Shares in jewellery maker Pandora rose on Tuesday as higher online sales and a strong return of consumers to reopened stores in Germany encouraged investors, despite a steep decline in first-quarter operating profit. The world's biggest jewellery maker was forced to close almost all its 2,746 shops worldwide in the first quarter due to the coronavirus lockdown, but said it was on track to resume growth after strong sales in the first two months of the year. "The second quarter will not look pretty in comparison to last year, but the more important thing is that we see economies starting to reopen and consumers coming back out again," Chief Executive Alexander Lacik said in an interview....
Boeing (BA) anticipates that its unmanned, fighter-like jet- the Loyal Wingman- will reach mass production by 2025, Reuters reports. The company is currently trialing one of three prototypes developed in Australia, aided by $26 million funding from the Australian government. “We are expecting middle of the decade, maybe a bit earlier that this will be in production,” Shane Arnott, the programme director of Boeing’s Airpower Teaming System stated.According to Arnott, “16 of the Loyal Wingman drones could be teamed with a manned aircraft for missions and it [is] on track for its first flight by the end of the year” Reuters reports. The drone can be used to both carry weapons and protect other aircrafts and fighter jets. Cowen & Co’s Cai Rumohr has just reiterated his Hold rating on Boeing, with a $150 price target (14% upside potential) following BA’s ‘welcome’ $25 billion debt offering.The debt issue “eliminates the need...
Starbucks Corp. (SBUX) said it will reopen 85% of its U.S. stores by the end of this week after seven weeks of home-sheltering orders put in place to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.By early June, the U.S. coffee chain expects more than 90% of its stores to be open under modified operations and hours. On March 22, Starbucks had shut down its U.S. and Canadian cafes due to the coronavirus-related lockdown regulations.“We have embraced an approach of monitoring, rapidly adapting to, and even shaping, the “now normal”, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson wrote in a letter to employees. “The foundation of our approach comes from what we have learned in China, where more than 98% of our stores are now open and operating under revised protocols.”Johnson added that the Seattle-based chain adapted these protocols for the U.S. with the goal of exceeding the standards outlined by the Centers for Disease...
Permian producer Diamondback Energy (FANG) has reported weaker-than-expected first quarter earnings results, with revenue of $899M (+4.1% Y/Y) falling short of Street estimates by $69.57M.Meanwhile GAAP EPS of -$1.72 missesd by $2.97, but non-GAAP EPS of $1.45 beat by $0.15. Total capital spending of $790 million was well above the consensus $710 million forecast. FANG also revealed that it is curtailing 10-15% of production in May. However FANG’s 1Q20 dividend was declared and unchanged at $0.375/share- and there were no material changes to the 2020 guidance. Plus production of 321.1 Mboe/d (201.4 Mb/d oil) beat the 307 Mboe/d (198 Mb/d oil) consensus estimate. Shares were trading marginally higher in after-hours trading on Monday.“Cadence of spending was a bit heavy in 1Q20 and could persist into early 2Q20 but our conversations with management indicated confidence in the existing capital 2020 outlook” commented RBC Capital analyst Scott Hanold following the earnings release.He notes...
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Do you remember 5G? Before the coronavirus consumed all of our attention, the fifth-generation mobile networks were supposed to be the panacea for lagging economies, telecoms firms, keeping pace with China, autonomous cars, smart factories and plenty more besides.Overhyped? Maybe. But 5G will still be an economic boon. And perhaps inevitably, Covid-19 has collided with the rollout of the new technology, which ultimately depends on four ingredients: popular acceptance and adoption; the ability to install the equipment; access to capital; and the availability of spectrum — the radio frequencies used to transmit the signal that will allow vast gobs of data to be transmitted at lightning speeds.For now, telecoms companies insist the pandemic will only delay the rollout by several months. That may be optimistic. Problems with any one of the four factors above could throw things off course, and the current environment has elevated that likelihood. Given their role in dividing up the spectrum and...
Spot gold eased 0.1% to $1,700.14 per ounce at 0524 GMT. U.S. gold futures fell 0.4% to $1,706.10. Italy and the United States were among a slew of countries that tentatively eased lockdowns on Monday to revive their economies....
Tesla Inc. (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO Elon Musk announced the birth of his baby's birth on Twitter.Asked about the status of his partner Grimes' child on Monday, the 48-year-old Musk tweeted, "A few hours away!" Some hours later the Tesla co-founder returned back to announce Grimes had given birth.> Mom & baby all good> > -- Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 5, 2020The 32-year-old Grimes' given name is Claire Elise Boucher. She and Musk began dating in early 2018.Musk has five sons -- Nevada Alexander Musk, Griffin Musk, Kai Musk, Xavier Musk, Saxon Musk and Damian Musk -- with his ex-wife Justine Wilson.Crazy WeekendMusk is a prolific user of Twitter and has often made controversial statements on it. Amid a series of tweets last Friday, he said Tesla's stock price was too high, which sent the shares of the company plunging 10%.Musk also said he would be selling all of his "physical possessions"...
