Author: Vitaliy Dadalyan

HSBC Posts Biggest Jump Since 2009 as China’s Ping An Buys

(Bloomberg) -- HSBC Holdings Plc rose the most since 2009, recovering from a 25-year low, as its biggest shareholder raised its stake in a bet the embattled lender will return to paying dividends.China’s Ping An Insurance Group Co., which last week bought 10.8 million shares to boost its stake to 8%, remains confident in HSBC’s long-term prospects, a spokesperson said. The recent slump in the share and the valuation only increases HSBC’s appeal, the spokesperson said.“Ping An believes HSBC’s suspension of dividend payments is a short-term issue and has been actively communicating with the lender about the possibility of restoring dividends in the future,” the spokesperson said.HSBC shares in Hong Kong on Monday rose 9.2%, the biggest gain since April 2009, clawing back most of last week’s tumble and adding $6.8 billion to its market capitalization. In London, HSBC rose as much as 11.5% -- also the most since April 2009....

Siemens Energy Recovers After Initial Slump on Frankfurt Debut

(Bloomberg) -- Siemens Energy AG shares recovered after dipping as much as 13% on debut in Frankfurt, though the market value of the company whose technology is behind roughly one-sixth of the world’s electricity remained below expectations.The shares were little changed at 11:45 a.m. in Frankfurt, hovering around the opening price of 22.01 euros. That represents a market capitalization of about 16 billion euros ($18.6 billion), compared with the 17 billion-euro net book value parent Siemens AG flagged ahead of the spinoff.Monday’s listing is the latest step in the unwinding of Siemens -- a German conglomerate making a vast array of goods that spans medical scanners, locomotives and gas turbines -- into separate companies better suited to confront their own unique challenges.The sale is taking place at a time of transition toward greener energy sources, which could hit Siemens Energy’s dominant coal and gas-turbine business and cloud the company’s long-term growth...

Billionaire Louis-Dreyfus Takes Big Dividend From Commodities Trader

(Bloomberg) -- Margarita Louis-Dreyfus took another hefty dividend from the eponymous agricultural-commodity trading house she controls, as the billionaire continues to squeeze the business for cash.During the first six months of the year, Louis Dreyfus Co. paid a dividend of $302 million. The payout related to last year’s profit, the sale of several assets in Canada and its former metals-trading business, according to the company’s interim financial statement. The dividend reduced the company’s equity to $4.48 billion at the end of June, down from $4.79 billion six months earlier.Louis-Dreyfus, who controls more than 96% of the holding company that owns LDC, has been taking big dividends over the past few years to help repay about $1 billion she borrowed to buy out other family members. The payouts, often surpassing the trading house’s profit, have steadily reduced the company’s value.The billionaire owner has been in talks to sell a minority stake in...

No Meat, No Milk, No Bread: Hunger Crisis Rocks Latin America

(Bloomberg) -- He couldn't feed his family. Matilde Alonso knew it was true but couldn't believe it. The pandemic had just hit Guatemala in full force and Alonso, a 34-year-old construction worker, was suddenly jobless.He sat up all alone till late that night, his mind racing, and fought back tears. He had six mouths to feed, no income and no hope of receiving anything beyond the most meager of crisis-support checks -- some $130 -- from the cash-strapped government.Today, Alonso said, breakfast, lunch and dinner all look about the same in his house in El Jocotillo: maybe a tortilla with salt; maybe a tortilla with beans; maybe a bowl of rice and beans. "We used to eat meat. Now, there's no meat. We used to eat chicken. Now, there's no chicken. We used to drink milk. Now, there's no milk." Even bread, he said, is off the menu. For tens of millions...

Siemens Lists Energy Unit

Sep.28 -- Siemens AG is unleashing a true behemoth that will be behind much of the world’s electricity. Siemens Energy's listing marks the next step in the unwinding of the giant German conglomerate. Bloomberg’s Oliver Sachgau reports on “Bloomberg Markets: European Open.” (Corrects company name in description.)...

Aquestive Plunges 37% As FDA Rejects Seizure Drug; Street Stays Bullish

Shares in Aquestive Therapeutics (AQST) plunged 37% in Friday’s after-hours trading after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a complete response letter (CRL) regarding the New Drug Application for Libervant (diazepam) Buccal Film for management of seizure clusters.The FDA issues a CRL to indicate that the review cycle for an application is complete but the application cannot be approved in its current form.In the CRL, the FDA cited that, in a study submitted by the company with the application, certain weight groups showed a lower drug exposure level than desired.“The company intends to provide to the FDA additional information on PK modeling to demonstrate that dose adjustments will obtain the desired exposure levels” Aquestive stated.There were no other safety, clinical pharmacology/biopharmaceutics or CMC issues identified in the CRL.However, the FDA did also refer to a small number of protocol deviations in blood draws in one of the studies in...