Business & Finance News
U.S. stocks edged lower on Wednesday as videogame makers reported disappointing revenue forecasts and investors awaited developments on U.S.-China trade relations.
The European Commission’s decision to block a tie-up between Alstom and Germany’s Siemens is fueling speculation over possible merger talks between the French rail business and Canada’s Bombardier, lifting both companies’ shares on Wednesday.
Germany will seek to reform competition law during its European Union presidency in 2020, a government source told Reuters on Wednesday, hours after antitrust regulators blocked a rail deal between Siemens and Alstom.
The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six months in November as cheaper oil and higher domestic petroleum production helped to curb the country’s import bill, leading economists to boost their economic growth estimates for the fourth quarter.
The Australian dollar tumbled on Wednesday after its central bank signaled a possible interest-rate cut in the latest indication a global economic slowdown is tilting policymakers toward looser monetary policy, while a gauge of world equity markets edged back from two-month highs.
Berlin and Paris are working to change European competition rules to facilitate large cross-border mergers, after the European Union blocked Siemens and Alstom from merging their rail businesses on Wednesday.
The three main U.S. indexes retreated slightly on Wednesday from two-month highs, as videogame makers reported disappointing revenue forecasts, while investors waited for more clarity on U.S.-China trade developments.
The French Senate rejected on Wednesday proposed legislation aimed at toughening checks on telecoms equipment, following a U.S. warning about Chinese telecoms giant Huawei.
General Motors Co on Wednesday reported a quarterly profit that exceeded Wall Street expectations, thanks to high-margin pickup trucks and small SUVs in the U.S. market and cost cutting.
The European Commission’s decision to block a tie-up between Alstom and Germany’s Siemens is fueling speculation about potential merger talks between France’s Alstom and Canada’s Bombardier, lifting both companies’ shares on Wednesday.
Wall Street dipped on Wednesday as disappointing forecasts from videogame makers pulled the communications sector lower, but a boost from technology companies kept the main indexes near two-month highs.
Daimler cut its dividend on Wednesday after fourth-quarter operating profit plunged by 22 percent, hit by trade wars, rising costs for developing electric cars and an industry downturn that has dented even the most profitable carmakers.
Private equity firm Carlyle Group LP said on Wednesday it expects to grow the amount it earns from management fees by more than a quarter in 2019, as it wraps up a $100 billion fundraising push.
Eli Lilly and Co on Wednesday embraced a U.S. government proposal to end a decades-old system of rebates drugmakers make to industry middlemen, saying it could lower the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs for patients.
The U.S. trade deficit fell for the first time in six months in November amid declines in imports of cellphones and petroleum products, leading economists to boost their economic growth estimates for the fourth quarter.
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