Economy / 11

CBA ends aligned advice amid profit plunge in private banking

August 07, 2019

The bank, Australia's largest by market value and the country's biggest mortgage lender, recorded an 8.1% drop in net profit for the financial year as customer remediation costs swelled by about 1 billion Australian dollars (US$675.8 million).

Walgreens to shutter 200 locations as part of cost-saving measure

August 07, 2019

The company projects the move will save more than $1.5 billion by the fiscal year 2022. The good news is Walgreens says that it expects to retain "the majority" of the employees at those stores by moving them to new locations . The list of locations slated for closure has not been released. Back in 2015, Walgreens previously closed another 200 stores. Its parent company, which bought 1,932 Rite Aid locations in 2018, has since closed 631 of those stores and plans to shutter another 119.

Disney+ Streaming Bundle Includes Hulu & ESPN+ for $12.99 a Month

August 07, 2019

Of course if you don't want all three services, Disney +, Hulu and ESPN + will still all be available separately for $6.99, $5.99 and $4.99 per month respectively. Media networks, which includes ESPN , the Disney Channels and FX, reported a 7% increase in operating income to $2.1 billion. "We see great long-term value in the broad collection of theatrical IP we acquired from Fox".

RBI Cuts Repo Rate by 35 bps To Help Boost Economic Growth

August 07, 2019

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said the repo rate cut was balanced and a reduction of 25 basis points would have been inadequate, PTI reported. The six-member MPC also lowered its FY20 GDP growth forecast to 6.9% from 7% earlier. CPI-based inflation for first half of the next fiscal, beginning April 2020, has been projected at 3.6 per cent. "Various high frequency indicators suggest weakening of both domestic and external demand conditions", the MPC said in a statement.

Federal Reserve announces real-time payments system

August 07, 2019

Under the current system, the process of sending and receiving money can take up to 72 hours, leaving businesses and consumers, and especially low-income people, in limbo. The opinion piece stated that Fed board members are safeguarded from political interference by being appointed for lengthy 14-year board terms and the provision that Fed board members, including the chair and vice chairs, "may be removed only for a cause related to violations of law or similar misbehavior and not for ...

Aussie dollar plummets to 10-year low

August 07, 2019

Sixteen of 17 economists polled by Bloomberg had expected a 25 basis point move while one had expected the bank to stay on hold. The lower bound of the 1-standard deviation trading range rests beneath the year-to-date low for spot NZDUSD which could be tested if the RBNZ confirms the market's expected interest rate cut now priced in and provides dovish outlook.

South Africa's private-sector activity slips further in July - PMI

August 07, 2019

Forward-looking indicators suggested there won't be a turnaround anytime soon and demand for services waned, hit by falling new export business - which includes trade between member countries of the euro zone. "The economic weakness in the currency union is still concentrated in Germany and Italy". He added they expect the economy to grow by 0.3 per cent in the third quarter, but after today's figures this forecast could be "on the optimistic side".

Flipkart to launch video streaming service before Diwali

August 07, 2019

Unlike Amazon's Prime video service, Flipkart won't charge users for streaming and won't launch a separate application for these services, the spokeswoman said. India is about to get a new video streaming platform , thanks to Flipkart! Its videos drew more than five million people worldwide to shopping club by early 2017, according to company documents accessed by Reuters .

Despite deadly shootings, Walmart won't stop gun sales

August 07, 2019

In a statement citing the Parkland shooting, Walmart said it would raise age restrictions for the purchase of firearms and ammo to 21 years of age. "We're focused on supporting our associates, customers and the entire El Paso community". At the time, however, Walmart adamantly denied that the policy changes had been in response to the uptick in high-profile mass shooting incidents in recent years (the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting which occurred in 2012 was carried out by a gunman ...

Barneys New York files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection

August 06, 2019

It said it would shut three of its 13 department stores in Chicago, Las Vegas and Seattle along with five smaller "concept" stores and seven warehouses as it struggles with "excessively high" rents, the broader downturn in retail and a shift to online.

Flying auto hovers during tech demonstration

August 06, 2019

NEC Corp.'s machine with propellers is seen during a test flight at the company's facility in Abiko. Forward-looking: We've been hearing about the development of flying cars for quite a while now, and the vehicles moved another step closer to mass production following a demonstration in Japan yesterday.

U.S. stocks plunge amid trade tensions

August 06, 2019

Apple gave up 5.2%. China let its foreign money, the yuan, drop to its lowest stage towards the greenback in additional than a decade, a transfer that Trump railed towards as "foreign money manipulation". That hurts US producers, which have already been hit by the slowing world economic system. The major indexes have also fallen more than 5 percent from their record highs set last month.

Apple begins rolling out its credit card

August 06, 2019

You can apply in Apple Wallet and if approved by Goldman Sachs (a process that takes seconds), it's instantly available for use. "Therefore, we believe that Apple will launch the new iPhone equipped with both Face ID and FOD to enhance security and convenience thanks to the multi-biometrics".

GateHouse, Gannett to merge for $1.4B, build newspaper giant

August 06, 2019

Two of the largest US newspaper companies have agreed to combine for roughly $1.4 billion, creating a new industry giant that hopes to manage the crisis of print's decline through sheer size. Gannett recently fended off a hostile acquisition attempt from Digital First Media, the hedge-fund-backed chain that sells off newspapers' real estate and cuts newsroom jobs more aggressively than most other owners.

China stops buying United States agricultural products

August 06, 2019

Wall Street is expected to take another pounding Tuesday after China made the not unexpected announcement it will no longer purchase US agricultural products in retaliation to president Donald Trump's new 10% tariffs on Chinese exports to the USA starting September 1.

British Airways Flight Evacuated As Smoke Fills Cabin

August 06, 2019

One passenger claimed the plane continued flying for 10 minutes with smoke in the cabin. Mrs Fitzpatrick, who was on holiday with her husband Stephen, said fire crews were waiting on the runway when the plane landed and passengers were directed to the terminal.

Protesters trying to 'destroy Hong Kong': Carrie Lam

August 06, 2019

Police in Hong Kong have been fighting running battles with activists in a third consecutive day of protests, after a call for a general strike caused widespread disruption on Monday. The protesters are demanding the dissolution of the legislature, an investigation into police use of force at protests and full democracy for the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.

Huawei's first devices powered by HongMeng OS said to launch in 2019

August 06, 2019

Android is the only game in town for all smartphone makers apart from Apple. "The new Huawei phones with the Hongmeng system will debut in the market in the fourth quarter, with up to several million units in stock". Huawei executives have previously described Hongmeng as an operating system designed for internet-of-things products. Huawei could reportedly ditch Windows 10 in its laptops, too; although, it's not clear if the company would use Hongmeng to do so.

McDonald's new eco-friendly paper straws can't be recycled

August 06, 2019

McDonalds customers had complained that the straws make it hard to drink milkshakes and that they dissolve in carbonated drinks. News of the recycling problem came after United Kingdom newspaper The Sun published an internal memo from the company that encouraged employees to simply dispose of the paper straws with the general food waste and avoid attempting to recycle them.

Gold soars 2% as trade worries trigger flight to safety

August 06, 2019

On Monday, gold surged 2% to its highest level in more than six years. Marked ingots of 99.99 percent pure gold are placed in a cart at a plant owned by Krastsvetmet, one of the world's biggest manufacturers of non-ferrous metals, in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, April 9, 2019.

HSBC says its CEO to leave after just 18 months

August 06, 2019

Asia-focused HSBC also revealed it would axe two percent of its global workforce, or roughly 4,000 mostly management jobs, in a new restructuring aimed at weathering global turmoil. "I have agreed with the board that today's good interim results indicate that this is the right time for change, both for me and the bank", Flint said.

What the Fed interest rate cut means for your wallet

August 06, 2019

Still, "given the uncertain political and economic backdrop and growing demand globally, we expect this selloff to be short and relatively shallow". Experts are now saying that the interest rate cut is more likely than ever and, should it happen, it will be the Federal Reserve's first rate cut since 2008.

Tesla Returns Free Unlimited charging for New Model S/X Buyers

August 06, 2019

The company came to this decision amid a decline in sales of these models. If you order a new Model S or Model X from Tesla , you can now charge it again for free at the manufacturer's Superchargers . We don't know how long these free unlimited Supercharger credits will last, as Tesla changes its charging policies frequently. As soon as house owners surpassed that quantity, they might be charged a small price.

Escalating trade war, global slowdown to weigh on oil prices

August 05, 2019

Allen said it was "disconcerting that the additional tariffs were announced after learning yesterday that the talks were considered constructive", and that another meeting of negotiators would take place in Washington D.C.in early September.

Heathrow Airport strike suspended but flights still cancelled

August 05, 2019

Airlines affected included Virgin Atlantic, American Airlines, Air France and Qatar Airways. "Under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas, tomorrow's talks will involve senior directors from Heathrow Airport and senior Unite officials with the aim of averting a second day of planned strike action set to start at 00:01 and finish at 23:59 on Tuesday 6 August".

Donald Trump Accuses China of Currency Manipulation as Yuan Plunges

August 05, 2019

Apple fell three per cent and Microsoft fell 2.4 per cent. Shanghai, South Korea and Australia also retreated. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has refrained from labeling China a currency manipulator in Treasury's semi-annual foreign exchange policy report to Congress, reneging on Trump's campaign promises to do so on "day one" of his presidency.

China's yuan drops through seven-per-dollar level

August 05, 2019

The market turmoil may give Asian policy makers reason to pause just as the Federal Reserve's rate cut last week gave them space to pursue looser policy. On Wall Street, coming off its largest weekly loss of the year, S&P 500 e-mini futures were down 1.5% in a sign that further losses were in store when the market opens later this morning.

After shootings, under-fire Trump says hate has no place in US

August 05, 2019

In addition to mass shootings in Texas and OH, gun deaths were reported in other states, including Illinois, Virginia, Louisiana, Florida and Maryland. He says the problem of shootings has been going on "for years and years" and "we have to get it stopped". Both Cardi B and Rihanna have spoken out against President Trump and his administration since he was elected in 2016.

Trump and China tariffs on Imports

August 05, 2019

Trump said Friday he can raise tariffs on China to a "much higher number" after his initial threat the previous day spurred the steepest one-day drop in more than four years. Fueled in part by tax cuts and spending increases, the US has outperformed other advanced economies since 2018, causing imports to rise 1.5% in the January-to-June period, to $1.568 trillion.

Heathrow STRIKE: Peace hopes fade making two-day staff walkout more likely

August 04, 2019

Security guards, firefighters, engineers and drivers at Heathrow plan to go on strike at one minute after midnight if the negotiations fail. In an online statement, Oman's national carrier said: " In view of the notified strike at London's Heathrow Airport on 5th and 6th August, Oman Air will endeavour to operate our scheduled flights as published.

International Business: Apple Card to bar digital currencies

August 04, 2019

Still, details continue to surface. The agreement also sheds more light on the Apple Card's Daily Cash feature. Here's what you should know. Once again, this is already how banking apps on iOS and Android work. Though data may be shared with regulators for financial reporting purposes and so on. "We will not charge you any interest on purchases if you pay your entire balance (adjusted for any financing plan) by the due date each month".

Late Rooms and Super Break collapse hits holidaymakers

August 04, 2019

LateRooms - part of Malvern Group - is a sister company of Superbreak, and has also gone into administration . According to ABTA, Super Break employed about 250 staff at its bases in York and Manchester. Malvern Group has said that as Super Break was a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), most affected customers should be eligible for a full refund of their trip, and that anybody now on holiday should continue as normal.

IBM fired 100,000 employees to look `cool and trendy`: Lawsuit

August 04, 2019

As noted by Bloomberg , IBM is also facing a class-action law suit and individual civil suits filed in California, Pennsylvania, and Texas previous year. "So it's a question of in the eyes of people coming to join the organization, how do we show IBM as a different place to the one they have in their mind?" said Wild, according to the court document.

Ford Super Duty’s 7.3L V8 Offers Class-leading Power, Torque

August 04, 2019

The 10-speed transmission in Ford's 2020 Super Duty pickups is the same length as the six-speed it replaces. It joins the 6.2-liter V8 gasoline engine in the Super Duty lineup, along with the upgraded third-generation 6.7-liter Power Stroke diesel V-8.

IAG Second Quarter Profit Ahead On Strong Revenue

August 04, 2019

Earlier this week, BA lost a legal battle at the Court of Appeal to stop strike action after it filed an injunction. IAG said its revenue per passenger was up 1 percent and growth in fuel unit costs came in better than expected at 6.3 percent on a constant currency basis.

Rebounding dollar sends euro, sterling to 2 1/2-year lows

August 04, 2019

While the dollar is unlikely to weaken after the cut, any mention from Fed chairman Jerome Powell of global downside risks means "scope for dollar strength should be limited", they added. Onshore yuan opened at 6.9150 per dollar, the weakest level since June 18. He has also announced £2.1bn of extra spending to prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

Stocks tumble as US Fed cuts interest rates

August 04, 2019

At the same time, he said, "I didn't say it's just one rate cut". Wall Street's hopes for a second Federal Reserve rate cut this year spiked after a lackluster July jobs report on Friday, which saw the US economy add a healthy, but ultimately unremarkable, 164,000 jobs - right in line with analysts' expectations.

Kate Hoey: Boris Johnson has already made progress on the backstop

August 04, 2019

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Johnson met with the five major parties at Stormont, the seat of Northern Ireland's assembly, including the leftist, pro-EU, Irish republican party Sinn Féin - long-regarded as the political wing of the Provisional IRA - that campaigns for Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland.

Apple, Google pause reviewing audio recordings from voice assistants

August 04, 2019

Google spokesperson said that the company is in touch with the Hamburg data protection authority and is assessing to conduct audio reviews and assist the users to understand how the data is being used. Google Home devices record some audio from users to try to improve the company's Assistant service. Apple said on Friday it had paused the program called "grading", where it reviewed anonymized recordings of conversations people had with its Siri voice assistant.

Exxon Mobil profit sinks on weakness in natural gas, chemicals, refining

August 04, 2019

Strs Ohio raised its position in shares of Exxon Mobil by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Hutchinson now owns 13,896 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $948,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the last quarter.

Pentagon puts $10B JEDI cloud contract on hold

August 04, 2019

Esper to probe the process for awarding the multi-year contract, dubbed Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure , or JEDI, aimed at revamping the U.S. Even before Trump weighed in, a number of lawmakers had questioned the contract requirements. An earlier report in March found the Pentagon "does not know the actual value" of government-purchased F-35 property because it failed to keep an independent record, leaving Lockheed and its subcontractor with the only record of the property, ...

United States payrolls grow while jobless rate holds steady

August 03, 2019

That is hitting American factories, where the number of hours worked in July was actually smaller than the same month previous year. Factories added 16,000 jobs in July. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve policy makers cut benchmark interest rate by a quarter-point to about 2.25% for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis.

DoorDash swallows Caviar as food delivery sector consolidates

August 03, 2019

Caviar served "thousands of restaurants in hundreds of cities across the USA", according to the statement. Officials at the platform, including Caviar Lead Gokul Rajaram, will join the company once the acquisition closes. The acquisition will seemingly be a mixture of money and DoorDash most well liked stock, and is predicted to cease at the pause of this year. It was reported that Square was looking to offload Caviar for almost two years, but could not find a buyer until now.

No-deal Brexit would impair key United Kingdom industries: BoE's Carney

August 03, 2019

The bank's forecasts are conditioned on the assumption that Britain will leave the European Union with a deal, smoothing its exit. "And today I've announced an allocation of £2.1 billion across different government departments to make sure we are properly prepared to leave with no-deal if that's what happens".

Privacy commissioner opens investigation into Capital One data breach

August 03, 2019

US prosecutors have identified the suspect as Paige Thompson , 33, a former Amazon software engineer . "Names, addresses, zip codes/postal codes, phone numbers, email addresses, dates of birth, and self-reported income", Capital One said.

Recall issued for Entenmann's Little Bites chocolate chip cookies

August 03, 2019

That means no other products are tainted, but this specific variety poses a choking hazard , says the US Food and Drug Administration. The Entenmann's cookies were sold in Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Washington, D.C., Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, ...

China warns of retaliation after Trump threatens fresh tariffs

August 03, 2019

Trump escalated his trade war with China by announcing that he would impose a fresh 10 per cent tariff on another $300 billion of Chinese goods that will take effect from September 1, prompting a swift rebuke from Beijing and jolting global financial markets.

Why your Equifax settlement check might be smaller than you expected

August 03, 2019

The FTC hasn't said , but things don't sound promising. There's also the option for people who certify that they already have credit monitoring to claim up to $125 instead. "The public response to the settlement has been overwhelming". But the FTC's blog post appears to suggest that Equifax is not under the same obligation if only the $ 31 million fund specifically for the cash payouts up to $125 runs dry.

N-Out No Longer America's Favorite Fast Food Restaurant

August 03, 2019

A current report by Market Pressure, revealed by Food & Wine, surveyed 7,600 customers about their satisfaction stage with numerous restaurant chains, and Chick-fil-A's 79% buyer satisfaction score put the rooster chain on the prime. The In-N-Out staff is pretty friendly with a score of 73% in this category, but at 82%, Chick-fil-A staff is even friendlier. Although Chick-fil-A reigns supreme overall, In-N-Out took the top spot when it comes to the burger loyalty category.

Amazon Dash buttons get chucked on the scrap heap this month

August 03, 2019

Back in February, Amazon made a decision to end sales of Dash Buttons because no one uses them. Amazon's Dash button is getting scrapped - which it announced in March - and now we know that support for the feature will officially end on August 31.

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