Author: Vitaliy Dadalyan

Poland fines Russia's Gazprom $7.6 billion over pipeline

Polish antitrust authorities have fined Russia's state-owned energy giant Gazprom $7.6 billion (6.5 billion euros) for building the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany, saying the project hurts Polish consumers and increases Europe’s dependence on Russian imports. Gazprom said it will appeal the decision. Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection on Wednesday also fined five other international companies participating in the project a total of $61 million (52 million euros)....

It’s Spain, Not Italy, That Has European Investors Worried

(Bloomberg) -- Spain’s growing list of risks is starting to make investors nervous.The nation’s debt is lagging a regional rally that has driven the rate on Italian bonds -- long regarded as the pariah of Europe and among the highest yielding -- close to a record low. That’s narrowed the gap between Spanish and Italian yields to the smallest in more than two years.Citigroup Inc. this month recommended selling Spanish bonds versus their Portuguese peers, citing growing fiscal worries, renewed separatist tensions in the region of Catalonia, and the prospect of a credit downgrade after S&P Global Ratings cut the nation’s outlook to negative.Meanwhile, the country’s benchmark stock gauge is by far the worst performer among the continent’s major indexes this year.At the heart of the malaise lies one the fiercest resurgences of the coronavirus pandemic in Europe, raising fears that the nation’s economic slump will be deeper than the rest...

Tesla Remains 'Misvalued,' Says SPAC King Palihapitiya

Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) is a disruptive company that goes beyond simply making cars and people continue to "misunderstand" and "underestimate" this business, according to Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya.Speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box" program, the "SPAC king" said Tesla's primary value is about "deregulating energy," and the company will give individuals "the ability to be energy independent" in the near future, with batteries and battery storage in focus.Disruption Of Utilities Not Far Away: A lot of commentators were left unamused by Tesla's battery day event last month -- but according to Palihapitiya, it was anything but a "dud event.""What they showed was a legitimate path...not just for car businesses and for selling cars but frankly for individuals and the disruption of utilities is now I think within two to three years away," the former Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ: FB) vice president told CNBC.The updates Tesla gave on battery developments were really...

Levi Strauss Jumps 11% On Surprise Profit; Guggenheim Raises PT

Shares in Levi Strauss are spiking over 11% in Wednesday’s pre-market trading after the jeans giant surprised investors with posting a profit in the third quarter adding that financial results continued to improve in the current quarter.Levi Strauss (LEVI) earned an adjusted 8 cents per share in the third quarter ended Aug. 23, versus analysts’ expectations for a loss of 22 cents. Sales dropped about 27% to $1.1 billion, exceeding the Street consensus of $822.3 million.Direct-to-consumer locations and e-commerce made up 29% and 8%, respectively, of total company net revenues in the third quarter. Gross margin came in at 54.3% of net revenues during the reported period,  up from 53% last year, as a result of price increases and a boost in its direct-to-consumer channel.With store locations now reopened, the company’s e-commerce net revenues growth has remained strong, increasing 52% in the quarter year-on-year, as consumer spending continued to shift towards...