By Deena BeasleyFeb 6 (Reuters) - Gilead Sciences Inc on Tuesday said fourth-quarter sales of its flagship hepatitis C drugs fell by more than half amid increased competition and forecast a further slowdown next year, sending its shares lower after the closing bell.For full-year 2018, the biotechnology company forecast product sales of $20 billion to $21 billion, down from $25.7 billion last year....Read More
Stock volatility was the story again today on Wall Street, with the Dow trading in a more than 1,100-point range. The VIX also saw whipsaw action, briefly topping the 50 handle for the first time since August 2015, as leveraged volatility ETNs -- which many believe exacerbated the stock market sell-off -- remained in focus. Buyers returnedin a big way in the final hour of trading, however, helping...Read More
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Australian shares are expected to recover on Wednesday after the central bank struck an upbeat tone about the country's economy on Tuesday, outlining a steady path ahead even as global equities plunged.The Reserve Bank of Australia's optimism was underpinned by solid economic data in recent weeks, topped by strong fourth-quarter retail sales figures which implied stronger househo...Read More
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will testify on the central bank's semiannual report on monetary policy and the economy on Feb. 28 before the House of Representatives' Financial Services Committee, the panel announced on Tuesday.The hearing with Powell, who took office on Monday, will be held at 10 a.m. (1500 GMT), the committee said. (Reporting by Tim Ahmann;...Read More
(Kitco News)- The case for holding broad commodities and gold just gotstronger as U.S. equity markets could struggle following Monday’s flash crash,according to one commodity expert. In a telephone interview with Kitco News, Will Rhind, CEOof GraniteShares, said that commodities have held up well as investorscontinued to digest Monday’s market correction, which saw the biggest one...Read More
Feb 6 (Reuters) - Akamai Technologies Inc reported a 7.7 percent rise in quarterly revenue on Tuesday as the company benefited from higher demand for its cloud security services.However, the company's net income fell to $19.1 million, or 11 cents per share, in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, from $91.6 million, or 52 cents per share, a year earlier. The fourth quarter was impacted by a $52 milli...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - BlackRock Inc's Investment Institute said on Tuesday that the swoon in stock markets is "contained" and that it sees an opportunity to take on more risk, particularly in emerging market equities.A real change in markets would require a deterioration in the economy, the group said in a note. Instead, the recent pullback "appeared to stem from investor jitt...Read More
By Noel RandewichSAN FRANCISCO, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Deep losses on Wall Street coupled with recent optimism about profit growth has left the S&P 500 trading at its lowest price-to-earnings multiple in over a year.While some traders warn that a "buy the dip" mentality may be coming to an end after a nine-year stock rally, strategists who remain bullish on U.S. stocks say economic growth...Read More
NEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks posted sharp gains in another wild trading session on Tuesday, as indexes rebounded from the biggest one-day drops for the S&P 500 and the Dow in more than six years that had stalled the market's record run on Monday.The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 569.32 points, or 2.34 percent, to 24,915.07, the S&P 500 gained 46.31 points, or 1.75 percent, t...Read More
Feb 7 (Reuters) - Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the country's biggest mortgage lender, posted a decline in first-half cash-profit from continued operations on Wednesday, hurt by regulatory and compliance costs.The bank's profit for the six months ended Dec. 31 slipped 2 percent to A$4.74 billion ($3.74 billion).The bank's net interest margin, the difference between interest costs and interest ea...Read More
WASHINGTON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The White House is "very comfortable" with where the economy is, despite recent stock market volatility, a White House spokeswoman said on Tuesday."Look, the economy is incredibly strong right now. The president's focus continues to be on the long-term economic fundamentals which ... are very strong in this country. ... There's nothing that's taken plac...Read More
originally on marketslant.comVolatility Bad?There will be many stories in days to come on how Volatility was the culprit. That will be a lie. Volatility ETFs will be liquidated. Custodians of "Short Volatility ETFs" like XIV ( VIX backwards, isn't that cute?!) may default. Volatility is NOT the problem. The people managing risk were the culprits. And those same people are NOT long Gold...Read More
(Updates to late afternoon U.S. trading, adds oil settlements)* Wall St indexes still experiencing big swings* Nikkei ends down 4.7 pct, European shares down 2.5 pct* Oil and industrial metals fall By Caroline ValetkevitchNEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks reversed course again to trade more than 1 percent higher by late afternoon Tuesday, a day after the Dow and S&P 500 indexes saw the...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would welcome a federal government shutdown if Congress is not able to agree to changes in immigration law that he said would prevent criminals from entering the country.“If we don’t change the legislation, if we don’t get rid of these loopholes where killers are allowed to come into our country and continue to...Read More
Barrick Gold, the world's top miner of the metal, said on Tuesday it is writing down its investment in its Pascua-Lama project in South America to the tune of $429 million in the fourth quarter.The Toronto-based company is reclassifying the gold reserves at the project straddling the border between Chile and Argentina following a January decision by Chile's environmental authority (SMA) or...Read More
* Dollar index pares gains throughout session* Greenback brushes off worsening U.S. trade gap* Yen, Swiss franc pare losses as Wall Street comes off lows (Updates prices, market activity, adds commentary; changes byline)By Stephanie KellyNEW YORK, Feb 6 (Reuters) - The U.S. dollar index reversed course on Tuesday, erasing most of the gains it made earlier in the session as Wall Street came off its...Read More
It's been a bloodbath on Wall Street in recent sessions, with the Dow fresh off its worst one-day point loss ever and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) notching its first back-to-back drops of 1% or more since early 2015. And while history suggests quick bounces for both indexes -- and says this pair of Apple suppliers are two of the best stocks to own after a sell-off --there are several names that may not...Read More
* Gold falls 1 percent* Palladium prices hit lowest since Dec. 8* U.S. dollar turns flat (Recasts throughout; updates prices, headline; adds comment, NEW YORK to dateline)By Renita D. Young and Eric OnstadNEW YORK/LONDON, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Gold prices fell 1 percent to a 2-1/2-week low on Tuesday, as investors focused on expectations for higher U.S. interest rates, even as U.S. stock markets swung...Read More
LA PAZ, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Bolivia's consumer price index rose 0.3 percent in January as heavy rains and flooding prompted a spike in food prices, the official National Statistics Institute said on Tuesday.Economy Minister Mario Guill?(C)n told reporters that 2018 inflation would total 4.5 percent, higher than the 2.71 percent figure in 2017. The government said it would take action to stabilize th...Read More
Cyril Ramaphosa isn't even president yet and mining companies are already changing their tune on South Africa.A former mine union leader and now one of the wealthiest black South Africans, the new leader of the ruling African National Congress is seen as more willing to negotiate investor-friendly policy, according to executives attending the African Mining Indaba conference in Cape Town this week...Read More