Year: 2020

(Bloomberg) — Harley-Davidson Inc. shares jumped as much as 13% in premarket trading on better-than-expected profit as Chief Executive Officer Jochen Zeitz’s moves to cut costs and boost margins on a smaller revenue base paid off in the third quarter.The Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based manufacturer reported adjusted earnings per share of $1.05, beating analysts’ consensus 29 cents. In line with Zeitz’s strategy of shrinking supply and shoring up pricing, the company said dealer inventory fell more than 30% compared with a year ago, and it was able to charge asking price for 2020 model year motorcycles in the quarter.Harley shares rose as …read more […]

When we invest, we’re generally looking for stocks that outperform the market average. Buying under-rated businesses… …read more […]

Pfizer said in a presentation that the independent monitor which will determine whether or not the trial has been successful has not conducted any interim efficacy analyses yet. Chief Executive Albert Bourla has previously said the company could release data on whether or not the vaccine works as early as this month. U.S. President Donald Trump had said a vaccine could be available before the Nov. 3 election, but in recent weeks his administration has emphasized that one will be ready this year. …read more […]

Cristan Blackman’s Empirical Capital Partners is a Tennessee-based hedge fund founded in 2000 that takes a small number of concentrated positions in high-quality companies, with the fund investing the bulk of its assets in those companies which it sees as having the greatest potential for near-term gains. The fund managed a 13F portfolio containing $70.1 […] …read more […]

Multi-center trial to assess the safety and efficacy of pelareorep-atezolizumab combination therapies across multiple GI cancer indicationsTreatment aimed at 4.8M global GI cancer cases annually1 and the approximately 80% of GI cancer patients who do not respond to immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy currentlyStudy builds on prior early findings of greater than 90% clinical benefit in colorectal and greater than 80% increase in progression-free survival in pancreatic cancer patientsSAN DIEGO, CA and CALGARY, AB, Oct. …read more […]

Merck said it now expects full-year adjusted profit of between $5.91 and $6.01 per share, compared with its prior forecast of between $5.63 to $5.78 per share. For 2020, Merck now expects an unfavorable impact to revenue of about $2.35 billion due to the pandemic, up from $1.95 billion it had initially estimated. Excluding items, Merck earned $1.74 per share, beating analysts’ average estimates of $1.44 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. …read more […]

Pfizer’s CEO Albert Bourla has said the company could release data on whether or not the vaccine works as early as this month, but the company said in a presentation that the independent data monitoring board which will determine whether or not the trial has been successful has not conducted any interim efficacy analyses yet. U.S. President Donald Trump had said a vaccine could be available before the Nov. 3 election, but in recent weeks his administration has emphasized that one will be ready this year. Pfizer hopes to be the first U.S. drugmaker to unveil successful data …read more […]

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“Why are the rental rates of farmland versus its market value so disparate compared with any other rental-versus-ownership ratios?” one of our apprentices asked at supper last week.
I wish I had a nickel for each hour I’ve spent trying to explain that, unlike residential and commercial real estate, farmland rental rates will not pay the mortgage. Many people have become wealthy investing in commercial and residential real estate by having the rent pay the mortgage.
But that doesn’t happen in agriculture.
In our area, going rental rates for farmland run about 0.5% of the land’s value. In other words, farmland worth $7,000 …read more […]

Caterpillar Inc on Tuesday reported lower third-quarter earnings as equipment sales fell across all three primary segments. Caterpillar Chief Executive Jim Umpleby, however, said the company was witnessing “positive signs” in certain industries and geographies. Construction machine sales in Asia-Pacific, for example, were up 14% year-on-year in the latest quarter. …read more […]

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Hasso Plattner, chairman and co-founder of SAP, bought shares worth nearly $300 million in the German software company on Monday after a once-in-a-generation price slide triggered when management dumped its profit targets. The 76-year-old billionaire bought shares worth 248.5 million euros ($294 million) at an average price of 101 euros, according to a regulatory filing published on Tuesday. SAP shares slumped by 20% after CEO Christian Klein ditched his “ambition” for profit margins to expand steadily through 2023 and lowered the outlook for this year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — European stocks dropped on Tuesday amid concern about the relentless spread of coronavirus, while U.S. equity futures turned higher before some of the biggest drug companies report results.The Stoxx Europe 600 Index fell toward its lowest close since June. Declines in miners and energy firms overshadowed positive earnings from banking powerhouses HSBC Holdings Plc and Banco Santander SA, which both signaled a brighter outlook for dividends. BP Plc warned of many challenges ahead as the pace of recovery in oil demand remained uncertain.The modest move up in S&P 500 futures comes after the index suffered its biggest daily …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Banco Santander SA rebounded from its worst-ever quarter with a profit that beat estimates and improved capital as it seeks to convince regulators that its balance sheet is strong enough to resume dividend payments.Net income totaled 1.75 billion euros ($2.1 billion) in the third quarter, beating estimates of about 1 billion euros, the bank said on Tuesday. The CET1 ratio, a key measure of capital strength, improved to 11.98% from 11.84% at end-June.The results strengthen the Spanish bank’s push to overturn the European Central Bank’s de-facto ban on paying dividends, which has driven down share prices. Santander Chairman …read more […]