LONDON (Reuters) – UK-based air services company Bond Aviation said on Thursday it had grounded its global fleet of 38 EC135 helicopters following a technical fault, less than two weeks after one of its aircraft crashed into a Scottish pub, killing nine people. A company spokeswoman said one of the helicopters made by a subsidiary of aerospace group EADS (EAD.PA) had experienced an indicator defect on Wednesday but declined to … Read more »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – General Motors Co (GM.N) scaled back its alliance with Peugeot (PEUP.PA) on Thursday and put a brave face on yet another setback for its efforts to seek growth in Europe through collaboration and partnerships. It was the second time in a year GM had trimmed its expectations on the deal it agreed in February 2012, but it said the alliance could still offer up new opportunities. In … Read more »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales rose solidly in November, adding to signs of a strengthening economy that could draw the Federal Reserve closer to reducing the pace of monetary stimulus. The upbeat economic picture was clouded somewhat by another report on Thursday showing the biggest jump in a year in first-time applications for unemployment benefits last week. The Commerce Department said retail sales increased 0.7 percent last month as … Read more »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Cisco Systems Inc Chief Executive John Chambers said on Thursday he is beginning to see the U.S. market recover but cited challenges in emerging market economies such as Russia and Brazil. Chambers said at the company’s financial analyst conference in New York that while emerging markets are “extremely challenged” right now, he expects 6 percent to 10 percent growth there when those markets recover. For the … Read more »
SAO PAULO (Reuters) – American Airlines Group Inc (AAL.O) agreed to buy 60 aircraft from Embraer SA (EMBR3.SA), the world’s largest producer of regional jets, in a deal worth $2.5 billion at list prices, sending Embraer shares to a two-month high on Thursday. Delivery of the new E175 airplanes will begin in the first quarter of 2015, Embraer said, bolstering its order backlog as it finished off a strong year. … Read more »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose sharply last week, reversing the prior three weeks declines, but a recent strengthening of the labor market likely remains intact. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits surged 68,000 to a seasonally adjusted 368,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the largest weekly increase since November 2012. Claims for the prior week were revised to … Read more »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. retail sales rose solidly in November as Americans bought automobiles and a range of other goods, adding to signs of a strengthening economy that could draw the Federal Reserve closer to reducing the pace of monetary stimulus. The Commerce Department said on Thursday retail sales increased 0.7 percent last month after rising by a revised 0.6 percent in October. November’s retail sales increase was the largest … Read more »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. import prices fell for a second straight month in November as the cost of petroleum and food dropped, suggesting imported inflation pressures remained subdued. Import prices fell 0.6 percent last month after a revised 0.6 percent drop in October, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Import prices had previously been reported to have declined 0.7 percent in October. Economists polled by Reuters had expected import prices … Read more »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stock index futures held losses Thursday after mixed data reports showed a rise in retail sales while import prices indicated inflation remained subdued, and jobless claims saw their largest weekly increase in more than a year. S&P 500 futures fell 1.8 points and were slightly below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration of the … Read more »
TORONTO (Reuters) – Lululemon Athletica Inc (LULU.O) said on Thursday it expects flat same-store sales in the crucial fourth quarter, sending its shares sharply lower even as the Canadian yogawear chain reported third-quarter earnings that beat expectations. The sales forecast is a big reversal for Lululemon, which not long ago was posting same-store sales growth well into double digits. It was hit by an embarrassing recall this year after some … Read more »
LONDON (Reuters) – British film and computer games rental chain Blockbuster is to close down completely after administrators said they had failed to secure a buyer for the firm. Private equity firm Gordon Brothers Europe, which purchased Blockbuster for an undisclosed sum in March, put it into administration on November 11 when it was trading from 264 stores, employing 2,000. Administrator Moorfields Corporate Recovery has been closing stores and laying … Read more »
TORONTO (Reuters) – Bombardier Inc (BBDb.TO) said on Thursday that American Airlines Group Inc would buy 30 of its CRJ900 NextGen aircraft and had also taken options on an additional 40 planes. The company said based on the list price for the CRJ900 NextGen aircraft, the firm order contract was valued at about $1.42 billion and might increase to about $3.38 billion if the 40 options are converted into firm … Read more »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – U.S. cable group Liberty Global is in takeover talks with Dutch operator Ziggo, its latest move to consolidate the sector in Europe in a deal analysts say could cost around 5 billion euros ($6.9 billion). Ziggo, which rejected an approach from the company controlled by U.S. tycoon John Malone in October as too low, on Thursday said no decision has yet been made about a full takeover … Read more »
HELSINKI (Reuters) – State-controlled Finnish utility Fortum has agreed to sell its local power distribution grid to a consortium of institutional investors led by First State Investments and Borealis Infrastructure for 2.55 billion euros ($3.5 billion). The deal is the latest in a series of regulated distribution network sales made by large energy firms wanting to cut debt and focus on their power generation businesses instead. At the same time … Read more »
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – General Motors (GM.N) scaled back its alliance with Peugeot (PEUP.PA) and put a brave face on yet another setback for its efforts to seek growth in Europe through collaboration and partnerships. It was the second time in a year GM had trimmed its expectations of a deal that was agreed in February but said the alliance could still offer up new opportunities. In a joint press release … Read more »
PARIS (Reuters) – Shares in PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) tumbled 10 percent on Thursday, representing a 430 million euros ($592 million) wipeout in market capitalization, after the car maker unveiled a big writedown and confirmed it is mulling a capital increase. A source told Reuters late on Wednesday that the company’s board had approved a plan for an alliance with Dongfeng Motor (0489.HK) in which the Chinese carmaker and the … Read more »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s top economic planning agency has “substantial evidence” against chipmaker Qualcomm Inc in an antitrust probe, state media on Thursday quoted a senior official at the price regulator as saying. The official English-language China Daily attributed the comment to Xu Kunlin, head of the National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) anti-price-fixing bureau, in the agency’s first public comment on the case. The report gave no further details. … Read more »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs (GS.N) has agreed to provide a $120 million pre-IPO loan to Shanghai-based warehouse developer e-Shang, co-founded by U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus WP.UL, e-Shang said on Thursday. Warburg has also raised its total investment to $200 million in the company it helped establish in 2011 with two local entrepreneurs. Warehouse investing is on the rise in China, attracting private equity and property companies … Read more »
LONDON (Reuters) – European shares slipped to a two-month low on Thursday, tracking losses on Wall Street and in Asia as markets positioned for data that could determine if the U.S. Federal Reserve starts trimming its stimulus next week. Investors lowered their exposure to riskier assets after a provisional budget deal in Washington this week eased some of the fiscal drag on the U.S. economy. That raised chances that the … Read more »
PARIS (Reuters) – Airbus parent EADS (EAD.PA) will not chase growth at any cost and will avoid investing in areas where growth looks shaky or inaccessible, the company’s strategy chief said on Thursday. The company, which is in the process of selling its Test and Services monitoring business, will also carry out “active portfolio management” in coming months, he reiterated. Confirming a two-speed strategy as reported by Reuters on Wednesday, … Read more »
PARIS/LONDON (Reuters) – French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen (PEUP.PA) unveiled a 1.1 billion euro ($1.52 billion) writedown at its ailing overseas operations and won General Motors (GM.N) backing for a tie-up with China’s Dongfeng. Peugeot and GM also lowered savings goals for their scaled-down alliance on Thursday, as the Paris-based carmaker acknowledged it was pursuing a deal with Dongfeng Motor Group (0489.HK) underpinned by a capital increase. Peugeot, one of … Read more »
SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A former Morgan Stanley (MS.N) banker convicted of insider trading will have to pay more than 290 investors a total of HK$23.9 million ($3.08 million) they lost out on, a Hong Kong court ordered on Thursday, in an unprecedented legal ruling. Du Jun, a former banker for Morgan Stanley Asia Limited, was ordered by Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance to make the payment for using inside … Read more »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – President Vladimir Putin conceded for the first time on Thursday that Russia’s economic problems were home-grown but vowed not to abandon the spending promises he made on returning to the Kremlin last year. Putin’s third presidential term has been marked by a slowdown and the government has slashed its forecast for economic growth this year to 1.4 percent. Long-term growth is likely to average 2.5 percent, lagging … Read more »
SEOUL (Reuters) – Korea Aerospace Industries (047810.KS) has signed a contract with Iraq to export 24 light fighter jets valued at $1.1 billion, the South Korean company said on Thursday. The deal to supply T-50 aircrafts also include providing training for Iraqi pilots and other support for the Iraqi Air Force with a potential to reach a combined value of $2 billion, the contractor said in a statement. (Reporting by … Read more »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s GMR Infrastructure Ltd (GMRI.NS) has hired four banks including Citigroup and JPMorgan to manage the listing of its airport business that is expected to raise $300-$350 million, sources with direct knowledge of the matter said. The company, whose business interest includes airport, power and roads, has also picked Axis Capital, a unit of private Indian lender Axis Bank, and IDFC (IDFC.NS) for the public offering, three … Read more »