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(Bloomberg) -- After surging the most in more than a decade, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd. shares reversed course and closed down 1%, a day after the carrier unveiled a $5 billion government-backed plan to rescue it from collapse.Cathay soared 19% in pre-market trading in Hong Kong, but then faltered almost as soon as the regular session began. Traders said a rush to cover short positions was behind the biggest move in company shares since 2008. Trading was halted Tuesday before the HK$39 billion lifeline from the Hong Kong government, Swire Pacific Ltd. and Air China Ltd. was made public.Analysts welcomed the proposed recapitalization--which includes the issuance of preference shares, rights and the extension of a bridge loan--but warned that longer-term challenges remain for the Hong Kong carrier as it continues to hemorrhage as much as HK$3 billion a month because of Covid-19 travel curbs.While the plan eases concerns over Cathay’s liquidity,...
Merck (MRK) has announced disappointing results from its Phase 3 Keynote-361 trial evaluating Keytruda, Merck’s anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with advanced or metastatic bladder cancer.The therapy did not meet its dual primary endpoints of overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS), compared with standard of care chemotherapy.In the final analysis of the study, there was an improvement in OS and PFS for patients treated with Keytruda in combination with chemotherapy compared to chemotherapy alone; however, these results did not meet statistical significance.Keytruda’s safety profile in the trial was consistent with previously reported studies, and no new safety signals were identified, Merck said. The study had enrolled 1,010 patients.“While we are disappointed in these study results, Keytruda has been established as an important option in the treatment of metastatic bladder cancer, and we are committed to continuing our research to help more patients with...
(Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas trader, expects buying and selling of the fastest-growing fuel to recover to levels seen before the pandemic.Global LNG demand took a severe hit when nations imposed lockdowns to combat the spread of the coronavirus, impacting the fuel’s use in everything from power plants to transport and factories. That came on top of the biggest glut of the fuel the world has ever seen, helped by two mild winters in a row.“We still very much believe that with the current supply-demand outlook, this is a fundamentally strong sector that will grow at a rate that is close to 4% per year, Ben van Beurden, Shell’s chief executive officer, said in an interview.His comments show that Shell is sticking to the optimism showed in its annual LNG Outlook in February, before the Covid-19 pandemic started to ravage markets on a global...
(Bloomberg) -- Daniel Kretinsky’s bet on Macy’s Inc. turned out to be short but profitable.The Czech billionaire’s Vesa Equity Investment said Tuesday it owned 0.7% of the U.S. department-store chain, down from the 5% stake unveiled less than a month ago. The investment, billed as a strategic move at the time, coincided with a 65% surge in the stock. Kretinsky made roughly $36 million if he bought Macy’s shares the day before disclosing his 5% stake and sold them on Tuesday.Kretinsky’s exit comes as Macy’s starts reopening stores following weeks of lockdown. The company just reported a 45% quarterly sales slump and a net loss of $630 million. Despite the recent rebound, the stock remains down 48% for the year. It was removed from the benchmark S&P 500 Index in March, and Fitch cut the company’s credit rating to junk in April.The Czech investor is known for making contrarian bets, and...
Shares in Five Below (FIVE) surged 11% in Tuesday’s after-hours trading, despite the specialty value retailer posting a resounding earnings miss.Specifically, Q1 Non-GAAP EPS of -$0.93 fell short of Street expectations by $0.63 while GAAP EPS of -$0.91 also missed by $0.61. Revenue plunged 45% year-over-year to $200.9M, which also came in $29.99M below Street estimates. Comparable sales decreased by 51.8% and net loss was $50.6M vs $25.7M in the first quarter of fiscal 2019.During the quarter, FIVE opened 20 net new stores- bringing its total store count to 920- with roughly 90% of stores now reopened after closing on March 20 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.Joel Anderson, FIVE CEO, stated, “The challenges of the last few months were unprecedented. We temporarily closed stores on March 20… [and] this decision had significant financial ramifications.” However, he did add: “We are very pleased with the initial sales trends we are seeing as stores reopen.”Five...
