Business

12

Dec

By Dorothy Brand

Business

European Central Bank likely to cut rates while weighing US trade concerns and France’s chaos

FRANKFURT – With U.S. President-elect Donald Trump threatening new tariffs and political chaos engulfing France, the European Union's second-largest economy, the question ahead of the European Central Bank meeting Thursday is not whether it will cut interest rates, but by how much. Analysts see a quarter-point rate cut from the current ECB benchmark rate of 3.25% as the most likely option when the bank's rate-setting council meets at its skyscraper headquarters in Frankfurt. But the prospect of a half-point cut isn’t out of the question for the bank and its President Christine Lagarde as new risks that emerged since the…

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12

Nov

By Dorothy Brand

Investing

Japan’s SoftBank returns to profit after gains at Vision Fund and other investments

TOKYO – Japanese technology group SoftBank swung back to profitability in the July-September quarter, boosted by positive results in its Vision Fund investments. Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp. reported Tuesday a fiscal second-quarter profit of nearly 1.18 trillion yen ($7.7 billion), compared with a 931 billion yen loss in the year-earlier period. Quarterly sales edged up about 6% to nearly 1.77 trillion yen ($11.5 billion). SoftBank credited income from royalties and licensing related to its holdings in Arm, a computer chip-designing company, whose business spans smartphones, data centers, networking equipment, automotive, consumer electronic devices, and AI applications. The results were also…

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27

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Business

Richmond Fed president urges caution on interest rate cuts because inflation isn’t defeated

WASHINGTON (AP) — The president of the Federal Reserve’s Richmond branch says he supports reducing the central bank’s key interest rate “somewhat” from its current level but isn’t yet ready for the Fed to fully take its foot off the economy’s brakes. In an interview Thursday with The Associated Press, Tom Barkin also said the economy is showing “impressive strength,” highlighting recent solid reports on retail sales, unemployment claims, and growth in the April-June quarter, which reached a healthy 3%. “With inflation and unemployment being so close to normal levels, it’s okay to dial back the level of restraint, somewhat,”…

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19

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Investing

Stock market today: Most of Wall Street edges lower after Fed delivers a big cut to rates

NEW YORK — U.S. stock indexes edged lower Wednesday after the Federal Reserve kicked off its efforts to prevent a recession with a bigger-than-usual cut to interest rates. The S&P 500 slipped 0.3% to pull 0.9% below its all-time high set in July. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 103 points, or 0.2%, though it remains close to its record set on Monday. The Nasdaq composite lost 0.3%. The momentous move by the Fed helps financial markets in two big ways. It eases the brakes off the economy, which has been slowing under the weight of higher rates, and it…

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10

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Business

Google loses final EU court appeal against 2.4 billion euro fine in antitrust shopping case

LONDON (AP) — Google lost its final legal challenge on Tuesday against a European Union penalty for giving its own shopping recommendations an illegal advantage over rivals in search results, ending a long-running antitrust case that came with a whopping fine. The European Union’s Court of Justice upheld a lower court’s decision, rejecting the company’s appeal against the 2.4 billion euro ($2.7 billion) penalty from the European Commission, the 27-nation bloc’s top antitrust enforcer. “By today’s judgment, the Court of Justice dismisses the appeal and thus upholds the judgment of the General Court,” the court said in a press release…

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10

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Business

EU’s top court dismisses Apple’s final appeal against order to pay Ireland 13B euros in back taxes

LONDON (AP) — The European Union’s top court on Tuesday rejected Apple’s final legal challenge against an order from the bloc’s executive commission to repay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland, bringing an end to the long-running dispute. The European Court of Justice overruled a lower court’s earlier decision in the case, saying it “confirms the European Commission’s 2016 decision: Ireland granted Apple unlawful aid which Ireland is required to recover.” The case drew outrage from Apple when it was opened in 2016, with CEO Tim Cook calling it “total political crap.” Then-U.S. President Donald Trump slammed European…

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09

Sep

By Dorothy Brand

Investing

Va Tech Wabag stock soars as Axis Sec initiates coverage with ‘Buy’ rating

Va Tech Wabag (VTW) stock price surged up to 2.3 percent intraday high of Rs 1344.15 per share on the BSE on Monday. This came amid a positive development for the firm as the domestic brokerage firm Axis Securities, initiated coverage on the water supply and management company with a ‘Buy’ rating at a target price of Rs 1,700 per share. This is valued at 23 times its FY26 earnings per share, reflecting an upside of 29.4 percent from Friday’s closing price. The brokerage firm said that Va Tech Wabag is presently riding the wave of sustainable growth with its…

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28

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Business

Deal reached with Norfolk Southern to expand rail service in parts of Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State officials approved a deal Tuesday with Norfolk Southern to expand commuter and passenger rail services in southwestern and northern Virginia. The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority announced that the agreement would extend a passenger rail into the New River Valley, allowing state officials to run passenger trains between Roanoke and Christiansburg on the private rail company’s main rail line, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. With access to the line, state officials said, they could add passenger services to Norfolk Southern’s Cambria Yard station in Christiansburg, which served as a passenger terminal from 1904 to 1979. Officials…

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28

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Investing, Business

Warren Buffett’s firm sells another $1 billion of Bank of America stock but still holds almost 12%

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett’s company has unloaded more of its Bank of America stake, selling nearly 25 million shares worth almost $1 billion over the past week. Berkshire Hathaway has steadily sold off 116 million Bank of America shares since July. But it still controls nearly 12% of the stock in the bank based in Charlotte, North Carolina. After the sale was disclosed, Berkshire’s Class A stock — already the most expensive stock on Wall Street — gained $7,184.62 Wednesday to sell for $698,534.62. That elevated the conglomerate based in Omaha, Nebraska, into the club of companies…

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28

Aug

By Dorothy Brand

Business, Technology

Super Micro Computer tumbles 25% on 10K reporting delay, accusations of accounting irregularities

WASHINGTON (AP) — Super Micro Computer lost a quarter of its value in morning trading Wednesday after the server technology company said it was delaying the filing of its annual report. The company said in a regulatory filing that “additional time is needed for management to complete its assessment of the design and operating effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting as of June 30, 2024,” which was the end of the company’s fiscal year. Super Micro Computer’s announcement comes one day after short-selling firm Hindenburg Research said a three-month review turned up new evidence of accounting manipulation by…

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