financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

government: Payne said the right to free speech and to peaceful and lawful protest was protected in Australia, even on contentious and sensitive issues, according to The Guardian. The Australian government expects all foreign diplomatic representatives to respect these rights, she said. It came after a Chinese diplomat backed the patriotic behaviour of Chinese students who clashed with pro-Hong Kong protesters at the University of Queensland this week. Hong Kong protesters braces for clashes with triads in Yuen Long rally Read more The government would be particularly concerned if any foreign diplomatic mission were to act in ways that could undermine such rights, including by encouraging disruptive or potentially violent behaviour. Hundreds of pro-Hong Kong students gathered at the university on Wednesday, backing demonstrations in the former British territory against Beijing's influence before it was gatecrashed by pro-Chinese students. News Corp reported the Chinese consul-general in Brisbane, Xu Jie, praised Chinese students for confronting what he said were anti-China separatist protesters with ulterior motives'. The consulate general attaches great importance to the safety of Chinese students, affirms the spontaneous patriotic behaviour of Chinese students, resolutely opposes the words and deeds of any separatist countries, and opposes the use of these events to create the opposition between Chinese and Hong Kong students and incite anti-China sentiment, he said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

glueck: The document, obtained by CNN, is identical to one created by Oracle's top Washington lobbyist, Kenneth Glueck, an executive vice president with the company, Glueck tells CNN. The one-page document was presented to Trump along with other information in a meeting in the last week where the contract and Amazon's possible award were discussed, one of the sources said, according to CNN. It's unclear how the document made it to the White House. White House officials in recent weeks have shown Trump a document that alleges a large conspiracy to award Amazon a 10-year, 10 billion contract to build the Pentagon's cloud computing network, according to three sources familiar with the matter. The document contains a flow chart titled A Conspiracy to Create a Ten Year DoD Cloud Monopoly, and provides a visual representation of a narrative that Oracle has been pushing for months -- that a web of individuals inside and outside the Defense Department were greasing the wheels for Amazon to win a cloud computing contract known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure JEDI . Oracle's own bid did not make it to the final stage. Read More Amazon executives slam Oracle and Microsoft as the cloud wars heat up The chart features the faces of a number of former Pentagon officials, current Amazon employees and executives, as well as consultants working on behalf of Amazon, connecting them together in a criss-cross of business and professional ties. Amazon declined to comment for this story. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

stock: Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel who had been investing in Apple Inc for a number of months, seems to be less bullish one the 955.83 billion market cap company, according to MSNBC. The stock increased 0.35% or 0.72 during the last trading session, reaching 207.74. The institutional investor held 27,686 shares of the computer manufacturing company at the end of 2019Q1, valued at 5.26M, down from 31,661 at the end of the previous reported quarter. About 17.62M shares traded. AAPL has risen 1.47% since July 27, 2018 and is uptrending. Apple Inc. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

posts content: Boram has two popular You Tube accounts on which she posts content a toy review channel with 13.6 million subscribers and a video blog account with 17.6 million subscribers, according to CNN. In one of her most popular clips, which attracted over 376 million views, Boram makes instant noodles using a plastic toy kitchen and then enthusiastically slurps them down on camera. Boram bought the 9.5 billion Korean won 8 million building in the trendy Seoul suburb of Gangnam earlier this year, through the Boram Family company, which was set up by the You Tuber's parents, according to a public real estate registration document. But some of Boram's content has attracted controversy in South Korea for the values it promotes. They were especially concerned by staged clips that showed Boram stealing money from her father's wallet and appearing to drive cars on the road, the organization's advocacy department manager Koh Woohhyun told CNN. Save the Children reported her videos to the police. Boram appears on her You Tube channel. context Image Object name Boram appears on her You Tube channel. description Boram appears on her You Tube channel. url Read More In 2017, non-governmental organization Save the Children received complaints from citizens in South Korea who were worried Boram's clips could negatively impact the emotional and ethical development of young viewers. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

answer questions: Johnson has refused to answer questions about the visit in April last year, including whether he flew to Italy against the advice of his officials and without the 24/7 security detail usually assigned to the foreign secretary, according to The Independent. The pictures, taken at San Francesco d'Assisi airport on Sunday 29 April 2018, suggest he did go to Italy without a police escort. Pictures of the now prime minister along with an account from a fellow traveller shed further light on Johnson's weekend away at the home of the media owner Evgeny Lebedev, who is known for hosting uproarious parties for the rich and famous at his converted castle near Perugia. According to another passenger on the flight back to the UK, Johnson was on his own, seemingly without any luggage and very much the worse for wear. Facebook Twitter Pinterest When he was walking out to the plane, he did this curved walk,' said one witness. The passenger, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was standing in the queue to go through security when he realised the scruffy man shuffling along in front of him was Johnson, who was clutching a thick book about war strategy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

gdp: GDP slowed from a 3.1% gain in the first three months of the year, according to MSNBC. The full report from the Commerce Department is online here. Gross domestic product, the official report card on the economy, grew at a 2.1% annual pace from the start of April to the end of June, the government said Friday. To be sure, GDP growth of 2.1% isn't bad, though it's a dip from the first quarter, and it's exactly half the growth Americans saw in the second quarter of last year, when Donald Trump and his allies celebrated in ways that suggested they didn't understand the difference between quarterly and annual growth rates. As for the image above, the chart shows GDP numbers by quarter since the Great Recession began. What's more, this morning's figures which will be revised in the coming months suggest the president will again fail to produce annual growth between 4% and 6%, which is what he inexplicably promised during the 2016 campaign. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

european commission: The company reported profit of 14.21 per share, or 9.9 billion during the quarter nearly triple what it made last year when it paid a 5.1 billion European Commission fine, according to The Japan Times. Analysts polled by Fact Set were expecting Alphabet to report earnings per share of 11.10 on revenue of 38.2 billion during the second quarter. The company comforted investors with advertising revenue growth that edged out last quarter, and assurances that video streaming site You Tube and the company's enterprise cloud business are continuing to drive growth. ; The Mountain View, California-based company brought in revenue of 38.9 billion during the second quarter, a 19 percent bump from the same period last year. Google's stock rose more than 9 percent in after-hours trading after the earnings report was released. But their concerns didn't continue into the next quarter. Investors and analysts had been disappointed by slowing advertising revenue growth Google's main cash cow after the first quarter. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

delivery firm: Photo Xinhua A potential Chinese unreliable entity list has emerged, according to Global Times China. Foreign companies such as Fed Ex, Flex and HSBC are likely to be first included on the list for their behaviors jeopardizing the interests of Chinese firms by cooperating with US long-arm jurisdiction. US courier delivery company Fed Ex Corp sued the US Department of Commerce on June 24 over a request that the package giant enforce restrictions on Chinese telecom equipment provider Huawei. Chinese authorities on Friday unveiled more details about the ongoing probe into US delivery firm Fed Ex, saying the firm's previous statement that the misrouting of Huawei's packages to the US was an operational error is inconsistent with facts. During the investigation, regulators also found other indicators that Fed Ex was violating China's regulations and laws, the Xinhua News Agency reported on Friday. FedEx had also delayed over 100 packages sent from overseas locations to Huawei in China, the probe found. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

dow jones: The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0.19% meanwhile, has been not far behind; it's up 16.5% since the start of 2019, according to Market Watch. But with the S&500 already sitting comfortably above many strategists' year-end targets, some analysts and investors are approaching the rest of the year cautiously, as rising valuations, policy uncertainty and economic weakness abroad raise questions as to how long the stock market can keep up its torrid pace. The S&P 500's SPX, 0.74% nearly 21% advance year-to-date marks the best run for the index through July 26 since 1997, according to Dow Jones Market Data, and the Nasdaq Composite COMP, 1.11% as had an even better run, up 25.5% on the year. I thought 2,950 would be a ceiling for this year, and we are already higher than it, Bob Doll, chief equity strategist and senior portfolio manager at Nuveen, told Market Watch, predicting the market will go nowhere in the second half. While second-quarter GDP growth reflects a slowing but healthy U.S. economy, data abroad show a worsening slowdown, which will likely affect U.S. markets one way or another. Price-to-earnings ratios have gone from 13 to 17.4, and earnings estimates are still too high for next year, Doll said, adding that higher valuations and future reductions in earnings estimates will be headwinds for stocks in the second half, along with a Federal Reserve policy that he predicts will be more hawkish than the market expects, unless a more damaging economic downturn materializes. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

hong kong: Photo Fan Lingzhi/GT Apart from inciting social conflict in Hong Kong and bowing to Western countries, Hong Kong opposition forces on Friday targeted international passengers to spread their accusations about the government and police, which annoyed passengers and disrupted the airport, according to Global Times China. Some 200 protesters in black clothes gathered on the first floor of the arrival area in one of Asia's busiest airports at around 1 pm Friday to join a sit-in protest initiated by a trade union. The protest of Hong Kong opposition forces had annoyed passengers and disrupted the busy airport. Protesters wearing masks shouted slogans such as Free Hong Kong! and Hong Kong police knowingly broke the law! while sitting on the ground of the Hong Kong International Airport Terminal 1 arrival hall. One protester even carried a US flag. Some people held up signs saying, Warning, Hong Kong is not safe in English. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

investment fund: Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which chipped in 45 billion for the initial effort, was not mentioned in the announcement Friday, according to The Japan Times. Soft Bank said the second fund is expected to collect money from Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp., Foxconn Technology Group and Kazakhstan's sovereign wealth fund. The Japanese conglomerate aims to raise a total of 108 billion 11.7 trillion for the second Vision Fund, which would make it even larger than the first, unprecedented 100 billion effort. ; Soft Bank is also taking more control this time around, committing 38 billion in capital itself and replacing Saudi Arabia as the largest investor. Son also won broad support from Japanese financial institutions, with seven identified as signing memorandums of understanding to participate. In June, Soft Bank disclosed that the initial Vision Fund had earned 62 percent returns so far after making 71 investments for a total of 64.2 billion. Son is aiming to inaugurate a new large-scale fund every two or three years to take advantage of opportunities he sees in cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

data: Australia's fourth-largest bank said the breach was not a cyber-security issue, adding that no log-in details or passwords were compromised, according to Nine News Australia. The issue was human error and in breach of NAB's data security policies, Chief Data Officer Glenda Crisp said in a statement on NAB's website. To improve your experience update it of NAB customers' details leaked By AAP9 09am Jul 27, Australia Bank Ltd says 13,000 customers are being contacted after a breach where personal data was uploaded without permission to two data service companies. The data uploaded included customer names, date of birth, contact details and in some cases, government identity numbers, the statement added. Thousands of NAB customers have had their personal information leaked. There is no evidence to indicate that any of the information has been copied or further disclosed, the lender said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

earnings results: Airlinesread more Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos has kept the same message to Wall Street... Amazon's second-quarter earnings results were a reminder of Bezos's longtime approach of valuing long-term growth over short-term profits, according to Xinhua China. Technologyread moreJB Straubel wasn't just Tesla CTO, he invented many of its core...JB Straubel wasn't just CTO at Tesla, he was an inventor of its core more Disney's remakes have made more than 7 billion globally since... Including the first week of Lion King's box office run, Disney has made more than 7 billion in the last nine years from its reimaginings of its classic tales. Technologyread more Boeing's 737 Max grounding is going on so long it will disrupt... Southwest Airlines pulled its 737 Max planes out of its schedules until next year and deliveries are delayed. Entertainmentread more Meet the robots being put on duty to help solve America's... The U.S. is facing a recycling crisis that is burying cities and towns in tens of millions of tons of garbage a day. Politicsread more Gold, silver and bitcoin here's the most popular safety play with... In 2019, investors are seeking safety in gold, silver and bitcoin, and with risks rising, traders have their clear favorites in their group. Companies and municipalities are turning to AI-assisted... At Workread more Trump says he 'might' put tariffs on French wine in response to... Trump tweets that he has always said American wine is better than French wine! Politicsread more Supreme Court allows Trump to use disputed military funds for... The fight over border wall funding sparked the longest federal government shutdown in history. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

leadership team: Here's what that may mean for the future Read more In April, a SoCal Gas employee emailed several local government employees across California I have been asked by our senior leadership team to identify some key Latino leaders that might consider supporting the current C4Bes effort, according to The Guardian. SoCal Gas and C4Bes promote continued investment and support of the gas system to industry and municipal governments. Berkeley became first US city to ban natural gas. They pitch renewable gas as an alternative method of greening the grid and fighting the climate crisis. On Tuesday, the city of Berkeley in northern California became the first in the country to ban natural, fossil gas hook-ups in new buildings. But in internal emails, C4Bes acknowledged serious potential climate and affordability limitations with the renewable gas supply. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

nsw government: The NSW government is searching for another company to rebuild the stadium after Lendlease rejected its offer, according to Nine News Australia. The total budget for knocking down and rebuilding Allianz Stadium at Moore Park is 729 million. To improve your experience update it here News National Builders refuse 729m to reconstruct Allianz Stadium By AAP7 20am Jul 27, 2019Facebook Tweet MailA firm that knocked down Sydney's Allianz stadium has refused to rebuild the venue for the amount of money on offer from the Berejiklian government. A firm that knocked down Allianz stadium has refused to rebuild the venue for the amount of money on offer from the government. 9News The total budget for knocking down and rebuilding Allianz Stadium at Moore Park is 729 million. 9News NSW Sport Minister John Sidoti on Friday said Lendlease's stage two offer did not meet the government's expectations so we are looking for another builder in a competitive market .AAP understands Lendlease did bid for the construction phase but the government wanted the company to do the work for less money. A mock up of Allianz Stadium's new design. We're pleased to have partnered again with Infrastructure NSW on stage one of the Sydney Football Stadium redevelopment project, a Lendlease spokesman told AAP in a statement. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

phrases: Among the words and phrases considered unacceptable were very due to and ongoing as well as equal yourself and unacceptable . Rees-Mogg's aides also barred the use of lot got and I am pleased to learn . The guidance, obtained by ITV news, was drawn up by the North East Somerset MP's constituency team years ago, but has now been shared with officials in his new office, according to The Guardian. In a call for accuracy contained in his list, staff were told CHECK your work. Aides to the new leader of the House of Commons sent out the list shortly after Rees-Mogg's appointment to the role by the new prime minister on Wednesday night. Other directions include a call for a double space after full stops and no comma after the word and . Staff should avoid too many Is' in their writing, Rees-Mogg's team has ordered, and he would neither note/understand your concerns nor would he welcome calls to invest in schools, etc . Moreover, the phrase no longer fit for purpose has been deemed no longer fit for purpose. As chair of the European Research Group an influential, hard-Brexit Tory backbench grouping Rees-Mogg has increased his influence in Westminster in recent years. The official transcript of parliamentary proceedings, Hansard, records more than 700 instances of Rees-Mogg using one or other of the banned words or phrases. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

january-march quarter: The resurgent strength in household spending was offset by a widening of the trade deficit and slower business inventory rebuilding, according to The Japan Times. Those two factors combined pared annual GDP last quarter by 1.5 percentage points. The gross domestic product, the economy's total output of goods and services, grew at a 2.1% annual rate last quarter, down from a 3.1% gain in the first quarter, the Commerce Department estimated Friday. ; But consumer spending, which accounts for 70% of economic activity, accelerated to grow at a sizzling 4.3% rate after a lackluster 1.1% annual gain in the January-March quarter. Economists also noted that business capital investment, which has been strong for the past two years, fell at a 0.6% annual rate in the April-June quarter, the first decline in three years. Indeed, most analysts think the U.S. economy could slow through the rest of the year, reflecting both global economic weakness and the trade war between the world's two largest economies. That weakness likely reflects, at least in part, a reluctance by businesses to commit to new projects because of uncertainty surrounding President Donald Trump's confidence-shaking trade war with China. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

market stress: The chief concern is that such funds will buckle during times of market stress and will be unable to deliver on a promise of liquidity, according to Market Watch. When you put completely illiquid, essentially privately placed debt, or even semi-liquid loans in meaningful size into a fund, it does create potential conditions like a cessation of the fund, said Steven Oh, head of global fixed income and credit at Pine Bridge Investments, in an interview with Market Watch. After a series of fund implosions in Europe this year, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds ETFs holding illiquid bonds and loans issued by highly leveraged corporations, rather than well-capitalized banks, could be the next source of financial-sector instability, and amplify market selloffs, analysts say. Market liquidity in open-end funds has come into focus recently, after funds holding sizable slugs of hard-to-trade and difficult-to-value securities were forced to close in the U.K. and Europe after a rush of outflows. More recently, H20 Asset Management, which held highly illiquid securities of companies associated with twice-bankrupt German financier Lars Windhorst, has seen billions of dollars leave its funds over these controversial links. Those include, Neil Woodford's flagship Equity Income fund and GAM's absolute return bond funds. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

rf products: As planned, in the second quarter we returned to sequential revenue growth, Jean-Marc Chery, STMicroelectronics president and CEO, said, according to The Independent. In fact, revenues increased 4.7%, above the mid-point of our guidance of 2.4%, driven by specialized imaging sensors, RF products for front end modules, silicon carbide MOSFETs and digital automotive, partially offset by general purpose analog, microcontrollers and legacy automotive products. ST reported second quarter net revenues of 2.17 billion, gross margin of 38.2%, operating margin of 9.0%, and net income of 160 million or 0.18 diluted earnings per share. We delivered an operating margin of 9.0%. During the first half of 2019 we delivered sales and profitability results in line with our quarterly guidance and we continued to advance our strategic investments, added Chery. This growth will be driven by engaged customer programs and new products in a softer than expected legacy automotive and industrial market. Looking at the third quarter, we expect strong sequential revenue growth of about 15.3% at the mid-point. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

stock exchange: Pepsi Co will acquire the stake from minority shareholders and will become the second largest shareholder behind Natural Food's founders who own approximately 42 percent of the company, according to Global Times China. This investment signals the company's commitment to accelerate growth in this key market. Pepsi Co announced on today that it will invest approximately 131 million 901 million yuan to acquire approximately 26 percent of the issued ordinary shares of Natural Food International Holding Limited Natural Food which is China's second largest natural health food company with a focus on grain-based premium nutrition powder. Natural Food was successfully listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited in 2018, and generated annual revenue of 1.8 billion yuan last year. Infused with modern nutrition science and food processing technologies, their diversified product portfolio includes over 100 types of products. Its brand Wugu Mofang ranked first in terms of top-of-mind brand awareness and customer satisfaction among all the natural health food brands in China and the most frequently consumed brand among all the natural health food products in China. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

telsa tsla: Under its new finance head, Telsa TSLA, -0.34% seemed to be moving away from the aggressive forecasts that have caught it out in the past in the shareholder letter released late Wednesday, according to Market Watch. The letter, which was far shorter than usual, said the company was simplifying its approach to guidance, as Market Watch's Jeremy Owens reported. While demand showed an impressive bounce back this quarter and the company is seeing strong order activity for the third quarter, we continue to believe that the reiteration of 360,000 to 400,000 unit guidance for full-year 2019 was a head scratcher since the pure math and demand trajectory makes this an Everest-like uphill battle, is how Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives summed it up on Thursday. But on the later conference call with analysts Musk immediately reiterated the specific unit guidance and said the company expects to be breakeven this quarter and profitable in the next one. As a result, we do not believe the next two quarters revenue will grow either from second-quarter levels or on a year-on-year basis. See also Tesla stock tanks after company's larger quarterly loss, sales miss We do not believe this is likely and model third-quarter deliveries -10% q/q, with the fourth-quarter back near second-quarter levels total 2019 339k said RBC analyst Joseph Spak. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

quarter: Analysts expected markedly weaker growth numbers Friday for the second quarter, adding to the pile of worries central bankers already had about global softening, according to CNN. The US economy grew at an annual rate of 2.1% in the second quarter, the Commerce Department announced Friday. Yet that highly anticipated policy decision will be far less the result of the President's unprecedented public assault on the Fed, including demands not to blow it, than the product of tremendous uncertainty caused by the Trump administration's erratic trade war with China and other countries, which has weakened global growth and dampened investment. That's better than economists had expected, but slower than the 3.1% pace in the first quarter. Not bad considering we have the very heavy weight of the Federal Reserve anchor wrapped around our neck. US economy grew at a slower pace in the second quarter Trump quickly jumped at the chance to pin the weaker growth reading on interest rate policy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

star market: The Shenzhen-based company said this week that it got the preliminary green light to list shares on the Star Market, China's answer to the Nasdaq, according to CNN. It will seek final approval from China's Securities Regulatory Committee, the country's top securities regulator, before launching an initial public offering. Now it's ready to raise its profile even more by joining China's splashy new market for tech stocks. An IPO could push Transsion's valuation above 4 billion. Analysts say it's an early win for the Star Market, which wants local investors to support Chinese tech companies, rather than lose those businesses to markets in Hong Kong or the United States. It would also take the company public on a market that got off to a stunningly positive start this week. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

system: It is not a conversation the federal government is willing to reopen, according to Nine News Australia. Almost a dozen coalition backbenchers have raised questions over the state of the superannuation system, an issue the government did not take to the people at the federal election. To improve your experience update it here News National Finance minister shoots down super debate By AAP2 09pm Jul 26, Minister Mathias Cormann is adamant the debate over whether superannuation contributions should be compulsory was settled a long time ago. Newly-elected NSW Liberal senator Andrew Bragg used his first speech to parliament this week to argue superannuation should be voluntary for Australians earning less than 50,000. The problem is that you would end up with less money in retirement and obviously a lower standard of living in retirement, he said in response to Senator Bragg's idea. Senator Cormann says while members are entitled to their opinion, the government has been very clear in terms of what it will and will not do. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

transition: The EIB said its focus on long-term investments means that it must align with the Paris Agreement which aims to cap global heating at 1.5C above 1990 levels by cutting greenhouse gas emissions, according to The Guardian. This transition will be profound. The EU's lending arm has drafted plans, seen by the Guardian, which propose cutting support for energy infrastructure projects which rely on oil, gas or coal by barring companies from applying for loans beyond the end of 2020. Solidarity is required to ensure that potentially vulnerable groups or regions are supported, the EIB report said. In the past the EIB has funded fossil fuel projects including the Trans Adriatic gas pipeline and oil storage facilities in Cyprus. The lender said it will set up an energy transitions fund to support projects which help EU member states to transition to a cleaner economy. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wall motors: It had previously forecast that sales would be flat this year, after they dropped 2.8% in 2018 the first decline in nearly three decades, according to CNN. Here are some of the other big moves on Asian markets at 10 30 a.m. in Hong Kong today. BAIC sank 4.2% in Hong Kong, while Great Wall Motors GWLLF lost 1.4% and BYD BYDDF and Geely GELYF both dropped 1.3%. The China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said on Thursday it expected car sales to fall 5% in 2019. Shares in Natural Food International, China's second largest health food producer, soared as much as 35% in Hong Kong after the company said Pepsi PEP would spend 131 million buying a 26% stake in the company. Pork prices have been soaring due to a devastating outbreak of African swine fever. Natural Food International said it was Pepsi's first strategic investment in China.WH Group WHGLY the world's largest pork processing company, was the top gainer in Hong Kong, surging more than 4%. It was boosted by an announcement from the government of Guangdong, one of China's largest pig producing provinces, unveiling 10 new measures to boost the supply of live pigs. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.