocks
Nikkei 225 futures fell 0 1 Australia s S P ASX 200 Index futures lost 0 4 Hong Kong s Hang Seng Index contracts rose 0 2 The S P 500 Index gained 0 03 Currencies
The Japanese yen was little changed at 109 51 per dollar The offshore yuan fell 0 1 to 6 9978 per dollar The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index climbed 0 2 The euro was little changed at 1 1146 The British pound sank 1 5 to 1 3132 Bonds
The yield on 10 year Treasuries held at 1 87 Commodities
West Texas Intermediate crude gained 0 7 to 60 62 a barrel the highest in three months Gold was at 1 476 53 an ounce |
JPM | JPMorgan s CEO gets 36 million of options delayed due to London Whale loss | NEW YORK Reuters JPMorgan Chase Co said on Thursday that its board of directors allowed 36 million of options previously awarded to Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon to vest
The options were part of Dimon s 2008 compensation package that became exercisable in January 2013 The bank s board determined at that time that because of the bank s 6 2 billion London Whale trading loss it would defer vesting until July 2014 at the latest
At its July meeting the board decided the company has made enough progress toward improving compliance and risk controls that it should not prevent the options from being vested said JPMorgan spokesman Joseph Evangelisti
The options were worth 36 million at Thursday s closing price of 57 86 or 1 8 times the 20 million compensation package Dimon received for 2013
Dimon has no immediate plans to exercise the options Evangelisti said
Reporting by Peter Rudegeair Editing by Lisa Shumaker |
JPM | JP Morgan questioned on private bank impropriety WSJ | Reuters JPMorgan Chase Co N JPM executives have faced regulators questions on whether private bank advisors guide clients to buy the firm s own financial products according to a report in the Wall Street Journal
As a result of the questioning regarding potential conflicts of interest the New York based bank has sharpened its disclosures to clients the newspaper said citing sources
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency one of JP Morgan s regulators has been in discussions with the bank regarding the potential conflicts of interest in recent months according to the report The matter may still be open the report said
Being transparent is part of our normal course of business and it s what drives our client communications Darin Oduyoye a spokesman for JP Morgan s asset management unit told Reuters on Sunday
If brokers push clients to buy the in house brand of financial product rather than provide impartial financial advice the bank could stand to benefit at the expense of the client
JP Morgan s Private Bank advisors are paid salary and bonus not commission Oduyoye said
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency did not immediately respond to a request for comment
Reporting By Mike Stone Editing by Andrea Ricci |
JPM | Italy Seizes 140M From Nomura In Alleged Sicily Fraud | By Italy s police on Monday seized nearly 140 million in cash and property from Nomura Holdings NYSE NMR and accused it of committing fraud in a debt restructuring deal that it worked on for the Sicilian government
Local police said that the fraud committed by the Japanese financial services company cost Sicily s administration a loss of 175 million euros 235 million The authorities claimed that the problems began because four Nomura employees used a complex derivatives trade between 2000 and 2006 that did not function as expected according to Reuters The authorities are also investigating three more people in the matter and Nomura has reportedly said that it is reviewing the situation and will cooperate with the authorities in the probe
Italian regulators seized bank accounts and credit valued at 98 million euros 131 million from Nomura along with 6 million euros 8 million in property Sicily s police also seized assets worth 6 5 million euros from four former Nomura employees and three local consultants accusing them of trying to conduct fraud while selling complex derivatives to the island s administration to restructure its debt
Nomura had created three derivatives contracts to restructure Sicily s debt causing the administration to lose 60 million euros 80 60 million according to Bloomberg The company has also reportedly been accused of bundling health care debt at onerous interest rates in 2002 triggering losses worth another 115 million euros 154 million for Sicily By 2008 Sicily had invested nearly 26 9 billion euros 36 13 billion in derivatives whose nominal value was estimated at 9 8 billion euros 13 16 billion in March according to Bloomberg
In March a Milan court flipped an earlier decision to find banks including J P Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM and UBS NYSE UBS not guilty of fraud when they sold derivatives to the city of Milan in a similar case Many local governments in Italy have taken several international banks to court for losses incurred on complex derivatives Bloomberg reported
Last year Italian prosecutors also seized nearly 2 35 billion from Nomura after Italy s third largest bank Banca Monte Paschi Siena MILAN BMPS or MPS bought derivatives and accused Nomura s employees of issuing false statements and of obstructing local regulatory officials from conducting their investigation |
JPM | JPMorgan to cut tech support jobs as revenue dips Bloomberg | Reuters JPMorgan Chase Co N JPM the biggest U S bank by assets is slashing its technology support workforce in corporate and investment banking division following a revenue dip Bloomberg News reported citing people familiar with the matter
Offices affected include New York Tampa Chicago and Dubai according to the report
Luke Moranda a managing director in charge of clearing technology and Dan Cronin an executive director were relieved of their duties Bloomberg said
Some workers were reportedly demoted as the company tries to cut compensation expenses the report added
JPMorgan spokesman Brian Marchiony declined to comment on the report
The company s revenue from fixed income and equity markets fell 15 percent to 3 5 billion in the quarter ended June 30 compared with the same quarter last year The drop was however less than the 20 percent decline JPMorgan had forecast in May
Job cuts in mortgage banking was on pace to exceed the 6 000 announced earlier Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake said in an earnings call with analysts earlier this month
The company had announced in February last year that it planned to cut 17 000 jobs by the end of 2014 representing about 6 6 percent of overall workforce as it dealt with bad home loans
Reporting by Amrutha Gayathri in Bangalore Editing by Joyjeet Das |
BMY | 4 Trade Ideas For Bristol Myers Squibb Bonus Idea | Here is your Bonus Idea with links to the full Top Ten
Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY rose up off of support in February and then fell back It broke through that support and traveled lower an equal distance below before bouncing That was followed by a steady run higher to a top in October This was a lower high and the reversal from there was fast and brutal It culminated maybe with a gap down to start last week and then support and a rebound Friday The bounce Friday confirmed the Hammer reversal candle from Thursday
The RSI is deeply oversold and reversing higher while the MACD continues to move lower There is resistance at 51 35 and 53 40 then gap to fill to 54 30 followed by 57 60 and 59 Support lower comes at 48 80 Short interest is low under 1 The company is expected to report earnings next on February 4th The stock carries a 3 17 dividend but went ex on October 4th so it should be January before the next record date
The November options chain shows very large open interest at the 57 50 put and some size at the 57 5 call as well as the 51 52 and 55 calls All are above the current price putting upward pressure on the stock The December chain shows biggest open interest at the 45 put and then on the call side it grows from 50 moving higher The January chain has big open interest at the 40 and 45 puts below as well as at the 50 through 55 puts above On the call side the January open interest is focused from 50 to 60
Bristol Myers Squibb Ticker BMY
Trade Idea 1 Buy the stock on a move over 51 50 with a stop at 48 50
Trade Idea 2 Buy the stock on a move over 51 50 and add a November 50 45 Put Spread 1 00 for protection
Trade Idea 3 Buy the December January 55 Call Calendar for 40 cents
Trade Idea 4 Buy the January 45 55 bullish Risk Reversal for 22 cents
After reviewing over 1 000 charts I have found some good setups for the week This week s list contains the first five below to get you started early These were selected and should be viewed in the context of the broad Market Macro picture reviewed Friday which heading into the last days of October and the last full week before the midterm elections saw stocks get rocked The S P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have dropped more than 10 from their highs at the end of September with the Russell 2000 more than 15 off its high
Elsewhere look for Gold to pause in its uptrend while Crude Oil pauses in its downtrend The US Dollar Index is meeting resistance in its short term uptrend while US Treasuries are digesting their run lower The Shanghai Composite is searching for a bottom but Emerging Markets are continuing to the downside Volatility looks to remain elevated and possibly rise further keeping the bias lower for the equity index ETF s SPY NYSE SPY IWM and QQQ Their charts look like they agree with that all 3 in solid short term downtrends and now downtrends on the intermediate timeframe as well Use this information as you prepare for the coming week and trad em well
The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer
Original post |
BMY | Exelixis EXEL Q3 Earnings Revenues Beat On Cabometyx Sales | Exelixis Inc NASDAQ EXEL delivered better than expected results for third quarter 2018 wherein both earnings and revenues beat estimates on strong performance by Cabometyx
Following the announcement of the results shares of Exelixis gained 13 1 in the after market trading session However Exelixis shares have lost 50 8 in the year so far compared with the decline of 15 7
The company reported earnings of 41 cents easily beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 19 cents The bottom line was also up from 26 cents reported in the year ago quarter
Net revenues came in at 225 4 million up from 152 5 million in the year ago quarter The top line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 166 4 million
Quarter in Detail
Net product revenues came in at 162 9 million up 69 from the year ago quarter driven by continued growth of Cabometyx in the United States for the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma RCC
The FDA approved a tablet formulation of cabozantinib distinct from the capsule form under the brand name Cabometyx in April 2016 for the treatment of advanced RCC in patients who have received prior anti angiogenic therapy The FDA also expanded the drug s label for the treatment of previously untreated advanced RCC in December 2017
Cabometyx generated 158 3 million net product revenues Demand grew 5 sequentially
Cometriq cabozantinib capsules for the treatment of medullary thyroid cancer generated 4 7 million in net product revenues
Total collaboration revenues were 62 5 million compared with 56 1 million in the year ago quarter The revenues included the recognition of milestone payments of 36 9 million and 5 0 million from the company s collaboration with Ipsen Pharma SAS for the anticipated approval of Cabometyx for previously treated HCC in the European Union and the approval of the drug in Canada for previously treated RCC respectively
In the reported quarter research and development expenses increased 56 8 to 44 7 million stemming from higher personnel expenses clinical trial costs and consulting and outside services Selling general and administrative expenses were 48 1 million up 26 3 driven by increases in personnel expenses and stock based compensation
Pipeline Update
In September 2018 Exelixis announced that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network NCCN has updated its Clinical Practice Guidelines to include new recommendations for Cabometyx As a result of the update Cabometyx is now recommended by the NCCN for the treatment of advanced RCC regardless of patient risk status favorable intermediate and poor risk
We remind investors that Exelixis has already submitted a supplemental New Drug Application sNDA to the FDA for advanced hepatocellular carcinoma HCC The EMA also accepted the company s application for the addition of HCC indication The FDA accepted the company s sNDA for Cabometyx as a treatment for patients with previously treated advanced HCC and set a target action date of Jan 14 2019
In addition Exelixis and partner Ipsen received a positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency EMA for the label expansion of Cabometyx tablets as a monotherapy for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma HCC in adults who have been previously treated with Nexavar sorafenib
Exelixis recently announced encouraging results from the dose escalation stage of the phase Ib COSMIC 021 study of Cabometyx in combination with Tecentriq in previously untreated advanced RCC The combination was well tolerated and showed promising anti tumor activity
In October 2018 Exelixis initiated a phase III trial COSMIC 311 of single agent cabozantinib in patients with radioiodine refractory differentiated thyroid cancer DTC who have progressed up to two prior vascular endothelial growth factor receptor VEGFR targeted therapies The co primary endpoints for the trial are progression free survival and objective response rate
Meanwhile Exelixis inked agreements with Bristol Myers NYSE BMY and Roche Holding OTC RHHBY to develop cabozantinib in combination with immunotherapy agents in 2017 The phase III CheckMate 9ER study is evaluating cabozantinib in combination with Opdivo versus Pfizer s NYSE PFE Sutent among treatment naive RCC patients
The study is enrolling patients globally and being conducted by Bristol Myers The triplet combination of cabozantinib Opdivo and Yervoy continues to be evaluated in the ongoing Phase 1b trial in patients with advanced genitourinary malignancies
2018 Guidance Updated
Exelixis now expects total costs and operating expenses for 2018 to be 410 420 million compared with the earlier projection of 430 460 million The range was updated due to timing of clinical trial expenses primarily related to the planned and ongoing combination trials
Our Take
Exelixis third quarter results were impressive amid stiff competition from Sutent Votrient and Inlyta among others The approval of Opdivo and Yervoy for the treatment of poor and intermediate risk first line RCC has further increased competition The company experienced an 11 increase in Cabometyx s prescriber base as compared to the second quarter
We expect Cabometyx sales to grow as the drug is now approved for first line RCC which will expand the eligible patient population in the United States and also eat into the market share of two key drugs Sutent and Votrient We expect investors to focus on further label expansion of cabozantinib
A potential approval for HCC liver cancer early next year should further boost demand and diversify the franchise given the huge market for liver cancer
Zacks Rank
Exelixis currently carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Today s Stocks from Zacks Hottest Strategies
It s hard to believe even for us at Zacks But while the market gained 21 9 in 2017 our top stock picking screens have returned 115 0 109 3 104 9 98 6 and 67 1 And this outperformance has not just been a recent phenomenon Over the years it has been remarkably consistent From 2000 2017 the composite yearly average gain for these strategies has beaten the market more than 19X over Maybe even more remarkable is the fact that we re willing to share their latest stocks with you without cost or obligation |
C | Europe stocks turn briefly lower as banks retreat | LONDON July 17 Reuters European shares turned briefly
negative on Friday in early afternoon trade as banking stocks
retreated from earlier highs after Citigroup results
By 1230 GMT the pan European FTSEurofirst 300 index of top
shares was up 0 2 percent at 868 80 points having fallen
earlier to 865 82 points
The banking sector was mixed Credit Suisse Banco Santander
Deutsche Bank and UBS were down 0 4 1 2 percent while HSBC
BNP Paribas and Barclays were up 1 1 1 6 percent
Citigroup reported a 4 3 billion second quarter profit
thanks to gains on its Smith Barney deal
But stripping out the one off gain from the brokerage
venture Citigroup had a loss of 26 cents a share narrower than
analysts consensus forecast of a 31 cent loss according to
Reuters Estimates
Reporting by Joanne Frearson |
WMB | Top 25 basketball roundup No 4 Michigan overcomes 44 from Iowa s Garza | Six Michigan players scored in double figures Friday night leading the fourth ranked Wolverines to a 103 91 win over Iowa in the Big Ten opener for both teams in Ann Arbor Mich
Michigan 8 1 1 0 Big Ten overcame a career high 44 points from Iowa junior center Luka Garza by getting contributions from a variety of sources
Freshman Franz Wagner scored 18 points seniors Jon Teske and Zavier Simpson each had 16 points junior Isaiah Livers scored 14 points junior Eli Brooks had 13 points and sophomore Brandon Johns provided 12 points off of the bench for Michigan
The Wolverines bounced back after taking their first loss of the season Tuesday at No 1 Louisville in the Big Ten ACC Challenge
No 1 Louisville 64 Pittsburgh 46
The visiting Panthers went through two long stretches without scoring and Jordan Nwora had 19 points to lead the Cardinals to a victory at Louisville Ky
After letting a 14 point halftime lead dwindle to five points Louisville 9 0 2 0 Atlantic Coast Conference went on a 13 0 run to take control of the game with a 60 42 lead with 4 39 left in regulation
Pitt 7 3 1 1 went scoreless for a stretch of 5 43 during Louisville s knockout run The Panthers also went without scoring in the last 5 35 of the first half when the Cardinals built a 35 21 lead The Cardinals got 13 points and 11 rebounds from Malik Williams NYSE WMB while Ryan McMahon added 11 points Pitt s Xavier Johnson had a team high 15 points and Eric Hamilton added 10
No 10 Duke 77 Virginia Tech 63
Wendell Moore Jr scored all 12 of his points in the second half as the Blue Devils overcame a rough opening stretch to win their ACC opener with a decision over the Hokies in Blacksburg Va Duke went to a smaller lineup for a stretch in the second half and finally went ahead 48 47 for the first time since the opening two minutes
Tre Jones poured in 15 points and Vernon Carey Jr had 12 points for Duke 9 1 1 0 which was the only ACC team without a conference game in the first week of the season Jordan Goldwire added 10 points off the bench
P J Horne scored 15 points and Wabissa Bede and Tyrece Radford had 12 points each for Virginia Tech 6 3 1 1 Team scoring leader Landers Nolley managed just seven points and committed nine turnovers for the Hokies who have lost three games in a row since knocking off Michigan State in the Maui Invitational
Field Level Media |
WMB | NBA roundup AD drops 50 Lakers beat Wolves | Anthony Davis scored a season high 50 points sparking the Los Angeles Lakers to a 142 125 victory over the visiting Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday night
Davis connected on 20 of 29 shots from the floor and converted all 10 of his free throws in 39 minutes It was his fourth career 50 plus scoring game Davis also had seven rebounds six assists and four steals
LeBron James had 32 points and 13 assists for the Lakers who won their fourth in a row and 14th in 15 games Alex Caruso added 16 points while Danny Green finished with 12
Andrew Wiggins who missed Friday s loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder with a left thumb sprain and Karl Anthony Towns led Minnesota with 19 points each Josh Okogie added 18 points while Robert Covington had 16 for the Timberwolves who lost their fourth consecutive contest Eight players scored in double figures for the Timberwolves
Brooklyn Nets 105 Denver Nuggets 102
Spencer Dinwiddie scored the go ahead layup with 26 3 seconds left and Brooklyn came up with defensive stops on Denver s final two possessions to win at home
Dinwiddie led the Nets with 24 points and using a high screen set by Taurean Prince he glided through the middle of the lane He got by Gary Harris and gave the Nets a 103 102 lead just before Jerami Grant could provide help
The Nuggets called their last timeout with the intention of getting the ball to Nikola Jokic but the Nets immediately provided a double team with Prince and Jarrett Allen The ball wound up in Will Barton s hand but he missed an off balance jumper in the paint
Philadelphia 76ers 110 Toronto Raptors 104
Tobias Harris scored 26 points and host Philadelphia improved to 12 0 at home this season in a narrow win over Toronto
Rookie Matisse Thybulle added five 3 pointers for a career high 20 points and Ben Simmons contributed 16 points 11 rebounds and nine assists for the Sixers James Ennis III and Al Horford had 11 points each and Joel Embiid had 10 points eight rebounds and six assists along with seven turnovers
Kyle Lowry led the Raptors with 26 points while OG Anunoby added 19 points and 10 rebounds Pascal Siakam chipped in with 16 points for the Raptors who dropped their third in a row for the first time this season Marc Gasol went scoreless on 0 for 6 shooting
Los Angeles Clippers 135 Washington Wizards 119
Kawhi Leonard scored 34 points and grabbed 11 rebounds Paul George added 27 points and Los Angeles pushed past host Washington thanks to a dominant fourth quarter
Leonard played an outstanding all around game shooting 12 of 18 from the floor and in addition to his own scoring contributions dishing five assists George also distributed the ball well with six assists matching Lou Williams NYSE WMB and Washington s Chris Chiozza for the game high total
Davis Bertans led the Wizards with 25 points while Troy Brown Jr added 22 both off the bench Wizards leading scorer Bradley Beal who came in averaging just below 29 points per game finished with 20 points on 5 of 18 shooting
Sacramento Kings 110 Dallas Mavericks 106
Nemanja Bjelica matched a career high with 30 points and Buddy Hield added 26 as Sacramento snapped a three game losing skid with a victory at Dallas
Bjelica made 13 of 18 attempts from the field to finish with 30 points Hield went 10 of 15 from the floor for the Kings who swept the three game season series against the Mavericks in 2018 19 and have won five in a row in Dallas
Dallas Luka Doncic collected 27 points eight assists and seven rebounds to mark the 19th consecutive contest in which he recorded at least 20 five and five in those categories That snapped a tie with Michael Jordan 1988 89 for the longest such streak since the NBA ABA merger but Oscar Robertson holds the all time record 29
Oklahoma City Thunder 108 Portland Trail Blazers 96
Shai Gilgeous Alexander recorded 21 points and nine rebounds and Dennis Schroder also scored 21 points as Oklahoma City fended off host Portland
Chris Paul added 20 points and Nerlens Noel had 13 points and 12 rebounds as the Thunder won for the fifth time in the past seven games Danilo Gallinari had 12 points for Oklahoma City
Damian Lillard scored 26 points for the Blazers but was a woeful 8 of 24 from the field including 2 of 12 from 3 point range CJ McCollum added 20 points and Hassan Whiteside recorded 14 points 10 rebounds and five blocked shots for Portland which has lost three of its last four games
Miami Heat 110 Chicago Bulls 105 OT
Tyler Herro scored 27 points including a go ahead 3 pointer with 38 2 seconds remaining in overtime and Bam Adebayo finished with 21 points and 13 rebounds as Miami continued the best home start in franchise history at the expense of Chicago
Miami improved to 10 0 at AmericanAirlines Arena this season The Heat trailed 92 89 with 2 32 to go but pulled ahead behind a strong showing from the free throw line Miami went 35 for 44 from the line with Jimmy Butler contributing 17 of those makes en route to 23 points
Herro swished five treys Kendrick Nunn added 18 points for Miami while Butler seven and Adebayo six paced the team in assists Lauri Markkanen scored 22 points to lead six Bulls players in double figures Zach LaVine had 18 points and Kris Dunn followed with a season high 16
Atlanta Hawks 122 Charlotte Hornets 107
Trae Young scored 30 points and Atlanta won for just the second time in its last 13 games by knocking off host Charlotte
The Hawks had a huge second half scoring 37 points in the third quarter to move to an 88 83 lead Then Atlanta outscored Charlotte 19 8 to begin the fourth quarter Young posted seven of those points
Jabari Parker poured in 19 points and Vince Carter coming off the bench racked up 17 points as Atlanta received 57 points from its reserves PJ Washington and Miles Bridges scored 20 points apiece for the Hornets Washington was 12 of 13 on free throws
Field Level Media |
WMB | Israelis look to Inquisition roots to get Portuguese passports | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB and Catarina Demony
JERUSALEM LISBON Reuters Danny Roup Israel s celebrity weatherman does not necessarily see clouds on the geopolitical horizon But he thought it worth digging into his centuries old family roots in order to get a second Portuguese passport
Roup is among thousands of Israelis who have embraced a citizenship offer by Portugal to descendents of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from the Iberian peninsula during the medieval Inquisition
Some applicants want to move to Portugal or use it as a stepping stone to the European Union s educational and job opportunities Others are seeking a reprieve from the turbulent Middle East
You can never know what will happen in this region in the next 20 30 40 50 100 years So it s always good to have another passport especially if it s a European passport said Roup 54
Around 300 000 Jews lived in Spain when in 1492 monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand ordered them and the country s Muslims to convert to Catholicism or leave Tens of thousands fled to Portugal only to be persecuted there or expelled in 1496
Portugal which has seen a rise in applications since a similar citizenship offer to Sephardic Jews by Spain ended in October describes its policy in terms of redress
Our history is a very important one but with certain shadows and one of the most relevant shadows was forcing the Jews to abandon the country or to convert to Christianity Portuguese Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva told Reuters
We lost a lot of our Jewish influence and we are trying to retrieve this influence
The citizenship application takes around two years Some 20 percent are approved
Experts at one of Portugal s Jewish centers Lisbon or Porto vet applicants genealogies and look for evidence of interest in Sephardi culture for example knowledge of the Judaeo Spanish dialect Ladino
Lisbon based immigration lawyer Renato Martins said many of his Sephardic clients see the investment potential of a Portuguese passport especially for real estate
Silva said most of the 44 000 applications received since the Portuguese offer opened in 2015 have been from Israel
Ilan Dahan 48 a father of three originally from Haifa moved to Portugal after being approved in 2017
There were lots of wars lots of bullets We wanted to be safe especially with kids he said
Roup does not want to leave Israel but says Portuguese citizenship could help his children who can apply as adults
One is a singer My daughter is an actress So it will open doors he said I m trying to make their lives easier now in the present and in the future |
WMB | W Series sees growing sponsor interest in women s sport | By Alan Baldwin
LONDON Reuters The all female W Series which announced its first major sponsor at the weekend is talking to several global brands amid increased interest in women s sport at boardroom level according to chief executive Catherine Bond Muir
The fledgling series has teamed up with Williams NYSE WMB Formula One title sponsors ROKiT who also back the Monaco based Venturi Formula E team
A source indicated the deal was worth 10 million pounds 12 83 million over three years
Both Williams and Venturi are run by women Claire Williams and Susie Wolff while inaugural W Series champion Jamie Chadwick is a Williams development driver
Three years ago nearly 98 percent of global sponsorship was going into male sport And we all know that the world has changed fundamentally in the last two years Bond Muir told Reuters
A lot of boards are saying you cannot put our sponsorship into male only sports any more
Bond Muir who has said her series should break even in year three with sponsorship key to initial revenue generation pointed also to the Olympic movement s promise of gender equality across all sports at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games
The W Series aims to help female racers climb the male dominated motorsport ladder towards Formula One which last saw a woman start a race in 1976 and has plans to expand beyond Europe
I think in the next few years we will grow into a global sport business said Bond Muir
Where we ve been lucky is we launched in a year where female sport exploded and there is increased interest in us for next year
We are having some fantastically interesting conversations at the moment with proper global brands who understand what our journey is and hopefully they will come on board with us for that journey
British entrepreneur Jonathan Kendrick co founder of the ROK group that includes telecoms company ROKiT said the W Series sponsorship made business sense and had grown from the involvement with Williams
Originally this wasn t a conscious decision to target female centric teams he said in an emailed response to Reuters
As we got to know Claire Williams we met other talented and dedicated women in the sport I believe if more women were supported in a sport where women have historically been marginalized motorsports could open up to an even wider audience
Bond Muir also expressed admiration for Alejandro Agag founder of the all electric Formula E and suggested her series could eventually follow his lead
Our progression of engine is going to be an interesting story Are we going to have a more powerful engine in the future or do we stay at this level I think there are lots of areas and places we could move to she said
Looking long term into the future I wouldn t want to be using a petrol engine That s not the way the world is going Certainly we have to think about hybridisation or electric Of course we do |
WMB | Andreescu named Canada s athlete of the year after breakout season | TORONTO Reuters Bianca Andreescu was awarded the Lou Marsh Trophy as Canada s athlete of the year on Monday capping a remarkable year in which the teenager became the country s first tennis Grand Slam singles champion with her U S Open triumph
Andreescu an unknown quantity to most in Canada a year ago was a unanimous pick after a breakout season in which she upset Serena Williams NYSE WMB in the U S Open final and reached a career high fourth in the world rankings
Wow I m so thankful for this award I was not expecting it and to be the first tennis player to win is even more surreal the 19 year old Andreescu said in a statement issued by Tennis Canada
None of my success this year would have been possible without the support from all of Canada
Andreescu who at the end of 2018 was ranked 178th but who finished this season at number five began to gain attention in January when she beat former world number ones Caroline Wozniacki and Venus Williams on her way to the Auckland final
In March as a wildcard she won the Indian Wells title but a shoulder injury forced her to retire from a last 16 match at the following event in Miami and caused her to miss most of the clay and grasscourt seasons
Andreescu the daughter of Romanian immigrants to Canada then won her hometown tournament in Toronto before going on to make history in New York where she denied Williams from earning a record tying 24th Grand Slam singles title
The Canadian lost just four completed matches during the season which she finished with a 48 7 record including injury retirements
The other finalists for the award which is named after a former Toronto Star sports editor were sprinter Andre De Grasse golfer Brooke Henderson NHL goalie Jordan Binnington and MLB pitcher Mike Soroka
Canadian sports crushed it this year so there are definitely many other athletes who deserve a piece of this award as well we all motivate each other to be better said Andreescu
I can t wait for what 2020 will bring and am always proud to represent Canada at the highest level |
WMB | Rapinoe adds a goal for 2020 helping Democrats win White House | NEW YORK Reuters From award shows to magazine covers it can often feel as though Megan Rapinoe is everywhere and soon that might include rallies for Democratic presidential candidates
The U S women s national soccer team s fiery co captain is not running for office But after helping the Americans clinch a second consecutive World Cup title the 34 year old winger is setting her sights on helping the 2020 presidential field
From smart and sharp Elizabeth Warren to radical Bernie Sanders and charismatic Cory Booker Rapinoe is finding plenty to rally behind in the Democratic field
I think the most important thing is to get that maniac out of the White House Rapinoe told Reuters on Monday at Sports Illustrated s Sportsperson of the Year awards where she was bestowed the top prize
The Ballon D or winner caught the ire of U S President Donald Trump during her team s World Cup run after an expletive punctuated clip of her saying she would not visit the White House if they won the tournament emerged before the team s quarter final match
On Monday she reiterated that now famous pledge and said she was ready to hit the road to rally support for his eventual opponent
Get me on the bus get me on one of those planes Rapinoe said I want to rile people up Something about me is motivating people to do something or people are interested
If I ve got to knock on doors to get people to vote I m down
She ll have little time to spare in 2020 she and her team will head to Olympic qualifying matches early next year before a May trial date for the U S squad s gender discrimination lawsuit against their governing body
Rapinoe has emerged as a social activist during her career notably taking a knee during the national anthem in 2016 in solidarity with Colin Kaepernick s protest against police violence
During her acceptance speech at the Sports Illustrated awards Rapinoe called for greater racial and gender diversity at the publication and criticized the relative dearth of female Sportsperson of the Year honorees
Rapinoe and 23 time Grand Slam winner Serena Williams NYSE WMB are the only two female athletes honored independently with a Sportsperson of the Year prize in the last two decades
Sports Illustrated needs to look at itself and think what kind of story are we telling our subscribers and are we telling the country about sports in America Rapinoe told Reuters As a sports news organization what news are you reporting There seems to be a heavy bias on the guys |
WMB | NBA roundup Clippers Leonard wins in return to Toronto | Kawhi Leonard scored 23 points and added six assists and five rebounds on his return to Toronto and the visiting Los Angeles Clippers defeated the Raptors 112 92 Wednesday night
Leonard who led the Raptors to the NBA title last season before leaving as a free agent was presented with his championship ring in a ceremony before the game There also was a video tribute He was greeted with a loud prolonged ovation
Lou Williams NYSE WMB scored 18 points and had eight assists off the bench for the Clippers who have won five of their past six games Clippers guard Patrick Beverley left the game with a concussion during the third quarter
Pascal Siakam scored 24 points for the Raptors who have lost four of their past five games Norman Powell added 22 points
Milwaukee Bucks 127 New Orleans Pelicans 112
Eric Bledsoe scored 29 points as host Milwaukee won its 16th consecutive game despite the absence of Giannis Antetokounmpo routing New Orleans
Antetokounmpo the reigning NBA MVP sat out the game because of a sore quad tendon but three teammates joined Bledsoe in double figures Khris Middleton scored 24 Ersan Ilyasova added 18 and George Hill had 13 The Bucks matched their longest winning streak since winning 16 in a row over two seasons in 1973
JJ Redick scored 31 Brandon Ingram had 25 points and 10 rebounds Jrue Holiday scored 21 and rookie Jaxson Hayes had 12 points to lead the Pelicans who lost their 10th game in a row
Sacramento Kings 94 Oklahoma City Thunder 93
Bogdan Bogdanovic drained a 3 pointer with 17 3 seconds left to give Sacramento a victory over visiting Oklahoma City
Buddy Hield recorded 23 points six rebounds and six assists as Sacramento won its third straight contest Bogdanovic scored 17 points on 7 of 12 shooting Marvin Bagley III had 11 points and six rebounds in 23 minutes in his return after fracturing his right thumb in the season opener and missing the next 22 games
Chris Paul missed a 15 foot step back jumper with 1 6 seconds left as Oklahoma City s season high three game winning streak ended
Houston Rockets 116 Cleveland Cavaliers 110
James Harden scored 55 points to lead Houston to a victory at Cleveland Harden finished 20 of 34 from the floor and drilled 10 of 18 3 point attempts to help the Rockets overcome a 24 0 Cleveland run that bridged the final two periods
Russell Westbrook added 23 points seven rebounds and six assists for Houston which has won five of its past seven games
Rookie Kevin Porter Jr scored a career high 24 points to pace the Cavaliers while Collin Sexton chipped in 18 Kevin Love and Clarkson scored 17 apiece with Love adding 11 rebounds The Cavaliers have dropped 14 of 15 games
Los Angeles Lakers 96 Orlando Magic 87
LeBron James collected 25 points 11 rebounds and 10 assists for his sixth triple double of the season as visiting Los Angeles posted a victory over Orlando
Reigning Western Conference Player of the Week Anthony Davis added 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Lakers who have won 15 of 16 overall and 12 in a row on the road
Aaron Gordon collected 14 points and 14 rebounds for his fifth double double of the season but the Magic dropped their second in a row following a season high four game winning streak
Charlotte Hornets 113 Brooklyn Nets 108
Devonte Graham scored 27 of his career high 40 points after halftime as Charlotte overcame a 20 point deficit and recorded a victory over Brooklyn in New York
Graham shot 12 of 21 from the field and hit 7 of 12 3 point attempts He became the first Hornet other than Kemba Walker to get a 40 point game since Al Jefferson on Jan 31 2014 against the Los Angeles Lakers Miles Bridges added 14 points for Charlotte
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points for the Nets who fell to 9 4 without Kyrie Irving right shoulder impingement Jarrett Allen added 21 points and 10 rebounds for Brooklyn
Indiana Pacers 122 Boston Celtics 117
Domantas Sabonis recorded 15 points and 14 rebounds and the Indiana bench came up big in the fourth quarter to produce a win over Boston in Indianapolis
The Pacers handed the Celtics just their second loss in the past eight games but Indiana needed to rally in the fourth quarter to do it The Celtics outscored the Pacers 37 23 in the third quarter to take a 10 point lead into the final period
Kemba Walker scored a season high 44 points for the Celtics but his potential game tying 3 point attempt in the closing seconds came up short Malcolm Brogdon led the Pacers with 29 points including the final four free throws to put the game away
Utah Jazz 127 Minnesota Timberwolves 116
Donovan Mitchell scored 30 points dished out six assists and collected five rebounds to lift Utah over Minnesota in Minneapolis
Rudy Gobert finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds to help the Jazz win for just the third time in nine games Joe Ingles added 23 points five rebounds and five assists The Jazz shot 56 6 percent from the field and 45 7 percent from 3 point range
Jeff Teague scored 32 points and dished out six assists to lead the Timberwolves Andrew Wiggins added 26 points while Karl Anthony Towns finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds Minnesota lost its sixth straight game and gave up at least 120 points for the fifth consecutive contest
Memphis Grizzlies 115 Phoenix Suns 108
Dillon Brooks had 27 points and Jaren Jackson Jr had 24 and three 3 pointers as Memphis built a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter and held on to knock off host Phoenix
Brandon Clarke had 15 points and seven rebounds off the bench and Ja Morant had 13 points four in the final 43 seconds and six assists for the Grizzlies who won their second straight game after losing nine of 10
Frank Kaminsky had season highs with 24 points and four 3 pointers Ricky Rubio had 22 points and eight assists and Kelly Oubre Jr had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns who were trying to get back to 500 for the first time in three weeks
New York Knicks 124 Golden State Warriors 112 OT
Julius Randle capped a double double performance with a tiebreaking 3 pointer in the second minute of overtime helping New York give interim coach Mike Miller his first NBA win while snapping a 10 game losing streak in an entertaining victory over Golden State in San Francisco
Randle finished with 24 points and a team high 13 rebounds and Marcus Morris scored 36 points his most since joining the Knicks as a free agent in the offseason New York rebounded from a 28 point shellacking on Tuesday in Portland to deliver Miller a win in his third game since replacing David Fizdale
In a duel between 20 game losers and two of the lowest scoring teams in the league Draymond Green recorded a triple double 14 points 10 rebounds and 12 assists while D Angelo Russell scored 32 points for Golden State The Warriors forced the extra session by outscoring the Knicks 9 3 in the final 40 3 seconds of regulation
Chicago Bulls 136 Atlanta Hawks 102
Zach LaVine scored a game high 35 points on 12 for 16 shooting including 7 of 7 from beyond the arc and host Chicago snapped a three game losing streak by beating Atlanta
Lauri Markkanen added 22 points on 8 for 9 shooting for Chicago which recorded a season high in points Coby White scored 19 points to lead the Bulls reserves while Wendell Carter Jr notched his 13th double double in 26 games with 11 points and 10 rebounds
Alex Len scored 17 points off the bench to lead Atlanta which lost its second game in as many nights Cam Reddish added 16 points off the bench and Trae Young recorded 15 points and 13 assists despite shooting only 4 of 14 from the field and 1 of 6 from beyond the arc
Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Retired players charged with health care fraud | Former running back Clinton Portis is one of 10 retired players facing federal charges for allegedly filing fraudulent claims against the NFL s health care program
The Justice Department filed charges Thursday morning in the Eastern District of Kentucky accusing the players of filing 3 9 million in false claims The health plan paid out more than 3 4 million on those claims from June 2017 to December 2018 according to court records
The players allegedly submitted fraudulent claims to the Gene Upshaw NFL Player Health Reimbursement Account Plan seeking payments for expensive medical equipment including hyperbaric oxygen chambers cryotherapy machines and ultrasound devices The equipment claims ranged from 40 000 to 50 000
Four of the other players charged Robert McCune John Eubanks Carlos Rogers and Ceandris Brown were arrested Thursday morning per The Washington Post The others Portis Tamarick Vanover James Butler Fredrick Bennett Correll Buckhalter and Etric Pruitt were expected to surrender later in the day The government said it also intends to file charges against former wide receivers Joe Horn and Reche Caldwell
INJURY UPDATES
Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston worked with tennis balls with the idea that he ll progress to throwing footballs once his right thumb feels more comfortable Winston sustained a hairline fracture of the thumb late in the second quarter last Sunday against Indianapolis The Bucs hope Winston can play this Sunday against Detroit
Indianapolis wide receiver T Y Hilton practiced on a limited basis for the first time in more than two weeks though it remains unclear if he ll be ready to play Monday night at New Orleans Hilton is recovering from a calf injury that has limited him to just one game since Oct 27
Pittsburgh wide receiver JuJu Smith Schuster was downgraded to limited in practice a day after being a full participant though it s unclear if that will affect his status for Sunday night against Buffalo He is attempting to work his way back from a three game absence due to a knee injury Running back James Conner was a full participant for the second day in a row on Thursday after sitting out three games with a shoulder injury
New England wide receiver Julian Edelman was also limited in practice dealing with knee and shoulder injuries He did not practice on Wednesday Fellow wideout Mohamed Sanu ankle was listed as limited while left tackle Isaiah Wynn say out with an eye injury
Philadelphia officially placed wide receiver Alshon Jeffery on injured reserve with a right foot injury which NFL Network reported as being a Lisfranc injury that is expected to need surgery That would leave Jeffery with a lengthy recovery
San Francisco placed tight end Garrett Celek on injured reserve with a back ailment and starting nose tackle D J Jones will also land on IR this week due to an ankle injury coach Kyle Shanahan said
The New York Jets placed tight end Ryan Griffin on season ending injured reserve with an ankle injury and activated offensive lineman Brent Qvale from IR to fill the slot
AROUND THE LEAGUE
Former NFL MVP Cam Newton Pro Bowl wide receivers Mike Evans and Jarvis Landry and veteran defensive stars Richard Sherman and Bobby Wagner are among the 32 nominees for the 2019 Walter Payton Man of the Year award which celebrates one player each year for going above and beyond in performing community service away from the field Carolina owner David Tepper said in an interview that whether Newton is the team s quarterback with next season will depend largely on his health Panthers cornerback Donte Jackson apologized and said he was totally out of line when he criticized the team s defensive play calling after Sunday s loss in Atlanta
Tennessee linebacker Cameron Wake out for the season with an undisclosed injury told the team s website he plans to play again in 2020 at age 38 and he hopes to remain in Nashville
Jarvis Landry told reporters he believes fellow Browns receiver and good friend Odell Beckham Jr does not want to leave Cleveland despite recent reports that Beckham has told opposing players and coaches to come get me
Jacksonville quarterbacks coach Scott Milanovich will be the next head coach of the Edmonton Eskimos of the Canadian Football League TSN reported
Cincinnati first round pick Jonah Williams NYSE WMB has been cleared to practice for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in June The 6 foot 4 305 pound offensive tackle from Alabama was the 11th overall selection in the 2019 NFL Draft
The NFL is giving the Oakland Raiders permission to exceed the league mandated debt limit of 350 million to help the club as it moves to Las Vegas for next season Sports Business Daily reported
Field Level Media |
JPM | JP Morgan posts Q2 adjusted EPS of 1 46 vs 1 31 estimate | Investing com JP Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM the largest U S bank reported better than expected second quarter earnings and revenue ahead of Tuesday s opening bell
JP Morgan said adjusted earnings per share came in at 1 46 in the second quarter compared to expectations for earnings of 1 31 per share The bank s second quarter revenue totaled 24 45 billion beating expectations for revenue of 23 89 billion
JPM said second quarter results were affected by a 500 million write off 0 13 per share for legal expenses
Mortgage originations totaled 16 8 billion a 66 drop from the same period a year ago while markets and investor services revenue declined 12 to 5 9 billion
Commenting on the results Jamie Dimon Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said Despite continued industry wide headwinds in Markets and Mortgage the firm has continued to deliver strong underlying performance
Traders will now turn their attention to the bank s conference call due to start at 8 30 a m Eastern Time
Following the release of the report shares in JPM NYSE JPM added 1 8 in pre market trade
Meanwhile the outlook for U S equity markets was steady The Dow futures indicated a gain of 0 1 the S P 500 pointed to a loss of 0 2 while the Nasdaq 100 indicated a decline of 0 1 |
BMY | Pharma Stock Roundup PTCT Unveils Promising Data RHHBY To Acquire Rest Of FMI | There were not many developments in the pharma sector this week Swiss pharma giant Roche OTC RHHBY announced that it is buying the remaining stake in molecular information company Foundation Medicine Inc NASDAQ FMI for 2 4 billion Small drugmaker PTC Therapeutics Inc NASDAQ PTCT unveiled promising early stage data on its spinal muscular atrophy SMA candidate Recap of the Week s Most Important StoriesRoche to Buy Remaining Stake in Foundation Medicine Swiss pharma giant Roche said it will buy the remaining stake in molecular information company Foundation Medicine for 137 per share which adds up to a total transaction value of 2 4 billion The price of 137 marks a premium of 29 on the closing price of Foundation Medicine on Jun 18 and values the Cambridge MA based company at 5 3 billion The deal aims to strengthen Roche s development efforts of personalized therapies to treat cancer by leveraging Foundation Medicine s high quality comprehensive genomic profiling CGP testing and innovative data services The deal is expected to close in the second half of the year Roche initially had bought roughly 57 stake in Foundation Medicine in 2015 for around 1 billion Read More PTC Therapeutics Unveils Promising Early Stage Data on SMA drug PTC Therapeutics presented from an early stage study evaluating its gene therapy candidate risdiplam in babies with type 1 spinal muscular atrophy SMA The early stage data demonstrated improved muscle performance in nearly 90 of babies treated with risdiplam Shares of PTC Therapeutics rose almost 28 in response to the news However shares of PTC Therapeutics declined sharply on the day following the announcement This was because rival company Sarepta Therapeutics announced evaluating its gene therapy as a treatment for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy DMD PTC Therapeutics also markets therapies to treat DMD FDA Accepts Bristol Myers sBLA for Opdivo Yervoy Combo in Lung Cancer Bristol Myers NYSE BMY supplemental biologics license application sBLA for label expansion of its PD L1 inhibitor Opdivo nivolumab in combination with low dose Yervoy in first line lung cancer was accepted by the FDA Bristol Myers is looking to get this combination of two immunotherapy drugs approved for the treatment of non small cell lung cancer in patients with tumor mutational burden 10 mutations per megabase The FDA is expected to give its decision on Feb 20 next year Shire s HAE Drug Gets FDA Nod for Pediatric Population Shire gained FDA approval for label expansion of its hereditary angioedema HAE drug Cinryze to include use in pediatric patients 6 years and older Cinryze was approved in the United States in October 2008 for routine prophylaxis against attacks in adolescents and adults living with HAE a rare genetic disorder that causes painful swelling to various parts of the body The approval for the pediatric population should drive sales of the drug higher in future quarters Novo Nordisk CO NOVOb Signs Deal with Kallyope Presents Positive Diabetes Studies Results Denmark based pharma giant Novo Nordisk NYSE NVO entered into a collaboration with New York based biotech to discover peptide therapeutics for obesity and diabetes Per the deal Kallyope will receive an upfront payment and potential research development and sales milestones depending on the terms of the deal Novo Nordisk also has an option agreement to license exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize up to six products discovered as part of the collaboration In case Novo Nordisk exercises the option Kallyope will be entitled to receive a license fee Novo Nordisk also presented from two phase III studies on the oral formulation of its type II diabetes medicine semaglutide While the first study PIONEER 4 compared oral semaglutide to Novo Nordisk s other diabetes medicine Victoza the other study PIONEER 7 compared oral semaglutide to Merck s MRK Januvia sitagliptin Both the studies showed that oral semaglutide led to statistically significant reductions in HbA1c and weight compared to Victoza and Januvia respectively Semaglutide is presently sold as Ozempic a weekly injection in several countries The NYSE ARCA Pharmaceutical Index declined 1 in the last five trading sessions Large Cap Pharmaceuticals Industry 5YR Return
Here is how the seven major stocks performed in the last five trading sessions
All the stocks recorded a decline last week except Pfizer NYSE PFE and Bristol Myers which were flat Glaxo declined the most 1 6 In the past six months Glaxo NYSE GSK has been the biggest gainer 17 5 while J J declined the most 13 4 See the last pharma stock roundup here Pharma Stock Roundup What s Next in the Pharma World Watch out for FDA decisions on several pipeline drugs and line extensions of marketed products this month Looking for Stocks with Skyrocketing Upside Zacks has just released a Special Report on the booming investment opportunities of legal marijuana Ignited by new referendums and legislation this industry is expected to blast from an already robust 6 7 billion to 20 2 billion in 2021 Early investors stand to make a killing but you have to be ready to act and know just where to look |
BMY | 4 Trade Ideas For Bristol Myers Squibb Bonus Idea | Here is your Bonus Idea with links to the full Top Ten
Bristol Myers Squibb BMY rose up off of support in February and made a top later that month It pulled back finding support eventually at a symmetrical move to the downside and bounced Since then it has moved back higher and crossed over the prior support area It is consolidating there with the Bollinger Bands tightening often a precursor to a move The RSI is in the bullish zone with the MACD flattening and positive
There is resistance at 61 50 and 63 60 then 65 65 and 68 before 70 A Measured Move to the upside gives a target at 70 Support lower comes at 60 and 57 20 then 53 40 and 50 Short interest is low under 1 The stock pays a dividend with a current yield of over 2 6 and should not start to trade ex dividend until early October The company is expected to report earnings next on October 25th
The September options chain shows the biggest open interest at the 60 strike with a strong showing as well at the 62 50 Calls and 57 50 Puts In October it is the 62 50 strike with the biggest open interest The October 26 Expiry chain the first to include the earnings reporting date are just opening and have very little open interest So you have to go the December options to see what earnings plays are being made They show the majority of the open interest on the Call side and spread from 57 50 to 65
Bristol Myers Squibb Ticker BMY
Trade Idea 1 Buy the stock on a move over 61 75 with a stop at 60
Trade Idea 2 Buy the stock on a move over 61 75 and add an October 60 Put 1 07 while selling a December 67 50 Call 69 cents to help fund the protection
Trade Idea 3 Buy the September October 62 50 Call Calendar 59 cents
Trade Idea 4 Buy the October 57 50 65 bullish Risk Reversal 6 cent credit
After reviewing over 1 000 charts I have found some good setups for the week These were selected and should be viewed in the context of the broad Market Macro picture reviewed Friday which after closing the books on summer vacations with the short week saw some profit taking in the equity markets but they all remained with strong long term charts
Elsewhere look for Gold to possibly pause in its downtrend while Crude Oil slowly drifts higher long term The US Dollar Index is marking time sideways while US Treasuries are biased to continue lower The Shanghai Composite and Emerging Markets did nothing to change their downside trends
Volatility has crept higher and set up to slowly continue keeping pressure on equity markets The equity index ETF s SPY NYSE SPY iShares Russell 2000 NYSE IWM and Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1 NASDAQ QQQ all reacted with moves lower on the week The QQQ was the hardest hit and then the small caps with the SPY down less than 1 Use this information as you prepare for the coming week and trad em well
The information in this blog post represents my own opinions and does not contain a recommendation for any particular security or investment I or my affiliates may hold positions or other interests in securities mentioned in the Blog please see my Disclaimer page for my full disclaimer
Original post |
C | UPDATE 1 Euro zone May trade in surplus internal demand weak | Adds economists comments construction data background
By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS July 17 Reuters The euro zone recorded a trade
surplus in May because imports contracted at a faster pace than
exports data showed on Friday pointing to continued weakness
in internal demand
The seasonally unadjusted trade surplus of the 16 country
area totalled 1 9 billion euros 2 7 billion against a
deficit of 3 8 billion euros a year before and a 2 7 billion
surplus in April the European Union statistics office said
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a surplus of 2 7
billion euros for May
The recent underlying improvement in the euro zone s trade
performance reflects the fact that imports are now falling more
than exports said Howard Archer economist at IHS Global
Insight
Year on year unadjusted exports plunged 24 percent but
imports fell even more 27 percent underlining the weakness of
domestic and external demand amid the global economic downturn
Seasonally adjusted the surplus was 800 million euros
after 700 million in April in an improving trend that follows
large deficits in January February and March
Yet month on month seasonally adjusted euro zone imports
fell 2 8 percent and exports dropped 2 7 percent
This is clearly disappointing although industrial
production recovered in May this has yet to be seen in the
trade data said Dominique Barbet economist at BNP Paribas
Euro zone industrial production rebounded 0 5 percent
month on month in May rising for the first time since August
2008 and adding to signs the worst European recession since
World War Two was bottoming out
Separately the fragility of the euro zone economy was
underlined by shrinking construction output which fell 2 0
percent on the month in May for an 8 0 percent annual decline
But the positive contribution from trade in the first two
months of the second quarter could limit the overall contraction
of the economy in April June after a record 2 5 percent
quarterly fall in the first quarter
Probably the contribution from trade to gross domestic
product might not be as negative as expected earlier said
Juergen Michels economist at Citigroup
Nevertheless the second quarter is likely to show another
fall overall in GDP probably by around 0 5 percent
quarter on quarter he said The European Commission expects a
0 6 percent contraction
Detailed trade data for May was not yet available but a
breakdown for January April showed a sharp fall in the deficit
in energy but also a smaller surplus in manufactured goods
The euro zone s trade deficit with China eased in
January April to 32 8 billion euros from 34 7 billion in the
same period of 2008 while the trade deficit with energy exporter
Russia more than halved to 7 2 billion euros
Editing by Dale Hudson |
WMB | Djokovic adds Adelaide event to Australian Open preparations | Reuters World number two Novak Djokovic will play in the inaugural Adelaide International tennis competition in January ahead of his Australian Open title defense tournament organizers said on Wednesday
Djokovic will start his competitive preparation for the new season at the Mubadala World Tennis Championship in Abu Dhabi from Dec 19 21 before representing Serbia in the inaugural ATP Cup in Australia in early January
The 32 year old Serb who beat Rafa Nadal to claim a record seventh Australian Open title earlier this year will then arrive in Adelaide for the combined WTA and ATP tournament from Jan 12 18
The women s field will feature American seven time Grand Slam winner Venus Williams NYSE WMB alongside world number one Ash Barty Simona Halep Petra Kvitova and Kiki Bertens
Novak and Venus are amongst the all time greats of our sport and we can t wait to see them right here in Adelaide tournament director Alistair MacDonald said in a statement
The Australian Open the year s first grand slam will be held at Melbourne Park from Jan 20 Feb 2 |
WMB | Stocks back to risk on after Trump trade war scare | By Julien Ponthus LONDON Reuters European stocks recovered on Wednesday from their losses the day before when U S President Donald Trump surprised world markets by saying a trade deal with China could wait until after the 2020 presidential election in November Morning gains became a rally when Bloomberg citing unidentified sources said the United States and China were in fact moving closer to agreeing on the amount of tariffs that would be rolled back in phase one of a trade deal While Trump had dashed hoped for a preliminary agreement and triggered a sell off in stocks on Wall Street and in Asia the Bloomberg report caused a brutal swing that took traders by surprise There are playing with the nerves of investors said Mikael Jacoby a senior equity sales trader at Oddo Securities adding there was a sense of fatigue and frustration watching markets swing on the basis of headlines and tweets One day they will guide positively another negatively Jacoby said noting that markets could be expected to continue their up and down moves until a trade agreement is reached Fresh U S tariffs on Argentina and Brazil plus a threat to impose duties on French goods are fuelling fears that risks are tilting toward an escalation of the crisis The pan European equity index STOXX 600 STOXX which had slumped 2 2 since the beginning of the month was up 1 Futures markets were signaling a Wall Street opening in positive territory Before the Bloomberg report European trading showed little reaction when data indicated euro zone business activity stayed near stall speed last month Manufacturing continued to drag on the dominant services industry Euro zone government bond yields yo yoed in early trading but speculation on a possible U S China agreement pushed 10 year German Bund yields up 1 basis point to 0 337 DE10YT RR Yields across the euro area followed suit rising by 1 to 2 bps In the United States the 10 year Treasury yield jumped by 1 75 then fell back to about 1 74 TOO COMPLACENT The latest trade war scare ended a rally that had lifted the S P 500 since early October when top diplomats from China and the United States met and outlined an initial agreement that Trump said he hoped could be sealed within weeks U S Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said that if no substantial progress was made soon another round of duties on Chinese imports including cell phones laptops and toys would take effect on Dec 15 The U S House of Representatives passed a bill proposing a stronger response to a crackdown on Muslims in western China drawing swift condemnation from Beijing on Wednesday to add another layer of tension Beijing s handling of unrest in Hong Kong has also drawn criticism from Washington The market was too complacent thinking both superpowers would be able to compartmentalize these issues away from the broader trade narrative Stephen Innes chief Asia market strategist at AxiTrader said in a note In currency markets the euro retreated against the dollar to 1 1068 EUR The Japanese yen and Swiss franc seen as safe havens were down 0 1 and 0 2 respectively Gold XAU rose 0 4 to 1 482 9 per ounce
Brent crude LCOc1 futures were up 0 58 at 61 17 a barrel U S West Texas Intermediate crude CLc1 gained 0 52 to 56 39 per barrel |
WMB | A decade in showbiz MeToo Oscar drama and star studded weddings | LONDON Reuters A showbiz decade marked by the emergence of the MeToo movement drama at Oscar time and a clutch of star studded royal weddings is drawing to a close Following are selected highlights 2010 Kathryn Bigelow becomes the first woman to win best director at the Oscars for The Hurt Locker a low budget Iraq war drama that also beats blockbuster Avatar directed by ex husband James Cameron to the best picture award Model Naomi Campbell testifies at former Liberian leader Charles Taylor s war crimes trial saying she was given dirty looking pebbles but did not know if they were blood diamonds Fashion designer Alexander McQueen and actors Dennis Hopper and Tony Curtis die 2011 Britain s Prince William marries Kate Middleton Designer John Galliano loses his job at fashion house Christian Dior after a widely shared video shows him hurling anti Semitic abuse in a Paris bar Michael Jackson s personal doctor Conrad Murray is convicted of involuntary manslaughter in the singer s 2009 death from a fatal dose of the powerful anaesthetic propofol Actress Elizabeth Taylor and singer Amy Winehouse die 2012 Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie get engaged Beyonce and rapper Jay Z welcome their first child daughter Blue Ivy Actress Katie Holmes files for divorce from Tom Cruise after nearly six years of marriage Singers Whitney Houston and Robin Gibb die 2013 William and Kate welcome their first child son George as do reality TV star Kim Kardashian and rapper Kanye West who name their daughter North Singer Miley Cyrus takes the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards in a latex bikini and twerks with a foam finger during a performance with Robin Thicke sparking a media furor Singer Lou Reed actors Peter O Toole Paul Walker James Gandolfini and Cory Monteith die 2014 Jolie and Pitt tie the knot in France George Clooney marries human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin in Venice and Kardashian and West wed in Florence Actors Robin Williams NYSE WMB Philip Seymour Hoffman and comedienne Joan Rivers die 2015 Comedian Bill Cosby is criminally charged with indecent assault against one woman after dozens accuse him of sexual misconduct dating back decades He denies the allegations Former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner stepfather of Kim Kardashian becomes the most high profile American to publicly come out as a transgender woman taking the new name Caitlyn Jenner Johnny Depp marries Amber Heard Actors Omar Sharif and Leonard Nimoy and director Wes Craven die 2016 Director Spike Lee and actress Jada Pinkett Smith boycott the Oscars because no black actors are nominated for a second straight year The ensuing uproar leads the Academy of Motion Pictures to expand membership to more women and people of color Jolie and Pitt split Heard files for divorce from Depp Kardashian is robbed of millions of dollars of jewelry at gunpoint in Paris Music stars David Bowie Prince and George Michael and actors Alan Rickman Carrie Fisher and Gene Wilder die 2017 A blunder overshadows the Oscars as La La Land is wrongly named best picture African American drama Moonlight is the actual winner PricewaterhouseCoopers which oversees the ballots says presenter Warren Beatty had been given the wrong envelope The New York Times and the New Yorker publish accounts by numerous women accusing film producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual misconduct fuelling the MeToo movement across entertainment politics and business Weinstein denies any non consensual sex A suicide bomber kills 22 people at the end of an Ariana Grande concert at Manchester Arena Grande later holds a benefit concert for the victims After winning six Grammys five years earlier for smash hit album 21 Adele triumphs again taking five awards for follow up 25 Actors John Hurt Roger Moore and Bill Paxton and musician Chuck Berry die 2018 Cosby becomes the first celebrity to be convicted of sexual abuse since the MeToo movement began Weinstein is arrested in New York and charged with rape and sexual assault He will stand trial in January 2020 on charges involving two of the more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct He denies any non consensual sex Britain s Prince Harry marries U S actress Meghan Markle Singer Aretha Franklin actor Burt Reynolds comicbook supremo Stan Lee designer Hubert de Givenchy and chef Anthony Bourdain die 2019 Documentary Leaving Neverland in which two men say they were abused as children by Michael Jackson renews scrutiny of the singer s legacy Jackson s estate calls it a rehash of dated and discredited allegations Prosecutors drop a sex assault case against Oscar winner Kevin Spacey after the alleged victim refuses to testify Harry and Meghan welcome their first child Archie Hit medieval drama Game of Thrones wraps up after eight seasons The ending divides fans The Rolling Stones temporarily postpone their North American tour after singer Mick Jagger undergoes heart surgery
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld actors Doris Day Peter Fonda Carol Channing and Luke Perry and Nobel Prize winning author Toni Morrison die |
WMB | Little wiggle room as Ukraine Russia leaders meet for crunch Paris talks | This story corrects date in dateline By John Irish and Matthias Williams NYSE WMB PARIS KIEV Reuters Ukrainian and Russian leaders will try to seal a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine and agree on prisoner swaps when they meet next week but with Kiev politically constrained and Moscow unlikely to bend the prospects for peace remain bleak diplomats said Volodymyr Zelenskiy and Vladimir Putin hold their first face to face talks on Dec 9 in Paris with the French and German leaders more than three years since the countries heads of state last met It comes after a slight easing of tensions Over 13 000 people have been killed in the more than five year old conflict in east Ukraine between pro Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces There has been little sign of a peaceful solution despite a ceasefire agreement signed in February 2015 in Minsk Zelenskiy won a landslide election victory in April promising to end the simmering conflict but facing pressure from his opposition he is wary of conceding too much to Moscow If we start discussing the real political military and security issues namely withdrawal of some troops on the line of contact the question of local elections and the status of Donbass region you see that the two leaders don t have a lot of room for manoeuvre said a senior French diplomat Relations between Ukraine and Russia collapsed following Moscow s annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014 which prompted Western sanctions Key to the accords are elections in Donbass but both sides accuse each other of failing to stick to the deal which also includes restoring Kiev s control over the whole border with Russia and the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from the conflict zone Our main expectation for NormandySummit and any other formats is what I call RUxit we want Russi and Russian forces to leave Ukraine Ukraine s Foreign Minister Vadym Prystaiko said on Twitter on Tuesday Vladimir Frolov a former senior Russian diplomat said he saw little chance of a major breakthrough in Paris describing the positions as irreconcilable Zelenskiy is going to hit two walls one in Paris and one afterwards the wall of Russian intransigence and the wall of Ukrainian public unwillingness to endorse humiliating compromises with Russia Frolov said Moscow does not care about sanctions relief it cares about meeting its strategic objectives in Ukraine and a confederate Ukrainian state that Kiev does not fully control he said Calling it a test barometer to see where both sides stood another French diplomat said progress on a ceasefire and prisoner swaps would be a good basis to move forward The summit also comes within the wider context of Europe s relations with Russia French President Emmanuel Macron has sought a reset with Moscow something that has unnerved eastern European Union partners It can t just be about Ukraine It has to be about the Russia West U S conflict otherwise the Russians don t have the incentives to resolve things because Ukraine is too valuable a chip said a former senior U S official |
WMB | NBA roundup Bucks win streak hits 13 | Giannis Antetokounmpo poured in 35 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 28 minutes and the visiting Milwaukee Bucks extended their winning streak to 13 games by rolling past the Detroit Pistons 127 103 on Wednesday
Khris Middleton had 17 points eight rebounds and five assists while Eric Bledsoe contributed 13 points six rebounds and six assists Robin Lopez and Ersan Ilyasova each had 10 points off the bench for the Bucks
Andre Drummond led the Pistons with 23 points 14 rebounds and five assists Langston Galloway scored 20 points and Blake Griffin had 16 points and 10 rebounds but shot just 4 for 17 from the field Derrick Rose added 14 points
The Bucks won their 10th consecutive matchup against their Central Division opponent Milwaukee swept the four game regular season series and a first round playoff series against Detroit last season and the Bucks have won the first two games of this season s four game series
Magic 128 Suns 114
Aaron Gordon scored a season high 32 points and hit all five of his 3 point attempts and host Orlando continued its offensive roll in beating Phoenix
Reserve Terrence Ross had 22 points and three threes Evan Fournier had 21 points and three threes and Markelle Fultz added 13 points for Orlando The Magic posted a season high point total for the second night in a row and have won for the fourth time in five games
Frank Kaminsky had a season high 23 points and Devin Booker put up 17 points for the Suns Phoenix which has lost four of five will play the second of back to back games in New Orleans on Thursday
Celtics 112 Heat 93
Jaylen Brown scored 22 of his 31 points in the second half Kemba Walker added 28 and Boston cruised past visiting Miami
Jayson Tatum had 19 points and Robert Williams NYSE WMB III came up with 10 rebounds as the Celtics won for the fourth time in their past five games
Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 37 points and Kelly Olynyk chipped in 12 for the Heat who had a three game winning streak snapped
Lakers 121 Jazz 96
Anthony Davis scored 26 points and LeBron James added 20 points as Los Angeles got off to a fast start and held off Utah in Salt Lake City
James who leads the NBA in assists added 12 more to his season total Rajon Rondo contributed 14 points and 12 assists for Los Angeles
Donovan Mitchell had 29 points and Rudy Gobert added 13 points and 10 rebounds as the Jazz lost at home for just the second time in 10 games Bojan Bogdanovic had 23 points for Utah
Pacers 107 Thunder 100
T J Warren scored 24 points to lead Indianapolis host Oklahoma City He was one of seven Pacers to finish in double figures a continuation of the balanced scoring that has helped the Pacers win seven of their past eight games
Three former Thunder players were among those scoring in double figures for Indiana Domantas Sabonis 17 points Doug McDermott 14 off the bench and Jeremy Lamb 13
Steven Adams led the way for Oklahoma City with 20 points making all eight of his shots from the field He also grabbed nine rebounds five on the offensive end Danilo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder each had 18 points
Nets 130 Hawks 118
Veteran Garrett Temple scored a season high 27 points one of four Brooklyn players to tally 20 or more as the Nets won at Atlanta
Spencer Dinwiddie scored 24 points and added six rebounds and five assists former Atlanta player Taurean Prince scored 23 and Jarrett Allen added 20 points and 13 rebounds It was the sixth win in the last eight games for the Nets
Atlanta was led by Trae Young with 39 points and 10 rebounds Young shot 13 for 23 from the field and made five 3 pointers Rookie Cam Reddish scored a career high 25 points and center Damian Jones set a career high in scoring for the second straight game with 20
Trail Blazers 127 Kings 116
CJ McCollum scored 33 points and blocked a career high four shots to lead host Portland past Sacramento Damian Lillard added 24 points and 10 assists as the Trail Blazers won for the fourth time in the past five games
Hassan Whiteside scored 22 points on 8 of 10 shooting grabbed 16 rebounds blocked three shots and delivered a career best seven assists for the Trail Blazers Carmelo Anthony scored 20 points and Kent Bazemore had 15 off the bench
Richaun Holmes scored a career best 28 points on 11 of 14 shooting and collected 10 rebounds for the Kings Buddy Hield recorded 23 points seven rebounds and seven assists for Sacramento which dropped its 12th consecutive game in Portland
Bulls 106 Grizzlies 99
Zach LaVine scored 25 points on 7 for 13 shooting and host Chicago never trailed en route to sending Memphis to its eighth loss in nine games
Wendell Carter Jr scored 16 points and grabbed 13 rebounds for his 12th double double of the season Lauri Markkanen finished with 15 points and Tomas Satoransky added 13 to go along with eight assists The Bulls won consecutive games for the first time this season
Jonas Valanciunas scored 32 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the Grizzlies Jae Crowder and Jaren Jackson Jr finished with 15 points apiece
Hornets 106 Warriors 91
Devonte Graham matched a single game franchise record with 10 3 pointers and racked up 33 points as host Charlotte defeated Golden State
Backcourt mate Terry Rozier added 25 points as the Hornets won for just the third time in the last 10 games It marked the first time since Graham joined the starting lineup that he and Rozier each reached the 20 point mark in the same game
D Angelo Russell returning from a nine game absence caused by a thumb injury had 18 points Eric Paschall added 16 and Alec Burks had 15 for the Warriors who have lost on the first four stops of a five game road trip and 14 of 16 games overall
Mavericks 121 Timberwolves 114
Red hot shooting from 3 point range in the fourth quarter powered Dallas to its ninth win in the last 10 games as it outpaced visiting Minnesota
Dwight Powell buoyed the Mavericks before the late game push scoring 24 points Luka Doncic scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson gave Dallas a spark off the bench with a career high 16
Robert Covington added 22 points for the Timberwolves and rookie Jarrett Culver added 11 points
Field Level Media |
WMB | Billionaire Lawrence Stroll seeks big stake in Aston Martin report | LONDON Reuters Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll owner of Formula One team Racing Point is preparing a bid for a major stake in Aston Martin L AML Autocar magazine reported sending the luxury sports car maker s battered shares up 17 on Thursday
Aston Martin the drive of choice for fictional British secret agent James Bond has seen its shares slump since its flotation in October 2018 as sales have failed to meet expectations
Stroll who is the father of Formula One driver Lance Stroll is heading up a consortium looking to take a major shareholding in the British company Autocar and the racefans net website reported on Thursday
Racefans net said Racing Point could be rebranded as Aston Martin if Stroll succeeded in taking a controlling stake
Aston Martin declined to comment and Racing Point said Stroll was unavailable for comment
The carmaker s shares were up nearly 17 at 5 88 pounds 7 54 at 1414 GMT valuing the business at about 1 3 billion pounds but still far below their initial public offering IPO price of 19 pounds
As the car industry consolidates through deals such as the Peugeot Fiat merger Aston has said it does not need to belong to a bigger automotive group pointing to the success of stand alone rival Ferrari MI RACE
But the sale of a stake could help boost the company s prospects as it seeks to turn around a poor performance which pushed it to a 92 3 million pound 118 4 million loss in the first nine months of the year
FORMULA ONE LINK UP
In August Aston s biggest investor Strategic European Investment Group acquired an additional 3 stake in the company
A month later Aston raised 150 million in debt at 12 interest hiking its borrowing costs to bolster its balance sheet for the launch of its DBX sports utility vehicle next year with the option for another 100 million
The company s hopes rest on almost doubling sales with its first SUV which enters production in 2020 particularly by attracting more female buyers to the brand
Aston is also the title sponsor of the Honda powered Red Bull team former world champions who won three races this year with Dutch 22 year old Max Verstappen
Aston will be competing in the World Endurance Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours with its Valkyrie hypercar from 2021
Mercedes parent Daimler DE DAIGn also has a small stake in Aston
Stroll a collector of vintage Ferraris has been involved in Formula One and motor racing for years and also owns Canada s Mont Tremblant circuit in Quebec
He made his money through investing in fashion brands such as Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors but came to wider prominence in motor racing circles after bankrolling his son s career
Lance Stroll 21 moved to Racing Point from Williams NYSE WMB this season after a consortium led by his father bought the Force India team which was co owned by financially troubled Indian magnate Vijay Mallya and had fallen into administration
The Silverstone based team which uses Mercedes engines finished seventh overall this season but is planning a factory expansion
1 0 7794 pounds |
WMB | MLB notebook Mariners trade C Narvaez to Brewers | The Milwaukee Brewers acquired catcher Omar Narvaez from the Seattle Mariners on Thursday for minor league pitcher Adam Hill and a draft pick
Narvaez 27 gives the Brewers a catching option after losing Yasmani Grandal to the Chicago White Sox in free agency
Narvaez had a career season for the Mariners in 2019 hitting 278 with 22 home runs and 55 RBIs in 132 games and is considered an offensive catcher He threw out 18 percent of baserunners attempting to steal last season
A left handed hitter Narvaez belted 20 of his 22 home runs in 2019 against right handed pitchers He could be ticketed for a platoon role with right handed hitting catcher Manny Pina in Milwaukee
The Houston Astros traded outfielder Jake Marisnick to the New York Mets for two prospects
Marisnick 28 batted 233 with 10 homers 34 RBIs and 10 steals in 120 games for the American League champion Astros in 2019 He owns a career 227 average with 54 home runs 178 RBIs and 73 stolen bases in 685 games with the Miami Marlins 2013 14 and Astros 2014 19
Houston acquired 24 year old left hander Blake Taylor and 19 year old outfielder Kenedy Corona in the trade
The Cincinnati Reds officially signed All Star infielder Mike Moustakas to a four year 64 million contract the largest free agent deal in franchise history
We welcome Mike and his family to the organization Reds president of baseball operations Dick Williams NYSE WMB said in a team statement We know he will have an immediate and significant impact on our team and is going to help us in our relentless pursuit of championships
Moustakas 31 earned his third career All Star selection and helped the Milwaukee Brewers reach the postseason in 2019 He batted 254 with 35 homers and 87 RBIs in 143 games starting 93 games at third base and 40 games at second base
Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Patriots QB Brady limited in practice | Though they remain atop the AFC East with a 10 2 record the New England Patriots continue to experience setbacks The latest involves 42 year old quarterback Tom Brady who was limited in practice Thursday due to toe and right elbow injuries
Brady s toe ailment reportedly is a new development but his limited participation is a step back from Wednesday when he was listed on the injury report as a full participant
Among the Patriots on Thursday s injury report only center Ted Karras knee and defensive lineman Byron Cowart head were listed as non participants On Sunday the Patriots host the Kansas City Chiefs in a battle of top contenders for the AFC title
A week ago the flu bug contributed to 17 players landing on their final injury report before the road game against the Houston Texans which the Patriots lost 28 22
Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner said that he will miss Sunday s game against the Arizona Cardinals as he continues to battle a shoulder injury
Conner also told reporters that he isn t sure when he will return The game against Arizona will mark the third straight and fifth in six games that Conner has missed since being injured against the Miami Dolphins on Oct 28
Meanwhile wide receiver JuJu Smith Schuster missed another practice with a knee injury and will likely miss his third straight game
Although Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen did not practice head coach Mike Zimmer likes his chances of playing Sunday against the Detroit Lions
Thielen has missed three straight games and four in the past five due to the hamstring injury he initially sustained at Detroit on Oct 20 Trying to come back against Kansas City in Week 9 he managed only six plays before returning to the sideline in the first quarter
Also missing practice Thursday was offensive tackle Riley Reiff who sat out the second half of Monday night s game against the Seattle Seahawks after sustaining a concussion
Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield was back at practice after a one day absence to rest his bruised right hand
Mayfield hit his hand on the helmet of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree after he completed his throwing motion late in the first half of Sunday s 20 13 loss before returning in the second half He passed for 196 yards with a touchdown to Kareem Hunt and an interception
Denver Broncos linebacker Von Miller told reporters he has an MCL sprain and could miss his second straight game when they visit the Houston Texans on Sunday
Last week against the Los Angeles Chargers the seven time Pro Bowl selection sat out the first game he had missed since the 2013 season
The Jacksonville Jaguars placed star linebacker Myles Jack on season ending injured reserve with a knee injury
A second round pick out of UCLA in 2016 Jack missed the first game of his four year NFL career in last Sunday s 28 11 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jack 24 finishes the season with 66 tackles and one interception in 11 games
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri has battled knee pain all season but he will await results from medical tests before determining his status for Sunday s road game against Tampa Bay
The 46 year old is in the midst of the worst season of his career As insurance the Colts claimed kicker Chase McLaughlin off waivers from the San Francisco 49ers on Wednesday
Dallas Cowboys starting nose tackle Antwaun Woods is facing charges of marijuana possession and evidence tampering police said after he was arrested during a traffic stop Tuesday night in Frisco Texas
The 26 year old was charged with possession of more than 2 ounces but less than 4 ounces of marijuana Police also cited Woods for possession of drug paraphernalia He is no longer in custody
Colin Kaepernick s passes from his November workout in Georgia have not helped him to land an NFL job but did help a wide receiver who caught some of those throws
The Washington Redskins signed wide receiver Jordan Veasy to their practice squad after the Cal product had tried to give Kaepernick a boost
The Kansas City Chiefs placed Darrel Williams NYSE WMB on injured reserve with a hamstring issue ending the running back s season
Defensive back Alex Brown was moved from the practice squad to the 53 man active roster while wide receiver Gehrig Dieter was added to the practice squad
Redskins running back Adrian Peterson is one of eight finalists for the NFL s Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award which goes to the player who most exemplifies outstanding sportsmanship on the field
The other finalists are Jaguars defensive end Calais Campbell Chargers linebacker Thomas Davis Colts receiver T Y Hilton Patriots special teamer Matthew Slater Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley and Los Angeles Rams safety Eric Weddle
The Cardinals claimed tight end Dan Arnold off waivers from the New Orleans Saints In a corresponding move Arizona placed defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard on injured reserve
Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Jets RB Bell illness misses practice again | New York Jets running back Le Veon Bell was sent home and missed his second consecutive day of practice due to illness
His status for Sunday s game against the Miami Dolphins is in doubt and he is listed as questionable on the injury report With 589 rushing yards on 183 carries Bell s 3 2 yard average is a career low His total of 55 catches ranks second on the Jets this season
I think I ll have more information probably by Saturday head coach Adam Gase said We ll see how he feels The biggest thing was get him checked out and get him out of the building so nobody else gets sick
Illness also has affected tight end Ryan Griffin and cornerback Maurice Canady this week but they re expected to play Sunday
Without a kicker the New England Patriots are ready to welcome back Nick Folk if he can show he is recovered from an emergency appendectomy last week according to an NFL Network report
Folk was reportedly back at practice with the Patriots on Friday trying to show he is healthy enough to deliver in Sunday s key game against the Kansas City Chiefs But he remained a free agent at the start of the day
After three games as the Patriots kicker Folk was cut last week after his appendix procedure with speculation that he would return when healthy New England brought in Kai Forbath to kick against the Houston Texans on Sunday but he was cut after going 1 of 1 on field goals and 1 of 2 on extra points in a 28 22 defeat
Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle has agreed to a three year contract extension the team announced
Financial terms were not disclosed by the Colts but NFL Network s Ian Rapoport reported the extension is worth more than 21 million plus incentives that boost the contract s total to 24 million
Doyle had six catches for 73 yards and a touchdown in the Colts 31 17 loss to the Tennessee Titans on Sunday He has 36 receptions for 377 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games this season
Oakland Raiders right tackle Trent Brown has been ruled out of Sunday s game against the Tennessee Titans the team announced
Brown sustained a pectoral injury in last Sunday s 40 9 loss to the Chiefs
Brandon Parker will start in Brown s place He will be backed up by David Sharpe
San Francisco 49ers defensive end Dee Ford will be back in the lineup Sunday vs the New Orleans Saints head coach Kyle Shanahan said
Ford has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury and was a limited participant in practice this week but Shanahan said the six year veteran was on pace to play this weekend in New Orleans
Chiefs running back Damien Williams NYSE WMB has been ruled out for Sunday s road game against the New England Patriots
Williams injured his ribs in Kansas City s 24 17 victory over the Los Angeles Chargers in Mexico City on Nov 18 and has not played since
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will miss his fifth straight game this Sunday when Detroit 3 8 1 visits the Minnesota Vikings 8 4
The 31 year old Stafford is still recovering from a back injury sustained during the Lions Week 9 loss at the Oakland Raiders
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri and wide receiver T Y Hilton have been ruled out for Sunday s road game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Vinatieri who is dealing with an ailing knee will miss his first game due to injury since 2009 Hilton is nursing a calf injury
Carolina Panthers tight end Greg Olsen has been ruled out for Sunday s road game against the Atlanta Falcons
Olsen sustained a concussion on a helmet to helmet hit by Washington Redskins defensive end Ryan Anderson in the third quarter of the Panthers 29 21 setback last Sunday
Field Level Media |
JPM | JPMorgan shares fall after Dimon disclosure of cancer | NEW YORK Reuters JPMorgan Chase Co s shares fell as much as 1 3 percent Wednesday after Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon said late Tuesday he had been diagnosed with throat cancer
The condition is curable Dimon said in a memo to shareholders and employees and he will undergo radiation and chemotherapy treatment for about eight weeks
During that time Dimon said his business travel would be limited but he would be able to continue to be actively involved in our business
JPMorgan s shares fell the most of any of the 24 stocks in the KBW index of bank stocks The stock was down more than 1 percent at 56 90 in midday trading
Rafferty Capital Markets bank analyst Dick Bove said in a report Wednesday Dimon was unlikely to retain his chairman title when he returns from treatment and would likely spread more of his daily duties among other executives at the bank
JPMorgan Chase simply cannot present itself to the world as if it were a one man show Bove wrote
Sources have previously said the bank has many senior executives who could step into Dimon s role if needed
Potential internal successors include the head of the corporate and investment bank Daniel Pinto chief operating officer Matt Zames consumer banking head Gordon Smith and asset management chief Mary Erdoes The bank has a short medium and long term succession plan in place a source told Reuters on Tuesday
JPMorgan lead director Lee Raymond said at the bank s shareholder meeting in May last year that the board intended to have a viable successor to Dimon but he hoped Dimon would stay at JPMorgan far into the future
I have no illusions that we will be able to clone Jamie Raymond said at the time
According to the National Cancer Institute the survival rate for mouth and throat cancers diagnosed at any stage is 63 percent after five years I feel very good now and will let all of you know if my health situation changes Dimon said in his memo
Dimon has been JPMorgan s chief executive since 2006 He arrived at the bank via its 2004 merger with Bank One Corporation where he had been chairman and CEO
Reporting by Peter Rudegeair Editing by Bernadette Baum |
JPM | JPMorgan s Dimon plans to use vacation for cancer treatment | By David Henry and Peter Rudegeair NEW YORK Reuters Jamie Dimon chairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase Co N JPM plans to be out of the office for at least half of his planned two month course of radiation treatment and chemotherapy for throat cancer a spokesman said on Wednesday Dimon s four weeks of vacation could begin shortly after JPMorgan reports quarterly results on July 15 depending in part on how doctors set the details of his course of treatment said spokesman Joseph Evangelisti Dimon usually takes off about three weeks in August traditionally one of the slower times of the year for business Dimon first told employees and shareholders about his cancer late Tuesday in a memo sent shortly after a conclusive visit to his doctor He had been through several days of tests Dimon said in the memo that the treatment will stop him from traveling but that he had been advised that he would be able to continue to be actively involved in the business We will continue to run the company as normal Dimon said JPMorgan shares closed down 1 percent on the New York Stock Exchange at 56 97 The decline was the steepest of the 24 stocks in the KBW index of bank stocks which lost 0 1 percent Rafferty Capital Markets bank analyst Dick Bove said in a report Wednesday Dimon was unlikely to retain his chairman title when he returns from treatment and would likely spread more of his daily duties among other executives at the bank JPMorgan Chase simply cannot present itself to the world as if it were a one man show Bove wrote Dimon has said in the past the bank has many senior executives who could step into his role if he were hit suddenly by a bus Senior executives on the bank s operating committee include potential successors to Dimon such as Daniel Pinto the head of the corporate and investment bank Matt Zames chief operating officer Gordon Smith consumer banking head and Mary Erdoes asset management chief The company has not named anyone to act in Dimon s place during his treatment JPMorgan lead director Lee Raymond said at the bank s shareholder meeting in May last year that the board intended to have a viable successor to Dimon but he hoped Dimon would stay at JPMorgan far into the future CAUGHT EARLY On days when Dimon will undergo treatments he expects to be able to go to his office which is close to his home as well as his hospital Memorial Sloan Kettering Executives are used to dealing with him by phone email and video conference because he usually travels frequently
In Tuesday s memo Dimon quoted his doctors as having said his prognosis is excellent because the cancer was caught early It is confined to the original site and to adjacent lymph nodes on the right side of his neck he said According to the National Cancer Institute the survival rate for mouth and throat cancers diagnosed at any stage is 63 percent after five years Reporting by David Henry and Peter Rudegeair in New York Editing by Bernadette Baum Bernard Orr |
JPM | Is There A Succession Plan At JPMorgan | By The revelation earlier this week by Jamie Dimon CEO of J P Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM that he has throat cancer has sparked questions about the Wall Street bank s succession plan and will likely rekindle the debate about separating the roles of chief executive and chairman both of which Dimon has held since 2006
Dimon revealed on Tuesday that he has been diagnosed with throat cancer but noted that he will be able to continue to be actively involved in our business and we will continue to run the company as normal the Wall Street Journal reported And though Dimon has said the prognosis for his throat cancer is excellent and the illness is curable his absence from the company for eight weeks to undergo treatment is raising questions over who is ready to take over from him if necessary
The board will find out over the next few weeks if the treatment will lead to his return to his duties at the bank or result in a leave of absence and a change in assignment Deborah Cornwall managing director at leadership and governance consultancy Corlund Group told the Journal
A person familiar with the bank s plan told the Journal that Gordon Smith head of the bank s retail operations and Mary Callahan Erdoes head of its asset management division are leading candidates to step up to a bigger role if the bank needs to look for a new leader
Other candidates suitable for a long term replacement include chief operating officer Matt Zames head of commercial banking Doug Petno corporate and investment banking head Daniel Pinto chief financial officer Marianne Lake and the bank s chief risk officer Ashley Bacon the report said citing a source
There have been calls in the past to separate the roles of CEO and chairman at JPMorgan after the bank posted a 6 billion trading loss in 2012 The proposal which was unsuccessful at that time could be now renewed
Janet Tavakoli president of Tavakoli Structured Finance said in a note Given the financial crisis and best practices for corporate governance it s remarkable that a bank of the size and systemic importance of JPMorgan finds itself in a position of having one man as both chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon s recent news highlights the risk in that folly according to the Journal
Dimon recently announced that he plans to continue as the bank s chairman and CEO for another five years |
JPM | J P Morgan moves up Fed tightening forecast after jobs report | Reuters J P Morgan moved forward its forecast for a Federal Reserve monetary policy tightening on Thursday citing the decline in the unemployment rate positive jobs data and firming core inflation
J P Morgan said after the bullish U S jobs report on Thursday the bank sees the Fed s interest rate lift off occurring in the third quarter of 2015 up from the Wall Street bank s original projection of the fourth quarter of that year The firm s well known chief U S economist Michael Feroli added in the report that after the June jobs report a second quarter tightening next year is plausible Reporting by Michael Flaherty |
JPM | Ex JPMorgan trader to challenge UK watchdog over London Whale decision | By Clare Hutchison and Kirstin Ridley
LONDON Reuters A former JPMorgan N JPM trader charged in the United States over his alleged role in the 6 2 billion London Whale trading scandal has won the right to a legal challenge of the British regulator s decision to drop its investigation into him
Lawyers said the trader Julien Grout might want the investigation to continue in Britain as its findings could affect the case against him in the United States
A High Court judge ruled on Tuesday that Grout could bring a so called judicial review of the Financial Conduct Authority s FCA decision to end its probe before he was able to respond to the allegations
Richard Lissack a barrister for Grout said the FCA dropped its investigation because of pending U S charges The review would challenge the rationality of that decision Lissack said
The London Whale was a nickname for Bruno Iksil Grout s colleague in the London division of JPMorgan s Chief Investment Office The division made some large bets on derivatives markets that went sour stacking up losses of more than 6 2 billion
JPMorgan was fined more than 1 billion by U S and British regulators in relation to the loss Grout who is based in France and his former supervisor Javier Martin Artajo face charges in the United States including wire fraud and conspiracy to falsify books and records Both deny any wrongdoing
Iksil avoided charges by striking an immunity deal with U S prosecutors in exchange for cooperation
Grout is also one of three men bringing cases against the FCA relating to a statement it published alongside the fine it imposed on JPMorgan over the London Whale scandal in September 2013 He alleges he can be identified in the statement
Former JPMorgan executive Achilles Macris has also challenged the FCA over the London Whale case saying he should have been given the right to respond to allegations set out in the regulator s public statement on the fine
The FCA has said it did not give Macris these so called third party rights because it did not think he could be identified in the statement But a tribunal found against the regulator in April
Editingn by Jane Merriman |
JPM | Whiting to buy Kodiak for 3 8 billion create No 1 Bakken producer | By Ernest Scheyder and Liana B Baker Reuters Whiting Petroleum Corp N WLL said on Sunday it would acquire Kodiak Oil Gas Corp N KOG for 3 8 billion in stock to become the largest producer in North Dakota s Bakken shale oil formations eclipsing Harold Hamm s Continental Resources Inc N CLR By surpassing Continental Whiting is signaling its desire to become the preeminent player in what is considered one of North America s most prolific shale formations where more than 1 million barrels of oil are extracted daily It s going to allow our production at the combined company to grow faster than Whiting standalone did before Whiting Chief Executive James Volker said in an interview Whiting said the deal valued at 6 billion when Kodiak s net debt of 2 2 billion is included is expected to close in the fourth quarter Kodiak shareholders will receive 0 177 share of Whiting stock for each share of Kodiak common stock they hold representing a value of 13 90 per share based on the closing price of Whiting shares on July 11 That would be a 5 1 percent premium to the volume weighted average price of Kodiak shares during the last 60 trading days Whiting s Volker added that the combined company will have greater access to capital which will accelerate development of oil production The deal is expected to be accretive to the combined shareholders for cash flow earnings per share and production per share for 2015 and beyond The companies combined output from the Bakken Three Forks formations in the first quarter was more than 107 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with 855 000 combined net acres and almost 3 500 net future drilling locations To compete with Continental which has gobbled up more that 1 million acres of land Whiting had to acquire a smaller North Dakota rival The CEOs said in a joint interview that the merger of the two Denver based companies had been considered for years but came together in the past few months Kodiak s appeal stems from its long standing policy of marketing itself to Wall Street as a pure play bet on North Dakota s oil revolution and CEO Lynn Peterson had made bold and expensive bets to increase production For example Peterson actively touted Kodiak s use of expensive ceramic proppant during the hydraulic fracturing process to hold cracks open in shale rock and extract oil and natural gas While pricey ceramic proppant is considered by Peterson and some others in the industry the best way to increase production Whiting however does not widely use ceramic proppant and it wasn t immediately clear if Whiting would cut costs at Kodiak once the company is absorbed Whiting s management will lead the company while Kodiak s Peterson will join the board along with Kodiak executive James Catlin Whiting s financial advisor was JPMorgan N JPM while
Foley Lardner and Stikeman Elliot provided legal counsel Petrie Partners Securities advised Kodiak while Credit Suisse provided a fairness opinion Dorsey Whitney and Miller Thomson were Kodiak s legal advisers Reporting by Ransdell Pierson Editing by Sandra Maler and Steve Orlofsky |
BMY | Exelixis Cabometyx Gets EU Nod For First Line Kidney Cancer | Exelixis Inc s NASDAQ EXEL European partner Ipsen announced that the European Commission EC has granted approval to Cabometyx cabozantinib for an expanded indication The EC approved Cabometyx 20 mg 40 mg and 60 mg for the first line treatment of adults with intermediate or poor risk advanced renal cell carcinoma RCC a kind of kidney cancer in the European Union
The approval was expected in March The company received positive opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP for the use of Cabometyx for the above indication
The EU approval in the first line setting was based on results of the CABOSUN trial which met its primary endpoint of improving progression free survival compared with Pfizer s NYSE PFE Sutent sunitinib in patients with previously untreated advanced RCC
Cabometyxis already marketed in the EU for advanced RCC in adults following prior vascular endothelial growth factor VEGF targeted therapy In the United States Cabometyx was approved for first line treatment of advanced RCC in December last year approximately two months ahead of the assigned Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date
Cabometyx generated 128 9 million net product revenues in the first quarter of 2018 driven by growth in demand following U S approval in the first lien setting An approval in Europe will further boost Exelixis top line
Per the terms of the collaboration and license agreement with Ipsen Exelixis will receive a milestone payment of 50 million for the EC approval of which about 46 million was recognized as collaboration revenues in the first quarter of 2018 The payment will be made by Ipsen within the next 70 days
Exelixis shares have lost 32 8 over a year wider than the s decline of 3 6
We remind investors that Exelixis entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Ipsen in February 2016 for the commercialization and further development of cabozantinib whereby Ipsen received exclusive commercialization rights for current and potential future cabozantinib indications outside the United States Canada and Japan
Exelixis has also inked agreements with Bristol Myers NYSE BMY and Roche Holding OTC RHHBY to develop cabozantinib in combination with their immunotherapy agents in 2017
Zacks Rank
Exelixis has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
Exelixis Inc Price
Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars
Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge
With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research
It s not the one you think |
WMB | Motor racing Canadian Latifi replaces Kubica at Williams for 2020 | By Abhishek Takle ABU DHABI Reuters Canadian Nicholas Latifi said his dream had come true after Williams NYSE WMB announced on Thursday he would be making his Formula One debut in 2020 as Robert Kubica s replacement The 24 year old who is second in the Formula Two feeder series with two races remaining this weekend is already the British team s reserve and has driven for them in six practice sessions this season For me it s a dream come true and something I ve been working towards for almost half my life Latifi said in a statement ahead of the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix It still feels a bit surreal I don t think it will sink in fully until I m on the grid in Melbourne next year Latifi s appointment alongside Mercedes backed Briton George Russell who made his debut this year fills the last vacant spot on the 2020 grid Nicholas has become an established and well respected member of Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams said We look forward to him stepping up into this new role as we look to fight our way back to the midfield Former world champions Williams are currently last in the overall standings Kubica who made his Formula One comeback this season after a near fatal rally crash in 2011 has scored the team s only point The 34 year old has been outperformed by Russell however and announced in September that he would be leaving the team He has been linked with a move to U S owned Haas in a reserve or simulator driver role Latifi who can bring valuable funding to the team with his billionaire father already having invested in McLaren had been a leading candidate to replace Kubica I can t wait to take the next step forward as a full time race driver he said I don t underestimate the challenge ahead going into F1 as a rookie but I m extremely motivated and determined to give it my all
His confirmation means that Nico Hulkenberg who is being replaced at Renault PA RENA by Frenchman Esteban Ocon for 2020 is now sure to leave the Formula One grid after Sunday s race |
WMB | NBA roundup Davis leads Lakers in New Orleans return | Anthony Davis scored 41 points in his return to New Orleans and the Los Angeles Lakers won their ninth straight game beating the Pelicans 114 110 on Wednesday night
Davis was roundly booed whenever he touched the basketball in the city where he played his first seven seasons before demanding a trade from New Orleans which sent him to the Lakers in July
LeBron James added 29 points and 11 assists as the Lakers improved their league leading record to 16 2 Kyle Kuzma added 16 points
Jrue Holiday had 12 assists and 29 points but just four in the second half as the Pelicans squandered a 16 point third quarter lead Brandon Ingram one of three players Los Angeles traded along with a group of draft choices for Davis had 23 points and 10 rebounds
Clippers 121 Grizzlies 119
Montrezl Harrell tipped in the game winner with 2 3 seconds remaining capping a raucous fourth quarter rally as visiting Los Angeles beat Memphis to earn its seventh straight victory
The Clippers were led by 24 points and 10 rebounds from Harrell and 24 points from Lou Williams NYSE WMB Moe Harkless scored just five points getting the start in place of Kawhi Leonard but provided a win sealing block of Jaren Jackson Jr s shot in the final seconds that would have tied the score
Jonas Valanciunas posted game highs of 30 points and 16 rebounds for Memphis Rookie guard Ja Morant endured a slow scoring start but he scored nine of his 20 points late in the fourth quarter and dished a game high 11 assists for the night
Warriors 104 Bulls 90
Alec Burks scored six of his 23 points in a fourth quarter flurry as Golden State won for just the second time at home all season
Eric Paschall scored a team high 25 points and both Burks and Omari Spellman recorded double doubles for the Warriors who had lost three straight and 10 of their previous 11 games Burks had a nice all around game with 10 rebounds and seven assists Spellman produced 13 points and a game high 11 rebounds
Zach LaVine poured in a game high 36 points for the Bulls Tomas Satoransky added 19 points seven rebounds and a team high seven assists and Wendell Carter Jr grabbed a team high nine rebounds to go with eight points
Trail Blazers 136 Thunder 119
With a hot start and a strong third quarter fueled by their starting lineup Portland picked up a blowout win over visiting Oklahoma City
It was a balanced scoring effort for Portland in its return home from a 2 4 road trip led by 27 points from Damian Lillard CJ McCollum added 22 points Hassan Whiteside 21 points and 16 rebounds and Carmelo Anthony 19 points on 9 of 11 shooting
Abdel Nader came off the Oklahoma City bench to score a team high 23 points Chris Paul added 16 points as the Thunder lost for the fourth time in their past five games
Wizards 140 Suns 132
Bradley Beal scored 35 points and made four 3 pointers and Thomas Bryant tied a season high with 23 points and added nine rebounds as Washington gave up most of a 21 point lead but held on to win at Phoenix
Ish Smith tied a season high with 21 points and had seven assists and Davis Bertens had 16 points including four 3 pointers for the Wizards who rebounded from two of their lowest scoring games of the season by shooting 57 3 percent and making 19 treys
Devin Booker had 27 points and eight assists Ricky Rubio had 18 points and Dario Saric Cam Johnson and Cheick Diallo had 17 points apiece for the Suns who had eight players in double figures
Bucks 111 Hawks 102
Giannis Antetokounmpo posted his 18th consecutive double double to start the season leading Milwaukee past visiting Atlanta for its ninth win in a row
Antetokounmpo scored 30 points and added 10 rebounds and four blocked shots He is the first player since Hall of Famer Bill Walton to start a season with 18 straight double doubles The Bucks also got 16 points from Khris Middleton who returned from a seven game absence caused by a left thigh contusion
Atlanta was led by Jabari Parker who had a career high 25 points in the first half and finished with a season high 33 and 14 rebounds Trae Young added 29 points and four rebounds
Celtics 121 Nets 110
Kemba Walker scored a season high 39 points in his return from a neck sprain as host Boston held off Kyrie Irving less Brooklyn
Jaylen Brown had 22 points and 10 rebounds as six Celtics scored in double figures Boston won for the third time in its last five games
The Nets also placed six scorers in double figures led by Garrett Temple and Joe Harris with 22 and 21 respectively Despite hitting 21 3 pointers as a team Brooklyn saw its four game winning streak end
Hornets 102 Pistons 101
Charlotte finally figured out how to close a game riding a season high 19 points from Bismack Biyombo to a victory against visiting Detroit
The Hornets who dropped three games by fewer than 10 points in a four day span last week had help on Detroit s botched final possession hanging on to snap a five game losing streak
PJ Washington scored 17 points Devonte Graham tallied 16 points and Miles Bridges had 15 for the Hornets who have defeated the Pistons twice this month in home games Graham added a career high 15 assists For Detroit Griffin posted 26 points Kennard notched 16 points and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 21 rebounds
Timberwolves 113 Spurs 101
Andrew Wiggins poured in 26 points as visiting Minnesota defeated slumping San Antonio to capture its second straight game on the road and its first win in the Alamo City since 2013
Karl Anthony Towns scored 23 points and took 14 rebounds for the Timberwolves while Keita Bates Diop added 16 points Okogie had 11 and Gorgui Dieng and Jarrett Culver each scored 10 points for Minnesota
San Antonio which has lost five straight games at home missed seven of its last eight shots from the floor over the final four minutes LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 22 points and DeMar DeRozan scored 20
Magic 116 Cavaliers 104
Evan Fournier scored 19 of his season high 30 points in the first half as Orlando recorded its first road victory topping Cleveland
Fournier made four 3 pointers to highlight his performance for the Magic who lost their first seven road games before winning the finale of their four game trek Jonathan Isaac and Terrence Ross each scored 16 points and Mo Bamba made all five of his 3 point attempts to match Markelle Fultz with 15 points
Collin Sexton scored 20 points on 8 of 14 shooting while playing in his 100th consecutive game to begin his NBA career Cedi Osman scored 14 points and Tristan Thompson added 13 for the Cavaliers who fell for the eighth time in the last nine games
Pacers 121 Jazz 102
T J Warren scored 23 points and Domantas Sabonis added 23 points and 12 rebounds to lead Indiana to a victory over Utah in Indianapolis
Malcolm Brogdon finished with 22 points and eight assists for the Pacers who earned their fourth consecutive win Jeremy Lamb added 18 points eight rebounds and six assists
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points to lead the Jazz who dropped their second straight Donovan Mitchell added 26 points while Rudy Gobert chipped in 14 points and 13 rebounds Gobert returned to the lineup after a two game absence caused by a sprained ankle
76ers 97 Kings 91
Joel Embiid rebounded from the first scoreless game of his career with a game high 33 points leading host Philadelphia past Sacramento
Embiid who shot 0 for 11 on Monday in a loss at Toronto went 10 for 19 against the Kings leading the 76ers to their eighth straight home win Ben Simmons also recorded a double double for Philadelphia with 10 points and 14 rebounds to go with five assists and two steals
Buddy Hield paced the Kings losers of two straight with 22 points
Rockets 117 Heat 108
James Harden made seven 3 pointers and scored 34 points to help Houston cruise past visiting Miami
Russell Westbrook added 27 points nine rebounds and seven assists as Houston halted a three game slide Danuel House Jr scored a career best 23 points to help the Rockets avenge a 129 100 loss to the Heat in Miami on Nov 3
Tyler Herro scored 22 points off the bench for Miami which was without star Jimmy Butler due to illness The loss was just the second in the past eight games for the Heat Miami s Kelly Olynyk added 19 points and Bam Adebayo recorded 17 points 11 rebounds and eight assists
Raptors 126 Knicks 98
Pascal Siakam scored 31 points and grabbed eight rebounds as host Toronto won its eighth straight home game to start the season a franchise record in a blowout of New York
The Raptors have won 15 of their past 16 games against the Knicks including the past seven in a row Siakam who did not play the fourth quarter as the starters were rested finished 5 for 8 on 3 point attempts
Fred VanVleet added 15 points for the Raptors OG Anunoby contributed 13 points and a career best 12 rebounds and Chris Boucher had 13 points and 12 rebounds Julius Randle scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds for the Knicks Toronto born RJ Barrett added 16 points
Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL notebook Cardinals CB Shaw suspended for betting | Arizona Cardinals cornerback Josh Shaw was suspended at least through the end of the 2020 season for betting on NFL games multiple times this season the league announced Friday
Commissioner Roger Goodell issued the suspension of Shaw a fifth year player currently on injured reserve due to a shoulder injury In March Shaw signed a one year deal with Arizona and would become a free agent after this season
Shaw 27 can appeal his suspension by filing notice within three days and can seek reinstatement to the NFL on Feb 15 2021
No evidence was found that indicated Shaw used inside information or that any game was compromised in any way according to the NFL which added Nor was there evidence suggesting any awareness by teammates coaches or other players of his betting activity
Philadelphia Eagles right tackle Lane Johnson agreed to a four year contract extension that will make him the highest paid offensive lineman in NFL history according to multiple reports citing sources Reports said the extension is worth 72 million with more than 54 million guaranteed
The Eagles confirmed the extension runs through 2025 for Johnson 29 who had two more years left on his original five year extension signed in January 2016
After sustaining a concussion and missing the past two games Johnson is expected to return Sunday when the Eagles play at the Miami Dolphins
Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray was added to the team s injury report and is listed as questionable for Sunday s game against the Los Angeles Rams due to a hamstring injury
It wasn t clear when Murray sustained the injury Cardinals coach Kliff Kingsbury spoke to reporters before the injury report was released and said it appeared that everybody on the 53 man roster was available to play
Murray was listed as a full practice participant after Friday s workout
Denver Broncos rookie quarterback Drew Lock is in line to come off injured reserve and start Sunday s game against the Los Angeles Chargers NFL Network s Ian Rapoport reported
However Broncos coach Vic Fangio stopped short of saying Lock definitely will start over Brandon Allen who has started Denver s last three games after a season ending neck injury to Joe Flacco
Fangio said Lock will be activated on Saturday but that the decision of whether or not Lock starts on Sunday hasn t been reached
Dallas Cowboys left guard Connor Williams NYSE WMB will miss the rest of the season after tearing his ACL on Thursday against the Buffalo Bills Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett announced
Williams missed one game earlier this season after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery His latest injury will require major surgery which he is expected to have in the next two to four weeks
Xavier Su a Filo replaced Williams after his injury and is expected to take over the starting role
The New England Patriots released kicker Nick Folk after he underwent an appendectomy earlier this week the team announced Replacing him for Sunday s game against the Houston Texans is free agent kicker Kai Forbath
Forbath 32 has yet to play in the NFL this season after appearing in three games with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2018 going 4 of 5 on field goal attempts He was the Minnesota Vikings full time kicker in 2017
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be without wide receiver JuJu Smith Schuster and likely running back James Conner for Sunday s home game against the Cleveland Browns multiple media outlets reported
Smith Schuster cleared concussion protocol this week but a knee injury will force him to miss his second straight game Conner returned to practice the last two days but has been listed as doubtful to play against the Browns due to a shoulder injury
Washington Redskins linebacker Ryan Kerrigan will miss a game for the first time in his NFL career this weekend interim coach Bill Callahan announced
Kerrigan who has started in 139 consecutive regular season games has been ruled out of Sunday s road tilt against the Carolina Panthers due to a concussion
Kansas City Chiefs running back Damien Williams has been ruled out for this weekend s game against the Oakland Raiders coach Andy Reid announced Williams injured his ribs in Kansas City s 24 17 victory over the Chargers in Mexico City on Nov 18
LeSean McCoy Darrel Williams and rookie Darwin Thompson are expected to handle the backfield responsibilities for the Chiefs on Sunday
New York Giants wide receiver Golden Tate was ruled out for Sunday s game against the Green Bay Packers because of a concussion
The 31 year old Tate missed practice again because of the injury which he sustained last week while making a touchdown catch against the Chicago Bears
The Giants are expected to place long snapper Zak DeOssie on injured reserve Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported
DeOssie who is nursing wrist and knee injuries was responsible for a bad snap that led to a 42 yard missed field goal by Aldrick Rosas in New York s 19 14 setback against Chicago on Sunday
Field Level Media |
WMB | Hamilton ends the F1 season in style in Abu Dhabi | By Abhishek Takle
ABU DHABI Reuters Six times world champion Lewis Hamilton wrapped up the Formula One season in style on Sunday by cruising unchallenged to a dominant victory in Abu Dhabi in his 250th grand prix
The 34 year old Mercedes driver led every lap from pole position to chequered flag banging in a fastest lap for good measure to emphasize his supremacy under the Yas Marina floodlights
Red Bull s Dutch driver Max Verstappen was runner up 16 7 seconds behind the Briton to cement third place in the championship
Ferrari s Charles Leclerc was third after a stewards enquiry into a fuel irregularity that could have led to his disqualification Ferrari NYSE RACE were fined 50 000 euros for the breach nL8N28B0BJ
Valtteri Bottas finished fourth for Mercedes after starting last on the grid due to engine penalties with Ferrari s Sebastian Vettel fifth
That was an absolute master class said Hamilton s engineer over the radio congratulating the Briton who won his sixth title in Texas last month on the cool down lap You look like you didn t break into a sweat
I can assure you I am definitely sweating Hamilton responded
His 84th career victory record fifth in Abu Dhabi and 11th of the season meant the Briton equalled his own Formula One record of 33 consecutive finishes in the points
The 11 wins in a season matched his personal best for a campaign achieved in 2014 and 2018 with a record points haul of 413 He is now only seven wins short of Michael Schumacher s all time record of 91
Mercedes had already won both championships for an unprecedented sixth season in a row
Even though we had the championship won I just really wanted to keep my head down and see if we could learn and extract more from this beautiful car that s a piece of art said Hamilton
I feel so happy with today man
CLOSER BATTLES
Hamilton gazed across to the two 22 year olds completing the podium and looked forward to more battles
I really feel privileged to be in the period of time when they are here he said I hope it gets closer for us next year
While Hamilton was out ahead Verstappen and Leclerc engaged in a battle for second place
The Red Bull driver started alongside Hamilton on the front row of the grid but could not stop Leclerc from sailing past on the first lap
Having pitted much later than his rival Verstappen was able to catch and pass the Ferrari on his fresher tyres forcing the Maranello team to switch to Plan C meaning a two stop strategy
Our pace was quite decent but Mercedes and Lewis were too quick said Verstappen who suffered from engine braking issues during the race
Overall it s been a positive season and to be P3 in the championship is encouraging
Leclerc s race had a cloud hanging over it after regulators found a significant discrepancy between the amount of fuel Ferrari had declared and what was actually in the car later revealed to be 4 88kg
Ferrari tried everything including a botched double stack pitstop to squeeze something positive from the final race of an ultimately disappointing season
Leclerc who has won two races this season and taken the most poles still saw the positives
I m extremely happy about this year said the Monegasque who has beaten four times world champion Vettel in his first season with the team
Alexander Albon finished sixth for Red Bull ahead of Racing Point s Sergio Perez
Lando Norris was eighth for McLaren who end the season fourth in the constructors standings and ahead of engine suppliers Renault PA RENA
Daniil Kvyat was ninth for Toro Rosso who will change their name to Alpha Tauri next season ahead of Norris s 10th placed team mate Carlos Sainz
Renault s Nico Hulkenberg was 12th in what may have been his last Formula One race
Robert Kubica who is leaving Williams NYSE WMB ended his comeback season in last place after banging wheels with Alfa Romeo s Antonio Giovinazzi |
WMB | Motor racing Hulkenberg bows out with fans voting him Driver of the Day | By Abhishek Takle
ABU DHABI Reuters Formula One fans gave Nico Hulkenberg a Driver of the Day send off on Sunday as the Renault PA RENA driver bowed out with a 12th place finish in the season ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
By the 32 year old s own admission it was an unspectacular result with which to bring down the curtain on a grand prix career that once promised much but ultimately failed to deliver the big prizes
The German who is being replaced by Frenchman Esteban Ocon for 2020 had been on course for 10th before being passed by McLaren s Carlos Sainz and Australian team mate Daniel Ricciardo half a lap from the flag
Unfortunately missed half a lap there to get that point said Hulkenberg who holds the unenviable record of most races started 177 without ever standing on the podium
But nevertheless I feel it was a worthy final race
I was certainly giving it all and enjoyed it actually although it was not too spectacular But it felt good to be in the fight and to be fighting for points That s it hey ho and take that for now
The Driver of the Day award followed a fan vote on the Formula One website
Hulkenberg made his Formula One debut with Williams NYSE WMB in 2010 the year after he won the GP2 support series and took pole position for the Brazilian Grand Prix in his rookie year
After sitting out the 2011 season as reserve driver for now defunct Force India he spent five years driving for the Vijay Mallya owned team which is now Racing Point and Sauber now racing as Alfa Romeo
He moved to Renault in 2017 finishing a career best seventh in the overall standings the following year
Hulkenberg also won the 24 Hours of Le Mans sportscar race with Porsche in 2015
Renault said farewell to him with team members including Ricciardo sporting blonde wigs in imitation of his hair
Thanks very much it s been a great three years his race engineer Mark Slade said over the team radio on the cool down lap
I wish I could say the same mate Hulkenberg responded deadpan
Just pulling your leg Thank you for everything he signed off |
WMB | NFL roundup Ravens sink 49ers on last play FG | Justin Tucker drilled a 49 yard field goal on the final play of the game Sunday afternoon giving the Baltimore Ravens a 20 17 home victory for their eighth straight win
Tucker s successful kick was his second of the day and his 38th straight in the fourth quarter of games in his career
The Ravens 10 2 covered 34 yards in 12 plays to kill the final 6 28 before the winning field goal Lamar Jackson kept the drive alive with a 3 yard sneak on fourth and 1 at Baltimore s 44
The winning drive began after the 49ers failed on a fourth and 1 at the Baltimore 35 when Jimmy Garoppolo had a pass deflected at the line of scrimmage San Francisco 10 2 lost for the second time in its last four games after an 8 0 start
Packers 31 Giants 13
Green Bay rebounded from an awful loss to the San Francisco 49ers and handed New York its eighth consecutive loss in East Rutherford N J
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers coming off one of the worst games of his career threw four touchdown passes Giants rookie quarterback Daniel Jones on the other hand tossed three interceptions
Jones the sixth pick of the draft won his first two starts in place of Eli Manning but has dropped eight straight After throwing 11 touchdown passes vs one interception in his last four starts Jones was back to his error prone self While he didn t add to his league worst figures of 14 fumbles and 10 lost fumbles he threw interceptions to cornerback Kevin King safety Darnell Savage and slot Tramon Williams NYSE WMB
Bengals 22 Jets 6
Cincinnati earned its first win of the season as Andy Dalton returned to the starting lineup and threw for 243 yards and one touchdown in a victory over visiting New York
The win ended the longest season opening losing streak in franchise history for the Bengals 1 11 and ensured they would not join the 2008 Detroit Lions and 2017 Cleveland Browns as the only teams to go winless over a 16 game season
The Jets 4 8 not only had a three game winning streak snapped but also made the wrong kind of history Sunday when they became the first NFL team to lose twice to teams that were 0 7 or worse entering the game The Miami Dolphins were 0 7 before beating New York 26 18 on Nov 3
Dolphins 37 Eagles 31
Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick threw for 365 yards and three touchdowns and Miami scored 23 consecutive points to defeat visiting Philadelphia
Fitzpatrick completed 27 of 39 passes and rallied the Dolphins 3 9 from a 28 14 deficit Wide receiver DeVante Parker had seven catches for a career high 159 yards and two scores
Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz was 28 of 46 for 310 yards and three touchdowns but the Eagles dropped their third in a row and fell to 5 7
Steelers 20 Browns 13
After a slow start quarterback Devlin Duck Hodges and Pittsburgh came on to beat visiting Cleveland
Hodges an undrafted third stringer who was given the start over Mason Rudolph was 14 of 21 passing for 212 yards an interception and a touchdown to James Washington four catches 111 yards as Pittsburgh 7 5 erased a 10 0 deficit Benny Snell added a touchdown run
Cleveland s Baker Mayfield passed for 196 yards with a touchdown to Kareem Hunt and an interception He was sacked five times
Titans 31 Colts 17
Tye Smith returned a blocked field goal 63 yards to snap a fourth quarter tie and Ryan Tannehill added his second touchdown pass two minutes later as visiting Tennessee rallied for a win over Indianapolis
The Titans 7 5 won for the fifth time in six games avenging a September home loss to the Colts 6 6 and moved within a half game of Houston for first place in the AFC South The Texans host New England on Sunday night
With the game tied at 17 Adam Vinatieri tried a 46 yard field goal to put Indianapolis ahead But Dane Cruickshank surged through the right side to snuff the kick and Smith sprinted untouched to the end zone with 5 02 left It was the second field goal attempt blocked by Tennessee in the game
Buccaneers 28 Jaguars 11
Linebacker Devin White intercepted a pass to set up a score and then returned a fumble for a touchdown as visiting Tampa Bay built a 25 point halftime lead and held off Gardner Minshew led Jacksonville
Rookie quarterback Minshew replaced Nick Foles at the start of the second half with the Jaguars down 25 0 Foles was 7 of 14 for 93 yards with one interception and two lost fumbles with the three turnovers leading to 22 Buccaneers points
Jameis Winston was 21 of 33 for 268 yards for the Bucs 5 7 Minshew finished 16 of 27 for 147 yards one TD and one interception for the Jaguars 4 8 who were penalized 16 times for 125 yards
Redskins 29 Panthers 21
Derrius Guice rushed for two touchdowns and Washington came up with a late goal line stand in a victory against host Carolina in Charlotte N C
The Redskins 3 9 won for the second week in a row and they didn t allow a point for a 48 minute stretch until the game s final two minutes Guice gained 129 yards on 10 carries Teammate Adrian Peterson picked up 99 rushing yards on 13 attempts including a 12 yard touchdown run with 4 26 to play
Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen scrambled 17 yards for a touchdown with 1 51 remaining on a drive extended because of a fourth down conversion Carolina recovered the ensuing onside kick and reached the Washington 1 for a first down before running back Christian McCaffrey lost yards on consecutive plays followed by an incomplete pass and a sack
Field Level Media |
WMB | Halving Will Be Non Event for BTC Price Morgan Creek Digital Exec | Bitcoin s BTC 2020 block reward halving continues to generate mixed opinions regarding price performance as one analyst suggests its impact will be next to nothing
In a tweet on Dec 1 Jason Williams NYSE WMB co founder at digital asset fund Morgan Creek Digital said that unlike many others he believed markets would not move as a result of the halving next May |
WMB | Price Analysis 02 12 BTC ETH XRP BCH LTC EOS BNB BSV XLM TRX | Bitcoin price continues to trade with an advantage to bears but this does not mean investors or miners have capitulated About 64 of the total Bitcoin mined to date has been dormant in wallets since 2018 This shows that Bitcoin hodlers do not believe in trading for short term gains as they anticipate much higher prices in the future While this might be a feasible strategy for the whales retail traders can rake up profits if they buy during periods of deep distress and sell their positions during times of euphoria
One of the events that many hopeful investors are anticipating is Bitcoin s block reward halving in May 2020 However Jason Williams NYSE WMB co founder at digital asset fund Morgan Creek Digital believes that the halving will be a non event that will not affect the price of Bitcoin While a few analysts share Williams view others believe that history will repeat itself and the price of Bitcoin will surge as the halving occurs |
WMB | NBA roundup Bucks win streak reaches 12 | Giannis Antetokounmpo totaled 29 points and 15 rebounds in 22 minutes Monday night as the host Milwaukee Bucks easily extended their winning streak to 12 games with a wire to wire 132 88 rout of the New York Knicks
Antetokounmpo recorded his 20th double double in 21 games getting his latest one in 15 minutes into the first half when the Bucks asserted their will The only time Antetokounmpo failed to get a double double was two nights ago when he finished a rebound shy on Saturday in Milwaukee s 41 point win over Charlotte
Antetokounmpo shot 10 of 14 from the floor hit three 3 pointers and did not play for the final 16 54 spending the entire fourth quarter cheering on his teammates including his brother Thanasis D J Wilson added a career high 19 points and Khris Middleton finished with 16 points for Milwaukee which shot 55 8 percent and hit 16 3 pointers
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 19 points but New York s other four starters Kevin Knox Taj Gibson RJ Barrett and Dennis Smith Jr combined for 18 points on 5 of 33 shooting The Knicks lost their seventh game in a row
Suns 109 Hornets 104
Kelly Oubre Jr hit two 3 point baskets in the final minute to rescue Phoenix which blew a big lead and then recovered to win at Charlotte
Oubre finished with 23 points missing the first seven of his 3 point attempts before hitting twice from long range in the last minute Booker also had 23 points while Dario Saric posted 16 points and 10 rebounds and Frank Kaminsky and Mikal Bridges both had 12 points
Marvin Williams NYSE WMB scored 22 points off the bench for Charlotte The Hornets received 15 points and 13 assists from Graham Terry Rozier had 13 points while P J Washington and Cody Zeller both finished with 11 points
76ers 103 Jazz 94
Tobias Harris scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds and Al Horford added 17 points to lift host Philadelphia past Utah
Joel Embiid contributed 16 points and 11 rebounds while Ben Simmons had 14 points nine assists eight rebounds and four steals for the Sixers who improved to a league best 10 0 at home The Sixers won their fourth game in a row
Rudy Gobert paced the Jazz with a season high 27 points to go along with 12 rebounds while Donovan Mitchell added 18 points Joe Ingles had 13 points eight assists and eight rebounds
Hawks 104 Warriors 79
Trae Young scored 24 points and helped Atlanta break its 10 game losing streak with a win over visiting Golden State It was the largest margin of victory for Atlanta this season easily besting the previous high of 17 points against Detroit on Oct 24
Young reached the 20 point mark for the 18th time this season and extended his streak of making at least 10 field goals to six games Rookie De Andre Hunter scored 18 points but left the game with five minutes remaining and went to the locker room with a hand injury
Golden State got 24 points from Eric Paschall who has scored in double figures in 11 straight games the most by a Warriors rookie since Klay Thompson went 14 straight in 2012 Paschall added nine rebounds and six assists
Pacers 117 Grizzlies 104
Seven Pacers players scored in double figures Domantas Sabonis flirted with a triple double and visiting Indiana defeated Memphis
The Pacers shot 50 percent from the floor and 16 of 38 42 1 percent from behind the 3 point arc Central to the outstanding night from long range reserves Justin Holiday and Aaron Holiday had 15 and 11 points respectively They combined to make eight of Indiana s 3 pointers Malcolm Brogdon who scored a team high 19 points also led the squad with nine assists
Grizzlies center Jaren Jackson Jr led all scorers with 31 points marking his first 30 plus point effort of the season
Bulls 113 Kings 106
Lauri Markkanen stalled a Sacramento flurry with four free throws and Zach LaVine buried a rally killing 3 pointer with 1 15 remaining as visiting Chicago held off the Kings
In ending a three game losing streak the Bulls led by as many as 19 points and were still up 92 79 with 9 01 remaining before Sacramento much as it had done Saturday in a dramatic win over Denver came on strong
LaVine had a game high 28 points and Markkanen 20 to pace the Bulls who lost at Golden State and Portland to begin a three game western swing Buddy Hield totaled a team high 26 points for the Kings
Field Level Media |
JPM | ANZ considers expanding physical commodity trading source | By Swati Pandey and Vidya Ranganathan SYDNEY SINGAPORE Reuters Australia and New Zealand Banking Group AX ANZ is considering expanding its physical commodity trading business as it aims to step into the gap left by the retreat of big Wall Street and European banks a bank source with direct knowledge of the matter said
Australia s No 3 lender is set to put a proposal to launch a physical commodities trading desk to its risk committee and board in July the source told Reuters
ANZ is looking to take advantage of its strong balance sheet and a lighter regulatory burden on Australian banks compared to rivals operating in the United States
The plan to expand physical commodities trading beyond just gold and silver comes as major global banks are scaling back the business because of rising capital requirements regulatory scrutiny and weak margins
JPMorgan Chase Co N JPM and Morgan Stanley N MS have sold off large parts of their physical trading businesses while Barclays PLC L BARC and Deutsche Bank AG DE DBKGn are quitting the commodity markets altogether
With the exit of big U S banks from the business of physical commodity trading we see an opportunity to get into that business the source who did not want to be identified as the matter is not public yet told Reuters
Unlike ANZ s current gold and silver trading the proposal is for the bank to operate in all aspects of the supply chain from sourcing to warehousing and freight contracts It is not clear which commodities it will trade
A spokesman at ANZ declined to comment on the issue
The proposal fits in with ANZ s super regional strategy as it seeks to position itself as a leading trade bank in Asia ANZ is expanding its suite of services to cater to its biggest corporate clients and provide them with specialized services sources within the bank said
NO CURBS ON PROP TRADING
Its Australian rival Macquarie Group AX MQG the country s largest investment bank earned A 1 1 billion 1 04 billion in net income from physical commodities trading in the year to March 31
The bank s commodities arm largely provides risk management services through its eight locations globally As at end June 2013 it handled 15 percent of global physical bullion turnover and is the third largest importer of gold into China
Investors say a physical commodities play would be more about providing additional services for clients rather than taking big bets on its book
If they enter this business I don t see them doing what Macquarie does trading to prop up its books said a Sydney based fund manager requesting anonymity as he cannot talk publicly about a company s strategy
ANZ which wants to garner 25 30 percent of its profit from outside Australia by 2017 from about 16 percent now is seeking to rev up its push into Asia
Among other changes it is splitting its global financial institutions team into two to put greater focus on the business while merging its natural resources group with mining metals energy and infrastructure to remove overlap the sources said
It also plans to form a new transportation business segment that will cater to airlines shipping and logistics clients
1 1 0610 Australian Dollars
Additional reporting by Sharon Klyne in SYDNEY Editing by Jane Wardell and Muralikumar Anantharaman |
JPM | Madoff Stanford fraud victims dealt setbacks by U S top court | By Jonathan Stempel Reuters Victims of the Ponzi schemes of Bernard Madoff and Allen Stanford two of the largest in U S history suffered setbacks on Monday as the U S Supreme Court refused to hear appeals in two cases seeking to recoup more money for them
In the Madoff case the court rejected a request by Irving Picard the trustee liquidating Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC to review the dismissal of his claims against banks he accused of enabling Madoff s fraud
Separately the court rejected a request by Ralph Janvey a receiver unwinding Stanford s businesses to review a ruling that blocked him from pursuing claims against Stanford employees on behalf of the receivership s creditors not the businesses themselves
In both cases lower courts concluded that Picard and Janvey lacked standing to bring their respective claims
The Supreme Court did not give reasons for its decisions which leave intact a June 2013 ruling in the Madoff case by the federal appeals court in New York and an August 2013 ruling in the Stanford case by the federal appeals court in New Orleans
Amanda Remus a spokeswoman for Picard said the trustee respected the decision in the Madoff case and will still pursue 3 5 billion of bankruptcy claims against international banks such as Switzerland s UBS AG VX UBSN and Britain s HSBC Holdings Plc L HSBA
Kevin Sadler a lawyer for Janvey said the receiver is disappointed with the decision in the Stanford case and will continue to press claims on behalf of more than 18 000 victims against those who profited from or aided Stanford s fraud
A Ponzi scheme is where early investors are usually paid with money from later investors
Picard has recovered about 9 82 billion for former Madoff customers who he has estimated lost 17 5 billion of principal in a decades long fraud uncovered in December 2008
The trustee has also sued banks including JPMorgan Chase Co N JPM which was Madoff s main bank and Italy s UniCredit SpA MI CRDI over their dealings with the swindler
JPMorgan was dropped from the case after reaching a 325 million settlement with Picard in January part of a 2 6 billion global resolution of federal and private claims
Stanford s estimated 7 2 billion fraud was based on the sale of bogus certificates of deposit issued by Antigua based Stanford International Bank to customers who thought the CDs were safe The Ponzi scheme was uncovered in February 2009
Janvey won court approval for an initial 55 million distribution to CD investors in April 2013
Madoff 76 is serving a 150 year prison term after pleading guilty in March 2009 Stanford 64 is serving a 110 year term following his jury conviction in March 2012
The cases are Picard v JPMorgan Chase Co et al U S Supreme Court No 13 448 and Janvey v Alguire et al U S Supreme Court No 13 913
Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York Editing by Grant McCool |
BMY | AVEO Pharmaceuticals AVEO Q1 Earnings What s In Store | AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ AVEO is expected to report first quarter 2018 results on May 3 In the last reported quarter AVEO delivered a negative surprise of 300 The company has slightly underperformed the so far this year The stock fell 9 7 compared with a decline of 9 1 for the industry Let s see how things are shaping up for this quarter Factors at PlayFollowing its launch last year in Germany Fotivda a first line treatment for patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma RCC became the first commercial product in AVEO s portfolio The company is entitled to receive double digit royalty payments from its partner EUSA Pharma on net sales of the drug in Europe We expect it to boost the company s first quarter revenues The Zacks Consensus Estimate stands at 1 65 million In February 2018 Fotivda was granted positive recommendation for approval in the United Kingdom for the treatment of patients with advanced RCC The recommendation triggered a payment of 2 million from EUSA Pharma Fotivda is currently being evaluated in a couple of studies for the third line treatment of RCC and advanced RCC In December 2017 the company announced completion of enrollment in phase II portion of phase I II TiNivo study evaluating Fotivda in combination with Bristol Myers NYSE BMY Opdivo in RCC We expect the company to provide an update on these studies on its first quarter earnings call Apart from Fotivda AVEO is also developing ficlatuzumab in combination with Lilly s Erbitux in a phase II study for treating metastatic head and neck squamous cell carcinoma Another phase Ib study is evaluating the candidate in combination with Nab paclitaxel and Gemcitabine in treatment naive pancreatic cancer These studies were initiated during the fourth quarter 2017 Investor focus will likely remain on updates related to Fotivda s launch and progress of ficlatuzumab Surprise HistoryAVEO s performance over the last four quarters has been mixed The company surpassed expectations thrice and missed once with an average negative surprise of 53 08 Earnings WhispersOur proven model does not conclusively show that AVEO is likely to beat estimates in the soon to be reported quarter This is because a stock needs to have both a positive and a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold to be able to beat estimates But that is not the case here as you will see below Zacks ESP Earnings ESP is 0 00 the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate are both pegged at a loss of 7 cents You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with our Zacks Rank AVEO has a Zacks Rank 5 Strong Sell Note that we caution against stocks with a Zacks Rank 4 Sell or 5 going into an earnings announcement especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions AVEO Pharmaceuticals Inc Price and EPS Surprise
Stocks That Warrant a LookHere are some biotech stocks that you may want to consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat in their upcoming release Emergent Biosolutions Inc NYSE EBS has an Earnings ESP of 61 8 and a Zacks Rank 2 The company is scheduled to release first quarter results on May 3 You can see Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ VNDA has an Earnings ESP of 25 and a Zacks Rank 2 The company is scheduled to release first quarter results on May 2 The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
BMY | Clovis CLVS Q1 Loss Wider Than Expected Revenues Beat | Clovis Oncology Inc NASDAQ CLVS incurred an adjusted loss of 1 54 per share in the first quarter of 2018 which was wider than the year ago loss of 1 33 per share as well as the Zacks Consensus Estimate of a loss of 1 34 Clovis only marketed drug Rubraca was granted accelerated approval by the FDA in December 2016 for the treatment of advanced ovarian cancer in patients who have received prior chemotherapies Net revenues entirely from Rubraca were approximately 18 5 million in the quarter up 10 1 sequentially amid competition from other PARP inhibitors which are approved in patients irrespective of BRCA mutation Revenues beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 17 5 million The company had recorded total revenues of 7 million entirely from Rubraca sales in the year ago quarter Importantly the company registered 1700 new patients on Rubraca therapy since its approval Approximately 300 new patients were registered in the first quarter Shares of the company declined almost 1 2 on May 8 on wider than expected loss Moreover Clovis has underperformed the in the past year While the stock has lost 37 3 the industry declined 11 8 Quarter in DetailDuring the first quarter research development expenses increased 34 2 year over year to 43 5 million primarily due to increased expenses for clinical studies on Rubraca However selling general and administrative SG A expenses escalated 34 4 year over year to 39 3 million reflecting increased activities to support commercialization of Rubraca Cash used in operating activities in the quarter was 100 6 million higher than 80 4 million in the year ago quarter mainly due to higher product supply costs Clovis ended the quarter with 463 8 million of cash equivalents and available for sale securities supported by the proceeds raised through share offerings made in January and June last yearUpdate on RubracaSubsequent to the quarter in April 2018 the FDA approved the label expansion of Rubraca to include maintenance treatment in recurrent ovarian cancer The drug can now also be prescribed irrespective of BRCA mutation in the second line setting In March 2018 the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use CHMP of the European Medicines Agency EMA issued a positive opinion recommending approval of Rubraca for treating advanced ovarian cancer indication with BRCA mutation An approval is anticipated in the second quarter Additionally Clovis has plans to submit a supplemental application seeking approval for second line or later maintenance treatment indication in the EU only if approved for the advanced ovarian cancer indication A phase II study ATLAS was initiated during the quarter to evaluate Rubraca monotherapy in metastatic bladder cancer The study is currently enrolling patients In July 2017 Clovis announced a collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY to evaluate Rubraca in combination with the latter s PD 1 immune checkpoint inhibitor Opdivo in multiple tumor types A phase III study ATHENA is expected to start in the first half of 2018 to evaluate Rubraca Opdivo for treating advanced ovarian cancer in first line maintenance setting A phase III study is already evaluating the combination in advanced triple negative breast cancer Apart from Rubraca Clovis is also developing lucitanib for treating breast and lung cancer The company s partner Servier will return ex U S excluding China rights to the candidate in 2018 Following this Clovis will own global development rights for lucitanib except China Our TakeAdoption of Rubraca is expected to increase with the FDA approval for use in ovarian cancer patients irrespective of BRCA mutation in the United States This approval brings the drug on par with other approved maintenance therapies including Tesaro Inc s NASDAQ TSRO Zejula and AstraZeneca PLC s NYSE AZN Lynparza We expect operating expense to continue to increase in 2018 as the company will incur higher investments to support Rubraca s launch in Europe and expanded indication in the United States Moreover the company anticipates product supply costs to increase to 44 million in the second quarter which will affect the bottom line However cash position will be better at the end of the second quarter due to addition of net proceeds from common stock and senior notes offering in April We remind investors that Clovis has to pay 38 million in milestone payment to Pfizer NYSE PFE related to two approvals of Rubraca in the United States Another additional 20 million will be due to Pfizer if approval is received in Europe We expect further decline in the bottom line due to these costs Clovis Oncology Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
Zacks Rank Clovis currently has a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
BMY | Infinity INFI Incurs In Line Loss In Q1 Maintains View | Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc NASDAQ INFI reported a loss of 18 cents per share in first quarter 2018 in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate The company had reported a loss of 21 cents in the year ago quarter
Since Infinity does not have any approved product in its portfolio the company earns revenues in the form of royalties license and milestone payments as well as research and development R D support fees paid by its partners
Infinity s shares have returned 2 5 year to date against the s decline of 2 9
Quarter in Detail
In the quarter R D expenses increased 38 8 to 5 9 million due to higher clinical development charges for IPI 549
General and administrative G A expenses were 3 6 million for the quarter down 43 8 from the year ago quarter The decrease was mainly due to a reduction in bonus and stock compensation
2018 Outlook
Infinity reaffirmed its outlook for 2018 The company expects net loss for 2018 to be in the range of 35 45 million The company anticipates year end cash and cash equivalents and available for sale securities balance in the 15 25 million range Moreover Infinity expects that its existing cash cash equivalents and available for sale securities as of Dec 31 2017 should be adequate to fund the company s capital needs through third quarter 2019
Other Updates
Infinity is evaluating IPI 549 as a monotherapy and in combination with Bristol Myers NYSE BMY Opdivo in a phase I study in patients with advanced solid tumors
The phase I Ib monotherapy and combination dose escalation components of the study have been completed Enrollment which began in 2018 is ongoing for six disease specific combination expansion cohorts along with a seventh combination expansion cohort of patients pre selected for having high baseline blood levels of myeloid derived suppressor cells MDSCs
The company expects to report data from the monotherapy expansion component and combination dose escalation component of the study in 2018 The company also expects to report initial data from six disease specific combination expansion cohorts in 2018
Further the company expects to report more mature clinical and translational data including insights from paired tumor biopsies from the six disease specific cohorts and initial data from the cohort of patients pre selected for having high baseline blood levels of MDSC in the combination expansion component of the study in the second half of 2018
Zacks Rank Other Key Picks
Infinity has a Zacks Rank 2 Buy
A few other top ranked stocks from the same space worth considering are Ligand Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ LGND and Protagonist Therapeutics NASDAQ PTGX Both of them sport a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see
Ligand s earnings per share estimates have moved up from 4 20 to 4 43 for 2018 over the last 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 24 88 The company s shares have rallied 14 9 year to date
Protagonist s loss estimates narrowed from 1 30 to 66 cents for 2018 and from 1 99 to 1 26 for 2019 over the last 60 days The company delivered a positive earnings surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 24 95 Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc Price Consensus and EPS Surprise
The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of All
Last year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
C | UPDATE 3 LSE Q1 beats forecast but market still tough | Revenue down 8 percent beats analyst expectations
Market conditions to remain challenging
Post trade revenues up 12 percent
Stock rises 3 percent
Adds analyst note
By Daisy Ku
LONDON July 15 Reuters The London Stock Exchange saw revenues fall by
less than expected in the first quarter providing a boost for its new head
Xavier Rolet as he starts cutting costs and lowering tariffs
The three centuries old bourse which is losing market share to a raft of
aggressive newcomers said on Wednesday weak trading cut revenues by 8 percent
in the three months to end June warning that the outlook remained tough
While market conditions are likely to remain challenging in the near term
the Group is taking actions to ensure we are in good shape and responding fast
to changing markets Rolet said in a statement delivering his maiden results
Trading platforms such as Turquoise Chi X Nasdaq OMX and BATS are some of
the low cost newcomers in the market as new European Union rules are forcing
prices down and allowing them to rapidly gain market share
First quarter revenues at the LSE which also runs the Milan bourse
stood at 161 9 million pounds 263 4 million above the 151 4 million pound
average forecast of four analysts sending its stock up 3 percent by 1251 GMT
Although better than expected revenues have been reported today strategic
challenges look to remain for the new CEO Citigroup analysts said in a note
The LSE s market share fell to 70 percent in June from 80 percent at the
start of the year
VALUES PLUNGE
The LSE has responded by announcing a new tariff structure effective
September to encourage trading People familiar with the matter have said it is
cutting about 10 percent of its staff to save costs
A new leaner organisation structure is taking effect new trading tariffs
for UK cash equities trading have been announced and work continues to ensure
the Group is well placed to capture market opportunities Rolet said
The Frenchman has been hailed as a veteran in the world of trading after he
took over from Clara Furse who saw off a flurry of hostile bids but failed to
build up a meaningful derivatives business
In the UK LSE saw a 43 percent plunge in year on year average daily value
traded in June following a 37 percent decline in May and a 36 percent drop in
April
The LSE said it would cut costs from reducing headcounts and that it was
consulting with employees
The post trade division generated revenues of 32 1 million pounds
accounting for about one fifth of the total That was thanks to increases in
interest from higher levels of margin and default funds held reflecting the
growth in volume of Italian cash equities and derivatives trading
On a quarterly basis LSE revenues increased 5 percent as cash trading
revenues improved over the fourth quarter but analysts expect the cash trading
business to remain weak as the stock market enters a quiet summer
Capital markets revenues increased to 37 5 million pounds in the first
quarter from 36 5 million pounds in the fourth quarter but dropped 20 percent
on a year on year basis
1 6147 Pound
Editing by Quentin Webb and Rupert Winchester |
C | UPDATE 2 Geithner says dlr to remain key reserve currency | adds quotes background byline
By Glenn Somerville
ABU DHABI July 15 Reuters U S Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner said he was reassured during a Gulf visit that
the dollar will remain the region s main reserve currency and
said he wanted to find ways to reduce oil price volatility
Interviewed on Al Aribiya television on Wednesday near the
end of a two day swing through Saudi Arabia and the United Arab
Emirates Geithner also renewed a pledge to back a strong dollar
in an apparent bid to calm Mideast investor worries
It is the policy of the United States and it will remain
the policy of the United States to remain committed to a strong
dollar he said adding he had heard no concern about the
dollar s status in talks with Gulf business and government
leaders
Geithner s meetings in the United Arab Emirates included
sessions with leaders of the world s largest sovereign wealth
fund Abu Dhabi Investment Authority which has taken losses
during the past two years of financial crisis on its U S
investments
On balance Geithner claimed that Gulf officials were
supportive of the Obama administration s efforts to restore U S
growth and still had faith in the dollar s value
My view and this is the view I heard expressed here is
the dollar will remain the principal reserve currency he
said
Five of the six Arab states that comprise the Gulf
Cooperation Council Saudi Arabia the UAE Bahrain Qatar and
Oman peg their currencies to the dollar The sixth Kuwait
uses a basket heavily weighted in dollars
In response to questions Geithner said he was not concerned
about the level of Saudi holdings of U S Treasury securities
and noted that when risks are high investors generally want the
safest securities they can find
Oil prices were on the agenda in both producing countries
but Geithner refused to comment on specific price levels He did
say though that it was in the Gulf s interest and everyone
else s to try to nurture tentative signs of recovery in the
global economy
Many analysts say abrupt swings in oil prices are making it
harder for the global economy to claw its way out of recession
and to resume growing In the United States consumer prices
climbed 0 7 percent in June on a jump in energy prices
It s also very important to us that we explore ways to
bring better transparency to energy and commodity markets and
find ways to reduce volatility in these markets Geithner
said
He said Gulf officials showed quite substantial confidence
in the broad strategy that is being pursued to try to get the
U S economy back on track and said he told Gulf officials that
huge budget deficits will be ratcheted down as soon as possible
The U S budget deficit in the first nine months of fiscal
2009 has topped 1 trillion
A senior U S Treasury official said Geithner held talks
with officials who head the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
ADIA the world s largest sovereign wealth fund but said no
pitch was made for the fund to step up its investments in the
United States
ADIA s holdings include a 7 5 billion stake in Citigroup
made in November 2007 when the U S bank was struggling in
the midst of the meltdown in subprime mortgage markets
ADIA like other wealth funds has suffered losses during
the two year long financial crisis and indicated earlier this
year that it was reviewing its long term strategy Just how much
it may have lost isn t known since ADIA like other funds does
not publicly detail its finances
It is a potential concern for the Obama administration if
sovereign wealth funds turn wary about continued U S investment
and Geithner was at pains when in Saudi Arabia to make the case
that the United States wants foreign investors
We are committed to preserving the openness of our
economy Geithner said on Tuesday in Jeddah Saudi Arabia
A Treasury official said Geithner made the same point on
Wednesday to leaders of ADIA and to another fund the Abu Dhabi
Investment Council that mainly invests inside the UAE
Editing by Stephen Nisbet |
WMB | Grandal White Sox agree to four year 73 million contract | The Chicago White Sox agreed to terms Thursday on a four year 73 million contract with free agent catcher Yasmani Grandal
Grandal will receive 18 25 million per season through 2023 on a contract that sets a franchise record for total money
The two time All Star enjoyed a career season with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2019 recording personal best totals in home runs 28 RBIs 77 runs scored 79 and walks 109 to go along with a 246 batting average Grandal has topped 20 homers in each of the past four seasons
My family and I are very excited and honored to be a part of the Chicago White Sox organization Grandal said in a statement I loved their professionalism preparation and vision towards the future I want to thank them for allowing me to be a part of this process moving forward
Grandal has batted 241 with 141 homers and 416 RBIs in 879 career games with the San Diego Padres 2012 14 Los Angeles Dodgers 2015 18 and Brewers 2019 He was named to the National League All Star team in 2015
He s such a quality guy White Sox president Ken Williams NYSE WMB said of the 31 year old Grandal per ESPN And for him to understand our messaging our goals our path and to say I want to be a part of that and I m going to commit to it early so we can move on to the next thing heading into the winter meetings just shows what kind of character we re talking about
Lauded for his defense especially with pitch framing Grandal will set up behind the plate for a pitching staff that finished ninth in the American League in 2019 with a 4 90 ERA Chicago has an emerging ace in Lucas Giolito who went 14 9 with a 3 41 ERA last season over 29 starts
James McCann served as the starting catcher last season for the White Sox and was an All Star for the first time batting 273 with 18 home runs and 60 RBIs
Grandal and McCann are expected to share time at catcher and possibly at designated hitter as well with the White Sox possibly adding a third catcher to the roster Grandal also has 70 games of experience at first base and can serve as a back up to Jose Abreu there
To make room for Grandal on the 40 man roster the White Sox designated outfielder Daniel Palka for assignment
Field Level Media |
WMB | Netanyahu charged with corruption says he won t resign | By Jeffrey Heller and Dan Williams NYSE WMB JERUSALEM Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday he would not resign despite being charged with bribery fraud and breach of trust in a corruption scandal that he denounced as an attempted coup The charges announced by Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit were the first of their kind against a serving Israeli prime minister and represented the gravest crisis in the political career of Israel s longest serving leader Netanyahu in power continuously since 2009 and before that in the 1990s has dominated Israeli politics for a generation decisively turning the country to the right He has denied wrongdoing in the three graft cases saying he is the victim of a political witch hunt He is under no legal obligation to resign But the indictment could further embolden challengers trying to dislodge him after two inconclusive elections since April with a third election expected to be announced within weeks Conviction on the charges could bring a lengthy jail term But any trial could be delayed for months by the political crisis and Netanyahu could try to secure parliamentary immunity from prosecution His rejection of the charges echoed the pugnacious language of his ally U S President Donald Trump It is an attempted coup based on fabrications and a tainted and biased investigative process Netanyahu said in a televised speech I will continue to lead the country according to the letter of the law with responsibility devotion and concern for all of our futures he said standing at a podium against the backdrop of four Israeli flags in his official residence His main center left challenger in the two elections this year Benny Gantz tweeted in response There is no coup in Israel just a bid by Netanyahu to hang onto power The attorney general who was appointed by Netanyahu spelled out the indictment in his own televised statement This is a difficult and sad day said Mandelblit It was his duty Mandelblit said to ensure that no one in Israel was above the law CASES 1000 2000 AND 4000 Police recommended in February that Mandelblit file criminal charges against Netanyahu in the long running investigations dubbed Cases 1000 2000 and 4000 L8N281633 Netanyahu is suspected of wrongfully accepting 264 000 worth of gifts including champagne and cigars from wealthy businessmen in one case In another he is accused of dispensing favors in return for favorable stories about him in Israel s biggest selling newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth In the most serious case he is accused of granting regulatory favors worth about 1 8 billion shekels about 500 million to Israel s leading telecoms company Bezeq Telecom Israel TA BEZQ in return for positive coverage on a website owned by its former chairman Mandelblit indicted Netanyahu on charges of breach of trust and fraud in all three corruption cases as well as bribery in the Bezeq Telecom case They weren t after the truth they were after me Netanyahu said in his address a note of emotion in what was otherwise a speech mixing anger with accusations What I m going through is not easy I m a human being too What my family is going through is unbearable Every day every evening my blood and the blood of my wife and son are being spilled Netanyahu failed to form a government after the election in April and he and Gantz each fell short of securing a ruling majority in parliament after the second vote in September Earlier on Thursday during one of the most unusual days in Israeli political history the country s president told lawmakers to name a third candidate to form a new government a development that probably sets the stage for a third election within a year These are harsh dark days in the annals of the State of Israel President Reuven Rivlin said as he announced that Gantz had not mustered enough support for a stable coalition The prolonged political stalemate comes at a tricky time for Israel and its most prominent statesman on the domestic and international fronts A conflict with arch foe Iran has deepened Israeli warplanes hit Iranian targets in Syria on Wednesday after rockets were fired toward Israel while fighting with Palestinian militants in Gaza flared last week The introduction of criminal charges could further complicate the eventual rollout of a long delayed Middle East peace plan from Trump by imperiling the political future of one of the key players whose support is needed And if a new Israeli election is in the cards Netanyahu would be running as an indicted suspect displaying further vulnerability to an electorate that has already seen him falter at the polls
Palestinians greeted the news with grim pleasure Palestine Liberation Organization official Wasel Abu Youssef said that for years Netanyahu had sought to avoid this outcome by launching wars against the Palestinian people to boost his domestic popularity |
WMB | Netanyahu s Likud to hold party leadership vote challenger | By Dan Williams NYSE WMB and Ari Rabinovitch JERUSALEM Reuters Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu s Likud party will hold a leadership vote a Likud challenger said on Sunday as pressure mounted on the veteran leader to step aside after his indictment on corruption charges Israeli media reported the Likud primary would be held in six weeks A party spokesman was not reachable to confirm the timeline Gideon Saar a Likud lawmaker who has challenged Netanyahu wrote on Twitter that he welcomes the prime minister s agreement to hold primaries for party leadership Netanyahu s indictment last Thursday came amid political disarray in Israel after neither Netanyahu nor his main challenger in the general election centrist Benny Gantz secured a majority in parliament in April and September votes Netanyahu has denied the charges of bribery fraud and breach of trust and said he would stay in office and defend himself The four term conservative leader projected business as usual on Sunday touring the country s northern frontier and ramping up rhetoric about Iranian threats Israel s Supreme Court dismissed a petition by a watchdog group to force Netanyahu to step aside The Movement for Quality Government in Israel had said in its court filing that the first criminal charges against a sitting prime minister constituted the crossing of a red line and a grave blow to public trust in ruling institutions The court dismissed the petition to force Netanyahu to resign or temporarily recuse himself from office It said the watchdog had not yet exhausted other avenues such as petitioning Netanyahu directly and Israel s attorney general For his part Netanyahu kept his focus on security and toured the Golan Heights with top military brass I am doing everything needed to carry out government work Cabinet work in all necessary ways to ensure the security of the citizens of Israel and the things that are crucial for Israel he said in a video statement He reiterated concerns over Iran s attempt to entrench itself militarily in a number of Middle East countries and said Israel will act to prevent Iran s attempt to make Iraq and Yemen bases for rocket and missile launches against Israel POLITICAL CHALLENGE But Israeli news coverage remained focused on the political challenge Commentators said other court petitions could follow Gantz s mandate to form a government after an unsuccessful attempt by Netanyahu to do so expired on Wednesday The next day Israel s president declared a three week period in which lawmakers can nominate one of their own to try to put together a ruling coalition Should that fail a new election Israel s third in a year will be triggered Netanyahu s hope of securing that parliamentary nomination was challenged by Saar There is only one way in which we can save the country extricate it from the crisis and ensure the Likud s continued rule and that is if we go to snap primaries today within these 21 days Saar told Israel s Channel 12 television A less adversarial proposal was launched by a second Likud lawmaker Nir Barkat who called for nominating a deputy to Netanyahu who would take his place should he be forced to take a leave of absence Saar previously said he would consider running for the top Likud slot While voicing appreciation for Netanyahu s record long term and noting he was innocent until proven otherwise Saar criticised the premier s attempts to cast his criminal prosecution as a coup attempt involving police prosecutors and the media Not only is it wrong to say that it s also irresponsible to say that It s completely out of touch Saar said The Likud party spokesman earlier in the day dismissed the challenge
It is sad to see that while Prime Minister Netanyahu keeps Israel safe on all fronts and works to preserve Likud rule Gideon Saar as is his wont is displaying zero loyalty and maximum subversion the spokesman said |
WMB | NBA roundup Nuggets win fifth straight | Paul Millsap scored 23 points and hit all nine of his free throws Will Barton and Jamal Murray added 22 points each and the host Denver Nuggets beat the Phoenix Suns 116 104 on Sunday night
Mason Plumlee had 14 points Monte Morris finished with 10 and Nikola Jokic had eight points and 13 rebounds for the Nuggets who have won five straight
Cheick Diallo scored a career high 22 points on 10 of 12 shooting Dario Saric had 18 points and a career high 17 rebounds and Elie Okobo had a season high 16 points Phoenix guard Devin Booker was held to a season low 12 points a night after scoring 35 in a win at Minnesota on Saturday
The Suns played without guard Ricky Rubio back spasms and center Aron Baynes right hip flexor strain for the third straight game Rubio has missed four of the last five games and Baynes has sat for four straight
Mavericks 137 Rockets 123
Luka Doncic and Kristaps Porzingis posted double doubles while Tim Hardaway Jr provided complementary scoring as Dallas stretched its winning streak to five games with a victory over host Houston
Doncic finished with 41 points and 10 assists while Porzingis added 23 points and 13 rebounds Hardaway scored 31 points on 10 of 18 shooting including 5 of 11 on 3 pointers to power the Mavericks
The Rockets dropped their third consecutive game following their eight game winning streak The Rockets trailed wire to wire never even forging a tie though they did come close getting within five late
Nets 103 Knicks 101
Spencer Dinwiddie scored a game high 30 points for visiting Brooklyn which withstood a furious fourth quarter rally by New York to escape with a victory
Jarrett Allen finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds and Taurean Prince added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Nets who have won three in a row all without the injured Kyrie Irving and Caris LeVert to get back to 500 at 8 8 Joe Harris added 13 points and Garrett Temple finished with 12 points
Marcus Morris Sr scored 26 points for the Knicks who have lost three in a row and four of five to fall into last place in the Eastern Conference at 4 13 Julius Randle scored 15 points followed by Wayne Ellington 12 and Dennis Smith Jr 10
Kings 113 Wizards 106
Bogdan Bogdanovic stalled a Washington rally with a 3 pointer with 1 28 remaining allowing visiting Sacramento to hang on for the victory
Harrison Barnes led all scorers with 26 points including two free throws with 1 56 left that set the stage for Bogdanovic s back breaking hoop Bogdanovic added three free throws in the final 62 seconds sending Sacramento to the seventh win in its last 10 games since an 0 5 start
Bradley Beal had 20 points and a game high eight assists to pace the Wizards
Clippers 134 Pelicans 109
Montrezl Harrell scored 24 of his 34 points in the second half and host Los Angeles rolled over New Orleans
Harrell who also collected 12 rebounds connected on 13 of 18 shots to tie a career high in scoring Kawhi Leonard had 26 points Lou Williams NYSE WMB added 19 and Paul George finished with 18 points as the Clippers captured their fifth consecutive win
Brandon Ingram scored 24 points to lead the Pelicans Jrue Holiday had 18 points while E Twaun Moore contributed 17 points Former Clipper JJ Redick scored 12
Field Level Media |
WMB | Motor racing Honda to continue with Red Bull and Toro Rosso in 2021 | LONDON Reuters Honda will continue to power the Red Bull and Toro Rosso Formula One teams in 2021 a season that marks the start of a new era for the sport
Both Red Bull owned teams and Honda announced the partnership extension through their social media accounts on Wednesday
Toro Rosso have used Honda power units since the 2018 season with Red Bull joining the junior team from the start of 2019 on a two year deal that would have expired at the end of next year
Dutch 22 year old Max Verstappen has won three races for Red Bull this year while Toro Rosso s French youngster Pierre Gasly finished second in Brazil this month
Gasly s Russian team mate Daniil Kvyat also finished third in Germany
Formula One s regulations are due to undergo a major overhaul in 2021 with new look cars that should be easier to overtake
Honda s decision to continue with the two Red Bull owned teams is positive for the sport whose owners Liberty Media NASDAQ FWONA are still in talks with major manufacturers about future involvement
Mercedes whose factory team have won the last six drivers and constructors championships have already committed to supplying McLaren and Williams NYSE WMB in 2021 |
WMB | Motor racing Hamilton can sign off in style at Abu Dhabi finale | By Abhishek Takle
ABU DHABI Reuters Lewis Hamilton will be making a milestone 250th Formula One start as he seeks to sign off his championship winning campaign in style in Sunday s Abu Dhabi season ender
The Briton who became only the second driver to win a sixth title at the U S Grand Prix earlier this month is already the most successful driver at the floodlit Yas Marina track with four wins
Another triumph in the dusk to night race would be a perfect finale for the 34 year old who can expect a more hard fought battle next year from a younger generation hungry for the limelight
It s inevitable that the youngsters are going to come through Hamilton said after the last race in Brazil where he finished third but ended up seventh after a post race penalty for tangling with Red Bull s Thai rookie Alexander Albon
The average age of the top three at Interlagos Red Bull s Max Verstappen Toro Rosso s Pierre Gasly and McLaren s Spaniard Carlos Sainz was 23 years eight months and 23 days and the sport s youngest podium yet
I feel like I m able to still kick it with these guys and so I m excited for the future said Hamilton who can also equal his own record of 33 successive points finishes on Sunday
Hopefully next year we re going to have a serious three way four way battle and that s great for Formula One
Hamilton has won half of the season s 20 races so far propelling his team to an unprecedented sixth successive title double but Brazil was a disappointing weekend with Valtteri Bottas retiring
The underperformance in Brazil means we head to Abu Dhabi with a point to prove said team boss Toto Wolff
Ferrari s 22 year old Charles Leclerc has made his mark since the August break winning twice and is set to end the season as the driver with most pole positions seven so far
Verstappen also 22 took his third win of the campaign in Brazil and is fighting Leclerc for third overall
If there is to be a challenge to Mercedes who have won every race in Abu Dhabi since 2014 it looks more likely to come from Ferrari NYSE RACE
The Italian team have already secured second in the constructors standings but have never won in Abu Dhabi a track located right next to their Ferrari World theme park
Even if they have cleared the air between their drivers after Leclerc and Sebastian Vettel collided in Brazil there is still likely to be plenty of tension as they too seek to finish on a positive note
Abu Dhabi is also the place for farewells
Nico Hulkenberg is leaving at least for a season after losing his Renault PA RENA seat to 23 year old Frenchman Esteban Ocon and Robert Kubica will bring down the curtain on his comeback with Williams NYSE WMB
Canadian reserve Nicholas Latifi is favorite for the seat |
WMB | U S assures banks on dollar dealings with China s COSCO hit by Iran sanctions | By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON Reuters The Trump administration assured U S banks on Wednesday that they can temporarily process U S dollar transactions on a Dalian unit of China s biggest shipping company COSCO that Washington had imposed sanctions on over suspicions it transported oil from Iran
The United States sanctions on Sept 25 pushed global freight costs to record highs and added millions of dollars in costs to many voyages
David Peyman a U S State Department official on sanctions said this month that the ships were the key artery for evading U S sanctions on Iran s oil exports and that if the behavior did not change the administration would look to aggressively and fully enforce U S sanctions
China is the world s largest importer of Iranian oil despite sanctions that U S President Donald Trump unilaterally reimposed on Tehran last year over its nuclear program Trump hopes the sanctions will also limit Tehran s ballistic missile program and influence across the Middle East Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes
The U S Treasury Department s Office of Foreign Assets Control or OFAC said on Wednesday in guidance to sanctions watchers known as frequently asked questions it would not expect U S financial institutions to conduct additional due diligence beyond the information collected in the ordinary course of processing such transactions
The guidance assured banks such transactions with COSCO Shipping Tanker Dalian Co are permitted through Dec 20 a wind down period that Treasury allowed in a temporary waiver issued in October
Daniel Pilarski a partner and sanctions expert at the Watson Farley Williams NYSE WMB law firm said that the point of the guidance was to allow U S banks to assume that unless they have knowledge or reason to know that transactions are outside what was allowed in the department s waiver they can continue to process dollar payments through Dec 20
It s not perfect but it gives a fairly broad latitude to permit almost any U S dollar transactions involving COSCO Dalian Pilarksi said
It is not known yet whether the Treasury Department will renew the waiver to go beyond Dec 20
The department made clear in its guidance on Wednesday that non U S companies and market players are not exposed to so called secondary sanctions over deals with the Dalian unit of COSCO It had been an open question after the department released guidance in September on whether non U S companies and individuals could be exposed to the sanctions
China s imports of oil from Iran in October were stable from the previous month Chinese customs data showed this week Imports from Iran were 532 790 tonnes in October just below 538 878 tonnes in September |
WMB | Flu bug forces 8 Patriots to miss practice | If anyone can beat the New England Patriots down the regular season stretch maybe it s the flu bug
Eight players missed practice due to illness on Wednesday including five starters All Pro cornerback Stephon Gilmore safety Patrick Chung linebackers Jamie Collins Sr and Dont a Hightower and left tackle Isaiah Wynn left tackle
Also missing practice because they were ill were cornerback Joejuan Williams NYSE WMB tight end Ryan Izzo and offensive lineman Jermaine Eluemunor
The outbreak reportedly is the worst case of the flu during Bill Belichick s coaching tenure
This is probably for me in my 10 years here the most guys I ve seen just be gone from being sick Patriots safety Devin McCourty said after practice the first in preparation for a game at the Houston Texans on Sunday No injuries or anything we just had guys come in and you look in their eyes and you could just tell they were just out of it Hopefully a day at home and meds and rest can help guys out
Starting offensive tackle Marcus Cannon who was also ill on the Friday before last Sunday s game against the Dallas Cowboys was limited in practice Wednesday
We re all working together on this the player the medical staff and the coaching staff Belichick said about the decision to let Cannon play Unless the player is cleared medically there s no conversation to be had If the player is cleared medically then it enters into some element of a coaching player conversation As I said each one is different and we just try to do the best we can
After improving to 10 1 with a hard fought 13 9 victory over the visiting Cowboys in the wind and the rain the Patriots were encouraged by Belichick to do anything they can to get healthy for this week s game against the Houston Texans
As coach would say we have to stay germ free captain and veteran wide receiver Matthew Slater said It is the season
Another team captain linebacker Elandon Roberts said And if you do feel a certain way say something so you don t try to hold it in try to fight through it and get everyone else sick around you
It wasn t all bad news for the Patriots at practice though Receiver Phillip Dorsett II who missed Sunday s game reported that he is out of the concussion protocol saying I m just happy to be back
Field Level Media |
JPM | Analysts See Layoffs Ahead At J P Morgan And Dimon s May Be One Of Them | By J P Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM may lay off up to 10 000 workers this year as U S consumers continue to cut their debt while the government reins in its own borrowing and winds down several years of economic stimulus according to a published report
Those structural changes and the self inflicted wounds that have cost the bank billions of dollars of fines over the last few years may also drive the bank s CEO Jamie Dimon from office the New York Post reported on Monday
The report quoted Nancy Bush a consultant and strategic adviser at NAB Research as saying It s just beginning to hit them over the head Consumers have reduced their debt the government leveraged up to fill in that hole and is now going to start deleveraging There ll be layoffs at JPMorgan
Dimon could feel the backlash of any layoffs as he saw his own 2013 pay rise almost 75 percent at the same time it was clear that the bank s prospects were weakening the Post reported
I don t know when Jamie Dimon finally throws in the towel and says I can t take this anymore this is absolutely absurd but I am starting to believe that this point does exist the report quoted bank analyst Dick Bove at Rafferty Capital Markets as saying |
JPM | EU Commission Charges 3 Banks With Rigging | By European Union antitrust regulators charged HSBC NYSE HSBC J P Morgan NYSE JPM and Credit Agricole PARIS CAGR on Tuesday with rigging financial benchmarks linked to the euro exposing them to potential fines
The European Commission has concerns that the three banks may have taken part in a collusive scheme which aimed at distorting the normal course of pricing components for euro interest rate derivatives the EU competition authority said
The three banks could face penalties of up to 10 percent of their global turnover if found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules
In December a record 1 7 billion euro 2 3 billion fine was levied on six banks including Deutsche Bank Royal Bank of Scotland and Citigroup for similar offences The lenders settled their charges and received a 10 percent cut in their fines
The Commission did not provide details about broker ICAP which is under investigation for suspected rigging of the yen Libor financial benchmark |
JPM | Former Senior Executive Of JPMorgan China Arrested Report | By Fang Fang former CEO of J P Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM investment banking operations in China was arrested by Hong Kong s anti graft agency and could face legal charges in connection with the bank s hiring practices Beijing based news outlet Caixin said Wednesday citing unidentified sources
While it is not clear when Fang was taken in for questioning he has been released on bail and barred from leaving the country Caixin reported adding that the arrest could be linked to the practice of hiring of top Chinese officials children in order to secure business for the bank in the region
The 48 year old banker resigned from the New York based company in March and anti corruption officials had searched Fang s office after his resignation Bloomberg reported at the time and the agency had seized computer records and documents as part of a confidential investigation
According to Caixin Hong Kong s Independent Commission Against Corruption which is believed to have ordered the arrest did not comment on the case while JPMorgan s Hong Kong based spokesperson also declined to comment on the arrest
Fang joined JPMorgan in August 2001 and became head of JPMorgan s China based investment banking business in 2007 In 2009 he was made vice chairman for investment banking in Asia His departure from the company came amid a U S investigation into the bank s hiring practices |
JPM | JPMorgan s Problem Hiring Chinese Officials Kids Is Business As Usual | By The long investigation of J P Morgan s NYSE JPM hiring practices in China has reached a milestone A Hong Kong anti corruption organization has formally arrested Fang Fang the bank s former vice president of investment banking in Asia Fang Fang who has been released but is forbidden from leaving Hong Kong has also been subject to an investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission SEC over his role in a Sons and Daughters program in which JPMorgan hired the children of high ranking Chinese officials in order to secure specific contracts
Fang Fang a well known figure with a large social media following in China is the most high profile figure implicated in the scandal But this arrest offers a chance to examine an issue that s critical to understanding contemporary China the symbiotic relationship between political power and business
China is hardly the only country where the children of political elites land selective business jobs Chelsea Clinton landed jobs at McKinsey Company and Avenue Capital following her graduation from Stanford and is now a director of IAC InterActiveCorp an Internet company
But in China whose ruling Communist Party only permitted businessmen to join in the late 1990s cultivating government contacts has become essential in achieving prosperity
The details of Fang Fang s life provide a clear example of this phenomenon Educated at Beijing s elite Tsinghua University Fang joined JPMorgan in 2001 and quickly rose becoming chief executive of JPMorgan China in 2007 Meanwhile he ingratiated himself with high ranking Party leaders being named to the Chinese People s Political Consultative Conference the country s top political advisory body
There is nothing unusual nor illegal about a business executive joining a government institution in China Nor is there an inherent problem with hiring the child of an important official But Fang s problems with law enforcement arose when he allegedly tried to hire certain children in order to obtain specific deals
In an email turned over to American authorities Fang strongly endorsed the Sons and Daughters program describing its near linear relationship with obtaining lucrative deals And as The New York Times reported in 2010 Fang procured a job at JPMorgan for the son of Tang Shuangning a bank chairman who then worked closely with JPMorgan in subsequent months
Fang s arrest comes at a time when the connection between government and business in China has never been more sensitive In 2012 both Bloomberg News and The New York Times conducted investigative reports into the wealth of Xi Jinping China s president and Wen Jiabao China s former prime minister respectively revealing that while the two men served in government their families had enriched themselves greatly The reports caused the Chinese government to censor both websites and restrict visa access to China for their journalists Meanwhile Xi Jinping has launched a crackdown on corruption in China forbidding government officials from ostentatious displays of wealth such as cognac Rolex watches and lavish banquets
But whether or not subsequent investigations into JPMorgan or other investment banks turn up additional crimes the rules of doing business in China continue to provide a powerful incentive for corporations to cozy up to government officials and their children |
BMY | Calithera s Kidney Cancer Candidate Gets Fast Track Status | Calithera Biosciences Inc NASDAQ CALA announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to its lead candidate CB 839 The candidate is being developed in combination with Exelixis Inc s NASDAQ EXEL Cabometyx cabozantinib for the treatment of metastatic kidney cancer The FDA grants a fast track designation to expedite a candidate s development and review which treats serious and unmet medical conditions With this designation a candidate is expected to be granted a priority review once it files a new drug application Calithera s shares have underperformed the so far this year The stock has lost 25 7 compared with the industry s fall of 0 6 Calithera s CB 839 a selective potent inhibitor of glutaminase is being evaluated in a phase II study CANTATA in combination with Cabometyx in clear cell renal cell carcinoma RCC in patients previously treated with at least one vascular endothelial growth factor tyrosine kinase inhibitor or the combination of Bristol Myers NYSE BMY Opdivo nivolumab and Yervoy ipilimumab The study is currently enrolling patients and the primary endpoint is improved progression free survival Per the press release there are a number of therapies approved for RCC However there still remains a significant unmet need in advanced stage patients who have failed prior systemic therapy Kidney cancer is among the top 10 common cancer types globally per the American Cancer Society The organization predicts that an estimated 65 340 new patients will be diagnosed with the disease in the United States in 2018 Moreover 14 970 deaths will be caused due to this cancer Calithera Biosciences Inc Price
Zacks Rank Stock to ConsiderCalithera carries a Zacks Rank 4 Sell A better ranked stock in the health care sector is Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated NASDAQ LGND sporting a Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy You can see Ligand s earnings per share estimates moved up from 3 78 to 4 40 for 2018 and from 4 75 to 5 32 for 2019 in the last 60 days The company delivered a positive surprise in three of the trailing four quarters with an average beat of 24 88 Share price of the company has risen 24 3 so far this year The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
BMY | FDA Nods To AstraZeneca s Tagrisso For First Line NSCLC revised | AstraZeneca NYSE AZN announced that it has secured an FDA approval for the label expansion of its marketed drug Tagrisso osimertinib for first line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer NSCLC whose tumors have EGFR mutations
Notably Tagrisso is approved in the United States European Union Japan and China as second line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC who showed progress following treatment with an EGFR TKI due to the EGFR T790M resistance mutation
Shares of AstraZeneca have outperformed the industry year to date The stock has gained 3 7 versus the s decline of 3 3
We remind investors that last December the FDA accepted and granted a priority review to the company s supplemental New Drug Application sNDA for Tagrisso for the aforementioned indication
The FDA nod was based on positive data from the phase III FLAURA study which compared Tagrisso with the standard of care EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in the first line lung cancer setting
Data from the trial showed that the chance of progression or death risk was reduced by more than half in the Tagrisso arm compared with the commonly used EGFR inhibitors The median progression free survival was 18 9 months for patients on Tagrisso compared with 10 2 months in the comparator arm Tagrisso was well tolerated in the trial with a safety profile consistent with the previous experience
Importantly a similar application for Tagrisso s label expansion is under review in the EU as well as Japan with a decision expected in the second half of 2018
Tagrisso registered sales of 955 million in 2017 reflecting growth of 126 from the year ago period and accounting for 5 of total sales A potential approval in the first line setting will further boost the drug s prospects However the lung cancer market is crowded with several companies developing or marketing treatments While Roche Holding SIX ROG AG OTC RHHBY Astellas Tarceva is approved for treating NSCLC Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE is developing its drug Dacomitinib in a phase III study as a first line treatment for the indication Moreover Bristol Myers Squibb NYSE BMY is developing Opdivo as a treatment for NSCLC and AstraZeneca too has Iressa approved for treating NSCLC and is also developing Imfinzi for the same indication AstraZeneca PLC Price
Zacks Rank
AstraZeneca carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see
NOTE We are reissuing this article to correct an inaccuracy The original version published April 19 2018 should no longer be relied upon
The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of All
Last year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
BMY | Is A Beat In The Cards For AbbVie ABBV In Q1 Earnings | We expect AbbVie Inc NYSE ABBV to beat expectations when it reports first quarter 2018 results on Apr 26 before the market opens Last quarter the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 2 78 Shares of AbbVie have marginally outperformed the so far this year While the stock has declined 4 1 the industry has decreased 4 3 Notably AbbVie s earnings history is quite impressive with the pharmaceuticals company having outpaced estimates in all the last four quarters with an average beat of 1 81 Let s see how things are shaping up for the company this quarter Factors to ConsiderAbbVie expects first quarter 2018 earnings in the range of 1 77 1 79 per share Revenues are estimated to grow in a mid teen range on an operational basis Foreign exchange is anticipated to gain a 3 favorable impact on sales in the period to be reported The company s key drug Humira is likely to remain a key growth driver in the first quarter backed by strong demand trends for the drug AbbVie expects Humira sales to reflect a rise in the low teens band in the imminent earnings release while internationally the growth rate is projected in a mid single digit range operationally The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Humira is pegged at 4 7 billion Significantly on first quarter conference call investors focus will also be on the performance level as well as the label expansion updates of AbbVie s another cancer drug Imbruvica The drug has been recording strong sales since the past few quarters a trend that we expect to continue even in the quarter to be reported The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Imbruvica stands at 759 million Other drugs namely Duopa and Creon are also likely to maintain an encouraging performance in the soon to be reported quarter However AbbVie s Hepatitis C virus HCV treatment Viekira will continue to see declining sales affected by an intense pricing and competitive pressure in the HCV market Moreover in March 2018 AbbVie s rovalpituzumab tesirine or Rova T fell short of expectations in a phase II TRINITY study evaluating it in third line therapy for later small cell lung cancer SCLC On first quarter conference call we expect management to provide updates on the same Notably AbbVie s eight week pan genotypic ribavirin free once daily HCV treatment Mavyret secured an approval in the United States EU Canada as well as Japan in the second half of 2017 Importantly Mavyret recorded 500 million global sales last year The initial uptake of the drug has been commendable and we expect its higher sales in the first quarter as well Earnings WhispersOur proven model shows that the stock is likely to beat on earnings this quarter as it has the right combination of the two key ingredients a positive and a favorable Zacks Rank 1 Strong Buy 2 Buy or 3 Hold for this to happen Zacks ESP AbbViehas an Earnings ESP of 0 06 The Zacks Consensus Estimate is 1 80 per share A positive ESP indicates a likely earnings surprise You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they re reported with our Zacks Rank AbbViehas a Zacks Rank 3 which increases the predictive power of ESP and together with a positive ESP chances of the stock beating estimates in its upcoming release are always pegged higher We caution against the Sell rated stocks 4 or 5 going into an earnings announcement especially when the company is seeing negative estimate revisions Other Stocks That Warrant a LookHere are a couple of other health care stocks worth considering with the right combination of elements to also surpass estimates this time around Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE is scheduled to release results on May 1 The company has an Earnings ESP of 1 36 and a Zacks Rank 2 You can see Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY is scheduled to report earnings on Apr 26 The company has an Earnings ESP of 0 82 and a Zacks Rank of 3 Celgene Corporation NASDAQ CELG is slated to announce financial figures on May 4 The company has an Earnings ESP of 0 63 and is a Zacks 3 Ranked player AbbVie Inc Price and EPS Surprise Will You Make a Fortune on the Shift to Electric Cars Here s another stock idea to consider Much like petroleum 150 years ago lithium power may soon shake the world creating millionaires and reshaping geo politics Soon electric vehicles EVs may be cheaper than gas guzzlers Some are already reaching 265 miles on a single charge With battery prices plummeting and charging stations set to multiply one company stands out as the 1 stock to buy according to Zacks research It s not the one you think |
BMY | Why Bristol Myers BMY Might Surprise This Earnings Season | Investors are always looking for stocks that are poised to beat at earnings season and Bristol Myers Squibb Company NYSE BMY may be one such company The firm has earnings coming up pretty soon and events are shaping up quite nicely for their report That is because Bristol Myers is seeing favorable earnings estimate revision activity as of late which is generally a precursor to an earnings beat After all analysts raising estimates right before earnings with the most up to date information possible is a pretty good indicator of some favorable trends underneath the surface for BMY in this report In fact the Most Accurate Estimate for the current quarter is currently at 85 cents per share for BMY compared to a broader Zacks Consensus Estimate of 84 cents per share This suggests that analysts have very recently bumped up their estimates for BMY giving the stock a Zacks Earnings ESP of 0 82 heading into earnings season Bristol Myers Squibb Company Price and EPS Surprise
Why is this Important A positive reading for the Zacks Earnings ESP has proven to be very powerful in producing both positive surprises and outperforming the market Our recent 10 year backtest shows that stocks that have a positive Earnings ESP and a Zacks Rank 3 Hold or better show a positive surprise nearly 70 of the time and have returned over 28 on average in annual returns see more Given that BMY has a Zacks Rank 3 and an ESP in positive territory investors might want to consider this stock ahead of earnings You can see Clearly recent earnings estimate revisions suggest that good things are ahead for Bristol Myers and that a beat might be in the cards for the upcoming report Investor Alert Breakthroughs Pending A medical advance is now at the flashpoint between theory and realization Billions of dollars in research have poured into it Companies are already generating substantial revenue and even more wondrous products are in the pipeline Cures for a variety of deadly diseases are in sight and so are big potential profits for early investors Zacks names 5 stocks to buy now |
C | UPDATE 1 Euro zone industry output up in May misses fcast | Adds economists comments
By Jan Strupczewski
BRUSSELS July 14 Reuters Euro zone industrial output
rose month on month in May for the first time since August 2008
and even though the gain fell short of market expectations it
added to signs that the recession may be bottoming out
Industrial production in the 16 country euro area increased
0 5 percent on the month but fell 17 0 percent year on year the
European Union s statistics office said on Tuesday
Rising output of intermediate capital and non durable
consumer goods boosted the monthly result
However the increase compared with April came in below the
expectations of economists polled by Reuters who had forecast a
1 2 percent monthly gain and a 17 7 percent annual fall
It is weaker than expected But nevertheless the increase
is a good sign The industry is on the way to stabilisation
said Juergen Michels economist at Citigroup
Eurostat revised upwards its production data for April to a
monthly contraction of 1 4 percent from the previously reported
fall of 1 9 percent and to a year on year drop of 20 5 percent
versus the initially reported 21 6 percent decline
I think in the coming months we will see more positives
for output rather than negatives and there s a fighting chance
industrial production will expand in Q3 overall opening the
door for a positive change in GDP said Ken Wattret economist
at BNP Paribas
However we see this as a technical rebound in the
industrial sector and the underlying condition of the euro zone
economy remains very fragile he said
Industrial production accounts for roughly 17 percent of
euro zone gross domestic product and the May data could mean
the economic contraction in the second quarter was likely to be
smaller than in the first
The euro zone economy shrank by a record 2 5 percent on a
quarterly basis in the first three months of 2009 and the
European Commission expects it to have contracted by 0 6 percent
in the second quarter
STRONGER ORDERS NEEDED
But economists cautioned that the rise in production could
be related mainly to a deep depletion of stocks in previous
months and that stronger orders were needed for the recovery to
take hold
It is premature at this stage to deduce anything more than
the euro zone manufacturing sector is experiencing a bounce
after an extended very sharp contraction as it benefits from
the major de stocking that has now occurred said Howard
Archer economist at IHS Global Insight
For significant sustainable manufacturing recovery to
develop there needs to be an extended pick up in orders in both
domestic and foreign markets and this currently remains highly
uncertain he said
Editing by Dale Hudson |
WMB | Two Officials Say Trump Ukraine Call Was Unusual Inappropriate | Bloomberg A decorated U S Army officer who worked at the White House and a State Department official both said President Donald Trump s conversation with Ukraine s leader was an unusual and inappropriate attempt to get another nation to launch a politically motivated investigation
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman said the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy so alarmed him that he reported it through legal channels
Without hesitation I knew that I had to report this to the White House counsel Vindman testified Tuesday as the House Intelligence Committee began a second week of public impeachment inquiry hearings
Vindman appeared alongside Jennifer Williams NYSE WMB a State Department employee assigned to Vice President Mike Pence s office who also listened in on the call and viewed it as outside the bounds of typical interactions by U S presidents
I found the July 25th phone call unusual because in contrast to other presidential calls I had observed it involved discussion of what appeared to be a domestic political matter Williams said
Three days of hearings this week will provide lawmakers and the public with testimony from witnesses with first hand accounts of some of the events surrounding the question of whether Trump and his allies and aides tried to leverage delivery of U S aid and a White House visit for Zelenskiy in exchange for Ukraine opening investigations involving former Vice President Joe Biden that would the benefit the president politically
Vindman helped prepare Trump s talking points for the July 25 call based on issues central to U S policy toward Ukraine That included cooperation on the reform agenda anti corruption and Zelenskiy s efforts to end the war with Russia Trump did not use them which was his prerogative Vindman said
Trump instead made reference to a conspiracy theory about Ukrainian involvement in 2016 election interference and asked Zelenskiy to look into whether Biden stopped anti corruption investigation when he was vice president and his son was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings Vindman said such a request would not be consistent with U S objectives
It was inappropriate it was improper for the president to request to demand an investigation into an political opponent Vindman said Especially a foreign power where there is at best dubious belief that this would be a completely impartial investigation
Because of Trump s power over Zelenskiy it was clear that in order to get the White House meeting President Zelenskiy would have to deliver these investigations said Vindman
Vindman reiterated that he knows of no evidence that Ukraine interfered in the U S election saying This is a Russian narrative
Lawyer Alerted
Vindman said he d already alerted White House lawyer John Eisenberg to a conversation during a July 10 White House meeting when Trump s envoy to the European Union Gordon Sondland pressed Ukrainian officials to open the politically tinged investigations being sought by Trump and Giuliani He said he was invited to follow up with any other concerns and so didn t hesitate to raise his concerns about Trump s remarks on the July 25 call
It was my duty to report my concerns to the proper people in the chain of command Vindman testified
The July meeting wasn t the first time Vindman became aware of pressure being put on Ukraine He said by March it had become clear to him that there were non governmental actors that were prompting the idea of investigations into 2016 Ukrainian interference in the U S election
Williams said the president s request for a Biden investigation was political in nature given that the former vice president is a political opponent of the president
Like Vindman she also pointed out an omission from the memorandum of the call released by the White House a mention of Burisma However Vindman said he didn t necessarily see anything suspicious about the omission in the memorandum of the call released by the White House
Williams was not involved in the decisions surrounding the events involving Ukraine but she was able to give a view into how they were transmitted to other government officials
Trip Canceled
She recounted a May 13 call from a White House official informing her that Trump had decided that Pence shouldn t attend Zelenskiy s inauguration She said no explanation was given
She subsequently learned on July 3 that a hold had been placed on aid to Ukraine by the White House Office of Management and Budget Although the State Department and the Defense Department advocated releasing the aid at subsequent meetings OMB officials reported that acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had directed that the hold remain in place
Vindman said he spoke with Ukrainian officials in Washington in August about the hold on the assistance and they wanted to know what he knew about it He said he may have said he wasn t aware of it
He said he was concerned that Ukraine might lose bipartisan support The assistance is a significant reflection of U S backing for Ukrainian sovereignty Losing it might instigate more aggressive actions by Russia he said
Trump and his GOP allies have tried to discredit the witnesses describing Vindman and Williams as Never Trumpers and questioned the loyalty of Vindman a decorated combat veteran While Vindman was testifying the White House sent a blast email charging that Vindman has faced accusations of poor judgment leaking and going around normal procedures
Republican Representative Jim Jordan questioned Vindman about a performance evaluation cited in the White House email Steve Castor the Republican counsel questioned Vindman about an offer from the then secretary of Ukraine s defense council Oleksandr Danyluk to become the country s defense minister Vindman defended his record and pointed to an earlier evaluations from a previous superviser with described him as brilliant unflappable and exercises excellent judgment
He said he dismissed the offer of the Ukrainian defense post which he called rather comical and reported the offer to his superiors and appropriate counterintelligence officials at the time Democrat Representative Jim Himes ripped into Castor for the line of questioning calling it an attempt to smear Vindman who was born in Ukraine and came to the U S as a toddler That was designed exclusively to give the right wing media an opening to question your loyalties Himes said It s the kind of thing you say when you re defending the indefensible
In his opening statement Vindman defended his career of service and his loyalty to the U S He recognized his father who brought Vindman and his family from the former Soviet Union to the U S 40 years ago
Do not worry I will be fine for telling the truth he said
On Tuesday afternoon the House Intelligence Committee which is conducting the hearings will hear from Kurt Volker Trump s former special envoy to Ukraine and Timothy Morrison the former top Russia adviser on the National Security Council Volker was one of three officials who were delegated to work with Trump s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine Morrison also was on the July 25 call
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said as the hearings got under way that Vindman has been subject to scurrilous attacks on his character despite his service to the country
Today s witnesses like those who testified last week are here because they were subpoenaed to appear not because they are for or against impeachment Schiff said
Devin Nunes the top Republican on the panel used his opening statement to attack the media He accused news organizations of being puppets of the Democratic Party pursuing another false narrative to harm the president
Nunes spent much of his time questioning the witnesses about their knowledge about Biden and his son Hunter Biden and their activities in Ukraine Though for the most part Vindman and Williams had few answers because they weren t involved in Ukraine policy at the time
I don t know much about Hunter Biden Vindman said during a round of Republican questioning about the matter
Vindman s identical twin brother Yevgeny also an Army officer assigned to the NSC attended the hearing as a spectator Alexander Vindman has testified that he consulted with his brother a lawyer and ethics official about his concerns about Trump s call
This week s hearings running over three days with nine witnesses are crucial for both Trump and Democrats
The House inquiry so far hasn t caused any significant swing in public opinion about whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office nor has it so far broken a solid wall of support for the president among GOP lawmakers Yet the live coverage and constant drumbeat of revelations could damage the president politically as he campaigns for re election in 2020 with already low approval ratings |
WMB | Two Officials Say Trump Ukraine Call Was Unusual Inappropriate | Bloomberg A decorated U S Army officer who worked at the White House and a State Department official both said President Donald Trump s conversation with Ukraine s leader was an unusual and inappropriate attempt to get another nation to launch a politically motivated investigation
Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman said the July 25 call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy so alarmed him that he reported it through legal channels
Without hesitation I knew that I had to report this to the White House counsel Vindman testified Tuesday as the House Intelligence Committee began a second week of public impeachment inquiry hearings
Vindman appeared alongside Jennifer Williams NYSE WMB a State Department employee assigned to Vice President Mike Pence s office who also listened in on the call and viewed it as outside the bounds of typical interactions by U S presidents
I found the July 25th phone call unusual because in contrast to other presidential calls I had observed it involved discussion of what appeared to be a domestic political matter Williams said
Three days of hearings this week will provide lawmakers and the public with testimony from witnesses with first hand accounts of some of the events surrounding the question of whether Trump and his allies and aides tried to leverage delivery of U S aid and a White House visit for Zelenskiy in exchange for Ukraine opening investigations involving former Vice President Joe Biden that would the benefit the president politically
Vindman helped prepare Trump s talking points for the July 25 call based on issues central to U S policy toward Ukraine That included cooperation on the reform agenda anti corruption and Zelenskiy s efforts to end the war with Russia Trump did not use them which was his prerogative Vindman said
Trump instead made reference to a conspiracy theory about Ukrainian involvement in 2016 election interference and asked Zelenskiy to look into whether Biden stopped anti corruption investigation when he was vice president and his son was on the board of a Ukrainian energy company Burisma Holdings Vindman said such a request would not be consistent with U S objectives
It was inappropriate it was improper for the president to request to demand an investigation into an political opponent Vindman said Especially a foreign power where there is at best dubious belief that this would be a completely impartial investigation
Because of Trump s power over Zelenskiy it was clear that in order to get the White House meeting President Zelenskiy would have to deliver these investigations said Vindman
Vindman reiterated that he knows of no evidence that Ukraine interfered in the U S election saying This is a Russian narrative
Lawyer Alerted
Vindman said he d already alerted White House lawyer John Eisenberg to a conversation during a July 10 White House meeting when Trump s envoy to the European Union Gordon Sondland pressed Ukrainian officials to open the politically tinged investigations being sought by Trump and Giuliani He said he was invited to follow up with any other concerns and so didn t hesitate to raise his concerns about Trump s remarks on the July 25 call
It was my duty to report my concerns to the proper people in the chain of command Vindman testified
The July meeting wasn t the first time Vindman became aware of pressure being put on Ukraine He said by March it had become clear to him that there were non governmental actors that were prompting the idea of investigations into 2016 Ukrainian interference in the U S election
Williams said the president s request for a Biden investigation was political in nature given that the former vice president is a political opponent of the president
Like Vindman she also pointed out an omission from the memorandum of the call released by the White House a mention of Burisma However Vindman said he didn t necessarily see anything suspicious about the omission in the memorandum of the call released by the White House
Williams was not involved in the decisions surrounding the events involving Ukraine but she was able to give a view into how they were transmitted to other government officials
Trip Canceled
She recounted a May 13 call from a White House official informing her that Trump had decided that Pence shouldn t attend Zelenskiy s inauguration She said no explanation was given
She subsequently learned on July 3 that a hold had been placed on aid to Ukraine by the White House Office of Management and Budget Although the State Department and the Defense Department advocated releasing the aid at subsequent meetings OMB officials reported that acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney had directed that the hold remain in place
Vindman said he spoke with Ukrainian officials in Washington in August about the hold on the assistance and they wanted to know what he knew about it He said he may have said he wasn t aware of it
He said he was concerned that Ukraine might lose bipartisan support The assistance is a significant reflection of U S backing for Ukrainian sovereignty Losing it might instigate more aggressive actions by Russia he said
Trump and his GOP allies have tried to discredit the witnesses describing Vindman and Williams as Never Trumpers and questioned the loyalty of Vindman a decorated combat veteran While Vindman was testifying the White House sent a blast email charging that Vindman has faced accusations of poor judgment leaking and going around normal procedures
Republican Representative Jim Jordan questioned Vindman about a performance evaluation cited in the White House email Steve Castor the Republican counsel questioned Vindman about an offer from the then secretary of Ukraine s defense council Oleksandr Danyluk to become the country s defense minister Vindman defended his record and pointed to an earlier evaluations from a previous superviser with described him as brilliant unflappable and exercises excellent judgment
He said he dismissed the offer of the Ukrainian defense post which he called rather comical and reported the offer to his superiors and appropriate counterintelligence officials at the time Democrat Representative Jim Himes ripped into Castor for the line of questioning calling it an attempt to smear Vindman who was born in Ukraine and came to the U S as a toddler That was designed exclusively to give the right wing media an opening to question your loyalties Himes said It s the kind of thing you say when you re defending the indefensible
In his opening statement Vindman defended his career of service and his loyalty to the U S He recognized his father who brought Vindman and his family from the former Soviet Union to the U S 40 years ago
Do not worry I will be fine for telling the truth he said
On Tuesday afternoon the House Intelligence Committee which is conducting the hearings will hear from Kurt Volker Trump s former special envoy to Ukraine and Timothy Morrison the former top Russia adviser on the National Security Council Volker was one of three officials who were delegated to work with Trump s lawyer Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine Morrison also was on the July 25 call
House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff said as the hearings got under way that Vindman has been subject to scurrilous attacks on his character despite his service to the country
Today s witnesses like those who testified last week are here because they were subpoenaed to appear not because they are for or against impeachment Schiff said
Devin Nunes the top Republican on the panel used his opening statement to attack the media He accused news organizations of being puppets of the Democratic Party pursuing another false narrative to harm the president
Nunes spent much of his time questioning the witnesses about their knowledge about Biden and his son Hunter Biden and their activities in Ukraine Though for the most part Vindman and Williams had few answers because they weren t involved in Ukraine policy at the time
I don t know much about Hunter Biden Vindman said during a round of Republican questioning about the matter
Vindman s identical twin brother Yevgeny also an Army officer assigned to the NSC attended the hearing as a spectator Alexander Vindman has testified that he consulted with his brother a lawyer and ethics official about his concerns about Trump s call
This week s hearings running over three days with nine witnesses are crucial for both Trump and Democrats
The House inquiry so far hasn t caused any significant swing in public opinion about whether Trump should be impeached and removed from office nor has it so far broken a solid wall of support for the president among GOP lawmakers Yet the live coverage and constant drumbeat of revelations could damage the president politically as he campaigns for re election in 2020 with already low approval ratings |
WMB | Fed s Williams Is Eyeing Downside Risks Despite Solid Outlook | Bloomberg Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams NYSE WMB said he s more attentive to the possibility that the outlook will worsen rather than improve even as he reinforced a message of confidence that the U S economy and monetary policy are in a good place
From a domestic point of view things are strong and continue to be strong but we are dealing with these various global factors that we have to navigate including slowing growth in Europe and China and uncertainties around trade Williams said Tuesday at a financial markets conference in Washington
Asked later by reporters what could push the Fed to move rates in either direction he said I m definitely watching more for some of the downside kind of risks to the outlook now
Fed officials cut interest rates last month for the third time this year to protect the U S economy from the risks posed by slowing global growth and uncertainty over international trade Policy makers also signaled they will now keep rates on hold unless they see a meaningful deterioration or improvement in their outlook
Chairman Jerome Powell speaking Oct 30 after the last cut characterized monetary policy as being in a good place and that phrase has been repeated by several other officials including Williams
U S manufacturers and exporters have taken a hit this year causing many companies to pull back on investments Nonetheless consumer spending has remained strong keeping most forecasts for growth in 2019 at or slightly below 2
The New York Fed chief has a similar forecast but expressed more worry over the possibility the U S economy could under perform than over perform
Are these global factors or other things causing the U S economy to slow more than expected and below trend growth That would be an argument for somewhat more accommodation he said Similarly if inflation were to move in the wrong direction on a sustained basis that would be an argument to consider more accommodation
Williams made clear however he s not advocating any move in the benchmark federal funds rate
We ve gotten the adjustment that we need at least right now he told the conference My outlook really is one of continued good growth strong labor markets inflation around 2 Assuming that comes true which is the baseline forecast I think we have monetary policy in the right place
Williams addressing a conference hosted by the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association discussed a mid September spike in overnight lending rates that forced the Fed to intervene He said the Fed has calmed the market by injecting liquidity and is very focused on year end a period when money markets traditionally experience higher strain
He also rejected the notion that policy makers should revisit their decision to manage overnight rates through a system that requires abundant banking reserves
The fact that reserve levels are higher than perhaps we were anticipating doesn t fundamentally change the calculus that this is a very effective and efficient way to run monetary policy he said |
WMB | Fed Throws the Kitchen Sink at Short Rates and Still Struggles | Bloomberg Opinion I think we have it under control
That s what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said when lawmakers in Washington asked him last week about the mid September turmoil in short term funding markets New York Fed President John Williams NYSE WMB said something similar on Tuesday
If Powell didn t sound entirely sure it s for good reason the Federal Open Market Committee apparently isn t either Minutes of the FOMC s October meeting released on Wednesday showed that officials are puzzled about how to best regain their handle on short term interest rates According to the minutes policy makers were presented with two possible options either frequent repo operations like the past two months or establishing a standing fixed rate facility
Fed officials hemmed and hawed
Many participants noted that once an ample supply of reserves is firmly established there might be little need for a standing repo facility or for frequent repo operations Some of these participants indicated that a basic principle in implementing an ample reserves framework is to maintain reserves on an ongoing basis at levels that would obviate the need for open market operations to address pressures in funding markets in all but exceptional circumstances Many participants remarked however that even in an environment with ample reserves a standing facility could serve as a useful backstop to support control of the federal funds rate in the event of outsized shocks to the system
A couple of other participants suggested that an approach based on modestly sized frequent repo operations that could be quickly and substantially ramped up in response to emerging market pressures would mitigate the moral hazard disintermediation and stigmatization risks associated with a standing repo facility
Participants made no decisions at this meeting on the longer run role of repo operations in the ample reserves regime or on an approach for conducting repo operations over the longer run
That mostly sounds like they wish these pesky funding market strains would just go away
As Bloomberg News s Alex Harris has reported they haven t Rather brokers have been quoting repurchase agreement rates for the end of the year above 3 for months a good deal higher than they should be based on the Fed s benchmark lending rate Meanwhile the effective fed funds rate is under pressure in a different direction It has been stuck at 1 55 for almost two weeks which is unusually close to the lower end of the 1 5 to 1 75 target range
The Fed often likes to reiterate that its dual mandate is to support maximum employment and stable prices by setting monetary policy But the whole concept of setting monetary policy is often taken for granted These recent months have shown that it s not quite so simple
Consider all the steps the Fed has taken since Sept 16 just for Powell to get to the point where he thinks funding markets are under control
Sept 17 The New York Fed conducts its first overnight system repurchase agreement in a decade taking in 53 2 billion of securities Sept 25 The New York Fed increases the size of its overnight system repurchase agreement operations to a 100 billion maximum from 75 billion previously and also raises the limit on its 14 day term repo operation to 60 billion from 30 billion Oct 11 The Fed announces it will purchase 60 billion of Treasury bills a month and will keep doing so at least into the second quarter of next year Oct 23 The New York Fed boosts the size of its overnight repo offerings to at least 120 billion a size it is set to maintain through at least Dec 12 Nov 14 The New York Fed says it will conduct two repo operations each with terms of 42 days on Nov 25 and Dec 2 With maximum sizes of at least 25 billion and 15 billion these would carry past the end of the year Taken together it s readily apparent that Fed officials are throwing the kitchen sink at the short term funding markets and hoping they ll settle down The results so far have been fine but hardly perfect Powell told lawmakers that we re prepared to continue to learn and adjust but it s a process and it s one that doesn t have implications for the economy or general public That may be but it certainly has ramifications for confidence in the central bank to carry out it s core responsibility of controlling short term interest rates
As a reminder the Fed s problem not long ago was that the effective fed funds rate got too close to the top of its target range That s why policy makers inched the interest rate on excess reserves closer to the lower end of the band starting in mid 2018 Now that the fed funds rate is too close to the bottom and right in line with the current IOER rate of 1 55 some strategists say there s a chance the Fed could increase IOER in December
Even if it s just 5 basis points a small increase in interest rates after back to back to back cuts would undoubtedly raise some eyebrows on Wall Street In addition to trying to convince investors that buying Treasury bills is not quantitative easing Powell would also need to communicate that an IOER boost is not a rate increase
Crucially Powell s claim that interventions in the funding markets don t impact the general public is true only to an extent The Fed s various approaches have shaken up the 3 6 trillion money market fund industry a favorite of individual investors Treasury bill auctions have become more competitive now that the Fed is also in the market Short term rates have tumbled And now as Harris reported this week money market investors appear to be starting to use the central bank s reverse repo facility as a workaround parking the most cash there since the middle of the year
In case you read over it that s the Fed s reverse repo facility In its repo operations that have made headlines the central bank absorbs excess securities and floods the market with cash That makes sense given the recent liquidity crunch But this is the opposite taking cash out of the system effectively countering the Fed s moves to bolster reserves
If there s one top line takeaway from all these machinations though it s the sharp increase in the size of the Fed s balance sheet It now stands at 4 05 trillion up from 3 76 trillion in late August Basically in just more than two months the central bank has reversed almost 40 of its normalization Its assets are now back up to the same level as around the start of the year soon after President Donald Trump told the central bank to stop with the 50 B s I panned that remark at the time noting that if the Fed didn t trim its holdings then it was basically admitting it could never go back to a more historically normal level
In hindsight policy makers probably wish they had just kept reserves overly abundant The alternative is what we re seeing now a hodgepodge of fixes that keep investors on edge and increase scrutiny of the Fed s handle on its core rate setting capabilities |
WMB | NBA roundup Clippers win OT thriller over Celtics | Lou Williams NYSE WMB scored 27 points and Paul George added 25 points and eight assists to help the Los Angeles Clippers notch an intense 107 104 overtime victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Wednesday night
Kawhi Leonard returned from a three game absence caused by a knee injury to score 17 points on 7 of 20 shooting Patrick Beverley corralled a career best 16 rebounds to go along with 14 points and seven assists and JaMychal Green added 10 points as Los Angeles won its third straight game
Jayson Tatum scored a season best 30 points for Boston Marcus Smart recorded 15 points and eight assists Brad Wanamaker added 14 points and Kemba Walker had 13 points and nine rebounds shooting just 4 for 17 from the field
The contest marked the first time George and Leonard played together since both joined the Clippers in the offseason Wednesday s game was George s fourth of the campaign
Mavericks 142 Warriors 94
Luka Doncic scored 22 of his game high 35 points in the first quarter as host Dallas made quick work of injury riddled Golden State in a 48 point thrashing
Doncic ran up his 35 points in only 26 minutes hanging around long enough to record a second straight triple double with a game high tying 10 rebounds and a game high 11 assists According to ESPN the 25 30 total that Doncic played was the least court time for a player in a 30 point triple double in NBA history
Tim Hardaway Jr went 4 for 4 from 3 point range on a 20 point night against his dad s former team and the Mavericks shot 22 for 38 57 9 percent on treys en route to their third straight win Rookie Eric Paschall led Golden State with 22 points
Bucks 135 Hawks 127
Giannis Antetokounmpo had 33 points and 11 rebounds pacing Milwaukee to a win at Atlanta
It was the ninth time that Antetokounmpo has had 30 points and 10 rebounds in a game this season tops in the NBA He has accomplished the feat in eight of his past nine games The Bucks have won five straight and nine of their past 10 Eric Bledsoe added 28 points seven rebounds and five assists for Milwaukee
Atlanta was led by rookie De Andre Hunter who scored a career high 27 points 11 more than his previous best and a career best 11 rebounds Trae Young added 25 points and eight assists and rookie Cam Reddish scored a career high 17 points
Wizards 138 Spurs 132
Bradley Beal scored 21 of his 33 points in the third quarter as host Washington held on to beat sliding San Antonio
Beal eclipsed 30 points in four consecutive contests for the first time in his career as the Wizards sent San Antonio to its first seven game losing skid since Gregg Popovich s first season as Spurs coach in 1996 97
Former Spurs forward Davis Bertans and Ish Smith each added 21 points as Washington avenged a 124 122 setback to San Antonio on Oct 26 DeMar DeRozan scored 31 points for the Spurs
Heat 124 Cavaliers 100
Duncan Robinson scored a career high 29 points making seven 3 pointers in a decisive second quarter as host Miami routed Cleveland
Rookie guard Tyler Herro added 22 points as the Heat improved to 6 0 at home this season Robinson a 6 foot 7 forward who went undrafted last year made 9 of 15 3 point tries falling one short of the team record of 10 3 pointers held by Mario Chalmers and Brian Shaw
Cleveland s Kevin Love who had missed one game due to back tightness returned to contribute 25 points and 13 rebounds Larry Nance Jr who had missed two straight games due to a sprained left thumb returned to amass 16 points and nine rebounds
Jazz 103 Timberwolves 95
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 30 points including six 3 pointers and Donovan Mitchell added 26 to lead Utah over Minnesota in Minneapolis
Rudy Gobert had 12 points 15 rebounds and five blocks for the Jazz Mike Conley totaled 16 points eight assists and six rebounds Utah snapped a two game losing streak and earned its third road win of the season
Andrew Wiggins finished with 22 points to lead the Wolves Karl Anthony Towns added 14 points and 12 rebounds The Jazz shot 42 4 percent from 3 point range and scored 20 points off 13 Minnesota turnovers
Nets 101 Hornets 91
Jarrett Allen totaled season highs of 22 points and 17 rebounds and Brooklyn defeated Charlotte in New York
The Nets won for the second time in three games without Kyrie Irving who sat out due to right shoulder impingement Spencer Dinwiddie started for Irving and contributed 20 points while tying a season high with eight assists
Allen enjoyed one of the most productive games of his career and recorded his fifth double double of the season Taurean Prince added 20 points while shooting 6 for 15 in a game the Nets never led by more than 12 Terry Rozier topped the Hornets with 18 points
Bulls 109 Pistons 89
Lauri Markkanen reached the 20 point mark for the first time since the season opener with 24 points and host Chicago ended a three game losing streak by pounding slumping Detroit
Markkanen who was averaging 12 3 points in nine games this month made half of his 14 field goal attempts and 7 of 11 free throws Tomas Satoransky supplied 15 points and seven assists and Shaquille Harrison had 15 points 11 rebounds five assists and three steals for Chicago
Former Bull Derrick Rose scored 18 points off the bench for Detroit which has lost five straight and is 1 7 on the road Blake Griffin scored 16 points and Luke Kennard had 14 but both shot just 4 of 15 from the field
76ers 109 Knicks 104
Joel Embiid had 23 points 12 rebounds and five assists while Ben Simmons hit the first 3 pointer of his career and Philadelphia overturned a 17 point deficit on the way to a victory over visiting New York
Simmons hit his much anticipated 3 pointer with 8 20 remaining in the first quarter and the crowd exploded Simmons had missed the first 17 treys of his career before connecting from the corner It was his lone long distance attempt of the night and his first 3 point try of the season
Marcus Morris scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds while Julius Randle and Frank Ntilikina scored 17 points each for the Knicks The Sixers improved to 5 0 at home and have won nine straight overall against the Knicks
Nuggets 105 Rockets 95
Nikola Jokic scored a season high 27 points and pulled down 12 rebounds and host Denver beat Houston ending the Rockets eight game winning streak
Will Barton had 15 points and seven rebounds and Paul Millsap scored 11 points for Denver which had all five starters finish in double figures en route to its seventh win in eight games
James Harden had 27 points seven rebounds and seven assists Russell Westbrook added 25 points and Clint Capela scored 12 points while pulling down a season high 21 rebounds for Houston
Raptors 113 Magic 97
Fred VanVleet scored 24 points and added seven assists and Toronto defeated visiting Orlando
The Magic were depleted after they lost center Nikola Vucevic and forward Aaron Gordon to sprained right ankles in the first half Neither returned
Terence Davis II had a career best 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds for the Raptors who shot 52 3 percent from the field Pascal Siakam had 18 points and 11 rebounds and Chris Boucher contributed 14 points and 11 rebounds Orlando got 21 points from Evan Fournier
Field Level Media |
WMB | Women drivers can succeed in Formula E says Venturi s Wolff | By Alan Baldwin LONDON Reuters Formula E starts its sixth season in Saudi Arabia on Friday with an all male cast of drivers but Venturi s Susie Wolff the only woman to run a team in the electric series says change will come While a woman has not started a Formula One grand prix since the late Italian Lella Lombardi in 1976 three have competed in Formula E since the city based championship began in 2014 None have had staying power however with only Swiss Simona de Silvestro completing a season in 2015 16 for the U S Andretti team and scoring four points Britain s Katherine Legge and Italian Michaela Cerruti lasted two and four races respectively in 2014 15 before being dropped I think there s no reason why a woman can t be successful in Formula E Wolff told Reuters in a telephone interview ahead of the opening race I definitely see that coming in the future British racer Jamie Chadwick winner of the inaugural all female W Series this year has expressed interest and tested with the Nio team in Saudi Arabia a year ago and in Morocco last January Beitske Visser the Dutch racer who was runner up to Chadwick was Formula E test and reserve for BMW Andretti last season De Silvestro 31 drove a Venturi when nine women joined the men in testing after last year s inaugural Saudi race The Swiss is now with Formula E newcomers Porsche as a test driver If I had a gap in my driver lineup and there was a woman capable like Jamie have no doubt I would put her in the car said Wolff a former Williams NYSE WMB F1 development driver whose husband Toto runs Formula One champions Mercedes And I would hope that would be the case for other manufacturers BIGGEST ISSUE Wolff who competed in the German Touring Car Championship DTM but has now hung up her helmet wants to see more women racing against men generally A critic of the W Series single sex concept when it was announced she recognized women needed more track opportunities Overall there is a positive to those women racing she says now Our biggest issue is the lack of young talent coming up the ranks And that s at every level There s a real lack of young girls entering the sport What s changed massively in the last three years is that there are now a lot of opportunities for women Before there hadn t been but now the opportunity s there The truth is we don t always have the talent there to put forward That s the worrying thing and where we ve got to be very proactive now to get enough young women coming into the sport so they can rise through the ranks All of the Formula E champions to date have been ex F1 drivers and the field draws heavily from that world with nine of the current 24 having previous grand prix experience Venturi have Brazilian Felipe Massa Formula One championship runner up with Ferrari NYSE RACE in 2008 along with Swiss Italian ex DTM driver Edoardo Mortara who won a race last year The Monaco based team are using the same powertrain as Mercedes effectively giving them identical cars to the German manufacturer s and announced on Thursday a new title sponsor in telecoms company ROKit ROKiT are also title sponsors of Williams F1 coincidentally the only Formula One team to be run by a woman Wolff said her past Williams connections had played no part however Actually it all came about because one of the businesses that ROKiT has called Smart Cities basically puts internet connections into city centers she said
I think Formula E is attractive because of the new technology and the fact that it s sustainable |
WMB | United Auto Workers union to name new president as U S corruption probe widens | By David Shepardson Reuters The United Auto Workers union international executive board will meet to name a new president the union said on Thursday a day after the previous president resigned following 17 months in office but union officials said a date for the meeting had not been set The UAW confirmed that Gary Jones had resigned on Wednesday as the union moved to remove him office and as U S prosecutors were widening a criminal investigation into illegal payoffs that so far has seen 10 people plead guilty Jones lawyer Bruce Maffeo told Reuters in a statement Thursday that Jones believed that his continuing to serve will only distract the union from its core mission to improve the lives of its members and their families Separately a union spokesman confirmed that acting UAW president Rory Gamble has named another union official Jimmie Williams NYSE WMB as his new chief of staff after Jones previous chief of staff was assigned to new duties in the president s office The union constitution calls for its international executive board to meet and vote on a new president A UAW spokesman said a date has not yet been set for the meeting Earlier on Wednesday the union filed charges under its bylaws against Jones who had taken a paid leave of absence in early November accusing him of false misleading and inaccurate expense records In late October another UAW official was charged with embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars in an alleged scheme that a person familiar with the case told Reuters involved Jones In documents released Thursday the UAW leadership said Jones has demonstrated he should be removed from office and expelled from membership The union also filed similar charges against UAW board member Vance Pearson who was charged in September with conspiring to embezzle union funds
An attorney for Pearson N Scott Rosenblum did not comment The union charges against Pearson are still pending |
JPM | More Money Returned To Madoff Victims Total Nears 6B | By May 5 The trustee liquidating Bernard Madoff s firm on Monday began distributing another 351 6 million to the swindler s former customers boosting the amount recouped to nearly 6 billion
Irving Picard the trustee said the fourth interim payout will go to victims of the Ponzi scheme who had 1 081 accounts at Bernard L Madoff Investment Securities LLC Payments range from about 500 to about 77 8 million and average 325 000
Most of the payout comes from a 325 million settlement of Picard s claims against J P Morgan Chase Co NYSE JPM which had been Madoff s main bank for more than two decades
Claimants will receive 3 18 percent of what they are owed unless their claims have been fully paid off Picard said
With the latest distribution Picard will have distributed about 5 95 billion to Madoff victims This includes 812 2 million advanced by the Securities Investor Protection Corp which oversees the liquidation of failed brokerages
Of the 2 518 claims that Picard deemed were allowed 1 129 will be fully satisfied following the latest distribution including all claimants seeking to recoup 925 000 or less
Picard said he is looking ahead to additional significant recoveries and distributions later this year
The trustee has recouped 9 8 billion roughly 56 percent of the 17 5 billion in principal he said was lost by those who submitted claims Some of the money has been held back because of litigation challenging Picard s authority and decisions
Madoff who turned 76 last week is serving a 150 year prison term after pleading guilty in March 2009 three months after his arrest
A federal jury in Manhattan in March convicted five former Madoff employees of helping their former boss commit fraud
The U S government has a separate 4 05 billion fund to pay customers and third parties who lost money with Madoff Former U S Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Richard Breeden oversees that fund The deadline to submit claims was April 30 |
BMY | FDA Nods To AstraZeneca s Tagrisso For First Line NSCLC | AstraZeneca NYSE AZN announced that it has secured an FDA approval for the label expansion of its marketed drug Tagrisso osimertinib for first line treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic non small cell lung cancer NSCLC whose tumors have EGFR mutations Notably Tagrisso is approved in the United States European Union Japan and China as second line treatment for patients with advanced NSCLC who showed progress following treatment with an EGFR TKI due to the EGFR T790M resistance mutation Shares of AstraZeneca have outperformed the industry year to date The stock has gained 3 7 versus the s decline of 3 3 We remind investors that last December the FDA accepted and granted a priority review to the company s supplemental New Drug Application sNDA for Tagrisso for the aforementioned indication The FDA nod was based on positive data from the phase III FLAURA study which compared Tagrisso with the standard of care EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy in the first line lung cancer setting Data from the trial showed that the chance of progression or death risk was reduced by more than half in the Tagrisso arm compared with the commonly used EGFR inhibitors The median progression free survival was 18 9 months for patients on Tagrisso compared with 10 2 months in the comparator arm Tagrisso was well tolerated in the trial with a safety profile consistent with the previous experience Importantly a similar application for Tagrisso s label expansion is under review in the EU as well as Japan with a decision expected in the second half of 2018 Tagrisso registered sales of 955 million in 2017 reflecting growth of 126 from the year ago period and accounting for 5 of total sales A potential approval in the first line setting will further boost the drug s prospects However the lung cancer market is crowded with several companies developing or marketing treatments While Roche Holding SIX ROG AG OTC RHHBY Astellas Tarceva is approved for treating NSCLC Pfizer Inc NYSE PFE is developing its drug Xalkori in a phase III study as a first line treatment for the indication Moreover Bristol Myers Squibb NYSE BMY is developing Opdivo as a treatment for NSCLC and AstraZeneca too has Iressa approved for treating NSCLC and is also developing Imfinzi for the same indication AstraZeneca PLC Price Zacks RankAstraZeneca carries a Zacks Rank 3 Hold You can see The Hottest Tech Mega Trend of AllLast year it generated 8 billion in global revenues By 2020 it s predicted to blast through the roof to 47 billion Famed investor Mark Cuban says it will produce the world s first trillionaires but that should still leave plenty of money for regular investors who make the right trades early |
C | FOREX Yen jumps broadly hits 5 month high vs dollar | Yen gains broadly on receding risk appetite equity falls
Yen hits 5 mth high vs dollar 8 week high vs Aussie dlr
Commodity based currencies also hit by oil price falls
Japan upgrades economic view for 3rd straight month
Adds quotes updates prices
By Jessica Mortimer
LONDON July 13 Reuters The yen rose broadly on Monday
hitting a five month high against the dollar and an eight week
high against the Australian dollar as concern over upcoming U S
corporate earnings heightened investors aversion to risk
The yen was the major beneficiary as European shares fell
while traders noted it also gained as Japan s government
upgraded its assessment for the third straight month in July
Commodity based currencies particularly the Australian and
New Zealand dollars were hit hard by further falls in oil
prices pushing the Aussie to a seven and a half week low
against the U S dollar
The euro inched into positive territory on the day against
the dollar however as equities came off their lowest levels
though investors remained nervous ahead of some key U S
corporate results and major economic data this week
Risk aversion trades are coming back into the market again
and the yen is the main currency to benefit from that CMC
Markets analyst James Hughes said
This week there is heavy focus on the U S earnings seasons
and investors will want to see that any recovery for major
companies is revenue based and not cost cutting based he
added
The dollar hit a five month low against the yen of 91 73 yen
on electronic trading platform EBS At 1032 GMT it was down 0 5
percent at 92 07 yen
The euro fell 0 3 percent against the yen to 128 61 yen
though it edged up 0 2 percent against the dollar at 1 3957
Analysts said commodity based currencies such as the
Australian and New Zealand dollars came under particularly heavy
pressure hit both by falling oil prices and by gains in the yen
as investors unwind risk trades
The Australian dollar fell 0 7 percent to 0 7728 having
earlier touched a seven week low of 0 7711 Against the yen it
hit an eight week low around 70 78 yen
The New Zealand dollar also fell 1 percent against the
dollar and around 1 8 percent versus the yen Friday s
weaker than expected U S consumer sentiment data sparked more
concerns about a flagging economic recovery and investors will
be cautious before key data such as the German ZEW survey and
U S retail sales figures on Tuesday
Company earnings releases this week include those from
Goldman Sachs JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup while Federal
Reserve policy meeting minutes and a Bank of Japan policy
meeting will be closely eyed later in the week
Company results will set the tone and it could be a tricky
week The focus will be on any guidance for 2010 said
Stockholm based SEB currency strategist Anders Soderberg
In recent weeks market players have started to fret that
the previous optimism about prospects for a global economic
recovery and the accompanying rally in risk assets may have been
overdone giving a boost to the yen and the dollar
Against this backdrop the yen showed subdued reaction to
the Japanese ruling bloc s loss in a Tokyo assembly election on
Sunday and to Prime Minister Aso s plans to call a nationwide
general election at the end of August
Investors are already bracing for the likelihood of the
opposition Democratic Party winning the general election
traders and analysts said
Additional reporting by Masayuki Kitano in Tokyo editing by
Stephen Nisbet |
WMB | NBA roundup George Clippers pummel Hawks | Paul George scored 37 points in only 20 minutes leading the Los Angeles Clippers to a 150 101 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night despite playing without Kawhi Leonard
George who scored 25 points in the first half converted 10 of 17 shots from the floor overall including 6 of 11 3 pointers He made all 11 of his free throws George who scored 33 points in his season debut Thursday in a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans is 21 of 21 from the line in two games
Lou Williams NYSE WMB who made 15 of 15 free throws had 25 points off the bench for the Clippers who snapped a two game losing streak Jerome Robinson contributed 21 points and Montrezl Harrell had 17 helping the Clippers bench outscore the Hawks reserves 81 35
Trae Young led the Hawks with 20 points to go along with six assists Young though hit just 4 of 16 shots from the floor De Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish each had 12 points and Jabari Parker Damian Jones and Evan Turner chipped in 11 apiece for Atlanta
Rockets 125 Timberwolves 105
James Harden recorded his fifth 40 plus point scoring effort during Houston s seven game winning streak posting 49 in a victory over Minnesota in Minneapolis
Hamstrung by a roster depleted by injuries Harden took a career high 41 shots He finished 8 of 22 on 3 pointers and added five rebounds and six assists over 39 minutes
The Timberwolves led by as many as 11 points in the first half but struggled to contain Harden They also missed the production of their second leading scorer forward Andrew Wiggins who missed his second consecutive game personal reasons Karl Anthony Towns paired 27 points with 15 rebounds to pace the Timberwolves
Trail Blazers 121 Spurs 116
CJ McCollum scored 32 points and Hassan Whiteside added 21 points and 12 rebounds as visiting Portland built a huge early lead gave it all back and more but then rallied for a win over host San Antonio
The Spurs trailed by as many as 20 in the first quarter and 23 in the second but rallied to take the lead in the third and lead by as many as 15 three minutes into the fourth quarter Portland came back to tie the game at 111 after a putback layup by McCollum with 2 26 to play
The Trail Blazers were the better team down the stretch outscoring San Antonio 10 5 in the final two minutes to snap a two game losing streak Damian Lillard added 22 points for the Blazers and Rodney Hood hit for 16 points in the win LaMarcus Aldridge led the Spurs with 30 points and a season high 13 rebounds
Bucks 102 Pacers 83
Giannis Antetokounmpo recorded 26 points and 13 rebounds as Milwaukee ran off from host Indiana for a comfortable victory in a duel between the Central Division s top two teams in Indianapolis
The game was supposed to be a reunion between Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon and his former Bucks teammates but Brogdon was a scratch with a sore back that also cut short his playing time Friday night at Houston Brogdon left Milwaukee in an offseason sign and trade
Indiana held a four point lead late in the first period before Robin Lopez hit a pair of jumpers one a 3 pointer to give Milwaukee the lead for good The Pacers who had won four in a row before losing Friday at Houston never got closer than seven in the second half
Mavericks 110 Raptors 102
Luka Doncic had 26 points 15 rebounds and seven assists and Dallas defeated visiting Toronto to snap a two game losing streak
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 15 rebounds for the Mavericks Seth Curry and former Raptor Delon Wright each had 15 points while Maxi Kleber and Dorian Finney Smith each scored 10
Normal Powell led the Raptors with a season best 26 points and Fred VanVleet added 24 Pascal Siakam had 15 points and seven assists and Matt Thomas had 10 points as Toronto completed a 3 2 road trip
Nets 117 Bulls 111
Spencer Dinwiddie had a team high 24 points Joe Harris added 22 points and eight assists and Brooklyn rallied for a win over host Chicago
Taurean Waller Prince added 13 points and Garrett Temple had 12 for the Nets who ended a three game losing skid Jarrett Allen tallied 11 points and Theo Pinson contributed 10
Zach LaVine scored 36 points on 11 for 24 shooting for Chicago which lost for the second time in three nights The Bulls received double double performances from both Wendell Carter Jr 18 points 14 rebounds and Lauri Markkanen 16 points 10 rebounds
Hornets 103 Knicks 102
Devonte Graham hit a career high nine 3 pointers scored 29 points and hit the go ahead 3 pointer with 2 8 seconds left as Charlotte edged host New York
The Hornets won their second straight game on a last second shot A night after Malik Monk s buzzer beater beat the Detroit Pistons to halt Charlotte s four game losing streak it was Graham s turn to complete a comeback from 15 points down early in the third quarter and from eight points down in the final 6 40
New York held a 102 98 lead on Julius Randle s dunk with 48 2 seconds left After two free throws by rookie PJ Washington Randle air balled a floater with 12 3 seconds to go setting it up for Graham After the timeout Nicolas Batum inbounded the ball from near midcourt to Washington Washington made a bounce pass to Graham who gained enough separation from Frank Ntilikina to hit the 3 pointer from well beyond the top of the key
Field Level Media |
WMB | Reports Colts RB Mack breaks hand severity unclear | Indianapolis Colts running back Marlon Mack sustained a fracture in his right hand in Sunday s victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars according to multiple reports
How long Mack will be out reportedly depends on whether or not he needs surgery which will be determined by tests and meetings with specialists this week At minimum he is expected to miss Thursday night s game at Houston in a battle for first place in the AFC South
Mack hurt the hand in the third quarter and was ruled out for the rest of the game He rushed for 109 yards on 14 carries before the injury
Jonathan Williams NYSE WMB thrived in relief rushing for 116 yards on 13 carries including a 48 yarder Scatback Nyheim Hines also had a 7 yard touchdown run
Mack s 13 yard touchdown run complete with a spin move knotted the score at 7 7 with 35 seconds left in the first quarter
Mack 23 has 862 rushing yards and four touchdowns this season
Field Level Media |
WMB | NFL roundup Vikings survive Broncos on 20 point rally | The Minnesota Vikings made up for three bad quarters of football with a dominant one on Sunday Kirk Cousins was 29 of 35 passing for 319 yards and three touchdowns to lead Minnesota to a come from behind 27 23 home win over the Denver Broncos The Vikings 8 3 trailed 20 0 at halftime and 23 7 after three quarters but scored three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rally and win for the sixth time in their past seven games Cousins hit Kyle Rudolph for a 32 yard touchdown pass with 6 01 remaining to give the Vikings a 27 23 lead their first of the game Denver 3 7 took the ball and put together a 19 play drive to the Minnesota 4 yard line in the final seconds but the Broncos couldn t connect on three consecutive passing plays before time ran out Patriots 17 Eagles 10 Wide receiver Julian Edelman threw a touchdown pass Nick Folk kicked three field goals and visiting New England scored 17 unanswered points to defeat Philadelphia in their first meeting since the Eagles won Super Bowl LII The win clinched the 19th consecutive winning season for the Patriots 9 1 one behind the Dallas Cowboys all time record of 20 from 1966 85 Patriots quarterback Tom Brady finished 26 of 47 for 216 yards Quarterback Carson Wentz was 20 of 40 for 214 yards and a touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert but the Eagles dropped back to 500 at 5 5 and had their two game winning streak snapped Ravens 41 Texans 7 Lamar Jackson passed for four touchdowns and produced 308 total yards as Baltimore turned a high profile matchup with Houston into a rout at home Though the Ravens 8 2 failed to score on their opening drive for just the second time this season Jackson caught fire with two long second quarter scoring drives that provided Baltimore a 14 0 halftime lead en route to its sixth consecutive win The Ravens top ranked rushing offense finished with 263 yards on 7 3 yards per carry Deshaun Watson passed for 169 yards and was sacked six times Carlos Hyde scampered 41 yards for a score with 7 10 remaining in the game to help Houston avoid the shutout 49ers 36 Cardinals 26 Jimmy Garoppolo passed for a career high 424 yards and tied a career high with four touchdowns including the game winning 25 yard score to Jeff Wilson Jr with 31 seconds remaining as host San Francisco rallied past Arizona in Santa Clara Calif The 49ers overcame a 16 point deficit beating the Cardinals for the second time in three weeks San Francisco 9 1 rebounded from its only loss on Monday night to take a one game lead over idle Seattle 8 2 in the NFC West Larry Fitzgerald and Pharoh Cooper had touchdown receptions for the Cardinals 3 7 1 who have lost a season high four in a row entering a bye week Cowboys 35 Lions 27 Dak Prescott threw for 444 yards and three touchdowns while Ezekiel Elliott added a pair of TDs as visiting Dallas notched a victory over short handed Detroit Prescott completed 29 of 46 passes while surpassing 400 yards for the third time this season and Michael Gallup caught nine passes for 148 yards as the Cowboys 6 4 remained in first place in the NFC East The Cowboys have won three of their last four games since a three game losing streak rebounding from a defeat at home against the Vikings last Sunday Saints 34 Buccaneers 17 Drew Brees threw three touchdown passes and visiting New Orleans recorded four interceptions of Tampa Bay quarterback Jameis Winston Brees completed 28 of 35 passes for 228 yards Michael Thomas the leading receiver in the NFL caught eight of Brees passes for 114 yards and a touchdown that helped the Saints 8 2 build a 20 0 lead The Buccaneers 3 7 pulled within 20 10 when Matt Gay kicked a 55 yard field goal on the first possession of the second half but Brees responded on the ensuing possession with a 75 yard drive that ended with a 6 yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr Colts 33 Jaguars 13 Jonathan Williams NYSE WMB rushed for 116 yards and Marlon Mack ran for 109 yards and a touchdown as Indianapolis beat visiting Jacksonville to move into a first place tie in the AFC South with Houston Quarterback Jacoby Brissett ran and threw for a touchdown in the third quarter in a successful return from a knee injury that forced him to sit out last week s 16 12 loss to Miami Brissett completed 15 of 24 passes for 148 yards for the Colts 6 4 It wasn t quite as nice a return for quarterback Nick Foles making his first start for Jacksonville 4 6 since suffering a broken clavicle in a Week 1 loss to Kansas City Foles hit on 33 of 47 passes for 296 yards with two touchdowns and an interception Falcons 29 Panthers 3 Atlanta intercepted four passes and defeated a second NFC South rival in as many weeks clobbering host Carolina in Charlotte N C Quarterback Matt Ryan threw for 311 yards and a touchdown and the Falcons took advantage of some stellar work on special teams including a 78 yard punt return touchdown by Kenjon Barner A week after knocking off the New Orleans Saints on the road the Falcons 3 7 didn t give Carolina quarterback Kyle Allen many open looks Allen who had never lost at home when starting for the Panthers finished 31 of 50 for 325 yards with four interceptions Raiders 17 Bengals 10 Derek Carr threw one touchdown pass and ran for a second score as Oakland used a strong defensive performance to hold off visiting Cincinnati Josh Jacobs rushed for 112 yards on 23 carries The Raiders defense limited the Bengals to a total of 246 yards en route to a third consecutive win that completed a homestand hat trick after a rough travel start to the season Carr finished 25 of 29 for 292 yards with the one score and one interception The interception by the Bengals Jessie Bates III was the first thrown by Carr in his last four games Bills 37 Dolphins 20 Josh Allen passed for three touchdowns and ran for another as Buffalo defeated host Miami Allen completed 21 of 33 passes for 256 yards with no interceptions His top receiver was John Brown who is from the Miami area and caught nine passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns Brown also recovered a Buffalo fumble Jakeem Grant s 101 yard kick return touchdown was a highlight for the Dolphins but it wasn t enough as the Bills 7 3 swept their two game season series with Miami 2 8 Grant also ran for a 7 yard touchdown and had 237 total yards Jets 34 Redskins 17 Sam Darnold threw a career high four touchdown passes as visiting New York cruised past Washington to win a second consecutive game for the first time since Oct 7 14 2018 The Redskins 1 9 have lost four straight but snapped a franchise record touchdown drought of 254 minutes and 49 seconds when rookie quarterback Dwayne Haskins Jr threw a 45 yard touchdown pass to Derrius Guice in the fourth quarter Darnold finished 19 of 30 for 293 yards Le Veon Bell rushed 18 times for 59 yards and scored a 1 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter for the Jets 3 7 Safety Jamal Adams recorded three sacks Rams 17 Bears 7 Todd Gurley matched a season high with 97 yards rushing and scored a touchdown Malcolm Brown added a score and the Rams returned home to win a defensive tussle against the Bears The elite Rams defense behind tackle Aaron Donald held the Bears scoreless in the first half and kept Chicago to 193 yards passing and 74 yards rushing The Bears missed field goals on two of their first three possessions
Jared Goff passed for 173 yards but it was enough for the Rams 6 4 to win for the third time in their past four games following a three game losing streak Field Level Media |
WMB | The Dark Side of ETFs The ETF P E Magic Trick | Steven Bregman of Horizon Kinetics explains to Grant Williams NYSE WMB that all is not what it seems in the ETF Market in the first part of this incredible three part interview As you appreciate the magic tricks employed to reduce PE ratios and influence sector diversification you begin to understand that investors are getting something diametrically different to what they expect Filmed on June 29 2017 in New York |
WMB | The Dark Side of ETFs The Truth in ETFs | In part two of our extended interview on the hidden dangers in ETFs with Steve Bregman Grant Williams NYSE WMB digs deeper to look at the scarring effect that 2008 had on investors as well as the lengths ETF providers go to construct products that work specifically against the best interests of investors This is something that all investors need to understand Filmed on June 29 2017 in New York |
WMB | NBA roundup Doncic scores 42 in triple double | Luka Doncic poured in a career high 42 points grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded 12 assists to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a 117 110 win over the visiting San Antonio Spurs on Monday for their second straight victory
The triple double was Doncic s league leading sixth of the season
Finney Smith had 22 points for Dallas Kristaps Porzingis added 18 points and 10 rebounds and Jalen Brunson scored 11 points in the win It was the first time the Mavericks scored 110 or more points against San Antonio since January 2010
DeMar DeRozan scored a season high 36 points for the reeling Spurs who lost their sixth straight game San Antonio hadn t lost that many in a row since the 2010 11 season when it dropped six straight in March and April The Spurs went on to finish that regular season with 61 wins
Clippers 90 Thunder 88
Paul George s 3 pointer with 25 9 seconds remaining was the difference and Los Angeles held off visiting Oklahoma City
Montrezl Harrell had 28 points and 12 rebounds for the Clippers George who scored 70 total points in his previous two games finished with 18 points against his former club Clippers star Kawhi Leonard missed his third consecutive game due to a left knee contusion
Chris Paul scored 22 points and recorded four steals and Danilo Gallinari had 14 points for the Thunder However Gallinari missed a potential game winning shot near the end
Rockets 132 Trail Blazers 108
James Harden and Russell Westbrook combined 64 points as host Houston won the battle of the backcourts defeating Portland While Harden scored 23 of his 36 points in the first half Westbrook came alive in the second half with 15 of his 28 points
Westbrook added 13 rebounds and 10 assists overall as Houston extended its winning streak to eight games The Rockets were bolstered by the return of center Clint Capela 22 points 20 rebounds from a concussion and Danuel House Jr 11 points from a sore back
Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum the Trail Blazers high scoring guard tandem totaled 38 points on 14 of 34 shooting McCollum had 25 points while Lillard had 13 shooting just 4 of 15 overall and 1 of 6 from 3 point range
Celtics 99 Suns 85
Jayson Tatum scored 14 of his season high 26 points in the third quarter and added a season high 11 rebounds and Boston downed host Phoenix to get back on the winning track
Kemba Walker produced 19 points for Boston and Marcus Smart had 17 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with an ankle sprain Daniel Theis grabbed a season high 11 rebounds for the Celtics who had a 10 game winning streak broken in a one point loss at Sacramento on Sunday
Devin Booker had 20 points Kelly Oubre Jr had 15 points and Dario Saric had nine points and 10 rebounds for the Suns Phoenix played without point guard Ricky Rubio back spasms in posting a season low in points after winning five of its previous seven games
Bucks 115 Bulls 101
Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 33 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and Milwaukee finished closed the game on a 17 2 run to wipe out a 99 98 deficit and beat host Chicago
Brook Lopez had 19 points and 10 rebounds to go with five blocked shots for Milwaukee which won its fourth game in a row George Hill scored 18 and Donte DiVincenzo finished with 15
Rookie Daniel Gafford amassed 21 points on 10 of 12 shooting for the Bulls The second round draft pick from Arkansas entered the game with zero points in four games off the bench
Timberwolves 112 Jazz 102
Karl Anthony Towns matched his career high of seven 3 pointers and contributed 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead Minnesota over Utah in Salt Lake City
Jeff Teague recorded 21 points and 11 assists for Minnesota which halted a two game slide Robert Covington scored 15 points Kelan Martin added 14 on 6 of 7 shooting and Josh Okogie had 11 for the Timberwolves
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 18 points but Donovan Mitchell struggled with 5 of 23 shooting while scoring 17 points for Utah which dropped to 6 1 at home Rudy Gobert registered 16 points and 14 rebounds
Raptors 132 Hornets 96
OG Anunoby scored a career best 24 points and Toronto demolished visiting Charlotte for its biggest margin of victory of the season
Pascal Siakam scored 20 points and Norman Powell contributed 17 for the Raptors who were returning home after a 3 2 road trip Terence Davis chipped in with 16 off the Toronto bench as the Raptors improved to 5 0 at home
Marvin Williams NYSE WMB led four other teammates in double figures by scoring 14 for the Hornets who had won two in a row
Knicks 123 Cavaliers 105
Julius Randle scored 13 of his game high 30 points during a pivotal first quarter run for host Knicks who never trailed in a blowout win over Cleveland
The Knicks are 2 2 since a 108 87 home loss to the Cavaliers on Nov 10 when team president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry held a postgame press conference to express their unhappiness with New York s performance
Randle s 30 point effort was the first by a Knicks player since April 7 The Cavaliers have dropped four straight since routing the Knicks including the last three by a combined 48 points Kevin Porter Jr led Cleveland with 18 points
Pacers 115 Nets 86
Aaron Holiday scored a career high 24 points and brother Justin Holiday added a season high 20 points as Indiana shook off a sluggish start and continued its success over the Brooklyn with a victory in New York
The Pacers beat the Nets for the second time this season 11th time in 12 meetings and sixth straight time in Brooklyn Aaron Holiday added a career high 13 assists T J Warren had 19 points while Domantas Sabonis collected 16 points and a career high 18 rebounds
The Nets lost for the fourth time in five games and were blown out in their second game without Kyrie Irving right shoulder impingement Irving was listed as questionable for the game but was ruled out Monday afternoon Spencer Dinwiddie started for Irving and scored 28 points
Field Level Media |
WMB | Fed s Williams Risks to U S economy still to the downside | By Lindsay Dunsmuir WASHINGTON Reuters The U S Federal Reserve has interest rates at the appropriate level for the U S economy but risks to the economic outlook are still tilted downwards New York Federal Reserve President John Williams NYSE WMB said on Tuesday I think some of these issues with inflation still below target we are still seeing some downgrades in the global outlook I am definitely watching more for some of the downside Williams told reporters following an appearance at a capital markets conference in Washington Earlier Williams had echoed his colleagues at the U S central bank in describing monetary policy as in the right place with the U S economy right where we would like it to be The Federal Reserve voted 8 2 to cut interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its October meeting to a target range of between 1 50 and 1 75 It was the third interest rate cut this year but the Fed made plain at the time that it would lower rates again only if there is a material deterioration in the U S economic outlook Earlier this month Williams also said the U S economy is in a good place and reiterated that the central bank s reduction in borrowing costs this year should mitigate the potential risks of the ongoing U S China trade war and slowing global growth On what it would take for the Fed to reconsider its current pause on interest rates Williams told reporters it would be important for the Fed not to overreact to individual data points but to follow trends Are these global factors or other things causing the U S economy to slow more than expected and slow below trend growth on an ongoing basis That would be an argument for some more accommodation Similarly if inflation were to move in the wrong direction on a sustained basis that would be an argument to consider more accommodation Williams said The New York Fed chief also addressed September s ructions in short term lending markets and said the central bank and regulators should closely examine how regulations put in place following the 2008 financial crisis may have contributed My only message on this would be there are reasons we have regulations that were put in place after the crisis That said there may be ways that there are unintended consequences and inefficiencies Williams said We don t want inefficiencies in terms of how those markets work so those are the things that will be studied carefully he noted The Fed began purchasing Treasury bills in mid October to increase the level of reserves in the banking system and minimize volatility after September s liquidity crunch which caused borrowing rates in short term lending markets to spike The New York Fed said last week it will purchase 60 billion in short term Treasury bills through mid December
The Fed has one more interest rate setting before the end of the year on Dec 10 11 but investors now see the Fed keeping interest rates unchanged until at least mid 2020 |
WMB | Top White House Ukraine expert says Trump request for Biden probe was improper | By Patricia Zengerle and Karen Freifeld WASHINGTON Reuters A White House official testified in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump on Tuesday that a phone call the president made to ask Ukraine to investigate his political rivals was improper and denounced attacks on witnesses in the investigation Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman the White House National Security Council s top Ukraine expert testified at the third public hearing in the impeachment effort before the U S House of Representatives Intelligence Committee The inquiry focuses on a July 25 phone call in which Trump asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to carry out two investigations that would benefit him politically including one targeting Democratic political rival Joe Biden The other involved a debunked conspiracy theory embraced by some Trump allies that Ukraine not Russia interfered in the 2016 U S election It was inappropriate it was improper for the president to request to demand an investigation into a political opponent especially from a foreign power where there is at best dubious belief that this would be a completely impartial investigation and that this would have significant implications if it became public knowledge Vindman told the committee He testified alongside Jennifer Williams NYSE WMB an aide to U S Vice President Mike Pence both of whom were among the U S officials who listened in on the July 25 call Vindman an Iraq war veteran who appeared at the hearing wearing his Army uniform and medals has been publicly criticized by Trump along with other witnesses He told lawmakers that character attacks against public servants testifying in the impeachment inquiry were reprehensible It is natural to disagree and engage in spirited debate this has been the custom of our country since the time of our Founding Fathers but we are better than personal attacks he told lawmakers In his prepared opening statement to the committee he had referred to vile character attacks and said we are better than callow and cowardly attacks but did not use those words at the hearing Trump has attacked both Williams and Vindman on Twitter as Never Trump witnesses a term to describe Republicans who oppose him A U S official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Vindman had recently concerns over his personal security and the Army has been carrying out security assessments The official said Vindman and his family could be moved to a military base if the security threat warrants such action but that has not yet occurred Vindman whose family fled the Soviet Union and settled in the United States sent out a message to his father from the witness seat Dad that I am sitting here today in the U S Capitol talking to our elected officials is proof that you made the right decision 40 years ago to leave the Soviet Union and come here to the United States of America in search of a better life for our family Do not worry I will be fine for telling the truth Vindman testified Ahead of the call Trump had frozen 391 million in U S security aid approved by Congress to help Ukraine combat Russia backed separatists in the eastern part of the country Trump was seeking a Ukrainian investigation of Biden a leading contender for the Democratic nomination to face Trump in the 2020 presidential election and Biden s son Hunter who had served on the board of a Ukrainian energy firm called Burisma Trump has denied wrongdoing and attacked the Democrats leading the inquiry DOMESTIC POLITICAL MATTER Williams told the committee that Trump s call with Zelenskiy was unusual because it involved discussion of what appeared to be a domestic political matter She said the White House budget office had said Trump s acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney had directed that 391 million in security aid to Ukraine be put on hold and that she never learned why the assistance was later released in September Democrats have accused Trump of using the frozen aid and Zelenskiy s desire for an Oval Office meeting as leverage to pressure a vulnerable U S ally to dig up dirt on political adversaries The investigation could lead the House to approve formal charges against Trump known as articles of impeachment that would be sent to the Republican controlled Senate for a trial on whether to remove him from office Few Republican senators have broken with Trump Representative Devin Nunes the committee s top Republican and a close Trump ally did not address the substance of the witness testimony about the president s actions in his opening statement on Tuesday but unleashed an attack on the media calling journalists puppets of the Democratic Party Representative Adam Schiff the committee s Democratic chairman noted Trump s criticism of Williams and of Marie Yovanovitch the former U S ambassador to Ukraine who testified in the impeachment inquiry on Friday Schiff also noted the scurrilous attacks on Vindman s character I note that you have shed blood for America and we owe you an immense debt of gratitude Schiff told Vindman who was awarded a Purple Heart medal for war wounds At one point Schiff interrupted Nunes questioning of Vindman that appeared to be aimed at revealing the identity of the intelligence community whistleblower whose complaint about Trump s July 25 call triggered the impeachment inquiry The whistleblower s identity has remained a secret but Trump and his allies have repeatedly attacked the individual These proceedings will not be used to out the whistleblower Schiff said Vindman referred to the two investigations that Trump had sought from Ukraine as alternative false narratives and noted that Russian President Vladmir Putin had promoted the notion that the Ukrainians had interfered in the 2016 U S election U S intelligence agencies and former Special Counsel Robert Mueller determined that Russia used a campaign of hacking and propaganda to boost Trump s candidacy and harm his Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton
Two other witnesses were scheduled to testify later on Tuesday Kurt Volker the former U S special envoy to Ukraine and former National Security Council Russia expert Tim Morrison |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.