Business Insider•4 hours agoHere are Warren Buffett's 15 biggest stock investments
Warren Buffett's just released his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, and it included a list of the biggest stock investments held by the company. Buffett reiterated his belief in investing in companies with solid underlying businesses. Warren Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders was released early Saturday morning, and it included a list of the company's 15 biggest stock holdings as of the end of 2017.
Bloomberg•18 hours agoGeneral Electric Cuts $2.4 Billion Off S&P-Worst Pension Deficit
General Electric Co. trimmed its pension deficit by $2.4 billion as the manufacturer tackles the worst shortfall in corporate America. The company closed 2017 with $100.3 billion in obligations across its pension plans and $71.6 billion in assets. Pension funding has become a central issue for GE stakeholders concerned about how the beleaguered company will meet its obligations while dealing with severe cash-flow and earnings challenges.
- barrons.com•17 hours ago
No Amazon Worries for FedEx
Shares of FedEx (FDX) rose 2.77%, to $252.22, on Friday, thanks in part to an upgrade from Bernstein's David Vernon and his team. Vernon boosted his rating to Outperform and his price target to $290, writing that the shares are attractively valued and offer mid-teens earnings- per-share growth marking the "highest rate of return in company history," thanks to a strengthening global economy, rising interest rates, and strong business-to-consumer demand. Lower corporate taxes also figure into his thesis. It's the business-to-consumer part that may be most eye-catching for investors, as it's impossible to talk about shipping these days without talking about Amazon.com (AMZN). Vernon writes that
- Fox Business Videos•15 hours ago
GE asset sales catch the attention of private equity firms
Carlyle Group Co-CEO Glenn Youngkin discusses how his company plans to continue its success and what the future holds for General Electric.
- Yahoo Finance•8 hours ago
These companies are cutting ties with the NRA
In the wake of the mass shooting in a Florida high school last week, companies are dropping their partnerships with the National Rifle Association (NRA), which touts 5 million members. According to a list compiled by ThinkProgress, an advocacy organization, there are at least 22 corporations, including car-rental companies and financial institutions that have been offering discounts to NRA members. –First National Bank of Omaha: The largest privately held bank announced it will stop issuing the NRA Visa Card due to “customer feedback” on Thursday.
- Zacks•21 hours ago
Why Nvidia (NVDA) Stock Is the Cheapest It's Been in Nearly a Year
It is no secret that Nvidia NVDA is one of Wall Street’s most popular stocks. The graphics chip maker is a dominant force in the global gaming industry, and its tireless investments in self-driving cars, machine learning, and artificial intelligence all but guarantee the company a spot among the tech industry’s leaders for years to come. Nvidia’s leadership and innovation have also led to a massive surge in the company’s stock.
- Reuters•6 hours ago
Saudi oil minister hopes OPEC, allies can ease output curbs in 2019
Saudi Arabia hopes OPEC and its allies will be able to relax production curbs next year and create a permanent framework to stabilise oil markets after the current supply cut deal ends this year, its oil minister said on Saturday. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is reducing output by about 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd) as part of a deal with Russia and other non-OPEC producers. The pact, aimed at propping oil prices, began in January 2017 and will run until the end of 2018.
- Bloomberg•yesterday
Shkreli, Sporting Prison Fatigues and a Beard, Returns to Court
Martin Shkreli, clad in prison fatigues and sporting a scruffy beard, returned to court for the first time since his jailing in September, hoping to convince a judge that he shouldn’t have to forfeit money to the U.S. government. For 90 minutes in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, on Friday, Shkreli fidgeted and smirked only occasionally as his legal team assailed the prosecutor’s request that he surrender $7.4 million he allegedly reaped from his frauds. Now with prison-issued glasses instead of the wireless spectacles or contacts he wore at the trial, Shkreli listened closely as his lawyer argued that he generated "robust returns" for his hedge fund investors, didn’t steal their money, and shouldn’t have to pay a cent. "At the end of the day, investors made substantial amounts of money," defense lawyer Benjamin Brafman told the judge.
- U.S.News & World Report•23 hours ago
10 Things You Must Know About Your Credit Score
Credit scores have the power to impact your financial well-being. Credit card companies, banks and credit unions are making it easy for customers to view their credit scores on demand, and often for free. Here are 10 things you need to know about your credit score, according to experts.
- Yahoo Finance•yesterday
A hidden threat to Trump’s economic agenda
Carlos Soto, owner of a floral service called Flowers From Our Heart, had an unexpected problem on the busiest day of the year: He had to turn down business on Valentine’s Day because he couldn’t find enough workers to field all the orders he could have taken. “A year or two ago, I’d put an ad on Craigslist and get 100 or 150 resumes for a few positions,” says Soto, whose Los Angeles-based service delivers flowers through a network of 30,000 local shops. With the U.S. economy in its ninth year of expansion, employers are fretting about a problem that seemed unimaginable just a few years ago, in the aftermath of mass layoffs and the Great Recession: a shortage of workers, from unskilled laborers needed to hammer nails to programmers and developers able to build complex software.
Bloomberg•yesterdayDelta and United Join Companies Dumping the NRA
Delta Air Lines Inc. and United Continental Holdings Inc. became the latest companies to cut ties with the National Rifle Association after a call to boycott the lobbying group became a top trend on Twitter Friday. The online furor continued into the weekend after the NRA’s leaders attacked the media and Democrats, claiming the fallout from last week’s Florida high school massacre was being politicized. One user, with almost a quarter of a million followers, tagged a slew of brands in his post, including NRA partners Hertz Corp. and LifeLock Inc. “There are only 5 million NRA members but over 300 million of us! Businesses have a choice whose business they prefer,” tweeted another. Delta and United, two of America’s largest passenger carriers, said Saturday they would back away from the group.
Associated Press•20 hours agoBank halts NRA credit card, car rental firm ends discount
The nation's largest privately-owned bank holding company and a major car rental chain said Thursday they will stop promotions aimed at National Rifle Association members. The Nebraska-based First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract to issue the group's NRA Visa Card, spokesman Kevin Langin said in a statement. "Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA," Langin said.
Associated Press•3 hours agoEuropean Central Bank says Latvia's ABLV failing, to wind up
The European Central Bank said Saturday it has determined that Latvia's crisis-struck ABLV Bank is failing or likely to fail, and the bank will be wound up under its home country's law. Latvia's financial regulator on Monday ordered ABLV, Latvia's third-largest bank by assets, to cease all payments at the ECB's request amid U.S. accusations of money laundering and breaching sanctions on North Korea. "Due to the significant deterioration of its liquidity, the bank is likely unable to pay its debts or other liabilities as they fall due," the ECB said.
- CNBC Videos•yesterday
What to buy with stocks bouncing back: Traders
The “Fast Money Halftime Report” traders discuss stocks bouncing back and whether their valuations are stretched.
- Bloomberg•2 days ago
Wall Street May Be Rethinking Its Relationship With Guns
Will Wall Street ever let go of guns? That question has come up before -- after the shootings in Newtown, in Orlando, in Las Vegas, and on and on. Now, with the nation’s emotions raw over the killings in Florida last week, evidence is mounting that investors may be rethinking their long, fraught relationship with the firearms industry. On Thursday, the day the head of the National Rifle Association issued a searing rebuttal to calls for stricter gun control, the nation’s largest privately owned bank announced it would stop issuing NRA-sponsored credit cards. Insurance giant MetLife Inc. followed Friday by saying it’d stop offering NRA discounts. The investment giant BlackRock Inc. said it was
- Business Insider•yesterday
Warren Buffett has enough firepower to do a $160 billion deal this year
Warren Buffett's firm Berkshire Hathaway is sitting on a record amount of cash. Berkshire Hathaway has never had this much cash, so naturally people have wide-ranging ideas for how the Warren Buffett-led juggernaut may use it. The bank arrives at that figure by factoring in the record $109 billion of cash Berkshire had on hand at the start of February, and combining it with the company's strong free cash flow.
- Investopedia•yesterday
Bitcoin Exchanges Make Transactions 20% Cheaper
Trading bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, could become cheaper and faster, thanks to new software employed by two major exchanges for buying and selling the digital currency. (See also: Be Wary of Cryptocurrencies: Ethereum Founder.) This week, both Coinbase and Bitfinex announced plans to adopt a software called Segregated Witness, or SegWit, which bitcoin enthusiasts and the later exchange says should reduce fees by as much as 20% and reduce transaction wait times. Bitcoin bears have often pointed to the cryptocurrency’s long transaction times, often more than 24 hours, as barring it from becoming a viable means of means of payment for goods and services.
- MarketWatch•22 minutes ago
NRA backlash: Major bank and car-rental giant are ending partnerships
Companies may be starting to rethink their ties to the National Rifle Association in the wake of last week’s massacre at a Florida high school, with a major bank, insurer and car-rental giant announcing they were dropping partnership programs with the NRA. First National Bank of Omaha, the nation’s largest privately owned bank, said Thursday it will not renew its contract with the NRA for a branded Visa card. “Customer feedback has caused us to review our relationship with the NRA,” a bank spokesman said in a statement. “As a result, First National Bank of Omaha will not renew its contract with the National Rifle Association to issue the NRA Visa Card.” The bank had a relationship with the NRA
- CNBC.com•2 days ago
California agriculture sees 'chilling, damaging effect' from wave of immigration audits
California's agriculture industry already faces a farm labor shortage, but now it's facing added pressure due to a wave of employee audits ordered for large farms throughout the state's Central Valley. Up to 10 agribusiness employers in the state's San Joaquin Valley were recently contacted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement about notices of inspection, said Manuel Cunha, president of the Nisei Farmers League, a Fresno-based agriculture advocacy group. "These ICE audits have had nothing but a chilling, damaging effect," Cunha said Thursday. Some have suggested that California businesses are being unfairly targeted in the Trump administration's immigration enforcement efforts due
Reuters•2 days agoHP Inc results beat estimates, raises 2018 profit forecast
HP Inc (HPQ.N) reported first-quarter revenue and profit on Thursday above Wall Street estimates as it sold more personal computers and printers, helping the company raise its full-year profit forecast. Shares of the company, which houses
- Bloomberg•21 hours ago
Dropbox, Valued Privately at $10 Billion, Files for U.S. IPO
Dropbox Inc., the file-sharing company that’s been privately valued at $10 billion, filed for a U.S. initial public offering, saying it was at scale and capable of moving fast. The company filed with an offering size of $500 million, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. That amount is a placeholder and is likely to change. The company plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt and for general corporate purposes. Dropbox, which was valued at $10 billion in its 2014 funding round, would be one of the biggest U.S. enterprise technology companies to list domestically in several years. First Data Corp. went public at a market value of about $14 billion in 2015 --
- Zacks•22 hours ago
3 Blue Chip Tech Stocks to Buy Now
The technology sector has dominated Wall Street recently, and despite the sudden return of volatility in global stock markets, that trend should continue well into 2018. While many will feel that they have already missed their chance to win big on tech stocks, there are still plenty of opportunities to cash in as we head further into the calendar year. The cloud of the dot-com bubble still lingers over this sector, and plenty on Wall Street remain hesitant to load up on tech stocks because of it.
- barrons.com•2 days ago
What to Do With Roku?
Shares of Roku (ROKU), the streaming video pioneer that went public in September, continue to plunge following a disappointing Q1 revenue forecast last night. The stock is down $8.36, or over 16%, at $42.74, falling farther since the open of trading, though a little bit better than the 22% decline at the worst point last night. Although Roku's chief financial officer, Steve Louden, told Barron’s the company feels just fine about the way things are going, and although many are impressed with growth—especially the 129% leap in revenue from the company’s “platform” business—there are those who are picking apart individual metrics and see less desirable trends. There are no ratings changes today
- Zacks•20 hours ago
Buy These 5 Stocks with Rising Estimates Today
Depending on our need for cash and risk appetite, we may try to make the most of daily market movements, or hold on in the hopes that the overall financial health/stability of a company will yield higher value in the form of dividends or share price appreciation.
- barrons.com•yesterday
Western Digital vs. Seagate: Only One Is a Buy
Storage-drive makers Western Digital (WDC) and Seagate Technology (STX) are gaining on Friday, although Stifel's Kevin Cassidy says only one is a buy. Cassidy resumed coverage on both stocks today, with a Buy rating and $105 price target on Western Digital and a Hold rating and $49 target on Seagate. Together, he writes that the two have an 83% share of the $23.9 billion hard-disk-drive (HDD) market, and that HDDs will continue to play an important role in storage, especially in enterprise applications. He likes that both companies are innovative, though of the two, he prefers Western Digital. Cassidy highlights the company's vertically integrated supply in the NAND Flash market, which will benefit
