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May 17, 2018 / 12:20 PM / Updated 21 minutes ago Venezuelan challenger Falcon aspires to vote upset Andrew Cawthorne 5 Min Read
CARACAS (Reuters) - Striding a small stage in a poor hillside neighbourhood of Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, presidential aspirant Henri Falcon fulminates against hunger, malnutrition and hyperinflation under socialist rule. FILE PHOTO: Venezuelan presidential candidate Henri Falcon of the Avanzada Progresista party, delivers a speech to supporters during a campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo
“It’s time to tell Nicolas, the hunger candidate, ‘Go away!’ He is nothing but a nightmare for this country,” Falcon shouts of incumbent leftist leader Nicolas Maduro, who is favoured to win the OPEC nation’s election on Sunday.
Yet despite Falcon’s personal energy and stirring words - plus the depth of Venezuela’s crisis - only a few hundred people turned up in the sprawling, working-class district of Petare at one of his last rallies. Organizers placed him in a narrow street, exaggerating the apparent size of the crowd.
In the most subdued election campaign in living memory, Maduro’s main rival has failed to ignite the masses or bring into his fold major opposition leaders, who are boycotting the vote on grounds it is rigged.
Two of the opposition’s biggest names - Leopoldo Lopez and Henrique Capriles - have been barred from running. The former is under house arrest, and the latter accused of misusing funds while a state governor.
Falcon has also failed to join forces with another presidential candidate, evangelical pastor Javier Bertucci, who has created a surprising stir on the street - not least with soup handouts - and could have lent him extra votes.
Opinion polls are mixed and unreliable given the probably lower-than-usual turnout. Some, however, still show the 56-year-old former soldier and state governor leading Maduro slightly. FILE PHOTO: People walk pass a campaign poster of Henri Falcon for the 2018 presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela May 11, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo
But higher-than-normal abstention is likely to hurt Falcon, not to mention the government’s institutional advantages, including an election board run by loyalists and the flagrant use of state resources for campaigning.
“The result is a foregone conclusion. Maduro will buy, bully and cheat his way to victory,” said Nicholas Watson of Teneo Intelligence consultancy. “For Maduro, Falcon’s candidacy is a useful means to claw back some legitimacy.” “IF WE VOTE, WE WIN”
There is fury by some in the mainstream opposition at Falcon for breaking ranks with their coalition and running. By so doing, he has undermined their strategy of making Maduro look foolish by running in an essentially one-man election.
“Henri Falcon decided to back the dictatorship,” the hard-line opposition Popular Will party carped recently on Twitter, accusing him of cutting a deal to be Maduro’s vice president in the next government. FILE PHOTO: A supporter of Venezuelan presidential candidate Henri Falcon, holding a fake hundred dollar bill that reads, "Dollarization with Henri Falcon" and "Salaries and pensions in dollars", takes part in a campaign rally in Caracas, Venezuela May 14, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Garcia Rawlins/File Photo
Falcon’s campaign team has angrily denied the allegation.
So as well as battling Maduro, Falcon has been dedicating his campaign to fighting former opposition comrades.
“There’s no point in abstaining. If we vote, we defeat this government,” he exhorted supporters in Petare, making a point that polls back up: a majority want change.
“No one in their right mind can stand with their arms crossed during this crisis,” Falcon said. “This country cannot bear another six years of Maduro.”
Falcon supporters are deeply frustrated with the opposition split, saying Venezuelans may be giving up a golden opportunity to topple the Socialist Party’s nearly two-decade rule.
“People don’t like Maduro, but the fracture inside the opposition had done big damage. It’s a huge waste not to go into the election as a united bloc,” said Petare social worker Ingrid Palacios, 42, who supported Falcon at this week’s rally.
Some, though, still believe Falcon could spring a surprise on Sunday when voters are in the privacy of the ballot box, given the level of fury against Maduro over hyperinflation, food shortages and the growing exodus of young Venezuelans.
“Either we get rid of Maduro and ‘Chavismo,’ or we all die of hunger,” said Coromoto Martinez, 53, in the poor rural state of Barinas that was home to Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Like hundreds of thousands of others, her son left recently for the Colombian city of Medellin in search of a better future.
“I am voting for Falcon so my son can come home!” Additional reporting by Francisco Aguilar in Barinas; editing by Girish Gupta and Jonathan Oatis
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Venezuelan challenger Falcon aspires to vote upset
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JOHANNESBURG, April 30 (Reuters) - South Africa’s trade balance swung to a 9.47 billion rand ($762 million) surplus in March from a revised deficit of 603 million rand in February, data from the revenue agency showed on Monday.
Exports rose by 9.2 percent to 98.3 billion rand on a month-on-month basis in March, while imports fell 2 percent to 88.8 billion rand, the South African Revenue Service said in a statement.
$1 = 12.4308 rand Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Toby Chopra
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South Africa's trade balance swings to 9.47 bln rand surplus in March
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HSBC's top line will be the 'highlight' for its earnings: Analyst 6 Hours Ago Given the strength in capital markets and recent performance of other banks, a "solid" 10 to 15 percent top line growth is expected from HSBC's upcoming earnings report, says William Fitzpatrick of Manulife Asset Management.
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HSBC's top line will be the 'highlight' for its earnings: Analyst
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May 7 (Reuters) - OPONEO.PL SA:
* APRIL REVENUE AT 114.6 MILLION ZLOTYS, UP 52 PERCENT YOY Source text for Eikon: (Gdynia Newsroom)
Our
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Oponeo.Pl April Revenue Up 52 Pct YoY
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LONDON (Reuters) - Bosses of the collapsed construction firm Carillion should face an inquiry into their fitness to serve as directors after they masked the company’s financial ill-health with accounting tricks before its failure, Members of Parliament said on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: A worker operates a crane on Carillion's Midland Metropolitan Hospital construction site in Smethwick, Britain January 29, 2018. REUTERS/Darren Staples/File Photo Carillion, which employed 43,000 people to provide services in defence, education, health and transport, collapsed in January, becoming the largest construction bankruptcy in British history. It left creditors and the firm’s pensioners facing steep losses and put thousands of jobs at risk.
The executives were more concerned with protecting bonuses than finding problems at the firm and presided over a “rotten corporate culture” that led to its costly demise, an investigation by two parliamentary committees found.
The failure of Carillion was a story of “recklessness, hubris and greed” and could happen again, a 101-page report by the Work and Pensions committee and the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee said.
“Same old story. Same old greed. A board of directors too busy stuffing their mouths with gold to show any concern for the welfare of their workforce or their pensioners,” said Frank Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions select committee.
“British industry is too important to be left in the hands of the likes of the shysters at the top of Carillion,” he added.
The Insolvency Service, which is carrying out an investigation into potential misconduct by former directors at Carillion, should carefully consider whether the executives should be banned, the report said.
Former finance director, Richard Adam, was the architect of Carillion’s aggressive accounting policies and refused to make adequate contributions to the company’s pension scheme, which he considered a “waste of money”, the report said.
Carillion misrepresented its accounts, for example, by leaning on small suppliers to delay receiving payment in an attempt to conceal the true scale of its debts, the report said.
The company kept some companies waiting to be paid for 120 days unless, in exchange for more prompt payments, the companies would accept a discount on their invoices, the report said.
This meant Carillion was effectively able to keep more cash on its books by holding on to money owed to suppliers.
Adam’s decision to sell almost 800,000 pounds ($1.08 million) of shares after he retired last year, a few months before Carillion collapsed, were “the actions of a man who knew where the company was heading”, the report said.
In a statement, Adam rejected the committee’s conclusions, said the reasons for Carillion’s collapse were complex and said the authors of the report wrongly attributed Quote: s to him.
The report said the government should also ask the competition commission to investigate the break-up of Britain’s big four accountancy firms after a series of scandals that accountants appear to have missed.
The aim would be to increase competition and eliminate conflicts of interest arising from the dominance of the largest accountancy firms.
The government needs to do more to tackle the regulatory and legal environment that allowed Carillion to become a “giant and unsustainable corporate time bomb”, the report said.
“Carillion was unsustainable,” it added. “The mystery is not that it collapsed, but that it lasted so long. Carillion could happen again, and soon.”
Editing by Stephen Addison
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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Carillion bosses' personal greed and recklessness led to downfall: MPs
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By David Z. Morris 2:18 PM EDT
Sesame Workshop, the company that produces beloved children’s show Sesame Street , has filed suit against the creators of upcoming film The Happytime Murders , claiming misuse of the Sesame Street brand. The new film, which stars Melissa McCarthy, is set in “the underbelly of Los Angeles” in a world where humans and puppets coexist.
At issue in the suit, according to The New York Times , is a trailer released in May ahead of the film’s August release. The trailer features drug use, graphic sex, and prostitution. It also includes the tagline “No Sesame. All Street.”
The tagline, according to a statement from Sesame Workshop, amounts to Sesame Street being “exploited to market this R-rated film,” and could confuse consumers. Though the film contains no Sesame Street or Muppet characters, the trailer also prominently displays director Brian Henson’s previous credits as director of several Muppet movies. Brian Henson is the son of Muppet creator Jim Henson. “Muppet” commonly refers to a broad roster of puppet characters that appeared both on Sesame Street, and a variety of other films and television shows.
Get CEO Daily , Fortune’s newsletter for leaders.
Sesame Workshop, according to the Times , is asking that the new film’s producers release “corrective advertising” to prevent potential confusion between the properties. The producers of The Happytime Murders released a statement saying, “While we’re disappointed that ‘Sesame Street’ does not share in the fun, we are confident in our legal position.”
It’s worth noting that “The Happytime Murders” takes inspiration from more than just Sesame Street. The Muppets themselves often hinted at adult themes, and that idea was first taken to its logical conclusion by none other than Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson. Jackson’s 1989 film Meet the Feebles included puppet sex, gore, crime, and depravity almost certainly more extreme than anything viewers will see in The Happytime Murders .
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Sesame Street Producers Sue R-Rated Puppet Comedy | Fortune
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May 2 (Reuters) - Stratasys Ltd:
* STRATASYS RELEASES FIRST QUARTER 2018 FINANCIAL RESULTS * STRATASYS LTD Q1 NON-GAAP SHR $0.05
* STRATASYS LTD Q1 GAAP SHR LOSS $0.24 * STRATASYS LTD Q1 REVENUE $153.8 MLN VS I/B/E/S VIEW $167.5 MLN
* STRATASYS LTD Q1 SHR VIEW $0.08 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* STRATASYS LTD - REITERATED GUIDANCE FOR PROJECTED REVENUE AND NET INCOME FOR FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-Stratasys Reports Q1 Non-GAAP EPS $0.05
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France’s growing success in courting U.S. tech jobs highlights President Donald Trump’s fraught relationship with Silicon Valley.
The new reality was on view this week at a conference in Paris, where 60 tech executives from some of America’s largest technology powerhouses announced new France-based initiatives.
IBM plans to hire 1,800 people in France and develop a team to research blockchain, artificial intelligence, and the Internet of things, tech news site TechCrunch reported . Meanwhile, Uber announced that it would invest $23.4 million in France on the company’s flying car program, its first outside of North America, according to CNN . Facebook and Google also plan to step up their French presence.
French President Emmanuel Macron, who organized the summit, called Tech for Good, has pledged to make France a “start-up country.” Since then, leading U.S. tech companies have promised to invest $4.1 billion in France and add 2,200 jobs in total. The move comes amid Trump’s cool relationship with U.S.-based tech companies despite holding court shortly into his presidency with several tech leaders including Apple’s Tim Cook, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Microsoft’s Satya Nadella.
Numerous tech companies opposed Trump’s travel ban and new restrictions on the H-1B visa . Trump has also feuded with Amazon over shipping costs. Microsoft is even suing the Trump Administration over ending the DACA program, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program that allows undocumented immigrants who came to the country as children to work and defers deportation, while other companies have slammed the administration for pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement.
While, the jobs that U.S. tech companies promised to France are a small fraction of those in Silicon Valley, it marks a noticeable shift for the industry. Macron has also met individually with executives at companies like Facebook , IBM , Microsoft, and Uber.
However, the Trump administration has pleased tech companies from a policy standpoint. Google’s parent company Alphabet and Apple, among others, have Trump’s tax changes to thank for saving them billions of dollars in taxes for repatriating funds held overseas. It remains to be seen whether those efforts will be enough for those companies, especially as other countries offer their own incentives to invest.
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France Steps In As Trump Fails to Win Over Tech Companies
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May 3, 2018 / 1:29 PM / Updated 12 minutes ago BRIEF-ServiceMaster Appoints Rex Tibbens As President And CEO Of American Home Shield Reuters Staff
May 3 (Reuters) - Servicemaster Global Holdings Inc :
* SERVICEMASTER APPOINTS REX TIBBENS AS PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF AMERICAN HOME SHIELD
* SERVICEMASTER - SPIN-OFF OF AMERICAN HOME SHIELD IS ON TRACK FOR Q3 EXECUTION, AT WHICH TIME TIBBENS WILL CONTINUE TO LEAD BRAND
* SERVICEMASTER GLOBAL HOLDINGS INC - TIBBENS IS A FORMER CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER OF LYFT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-ServiceMaster Appoints Rex Tibbens As President And CEO Of American Home Shield
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The stuff in beauty creams is appearing in foods, as companies launch pricey snacks and drinks containing collagen—and many consumers are eating it up despite little hard evidence that it works.
Valerie Grogan, a 53-year-old teacher’s aide in Torrance, Calif., three years ago began making a collagen-rich bone broth in her crockpot every week, hoping it would help soothe aches and smooth her skin. Recently, she discovered a vanilla-coconut collagen powder, which she mixes into coffee and smoothies. Then came collagen snack...
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Collagen, a Wrinkle-Cream Staple, Catches On in Foods
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CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Wednesday defended fare hikes on the Cairo metro that sparked a rare display of public discontent last week, saying the move was necessary for the loss-making transportation network.
“Do I today have the luxury of delaying reforms such as with the metro? No. Alright, won’t people suffer? Of course ... But do you not want the country to do well and become of importance?” Sisi said at a conference.
The government said the higher fares, which came into effect on Friday and saw the cost of some metro tickets triple, are needed to keep the metro running and to finance new extensions. More than 3 million people use the system every day.
The metro system has accumulated losses of 618.6 million Egyptian pounds ($35 million), state news agency MENA said without specifying a time span.
The price hikes come as the government works its way through a series of tough IMF-backed reforms since late 2016 aimed at tightening its finances and drawing in new investment but which have hit the pockets of Egypt’s more than 100 million people.
“Was this a surprise? No ... This is a four-year-old plan across all sectors, electricity, water and sewage. There is no other choice,” Sisi said.
Discounted rates will be maintained under the new system for students, the elderly and those with special needs.
The government had previously angered Cairo residents, already hit by a sharp rise in living costs, when it doubled the price of metro tickets last year for millions of commuters.
Around 30 people were detained by the security forces in what they described as “limited and sporadic protests” at several metro stations. Several have since been released.
While there were no signs of fresh protests in the days that followed, riot police remained deployed outside major metro stations.
Reporting by Omar Fahmy; Writing by Nadine Awadalla; Editing by Hugh Lawson
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Egypt's Sisi defends Cairo metro fare hikes after protests
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It's now 60 percent through earnings season, and analysts are tripping all over themselves trying to advance the dominant theme of "peak earnings."
They have added two other problems for stocks: higher rates and slower global growth. This triumvirate (peak earnings + higher rates + slower growth) is creating a formidable obstacle for stock advancement.
Let's start with the current complaint. The market has not rallied on earnings, analysts say. They are only half right. The S&P is flat since J.P. Morgan kicked off earnings season on April 13. Industrial stocks are down since then. Semiconductors have sold off, down more than 5 percent. The market leadership is narrow, with energy the only prominent sector stepping forward.
But the argument that there has been no reaction to stronger earnings is simply nonsense. The market had its rally on tax cuts and stronger earnings — but that happened mostly in the fourth quarter last year. From October through mid-January — the period when the market was obsessed with the implication of tax reform on earnings — the S&P 500 went from 2,500 to almost 2,900, or a 16 percent increase in less than four months.
As for "peak earnings," Michael Wilson, chief U.S. equity strategist and CIO of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, said in a note to clients on Sunday that "[W]e think the market is digesting the fact that the tax cut last year has created a lower quality increase in US earnings growth that almost guarantees a peak rate of change by 3Q."
Look, I get it. Everyone knows the tax cuts are giving a one-time boost to stocks. The S&P 500 will see profit growth of about 20 percent this year, and only half that in 2019. But that is still growth, and record growth at that.
"Peak earnings" is a bogus argument for selling stocks, providing there is still a background of growth, and particularly with the S&P 500 trading at a very reasonable multiple of a little more than 16 times 2018 earnings.
However, recently the macro backdrop has become noisier. Rates have risen. Central bank chiefs Mario Draghi (Europe), Haruhiko Kuroda (Japan) and Mark Carney (England) have been sounding a bit more dovish recently on growth, and the euro has weakened.
And that, combined with trade issues, has given the bears an opening.
Stocks dropped considerably in February as the market began to address the implications of higher rates and higher wages. Bears have combined the "slower growth" and "higher rates" story to argue that earnings expectations, while high currently, will likely decline as we get into 2019. Most do not use the word "stagflation" outright (higher rates + slower growth = stagflation) since there is no consensus around the degree of growth slowing and rates rising.
Regardless, this is creating a potent "stew" that is forcing stocks to remain range-bound despite rising earnings expectations.
How much is global growth truly slowing? I think Goldman Sachs has the right tone. In a note to clients late last week, Goldman's global markets analyst Caesar Maasry characterized global growth as "strong but slowing." He noted that not all slowdowns are created equal: Slowdowns (and stock sell-offs like we have seen) are more significant ahead of recessions, but that is not in the cards: "[W]e expect the recent soft patch in growth to be short lived," Maasry concluded.
Even the first-quarter slowdown in U.S. economic growth (GDP was 2.3 percent) is being met with the usual skepticism: "We expect faster growth in Q2 and throughout the year," UBS said in a note to clients.
It's obvious to me that the market is entering a consolidation phase after an enormous move at the end of last year. Combining hot-button phrases like "peak earnings" and "higher rates" and "slowing growth" is a potent stew, but bears are likely pushing their case too far.
|
Everyone's blaming 'peak earnings' for why stocks aren't advancing
|
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May 18, 2018 / 6:14 PM / Updated 20 hours ago IPL Scoreboard Reuters Staff 3 Min Read May 18 (OPTA) - Scoreboard at close of play on the first day of match 52 between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings on Friday at Delhi, India Delhi Daredevils win by 34 runs Delhi Daredevils 1st innings Prithvi Shaw c Shardul Thakur b Deepak Chahar 17 Shreyas Iyer b Lungi Ngidi 19 Rishabh Pant c Dwayne Bravo b Lungi Ngidi 38 Glenn Maxwell b Ravindra Jadeja 5 Vijay Shankar Not Out 36 Abhishek Sharma c Harbhajan Singh b Shardul Thakur 2 Harshal Patel Not Out 36 Extras 0b 3lb 0nb 0pen 6w 9 Total (20.0 overs) 162-5 Fall of Wickets : 1-24 Shaw, 2-78 Iyer, 3-81 Pant, 4-94 Maxwell, 5-97 Sharma Did Not Bat : Mishra, Lamichhane, Boult, Khan Bowling Ov Md Rn Wk Econ Ex Deepak Chahar 3 0 23 1 7.67 2w Lungi Ngidi 3 0 14 2 4.67 2w Ravindra Jadeja 4 0 19 1 4.75 Shardul Thakur 4 0 27 1 6.75 Harbhajan Singh 2 0 24 0 12.00 Dwayne Bravo 4 0 52 0 13.00 2w Chennai Super Kings 1st innings Shane Watson c Trent Boult b Amit Mishra 14 Ambati Rayudu c Glenn Maxwell b Harshal Patel 50 Suresh Raina c Vijay Shankar b Sandeep Lamichhane 15 MS Dhoni c Shreyas Iyer b Trent Boult 17 Sam Billings c Abhishek Sharma b Amit Mishra 1 Ravindra Jadeja Not Out 27 Dwayne Bravo c Vijay Shankar b Trent Boult 1 Deepak Chahar Not Out 1 Extras 0b 2lb 0nb 0pen 0w 2 Total (20.0 overs) 128-6 Fall of Wickets : 1-46 Watson, 2-70 Rayudu, 3-90 Raina, 4-93 Billings, 5-113 Dhoni, 6-125 Bravo Did Not Bat : Singh, Thakur, Ngidi Bowling Ov Md Rn Wk Econ Ex Trent Boult 4 0 20 2 5.00 Sandeep Lamichhane 4 0 21 1 5.25 Avesh Khan 2 0 28 0 14.00 Harshal Patel 4 0 23 1 5.75 Amit Mishra 4 0 20 2 5.00 Glenn Maxwell 2 0 14 0 7.00 Umpire Handunnettige Dharmasena Umpire Vineet Kulkarni Video C Nandan Match Referee Manu Nayyar
|
IPL Scoreboard
|
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May 30, 2018 / 4:39 PM / Updated 7 minutes ago Zverev survives test of nerve in Paris Julien Pretot 3 Min Read
PARIS (Reuters) - Alexander Zverev eventually controlled his nerves to reach the French Open third round with a 2-6 7-5 4-6 6-1 6-2 win over Serbian Dusan Lajovic on Wednesday as he bids to improve on a below-par Grand Slam record. Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2018 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his second round match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic REUTERS/Charles Platiau
The second-seeded German smashed a racket in frustration before finding his groove and setting up a meeting with 26th- seeded Bosnian Damir Dzumhur.
Zverev has yet to reach the last eight at a Grand Slam but his huge talent told in the end against the world number 60.
Asked about the gap between his ATP tour and his Grand Slam performances, Zverev said: “Everybody tries to make a bigger story out of it than it is. I have had great success on the ATP Tour, won three Masters, made two other finals this year. Related Coverage
“I’m not worried. I know if I’m doing the right things
and if I do the right work I’ll win those long matches, Tennis - French Open - Roland Garros, Paris, France - May 30, 2018 Germany's Alexander Zverev in action during his second round match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic REUTERS/Charles Platiau
and the success will come itself. This is not something I think of on a daily basis.”
After all, 20-times Grand Slam champion Roger Federer was also a relatively late bloomer.
“He (Federer) told me a story about how he never made it past quarters until he was, what, 23 years old or something like that,” said Zverev.
“I still have a little bit of time. Hearing that from the greatest player of all time is comforting, because you always think, Oh, if I’m not going to win this one, I’m never going to win one.” Slideshow (3 Images)
The 21-year-old Zverev had to cope with the frustration of an error-riddled start of the match.
He dropped serve twice in the opening set as Lajovic kept his cool and held serve to take the lead on Court One.
Lajovic toyed with the German, who lost his temper when he was broken in the third game of the second set and crushed his racket in frustration.
Horrible unforced errors and ill-timed rushes to the net followed as Zverev struggled for control but he broke back for 3-3 and regained his composure to convert his first set point on Lajovic’s serve to level the match.
There were more jitters, though, as he trailed 2-1 in the third when he dropped serve on a double fault. Lajovic went on to bag the set and Zverev had his back to the wall.
But the German, who leads the ATP Race, was fully focussed as he raced through the fourth set by sticking closer to the baseline and he ended the match with an unreturnable serve. Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond
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Tennis-Zverev survives test of nerve in Paris
|
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May 2 (Reuters) - Aurora Cannabis Inc:
* AURORA CANNABIS - PARTICIPATING IN IPO OF GREEN ORGANIC DUTCHMAN PURCHASING 17.5% OF IPO ISSUE PRICED AT $3.65/UNIT, FOR TOTAL INVESTMENT OF $23.1 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-Aurora Cannabis Says Participating In IPO Of Green Organic Dutchman Purchasing 17.5% Of IPO
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May 11, 2018 / 1:19 PM / Updated 2 minutes ago Exclusive - AT&T CEO: We made 'big mistake' hiring Cohen, chief lobbyist out Jessica Toonkel , David Shepardson 4 Min Read
(Reuters) - AT&T Inc ( T.N ) on Friday ousted its top lobbyist, and the No. 2 wireless carrier’s chief executive said it was a “big mistake” to hire Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, for advice on working with the Trump administration.
AT&T paid Essential Consultants LLC, a firm set up by Cohen, a total of $600,000 over 2017 for the advice. Cohen and others were hired to help navigate “a wide range of issues,” including its proposed $85 billion merger with Time Warner Inc ( TWX.N ), CEO Randall Stephenson said in a memo seen by Reuters.
The disclosure of AT&T’s relationship with Cohen has turned into a major embarrassment for the telecommunications company as it awaits a U.S. judge’s decision, due June 12, on whether it can go through with the purchase of Time Warner, a deal that has been denounced by Trump.
“There is no other way to say it – AT&T hiring Michael Cohen as a political consultant was a big mistake,” the memo said.
President Trump expressed opposition to the merger with Time Warner during the campaign and his administration ultimately chose to fight it, with the Justice Department filing suit in November to block the agreement.
In a fact sheet that accompanied the memo, AT&T said Cohen approached them about working on their behalf in the post-election transition. He was given a one-year contract at $50,000 per month, which ran from January through December 2017, that was limited to consulting and advisory services.
AT&T never asked Cohen to set up meetings with anyone in the Trump administration, and he did not offer to do so, it said.
“To be clear, everything we did was done according to the law and entirely legitimate,” Stephenson wrote in the memo. “But the fact is our past association with Cohen was a serious misjudgment.” Slideshow (2 Images)
Stephenson said he took responsibility for the Washington team’s failure to vet Cohen.
AT&T’s head lobbyist, Bob Quinn, who oversaw the hiring of Cohen, is retiring, according to the memo. But two sources familiar with the situation said Quinn was forced to retire.
The sources requested anonymity because they are not permitted to speak to the media. Quinn did not respond to a request for comment.
AT&T’s board of directors does not hold Stephenson responsible for the lack of vetting, according to one source.
The AT&T payments were first revealed by Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for adult film actress Stormy Daniels, who also said a company owned by Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg and other corporations paid Essential Consultants for certain services. Avenatti would not say how he obtained the information.
Drugmaker Novartis ( NOVN.S ) said on Wednesday it had a $1.2 million contract with Cohen’s firm, but soon realized the agreement was a mistake.
Essential Consultants paid $130,000 to Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, days before the 2016 presidential election as part of a nondisclosure agreement that barred her from discussing an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. He denies any encounter took place.
Shares of AT&T rose 1.2 percent to $32.25. Reporting by Jessica Toonkel in New York and David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Chris Sanders, Jeffrey Benkoe and Richard Chang
|
Exclusive: AT&T CEO says hiring Trump lawyer was 'big mistake' - memo
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May 19, 2018 / 7:47 AM / Updated 7 hours ago Modi inaugurates hydro project in Kashmir, Pakistan protests Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
SRINAGAR, India (Reuters) - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated on Saturday a hydroelectric power plant in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, amid protests from neighbour Pakistan which says the project on a river flowing into Pakistan will disrupt water supplies. Prime Minister Narendra Modi (C), Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti (2nd R) attend the inauguration of a hydroelectric power plant in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar, May 19, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Ismail
The 330 megawatt Kishanganga hydropower station, work on which started in 2009, is one of the projects that India has fast-tracked in the volatile state amid frosty ties between the nuclear-armed countries.
“This region can not only become self-sufficient in power but also produce for other regions of the country,” Modi said in the state’s capital, Srinagar. “Keeping that in mind we have been working on various projects here in the past four years.”
Pakistan has opposed some of these projects, saying they violate a World Bank-mediated treaty on the sharing of the Indus river and its tributaries upon which 80 percent of its irrigated agriculture depends.
“Pakistan is seriously concerned about the inauguration (of the Kishanganga plant),” its foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday. “Pakistan believes that the inauguration of the project without the resolution of the dispute is tantamount to violation of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).”
The Kishanganga project was delayed for several years as Pakistan dragged India to the International Court of Arbitration, which ruled in India’s favour in 2013.
India has said the hydropower projects underway in Jammu and Kashmir are “run-of-the-river” schemes that use the river’s flow and elevation to generate electricity rather than large reservoirs, and do not contravene the treaty.
A day before Modi’s trip to the northern state, at least nine people were killed on both sides of the border due to firing by each other’s security forces, officials said.
The two countries have fought three wars, two over Kashmir that they rule in part but claim in full.
India accuses Pakistan of promoting militancy in Kashmir, a charge that Islamabad denies.
Modi, who is on a day-long visit to the state, also flagged off the construction of the 14 km (9 mile)-long Zojila tunnel to provide all-weather connectivity between the cities of Srinagar, Kargil and Leh.
The government said it would be the longest road tunnel in India and Asia’s longest two-way tunnel, to be constructed at a cost of $1 billion.
($1 = 67.9850 Indian rupees) Prime Minister Narendra Modi speaks during the inauguration of a hydroelectric power plant in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, at Sher-i-Kashmir International Conference Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar, May 19, 2018. REUTERS/Danish Ismail Reporting by Promit Mukherjee in MUMBAI and Fayaz Bukhari in SRINAGAR; Editing by Krishna N. Das Muralikumar Anantharaman and Ros Russell
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PM Modi to inaugurate hydro project in Kashmir, Pakistan protests
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May 7 (Reuters) - Huaxi Securities Co Ltd:
* SAYS APRIL NET PROFIT AT 113.0 MILLION YUAN, JAN-APR NET PROFIT AT 391.3 MILLION YUAN ($61.49 million) Source text in Chinese: bit.ly/2I0NATw ($1 = 6.3637 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by Hong Kong newsroom)
Our
|
Huaxi Securities' April Net Profit At 113.0 Mln Yuan
|
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Luxembourg, May 11, 2018 - ArcelorMittal (referred to as "ArcelorMittal" or the "Company") (MT (New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg), MTS (Madrid)), the world's leading integrated steel and mining company, today announced results [1] for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018.
Highlights:
Health and safety: LTIF rate of 0.62x in 1Q 2018 as compared to 0.87x in 4Q 2017 and 0.80x in 1Q 2017 Operating income increased to $1.6 billion in 1Q 2018 as compared to $1.2 billion in 4Q 2017, stable YoY EBITDA of $2.5 billion in 1Q 2018, 17.3% higher as compared to $2.1 billion in 4Q 2017, primarily reflecting higher average steel selling prices (+8.2%) and higher seaborne iron ore reference prices (+13.6%); 1Q 2018 EBITDA up 12.6% YoY Net income of $1.2 billion in 1Q 2018 as compared to $1.0 billion in both 4Q 2017 and 1Q 2017 Steel shipments of 21.3 Mt in 1Q 2018, up 1.7% vs. 4Q 2017 and up 1.4% vs. 1Q 2017 1Q 2018 iron ore shipments of 13.8Mt (+3.6% YoY), of which 9.1Mt shipped at market prices (+5.5% YoY) Gross debt of $13.4 billion as of March 31, 2018. Net debt increased to $11.1 billion as of March 31, 2018, as compared to $10.1 billion as of December 31, 2017 due to working capital investment ($1.9 billion), share buyback ($0.2 billion) [2] and forex ($0.2 billion); net debt is $1.0 billion lower when compared to net debt as of March 31, 2017 Financial highlights (on the basis of IFRS 1 ):
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 19,186 17,710 17,639 17,244 16,086 Operating income 1,569 1,234 1,234 1,390 1,576 Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent 1,192 1,039 1,205 1,322 1,002 Basic earnings per share (US$) [3] 1.17 1.02 1.18 1.30 0.98 Operating income/ tonne (US$/t) 73 59 57 65 75 EBITDA 2,512 2,141 1,924 2,112 2,231 EBITDA/ tonne (US$/t) 118 102 89 98 106 Steel-only EBITDA/ tonne (US$/t) 101 89 73 83 83 Crude steel production (Mt) 23.3 22.7 23.6 23.2 23.6 Steel shipments (Mt) 21.3 21.0 21.7 21.5 21.1 Own iron ore production (Mt) 14.6 14.4 14.2 14.7 14.0 Iron ore shipped at market price (Mt) 9.1 8.4 9.1 9.5 8.7 Commenting, Mr. Lakshmi N. Mittal, ArcelorMittal Chairman and CEO, said:
"The improvement in global steel market dynamics has continued into 2018, supporting an encouraging financial performance in the first quarter. EBITDA increased 13% year-on-year to $2.5 billion, while net income improved by 19% to $1.2 billion. The outlook for 2018 has strengthened as the year has progressed, with the combination of growing demand and supply-side reform driving higher capacity utilisation rates and healthy steel spreads globally. Against this improving backdrop, we continue to focus on structural improvement - through the delivery of our Action 2020 strategic plan - and investing with focus and discipline in opportunities that will drive higher future returns. Our acquisition of Ilva has now received competition clearance from the European Commission and we expect to complete this acquisition by the end of the second quarter 2018."
Sustainable development and safety performance
Health and safety - Own personnel and contractors lost time injury frequency rate
Health and safety performance based on own personnel figures and contractors lost time injury frequency (LTIF) rate of 0.62x in the first quarter of 2018 ("1Q 2018") as compared to 0.87x in the fourth quarter of 2017 ("4Q 2017"), and 0.80x in the first quarter of 2017 ("1Q 2017").
The Company's efforts to improve its Health and Safety record remain focused on both further reducing the rate of severe injuries and preventing fatalities.
Own personnel and contractors - Frequency rate
Lost time injury frequency rate 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Mining 0.34 0.86 1.05 0.58 0.58 NAFTA 0.39 0.76 0.57 0.51 0.85 Brazil 0.41 0.46 0.45 0.37 0.41 Europe 0.77 1.00 0.79 1.08 1.20 ACIS 0.79 0.97 0.42 0.62 0.45 Total Steel 0.66 0.88 0.60 0.75 0.83 Total (Steel and Mining) 0.62 0.87 0.67 0.72 0.80 Key sustainable development highlights for 1Q 2018:
Achieved status of 'Steel sustainability champion' in new worldsteel award scheme, recognising our high standards in sustainable development data reporting, safety and life cycle analysis. Response to the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-Related Disclosures (TFCD) developed, with additional disclosures made in 2017 Integrated Annual Review. Gold standard achieved in Ecovadis sustainability rating - required by many customers.
Analysis of results for 1Q 2018 versus 4Q 2017 and 1Q 2017
Total steel shipments in 1Q 2018 were 1.7% higher at 21.3Mt as compared with 21.0Mt for 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher steel shipments in NAFTA (+7.9%) and Europe (+5.4%), offset in part by lower steel shipments in ACIS (-6.9%) and by seasonally lower steel shipments in Brazil (-18.7%). Total steel shipments in 1Q 2018 were 1.4% higher as compared with 21.1Mt for 1Q 2017 primarily due to higher steel shipments in Brazil (+11.5%) and Europe (+4.8%) offset in part by lower shipments in ACIS (-6.0%) and NAFTA (-0.9%).
Sales in 1Q 2018 were $19.2 billion as compared to $17.7 billion for 4Q 2017 and $16.1 billion for 1Q 2017. Sales in 1Q 2018 were 8.3% higher as compared to 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (+8.2%), higher steel shipments (+1.7%), higher seaborne iron ore reference prices (+13.6%) and higher market-priced iron ore shipments (+8.1%). Sales in 1Q 2018 were 19.3% higher as compared to 1Q 2017 primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (+18.2%), higher steel shipments (+1.4%), and higher market-priced iron ore shipments (+5.5%), offset in part by lower seaborne iron ore reference prices (-13.1%).
Depreciation for 1Q 2018 was lower at $711 million as compared to $747 million for 4Q 2017. Depreciation was higher in 1Q 2018 as compared to $655 million in 1Q 2017 primarily due to depreciation of the US dollar against the Euro. Full year 2018 depreciation is expected to be approximately $2.9 billion (based on current exchange rates).
Impairment charges for 1Q 2018 were $86 million related to the agreed remedy package required for the approval of the Votorantim acquisition [4] . Impairment charges for 4Q 2017 were $160 million related to a downward revision of cash flow projections across all steel facilities in ArcelorMittal South Africa. Impairment charges for 1Q 2017 were nil.
Exceptional charges for 1Q 2018 were $146 million related to a provision taken in respect of an ongoing case in which a settlement is pending. Exceptional charges for 4Q 2017 and 1Q 2017 were nil.
Operating income for 1Q 2018 was $1.6 billion as compared to $1.2 billion in 4Q 2017 and $1.6 billion in 1Q 2017. Operating income for 1Q 2018 and 4Q 2017 were impacted by impairments and exceptional charges as discussed above.
Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments for 1Q 2018 was $212 million as compared to $125 million for 4Q 2017, increasing primarily on account of the annual dividend declared by Erdemir ($87 million) and improved performance of Calvert investee. Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments for 1Q 2017 was $86 million and included the dividend from Erdemir ($45 million), positive contribution from Calvert and China Oriental investees offset in part by a loss on dilution of the Company's stake in China Oriental [5] .
Net interest expense in 1Q 2018 was $164 million as compared to $188 million in 4Q 2017 and $223 million in 1Q 2017. Net interest expense was lower in 1Q 2018 as compared to 4Q 2017 and 1Q 2017, primarily due to debt repayments and lower cost of debt.
Foreign exchange and other net financing losses in 1Q 2018 were $174 million as compared to losses of $261 million for 4Q 2017 and $133 million in 1Q 2017. For 1Q 2018, a foreign exchange gain of $72 million was recorded (as compared to a gain of $83 million for 4Q 2017) mainly on account of a 2.7% depreciation of the USD against the Euro (versus 1.6% depreciation in 4Q 2017). 1Q 2018 includes non-cash mark to market losses of $35 million related to mandatory convertible bond call options following the market price decrease of the underlying shares as compared to gains of $174 million and $158 million in 4Q 2017 and 1Q 2017, respectively. 4Q 2017 includes mark-to-market losses on a derivative relating to a pellet purchase agreement in the US of $0.3 billion. 1Q 2017 was additionally impacted by $159 million in premium accrued on early repayment of bonds (settled in April 2017).
ArcelorMittal recorded an income tax expense of $203 million for 1Q 2018 as compared to an income tax benefit of $119 million for 4Q 2017 and an income tax expense of $283 million in 1Q 2017. The tax benefit of 4Q 2017 is the result of recording a deferred tax asset of $275 million in Luxembourg following expectation of higher future taxable profits.
ArcelorMittal recorded a net income for 1Q 2018 of $1,192 million, or $1.17 earnings per share, as compared to a net income for 4Q 2017 of $1,039 million, or $1.02 earnings per share, and a net income for 1Q 2017 of $1,002 million, or $0.98 earnings per share.
Analysis of segment operations
NAFTA
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 4,752 4,296 4,636 4,607 4,458 Operating income 308 155 256 378 396 Depreciation (132) (137) (125) (128) (128) EBITDA 440 292 381 506 524 Crude steel production (kt) 5,864 5,598 5,904 5,762 6,216 Steel shipments (kt) 5,559 5,150 5,655 5,419 5,610 Average steel selling price (US$/t) 779 748 741 760 719 NAFTA segment crude steel production increased by 4.8% to 5.9Mt in 1Q 2018 as compared to 5.6Mt for 4Q 2017, primarily reflecting market improvement in the US and recovery following an operational issue in Mexico in the prior quarter.
Steel shipments in 1Q 2018 increased by 7.9% to 5.6Mt as compared to 5.2Mt in 4Q 2017, driven primarily by an increase in volumes in flat products on account of improved market fundamentals, following the destock that negatively impacted 4Q 2017.
Sales in 1Q 2018 increased by 10.6% to $4.8 billion as compared to $4.3 billion in 4Q 2017, primarily due to higher steel shipment volumes as discussed above, and higher average steel selling prices +4.3% (for both flat products +3.5% and long products +9.1%).
Operating income in 1Q 2018 of $308 million was higher as compared to $155 million in 4Q 2017 and lower as compared to $396 million in 1Q 2017.
EBITDA in 1Q 2018 increased by 50.7% to $440 million as compared to $292 million in 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher steel shipment volumes (+7.9%). EBITDA in 1Q 2018 declined by 15.9% as compared to $524 million in 1Q 2017 primarily due to a negative price-cost effect.
Brazil
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 1,988 2,252 2,059 1,834 1,610 Operating income 215 266 128 128 175 Depreciation (69) (75) (74) (73) (71) Impairment (86) - - - - EBITDA 370 341 202 201 246 Crude steel production (kt) 2,801 2,989 2,797 2,714 2,710 Steel shipments (kt) 2,483 3,052 2,940 2,622 2,226 Average steel selling price (US$/t) 752 685 651 655 678 Brazil segment crude steel production decreased by 6.3% to 2.8Mt in 1Q 2018 as compared to 3.0Mt in 4Q 2017.
Steel shipments in 1Q 2018 decreased by 18.7% to 2.5Mt as compared to 3.1Mt in 4Q 2017, primarily due to a seasonal decrease in flat product steel shipments (primarily export).
Sales in 1Q 2018 decreased by 11.7% to $2.0 billion as compared to $2.3 billion in 4Q 2017, due to lower steel shipments (-18.7%), offset in part by higher average steel selling prices (9.8%) with both domestic and export prices increasing.
Operating income in 1Q 2018 was lower at $215 million as compared to $266 million in 4Q 2017 and higher than $175 million in 1Q 2017. Operating income in 1Q 2018 was impacted by impairment of $86 million (Cariacica and Itaúna industrial plants in Brazil) related to the agreed remedy package required for the approval of the Votorantim acquisition.
EBITDA in 1Q 2018 increased by 8.5% to $370 million as compared to $341 million in 4Q 2017 due to positive price-cost effect offset in part by lower steel shipment volumes. EBITDA in 1Q 2018 was 50.5% higher as compared to $246 million in 1Q 2017 due to higher steel shipment volumes (+11.5%) driven by improved demand and a positive price-cost effect.
Europe
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 10,641 9,610 9,196 9,180 8,222 Operating income 580 525 546 652 636 Depreciation (318) (336) (302) (290) (273) Exceptional charges (146) - - - - EBITDA 1,044 861 848 942 909 Crude steel production (kt) 11,246 10,311 11,248 10,997 11,212 Steel shipments (kt) 10,697 10,151 10,116 10,466 10,208 Average steel selling price (US$/t) 801 736 723 698 649 Europe segment crude steel production increased by 9.1% to 11.2Mt in 1Q 2018, as compared to 10.3Mt in 4Q 2017 following a reline in ArcelorMittal Bremen and a blast furnace maintenance in ArcelorMittal Galati in 4Q 2017.
Steel shipments in 1Q 2018 increased by 5.4% to 10.7Mt as compared to 10.2Mt in 4Q 2017, primarily due to a 5.6% increase in flat product shipments and 5.0% increase in long product shipments.
Sales in 1Q 2018 were $10.6 billion, 10.7% higher as compared to $9.6 billion in 4Q 2017, with higher average steel selling prices (+8.7%) (related to increases in both the flat (+8.3%) and long product businesses (+9.4%)) and higher steel shipments, as discussed above.
Operating income in 1Q 2018 was $580 million as compared to $525 million in 4Q 2017 and $636 million in 1Q 2017. Operating income in 1Q 2018 was impacted by exceptional charges of $146 million related to a provision taken in respect of an ongoing case in which a settlement is pending.
EBITDA in 1Q 2018 increased by 21.2% to $1,044 million as compared to $861 million in 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher steel shipment volumes and foreign exchange translation impact. EBITDA in 1Q 2018 improved by 14.9% as compared to 1Q 2017 primarily due to higher steel shipments (+4.8%) and foreign exchange effects offset in part by a negative price-cost effect.
ACIS
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 2,080 2,039 1,941 1,834 1,807 Operating income 290 182 159 51 116 Depreciation (73) (81) (80) (77) (75) Impairment - (160) - (46) - EBITDA 363 423 239 174 191 Crude steel production (kt) 3,400 3,832 3,669 3,685 3,492 Steel shipments (kt) 3,029 3,254 3,362 3,257 3,221 Average steel selling price (US$/t) 610 546 515 499 502 ACIS segment crude steel production in 1Q 2018 decreased by 11.3% to 3.4Mt as compared to 3.8Mt in 4Q 2017 primarily due to planned (blast furnace #9) and unplanned maintenance in Ukraine.
Steel shipments in 1Q 2018 decreased by 6.9% to 3.0Mt as compared to 3.3Mt in 4Q 2017, primarily due to lower steel shipments in Ukraine offset in part by seasonally higher steel shipments in South Africa.
Sales in 1Q 2018 increased by 2.0% to $2.1 billion as compared to $2.0 billion in 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher average steel selling prices (+11.8%) across all businesses, offset in part by lower steel shipments (-6.9%).
Operating income in 1Q 2018 was $290 million as compared to $182 million in 4Q 2017 and $116 million in 1Q 2017. Operating income in 4Q 2017 was impacted by impairments of $160 million across all steel facilities in ArcelorMittal South Africa.
EBITDA in 1Q 2018 decreased by 14.1% to $363 million as compared to $423 million in 4Q 2017, primarily due to lower volumes in Ukraine (negatively impacted by planned and unplanned maintenance). EBITDA in 1Q 2018 was significantly higher as compared to $191 million in 1Q 2017, primarily due to a positive price-cost effect offset in part by lower steel shipments (-6.0%).
Mining
(USDm) unless otherwise shown 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Sales 1,024 959 1,029 1,015 1,030 Operating income 242 159 238 216 378 Depreciation (107) (108) (103) (103) (102) EBITDA 349 267 341 319 480 Own iron ore production (a) (Mt) 14.6 14.4 14.2 14.7 14.0 Iron ore shipped externally and internally at market price (b) (Mt) 9.1 8.4 9.1 9.5 8.7 Iron ore shipment - cost plus basis (Mt) 4.7 5.8 5.9 5.8 4.7 Own coal production (a) (Mt) 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.6 1.7 Coal shipped externally and internally at market price (b) (Mt) 0.4 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.8 Coal shipment - cost plus basis (Mt) 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 0.9 (a) Own iron ore and coal production not including strategic long-term contracts.
(b) Iron ore and coal shipments of market-priced based materials include the Company's own mines and share of production at other mines, and exclude supplies under strategic long-term contracts.
Own iron ore production in 1Q 2018 increased by 1.3% to 14.6Mt as compared to 14.4Mt in 4Q 2017, due to improved iron ore production in Liberia (which remains on track to produce 5Mt in 2018) and Ukraine, offset in part by seasonally lower production in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada [6] (AMMC). Own iron ore production in 1Q 2018 increased by 4.3% as compared to 1Q 2017 primarily due to increased production in Liberia offset in part by lower AMMC production.
Market-priced iron ore shipments in 1Q 2018 increased by 8.1% to 9.1Mt as compared to 8.4Mt in 4Q 2017, primarily driven by higher shipments in Liberia and Ukraine. Market-priced iron ore shipments in 1Q 2018 increased by 5.5% as compared to 1Q 2017 driven by higher shipments in Liberia offset in part by lower AMMC shipments. Market-priced iron ore shipments are expected to grow 10% in 2018 compared to 2017.
Own coal production in 1Q 2018 increased by 3.0% to 1.5Mt as compared to 4Q 2017 primarily due to higher production at Princeton (US) mines. Own coal production in 1Q 2018 decreased by 11.3% as compared to 1Q 2017 primarily due to lower production in Kazakhstan following operational and geological issues offset in part by higher production at Princeton (US) mines.
Market-priced coal shipments in 1Q 2018 declined by 27.5% to 0.4Mt as compared to 0.6Mt in 4Q 2017. Market-priced coal shipments in 1Q 2018 decreased by 46.0% as compared to 1Q 2017 primarily due to decreased shipments at Kazakhstan.
Operating income in 1Q 2018 increased to $242 million as compared to $159 million in 4Q 2017, and was lower than $378 million in 1Q 2017.
EBITDA in 1Q 2018 increased by 30.7% to $349 million as compared to $267 million in 4Q 2017, primarily due to increased seaborne iron ore reference prices (+13.6%) and higher market-priced iron ore shipments (+8.1%). EBITDA in 1Q 2018 was lower as compared to $480 million in 1Q 2017, primarily due to lower seaborne iron ore reference prices (-13.1%), lower coal shipments offset in part by higher market-priced iron ore shipment volumes (+5.5%).
Liquidity and Capital Resources
For 1Q 2018, net cash provided by operating activities was $160 million as compared to $2,885 million in 4Q 2017 and net cash used in operating activities of $299 million in 1Q 2017. The lower net cash provided by operating activities during 1Q 2018 reflects working capital investment of $1,869 million (which follows the normal seasonal pattern and reflects the effect of higher steel shipments as well as the impact of higher selling prices and higher raw material prices), as compared to working capital release of $1,657 million in 4Q 2017.
Net cash used in investing activities during 1Q 2018 was $676 million as compared to $931 million during 4Q 2017 and $598 million in 1Q 2017. Capital expenditures decreased to $752 million in 1Q 2018 as compared to $1,036 million in 4Q 2017 and higher as compared to $580 million in 1Q 2017. FY 2018 capital expenditure is expected to be $3.8 billion.
Cash provided by other investing activities in 1Q 2018 of $76 million primarily includes proceeds from the sale of Frydek Mistek in Czech Republic [7] . Cash provided by other investing activities in 4Q 2017 of $105 million primarily included tangible asset disposals and disposal proceeds of US long products (Georgetown).
Net cash used by financing activities in 1Q 2018 of $33 million includes proceeds from commercial paper issuances ($0.2 billion) offset by $0.2 billion used under the share buyback program. Net cash used by financing activities in 4Q 2017 of $2.2 billion includes $1.2 billion of bonds repurchased in October 2017 pursuant to cash tender offers, $0.6 billion (€540 million) repayment at maturity of the euro 4.625% Notes due November 17, 2017, $644 million used to early redeem in December 2017 the 6.125% Notes due June 1, 2018 and partial repayment of borrowings offset in part by a new $0.4 billion (€300 million) Schuldschein loan in October 2017 and $0.6 billion (€500 million) euro 0.95% bond due January 17, 2023 issued in December 2017. Net cash provided by financing activities for 1Q 2017 of $666 million primarily includes proceeds from the European Investment Bank loan [8] of €350 million ($373 million) and $0.3 billion of commercial paper issuances.
During 1Q 2018, the Company paid dividends of $50 million to minority shareholders in AMMC (Canada) as compared to $21 million in 4Q 2017 (primarily to minority shareholders in Bekaert (Brazil)) and $40 million in 1Q 2017 (primarily to minority shareholders in AMMC (Canada)).
As of March 31, 2018, the Company's cash and cash equivalents amounted to $2.3 billion as compared to $2.8 billion at December 31, 2017 and $2.4 billion at March 31, 2017.
Gross debt increased to $13.4 billion as of March 31, 2018, as compared to $12.9 billion at December 31, 2017 and decreased as compared to $14.5 billion at March 31, 2017.
As of March 31, 2018, net debt increased to $11.1 billion as compared with $10.1 billion at December 31, 2017 primarily due to lower net cash provided by operating activities less capex ($0.6 billion), negative foreign exchange impacts on Euro-denominated debt ($0.2 billion) and share buyback ($0.2 billion). Net debt as of March 31, 2018, was lower as compared to $12.1 billion as of March 31, 2017.
As of March 31, 2018, the Company had liquidity of $7.8 billion, consisting of cash and cash equivalents of $2.3 billion and $5.5 billion of available credit lines [9] . The $5.5 billion credit facility contains a financial covenant of 4.25x Net debt / EBITDA (as defined in the facility). As of March 31, 2018, the average debt maturity was 5.2 years.
Key recent developments
On May 9, 2018, the Annual General Meeting of shareholders of ArcelorMittal held in Luxembourg approved all resolutions. The results of the votes are posted on www.arcelormittal.com under "Investors > Equity Investors > Shareholders' meetings > Annual General Meeting of shareholders, 9 May 2018" where the full documentation regarding the general meeting is available. The shareholders re-elected Mrs. Karyn Ovelmen and Mr. Tye Burt as directors of ArcelorMittal for a term of three years each.
On April 13, 2018, ArcelorMittal announced that, as part of the ongoing European Commission ('EC') review into its acquisition of Ilva, it submitted a proposed divestment package to the EC to address concerns the EC has raised during its review. The divestment package includes the following assets: ArcelorMittal Piombino, the Company's only galvanized steel plant in Italy ArcelorMittal Galati, Romania ArcelorMittal Skopje, Macedonia ArcelorMittal Ostrava, Czech Republic ArcelorMittal Dudelange, Luxembourg Hot dipped galvanizing lines 4 and 5 in Flemalle; hot-rolled pickling, cold rolling and tin packaging lines in Tilleur, all of which are in Liège, Belgium.
On May 7, 2018, ArcelorMittal announced that it has been granted merger clearance by the EC for AM Investco Italy S.r.l. (AM Investco)'s proposed acquisition of Ilva S.p.A (Ilva). EC merger clearance follows the conclusion of the Commission's Phase II investigation into the proposed acquisition of Ilva, and has been granted on the basis that the Company has committed to dispose of assets in the divestment package. Approval by the EC is a significant milestone in the transaction to acquire Ilva and represents a major step towards closing the deal, which is now expected end of June 2018.
In February 2018, the Brazilian antitrust authority - CADE - approved the acquisition, by ArcelorMittal, of the entire representative shares of Votorantim Siderurgia's equity capital. The closing of the transaction occurred on April 1, 2018, Votorantim Siderurgia, under the new corporate name of ArcelorMittal Sul Fluminense, became a subsidiary of ArcelorMittal Brasil. The combination of the businesses will result in a long product steel producer with annual crude steel capacity of 5.1 million metric tonnes. CADE's approval was subject to the fulfilment of certain divestment commitments: ArcelorMittal Brasil agreed to dispose of its two production sites of Cariacica and Itaúna, as well as some drawing equipment, which disposal was completed early May 2018. This acquisition aims to create value through cost, logistical and operational synergies totaling ~$110 million per annum.
On April 12, 2018, ArcelorMittal published a convening notice for its Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders, which will be held on May 16, 2018 at 11.00 a.m. CET at the company's registered office, 24-26, Boulevard d'Avranches, L-1160 in Luxembourg. The convening notice, the amended draft of the articles of association, the voting forms and all other meeting documentation are available on ArcelorMittal's website under "Investors - Equity investors - Shareholders' meetings - Extraordinary General Meeting May 16, 2018".
On March 28, 2018, ArcelorMittal announced the completion of its share buyback program. ArcelorMittal repurchased 7 million shares for a total value of approximately €184 million (equivalent USD 226 million) at an approximate average price per share of €26.34. All details are available on its website on: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/investors/equity-investors/share-buyback .
On February 12, 2018, the Company's subsidiary ArcelorMittal India Private Limited (AMIPL) submitted a Resolution Plan for Essar Steel India Limited (Essar Steel) which set out a detailed plan to restore Essar Steel's fortunes and enable it to realise its full potential and participate in the anticipated steel demand growth in India. On March 2, 2018, ArcelorMittal signed a joint venture formation agreement with Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corporation (NSSMC) in relation to its offer to acquire Essar Steel.
This will involve a multi staged approach: initial steps will be to stabilize the operation and increase production from the current 5.6Mtpa level to 8.5Mtpa in the medium term and ultimately have long term aspirations to produce between 15-20Mtpa.
On February 1, 2018, Standard and Poors Global Ratings (S&P) raised its long-term corporate credit rating on ArcelorMittal to 'BBB-' from 'BB+' and assigned a stable outlook. At the same time, S&P raised the short-term corporate rating to 'A-3' from 'B' and raised its issue-level ratings on ArcelorMittal's unsecured debt to 'BBB-' from 'BB+'. Because these ratings are now investment grade, S&P has withdrawn the associated recovery ratings.
Recent filings
During May 2018, ArcelorMittal published the 2017 investor relations fact book. The report is available on http://corporate.arcelormittal.com under "Investors > Financial reports > Factbook."
On March 12, 2018, ArcelorMittal published the statutory financial statements of ArcelorMittal parent company for the year ended December 31, 2017. These financial statements have been filed with the electronic database of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ( www.bourse.lu ) and are available on http://corporate.arcelormittal.com under "Investors > Financial reports > Annual reports".
On February 16, 2018, ArcelorMittal published its annual report for the year ended December 31, 2017. The report has been filed with the electronic database of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange ( www.bourse.lu ) and are available on http:// corporate.arcelormittal.com under "Investors > Financial reports > Annual reports".
On February 15, 2018, ArcelorMittal filed its Annual Report 2017 on Form 20-F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The report is available on ArcelorMittal's website http://corporate.arcelormittal.com under "Investors > Financial reports > SEC filings".
Outlook and guidance
The following global apparent steel consumption ("ASC") figures reflect the Company's 2018 estimates, which remain unchanged from those presented in connection with the full year 2017 results announcement in January 2018.
Market conditions are favorable. The demand environment remains positive (as evidenced by the continued high readings from the ArcelorMittal weighted PMI), and steel spreads remain healthy.
Global apparent steel consumption ("ASC") is estimated to have expanded by +3.2% in 2017. Based on the current economic outlook, ArcelorMittal expects global ASC to grow further in 2018 by between +1.5% to +2.5%. By region: ASC in US is expected to grow +1.5% to +2.5% in 2018 (including pipes and tubes) (versus +1.3% in 2017 (excluding pipes and tubes)) driven by demand in machinery and construction. In Europe, we expect underlying demand to continue to grow, supported by the strength of machinery and construction end markets, and overall demand is expected to be +1.0% to +2.0% in 2018 (versus growth of +1.5% in 2017). In Brazil, ASC is expected to grow by +6.5% to +7.5% in 2018 (an acceleration of growth versus +4.6% in 2017), as the economy starts to turnaround with improved consumer confidence and pick up in longs as construction recovers. In the CIS, ASC is expected to grow +2.0% to +3.0% in 2018 (a moderation of growth versus +5.4% in 2017). In China, ASC grew by +3.5% in 2017, higher than our initial expectations. Overall demand is expected to remain close to this level in 2018 (between -0.5% to +0.5%), as the anticipated weakness in the real estate sector is expected to be offset in part by robust infrastructure and automotive end markets. Nevertheless, ex-China ASC is expected to grow by approximately +3.0% to +4.0% in 2018 (versus +2.8% in 2017), which supports global ASC growth of +1.5% to +2.5% in 2018 (as compared to growth of ~3.2% in 2017).
The Company expects cash needs of the business (excluding working capital investment) to increase in 2018 to approximately $5.6 billion from $4.4 billion in 2017. The expected increase in capex to $3.8 billion in 2018 from $2.8 billion in 2017 largely reflects the Mexico hot strip mill project and anticipated ILVA capex as well as additional strategic projects ($0.3 billion, including further investment to enhance downstream optimization in Europe and HAV in Canada and Europe). Net interest is expected to decline to $0.6 billion from $0.8 billion in 2017 reflecting the benefits of liability management exercises completed in 2017. Other cash needs are expected to increase to $1.2 billion from $0.8 billion in 2017, primarily on account of higher expected cash taxes due to timing impacts.
Working capital requirements for 2018 are expected to be driven by market conditions.
The Company will continue to prioritize deleveraging and believes that $6 billion is an appropriate net debt target that will sustain investment grade metrics even at the low point of the cycle. The Company will continue to invest in opportunities that will enhance future returns. By investing in these opportunities with focus and discipline, the cash flow generation potential of the Company is expected to increase. The Board has agreed on a new dividend policy which has been approved by the shareholders at the AGM on May 9, 2018. Given the current deleveraging bias, dividends will begin at $0.10/share in 2018 (paid from 2017 results [10] ). Once it achieves net debt at or below its target, the Company is committed to returning a portion of annual FCF to shareholders.
ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Financial Position 1
Mar 31, Dec 31, Mar 31, In millions of U.S. dollars 2018 2017 2017 ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents (C) 2,260 2,786 2,402 Trade accounts receivable and other 5,012 3,863 3,971 Inventories 18,952 17,986 16,393 Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,653 1,931 2,251 Assets held for sale [11] 224 179 126 Total Current Assets 29,101 26,745 25,143 Goodwill and intangible assets 5,759 5,737 5,716 Property, plant and equipment 37,031 36,971 35,049 Investments in associates and joint ventures 5,231 5,084 4,470 Deferred tax assets 7,170 7,055 5,931 Other assets 3,671 3,705 2,182 Total Assets 87,963 85,297 78,491 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Short-term debt and current portion of long-term debt (B) 4,084 2,785 3,452 Trade accounts payable and other 13,494 13,428 12,043 Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 5,389 5,147 4,853 Liabilities held for sale 11 42 50 38 Total Current Liabilities 23,009 21,410 20,386 Long-term debt, net of current portion (A) 9,309 10,143 11,047 Deferred tax liabilities 2,605 2,684 2,626 Other long-term liabilities 10,349 10,205 10,503 Total Liabilities 45,272 44,442 44,562 Equity attributable to the equity holders of the parent 40,608 38,789 31,743 Non-controlling interests 2,083 2,066 2,186 Total Equity 42,691 40,855 33,929 Total Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity 87,963 85,297 78,491 Net Debt (D=A+B-C) 11,133 10,142 12,097 ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations 1
Three months ended In millions of U.S. dollars unless otherwise shown Mar 31,
2018 Dec 31,
2017 Sep 30,
2017 Jun 30,
2017 Mar 31,
2017 Sales 19,186 17,710 17,639 17,244 16,086 Depreciation (B) (711) (747) (690) (676) (655) Impairment (B) (86) (160) - (46) - Exceptional charges (B) (146) - - - - Operating income (A) 1,569 1,234 1,234 1,390 1,576 Operating margin % 8.2% 7.0% 7.0% 8.1% 9.8% Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments 212 125 117 120 86 Net interest expense (164) (188) (205) (207) (223) Foreign exchange and other net financing gain/(loss) (174) (261) 132 210 (133) Income before taxes and non-controlling interests 1,443 910 1,278 1,513 1,306 Current tax expense (284) (134) (116) (126) (207) Deferred tax benefit / (expense) 81 253 45 (71) (76) Income tax (expense) / benefit (203) 119 (71) (197) (283) Income including non-controlling interests 1,240 1,029 1,207 1,316 1,023 Non-controlling interests (income) / loss (48) 10 (2) 6 (21) Net income attributable to equity holders of the parent 1,192 1,039 1,205 1,322 1,002 Basic earnings per common share ($) 4 1.17 1.02 1.18 1.30 0.98 Diluted earnings per common share ($) 4 1.17 1.01 1.18 1.29 0.98 Weighted average common shares outstanding (in millions) 4 1,019 1,020 1,020 1,020 1,020 Diluted weighted average common shares outstanding (in millions) 4 1,023 1,024 1,023 1,023 1,022 OTHER INFORMATION EBITDA (C = A-B) 2,512 2,141 1,924 2,112 2,231 EBITDA Margin % 13.1% 12.1% 10.9% 12.2% 13.9% Own iron ore production (Mt) 14.6 14.4 14.2 14.7 14.0 Crude steel production (Mt) 23.3 22.7 23.6 23.2 23.6 Steel shipments (Mt) 21.3 21.0 21.7 21.5 21.1 ArcelorMittal Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash flows 1
Three months ended In millions of U.S. dollars Mar 31,
2018 Dec 31,
2017 Sep 30,
2017 Jun 30,
2017 Mar 31,
2017 Operating activities: Income attributable to equity holders of the parent 1,192 1,039 1,205 1,322 1,002 Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash (used in) / provided by operations: Non-controlling interest's income / (loss) 48 (10) 2 (6) 21 Depreciation and impairment 797 907 690 722 655 Exceptional charges 146 - - - - Income from associates, joint ventures and other investments (212) (125) (117) (120) (86) Deferred tax (benefit)/ expense (81) (253) (45) 71 76 Change in working capital (1,869) 1,657 (801) (548) (2,181) Other operating activities (net) 139 (330) (171) (227) 214 Net cash provided by / (used in) operating activities (A) 160 2,885 763 1,214 (299) Investing activities: Purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangibles (B) (752) (1,036) (637) (566) (580) Other investing activities (net) 76 105 74 (172) (18) Net cash used in investing activities (676) (931) (563) (738) (598) Financing activities: Net proceeds / (payments) relating to payable to banks and long-term debt 263 (2,131) 587 (726) 743 Dividends paid (50) (21) (80) - (40) Share buyback (226) - - - - Other financing activities (net) (20) (15) 7 (18) (37) Net cash (used in) / provided by financing activities (33) (2,167) 514 (744) 666 Net (decrease) / increase in cash and cash equivalents (549) (213) 714 (268) (231) Cash and cash equivalents transferred from assets held for sale - - - - 13 Effect of exchange rate changes on cash 17 16 9 30 3 Change in cash and cash equivalents (532) (197) 723 (238) (215) Free cash flow (C=A+B) (592) 1,849 126 648 (879) Appendix 1: Product shipments by region
(000'kt) 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 Flat 4,811 4,414 4,820 4,748 4,944 Long 921 872 984 845 829 NAFTA 5,559 5,150 5,655 5,419 5,610 Flat 1,400 1,950 1,766 1,682 1,364 Long 1,095 1,108 1,181 945 866 Brazil 2,483 3,052 2,940 2,622 2,226 Flat 7,704 7,298 7,098 7,482 7,377 Long 2,961 2,821 2,954 2,913 2,806 Europe 10,697 10,151 10,116 10,466 10,208 CIS 1,866 2,209 2,297 2,212 2,119 Africa 1,167 1,044 1,065 1,045 1,102 ACIS 3,029 3,254 3,362 3,257 3,221 Note: "Others and eliminations" are not presented in the table
Appendix 2a: Capital expenditures
(USDm) 1Q 18 4Q 17 3Q 17 2Q 17 1Q 17 NAFTA 160 184 95 90 97 Brazil 47 72 79 55 57 Europe 313 430 213 248 252 ACIS 117 165 114 75 73 Mining 107 179 132 94 90 Total 752 1,036 637 566 580 Note: "Others and eliminations" are not presented in the table
Appendix 2b: Capital expenditure projects
The following tables summarize the Company's principal growth and optimization projects involving significant capital expenditures.
Completed projects in most recent quarters
Segment Site / unit Project Capacity / details Actual completion NAFTA AM/NS Calvert (US) Phase 2: Slab yard expansion (Bay 5) Increase coil production level from 4.6Mt/year to 5.3Mt/year coils 2Q 2017 NAFTA ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada) Phase 2: Convert the current galvanizing line #4 to a Galvalume line Allow the galvaline #4 to produce 160kt galvalume and 128kt galvanize and closure of galvanize line #1 (capacity 170kt of galvalume) 2Q 2017
Europe ArcelorMittal Krakow (Poland) Hot strip mill (HSM) extension Increase hot rolled coil (HRC) capacity by 0.9Mt/year 2Q 2017 Europe ArcelorMittal Krakow (Poland) Hot dipped galvanizing (HDG) capacity increase Increasing HDG capacity by 0.4Mt/year 2Q 2017
Ongoing projects
Segment Site / unit Project Capacity / details Forecast completion Europe Gent & Liège (Europe Flat Automotive UHSS Program)
Gent: Upgrade HSM and new furnace
Liège: Annealing line transformation Increase ~400kt in Ultra High Strength Steel capabilities 2Q 2018 Europe ArcelorMittal Differdange (Luxembourg) Modernisation of finishing of "Grey rolling mill" Revamp finishing to achieve full capacity of Grey mill at 850kt/y 2Q 2018 ACIS ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih (Ukraine) New LF&CC 2&3 Facilities upgrade to switch from ingot to continuous caster route. Additional billets of 290kt over ingot route through yield increase 4Q 2018 NAFTA Indiana Harbor (US) Indiana Harbor "footprint optimization project" Restoration of 80" HSM and upgrades at Indiana Harbor finishing 2018 (a) Europe Sosnowiec (Poland) Modernization of Wire Rod Mill Upgrade rolling technology improving the mix of HAV products and increase volume by 90kt 2019 NAFTA Mexico Build new HSM Production capacity of 2.5Mt/year 2020 (b) NAFTA ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada) Hot Strip Mill Modernization Replace existing three end of life coilers with two states of the art coilers and new runout tables. 2020 (c) NAFTA Burns Harbor (US) New Walking Beam Furnaces Two new walking beam reheat furnaces bringing benefits on productivity, quality and operational cost 2021 Brazil ArcelorMittal Vega Do Sul Expansion project Increase hot dipped galvanizing (HDG) capacity by 0.6Mt/year and cold rolling (CR) capacity by 0.7Mt/year On hold Brazil Juiz de Fora Melt shop expansion Increase in meltshop capacity by 0.2Mt/year On hold (d)
Brazil Monlevade Sinter plant, blast furnace and melt shop Increase in liquid steel capacity by 1.2Mt/year;
Sinter feed capacity of 2.3Mt/year On hold Mining Liberia Phase 2 expansion project Increase production capacity to 15Mt/year Under review (e) a) In support of the Company's Action 2020 program that was launched at its fourth quarter and full-year 2015 earnings announcement, the footprint optimization project at ArcelorMittal Indiana Harbor is now complete, which has resulted in structural changes required to improve asset and cost optimization. The plan involved idling redundant operations including the #1 aluminize line, 84" hot strip mill (HSM), and #5 continuous galvanizing line (CGL) and No.2 steel shop (idled in 2Q 2017) whilst making further planned investments totalling ~$200 million including a new caster at No.3 steel shop (completed in 4Q 2016), restoration of the 80" hot strip mill and Indiana Harbor finishing are ongoing. The full project scope is expected to be completed in 2018.
b) On September 28, 2017, ArcelorMittal announced a major US$1 billion, three-year investment programme at its Mexican operations, which is focussed on building ArcelorMittal Mexico's downstream capabilities, sustaining the competitiveness of its mining operations and modernising its existing asset base. The programme is designed to enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to meet the anticipated increased demand requirements from domestic customers, realise in full ArcelorMittal Mexico's production capacity of 5.3 million tonnes and significantly enhance the proportion of higher-value added products in its product mix, in-line with the Company's Action 2020 strategic plan. The main investment will be the construction of a new hot strip mill. Construction will take approximately three years and, upon completion, will enable ArcelorMittal Mexico to produce c. 2.5 million tonnes of flat rolled steel, long steel c. 1.8 million tonnes and the remainder made up of semi-finished slabs. Coils from the new hot strip mill will be supplied to domestic, non-auto, general industry customers. The project commenced late 4Q 2017 and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020. The Company expects capital expenditures of approximately $350 million with respect to this programme in 2018.
c) Investment in ArcelorMittal Dofasco (Canada) to modernise the hot strip mill. The project is to install two new state of the art coilers and runout tables to replace three end of life coilers. The strip cooling system will be upgraded and include innovative power cooling technology to improve product capability. The project is expected to be completed in 2020.
d) Although the Monlevade wire rod expansion project and Juiz de Fora rebar expansion were completed in 2015, the Juiz de Fora melt shop project is currently on hold and is expected to be completed upon Brazil domestic market recovery.
e) ArcelorMittal Liberia has moved ore extraction from its depleting DSO (direct shipping ore) deposit at Tokadeh to the nearby, lower impurity DSO Gangra deposit with planned production of 5Mt in 2018. The Gangra mine, haul road and related existing plant and equipment upgrades have now been completed. Following a period of exploration cessation caused by the onset of Ebola, ArcelorMittal Liberia recommenced drilling for DSO resource extensions in late 2015. During 2016, the operation at Tokadeh was right-sized to focus on its "natural" Atlantic markets. The originally planned phase 2 project of 15Mtpa of concentrate sinter fine ore product was delayed in August 2014 due to the declaration of force majeure by contractors following the Ebola virus outbreak, and then reassessed following rapid iron ore price declines over the ensuing period since.
Now that mining at the Gangra deposit has commenced, ArcelorMittal Liberia has launched a feasibility study to identify the optimal concentration solution in a phased approach for utilising the significant lower grade resources at Tokadeh. The results of the feasibility study are anticipated at the end of 2018.
ArcelorMittal remains committed to Liberia where it operates a full value chain of mine, rail and port and where it has been operating the mine on a DSO basis since 2011. The Company believes that ArcelorMittal Liberia presents a strong, competitive source of product ore for the international market based on continuing DSO mining and subsequent shift to a high grade, long-term sinter feed concentration phase.
Appendix 3: Debt repayment schedule as of March 31, 2018
Debt repayment schedule (USD billion) 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 >=2023 Total Bonds 0.5 0.9 1.9 1.4 1.6 2.8 9.1 Commercial paper 1.3 - - - - - 1.3 Other loans 1.2 0.4 0.2 0.4 0.2 0.6 3.0 Total gross debt 3.0 1.3 2.1 1.8 1.8 3.4 13.4 Appendix 4: Terms and definitions
Unless indicated otherwise, or the context otherwise requires, references in this earnings release report to the following terms have the meanings set out next to them below:
Average steel selling prices: calculated as steel sales divided by steel shipments.
Cash and cash equivalents: represents cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and short-term investments.
Capex: represents the purchase of property, plant and equipment and intangibles.
EBITDA: operating income plus depreciation, impairment expenses and exceptional income/ (charges).
EBITDA/tonne: calculated as EBITDA divided by total steel shipments.
Exceptional income / (charges): relate to transactions that are significant, infrequent or unusual and are not representative of the normal course of business of the period.
Foreign exchange and other net financing (loss) / gain: include foreign currency exchange impact, bank fees, interest on pensions, impairments of financial instruments, revaluation of derivative instruments and other charges that cannot be directly linked to operating income/(loss).
Free cash flow (FCF) : Refers to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities less capex.
Gross debt : long-term debt, plus short-term debt (including those held as part of liabilities held for sale).
Liquidity: Cash and cash equivalents plus available credit lines excluding back-up lines for the commercial paper program.
LTIF: lost time injury frequency rate equals lost time injuries per 1,000,000 worked hours, based on own personnel and contractors.
MT: Refers to million metric tonnes
Market-priced tonnes: represent amounts of iron ore and coal from ArcelorMittal mines that could be sold to third parties on the open market. Market-priced tonnes that are not sold to third parties are transferred from the Mining segment to the Company's steel producing segments and reported at the prevailing market price. Shipments of raw materials that do not constitute market-priced tonnes are transferred internally and reported on a cost-plus basis.
Mining segment sales: i) "External sales": mined product sold to third parties at market price; ii) "Market-priced tonnes": internal sales of mined product to ArcelorMittal facilities and reported at prevailing market prices; iii) "Cost-plus tonnes" - internal sales of mined product to ArcelorMittal facilities on a cost-plus basis. The determinant of whether internal sales are reported at market price or cost-plus is whether the raw material could practically be sold to third parties (i.e. there is a potential market for the product and logistics exist to access that market).
Net debt: long-term debt, plus short-term debt less cash and cash equivalents (including those held as part of liabilities held for sale).
Net debt/EBITDA: Refers to Net debt divided by last twelve months EBITDA calculation.
Net interest: includes interest expense and interest income
On-going projects: Refer to projects for which construction has begun (excluding various projects that are under development), even if such projects have been placed on hold pending improved operating conditions.
Operating results: Refers to operating income/(loss).
Operating segments: The NAFTA segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of USA, Canada and Mexico. The Brazil segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of Brazil and its neighboring countries including Argentina, Costa Rica and Venezuela. The Europe segment comprises the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of the European business, as well as Downstream Solutions. The ACIS segment includes the Flat, Long and Tubular operations of Kazakhstan, Ukraine and South Africa. Mining segment includes iron ore and coal operations.
Own iron ore production: Includes total of all finished production of fines, concentrate, pellets and lumps and includes share of production (excludes strategic long-term contracts).
PMI: Refers to purchasing managers index (based on ArcelorMittal estimates)
S eaborne iron ore reference prices: refers to iron ore prices for 62% Fe CFR China
Shipments: information at segment and group level eliminates intra-segment shipments (which are primarily between Flat/Long plants and Tubular plants) and inter-segment shipments respectively. Shipments of Downstream Solutions are excluded.
Steel-only EBITDA: calculated as EBITDA less Mining segment EBITDA.
Steel-only EBITDA/tonne: calculated as steel-only EBITDA divided by total steel shipments.
Working capital: trade accounts receivable plus inventories less trade and other accounts payable.
YoY : Refers to year-on-year.
[1] The financial information in this press release has been prepared consistently with International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") as issued by the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") and as adopted by the European Union. The interim financial information included in this announcement has been also prepared in accordance with IFRS applicable to interim periods, however this announcement does not contain sufficient information to constitute an interim financial report as defined in International Accounting Standard 34, "Interim Financial Reporting". The numbers in this press release have not been audited. The financial information and certain other information presented in a number of tables in this press release have been rounded to the nearest whole number or the nearest decimal. Therefore, the sum of the numbers in a column may not conform exactly to the total figure given for that column. In addition, certain percentages presented in the tables in this press release reflect calculations based upon the underlying information prior to rounding and, accordingly, may not conform exactly to the percentages that would be derived if the relevant calculations were based upon the rounded numbers. This press release also includes certain non-GAAP financial measures. ArcelorMittal presents EBITDA, and EBITDA/tonne, which are non-GAAP financial measures and defined in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations, as additional measurements to enhance the understanding of operating performance. ArcelorMittal believes such indicators are relevant to describe trends relating to cash generating activity and provides management and investors with additional information for comparison of the Company's operating results to the operating results of other companies. ArcelorMittal also presents net debt as an additional measurement to enhance the understanding of its financial position, changes to its capital structure and its credit assessment. ArcelorMittal also presents free cash flow, which is a non-GAAP financial measure defined in the Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash flows, because it believes it is a useful supplemental measure for evaluating the strength of its cash generating capacity. Non-GAAP financial measures should be read in conjunction with and not as an alternative for, ArcelorMittal's financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS. Such non-GAAP measures may not be comparable to similarly titled measures applied by other companies.
[2] On March 28, 2018, ArcelorMittal announced the completion of its share buyback program. ArcelorMittal has repurchased 7 million shares for a total value of approximately €184 million (equivalent $226 million) at an approximate average price per share of €26.34 (equivalent to $32.36)
[3] At the Extraordinary General Meeting held on May 10, 2017, the shareholders approved a share consolidation based on a ratio 1:3, whereby every three shares were consolidated into one share (with a change in the number of shares outstanding and the accounting par value per share). The figures presented for the basic and diluted earnings per share reflect this change.
[4] On April 20, 2018, following the approval by the Brazilian antitrust authority - CADE of the combination of ArcelorMittal Brasil's and Votorantim's long steel businesses in Brazil subject to the fulfilment of divestment commitments, ArcelorMittal Brasil agreed to dispose of its two production sites of Cariacica and Itaúna, as well as some drawing equipment of ArcelorMittal Brasil and ArcelorMittal Sul-Fluminense. The sale was completed early May 2018 to the Mexican Group Simec S.A.B. de CV. A second package of some drawing equipment of ArcelorMittal Brasil and ArcelorMittal Sul-Fluminense were sold to the company Aço Verde do Brasil as part of CADE's conditional approval.
[5] China Oriental completed a share placement to restore the minimum 25% free float as per Hong Kong Exchange listing requirements. Following the share placement, ArcelorMittal's interest in China Oriental decreased from 47% to 39%, as a result of which ArcelorMittal recorded a net dilution loss of $44 million. In January 2018, China Oriental issued 192 million additional shares in connection with the exercise of all outstanding stock option plans. As a result, ArcelorMittal's interest decreased from 39% to 37%.
[6] ArcelorMittal Mines Canada, otherwise known as ArcelorMittal Mines and Infrastructure Canada.
[7] In December 2017, ArcelorMittal committed to a plan to sell its 100% owned subsidiary Go Steel Frýdek Místek ("Frýdek Mistek"). At December 31, 2017, the carrying amount of assets and liabilities subject to the transaction were classified as held for sale. The sale was completed in 1Q 2018.
[8] On December 16, 2016, ArcelorMittal signed a €350 million finance contract with the European Investment Bank in order to finance European research, development and innovation projects over the 2017-2020 period within the European Union, predominantly France, Belgium and Spain, but also in the Czech Republic, Poland, Luxembourg and Romania. The Company benefits from a guarantee from the European Union under the European Fund for Strategic Investments.
[9] On December 21, 2016, ArcelorMittal signed an agreement for a $5.5 billion revolving credit facility (the "Facility"). The agreement incorporates a first tranche of $2.3 billion maturing on December 21, 2019, and a second tranche of $3.2 billion maturing on December 21, 2021. The Facility may be used for general corporate purposes. As of March 31, 2018, the $5.5 billion revolving credit facility was fully available.
[10] Dividends are announced in US dollars. Dividends are paid in US dollars for shares traded in the United States in the form of New York registry shares. Dividends are paid in EUR for shares listed on the European Stock Exchanges (Amsterdam, Paris, Luxembourg, MTS) and converted from US dollars to EUR based on the European Central Bank exchange rate at May 15, 2018. A Luxembourg withholding tax of 15% is applied on the gross dividend amounts. Dividend record date is May 18, 2018 and payment date June 13, 2018.
[11] Assets and liabilities held for sale, as of March 31, 2018, primarily include the carrying value of the USA long product facilities at Steelton ("Steelton"), and Cariacica and Itauna industrial plants in Brazil (sold in May 2018 as remedy package for Votorantim acquisition). Assets and liabilities held for sale, as of December 31, 2017, primarily include the carrying value of Steelton and Frydek Mistek assets in Czech Republic (which was sold in 1Q 2018). Assets and liabilities held for sale, as of March 31, 2017, primarily include the carrying value of Steelton.
First quarter 2018 earnings analyst conference call
ArcelorMittal will hold a conference call hosted by Heads of Finance and Investor Relations for members of the investment community to discuss the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 on: Friday May 11, 2018 at 9.30am US Eastern time; 2.30pm London time and 3.30pm CET.
The dial in numbers are: Location Toll free dial in numbers Local dial in numbers Participant UK local: 0800 0515 931 +44 (0)203 364 5807 10560913# US local: 1 86 6719 2729 +1 24 0645 0345 10560913# US (New York): 1 86 6719 2729 + 1 646 663 7901 10560913# France: 0800 914780 +33 1 7071 2916 10560913# Germany: 0800 965 6288 +49 692 7134 0801 10560913# Spain: 90 099 4930 +34 911 143436 10560913# Luxembourg: 800 26908 +352 27 86 05 07 10560913# A replay of the conference call will be available for one week by dialing: +49 (0) 1805 2047 088; Access code 520877#
Forward-Looking Statements
This document may contain forward-looking information and statements about ArcelorMittal and its subsidiaries. These statements include financial projections and estimates and their underlying assumptions, statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to future operations, products and services, and statements regarding future performance. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the words "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "target" or similar expressions. Although ArcelorMittal's management believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, investors and holders of ArcelorMittal's securities are cautioned that forward-looking information and statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, many of which are difficult to predict and generally beyond the control of ArcelorMittal, that could cause actual results and developments to differ materially and adversely from those expressed in, or implied or projected by, the forward-looking information and statements. These risks and uncertainties include those discussed or identified in the filings with the Luxembourg Stock Market Authority for the Financial Markets (Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) and the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") made or to be made by ArcelorMittal, including ArcelorMittal's latest Annual Report on Form 20-F on file with the SEC. ArcelorMittal undertakes no obligation to publicly update its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
About ArcelorMittal
ArcelorMittal is the world's leading steel and mining company, with a presence in 60 countries and an industrial footprint in 18 countries. Guided by a philosophy to produce safe, sustainable steel, we are the leading supplier of quality steel in the major global steel markets including automotive, construction, household appliances and packaging, with world-class research and development and outstanding distribution networks.
Through our core values of sustainability, quality and leadership, we operate responsibly with respect to the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, contractors and the communities in which we operate. For us, steel is the fabric of life, as it is at the heart of the modern world from railways to cars and washing machines. We are actively researching and producing steel-based technologies and solutions that make many of the products and components people use in their everyday lives more energy efficient.
We are one of the world's five largest producers of iron ore and metallurgical coal. With a geographically diversified portfolio of iron ore and coal assets, we are strategically positioned to serve our network of steel plants and the external global market. While our steel operations are important customers, our supply to the external market is increasing as we grow. In 2017, ArcelorMittal had revenues of $68.7 billion and crude steel production of 93.1 million metric tonnes, while own iron ore production reached 57.4 million metric tonnes.
ArcelorMittal is listed on the stock exchanges of New York (MT), Amsterdam (MT), Paris (MT), Luxembourg (MT) and on the Spanish stock exchanges of Barcelona, Bilbao, Madrid and Valencia (MTS). For more information about ArcelorMittal please visit: http://corporate.arcelormittal.com/
Enquiries
ArcelorMittal investor relations: Europe: +44 207 543 1128; Americas: +1 312 899 3985; Retail: +44 207 543 1156; SRI: +44 207 543 1156 and Bonds/credit: +33 1 71 92 10 26.
ArcelorMittal corporate communications ( E-mail: [email protected] ) +44 0207 629 7988. Contact: Paul Weigh +44 203 214 2419; France (Image 7) Tel: +33 153 70 94 17.
Attachment
ArcelorMittal reports results for the first quarter 2018.pdf
Source:Arcelor Mittal S.A.
|
ArcelorMittal reports results for the first quarter
|
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WYOMISSING, Pa., May 07, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc. (the “Company” or “GLPI”) (NASDAQ:GLPI) today announced that its operating partnership, GLP Capital, L.P. (the “Operating Partnership”), and GLP Financing II, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Operating Partnership (“Capital Corp.” and, together with the Operating Partnership, the “Issuers”), have commenced an offering to sell $1,000,000,000 aggregate principal amount of senior notes (the “Notes”) in a public offering. The Notes will be offered in two tranches, the first of which will be due 2025 and the second of which will be due 2028. The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of the Issuers, guaranteed by the Company.
The Issuers intend to use (i) approximately $485.0 million of the net proceeds from the offering of Notes to prepay and extinguish the outstanding borrowings under the term loan A facility under their existing senior unsecured credit facility (the “Existing Credit Facility”), excluding any accrued and unpaid interest thereon and to repay a portion of the outstanding borrowings under the term loan A-1 facility under the Existing Credit Facility and (ii) approximately $504.4 million of the net proceeds from the offering and $56.4 million in borrowings under a new revolving credit facility to be entered into pursuant to an amendment to the Existing Credit Facility contemporaneously with the closing of the Notes offering (as amended, the “New Credit Facility”) to finance a cash tender offer (the “Tender Offer”) to purchase any and all of the $550 million aggregate principal amount of the Issuers’ outstanding 4.375% Senior Notes due November 1, 2018 (the “2018 Notes”) and a related consent solicitation in respect of the indenture governing the 2018 Notes, and to pay fees and expenses incurred in connection with amending the Existing Credit Facility. To the extent that not all holders of the 2018 Notes participate in the Tender Offer and there are any remaining net proceeds from the offering of Notes, the Issuers will use such remaining net proceeds for general corporate purposes or to pay down borrowings under the New Credit Facility.
Wells Fargo Securities, LLC, Citizens Capital Markets, Inc., BofA Merrill Lynch, Fifth Third Securities, Inc., SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Credit Agricole Securities (USA) Inc. and Barclays Capital Inc. are serving as joint book-running managers for the offering. The offering will be made under an effective shelf registration statement of the Company, the Operating Partnership and Capital Corp. previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). When available, a copy of the preliminary prospectus supplement, final prospectus supplement and prospectus relating to the offering may be obtained from Wells Fargo Securities, LLC at 608 2nd Ave S, Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55402, Attention: WFS Customer Service, or by calling (800) 645-3751, Opt 5 or by email at [email protected] ; or by visiting the EDGAR database on the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov .
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in jurisdiction in which such an offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. Any offer or sale will be made only by means of the prospectus supplement and prospectus forming part of the effective registration statement relating to these securities.
About Gaming and Leisure Properties
GLPI is engaged in the business of acquiring, financing, and owning real estate property to be leased to gaming operators in triple-net lease arrangements, pursuant to which the tenant is responsible for all facility maintenance, insurance required in connection with the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties, taxes levied on or with respect to the leased properties and all utilities and other services necessary or appropriate for the leased properties and the business conducted on the leased properties. GLPI expects to grow its portfolio by pursuing opportunities to acquire additional gaming facilities to lease to gaming operators. GLPI also intends to diversify its portfolio over time, including by acquiring properties outside the gaming industry to lease to third parties. GLPI elected to be taxed as a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) for United States federal income tax purposes commencing with the 2014 taxable year and is the first gaming-focused REIT in North America.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including, but not limited to, statements regarding the proposed public offering. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “intends,” “may,” “will,” “should” or “anticipates” or the negative or other variation of these or similar words, or by discussions of future events, strategies or risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions about GLPI and its subsidiaries, including risks related to the following: the availability of and the ability to identify suitable and attractive acquisition and development opportunities and the ability to acquire and lease those properties on favorable terms; the ability to receive, or delays in obtaining, the regulatory approvals required to own and/or operate its properties, or other delays or impediments to completing GLPI’s planned acquisitions or projects; GLPI's ability to maintain its status as a REIT; GLPI’s ability to access capital through debt and equity markets in amounts and at rates and costs acceptable to GLPI, including through GLPI's existing ATM program; changes in the U.S. tax law and other state, federal or local laws, whether or not specific to REITs or to the gaming or lodging industries; and other factors described in GLPI’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, as amended from time to time, and GLPI’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2018, in each case, as filed with the SEC. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to GLPI or persons acting on GLPI’s behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements included in this press release. GLPI undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements contained or incorporated by reference herein, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the forward-looking events discussed in this press release may not occur.
Contact
Investor Relations — Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.
Hayes Croushore
T: 610-378-8396
Email: [email protected]
Source:Gaming and Leisure Properties, Inc.
|
Gaming and Leisure Properties Announces Public Offering of $1,000,000,000 of Senior Notes
|
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EXCLUSIVE: Yulia Skripal speaks about poisoning Wednesday, May 23, 2018 - 01:39
Yulia Skripal has spoken to Reuters for the first time on camera since recovering from a poisoning on UK soil that Britain has blamed on Russia. Yulia was hospitalized along with her father Sergei Skripal in a nerve agent attack in March
Yulia Skripal has spoken to Reuters for the first time on camera since recovering from a poisoning on UK soil that Britain has blamed on Russia. Yulia was hospitalized along with her father Sergei Skripal in a nerve agent attack in March //reut.rs/2IGo6iz
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EXCLUSIVE: Yulia Skripal speaks about poisoning
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Scotland calls time on cheap, strong alcohol Tuesday, May 01, 2018 - 00:49
Scotland introduced minimum unit pricing on alcohol on Tuesday as it tries to improve public health by raising the cost of cheap, strong drinks favored by young people and binge-drinkers.
Scotland introduced minimum unit pricing on alcohol on Tuesday as it tries to improve public health by raising the cost of cheap, strong drinks favored by young people and binge-drinkers. //reut.rs/2KsN6ar
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Scotland calls time on cheap, strong alcohol
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May 16, 2018 / 10:09 PM / Updated 15 hours ago U.S. has more than 2,000 probes into potential or suspected terrorists: FBI Director Mark Hosenball 3 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The FBI is pursuing 1,000 investigations into suspected “lone wolf” militants and another 1,000 into “domestic terrorists,” FBI director Christopher Wray told a congressional committee on Wednesday. Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray testifies to a Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Subcommittee hearing on the proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2019 for the Federal Bureau of Investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., May 16, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
At a Senate Appropriations Committee subcommittee hearing, Wray said lone wolf terrorists - whom another law enforcement official described as individuals often radicalized over the internet or other social media - are the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s “highest counterterrorism priority at the moment.”
Wray said the FBI has about 1,000 investigations into suspected lone wolves in all 50 states, “and that’s not even counting the al-Qaeda investigations, the traditional ISIS investigations, the domestic terrorism investigations ...”
“And what makes it so hard is that there are not many dots to connect with some of these people,” he said. “They pick soft targets, they use easy-to-use weapons; you know, IEDs (improvised explosive devices), cars, knives, guns.”
Wray said the FBI is “trying to get better at looking for red flags” that could signal when people becoming radicalized might start to consider taking action.
In addition, Wray said, the FBI is pursuing another 1,000 investigations into “domestic terrorists.”
The second law enforcement official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said right-wing extremists, violent animal rights and anti-abortion extremists, and African-American or left-wing militants fall into this category.
This official said, there is an “overlap” in FBI statistics on the number of lone wolf investigations and investigations related to the Islamic State movement.
Patrick Leahy, a senior Democratic member of the appropriations committee, said that as part of the annual budget request the FBI had presented, President Donald Trump’s administration reduced the Bureau budget by 5 percent, rescinded planned allocations of $148 million in salaries and expenses, and dropped or at least postponed plans for a new FBI headquarters. Reporting by Mark Hosenball and David Alexander; Editing by John Walcott and James Dalgleish
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U.S. has more than 2,000 probes into potential or suspected terrorists: FBI Director
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May 31, 2018 / 9:02 AM / Updated 11 minutes ago Japan Tobacco to cut heated tobacco prices in battle with Philip Morris Taiga Uranaka , Ritsuko Shimizu 4 Min Read
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Tobacco Inc ( 2914.T ) is set to slash prices on its heated tobacco products early next week after a similar move by bigger rival Philip Morris International Inc ( PM.N ), signalling increased competition in Japan’s nascent market for alternative cigarettes. FILE PHOTO: A man smokes Japan Tobacco (JT) Inc.'s e-cigarette Ploom Tech in a smoking room in Tokyo, Japan May 12, 2017. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo
Japan, where regular e-cigarettes with nicotine-laced liquid are effectively banned, has become the main market for “heat not burn” (HNB) products which emit less smoke and smell less than conventional cigarettes. The country accounts for over 90 percent of the $5 billion HNB market, according to Euromonitor.
Tobacco makers initially struggled to keep up with strong demand as they began introducing HNB products in limited Japanese markets a few years ago. But they have since ramped up production, with investors now worried about slowing growth.
Japan Tobacco said it would cut the price of its Ploom TECH device to 3,000 yen (20.7 pounds) from 4,000 yen, timed with the official start of nationwide sales on Monday.
“We are finally prepared and confident that we can reverse our position and go on the offensive,” said Chito Sasaki, president of the company’s domestic tobacco business, told Reuters.
The company, while a dominant player in Japan’s cigarette market with a 60 percent share, has been lagging rivals in the HNB category. Philip Morris, which was first to start selling HNB products in Japan in 2014, claims iQOS has a 16.8 percent share in Japan’s overall tobacco market, including conventional cigarettes. IQOS DISAPPOINTMENT
Philip Morris has said it will cut the price of its tobacco-heating device iQOS by about 30 percent to 7,980 yen from Friday. It said the move was designed to encourage more smokers who are considering switching from conventional cigarettes.
British American Tobacco PLC (BAT) ( BATS.L ) started to sell its “glo” device at 2,980 yen earlier this month, from 5,980 yen as a time-limited offer through late December.
The cuts come as analysts said the industry may need catalysts for more growth after an initial surge in sales to those eager to try out HNB products.
Philip Morris in April reported weaker-than-expected growth of iQOS devices in Japan in the first quarter, prompting a dive in company’s share price.
Industry officials, however, still see strong growth ahead, with Japan Tobacco forecasting HNB products accounting for 23 percent of Japan’s overall tobacco market in 2018, nearly double last year’s 12 percent.
A Reuters investigation in December described irregularities in the clinical trials that supported Philip Morris’ iQOS application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
( here ) and ( here )
Japan Tobacco, a former state monopoly, is still one-third owned by the government.
Japan’s tobacco regulation is among the least strict among developed economies. Cigarettes command prime spots at cash registers at the country’s ubiquitous convenience stores while glossy packaging carries health warnings but no graphic photos.
The government is trying to introduce an indoor smoking ban but critics say it has been watered down due to opposition from small restaurant and bar owners. Reporting by Taiga Uranaka; Additional reporting by Thomas Wilson
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Japan Tobacco to cut heated tobacco prices in battle with Philip Morris
|
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Southwest Airlines carried more passengers last month than in April 2017, but posted a slight decline in traffic, in the wake of a fatal mid-air engine failure in the middle of the month.
Southwest carried close to 11.4 million paying passengers last month, up 2.8 percent from April 2017, the airline said Tuesday.
Southwest warned investors last month that bookings declined after the April 17 accident . The airline had pulled marketing and other promotions in the wake of the engine failure.
Shortly into New York-Dallas Flight 1380 on April 17, a fan blade broke off of one of the Boeing 737-700's engines when the plane was flying above 30,000 feet. A cabin window broke as debris flew . A passenger, who was partly sucked through the opening, died, marking Southwest's first accident-related fatality in its 47 years of flying, and the first such death on a U.S. commercial airline since 2009.
Even though it carried more passengers, Southwest reported a slight decline in the number of revenue-passenger miles, a measure of traffic, which fell 0.3 percent compared with a year earlier.
The airline had said it canceled dozens of flights following the accident as it grounded planes to inspect its engines' fan blades, a task it expects to complete in mid-May.
Southwest shares were up 0.3 percent in morning trade.
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Southwest carried more passengers in April, despite fatal accident
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VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 02, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AFFINOR GROWERS INC. (CSE:AFI) (OTCQB:RSSFF) ( www.affinorgrowers.com ) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce that the Company has appointed Randy Minhas, C.Dir, CPA, CA, BBA as the Company’s new Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Mr. Minhas is a Chartered Professional Accountant with extensive finance experience in the technology, manufacturing and resources industries. Mr. Minhas has served as Director, Chief Financial Officer and Controller for several publicly traded companies since 2011 focusing on forecasting, business development, development of internal controls and complete financial reporting services. Mr. Minhas currently serves as the Lead Independent Director and Audit Committee Chair of Clean Seed Capital Corp., a publicly listed entity in the agriculture industry. In addition, Mr. Minhas is currently serving as the Group Controller for Rye Patch Gold Corp., a role he will transition out of once Rye Patch completes its merger with Alio Gold Inc. Mr. Minhas has helped Rye Patch transition from an exploration stage Company to a Company with a fully producing gold mine. During this time, the Company has raised in excess of $75 million dollars in equity financings and over US$25 million dollars in debt financing. Prior to joining Rye Patch, Mr. Minhas served as the Financial Reporting and SOX specialist for Golden Queen Mining Inc., helping take the Company from the exploration stage to a fully producing gold mine.
Mr. Minhas holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Simon Fraser University and completed his Chartered Accountant designation in 2008. More recently, he completed his Chartered Director designation through The Directors College in June 2017. The Directors College is a joint venture between McMaster University and the Conference Board of Canada focusing on corporate governance and risk management.
Nick Brusatore, president and CEO of Affinor commented, “We are very fortunate to welcome Randy as the new CFO of Affinor. Randy brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to Affinor which in turn will create ongoing shareholder value as we continue to build the Company.”
In order to make way for Mr. Minhas, Mr. Sam Chaudhry has resigned as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. The Company and its Board of Directors would like to thank Mr. Chaudhry for his leadership and direction during his tenure as CFO and director.
About Affinor Growers
Affinor Growers is a publicly traded company on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol ("AFI"). Affinor is focused on growing high quality crops such as romaine lettuce, spinach, strawberries and Cannabis using its vertical farming techniques. Affinor is committed to becoming a pre-eminent supplier and grower, using exclusive vertical farming techniques.
Neither Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
AFFINOR GROWERS INC.
"Nicholas Brusatore"
For More Information, please contact:
Nicholas Brusatore, CEO
604-356-0411
[email protected]
Source:Affinor Growers Inc.
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Affinor Growers Inc. Appoints New CFO
|
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday it was possible a planned summit with North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un could still take place on June 12 as originally planned.
“We’re going to see what happens. We’re talking to them now,” Trump told reporters, one day after he canceled the highly anticipated meeting. “It could even be the 12th ... We’d like to do it.”
(Corrects Quote: to say “we’d like to do it”)
Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Bill Trott
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Trump leaves open possibility of June 12 summit with North Korea
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MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Kangaroos are one of Australia’s biggest tourist draws, but visitors to one park are getting more than they bargained for.
A man is attacked by kangaroos after feeding them near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS Tourists in Lake Macquarie, a two-hour train ride from Sydney, are ignoring warnings and feeding carrots to kangaroos who become aggressive at the sight of their favorite sugary snack, a tour operator said.
Each week thousands of people flock to see the kangaroos on grassy slopes near a psychiatric hospital, enticed by travel blogs promising “adorable wild kangaroos” that are “tame enough to get close to and take photos with”.
Carrots in hand, the tourists approach the kangaroos, seeking a selfie with an Australian symbol that graces the country’s coat of arms.
It doesn’t always end well.
A sign reads "Do not feed the kangaroos" near Morisset Park, Australia in this undated photo obtained from social media. Kroosn Shuttle Service Pty Ltd/via REUTERS A photo posted by a tour operator on Facebook showed a kangaroo leaping up to kick a tourist with its powerful legs. Other photos showed a woman with a scratched face and a man with a bloody gouge in his stomach.
“Kangaroos can occasionally be aggressive no matter what the circumstances are, but 90 percent of the time it’s the people who are trying to feed them who are attacked,” Shane Lewis, who operates a tourist shuttle service to the park, told Reuters.
Lewis said he showed photos of injuries to tourists as a reminder of the damage a wild animal can do.
Slideshow (3 Images) Michelle Shaw, a nutritionist at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, said the kangaroos had likely become addicted to the carrots, a high-sugar food that is bad for the marsupials.
“When they see people coming they get that anxiety that sugar is on its way and they are going to be very aggressive to feed that addiction,” Shaw told Reuters.
A kangaroo’s natural diet is mostly grass, so the sugar in carrots can make it hard to effectively absorb nutrients and lead to a “slow and painful death”, she added.
Up to 2,000 people a week visit the grounds of Morisset Hospital, which have gained fame as a kangaroo hangout thanks to online travel websites.
Despite the attacks, politician Greg Piper said the kangaroos were likely to remain the region’s major draw for international tourists, and it was too late to do anything about it.
“That joey has left the pouch, so to speak,” Piper said this week, using the term for a young kangaroo.
“The only thing we can do is educate people about the dangers and find a way to manage the situation, not just for the safety of visitors and the hospital’s residents but also for the safety of the kangaroos.”
Reporting by Will Ziebell. Editing by Jane Wardell and Darren Schuettler
|
Carrot-addicted kangaroos hopping mad at tourists
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Hilton Grand Vacations Inc:
* HILTON GRAND VACATIONS REPORTS FIRST-QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.30 * Q1 REVENUE $367 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $435.9 MILLION
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.68 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* SEES FY 2018 EARNINGS PER SHARE $2.93 TO $3.09 * SEES 2018 ADJUSTED EBITDA TO BE BETWEEN $485 MILLION AND $505 MILLION Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
|
BRIEF-Hilton Grand Vacations Q1 Earnings Per Share $0.30
|
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NEW DELHI, May 23 (Reuters) - Airlines in India may need to pay passengers higher compensation when flights are delayed or cancelled, according to rule changes proposed by the Civil Aviation Ministry aimed at raising efficiency in the world’s fastest-growing aviation market.
The proposals, made public late on Tuesday, also cap cancellation charges airlines can levy, and let passengers cancel or amend tickets without charge for up to 24 hours after booking. The ministry also proposed airlines should compensate passengers for any bodily injury sustained on board aircraft.
The proposals come after the government announced plans to invest millions of dollars to upgrade and build airports in a country where passenger traffic is rising 20 percent annually.
“Given this rapid growth, it is necessary to dramatically improve the efficiency and convenience of our aviation system to enhance the passenger air travel experience,” the Civil Aviation Ministry said in a statement accompanying the proposals.
The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year launched a scheme to get millions of Indians to fly by improving air connectivity in small towns and lowering fares, giving rise to start-up airlines and boosting growth prospects for existing carriers such as InterGlobe Aviation Ltd’s IndiGo Airlines, SpiceJet Ltd and Jet Airways Ltd.
The government expects air passenger numbers to reach about 1 billion over the next 15 to 20 years from 117 million in 2017.
The ministry also proposed that, if airlines are at fault for delays or cancellations, they need to compensate passengers up to 20,000 rupees ($293) or offer a full refund or provide free hotel accommodation, depending the nature of the issue.
At present, airlines mainly have to provide only refreshments when delays are under 24 hours.
Airport operators should also provide medical facilities, free wi-fi for 30 minutes and affordable food outlets at all airports, the ministry proposed.
The ministry said it will seek comments on the proposals from stakeholders including airlines and airports over the next 30 days, and that it expects to finalise rules in two months.
$1 = 68.2300 Indian rupees Reporting by Aditi Shah Editing by Christopher Cushing
|
India proposes higher compensation for flight delays in efficiency push
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May 4, 2018 / 12:13 PM / Updated 4 hours ago Commentary: Widest ever U.S.-European earnings gap set to narrow Jamie McGeever 4 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - U.S. corporate profit growth is outpacing European profit growth at the fastest pace on record, but the anomaly is unlikely to last. File photo: Shipping containers are stacked on a cargo ship in the dock at the ABP port in Southampton, Britain. REUTERS/Peter Nicholls
The drivers of that divergence, such as the U.S. tax cuts, a weak dollar, and disparity between share buybacks on either side of the Atlantic are fading, and some could even reverse in the second half of the year.
Certainly, the earnings gap now is remarkable. Based on comparative 12-month forward earnings per share, it’s never been wider.
“We’ve never seen such a big gap. U.S. and European earnings have always correlated, so this is a huge anomaly,” said Martin Skanberg, a European equity portfolio manager at Schroders.
“The gap will close.”
(For a graphic showing U.S. vs euro zone earnings, click here: reut.rs/2IePqTX )
Skanberg estimates that U.S. earnings per share are around 60-70 percent above the earnings peak in 2007, while European earnings are some 30 percent below the peak in 2007.
Just under half the companies in the MSCI EMU (European) index have reported first-quarter (Q1) results so far, and profits are up just 0.2 percent on the same period last year.
Around 80 percent of the firms listed on the U.S. S&P 500 have reported Q1 results, and earnings growth is running at 26 percent.
Charlie Bilello at Pensions Partners reckons U.S. earnings are growing even faster, at a 30 percent rate. That’s the fastest pace of year on year growth in more than seven years.
(For a graphic showing U.S. stocks EPS growth, click here: reut.rs/2Igm73i )
Yet Q1 this year will be the peak for U.S. earnings growth.
The rise in U.S. Treasury yields to multi-year highs is altering the so-called equity risk premium, essentially the extra yield investors are paid to buy relatively risky equities over safer fixed income.
With 10-year U.S. Treasury yields on the rise and now offering investors a pretty juicy 3 percent, the U.S. equity risk premium is under pressure.
It’s a different story in the euro zone - bond yields are considerably lower, meaning equities offer a far more attractive return. Assuming ‘ceteris paribus’, equity risk premia suggest European stocks are more appealing than U.S. equities.
(For a graphic showing Equity risk premium - U.S. vs euro zone, click here: reut.rs/2Ik27wG )
Of course, everything else never does remain the same, and one of the most important variables for international money managers is the euro/dollar exchange rate.
Last year, the dollar fell 12 percent against the euro, its worst year since 2003. This boosted the dollar value of U.S. profits accrued overseas, and at the same time had the opposite impact on European firms’ profitability.
The dollar now appears to be in the early stages of a reversal, rebounding 4 percent in the last three weeks to its highest since January. Wall Street is feeling the pinch, slipping nearly 4 percent over the last three weeks.
If the dollar continues to drift higher and the euro lower, the impact on relative profitability should continue to favour Europe over Wall Street.
Another area where the European market could be poised to follow the U.S. lead is share buybacks. Since 2010, S&P 500 companies have spent nearly $4 trillion on share buybacks, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices.
This has had a massive impact on Wall Street. And with Apple leading the way with its $23.5 billion buyback in Q1 and targeting up to $100 billion in future repurchases, 2018 is on track to be another record year.
But Europe could finally be about to play catch up.
Skanberg at Schroders estimates European firms are sitting on some 900 billion euros of cash, or over $1 trillion. Much of that is in negative-yielding, short-term debt that could be used for investing, M&A, or share buybacks, he argues.
The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Reporting by Jamie McGeever; Graphics by Helen Reid and Jamie McGeever; Editing by Mark Potter
|
Commentary: Widest ever U.S.-European earnings gap set to narrow
|
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Bitcoin's down this week, but one trader is hitting the buy button 16 Hours Ago Is bitcoin primed for a comeback? Trading bitcoin futures now, with CNBC's Jackie DeAngelis and the Futures Now traders, Anthony Grisanti from the NYMEX and Jeff Kilburg at the CME.
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Bitcoin's down this week, but one trader is hitting the buy button
|
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MRG-110 advanced into clinical development with the initiation of two Phase 1 clinical trials in collaboration with Servier Preclinical data released in two separate ophthalmology programs targeting microRNA-29 and the microRNA-183/96/182 cluster Cobomarsen and MRG-201 to advance into Phase 2 clinical trials this year $78.1 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 after completing a $37.9 million common stock offering in February 2018 Conference call and webcast today at 4:30 p.m. ET
BOULDER, Colo., May 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MGEN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of RNA-targeted therapies, today reported first quarter 2018 financial results and provided a corporate update.
“With three product candidates now in clinical development and additional preclinical programs targeting multiple indications, we are continuing to advance, de-risk and build confidence in our pipeline of potential microRNA targeted therapies,” said William S. Marshall, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of miRagen Therapeutics. “Cobomarsen and MRG-201 remain on track to advance into Phase 2 clinical trials later this year, and we were pleased to have recently initiated two Phase 1 clinical trials for MRG-110 in collaboration with our partner, Servier. We also continued to expand the potential of our innovative microRNA technologies by unveiling a new preclinical program evaluating microRNA mimics of the microRNA-183/96/182 cluster involved in retinal degeneration.”
Marshall continued, “We are encouraged by the advancement of our pipeline of microRNA therapeutic candidates and excited about the opportunities that our microRNA focused discovery and development platform could provide as our clinical programs continue to show promising efficacy and safety profiles.”
Recent Achievements and Anticipated Progress
Cobomarsen
miRagen closed enrollment in its Phase 1 cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) trial and plans to release additional data from this study, including response rates from longer-term duration of treatment, in the first half of 2018. miRagen continued to evaluate patients in its Phase 1 clinical trial of cobomarsen for other oncology indications and plans to release interim Phase 1 data in at least one of these potential expansion indications in the second half of 2018. With enrollment in the Phase 1 CTCL trial now closed, miRagen plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial, evaluating cobomarsen in patients with CTCL in the second half of 2018 which, based on discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, could allow us to apply for accelerated approval.
MRG-201
miRagen recently filed an Investigational New Drug Application, or IND, for MRG-201 and plans to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate MRG-201 in subjects with a predisposition for keloid formation in the second quarter of 2018. In May, miRagen presented preclinical data demonstrating the potential of MRG-201 to inhibit the expression of multiple factors responsible for fibrosis in disease models in both the cornea and retina. In the second half of 2018, miRagen anticipates releasing preclinical in vivo data from its lung fibrosis studies.
MRG-110
In March, Servier and miRagen initiated a Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and tolerability of MRG-110 in a systemic dosing protocol to support additional clinical studies for the potential treatment of heart failure. The dosing of the first patient in this trial triggered a €3.0 million milestone to miRagen under the terms of its agreement with Servier. In May, miRagen announced that it had initiated a separate Phase 1 trial designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of MRG-110 after intradermal administration for potential use in indications such as surgical incisions, severe lacerations or chronic wounds. miRagen also recently released preclinical data showing administration of MRG-110 improved tissue perfusion and wound healing. Results from these studies in a preclinical model which closely reflects human wound healing helped to inform the joint decision by miRagen and Servier to move MRG-110 into human clinical evaluation for potential use in dermal revascularization.
Preclinical Pipeline
miRagen unveiled a new program to evaluate microRNA mimics of the microRNA-183/96/182 cluster for potential use in progressive vision loss. Mimics of this microRNA cluster have been shown to play an important role in the establishment and maintenance of neurosensory cells, including photoreceptors and hair cells (cells associated with hearing). In May, miRagen presented data showing mimics of the microRNA cluster were able to cause functional improvement of photoreceptors and vision in a preclinical model of retinal degeneration.
First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at March 31, 2018 were $78.1 million, compared to $47.4 million at December 31, 2017. Total net cash used in operations was approximately $7.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2018. In February 2018, miRagen completed an underwritten public offering of 7,414,996 shares of its common stock. Proceeds to miRagen from the offering were $37.9 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering expenses. miRagen expects that the cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2018 will be sufficient to fund its operations into early 2020.
Revenue
Revenue was $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2018, as compared to $0.5 million for the first quarter of 2017. The increase in revenue was due primarily to a €3.0 million (or $3.7 million) milestone payment earned under the Servier collaboration upon the initiation of the first Phase 1 trial of MRG-110 in March 2018, as well as an increase in research and development activity reimbursable under the Servier collaboration.
Operating Expenses
Research and development expenses were $6.4 million for the first quarter of 2018, as compared to $4.1 million for the first quarter of 2017. The increase in research and development expenses was driven primarily by increased personnel-related costs as miRagen added to its research and development team in 2018, as well as higher technology license fees and clinical development expenses to support expanded development stage programs. General and administrative expenses were $3.0 million for the first quarter of 2018, as compared to $3.3 million for the first quarter of 2017. The decrease in general and administrative expenses was due primarily to lower professional fees, which were partially offset by higher personnel related costs, as miRagen added to its general and administrative team in 2018.
Net Loss
Net loss available to common stockholders for the first quarter of 2018 was $4.7 million, or $0.18 per share, as compared to a net loss of $7.0 million, or $0.60 per share, for the first quarter of 2017.
Conference Call Information
miRagen will host a conference call today at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss its financial results for the first quarter 2018. Participants may access the call by dialing (888) 394-8218 in the U.S. or (323) 701-0225 outside the U.S. and providing the conference ID number 8152157. The call will also be webcast and can be accessed from the Investors and Media section of miRagen’s website at www.miragen.com . A replay of this conference call will be available on miRagen’s website approximately one hour after the event.
About miRagen Therapeutics, Inc.
miRagen Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company discovering and developing proprietary RNA-targeted therapies with a specific focus on microRNAs and their role in diseases where there is a high unmet medical need. miRagen has three clinical stage product candidates, cobomarsen (MRG-106), MRG-201, and MRG-110. miRagen’s clinical product candidate for the treatment of certain cancers, cobomarsen, is an inhibitor of microRNA-155, which is found at abnormally high levels in malignant cells of several blood cancers, as well as certain cells involved in inflammation. miRagen’s clinical product candidate for the treatment of pathological fibrosis, MRG-201, is a replacement for microRNA-29, which is found at abnormally low levels in a number of pathological fibrotic conditions, including cutaneous, cardiac, renal, hepatic, pulmonary and ocular fibrosis, as well as systemic sclerosis. MRG-110, an inhibitor of microRNA-92, is being developed under a license and collaboration agreement with Servier for the treatment of heart failure and other ischemic disease. In addition to these programs, miRagen is developing a pipeline of preclinical product candidates. The goal of miRagen’s translational medicine strategy is to progress rapidly to first-in-human studies once it has established the pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamic, safety and manufacturability of the product candidate in preclinical studies. For more information, please visit www.miragen.com .
For information on clinical trials please visit www.clinicaltrials.gov .
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties for purposes of the safe harbor provided by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding miRagen’s strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected expenses, prospects, plans and objectives of management or the expected features of or potential indications for miRagen’s product candidates are forward-looking statements. The words “believe,” “may,” “will,” “estimate,” “continue,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “expect,” “predict,” “potential,” “opportunity,” “goals,” or “should,” and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management’s current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties. Actual results and performance could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, without limitation: that miRagen has incurred losses since its inception, and anticipates that it will continue to incur significant losses for the foreseeable future; future financing activities may cause miRagen to restrict its operations or require it to relinquish rights; miRagen may fail to demonstrate safety and efficacy of its product candidates; miRagen’s product candidates are unproven and may never lead to marketable products; miRagen’s product candidates are based on a relatively novel technology, which makes it difficult to predict the time and cost of development and of subsequently obtaining regulatory approval, if at all; miRagen’s product candidates may cause undesirable side effects or have other properties that could delay or prevent the regulatory approval; and the results of miRagen’s clinical trials to date are not sufficient to show safety and efficacy of miRagen’s product candidates and may not be indicative of future clinical trial results. miRagen has based these forward-looking statements largely on its current expectations and projections about future events and trends. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those described under the heading “Risk Factors” in miRagen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, miRagen operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time. It is not possible for its management to predict all risks, nor can it assess the impact of all factors on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements it may make. In light of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions, the future events and trends discussed in this press release may not occur and actual results could differ materially and adversely from those anticipated or implied in the forward-looking statements. miRagen undertakes no obligation to revise or publicly release the results of any revision to such forward-looking statements, except as required by law. Given these risks and uncertainties, readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Miragen Therapeutics, Inc.
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except share and per share data)
(unaudited) Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 Revenue: Collaboration revenue $ 4,756 $ 10 Grant revenue 28 452 Total revenue 4,784 462 Operating expenses: Research and development 6,413 4,120 General and administrative 2,990 3,281 Total operating expenses 9,403 7,401 Loss from operations (4,619 ) (6,939 ) Other income (expense): Interest and other income 167 30 Interest and other expense (209 ) (71 ) Net loss (4,661 ) (6,980 ) Accretion of redeemable convertible preferred stock to redemption value — (5 ) Net loss available to common stockholders $ (4,661 ) $ (6,985 ) Net loss per share, basic and diluted $ (0.18 ) $ (0.60 ) Weighted-average shares used to compute basic and diluted net loss per share 26,483,112 11,555,286
Miragen Therapeutics, Inc.
Selected Financial Information
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet Data
(amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 Cash and cash equivalents $ 78,099 $ 47,441 Total assets $ 86,992 $ 52,481 Notes payable $ 10,018 $ 9,922 Total liabilities $ 14,286 $ 13,971 Total stockholders’ equity $ 72,706 $ 38,510 Investor/Media Contact:
Adam Levy
Chief Business Officer
(720) 407-4595
[email protected]
Source:Miragen Therapeutics, Inc.
|
miRagen Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
|
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May 15, 2018 / 6:33 AM / Updated an hour ago Land Securities NAV dips on refinancing costs, names new chairwoman Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Land Securities ( LAND.L ), Britain’s largest listed property developer, posted a slight fall in full-year adjusted net asset value per share on Tuesday, hurt by the cost of refinancing bonds, and said it named Cressida Hogg as new chairwoman.
Hogg will succeed well-known business personality Dame Alison Carnwath, who will retire on July 12. Hogg will be one of a handful of women at the helm of an FTSE 100 company board.
Land Securities expects investment and leasing volumes in the property market to be more subdued in the near term due to uncertainty ahead of the UK’s exit from the European Union.
The company, which manages the Bluewater shopping centre in southeast England, also said retail market continued to be affected by structural change in shopping habits and has been impacted by weaker consumer confidence.
Land Securities, like others in the industry, has undergone a multi-year overhaul to cut debt by selling non-core projects to strengthen the quality of its balance sheet and is today watched widely for its calls on the state of the market.
The developer reported a 1 percent fall in adjusted diluted net asset value - a measure of a developer’s buildings - to 1,403 pence for the year to March 31.
“The cost of refinancing 1.5 billion pounds of bonds is behind both the loss for the year of 251 million pounds and the slight fall in adjusted diluted net asset value per share to 1,403 pence,” the company said.
Land Securities raised its full-year dividend by 14.7 percent to 44.2 pence per share. Reporting by Radhika Rukmangadhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Gopakumar Warrier
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Land Securities' full-year NAV dips on refinancing costs, names new chairwoman
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CNBC International Midday Briefing: May 24, 2018 2 Hours Ago CNBC market reporters bring you the latest on the stock markets throughout the day as well as fast, accurate, and actionable business news.
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CNBC International Midday Briefing
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May 2 (Reuters) - MACOM Technology Solutions Holdings Inc :
* MACOM ANNOUNCES EXTENSION OF REVOLVING CREDIT FACILITY * MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS INC - AMENDMENT EXTENDED MATURITY OF $130.0 MILLION OF BORROWING AVAILABILITY UNDER FACILITY UNTIL NOVEMBER 2021
* MACOM TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS INC - REMAINING $30.0 MILLION OF BORROWING AVAILABILITY MATURING IN MAY 2019 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-Macom Announces Extension Of Revolving Credit Facility
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May 7 (Reuters) - SDX Energy Inc:
* A CONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS DISCOVERY HAS BEEN MADE AT ITS LMS-1 EXPLORATION WELL ON LALLA MIMOUNA PERMIT IN MOROCCO
* GROUP IS ON TRACK TO DOUBLE OVERALL PRODUCTION IN 2018 Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-Sdx Energy Says Conventional Natural Gas Discovery Made At Moroccan Well
|
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SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Imprisoned former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, along with the current leader of the Workers Party he founded, were hit on Monday with fresh corruption charges by federal prosecutors.
FILE PHOTO: Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva arrives at Federal Justice, with senator Gleisi Hoffmann (R) for a testimony in Curitiba, Brazil, May 10, 2017. EUTERS/Nacho Doce/File Photo Authorities allege that Lula, along with Senator Gleisi Hoffmann, who is leading the beleaguered Workers Party, were given access to a $40 million slush fund in 2010 funded by construction company Construtora Odebrecht [ODBES.UL], in exchange for government decisions that would benefit the company.
Lula’s lawyers and Odebrecht did not immediately respond to comment request. The Workers Party said in a statement that the accusations were unfounded. Also charged in the alleged scheme were Antonio Palocci, who served as Finance Minister under Lula and who last week signed a plea deal with prosecutors, along with Paulo Bernardo, who was Lula’s planning minister. Palocci has been in jail since 2016 and was found guilty in a different graft trial last year.
Slideshow (3 Images) Lula was jailed on April 7 and is serving a 12-year sentence for a bribery conviction. The former leader already faces another six separate trials on graft charges.
Hoffmann and Bernardo, her husband, are both also facing a separate trial in the sweeping Lava Jato corruption probe, an unprecedented push against corruption in Latin America’s biggest economy that has seen scores of powerful politicians and businessmen jailed for corruption.
Reporting by Ana Mano
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Brazil's Lula, Workers Party leader hit by new corruption charges
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May 7, 2018 / 6:31 PM / Updated 41 minutes ago Djokovic powers past Nishikori in Madrid opener Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
(Reuters) - Former world number one Novak Djokovic showed signs of a return to form with an impressive 7-5 6-4 victory over Japan’s Kei Nishikori in the opening round of the Madrid Open on Monday. Tennis - ATP 1000 - Madrid Open - Madrid, Spain - May 7, 2018 Serbia's Novak Djokovic in action during his first round match against Japan's Kei Nishikori REUTERS/Susana Vera
Following early exits in Barcelona, Monte Carlo, Miami and Indian Wells, the 30-year-old Djokovic struck his shots with precision and recorded 26 winners to improve his head-to-head advantage to 12-2 against world number 20 Nishikori.
Djokovic was broken to love at 2-2 but he recovered well by pouncing on his opponent’s second serve to clinch the opening set in just over an hour. Tennis - ATP 1000 - Madrid Open - Madrid, Spain - May 7, 2018 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his first round match against Japan's Kei Nishikori REUTERS/Susana Vera
The two-time winner in Madrid went on to claim a decisive break in the 10th game of the second set to wrap up the contest. Tennis - ATP 1000 - Madrid Open - Madrid, Spain - May 7, 2018 Serbia's Novak Djokovic celebrates winning his first round match against Japan's Kei Nishikori REUTERS/Susana Vera
It was Djokovic’s first victory over a top-20 opponent since the Serb overcame Gael Monfils at Eastbourne in June last year.
Earlier in the day, Canada’s Milos Raonic booked a second-round meeting with third seed Grigor Dimitrov, defeating Argentina’s Nicolas Kicker 6-3 6-2.
Raonic recorded 17 aces to knock out the Madrid debutant.
Frenchman Lucas Pouille, seeded 15th, crashed out of the tournament after a 6-2 6-3 defeat by compatriot Benoit Paire.
Paire claimed his first victory in four attempts against Pouille and will next face Canadian teenager Denis Shapovalov. Reporting by Hardik Vyas in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar
|
Tennis-Djokovic powers past Nishikori in Madrid opener
|
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Venezuela's election outcome was never in doubt: Analyst 13 Hours Ago Raul Gallegos of Control Risks says Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime would have "absolutely no shame in doing what's necessary" to prevail at the polls.
|
Venezuela's election outcome was never in doubt: Analyst
|
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9 Hours Ago | 02:54
Days after securing a stunning election victory, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad's government has delivered a potentially risky fiscal maneuver by replacing the goods and service tax (GST) with a sales and service duty.
The Ministry of Finance said this week that it will lower GST to zero percent from June 1 and reintroduce a sales tax to offset any shortfall in revenue . Rising oil prices — a positive for net energy exporters such as Malaysia — will also support revenues, officials stated.
But some analysts aren't convinced.
When combined with the return of cash handouts, fuel subsidies — promises made by the current administration — as well as the country's large levels of external debt and low reserves, the sales tax isn't too comforting, said Hamish Pepper, head of forex and emerging market macro strategy research for Asia at Barclays.
"We could be looking at a fiscal deficit for Malaysia next year as much as 4.3 percent of GDP," he warned, which would be a major spike from 2017's 3 percent figure. "Sit that in the context of government debt to GDP, which is above 50 percent," and the final picture is concerning, he continued.
The degree of fiscal deterioration post-election is the primary factor for foreign investment, Pepper stated. And while it's too early to draw any conclusions, "it's very much in the hands of the government to do the right thing for investors and ratings agencies," he added.
If GST was abolished "without adjusting measures," that would be a credit negative for the country, according to Moody's Investor Services. Nyshka Chandran Reporter, CNBC Asia-Pacific Playing
|
Malaysia elections 2018: GST decision raises concerns
|
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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian voters dealt a devastating blow that few had seen coming this week to Barisan Nasional (BN), the coalition that has ruled the Southeast Asian country since it won independence from Britain in 1957.
Malaysia's outgoing Prime Minister Najib Razak arrives for a news conference following the general election in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, May 10, 2018. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha The following is an explanation of how seasoned campaigner and long-time leader Mahathir Mohamad, 92, led an opposition alliance to victory over Prime Minister Najib Razak’s BN.
THE MAHATHIR FACTOR Mahathir’s decision to quit the United Malay National Organisation (UMNO), BN’s dominant partner and a defender of Muslim ethnic-Malays, meant that the opposition now had a strong leader who could appeal to the country’s majority.
Mahathir, who was prime minister from 1981 to 2003, enjoys a reputation as the father of Malaysia’s economic modernisation.
Najib’s campaign tried to paint Mahathir as a traitor to the Malay cause, but the nonagenarian’s charisma and engaging oratory drew crowds running to thousands at campaign stops ahead of the election.
Known for his ability to spot trends, Mahathir latched on to social media, broadening his appeal beyond the traditional campaign stump to Twitter and Facebook Live, where he drew tens and sometimes hundreds of thousands of viewers.
RULING COALITION’S WIPEOUT Najib’s coalition won just 79 of parliament’s 222 seats on May 9, a collapse from the 133 seats it won in the 2013 election, when BN lost the popular vote which was its worst-ever poll performance at the time.
Malaysia practices a first-past-the-post system, where the first party or coalition that secures a simple majority of 112 parliamentary seats gains the right to form the government.
Mahathir’s Pakatan Harapan, or Alliance of Hope, won 121 seats.
MALAY SWING A popular revolt among the ethnic-Malay majority, who account for over 60 percent of the population of about 32 million, was key to why Najib’s coalition lost. Analysts say BN was too complacent about the Malay support it always enjoyed.
The government had expected the Islamic party, PAS, to get hardly any parliament seats but still split the opposition vote in its favour. But, as it turned out, PAS won 18 seats, which meant it actually took Malay votes from Najib’s BN.
Tapping into growing anger over rising living costs and the introduction of a broad-based consumption tax, Mahathir drove a successful campaign that painted Najib as a corrupt leader who was using public funds to cover up his excesses.
Mahathir’s campaign strategy was particularly effective in poorer rural Malay heartlands, where rising costs hit hard.
CRUMBLED FORTS The southern state of Johor, a traditional UMNO stronghold and the party’s birthplace, crumbled under Mahathir’s challenge.
Najib’s coalition also suffered a severe setback in what he had called “fixed deposit” states of Sabah and Sarawak in east Malaysia, where rising living costs coupled with depressed wages cost him a significant share of their crucial 56 parliament seats.
In the 2013 election, BN won 47 of these two Borneo states’ seats but this week saw its tally tumble to 29.
CORRUPTION TAINT Najib was beset by a multi-billion-dollar scandal at state fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB). News broke in 2015 that about $700 million allegedly stolen from 1MDB had made its way into his personal bank accounts. He denied any wrongdoing and was cleared by the country’s attorney-general.
The scandal was the reason Mahathir turned on Najib, his former protege, and decided to lead a push to topple him.
On the campaign trail, Mahathir harped on the 1MDB scandal and a popular perception that Najib’s family led a lavish lifestyle. This perception was fuelled by U.S. Department of Justice filings in a civil lawsuit indicating that nearly $30 million of the money stolen was used to buy jewellery for his wife, including a rare 22-carat pink diamond set in a necklace.
Editing by John Chalmers and Raju Gopalakrishnan
|
Explainer: How Malaysia's once-powerful ruling party crashed
|
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MINNEAPOLIS, May 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GWG Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:GWGH), a financial services company committed to transforming the life insurance industry through innovative products and services, today announced its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
Highlights for the Quarter
Realized $15 million in face value of policy benefits from its portfolio of life insurance assets, the sixth consecutive quarter that benefits realized exceeded premiums paid on a trailing twelve month (TTM) basis. Reported a total portfolio of $1.76 billion in face value of policy benefits at quarter end. Announced the successful completion of our $150 million Series 2 Redeemable Preferred Stock Offering. Announced the launch of a new digital MGA insurtech initiative using M-Panel technology. Strategic investment in The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. expected to close in the second quarter.
“Thus far in 2018 we have continued to build and refine the key components that we believe are necessary to create value for all of our stakeholders,” said Jon Sabes, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “These include a growing balance sheet with sufficient liquidity to support our growth plans, a highly rated portfolio of life insurance policies which is nearing the milestone of one thousand insured lives, a pending transaction with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. that we believe will provide additional equity and a diversified earnings stream, and a leading position in applying advanced epigenetic technology to the global life insurance industry. While, in the short term, our insurtech initiatives may challenge our financial results, over the long term they should become a key element that, in conjunction with our other businesses, provide our company an optimal blend of high growth opportunity and earnings stability.”
1. Financial & Operating Highlights
($ Thousands except per share information) Q1 2018 Q1 2017 Revenue $ 14,542 $ 20,088 Expenses 23,720 20,134 Per Share Data 1 : Net Income (Loss) 2 (2.22 ) (0.32 ) Adjusted Non-GAAP Net Income 3,4 0.46 1.33 Capital Raised 78,526 52,048 Liquidity 5 170,068 107,000 Life Insurance Portfolio 6 1,758,066 1,447,558 Life Insurance Acquired 6 94,353 104,755 Life Insurance Realized 6 14,504 18,975 TTM Benefits / Premiums 7 113.3 % 112.7 % Attributable to common shareholders Per basic and fully diluted share outstanding Per fully diluted share outstanding See Non-GAAP Financial Measures below Includes cash, restricted cash and policy benefits receivable as of March 31, 2018 and 2017 Face amount of policy benefits The ratio of policy benefits realized to premiums paid on a trailing twelve month (TTM) basis
Total revenue for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018 was $14.5 million, compared to $20.1 million in the first quarter of 2017 due to the following factors: Lower net gain realized on life insurance policy benefits of $5.0 million (on maturities of $14.5 million) in the first quarter of 2018 as compared to net gain realized of $7.8 million (on maturities of $19.0) in the first quarter of 2017. Lower unrealized gain from policy acquisitions of $7.0 million for the quarter versus $10.6 million in the first quarter of 2017 reflecting lower policy acquisition volume due to continued price competition in the broker market. A charge of $4.9 million related to the fair value impact of updating life expectancy estimates on certain policies in our portfolio versus a charge of $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2017.
Total expenses for the first quarter of 2018 were $23.7 million, compared to $20.1 million in the first quarter of 2017. The increase was due to the following factors: Increased interest expense of $2.8 million due to increase in average debt outstanding and interest rates on our senior credit facility. Increased compensation expense of $0.4 million. Total expenses excluding interest and fees were higher by $0.8 million versus the first quarter of 2017.
2. Life Insurance Portfolio Statistics
Portfolio Summary:
Total portfolio face value of policy benefits $ 1,758,066,000 Average face value per policy $ 1,866,000 Average face value per insured life $ 2,088,000 Average age of insured (yrs.)* 81.9 Average life expectancy estimate (yrs.)* 6.9 Total number of policies 942 Number of unique lives 842 Demographics 75% Males; 25% Females Number of smokers 37 Largest policy as % of total portfolio 0.75 % Average policy as % of total portfolio 0.11 % Average annual premium as % of face value 2.88 %
Distribution of Policies and Benefits by Current Age of Insured:
Percentage of Total Min Age Max Age Policies Policy Benefits Wtd. Avg.
Life
Expectancy
(yrs.)* Number of
Policies Policy
Benefits 95 100 11 16,154,000 1.3 1.2 % 0.9 % 90 94 102 194,996,000 2.8 10.8 % 11.1 % 85 89 203 440,490,000 4.9 21.6 % 25.1 % 80 84 206 447,747,000 6.6 21.9 % 25.5 % 75 79 181 320,696,000 8.9 19.2 % 18.2 % 70 74 167 258,110,000 10.7 17.7 % 14.7 % 60 69 72 79,873,000 9.6 7.6 % 4.5 % Total 942 1,758,066,000 6.9 100.0 % 100.0 % * Averages presented in the tables above are weighted averages by face amount of policy benefit
3. Life Insurance Policy Origination
Life Insurance Portfolio Activity:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Total policy benefits purchased $ 94,353,000 $ 104,755,000 Total life insurance policies purchased 59 73 Average policy benefit purchased $ 1,599,000 $ 1,435,000 Direct policy benefits purchased $ 5,000,000 $ 23,505,000 Direct insurance policies purchased 11 20
The Company continued the restructuring of its business development and sales teams to effectuate the D100 strategy to originate or purchase 100 percent of its life insurance policies directly from consumers by working with life insurance professionals. Life insurance policy purchases rebounded somewhat in the first quarter of 2018 but were still lower versus the first quarter of 2017 reflecting continued high levels of price competitiveness in the broker market. The Company expects this to continue throughout 2018 and until we find success with our D100 strategy. The Company continues to see strong interest in its value proposition from major participants in the independent life insurance distribution hierarchy, and recently increased policy submissions from these direct channels. “We are encouraged by an increasing direct origination pipeline and plan to increase the sales rollout to this distribution hierarchy in 2018, but recognize that pull-through to scaled policy purchases will take additional time,” Sabes said.
4. Strategic Investment in The Beneficient Company Group, L.P.
On January 18, 2018, the Company entered into a Master Exchange Agreement to govern a strategic relationship with The Beneficient Company Group, L.P. (BEN), among others, that we expect will provide us with a significant increase in our assets, common shareholder equity and earnings.
The material terms and conditions of the Master Exchange Agreement were described in GWG Holdings’ Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 18, 2018. Under the Master Exchange Agreement, we, on the one hand, and BEN, among others, on the other hand, could terminate the Master Exchange Agreement prior to the closing under certain circumstances, including if the conditions to closing of the transaction had not been fulfilled by April 30, 2018 (the “Closing Conditions Date”).
On April 30, 2018, the Company entered into a First Amendment to amend the Master Exchange Agreement to extend the Closing Conditions Date until June 30, 2018. The parties continue to work together to complete the remaining closing conditions and anticipate closing in the second quarter of 2018.
5. Insurtech Initiative
The Company’s insurtech subsidiary, Life Epigenetics Inc., continues to position itself as a leader in the research, testing and application of epigenetics to human mortality prediction and life insurance underwriting. “We have taken several important steps in readying for market critical elements of our mortality-predicting M-Panel technology,” Sabes said. “In addition, we have developed the ability to identify tobacco and alcohol use through epigenetic analysis and are taking steps to create a digital MGA that will allow consumers to avail themselves of the benefits of M-Panel technology when purchasing life insurance. Passing these milestones and initiating additional business models around M-Panel technology will move us rapidly towards bringing life insurance underwriting into the modern era and transforming the global life insurance value chain.”
First Quarter 2018 Insurtech Highlights:
CEO Jon Sabes has written a chapter in “The Insurtech Book” to be published May 14 by international publisher John Wiley and Sons about his experience licensing the lifespan prediction technology from UCLA and its potential to change the life insurance and financial service industries. Life Epigenetics has developed breakthroughs in identifying tobacco and alcohol use through the analysis of epigenetic material. This capability represents a major change in how life insurance will be underwritten and sold. The Company announced the formation of a digital MGA initiative that will put the Company at the forefront of using advanced technology for life insurance underwriting.
6. Additional Information
A) Gain on Life Insurance Policies:
Three Months Ended March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 Change in estimated probabilistic cash flows $ 19,005,000 $ 14,034,000 Unrealized gain on acquisitions 6,974,000 10,602,000 Premiums and other fees paid (12,197,000 ) (11,090,000 ) Change in discount rates - - Change in life expectancy evaluation (4,868,000 ) (1,942,000 ) Face value of matured policies 14,504,000 18,975,000 Fair value of matured policies (9,549,000 ) (11,179,000 ) Gain on life insurance policies $ 13,869,000 $ 19,400,000
B) Policy Benefits Realized and Premiums Paid (TTM):
Quarter End Date Portfolio
Face Amount ($) 12-Month
Trailing
Benefits Realized 12-Month
Trailing Premiums Paid 12-Month
Trailing
Benefits/Premium
Coverage
Ratio March 31, 2015 754,942,000 46,675,000 23,786,000 196.2 % June 30, 2015 806,274,000 47,125,000 24,348,000 193.5 % September 30, 2015 878,882,000 44,482,000 25,313,000 175.7 % December 31, 2015 944,844,000 31,232,000 26,650,000 117.2 % March 31, 2016 1,027,821,000 21,845,000 28,771,000 75.9 % June 30, 2016 1,154,798,000 30,924,000 31,891,000 97.0 % September 30, 2016 1,272,078,000 35,867,000 37,055,000 96.8 % December 31, 2016 1,361,675,000 48,452,000 40,239,000 120.4 % March 31, 2017 1,447,558,000 48,189,000 42,753,000 112.7 % June 30, 2017 1,525,363,000 49,295,000 45,414,000 108.5 % September 30, 2017 1,622,627,000 53,742,000 46,559,000 115.4 % December 31, 2017 1,676,148,000 64,719,000 52,263,000 123.8 % March 31, 2018 1,758,066,000 60,248,000 53,169,000 113.3 %
Webcast Details
Management will host a webcast on Monday, May 14 at 4:30 pm Eastern Time to discuss the Company's financial and operating results. The webcast will be on a listen-only mode that will give viewers access to PowerPoint slides that illustrate points made during the webcast. Questions can be asked of the Company’s presenters via the webcast control panel and will be answered at the end of the presentation. The webcast can be accessed at http://get.gwgh.com/earningswebcast .
A replay of the webcast will be available at http://get.gwgh.com/earningscall-5-14-2018 .
About GWG Holdings, Inc.
GWG Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq:GWGH) is a financial services company committed to transforming the life insurance industry through innovative products and services. The Company was founded to earn non-correlated returns from life insurance assets and create opportunities for consumers to obtain significantly more value for their life insurance policies from the secondary market compared to the traditional options offered by the insurance industry. The Company is extending its business in the life insurance industry through the application of advanced epigenetic technology. Since 2006, the Company has provided seniors over $498 million in value for their life insurance and owns a portfolio of $1.76 billion in face value of policy benefits as of March 31, 2018.
For more information about GWG Holdings, email [email protected] or visit www.gwgh.com .
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release regarding our strategy, future operations, future financial position, future revenue, projected costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management are forward-looking statements. The words "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan," "would," "target" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about our estimates regarding future revenue and financial performance. The Company may not actually achieve the expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements the Company makes. More information about potential factors that could affect our business and financial results is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information will also be set forth in our future quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and other filings that the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not intend, and undertakes no duty, to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein.
Media Contacts:
Dan Callahan
Director of Communication
GWG Holdings, Inc.
(612) 746-1935
[email protected]
GWG HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
March 31,
2018 December 31,
2017 (unaudited) A S S E T S Cash and cash equivalents $ 141,212,907 $ 114,421,491 Restricted cash 16,552,256 28,349,685 Investment in life insurance policies, at fair value 687,389,479 650,527,353 Secured MCA advances 1,639,818 1,661,774 Life insurance policy benefits receivable 12,302,730 16,658,761 Other assets 7,402,317 7,237,110 TOTAL ASSETS $ 866,499,507 $ 818,856,174 L I A B I L I T I E S & S T O C K H O L D E R S’ E Q U I T Y LIABILITIES Senior credit facility with LNV Corporation $ 209,447,613 $ 212,238,192 L Bonds 469,729,977 447,393,568 Accounts payable 3,611,900 6,394,439 Interest and dividends payable 15,896,267 15,427,509 Other accrued expenses 4,066,763 3,730,723 TOTAL LIABILITIES $ 702,752,520 $ 685,184,431 STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK (par value $0.001; shares authorized 100,000; shares outstanding 98,358 and
98,611; liquidation preference of $98,932,000 and $99,186,000 as of March 31,
2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 90,915,026 92,840,243 SERIES 2 REDEEMABLE PREFERRED STOCK (par value $0.001; shares authorized 150,000; shares outstanding 134,951 and
88,709; liquidation preference of $135,712,000 and $89,208,000 as of March
31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively) 121,454,205 80,275,204 COMMON STOCK (par value $0.001: shares authorized 210,000,000; shares issued and outstanding
5,813,555 as of both March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017) 5,813 5,813 Additional paid-in capital - - Accumulated deficit (48,628,057 ) (39,449,517 ) TOTAL STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY 163,746,987 133,671,743 TOTAL LIABILITIES & STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY $ 866,499,507 $ 818,856,174
GWG HOLDINGS, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 March 31, 2017 REVENUE Gain on life insurance policies, net $ 13,868,745 $ 19,399,819 MCA income 66,810 246,577 Interest and other income 606,117 441,949 TOTAL REVENUE 14,541,672 20,088,345 EXPENSES Interest expense 16,063,337 13,244,215 Employee compensation and benefits 3,742,669 3,163,062 Legal and professional fees 1,173,629 946,348 Other expenses 2,740,577 2,780,322 TOTAL EXPENSES 23,720,212 20,133,947 INCOME (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAXES (9,178,540 ) (45,602 ) INCOME TAX EXPENSE (BENEFIT) - (500 ) NET INCOME (LOSS) (9,178,540 ) (45,102 ) Preferred stock dividends 3,704,484 1,867,760 NET INCOME (LOSS) ATTRIBUTABLE TO COMMON SHAREHOLDERS $ (12,883,024 ) $ (1,912,862 ) NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE Basic $ (2.22 ) $ (0.32 ) Diluted $ (2.22 ) $ (0.32 ) WEIGHTED AVERAGE SHARES OUTSTANDING Basic 5,813,555 5,912,946 Diluted 5,813,555 5,912,946 Non-GAAP Financial Measures
The Company uses non-GAAP financial measures for evaluating financial results, planning and forecasting, and maintaining compliance with covenants contained in borrowing agreements. The application of current GAAP (generally accepted account principals) standards during a period of significant growth in the Company’s business, in which period the Company is building a large and actuarially diverse portfolio of life insurance, results in current period operating performance that may not be reflective of the Company’s long-term earnings potential. Management believes that the Company’s non-GAAP financial measures permit investors to better focus on this long-term earnings performance without regard to the volatility in GAAP financial results that can occur during this phase of growth.
Non-GAAP financial measures disclosed by the Company are provided as additional information to investors in order to provide an alternative method for assessing our financial condition and operating results. These non-GAAP financial measures are not in accordance with GAAP and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies, including other companies within our industry. The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable amounts prepared in accordance with GAAP. A reconciliation of GAAP to the non-GAAP financial measures described above can be found below.
Adjusted Non-GAAP Net Income . The Company calculates adjusted non-GAAP net income by recognizing the actuarial gain accruing within our life insurance policies at the expected internal rate of return of the policies it owns without regard to fair value. The Company nets this actuarial gain against our adjusted costs during the same period to calculate our net income on an adjusted non-GAAP basis.
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 GAAP net loss attributable to common shareholders $ (12,883,000 ) $ (1,913,000 ) Unrealized fair value gain (1) (16,645,000 ) (13,884,000 ) Adjusted cost basis increase (2) 25,997,000 21,722,000 Accrual of unrealized actuarial gain (3) 6,601,000 4,910,000 Total adjusted Non-GAAP net income attributable to common shareholders $ 3,070,000 $ 10,835,000 Non-GAAP net income per share: Basic 0.53 1.83 Diluted 0.46 1.33 Average shares outstanding: Basic 5,813,555 5,912,946 Diluted 7,699,287 8,689,649 Reversal of unrealized GAAP fair value gain on life insurance policies for current period. Adjusted cost basis is increased to include interest, premiums and servicing fees that are expensed under GAAP (non-GAAP Investment Cost Basis). Accrual of actuarial gain at the expected internal rate of return based on the non-GAAP Investment Cost Basis for the applicable period.
Source:GWG Holdings, Inc.
|
GWG Holdings Reports Results For First Quarter Ended March 31, 2018
|
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May 1, 2018 / 3:22 PM / Updated 9 minutes ago BRIEF-Exelon Sets Regular Quarterly Dividend Of $0.345Per Share Reuters Staff
May 1 (Reuters) - Exelon Corp:
* SETS REGULAR QUARTERLY DIVIDEND OF $0.345PER SHARE Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
|
BRIEF-Exelon Sets Regular Quarterly Dividend Of $0.345Per Share
|
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May 31, 2018 / 4:40 AM / Updated 6 hours ago Rugby - Jones keen to improve England's attacking flair Reuters Staff 3 Min Read
(Reuters) - England will change their gameplan and put more emphasis on attacking play against South Africa, coach Eddie Jones said ahead of next month’s three-test tour. Rugby Union - England Training - Brighton College, Brighton, Britain - May 15, 2018 England head coach Eddie Jones during training Action Images via Reuters/Andrew Couldridge
England head into the series on the back of a poor Six Nations campaign during which they lost their last three matches to finish fifth. They were also beaten 63-45 by the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday.
“We are investing more time into attack now, which we always were going to do, which was part of the plan,” Jones told British media.
“We’ve got a reasonable base in defence and set-piece... now it’s time to put more effort into attack... that’ll manifest itself into possibly more tries. We are looking to play the game slightly differently, which we saw parts of on Sunday.”
Jones said his focus was also on next year’s World Cup in Japan.
“We want to win in South Africa but we want to win the World Cup and the big thing is that you keep on changing, that you understand what you are good at but you keep on adapting.”
Jones responded to Bath owner Bruce Craig’s criticism of his training methods by saying that a high-intensity regime is required to prepare players for international matches.
Bath prop Beno Obano suffered ligament and hamstring tendon damage in England’s training camp at Brighton this month, taking the number of players from the Premiership club injured during Jones’s tenure to five.
British media quoted Craig quoted as describing the situation as “totally unacceptable”.
“I haven’t seen any figures to suggest they are,” Jones added. “No one in our staff has suggested they are but Bruce is obviously an expert on training-ground injuries, so I’ll have to be subservient to his greater knowledge.”
Centre Ben Te’o was also ruled out of the South Africa tour after sustaining a thigh muscle injury this week.
Jones said there were still concerns over Billy Vunipola’s fitness despite the number eight playing in Saracens’ Premiership final win over Exeter last weekend.
England face South Africa in Johannesburg (June 9), Bloemfontein (June 16) and Cape Town (June 23). Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by John O'Brien and Ed Osmond
|
Rugby-Jones defends England training style as injuries mount
|
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LONDON (Reuters Breakingviews) - Europe’s mammoth new data-protection law tilts the playing field away from big technology groups and towards consumers. In the short term, giants like Facebook and Google may find it easier than smaller companies to get users’ consent to make money from personal information. But over time, they’ll face a hostile European Union whose regulators are equipped with powerful new weapons. Breakingviews explains what’s at stake.
Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018 MY INBOX IS FULL OF EMAILS ASKING ME TO “STAY IN TOUCH”. WHO SHOULD I BLAME?
Brussels, mostly. EU lawmakers spent four years cooking up the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which comes into force on Friday. The 56,000-word law - about the length of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Othello combined - forces organisations to get explicit consent before processing European citizens’ personal data. That includes email addresses on a marketing database.
The law states that users should also be able to access, erase and move their information to another service. And companies must keep a record of data processing so that regulators can judge whether they’re GDPR-compliant.
Many of the provisions were already part of EU or national law. But the GDPR’s hefty new sanctions have spooked companies into redoubling their data-protection efforts. If a national regulator identifies a breach of the GDPR, the business could be fined the higher of 20 million euros or 4 percent of its annual global turnover - and even be banned from processing data.
WAIT, WHAT DOES EUROPE MEAN BY “DATA”? The legal definition is “any information that relates to an identified or identifiable living individual”. In practice, that means names, home and email addresses, location data from smartphones and other devices, medical records, internet protocol (IP) addresses and so-called cookie identifiers used to target advertising on web browsers.
Generic email addresses don’t count. Nor does anonymised or encrypted data, unless the information could be used to identify an individual.
SO, WHAT WILL COMPANIES DO DIFFERENTLY? It depends on the sector, but any business whose core activities involve handling personal information must appoint a data protection officer. All organisations must also report any data-security breaches to their national regulator within 72 hours.
A key part of the GDPR is that it sets a high bar for what counts as user consent. Publishers and social media companies like Facebook or Twitter could previously rely on implicit consent, or jargon-heavy terms and conditions, to gain access to users’ information.
From Friday, that won’t cut it. Companies which process or control personal data must get “affirmative … freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous” permission. That shifts the burden from consumers - who previously had to opt out of any data gathering they disagreed with - to the company, which must now obtain a clear opt-in.
Facebook, for example, last month asked its users to opt into facial recognition in photos and the use of data gathered on third-party sites. Similarly, companies using email marketing databases must show that all the names on the list actively consented to having their details stored. Hence the flood of emails.
WILL EUROPEANS GIVE CONSENT? Surveys suggest not. Of more than 3,000 people polled by HubSpot Research, about 60 percent said they would choose not to receive phone calls or emails from companies. The same proportion would demand that businesses delete all their records, using their GDPR-enforced “right to be forgotten”. Around half, meanwhile, would opt out of targeted advertising or receiving tracking cookies on their browser.
Yet there’s a difference between intention and action. Take the widespread campaign to #DeleteFacebook after the social media giant admitted in March that Cambridge Analytica had harvested millions of its users’ profiles. Facebook’s results for the first three months of the year showed daily active users were up 2 percent in Europe and 1 percent in the United States and Canada.
The implication is that behemoths like Facebook, Google and Amazon are so entrenched that the cost to users of opting out - or switching to another provider - outweighs unease about data-harvesting. Wells Fargo analysts reckon the hit to revenue at Facebook and Google this year will be a low single-digit percentage of revenue.
Smaller and medium-sized businesses with less essential services, on the other hand, could struggle. They may also find that the burden of compliance pushes up costs, arguably pushing up economies of scale in sectors that rely heavily on data.
SO, REGULATION IS GOOD NEWS FOR BIG TECH? Not necessarily. A key aim of the GDPR is to give consumers more power over technology companies, especially large ones. This gives European regulators a powerful new set of weapons for their ongoing battle against the perceived dominance of these companies.
Take Germany. The country’s competition regulator in December explicitly linked the principles of the GDPR to its preliminary finding that Facebook’s use of third-party data constituted an abuse of the U.S. group’s dominant market power. The company has since changed its terms so that users must opt in.
The regulators’ general concern, however, was that some web services are so dominant that they can effectively dictate terms of use to consumers. If not opting in means being cut off from a ubiquitous product like Google Maps or WhatsApp, is consent “freely given”?
In a worst-case scenario, regulators could use their new GDPR powers to prosecute an antitrust fight. That ought to make Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his fellow tech CEOs sit up and take notice.
Breakingviews Reuters Breakingviews is the world's leading source of agenda-setting financial insight. As the Reuters brand for financial commentary, we dissect the big business and economic stories as they break around the world every day. A global team of about 30 correspondents in New York, London, Hong Kong and other major cities provides expert analysis in real time.
Sign up for a free trial of our full service at https://www.breakingviews.com/trial and follow us on Twitter @Breakingviews and at www.breakingviews.com . All opinions expressed are those of the authors.
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Breakingviews - Breakdown: EU gains new powers for Big Tech fight
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BRUSSELS, May 17 (Reuters) - New large trucks in the European Union will have to emit at least 30 percent less CO2 by 2030 than in 2019 under the bloc’s first ever CO2 standards for trucks proposed on Thursday.
The proposal will need to be approved by EU governments and the European Parliament before becoming law.
The EU currently has no limits on the CO2 emitted from trucks, which account for a quarter of all road transport emissions.
Countries such as the United States, China, Japan and Canada have already set targets to reduce CO2 emissions from trucks.
The European Commission proposed an interim CO2 reduction target of 15 percent by 2025 for all large trucks compared to 2019 levels. By 2030 trucks will have to emit at least 30 percent less CO2 than in 2019.
The EU by 2030 wants to cut overall emissions by at least 40 percent versus 1990 levels. Thursday’s proposal follows new draft rules on CO2 standards for cars.
“All sectors must contribute to meet our climate commitments under the Paris Agreement,” said Miguel Arias Canete, EU Commissioner for climate action and energy. “That’s why, for the first time ever, we are proposing EU standards to increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions from new heavy-duty vehicles.”
The proposed targets are likely to disappoint environmental campaigners and some EU countries who had called for a 2025 target of at least 24 percent and a 2030 target of 34-45 percent.
The Commission expects its targets to save around 54 million tonnes of CO2 from 2020 to 2030, equivalent to the total annual emissions of Sweden.
Europe’s car industry lobbied this month for a 16 percent tail-pipe CO2 reduction between 2019 and 2030, with an intermediate target of 7 percent in 2025, the ACEA industry group said in a statement.
$1 = 0.8462 euros Reporting by Julia Fioretti; editing by Jason Neely
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EU sets 30 percent CO2 reduction target for trucks by 2030
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May 25, 2018 / 5:09 PM / Updated 3 minutes ago U.S. reached deal to keep Chinese telecom ZTE in business - Congressional aide David Shepardson 2 Min Read
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration told lawmakers that the U.S. government has reached a deal to put Chinese telecommunications company ZTE Corp back in business, a senior Congressional aide said on Friday. FILE PHOTO: The logo of ZTE Corp is seen on its building in Beijing, China April 19, 2018. REUTERS/Stringer
The deal, communicated to officials on Capitol Hill by the Commerce Department, requires ZTE to pay a substantial fine, place American compliance officers at the company and change its management team, the aide said. The Commerce Department would then lift an order preventing ZTE from buying U.S. products.
The White House did not immediately confirm the deal.
“We’ll let you know when we have an announcement on that front,” spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.
ZTE was banned from buying American technology components for seven years for violations of sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The Commerce Department decision would allow it to resume business with U.S. companies, including Qualcomm Inc, the chipmaker that is a key ZTE supplier.
News of the deal comes a week before U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is scheduled to visit China for another round of talks amid ongoing trade frictions between the world’s two largest economies. Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Doina Chiacu; editing by Jonathan Oatis
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U.S. reached deal to keep Chinese telecom ZTE in business - New York Times
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DUBAI—The direct military conflict between Israel and Iran has already begun, with a series of increasingly bold (and usually unacknowledged) Israeli strikes on Iranian bases in Syria in recent weeks.
The question now is whether this clash could be contained within Syria—or whether violence could spread to Israeli, Iranian and maybe Lebanese territory, unleashing a regional war.
So... RELATED VIDEO Syria's Chemical Weapons and the West: From Diplomacy to Military Action The recent airstrikes against the Syrian regime, in response to a suspected poison gas attack, underscore the West's shift from pursuing a diplomatic solution to a militaristic one. Will this approach work? WSJ's Niki Blasina explains the complicated history of chemical-weapons use in Syria and the international community's response. Photo: AFP.
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Can Israel’s Clash With Iran Be Contained in Syria?
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RIO DE JANEIRO, May 28 (Reuters) - Brazil should privatize everything from lender Banco do Brasil to oil company Petróleo Brasileiro SA, the main economic adviser to leading presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro told Reuters, underscoring the far-right congressman’s overtures to the business community.
Investment banker Paulo Guedes, currently a partner at investment firm Bozano Investimentos Ltda, said asset sales could help the federal administration cut debt and fund cash-hungry local governments.
“Sell it all,” he said in a late Friday interview at his office in Rio de Janeiro. “Privatizing cautiously, bashfully, just won’t do.”
His remarks contrast with previous statements by Bolsonaro, a former army captain who has led early presidential polls excluding jailed former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro himself has praised the nationalist, state-driven economic policies of Brazil’s military government in the 1970s.
Guedes shrugged off Bolsonaro’s contradictory remarks on economic policy, saying other politicians did not get the same scrutiny for changing their minds.
“If he came looking for me, he does not defend that anymore. I am where I’ve always been, my ideas have been the same for 30 years,” said Guedes, who holds a PhD from the University of Chicago.
Privatizing all state firms would raise around 800 billion reais ($215 billion), he said — enough to reduce federal debt by a fifth.
That agenda would make Bolsonaro the most prominent of a group of candidates marrying conservative social positions to supply-side economics as Brazil heads to its most hard-to-predict presidential election in decades.
Bolsonaro has often been a focus of controversy due to aggressive comments about women, homosexuals and racial minorities, while defending Brazil’s military government. Yet his law-and-order rhetoric and plans to ease gun controls have resonated with many voters, especially in Brazil’s booming farm country.
The unpopular President Michel Temer, who pursued privatizations but struggled to close a gaping budget deficit as corruption charges weakened his hand in Congress, has scrapped plans to run for re-election.
The field is now split among a wide range of candidates looking to fill the void left by the bribery conviction against leftist leader Lula, who had been consistently leading ballots.
Guedes said he supported some of the reforms implemented by Temer, such as a constitutional amendment limiting growth of public spending and a higher interest rate for subsidized loans from state development bank BNDES.
He also defended a far more ambitious tax reform than Temer had put forward, proposing a single, value-added federal tax to replace Brazil’s notoriously complicated tax system.
$1 = 3.71 reais Reporting by Marcela Ayres; Writing by Bruno Federowski in Brasília Editing by Nick Zieminski
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Advisor to right-wing Brazil candidate says privatize it all
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May 30, 2018 / 5:24 PM / Updated 35 minutes ago Tennis-Papa Djokovic hails super-mom Serena Pritha Sarkar 3 Min Read
PARIS, May 30 (Reuters) - With his daughter Tara born a day after Serena Williams gave birth to her first child Alexis Olympia last September, Novak Djokovic has been trading parenting tips with the American.
However, when he was asked if it’s easier to be a tennis-playing father than a continent-hopping mother on the professional tour, the Serb’s jaw appeared to hit the floor.
With an incredulous look that seemed to suggest “you cannot be serious!”, Djokovic remained mum for several seconds.
But with an expectant audience still waiting for an answer, father-of-two Djokovic finally broke the pregnant pause.
“Well, I think it’s obvious. I mean, what a woman has to go through, with the pregnancy and birth and then everything after that? I’m sorry to all the guys, but it’s much more difficult for a woman,” Djokovic told reporters at the French Open on Wednesday.
“So that’s why it makes it even more impressive when they make a comeback, and especially Serena after all she has done,” added the Serb, one of a dozen fathers to have claimed Grand Slam titles since 1980.
Over the same period of time, only Kim Clijsters has managed to win majors after returning from a maternity break.
But while Clijsters had won only one of her four majors before giving birth to daughter Jada in 2008, Williams had claimed 23 Grand Slam titles.
Many believe she could have easily called it quits after becoming a mother as she has already cemented her place among the all-time sporting greats.
But rather than walking away from tennis, Williams, who won the 2017 Australian Open while pregnant, is making her Grand Slam comeback at Roland Garros this week.
“It’s not like she never won a slam and then now she wants to come back because she has something to achieve from that perspective,” added the 31-year-old Djokovic, who was photographed cradling a beaming Alexis Olympia on the eight-month-old’s Twitter feed.
“After all she has achieved in sport to see her back and putting hours on the court and work and again and again, it’s impressive. It’s inspiring. It really is.
“She’s the greatest female athlete of all time, probably, and she keeps on coming back and inspiring everyone. She uses tennis as a platform to do good things and that’s why she’s back. You can see how much she loves it.
“I love Serena. All the superlatives and beautiful words that you can think of she deserves it.” (Reporting by Pritha Sarkar, editing by Ed Osmond)
|
Tennis-Papa Djokovic hails super-mom Serena
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House senior adviser Jared Kushner will say on Monday at the opening ceremony for the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem that it is possible for both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to gain more than they give in any peace deal.
Senior White House Advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump attend a reception held at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem ahead of the moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Kushner, the U.S. envoy to the Middle East and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, was to speak amid tensions over Trump’s decision to move the embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.
The Trump administration has nearly completed a long-awaited Israeli-Palestinian peace plan but is still undecided on how and when to roll it out, given Palestinian anger at Trump’s embassy move.
“We believe, it is possible for both sides to gain more than they give – so that all people can live in peace – safe from danger, free from fear, and able to pursue their dreams,” Kushner will say, according to speech excerpts seen by Reuters.
“Jerusalem must remain a city that brings people of all faiths together,” he will say.
The Palestinians, who want their own future state with its capital in east Jerusalem, have been outraged by Trump’s shift from previous administrations’ preference for keeping the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv pending progress in peace efforts.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senior White House Advisers Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump clap their hands during a reception held at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Jerusalem ahead of the moving of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, May 13, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen Most countries say Jerusalem’s status should be determined in a final peace settlement, and say moving their embassies now would prejudge any such deal.
Kushner will defend the embassy move.
“While presidents before him have backed down from their pledge to move the American Embassy once they were in office, this president delivered. Because when President Trump makes a promise, he keeps it,” Kushner will say.
He will also address the challenge from Iran a week after Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal despite pressure from European allies to stick with the agreement.
“Iran’s aggression threatens the many peace-loving citizens throughout the region and the world. From Israel to Jordan to Egypt to Saudi Arabia and beyond, many leaders are fighting to modernize their countries and create better lives for their people,” Kushner will say.
“In confronting common threats, and in pursuit of common interests, previously unimaginable opportunities and alliances are starting to emerge,” he will say.
Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Peter Cooney
|
White House's Kushner says both sides in Mideast conflict can gain from peace deal
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Facebook comes under fire at Code conference 2 Hours Ago CNBC's Julia Boorstin discusses criticism by Snap CEO and Founder Evan Speigel and 21st Century Fox CEO James Murdoch toward Facebook about their data and advertising practices.
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Facebook comes under fire at Code conference
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SoftBank Group said on Wednesday it is selling its roughly 20 percent stake in Indian e-commerce firm Flipkart to Walmart .
Walmart said earlier this month it will pay $16 billion for a roughly 77 percent stake in Flipkart, the U.S . retailer's largest-ever deal.
SoftBank did not disclose terms of the sale but this month CEO Masayoshi Son said its investment in the Indian firm was worth around $4 billion. The Vision Fund invested 2.5
billion in Flipkart in August last year.
It also did not comment on its reasons for cashing out. The Flipkart exit comes far more quickly than SoftBank's average investment duration of 13.5 years.
The Vision Fund has invested $30 billion in startups in the last year. Son, who, as of last May, has attracted $93 billion to his technology investment vehicle, said last week he is looking to start a new fund — potentially further upending the world of dealmaking.
Major investments by the fund include ride-hailing firm Uber Technologies, co-working space provider WeWork Cos and chip designer Arm Holdings.
|
SoftBank is selling its entire Flipkart stake to Walmart
|
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May 2 (Reuters) - SJM Holdings Ltd:
* Q1 PROFIT ATTRIBUTABLE HK$730 MILLION VERSUS HK$580 MILLION
* Q1 NET GAMING REVENUE UP BY 6.7% TO HK$8,410 MILLION * Q1 TOTAL NET REVENUE HK$ 8.60 BILLION, UP 7.1 PERCENT Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
|
BRIEF-SJM Holdings Posts Q1 Profit Attributable Of HK$730 Mln
|
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BELGRADE (Reuters) - Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic has formally taken over the post of finance minister until a new one is named in succession to Dusan Vujovic, who quit this month, the government said late on Wednesday.
FILE PHOTO: Serbia's Prime Minister Ana Brnabic poses for a portrait after an interview at Serbia's Embassy in London, Britain, February 25, 2018. REUTERS/Will Russell A former World Bank economist, Vujovic quit on May 7, citing personal reasons. He had served in two governments since 2014 and negotiated a 1.2 billion euro ($1.4 billion) three-year loan deal with the IMF that Serbia successfully completed in February without drawing on funds.
In a short statement, the government said Brnabic would serve as acting finance minister “until the new one is appointed”.
The statement did not specify who would replace Vujovic’s replacement or when they might take over.
Serbia’s economy expanded 2 percent in 2017 and is expected to grow 3.5 percent this year. It grew 4.5 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to a flash estimate.
The Balkan country hopes to make a new non-financial deal with the IMF that would be supported by a Policy Coordination Instrument (PCI), a non-financing arrangement to provide policy advice and monitoring.
The Serbian dinar traded at 118.19 to the euro on Thursday, 0.16 percent weaker than the day before, when the central bank purchased 60 million euros to stem dinar gains.
Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Kevin Liffey
|
Serbia's PM to act as finance minister until new one is appointed
|
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William McGurn presents a great overview of the argument for why “The Population Bomb Was a Dud” (Main Street, May 1). However, there is a reason people should not pick up a dud bomb—some blow up unexpectedly. Paul Ehrlich’s “The Population Bomb” was that kind of dud; its problem was one of timing. As someone who studies natural resources, I’ve never had a problem seeing the population problem described in that book. The original title was “Population, Resources, and the Environment,” and that’s the way it needs to be read. The publisher insisted on the catchier title. Casually keeping up with the news last week, I noted...
|
That Population Bomb Dud Is Still a Danger
|
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Bitcoin Creating your own cryptocurrency? Here's what you need to know Hundreds of new cryptocoins are trying to or planning to raise money using a new method called an initial coin offering. Upcoming coins need to clearly communicate their intended purpose to potential investors as well as the SEC, which is becoming more involved in ICOs. As the cryptocurrency industry matures, regulators are slowly stepping in with the intent of protecting potential investors from fraud. 3 Hours Ago | 03:13
Bitcoin may have plunged from its eye-popping price, but demand is high for cryptocurrencies.
A quick search on TokenList shows hundreds of new coins are trying to or planning to raise money using a new method called an initial coin offering.
Just how hard is it to create your own cryptocurrency?
Turns out the process can be a complicated, time-consuming legal juggernaut with a high rate of failure for investors and creators.
A recent report found nearly half of last year's ICOs failed to raise enough funding or went out of business after their launch.
We decided to take the process for a little test run to how it all works by creating a hypothetical token called DIY Coin. What's in a coin?
Most new cryptocurrencies are utility-based coins and are not designed to replace traditional forms of currency.
Unlike a stock, which entitles you to a piece of ownership in a company, utility tokens give buyers access to products or services the company hopes to offer.
"The analogy is they are a bit like frequent-flyer miles and you can use it in a certain way," said Jeff Bandman, founder of Bandman Advisors and former fintech advisor to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
"The difference is there's not an open and transferable market."
For our purposes, DIY Coins give owners knowledge or access to the ICO process, each token gives you access to CNBC's collection of research on the topic.
The idea is the value of the DIY Coin will rise as demand for this knowledge grows. Get a team of experts
Upcoming coins need to clearly communicate their intended purpose to potential investors as well as the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is becoming more involved in ICOs.
"They're going to treat it like any security. You're going to be required to have a prospectus, you're going to have to download that information, and people will see risks associated with it," said Kevin O'Leary of O'Shares ETF and "Shark Tank."
To get a coin off the ground, you need a team of advisors with experience in marketing, high-profile investors to give credibility to the project, as well as cryptocurrency industry insiders.
We turned to O'Leary as well as Andy Bromberg, CEO of CoinList, a website that runs token sales, for pointers.
"Launching an ICO is a deeply technical process, but high-level the process looks a lot like starting a start-up," Bromberg said. Sell it
Many coin offerings use white papers to communicate the goals of the token to potential investors.
According to Bromberg, the contents of that white paper can vary from explaining high-level problems and solutions to very complex technical details that describe the blockchain code being designed to support the coin.
Because we aren't planning on listing the coin, we chose to use another route that is becoming popular in the ICO process: a pitch deck. This more high-level presentation contained an explanation of DIY Coin and its intended purpose and listed our advisors. Build it
Drumming up interest and support in the cryptocommunity is important, but that won't get you far if the token doesn't work.
"In order to have a robust platform, one that can really support a good project, you need four important elements: You need speed, you need safety, you need scalability and simplicity," said Monica Quaintance, a lead technology developer for Kadena.
Even though most use existing platforms like etherum, each new coin needs its own supporting code that allows it to live and transact on the blockchain.
This is a task best left to the professionals, and the good news is the field of developers with cryptocurrency experience is growing rapidly. Make it legal
"The investing market and the issuing market need to be on notice right now, the regulators are paying attention," said Bandman.
As the cryptocurrency industry matures and grows, regulators are slowly stepping in with the intent of protecting potential investors from fraud.
Which means being ready to answer specific questions about DIY Coin, including the business model and how the coins would be used once issued.
Bromberg says this relatively new oversight is being welcomed by the cryptocommunity.
"In the past year we saw a lot of low-quality deals, and I think we're going to see fewer and fewer of those," he said.
"At the same time, more people [are] getting interested in the space both in the investor and issuer inside, and that's going to result in an explosion of new tokens that are really high quality, that have deep technical merit, have reasons to exist."
Disclosure: CNBC owns the exclusive off-network cable rights to "Shark Tank."
|
Creating your own cryptocurrency? Here's what you need to know
|
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May 13, 2018 / 8:18 PM / Updated 30 minutes ago Motor racing-Formula One to ban Ferrari's halo wing mirrors Alan Baldwin 3 Min Read
BARCELONA, May 13 (Reuters) - Formula One’s governing body is to ban Ferrari’s positioning of wing mirrors on the side of the ‘halo’ head protection device after allowing the Italian team to race with the novelty in Sunday’s Spanish Grand Prix.
FIA race director Charlie Whiting told reporters a technical directive to that effect would be issued to teams, probably on Monday.
“I think it’s a liberal interpretation of the word ‘mounting’,” he said of what Ferrari had done.
“That’s how they’ve become legal because there’s no bodywork allowed in the area... the interpretation hinges on whether we think that’s a mounting or not. We somehow think not, so we’re going to take some action on that.”
Asked whether such a solution, used for the first time in Spain and offering a likely measurable aerodynamic benefit, had effectively been banned, Whiting replied: “Yes, you could say that.”
“If it was a clear breach of the regulations, they wouldn’t have been allowed to use it here,” he added. “But we’ll clarify that to everybody.”
Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel felt his team had done nothing wrong and the mirrors gave him a clearer view.
“For us it’s straightforward. I see better. That was the point of moving them,” the German told reporters after finishing fourth.
“We asked already in the beginning of the year when the first seat fit was with the halo if we can move them (the mirrors) on the halo because then they would just be in a better position to see what’s behind.”
Other teams saw the positioning of the mirrors as a way to circumvent strict rules on what can be attached to the bulky device that made its debut this season as a ring around the cockpit to protect drivers from flying objects.
“From a technical perspective, if it generates downforce it’s a good thing,” said Force India technical director Andy Green, speaking before the FIA made clear that Ferrari would have to move the mirrors.
“Should we be bolting aerodynamic devices to something that’s supposed to be a safety device? I don’t know. We were under the impression that was not legal.” (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
|
Motor racing-Formula One to ban Ferrari's halo wing mirrors
|
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Economist discusses the top unresolved issues in NAFTA talks 6 Hours Ago Robert Scott of the Economic Policy Institute explains the "big differences of opinion" between the U.S. and the other countries involved in NAFTA talks.
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Economist discusses the top unresolved issues in NAFTA talks
|
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May 2, 2018 / 11:05 PM / Updated 5 hours ago Jaguar appoints new manufacturing chief to transform plants for electric future Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s biggest carmaker Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) ( TAMO.NS ) is replacing its director for manufacturing as it prepares its plants for an electrified future, the firm said on Thursday. A Jaguar I-PACE car is displayed during a media preview at the Auto China 2018 motor show in Beijing, China April 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee
JLR operates three factories in its home market but is building its first electric car, the I-PACE, in Austria.
The Indian-owned automaker’s Chief Executive Ralf Speth told Reuters earlier this year he is waiting for more information on trading conditions after Brexit before he decides whether to make electric cars in Britain.
On Thursday, he said Executive Director for Manufacturing Wolfgang Stadler is retiring from the business, to be replaced by Director of Quality and Automotive Safety Grant McPherson from July 1.
“He will oversee the ongoing investment into our UK and global manufacturing, transforming our plants to enable Jaguar Land Rover’s exciting electrified future,” Speth said in a statement. Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Stephen Addison
|
Jaguar appoints new manufacturing chief to transform plants for electric future
|
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NEW YORK, May 24 (Reuters) - Trading in emerging market credit default swaps jumped 21.1 percent to $488 billion in the first quarter of 2018 from $403 billion in the same quarter a year earlier, a survey released on Thursday showed.
Trading in emerging market CDS jumped 77.5 percent from the previous quarter’s $275 billion, according to a survey from EMTA, the emerging markets debt-trading and investment industry trade association.
Brazilian CDS were the most traded last quarter at $51 billion, followed closely by those of China at $47 billion and Turkey at $37 billion.
Among corporate CDS contracts, Brazil’s state-controlled energy giant Petrobras lead in volume with approximately $2.7 billion.
EMTA’s survey includes trading volumes from 12 major international banks and broker-dealers on emerging market CDS contracts from 21 countries and nine corporate issuers.
Reporting by Rodrigo Campos Editing by Nick Zieminski
|
Emerging market CDS trading value jumps in Q1 -EMTA
|
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Yoan Moncada bashed a three-run home run to back Dylan Covey’s seven innings of one-run pitching as the Chicago White Sox routed the visiting Baltimore Orioles 11-1 on Wednesday at Guaranteed Rate Field in the third game of a four-game series.
Adam Engel had four hits, including a two-run homer for the White Sox (15-31), whose victory allowed them to push Baltimore (15-34) toward the worst record (percentage-wise) in the American League.
Covey (1-1) scattered six hits while striking out eight and walking one to earn his first major league victory. His 103-pitch performance lowered his ERA from 6.00 to 3.46.
Alex Cobb (1-6) took the loss for the Orioles upon allowing six runs on eight hits in 3 2/3 innings, with three strikeouts and two walks.
The Orioles struck first with a run in the top of the second inning when Jace Peterson’s single drove home Danny Valencia.
Everything came apart for Baltimore in the third as Moncada’s three-run blast over the center field fence scored Tim Anderson and Engel in front of him. Chicago added a fourth run when Daniel Palka’s two-out single plated Jose Abreu.
The White Sox added two runs in the fourth on RBI singles from Yolmer Sanchez and Abreu, the latter of which chased Cobb in favor of Pedro Araujo. Chicago pushed the lead to 9-1 in the fifth on Tim Anderson’s single that drove home Jose Rondon and Engel’s two-run homer.
Rondon also ripped a two-run shot for Chicago that drove home Trayce Thompson in the seventh.
White Sox left fielder Leury Garcia exited the game in the fifth inning with a left knee sprain after stealing two bases. He will be re-evaluated Thursday morning, the team announced. Thompson replaced him on the basepaths.
Before the game, Matt Davidson was scratched from Chicago’s starting lineup with back stiffness. He was replaced at DH by Rondon.
Jonathan Schoop had two of Baltimore’s six hits. The Orioles left seven runners on base and went 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position.
Thursday afternoon’s series finale between the two teams will feature right-hander Dylan Bundy (2-6, 4.70 ERA) for the Orioles and right-hander Lucas Giolito (3-4, 6.42) of the ChiSox.
—Field Level Media
|
Moncada leads White Sox past Orioles in 11-1 rout
|
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Connecticut has joined New York and New Jersey in passing legislation that aims to blunt the impact of losing some deductions under the federal tax overhaul.
The legislation proposed by Gov. Dannel Malloy, a Democrat, gives municipalities the authority to form charitable organizations to receive contributions from residents in exchange for property-tax credits.
The...
|
Connecticut Passes Bill to Ease Federal Tax Burden
|
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Kudlow: There is a willingness to get NAFTA renegotiation done 20 Mins Ago Larry Kudlow, National Economic Council director, discusses the Trump administration's views on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and China.
|
Kudlow: There is a willingness to get NAFTA renegotiation done
|
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May 3 (Reuters) - Curis Inc:
* Q1 LOSS PER SHARE $0.07 * Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $-0.09 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S
* AS OF MARCH 31, 2018, CURIS’S CASH, CASH EQUIVALENTS, MARKETABLE SECURITIES AND INVESTMENTS TOTALED $48.5 MILLION Source text for Eikon: ([email protected])
Our
|
Curis Reports Q1 Loss Per Share $0.07
|
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DUBLIN, May 21 (Reuters) - Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O’Leary said on Monday he was not expecting strikes or disruptions over its discussions to recognise trade unions but could not rule them out and would face any action down.
Ryanair averted the threat of widespread Christmas strikes by unilaterally recognising unions in December for the first time in its 32-year history, but it has struggled to formalise relations in some countries.
“We’re not expecting them, but it’s important for investors that we don’t rule them out. If there are (strikes), we will take them as we have in Germany and Portugal. Being unionised means we will have occasional strikes,” O’Leary said in a video presentation following quarterly results.
O’Leary added that he expected to finalise pilot recognition agreements in Spain and Germany in the next few months and that Ryanair was also on track to sign its first cabin crew recognition agreements in a month or two. (Reporting by Padraic Halpin, editing by Louise Heavens)
|
Ryanair CEO says not expecting strikes but cannot rule them out
|
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Houston, Texas, May 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ultra Petroleum Corp . (NASDAQ: UPL) announces the following Webcast to discuss its first quarter 2018 financial and operating results:
What: Ultra Petroleum Corp. First Quarter 2018 Results Webcast
When: May 10, 2018 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time
Where: http://www.ultrapetroleum.com
How: Live over the internet via the website address above
Contact: Sandi Kraemer, [email protected] , 281-582-6613
If you are unable to participate during the live Webcast, the conference call will be archived and can be accessed from Ultra’s home page at http://www.ultrapetroleum.com .
About Ultra Petroleum
Ultra Petroleum Corp. is an independent energy company engaged in domestic natural gas and oil exploration, development and production. The company is listed on NASDAQ and trades under the ticker symbol “UPL”. Additional information on the company is available at www.ultrapetroleum.com .
This release can be found at www.ultrapetroleum.com .
For further information contact: Sandi Kraemer Email: [email protected] Phone: 281-582-6613
Source:Ultra Petroleum Corp.
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Reminder - Ultra Petroleum Corp. to Webcast First Quarter 2018 Results
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SAN DIEGO (AP) _ Kura Oncology Inc. (KURA) on Tuesday reported a loss of $14.6 million in its first quarter.
The San Diego-based company said it had a loss of 46 cents per share.
The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for a loss of 33 cents per share.
Kura Oncology shares have risen nearly 5 percent since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Tuesday, shares hit $16.05, a rise of 79 percent in the last 12 months.
This story was generated by Automated Insights ( http://automatedinsights.com/ap ) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on KURA at https://www.zacks.com/ap/KURA
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Kura Oncology: 1Q Earnings Snapshot
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EBITDA (1) of $81.1 million on Sales of $527.6 million
Operating Cash Flow (1) of $1.08 per share
32% Return on Invested Capital
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- INTERFOR CORPORATION (“Interfor” or the “Company”) (TSX:IFP) recorded net earnings in Q1’18 of $33.0 million, or $0.47 per share, compared to $36.2 million, or $0.52 per share in Q4’17 and $19.7 million, or $0.28 per share in Q1’17. Adjusted net earnings in Q1’18 were $36.8 million or $0.52 per share, compared to $45.1 million, or $0.64 per share in Q4’17 and $22.7 million, or $0.32 per share in Q1’17.
Adjusted EBITDA was $81.1 million on sales of $527.6 million in Q1’18 versus $89.5 million on sales of $532.8 million in Q4’17.
Notable items in the quarter included:
• Higher Lumber Prices
The key benchmark prices improved quarter-over-quarter with the SYP Composite, Western SPF Composite and KD H-F Stud 2x4 9’ increasing by US$37, US$33 and US$63 per mfbm, respectively. Interfor’s average lumber selling price increased $38 from Q4’17 to a record $688 per mfbm.
• Increased Production/Reduced Shipments
Total lumber production was 666 million board feet or 11 million board feet more than the prior quarter. Production in the U.S. South region increased to 302 million board feet from 296 million board feet in the preceding quarter. The B.C. and U.S. Northwest regions accounted for 218 million board feet and 146 million board feet, respectively, compared to 219 million board feet and 140 million board feet in Q4’17, respectively.
Total lumber shipments were 648 million board feet, including agency and wholesale volumes, or 38 million board feet lower than Q4’17. This reduction was the result of industry-wide logistics issues, particularly due to weather-impacted rail constraints in B.C.
• Continued Financial Flexibility
Net debt ended the quarter at $127.1 million, or 12.4% of invested capital, resulting in available liquidity of $444.6 million.
Interfor generated $75.5 million of cash from operations before changes in working capital, or $1.08 per share. Total cash generated from operations was $18.5 million after considering an increase in working capital, including a $34.0 million increase in inventories, a $10.9 million increase in accounts receivable due primarily to higher lumber prices, and the payment of annual employee incentive compensation.
Capital spending was $18.1 million on a mix of high-return discretionary, maintenance and woodlands projects.
• Softwood Lumber Duties
Interfor expensed $12.9 million of duties in the quarter, representing the full amount of countervailing (“CV”) and anti-dumping (“AD”) duties incurred on its Canadian shipments of softwood lumber into the U.S. at a combined mandated final rate of 20.23%.
(1) Refer to Adjusted EBITDA and Operating cash flow per share in the Non-GAAP Measures section
Strategic Capital Plan
Interfor continues to make progress on its multi-year strategic capital plan that involves a number of discretionary projects designed to capture the opportunities within its current operating platform and to pursue opportunities for further growth.
The previously announced projects at the Company’s Meldrim and Monticello sawmills are on track for completion in Q1’19.
The Company completed the installation of an autograding system at its Perry, Georgia sawmill in Q1’18.
Other large capital projects to enhance existing operations are continuing to be advanced from an engineering and feasibility standpoint. In particular, the Company is refining plans for a series of substantial capital investment opportunities at three of its U.S. South sawmills. It is expected that these projects could be completed between 2019 and 2021. These projects will be subject to Board approval in the normal course.
The greenfield sawmill opportunity in the Central Region of the U.S. South is in the final stages of assessment with a decision on the project expected by mid-2018.
Financial and Operating Highlights (1)
For the three months ended Mar. 31
Mar. 31
Dec. 31
Unit 2018
2017
2017
Financial Highlights (2) Total sales $MM 527.6 456.8 532.8 Lumber $MM 445.9 389.6 446.0 Logs, residual products and other $MM 81.7 67.2 86.8 Operating earnings $MM 46.5 30.4 47.9 Net earnings $MM 33.0 19.7 36.2 Net earnings per share, basic $/share 0.47 0.28 0.52 Adjusted net earnings (3) $MM 36.8 22.7 45.1 Adjusted net earnings per share, basic (3) $/share 0.52 0.32 0.64 Operating cash flow per share (before working capital changes) (3) $/share 1.08 0.85 1.19 Adjusted EBITDA (3) $MM 81.1 60.3 89.5 Adjusted EBITDA margin (3) % 15.4 % 13.2 % 16.8 % Total assets $MM 1,410.1 1,318.8 1,353.0 Total debt $MM 257.9 325.4 250.9 Net debt to invested capital (3) % 12.4 % 27.6 % 12.3 % Return on invested capital (3) % 32.4 % 22.0 % 36.4 % Operating Highlights Lumber production million fbm 666 640 655 Total lumber sales million fbm 648 645 686 Lumber sales - Interfor produced million fbm 635 624 666 Lumber sales - wholesale and commission million fbm 13 21 20 Lumber - average selling price (4) $/thousand fbm 688 604 650 Average USD/CAD exchange rate (5) 1 USD in CAD 1.2647 1.3238 1.2713 Closing USD/CAD exchange rate (5) 1 USD in CAD 1.2894 1.3322 1.2545
Notes: (1) Figures in this table may not equal or sum to figures presented elsewhere due to rounding. (2) Financial information presented for interim periods in this release is prepared in accordance with IFRS and is unaudited. (3) Refer to the Non-GAAP Measures section of this release for definitions and reconciliations of these measures to figures reported in the Company’s consolidated financial statements. (4) Gross sales before duties. (5) Based on Bank of Canada foreign exchange rates. Liquidity
Balance Sheet
Interfor maintained a strong financial position throughout Q1’18. Net debt at March 31, 2018 was $127.1 million, or 12.4% of invested capital, representing a decrease of $179.6 million from March 31, 2017, and an increase of $7.8 million from December 31, 2017. The majority of the increase in net debt in Q1’18 is as a result of the weakened Canadian Dollar against the U.S. Dollar as all debt held was denominated in U.S. Dollars.
For the three months ended Mar. 31,
Dec. 31,
Mar. 31,
Thousands of Dollars 2018 2017 2017 Net debt Net debt, period opening, CAD $ 119,300 $ 177,787 $ 289,551 Net drawing (repayment) on credit facilities, CAD (1 ) (1 ) 19,250 Impact on U.S. Dollar denominated debt from (strengthening) weakening CAD 6,981 1,301 (2,704 ) Increase in cash and cash equivalents, CAD 784 (59,787 ) 579 Net debt, period ending, CAD $ 127,064 $ 119,300 $ 306,676 Net debt components by currency U.S. Dollar debt, period opening, USD $ 200,000 $ 200,000 $ 230,000 Net repayment on credit facilities, USD - - 5,979 U.S. Dollar debt, period ending, USD 200,000 200,000 235,979 Spot rate, period end 1.2894 1.2545 1.3322 U.S. Dollar debt expressed in CAD 257,880 250,900 314,371 Canadian Dollar debt, CAD - - 4,987 Canadian Dollar operating line, CAD - - 6,009 Total debt, CAD 257,880 250,900 325,367 Cash and cash equivalents, CAD (130,816 ) (131,600 ) (18,691 ) Net debt, period ending, CAD $ 127,064 $ 119,300 $ 306,676 As at March 31, 2018, the Company had net working capital of $316.0 million and available liquidity of $444.6 million, including cash and borrowing capacity on operating and term line facilities.
These resources, in addition to cash generated from operations, will be used to support capital expenditures, working capital requirements, and debt servicing commitments. We believe that Interfor will have sufficient liquidity to fund operating and capital requirements for the foreseeable future.
Capital Resources
The following table summarizes Interfor’s credit facilities and availability as of March 31, 2018:
Revolving Senior U.S. Operating Term Secured Operating Thousands of Canadian Dollars Line Line Notes Line Total Available line of credit $ 65,000 $ 200,000 $ 257,880 $ 64,470 $ 587,350 Maximum borrowing available $ 65,000 $ 200,000 $ 257,880 $ 64,470 $ 587,350 Less: Drawings - - 257,880 - 257,880 Outstanding letters of credit included in line utilization 12,168 - - 3,172 15,340 Unused portion of facility $ 52,832 $ 200,000 $ - $ 61,298 314,130 Add: Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents 130,453 Available liquidity at March 31, 2018 $ 444,583 As of March 31, 2018, the Company had commitments for capital expenditures totaling $29.5 million.
Non-GAAP Measures
This release makes reference to the following non-GAAP measures: Adjusted net earnings, Adjusted net earnings per share, EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Net debt to invested capital, Operating cash flow per share (before working capital changes) and Return on invested capital which are used by the Company and certain investors to evaluate operating performance and financial position. These non-GAAP measures do not have any standardized meaning prescribed by IFRS and are therefore unlikely to be comparable to similar measures presented by other issuers.
The following table provides a reconciliation of these non-GAAP measures to figures as reported in the Company’s unaudited interim consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRS:
For the three months ended Mar. 31, Mar. 31,
Dec. 31,
Thousands of Canadian Dollars except number of shares and per share amounts 2018 2017 2017 Adjusted Net Earnings Net earnings $ 32,976 $ 19,667 $ 36,196 Add: Restructuring costs and capital asset write-downs 236 345 7,422 Other foreign exchange loss (gain) (111 ) 181 (412 ) Long term incentive compensation expense 4,858 3,593 3,110 Other expense 178 189 995 Post closure wind-down costs and losses 4 8 5 Income tax effect of above adjustments (1,374 ) (1,249 ) (2,260 ) Adjusted net earnings $ 36,767 $ 22,734 $ 45,056 Weighted average number of shares - basic ('000) 70,033 70,030 70,030 Adjusted net earnings per share $ 0.52 $ 0.32 $ 0.64 Adjusted EBITDA Net earnings $ 32,976 $ 19,667 $ 36,196 Add: Depreciation of plant and equipment 20,068 19,603 19,217 Depletion and amortization of timber, roads and other 9,417 6,297 11,879 Restructuring costs and capital asset write-downs 236 345 7,422 Finance costs 2,905 4,062 3,139 Other foreign exchange loss (gain) (111 ) 181 (412 ) Income tax expense 10,533 6,320 7,968 EBITDA 76,024 56,475 85,409 Add: Long term incentive compensation expense 4,858 3,593 3,110 Other expense 178 189 995 Post closure wind-down costs and losses 4 8 5 Adjusted EBITDA $ 81,064 $ 60,265 $ 89,519 Net debt to invested capital Net debt Total debt $ 257,880 $ 325,367 $ 250,900 Cash and cash equivalents (130,816 ) (18,691 ) (131,600 ) Total net debt $ 127,064 $ 306,676 $ 119,300 Invested capital Net debt $ 127,064 $ 306,676 $ 119,300 Shareholders' equity 901,176 804,748 854,188 Total invested capital $ 1,028,240 $ 1,111,424 $ 973,488 Net debt to invested capital (1) 12.4 % 27.6 % 12.3 % Operating cash flow per share (before working capital changes) Cash provided by operating activities $ 18,511 $ 4,682 $ 86,749 Cash used in (generated from) operating working capital 56,973 55,033 (3,332 ) Operating cash flow (before working capital changes) $ 75,484 $ 59,715 $ 83,417 Weighted average number of shares - basic ('000) 70,033 70,030 70,030 Operating cash flow per share (before working capital changes) $ 1.08 $ 0.85 $ 1.19 Return on invested capital Adjusted EBITDA $ 81,064 $ 60,265 $ 89,519 Invested capital, beginning of period $ 973,488 $ 1,076,218 $ 995,463 Invested capital, end of period 1,028,240 1,111,424 973,488 Average invested capital $ 1,000,864 $ 1,093,821 $ 984,476 Adjusted EBITDA divided by average invested capital 8.1 % 5.5 % 9.1 % Annualization factor 4.0 4.0 4.0 Return on invested capital 32.4 % 22.0 % 36.4 %
Notes: (1) Net debt to invested capital as of the period end.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 (unaudited) (thousands of Canadian Dollars except earnings per share) Three Months
Three Months
Mar. 31, 2018
Mar. 31, 2017
Sales
Costs and expenses: $ 527,644 $ 456,780 Production 419,582 384,077 Selling and administration 14,073 12,446 Long term incentive compensation 4,858 3,593 U.S. countervailing and anti-dumping duty deposits 12,929 - Depreciation of plant and equipment 20,068 19,603 Depletion and amortization of timber, roads and other 9,417 6,297 480,927 426,016 Operating earnings before restructuring costs 46,717 30,764 Restructuring costs 236 345 Operating earnings 46,481 30,419 Finance costs (2,905 ) (4,062 ) Other foreign exchange gain (loss) 111 (181 ) Other expense (178 ) (189 ) (2,972 ) (4,432 ) Earnings before income taxes 43,509 25,987 Income tax expense: Current 770 306 Deferred 9,763 6,014 10,533 6,320 Net earnings $ 32,976 $ 19,667 Net earnings per share, basic and diluted $ 0.47 $ 0.28
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 (unaudited) (thousands of Canadian Dollars) Three Months Three Months
Mar. 31, 2018 Mar. 31, 2017
Net earnings
$ 32,976 $ 19,667 Other comprehensive income (loss): Items that will not be recycled to Net earnings: Defined benefit plan actuarial gain, net of tax 885 824 Items that are or may be recycled to Net earnings: Foreign currency translation differences for foreign operations, net of tax 12,847 (2,505 ) Loss in fair value of interest rate swaps - (11 ) Total items that are or may be recycled to Net earnings 12,847 (2,516 ) Total other comprehensive income (loss), net of tax 13,732 (1,692 ) Comprehensive income $ 46,708 $ 17,975
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS For the three months ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 (unaudited) (thousands of Canadian Dollars) Three Months
Three Months
Mar. 31, 2018
Mar. 31, 2017
Cash provided by (used in):
Operating activities: Net earnings $ 32,976 $ 19,667 Items not involving cash: Depreciation of plant and equipment 20,068 19,603 Depletion and amortization of timber, roads and other 9,417 6,297 Income tax expense 10,533 6,320 Finance costs 2,905 4,062 Other assets (295 ) (49 ) Reforestation liability 2,289 2,543 Provisions and other liabilities (2,842 ) 815 Stock options 137 106 Write-down of intangibles 219 - Unrealized foreign exchange gains and other (101 ) (8 ) Other expense 178 359 75,484 59,715 Cash used in operating working capital: Trade accounts receivable and other (10,896 ) (15,568 ) Inventories (34,037 ) (15,240 ) Prepayments and other (4,325 ) (2,784 ) Trade accounts payable and accrued liabilities (7,544 ) (21,150 ) Income taxes paid (171 ) (291 ) 18,511 4,682 Investing activities: Additions to property, plant and equipment (12,039 ) (12,743 ) Additions to roads and bridges (6,082 ) (7,102 ) Additions to timber and other intangible assets 13 (834 ) Proceeds (costs) on disposal of property, plant and equipment 109 (25 ) Investments and other assets (486 ) (117 ) (18,485 ) (20,821 ) Financing activities: Issuance of share capital, net of expenses 143 - Interest payments (2,676 ) (3,542 ) Debt refinancing costs (1 ) (128 ) Change in operating line components of long-term debt (1 ) 40,853 Additions to long term debt - 76,107 Repayments of long term debt - (97,710 ) (2,535 ) 15,580 Foreign exchange gain (loss) on cash and cash equivalents held in a foreign currency 1,725 (20 ) Decrease in cash and cash equivalents (784 ) (579 ) Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period 131,600 19,270 Cash and cash equivalents, end of period $ 130,816 $ 18,691
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF FINANCIAL POSITION March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 (unaudited) (thousands of Canadian Dollars) Mar. 31, 2018 Dec. 31, 2017 Assets
Current assets: Cash and cash equivalents $ 130,816 $ 131,600 Trade accounts receivable and other 124,310 112,470 Income taxes receivable 917 1,289 Inventories 201,070 165,156 Prepayments and other 17,193 12,562 474,306 423,077 Employee future benefits 1,577 502 Investments and other assets 7,032 6,404 Property, plant and equipment 673,912 670,830 Roads and bridges 23,141 24,092 Timber licences 65,968 66,589 Other intangible assets 12,362 14,170 Goodwill 150,809 147,081 Deferred income taxes 976 251 $ 1,410,083 $ 1,352,996 Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity Current liabilities: Trade accounts payable and provisions $ 144,455 $ 152,854 Reforestation liability 13,526 12,873 Income taxes payable 341 224 158,322 165,951 Reforestation liability 29,965 27,535 Long term debt 257,880 250,900 Employee future benefits 8,234 8,249 Provisions and other liabilities 24,122 26,976 Deferred income taxes 30,384 19,197 Equity: Share capital 555,602 555,388 Contributed surplus 8,648 8,582 Translation reserve 53,567 40,720 Retained earnings 283,359 249,498 901,176 854,188 $ 1,410,083 $ 1,352,996 Approved on behalf of the Board:
“ L. Sauder ” “ D.W.G. Whitehead ” Director Director FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This release contains information and statements that are forward-looking in nature, including, but not limited to, statements containing the words “believes”, “will”, “should”, “expects”, “annualized” and similar expressions. Such statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause Interfor’s actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among other things: price volatility, competition, availability and cost of log supply, natural or man-made disasters, currency exchange sensitivity, regulatory changes, allowable annual cut reductions, Aboriginal title and rights claims, potential countervailing and anti-dumping duties, stumpage fee variables and changes, environmental impact and performance, labour disruptions, cyber-security measures, and other factors referenced herein and in Interfor’s Annual Report available on www.sedar.com and www.interfor.com . The forward-looking information and statements contained in this release are based on Interfor’s current expectations and beliefs. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Interfor undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking information or statements, except where required by law.
ABOUT INTERFOR
Interfor is a growth-oriented lumber company with operations in Canada and the United States. The Company has annual production capacity of approximately 3.1 billion board feet and offers one of the most diverse lines of lumber products to customers around the world. For more information about Interfor, visit our website at www.interfor.com .
The Company’s unaudited consolidated financial statements and Management’s Discussion and Analysis for Q1’18 are available at www.sedar.com and www.interfor.com .
There will be a conference call on Friday, May 4, 2018 at 8:00 a.m. (Pacific Time) hosted by INTERFOR CORPORATION for the purpose of reviewing the Company’s release of its first quarter 2018 financial results.
The dial-in number is 1-866-559-8291 . The conference call will also be recorded for those unable to join in for the live discussion, and will be available until June 3, 2018. The number to call is 1-855-859-2056, Passcode 9897303.
For further information:
Martin L. Juravsky, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(604) 689-6873
Source: Interfor Corporation
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Interfor Reports Q1’18 Results
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NEW YORK (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Lina Alhomsi and her family, all Syrian refugees, recently awoke in the middle of the night to the sight and sounds of a drunken man breaking through the roof of their New Jersey apartment.
Syrian refugee Wahed Safour sits in his apartment in Paterson, New Jersey, United States on May 1, 2018. THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION / Samira Sadeque Fed up with the living conditions, she and seven other refugee families this week filed a federal lawsuit against their landlord and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, claiming neglect, uninhabitable living conditions, breach of contract and emotional distress.
More than 6 million people have been uprooted from their homes in war-ravaged Syria, many living in dire conditions in temporary camps and settlements in the Middle East.
Many of those who made it to the United States like the Alhomsi family, among the roughly 7,000 Syrians with temporary protected status, hoped for better.
Alhomsi, her husband and four children have lived in the Paterson, New Jersey apartment, some 50 miles northwest of New York City, since they arrived in the United States nearly two years ago.
The other refugee families suing also live in buildings owned by the same landlord in the run-down neighborhood, complaining of leaking ceilings, cockroaches, mice and bedbugs.
Due to the pest-filled housing, “the kids have a lot of anxiety,” Hend Elburi, programs and operations manager at SMILE for Charity, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
Alhomsi’s 4-month-old daughter Linda recently fell ill from what the family suspects was exposure to rodent droppings. The baby and one of her brothers are covered with bug bites, the little boy so bitten that he was sent home from school, according to his mother.
BUGS, ROACHES AND MICE Another refugee signed onto the lawsuit, Mohammad Hilal, who fled his hometown of Daraa, Syria, said the bed bugs, roaches and mice are causing mental health problems and conflicts for his family.
The refugee families live in the United States under the federal government’s Temporary Rental Assistance, which pays for their housing for a limited period of time.
Their future is clouded by President Donald Trump’s administration which has shown deep skepticism toward the program established by Congress in 1990 to provide temporary reprieve for immigrants whose home countries face disaster or conflict.
The lawsuit seeks immediate inspection of the properties, a rent abatement and unspecified damages.
Theirs is not the first such lawsuit to be filed against a branch of government, but the cases are rare, experts say.
In 2016, a group of refugee families sued a school district in Pennsylvania, claiming they were denied equal access to educational opportunities and forced to attend schools for underachieving students.
“This is not something I’ve heard of before, but I welcome it,” said Kevin Appleby, senior director of International Migration Policy at the Center for Migration Studies in New York.
“It’s always been a challenge to find housing for refugees,” he said.
Richard Mazawey, the attorney representing landlord Charles Florio, denied the claims, saying the apartments are habitable and regularly exterminated.
“Not only do we deny these allegations and maintain that this is frivolous and the plaintiff’s lawyers are misguided, but also, it’s an affront to all people who answer the bell to help people domestically and internationally when they’re in crisis,” Mazawey said.
According to the families, the landlord’s office accused them of being “dirty.”
Some of the refugee families say they are frightened to challenge the landlord, a prominent community member.
But others like Waheed Safour, who lives with his two children, say they are hopeful the case will bring some change.
In his apartment, the heating broke down for 10 days last winter and no one came to fix it, he said. Safour said he spent more than $200 of his own money to solve the problem.
Reporting by Samira Sadeque, Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit news.trust.org
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Syrian refugees take U.S. landlord, government to court over claims of filthy housing
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Rep. Hensarling on Texas high school shooting: 'Enough's enough' 1 Hour Ago Everything has to be on the table, says Rep. Jeb Hensarling, (R-Texas), talking about the deadly school shooting in Santa Fe.
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Rep. Hensarling on Texas high school shooting: 'Enough's enough'
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Michael Kors stock drops on weak outlook 10:58am EDT - 00:52
Shares Michael Kors dropped sharply Wednesday morning after the handbag and shoe retailer issued a forecast that largely missed Wall Streets' targets. Fred Katayama reports.
Shares Michael Kors dropped sharply Wednesday morning after the handbag and shoe retailer issued a forecast that largely missed Wall Streets' targets. Fred Katayama reports. //reut.rs/2IZz5nz
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Michael Kors stock drops on weak outlook
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May 15, 2018 / 1:02 PM / Updated 24 minutes ago Facebook has not fully answered questions on data privacy: UK lawmakers Reuters Staff 2 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Facebook has failed to fully answer 39 questions from British lawmakers examining data privacy and fake news, a parliamentary committee said on Tuesday, adding that it would ask the social media giant once again for the missing details. FILE PHOTO: Silhouettes of mobile users are seen next to a screen projection of Facebook logo in this picture illustration taken March 28, 2018. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
The committee had put additional questions to Facebook after it said that the firm’s chief technology officer Mike Schroepfer had not addressed all its concerns during a parliamentary hearing last month.
Facebook UK’s head of public policy, Rebecca Stimson, gave 39 answers to the extra questions in a letter published by the committee. However, its head said that they lacked the detail they were looking for.
“It is disappointing that a company with the resources of Facebook chooses not to provide a sufficient level of detail and transparency on various points,” Damian Collins, chair of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee, said in a statement.
As part of its inquiry, the committee has been investigating allegations of the improper use of data for 87 million Facebook users by Cambridge Analytica, which was hired by President Donald Trump’s 2016 U.S. election campaign.
Collins said that Cambridge Analytica was one of the areas where Facebook’s response had been insufficiently detailed.
In her letter, Stimson said that Facebook did not pass user information to Cambridge Analytica, although it did provide tools to a researcher who appeared to have shared the data with the consultancy. Reporting by Alistair Smout; editing by Stephen Addison
|
Facebook has not fully answered questions on data privacy: UK lawmakers
|
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CHICAGO, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Brennan Investment Group, LLC, a private real estate investment firm that acquires, develops, and operates industrial facilities, announced its purchase, and simultaneous leaseback to F&B Manufacturing of a two-building, 79,968 square foot facility located at 4245 N. 40 th Avenue in Phoenix, Arizona. F&B Manufacturing is a leading provider of highly specialized, precision component parts and sheet metal sub-assemblies for the aerospace, automotive, power generation and semi-conductor industries. The property serves as the company's headquarters and is also utilized for manufacturing and distribution.
"We appreciate the opportunity to accommodate F&B Manufacturing's growth through this sale-leaseback transaction," said Ryan O'Halloran, Brennan Investment Group's Midwest Managing Principal. "Our ability to find solutions that allow companies to grow supports our investment objective of producing stable, long-term cash flow for our investors."
"With over 400,000 square feet in Phoenix, we are pleased to complete the acquisition and grow our presence throughout Arizona," said Scott McKibben, Chief Investment Officer of Brennan Investment Group.
About Brennan Investment Group
Brennan Investment Group, a Chicago-based private real estate investment firm, acquires, develops, and operates industrial properties in select major metropolitan markets throughout the United States. Since 2010, Brennan Investment Group has acquired over $3 billion in industrial real estate. The company's current portfolio spans 27 states and encompasses over 35 million square feet.
Brennan Investment Group co-invests with private and institutional capital to achieve outstanding risk-adjusted returns. The firm's management team is among the most accomplished in its industry, having invested in over 4,000 properties covering more than 60 cities throughout the United States, Canada and Europe.
For more information on Brennan Investment Group, go to brennanllc.com .
CONTACT: Sarah Brennan, [email protected]
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brennan-completes-acquisition-and-leaseback-in-phoenix-arizona-300640499.html
SOURCE Brennan Investment Group
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Brennan Completes Acquisition And Leaseback In Phoenix, Arizona
|
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The weeks-long E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce has killed one person and expanded to half of the U.S. states.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said 23 more cases were reported since Friday, bringing the total to 121.
The CDC provided no more information on the death in California. The California Department of Public Health said in a statement it cannot provide any more details because of patient privacy laws.
The outbreak, which started March 13, has Americans avoiding romaine from the Yuma, Ariz., region, the suspected culprit of the outbreak. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, who is investigating the outbreak along with the CDC and individual states, said illnesses at an Alaska prison was tied to whole-head romaine from Yuma-based Harrison Farms.
The rest of the sicknesses aren't linked to Harrison Farms and investigators continue to probe the source of the chopped romaine lettuce causing the illness.
"Most people reported eating a salad at a restaurant, and romaine lettuce was the only common ingredient identified among the salads eaten," the FDA states. "The restaurants reported using bagged, chopped romaine lettuce to make salads."
Read more from USA Today:
Why the romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak affects mostly women
People are throwing out romaine lettuce, but why hasn't there been a recall?
31 more sick in romaine lettuce E. coli outbreak
The CDC urges people not to eat romaine lettuce unless it can be confirmed it didn't come from the Yuma region.
Kentucky, Massachusetts and Utah were added to the list affected by the outbreak, bringing the total number of states to 25. California has the most number of cases with 24, followed by Pennsylvania with 20 and Idaho with 11.
The infections have hospitalized 52 people, including 14 who've received a type of kidney failure.
The E. coli spreading through the states is "toxin-producing," the CDC states — specifically a toxin known as Shiga. People get sick within two to eight days of swallowing the germ, which causes diarrhea, stomach cramps and vomiting. Although most recover in one week, it could lead to kidney failure.
To avoid E. coli, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, cook meat completely, wash fruits and vegetables, avoid raw milk and don't prepare food when you're sick. If you find yourself sick, write down what you've eaten, contact your doctor and report your illness to your local health department.
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E. coli outbreak tied to romaine lettuce kills 1 in California, expands to 25 states
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FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lending growth to euro zone households and companies held steady in April while a broader indicator of money circulating in the currency bloc, which often foreshadows future activity, rebounded, European Central Bank data showed on Tuesday.
Lending to non-financial corporations expanded by 3.3 percent in April while household lending grew by 2.9 percent, both unchanged from the previous month, the ECB said in a regular monthly statement.
Buying around 2.5 trillion euro worth of debt in the past three years, the ECB has labored away to depress borrowing costs and kick start lending, all in the hope of rekindling growth and inflation.
While its efforts have mostly paid off, growth has softened in recent months, raising concerns that the ECB could struggle to remove stimulus, particularly if political uncertainty in Italy dents investor sentiment and causes borrowing costs to rise.
Lending growth, which accelerated for most of last year has also appeared to level off this year, holding well below its pre-crisis mark and indicating that the bank sector is still far from healthy.
Weighed down by bad debt often a decades old, many lenders remain reluctant to lend to the real economy while they struggle to repair their balance sheets.
The annual growth rate of the M3 measure of money supply, seen by some as a precursor of economic activity, rose to 3.9 percent in April from 3.7 percent a month earlier, in line with expectations for 3.9 percent. But its rate is still well below the 4.2 percent growth recorded in February.
To read more about this data, please click: here
Reporting by Balazs Koranyi; Editing by Francesco Canepa
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Euro zone lending growth levels off
|
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May 2, 2018 / 10:46 AM / Updated 10 hours ago Queen Elizabeth meets newest British royal Louis, her sixth great-grandchild Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Queen Elizabeth flew in by helicopter to London to meet Prince Louis, fifth-in-line to the British throne and the latest member of Britain’s royal family. Britain's Queen Elizabeth and her husband Prince Philip leave the Braemar Highland Gathering in Braemar, Scotland, Britain September 2, 2017. REUTERS/Russell Cheyne
Prince Louis, the third child of Prince William and his wife Kate, was born on April 23.
On Tuesday, the queen, 92, arrived at Kensington Palace, William and Kate’s London home, from Windsor Castle to the west of London, where her 96-year-old husband is recuperating after a hip operation.
Earlier William and Kate formally registered the birth of Louis, who joins brother George, 4, and sister Charlotte, 2. Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Michael Holden
|
Queen Elizabeth meets newest British royal Louis, her sixth great-grandchild
|
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May 2 (Reuters) - NOW Inc:
* NOW INC. REPORTS FIRST QUARTER 2018 RESULTS * Q1 NON-GAAP EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.01 EXCLUDING ITEMS
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.02 * Q1 REVENUE $764 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $718.9 MILLION
* Q1 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $-0.02 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
|
BRIEF-Now Inc Reports Q1 Earnings Per Share $0.02
|
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KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Malaysian police’s head of commercial crime was set to hold a press conference on Friday related to 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a day after former premier Najib Razak concluded a statement to anti-graft agents investigating the state fund.
FILE PHOTO: A construction worker talks on the phone in front of a 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) billboard at the Tun Razak Exchange development in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, February 3, 2016. REUTERS/Olivia Harris//File Photo The press conference is due to be held at 11 am (0300 GMT).
Allegations of corruption have swirled around Najib who was defeated in a general election two weeks ago, though he has consistently denied any wrongdoing. The new government has barred him from leaving the country, and police have raided his home and properties linked to his family.
He had been summoned by the anti graft agency to explain suspicious transfers of $10.6 million into his bank account, just a fraction of billions of dollars that went missing from 1MDB, a fund he set up a decade ago.
Writing by John Geddie; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore
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Malaysia's commercial crime chief set to give statement on 1MDB
|
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May 15, 2018 / 5:36 PM / in 15 minutes Big-name hedge funds bought healthcare stocks in first quarter David Randall 4 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Prominent hedge fund managers appeared to make big first-quarter bets in UnitedHealth Group Inc, Anthem Inc and other health insurers whose shares tumbled in January after Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffett and Jamie Dimon in January announced a joint venture to slash U.S. healthcare costs.
Jana Partners added a new position in Anthem, while Omega Advisors and Tiger Management both added new positions in UnitedHealth Group, according to regulatory filings released Tuesday. Shares of Anthem are 10.5 percent below the high for the year reached in January, while shares of UnitedHealth are 3.1 percent below January highs.
Shares of healthcare companies have come under pressure this year due to the threat of increased competition. Buffett, famed for his love of junk food, has said spiraling healthcare costs are responsible for 18 percent of U.S. gross domestic product, up from 5 percent in 1960, and he wants to slash a few percentage points off.
The partnership between Amazon.com Inc, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, and JPMorgan Chase & Co - which collectively employ more than 1 million people - announced plans to reform healthcare for their own employees while simultaneously reducing their own companies’ coverage costs, though it has yet to make significant progress.
“I think we’ll have a CEO within a couple of months,” Buffett said at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder’s meeting earlier this month. “We want our employees to get better medical services at lower cost ... The resistance will be unbelievable, and if we fail, at least we tried.”
At the same time, shares of pharmacy benefits managers Express Scripts Holdings Co and CVS Health Corp have slid on concerns that Amazon.com Inc will enter the business. Glenview Capital Management Chief Executive Larry Robbins made a bullish case for both stocks at the Sohn Investment Conference in New York on April 23, one of the most prominent hedge fund conferences of the year.
Amazon’s entry into the business of selling medications, is “neither imminent, assured, nor likely to succeed,” he said.
Quarterly disclosures of hedge fund managers’ stock holdings, in what are known as 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, are one of the few public ways of tracking what the managers are selling and buying. But relying on the filings to develop an investment strategy comes with some risk because the disclosures come 45 days after the end of each quarter and may not reflect current positions.
Along with the bets on healthcare companies, large hedge fund managers also added to so-called FANG stocks during the first quarter as the tech sector slid due to fears of increased regulatory oversight. Jana Partners added a new position in Apple Inc while selling all of its shares in Facebook Inc, while Tiger Management added to its positions in Google-parent Alphabet and Facebook.
Overall, hedge funds are up by an average of 0.4 percent for the year to date, according to Hedge Fund Research, while the broad S&P 500 is up 1.2 percent over the same time. Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Nick Zieminski
|
Big-name hedge funds bought healthcare stocks in 1st quarter
|
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556,000 Square Feet of Leases Executed at 35% GAAP and 16% Cash Rent Growth
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. (“the Company,” or “Hudson Pacific”) (NYSE: HPP) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2018.
First Quarter Highlights
Net income attributable to common stockholders of $48.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, compared to net income of $20.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, a year ago; Funds From Operations (FFO), excluding specified items, of $70.0 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to $71.9 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, a year ago; Executed 556,256 square feet of leases with GAAP and cash rent growth of 34.9% and 15.7%, respectively, including an early renewal with InvenSense, Inc. for 138,942 square feet at Concourse in North San Jose; Formed a joint venture with Macerich to redevelop Westside Pavilion into 500,000 square feet of creative office space, with 100,000 square feet of existing entertainment and retail space; Sold office properties along the San Francisco Peninsula for an aggregate of $241.0 million before credits, prorations and closing costs; Recast the Company’s unsecured credit facilities to provide for additional availability and term and lower interest rates; and Declared and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share on common stock.
“We had a strong first quarter that included significant leasing, strategic sales and some exciting redevelopment activity,” said Victor Coleman, Hudson Pacific Properties’ Chairman and CEO. “We executed 55 new and renewal leases totaling more than 556,000 square feet, including two major renewals. We also took advantage of strong market conditions along the San Francisco Peninsula to sell more than $240 million of non-strategic office assets in those markets. We are recycling that capital into selective opportunities, beginning with redevelopment of the Westside Pavilion shopping mall in West Los Angeles into a one-of-a-kind creative office campus.”
Coleman continued, “We recast our unsecured credit facilities to ensure we remain flexible and optimally positioned to perform in any economic climate, increasing our debt availability and term, while lowering our interest rates. Subsequent to the quarter, we continued to re-balance and enhance the quality of our portfolio by closing the sale of 9300 Wilshire in Beverly Hills, and renewing and expanding one of our 15 largest tenants, Nutanix in San Jose. As we look to the remainder of the year, we remain laser-focused on addressing our 824,000 square feet of 2018 expirations, which we currently hold at an average of 22% below market, and tackling the larger vacancies in our portfolio, including both delivered and under construction development and redevelopment projects.”
Financial Results
The Company reported net income attributable to common stockholders of $48.6 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2018, compared to net income attributable to common stockholders of $20.5 million, or $0.14 per diluted share, for the three months ended March 31, 2017.
FFO, excluding specified items, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 totaled $70.0 million, or $0.45 per diluted share, compared to FFO, excluding specified items, of $71.9 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, a year ago. Specified items for the first quarter of 2018 consisted of transaction-related expenses of $0.1 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, and one-time debt extinguishment costs of $0.4 million, or $0.00 per diluted share, with no specified items for the first quarter of 2017.
FFO, including specified items, for the three months ended March 31, 2018 totaled $69.5 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared to $71.9 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, a year ago.
Consolidated Operating Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Total revenue during the first quarter increased 3.5% to $174.1 million from $168.3 million for the same quarter a year ago. Total operating expenses decreased 0.5% to $139.0 million from $139.8 million for the same quarter a year ago. As a result, income from operations increased 23.1% to $35.1 million from $28.5 million for the same quarter a year ago. The primary reasons for the changes in total revenue and operating expenses are discussed below in connection with the Company’s segment operating results.
Interest expense during the first quarter decreased 6.5% to $20.5 million from $21.9 million for the same quarter a year ago. The Company had $2.3 billion and $2.4 billion of notes payable at March 31, 2018 and March 31, 2017, respectively.
The Company had $37.7 million of gains on sale associated with the sales of Embarcadero Place, Building 6 of Peninsula Office Park and 2180 Sand Hill during the first quarter of 2018 compared to $16.9 million of gains on sale associated with the dispositions of 222 Kearny and 3402 Pico during the first quarter of 2017.
The Company also had $0.4 million of one-time debt extinguishment costs and $0.1 million of transaction-related expenses associated with pursuing potential investments, with no comparable expenses during the first quarter of 2017.
Segment Operating Results for the Three Months Ended March 31, 2018
Office Properties
Total revenue at the Company’s office properties decreased 0.2% to $156.5 million from $156.8 million for the same quarter a year ago. The decrease was primarily the result of a $3.4 million decrease in rental revenue to $130.1 million and a $0.4 million decrease in parking and other revenue to $5.5 million, partially offset by a $3.5 million increase in tenant recoveries to $20.9 million. The decrease in rental revenue and parking and other revenue largely resulted from the Cisco and Robert Bosch lease terminations at Campus Center and Foothill Research Center, respectively, as well as the sales of 222 Kearny (sold February 14, 2017), Pinnacle I and Pinnacle II (sold November 16, 2017), Embarcadero Place (sold January 25, 2018) and 2180 Sand Hill (sold March 1, 2018). The increase in tenant recoveries is largely due to Netflix’s lease commencement at ICON, WeWork’s lease commencements at Hill7 and Rincon Center’s prior year property tax adjustment.
Office property operating expenses increased 11.0% to $53.2 million from $48.0 million for the same quarter a year ago. The increase primarily resulted from Rincon Center’s prior year property tax adjustment, an increase in ground rent expense at 3400 Hillview and occupancy increases at various properties throughout the portfolio, partially offset by the aforementioned Cisco termination and asset sales.
Net operating income with respect to the Company’s 29 same-store office properties for the first quarter increased 1.1% on a GAAP basis and 5.8% on a cash basis.
At March 31, 2018, the Company’s stabilized and in-service office portfolio was 94.4% and 89.7% leased, respectively. During the quarter, the Company executed 55 new and renewal leases totaling 556,256 square feet.
Studio Properties
Total revenue at the Company’s studio properties increased 53.3% to $17.6 million from $11.5 million for the same quarter a year ago, largely due to a $3.7 million increase in rental revenue to $10.4 million and a $2.4 million increase in other property-related revenue to $6.4 million. The increase in rental and other property-related revenue largely resulted from the acquisition of Sunset Las Palmas Studios (purchased in May 2017), as well as higher rental and other property-related revenue at the Company’s same-store studio properties. Total studio operating expenses increased 33.3% to $9.7 million from $7.3 million for the same quarter a year ago, largely due to the Sunset Las Palmas Studios acquisition.
As of March 31, 2018, the trailing 12-month occupancy for the Company’s same-store studio portfolio decreased to 90.2% from 90.3% for the period ended March 31, 2017.
Balance Sheet
At March 31, 2018, the Company had total assets of $6.4 billion, including unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $64.1 million. At March 31, 2018, the Company had $580.0 million of undrawn total capacity under its unsecured revolving credit facility.
Major Leasing
Executed Significant Leases Throughout Portfolio
InvenSense, Inc., a TDK Group Company and leading provider of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) sensor platforms, renewed its lease for 138,942 square feet through April 2025 at Concourse in North San Jose.
Trailer Park, a leading full-service agency specializing in content creation and entertainment marketing, renewed its 91,076-square-foot lease through December 2028 at 6922 Hollywood in Los Angeles.
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority signed a 41,126-square-foot lease through February 2027 at Gateway in North San Jose, in part backfilling the former Haynes and Boone, LLP space.
Orbital Insight, a geospatial analytics company, signed a 40,827-square-foot lease through April 2025 at Palo Alto Square in Palo Alto.
Lyft signed a 24,612-square-foot lease through July 2025 at 83 King in Seattle, backfilling a portion of the former Capital One space.
Acquisitions
Formed Joint Venture to Acquire & Redevelop Westside Pavilion
On March 1, 2018, the Company entered into a joint venture with Macerich to redevelop Westside Pavilion, a shopping mall in West Los Angeles, into approximately 500,000 square feet of state-of-the-art creative office space, with approximately 100,000 square feet of existing entertainment and retail space. The joint venture is held 75% by the Company and 25% by Macerich, with the Company serving as the managing member and developer. The Company estimates total project costs, including the $190.0 million asset value at contribution, in the range of $425-475 million, with each partner contributing their pro rata share. Construction is expected to be completed by mid-2021.
Dispositions
Sold San Francisco Peninsula Office Properties
On January 25, 2018, the Company sold Embarcadero Place, a 197,402-square-foot office campus in Palo Alto, for $136.0 million, before credits, prorations and closing costs. Sale represents a 16% premium to the Company’s GAAP basis and 24% premium to its originally allocated purchase price.
On January 31, 2018, the Company sold the 63,050-square-foot Building 6 of Peninsula Office Park in San Mateo for $22.5 million, before credits, prorations and closing costs. The sale represents a 6% premium to the Company’s GAAP basis and 12% premium to its originally allocated purchase price.
On March 1, 2018, the Company sold 2180 Sand Hill, a 45,613-square-foot office property in Menlo Park, for $82.5 million, before credits, prorations and closing costs. The sale represents a 35% premium to the Company’s GAAP basis and 39% premium to its originally allocated purchase price.
Financings
Effective March 13, 2018, the Company amended and restated its unsecured credit facilities.
The Company’s unsecured revolving credit facility has been increased from $400.0 to $600.0 million, and the term was extended to March 13, 2022 (with an option to extend for one additional year). The revolving credit facility’s interest rate was reduced to either LIBOR plus 105 to 150 basis points per annum, or a specified base rate plus 10 to 50 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s leverage ratio.
The interest rate for the Company’s $300.0 million term loan maturing April 1, 2020 (“Term Loan A”), $350.0 million term loan maturing April 1, 2022 (“Term Loan B”), and $125.0 million term loan maturing November 17, 2022 (“Term Loan D”), was reduced to either LIBOR plus 120 to 170 basis points per annum, or a specified base rate plus 20 to 70 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s leverage ratio.
The Company now also has the right to extend Term Loan A’s maturity date for up to two additional one-year periods.
If the Company maintains a credit rating for its senior unsecured long-term indebtedness, it may make an irrevocable election to adjust the interest rates for the revolving credit facility and Term Loans A, B and D. The rate for the revolving credit facility could be made equal to either LIBOR plus 82.5 to 155 basis points per annum, or the specified base rate plus zero to 55 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s credit rating. The rate for Term Loans A, B and D could be made equal to either LIBOR plus 90 to 175 basis points per annum, or the specified base rate plus zero to 75 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s credit rating. The Company has not made this credit rating election.
The Company continues to pay interest on its $75.0 million term loan maturing November 17, 2020 (“Term Loan C”) at a rate equal to either LIBOR plus 130 to 220 basis points per annum, or a specified base rate plus 30 to 120 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s leverage ratio. If the Company maintains a credit rating for its senior unsecured long-term indebtedness, it may make an irrevocable election to change Term Loan C’s interest rate to either LIBOR plus 90 to 185 basis points per annum, or the specified base rate plus zero to 85 basis points per annum, depending on the Company’s credit rating. The Company has not made this credit rating election.
Note the amended and restated unsecured credit facilities include certain limitations on dividend payouts and distributions, and other customary affirmative and negative covenants, substantially the same as those in the prior credit agreement.
Dividend
Paid Common Dividend
The Company’s Board of Directors declared a dividend on its common stock of $0.25 per share for the first quarter of 2018, equivalent to an annual rate of $1.00 per share. The dividends were paid on March 29, 2018 to stockholders of record on March 19, 2018.
Activities Subsequent to March 31, 2018
Renewed & Expanded Top 15 Tenant
In North San Jose, cloud computing and software company Nutanix renewed its 212,600-square-foot lease at 1740 Technology and Metro Plaza through May 2024, and signed two new, co-terminus leases for an additional 21,379 square feet at 1740 Technology and 58,714 square feet at Concourse.
Sold Beverly Hills Office Property
The Company sold 9300 Wilshire, a 61,422-square-foot office building in Beverly Hills, for $13.8 million, before credits, prorations and closing costs, representing a 19% premium to its GAAP basis.
2018 Outlook
The Company is reaffirming full-year 2018 FFO guidance in the range of $1.87 to $1.95 per diluted share, excluding specified items. Specified items for full-year 2018 FFO guidance consist of the transaction-related expenses of $0.1 million and write-off of original issuance costs (i.e., deferred financing costs) of $0.4 million associated with the recast of the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facility and 5-and 7-year term loan facilities, both of which were identified as excluded items in our first quarter 2018 FFO. The full-year 2018 FFO estimates reflect management’s view of current and future market conditions, including assumptions with respect to rental rates, occupancy levels and the earnings impact of events referenced in this press release, but otherwise excludes any impact from future unannounced or speculative acquisitions, dispositions, debt financings or repayments, recapitalizations, capital markets activity or similar matters. There can be no assurance that the actual results will not differ materially from this estimate.
Below are some of the assumptions the Company used in providing this guidance (dollars in thousands):
Full Year 2018 Metric Low High Growth in Same-Store Office property cash NOI (1)(2)(3) 3.5% 4.5% Growth in Same-Store Studio property cash NOI (1)(2) 5.5% 6.5% GAAP non-cash revenue (straight-line rent and above/below-market rents) (4) $50,000 $60,000 GAAP non-cash expense (above/below-market ground rent) $(2,900) $(2,900) General and administrative expenses (5) $(57,250) $(62,250) Interest expense, net (6) $(79,250) $(82,250) FFO attributable to non-controlling interests $(19,500) $(23,500) Weighted average common stock/units outstanding—diluted (7) 157,150,000 158,150,000 (1) Same-store is defined as the 29 office properties or two studio properties, as applicable, owned and included in the Company’s stabilized portfolio as of January 1, 2017, and anticipated to still be owned and included in the stabilized portfolio through December 31, 2018. (2) Please see non-GAAP information below for definition of cash NOI. (3) This estimate excludes approximately $4.2 million of material one-time tenant improvement cost reimbursements received in 2017, which were likewise excluded from prior year (2017) guidance for purposes of same-store office property cash NOI growth estimates. Please see the Same-Store Analysis in the Company’s Fourth Quarter 2017 Supplemental Operating and Financial Information report for further detail regarding these reimbursements. (4) Includes non-cash straight-line rent associated with the studio properties. (5) Includes non-cash compensation expense, which the Company estimates at $17,500 in 2018. (6) Includes amortization of deferred financing costs and loan discounts, which the Company estimates at $6,000 in 2018. (7) Diluted shares represent ownership in the Company through shares of common stock, OP Units and other convertible or exchangeable instruments. The weighted average fully diluted common stock/units outstanding for 2018 includes an estimate for dilution impact of stock grants to the Company’s executives under its 2016, 2017 and 2018 outperformance programs, as well as performance-based awards under the Company’s special one-time retention award grants. This estimate is based on the projected award potential of such programs as of the end of such periods, as calculated in accordance with the Accounting Standards Codification 260, Earnings Per Share.
The Company does not provide a reconciliation for non-GAAP estimates on a forward-looking basis, including the information under “2018 Outlook” above, where it is unable to provide a meaningful or accurate calculation or estimation of reconciling items and the information is not available without unreasonable effort. This is due to the inherent difficulty of forecasting the timing and/or amount of various items that would impact net income attributable to common stockholders per diluted share, which is the most directly comparable forward-looking GAAP financial measure. This includes, for example, acquisition costs and other non-core items that have not yet occurred, are out of the Company’s control and/or cannot be reasonably predicted. For the same reasons, the Company is unable to address the probable significance of the unavailable information. Forward-looking non-GAAP financial measures provided without the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures may vary materially from the corresponding GAAP financial measures.
Supplemental Information
Supplemental financial information regarding the Company’s first quarter 2018 results may be found in the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Website at investors.hudsonpacificproperties.com . This supplemental information provides additional detail on items such as property occupancy, financial performance by property and debt maturity schedules.
Conference Call
The Company will hold a conference call to discuss first quarter 2018 financial results at 11:00 a.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. ET on May 3, 2018. To participate in the call by telephone, please dial (877) 407-0784 five to 10 minutes prior to the start time to allow time for registration. International callers should dial (201) 689-8560. The call will also be broadcast live over the Internet and can be accessed via the Investor Relations section of the Company’s Website at investors.hudsonpacificproperties.com , where a replay of the call will be available. A replay will also be available beginning May 3, 2018 at 2:00 p.m. PT / 5:00 p.m. ET, through May 10, 2018 at 8:59 p.m. PT / 11:59 p.m. ET, by dialing (844) 512-2921 and entering the passcode 13678355. International callers should dial (412) 317-6671 and enter the same passcode.
About Hudson Pacific Properties
Hudson Pacific Properties is a vertically integrated real estate Company focused on acquiring, repositioning, developing and operating high-quality office and state-of-the-art studio properties in select West Coast markets. Hudson Pacific invests across the risk-return spectrum, favoring opportunities where it can employ leasing, capital investment and management expertise to create additional value. Founded in 2006 as Hudson Capital, the Company went public in 2010, electing to be taxed as a real estate investment trust. Through the years, Hudson Pacific has strategically assembled a portfolio in high-growth, high-barrier-to-entry submarkets throughout Northern and Southern California and the Pacific Northwest. The Company is a leading provider of design-forward, next-generation workspaces for a variety of tenants, with a focus on Fortune 500 and industry-leading growth companies, many in the technology, studio sectors. As a long-term owner, Hudson Pacific prioritizes tenant satisfaction and retention, providing highly customized build-outs and working proactively to accommodate tenants’ growth. Hudson Pacific trades as a component of the Russell 2000® and the Russell 3000® indices. For more information visit hudsonpacificproperties.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “intends,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” or “potential” or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases that are predictions of or indicate future events, or trends and that do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond the Company’s control that may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s good faith beliefs, assumptions and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. Furthermore, the Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement to reflect changes in underlying assumptions or factors, new information, data or methods, future events or other changes. For a further discussion of these and other factors that could cause the Company’s future results to differ materially from any forward-looking statements, see the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, on February 16, 2018, and other risks described in documents subsequently filed by the Company from time to time with the SEC.
Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands, except share data)
March 31, 2018 (Unaudited)
December 31, 2017 ASSETS Investment in real estate, at cost $ 6,499,393 $ 6,423,441 Accumulated depreciation and amortization (574,814 ) (533,498 ) Investment in real estate, net 5,924,579 5,889,943 Cash and cash equivalents 64,080 78,922 Restricted cash 10,900 22,358 Accounts receivable, net 5,945 4,363 Straight-line rent receivables, net 119,436 109,457 Deferred leasing costs and lease intangible assets, net 241,912 244,554 Prepaid expenses and other assets, net 69,735 61,138 Assets associated with real estate held for sale 11,704 211,335 TOTAL ASSETS $ 6,448,291 $ 6,622,070 LIABILITIES AND EQUITY Notes payable, net $ 2,240,688 $ 2,421,380 Accounts payable and accrued liabilities 146,588 163,107 Lease intangible liabilities, net 45,651 49,930 Security deposits and prepaid rent 65,692 64,031 Derivative liabilities — 265 Liabilities associated with real estate held for sale 630 2,216 TOTAL LIABILITIES 2,499,249 2,700,929 6.25% Series A cumulative redeemable preferred units of the operating partnership 10,177 10,177 EQUITY Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. stockholders’ equity: Common stock, $0.01 par value, 490,000,000 authorized, 155,626,055 shares and 155,602,508 shares outstanding at March 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively 1,556 1,556 Additional paid-in capital 3,625,673 3,622,988 Accumulated other comprehensive income 22,936 13,227 Retained earnings 9,500 — Total Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. stockholders’ equity 3,659,665 3,637,771 Non-controlling interest—members in consolidated entities 263,556 258,602 Non-controlling interest—units in the operating partnership 15,644 14,591 TOTAL EQUITY 3,938,865 3,910,964 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND EQUITY $ 6,448,291 $ 6,622,070 Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(Unaudited, in thousands, except share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31, 2018 2017 REVENUES Office Rental $ 130,082 $ 133,516 Tenant recoveries 20,904 17,401 Parking and other 5,546 5,899 Total Office revenues 156,532 156,816 Studio Rental 10,383 6,685 Tenant recoveries 354 665 Other property-related revenue 6,435 4,042 Other 414 77 Total Studio revenues 17,586 11,469 TOTAL REVENUES 174,118 168,285 OPERATING EXPENSES Office operating expenses 53,240 47,954 Studio operating expenses 9,664 7,251 General and administrative 15,564 13,810 Depreciation and amortization 60,553 70,767 TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES 139,021 139,782 INCOME FROM OPERATIONS 35,097 28,503 OTHER EXPENSE (INCOME) Interest expense 20,503 21,930 Interest income (9 ) (30 ) Unrealized gain on ineffective portion of derivatives — (6 ) Transaction-related expenses 118 — Other income (404 ) (678 ) TOTAL OTHER EXPENSES 20,208 21,216 INCOME BEFORE GAINS ON SALE OF REAL ESTATE 14,889 7,287 Gains on sale of real estate 37,674 16,866 NET INCOME 52,563 24,153 Net income attributable to preferred stock and units (159 ) (159 ) Net income attributable to participating securities (327 ) (240 ) Net income attributable to non-controlling interest in consolidated entities (3,323 ) (3,037 ) Net income attributable to non-controlling interest in the operating partnership (177 ) (202 ) Net income attributable to Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. common stockholders $ 48,577 $ 20,515 Basic and diluted per share amounts: Net income attributable to common stockholders—basic $ 0.31 $ 0.14 Net income attributable to common stockholders—diluted $ 0.31 $ 0.14 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding—basic 155,626,055 147,950,594 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding—diluted 156,714,822 149,950,346 Dividends declared per share $ 0.25 $ 0.25 Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.
Funds From Operations
(Unaudited, in thousands, except per share data)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018 2017 Reconciliation of net income to Funds From Operations ( “ FFO ” ) (1) : Net income $ 52,563 $ 24,153 Adjustments: Depreciation and amortization of real estate assets 60,069 70,294 Gains on sale of real estate (37,674 ) (16,866 ) FFO attributable to non-controlling interests (5,331 ) (5,507 ) Net income attributable to preferred units (159 ) (159 ) FFO to common stockholders and unitholders 69,468 71,915 Specified items impacting FFO: Transaction-related expenses 118 — One-time debt extinguishment costs 421 — FFO (excluding specified items) to common stockholders and unitholders $ 70,007 $ 71,915 Weighted average common stock/units outstanding—diluted 157,284 150,335 FFO per common stock/unit—diluted $ 0.44 $ 0.48 FFO (excluding specified items) per common stock/unit—diluted $ 0.45 $ 0.48 (1) We calculate FFO in accordance with the White Paper on FFO approved by the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts. The White Paper defines FFO as net income or loss calculated in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“GAAP”), excluding extraordinary items, as defined by GAAP, gains and losses from sales of depreciable real estate and impairment write-downs associated with depreciable real estate, plus real estate-related depreciation and amortization (excluding amortization of deferred financing costs and depreciation of non-real estate assets) and after adjustment for unconsolidated partnerships and joint ventures. The calculation of FFO includes the amortization of deferred revenue related to tenant-funded tenant improvements and excludes the depreciation of the related tenant improvement assets. We believe that FFO is a useful supplemental measure of our operating performance. The exclusion from FFO of gains and losses from the sale of operating real estate assets allows investors and analysts to readily identify the operating results of the assets that form the core of our activity and assists in comparing those operating results between periods. Also, because FFO is generally recognized as the industry standard for reporting the operations of REITs, it facilitates comparisons of operating performance to other REITs. However, other REITs may use different methodologies to calculate FFO, and accordingly, our FFO may not be comparable to all other REITs. Implicit in historical cost accounting for real estate assets in accordance with GAAP is the assumption that the value of real estate assets diminishes predictably over time. Since real estate values have historically risen or fallen with market conditions, many industry investors and analysts have considered presentations of operating results for real estate companies using historical cost accounting alone to be insufficient. Because FFO excludes depreciation and amortization of real estate assets, we believe that FFO along with the required GAAP presentations provides a more complete measurement of our performance relative to our competitors and a more appropriate basis on which to make decisions involving operating, financing and investing activities than the required GAAP presentations alone would provide. We use FFO per share to calculate annual cash bonuses for certain employees. However, FFO should not be viewed as an alternative measure of our operating performance because it does not reflect either depreciation and amortization costs or the level of capital expenditures and leasing costs necessary to maintain the operating performance of our properties, which are significant economic costs and could materially impact our results from operations. Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.
Net Operating Income
(Unaudited, in thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
2018 2017 Reconciliation of net income to Net Operating Income ( “ NOI ” ) (1) : Net income $ 52,563 $ 24,153 Adjustments: Interest expense 20,503 21,930 Interest income (9 ) (30 ) Unrealized gain on ineffective portion of derivative instruments — (6 ) Transaction-related expenses 118 — Other income (404 ) (678 ) Gain on sale of real estate (37,674 ) (16,866 ) Income from operations 35,097 28,503 Adjustments: General and administrative 15,564 13,810 Depreciation and amortization 60,553 70,767 NOI $ 111,214 $ 113,080 (1) We evaluate performance based upon property NOI from continuing operations. NOI is not a measure of operating results or cash flows from operating activities as measured by GAAP and should not be considered an alternative to income from continuing operations, as an indication of our performance, or as an alternative to cash flows as a measure of liquidity, or our ability to make distributions. All companies may not calculate NOI in the same manner. We consider NOI to be a useful performance measure to investors and management because when compared across periods, NOI reflects the revenues and expenses directly associated with owning and operating our properties and the impact to operations from trends in occupancy rates, rental rates and operating costs, providing a perspective not immediately apparent from income from continuing operations. We calculate NOI as net income (loss) excluding corporate general and administrative expenses, depreciation and amortization, impairments, gains/losses on sales of real estate, interest expense, transaction-related expenses and other non-operating items. We define NOI as operating revenues (including rental revenues, other property-related revenue, tenant recoveries and other operating revenues), less property-level operating expenses (which includes external management fees, if any, and property-level general and administrative expenses). NOI on a cash basis is NOI on a GAAP basis, adjusted to exclude the effect of straight-line rent and other non-cash adjustments required by GAAP. We believe that NOI on a cash basis is helpful to investors as an additional measure of operating performance because it eliminates straight-line rent and other non-cash adjustments to revenue and expenses.
View source version on businesswire.com : https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503005492/en/
Investor/Media Contact:
Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.
Laura Campbell
Vice President, Head of Investor Relations
(310) 445-5700
[email protected]
Source: Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.
|
Hudson Pacific Properties Reports First Quarter 2018 Financial Results
|
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A plan by the U.S. securities regulator to study how stock exchange pricing affects the market by creating different fee levels for different stocks and exchange-traded funds could stifle competition among ETF providers, industry executives told Reuters.
FILE PHOTO: The seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission hangs on the wall at SEC headquarters in Washington, DC, U.S., June 24, 2011. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is preparing a one-to-two-year pilot program to test in part whether the way stock exchanges charge fees and pay out rebates prompts brokers to send customer orders to exchanges with the biggest rebates rather than those that would get the best result for clients.
The U.S. Treasury has backed the creation of the pilot as part of its overhaul of capital markets.
The plan will group most stocks and exchange-traded products (ETPs), such as ETFs, into four categories, each with different pricing schemes.
But including ETFs in the pilot is a mistake because, unlike stocks, many ETFs have similar or even identical underlying components, with providers competing more on things like having the lowest management fees, said Eric Pollackov, global head of ETF capital markets at Invesco’s ( IVZ.N ) PowerShares.
“We are against the inclusion of ETPs in the actual pilot,” said Pollackov, adding that his firm, the No. 4 ETF provider, supports the pilot for corporate stocks. “The playing field needs to be level when it comes to ETFs.”
Under the pilot program, some stocks and ETFs will trade as they do today - with a 30 cent per 100 share maximum exchange execution fee, with rebates for resting orders left on some exchanges. Other securities will have a 15 cent per 100 share execution fee cap, while still others have a 5 cent per 100 share fee limit. Rebates will also be banned for certain securities.
That uneven pricing could create a problem for some ETFs. For example, there are multiple ETFs that track the S&P 500 Index, and one with a 5-basis-point execution fee would have a distinct advantage over one with a 30-basis-point fee. And an ETF that pays a broker a 30-cent rebate per 100-share order would have an advantage over one that cannot pay a rebate.
The SEC has not said how it will decide which securities qualify for which fee levels.
“ETF investors are keenly paying attention” to pricing structures, said David Lavalle, U.S. head of SPDR ETF capital markets at No. 3 ETF provider State Street Global Advisors.
He expressed concern about how the SEC pilot will impact similarly constructed ETFs, and market quality in general.
Some market participants have suggested the SEC ensure that ETFs of similar “flavors” end up in the same buckets, but that may be impractical given the scale of the industry. There are around 2,000 U.S.-listed ETFs offered by dozens of providers, with underlying investments ranging from tech stocks to junk bonds.
“You can’t get into every esoteric flavor or the SEC is going to take a year to just try to get the buckets right,” said Doug Clark, head of market structure for the Americas at brokerage Investment Technology Group ( ITG.N ).
The SEC declined to comment on the proposal, which is currently open for public comment.
Reporting by John McCrank; Editing by Lauren LaCapra and Rosalba O'Brien
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U.S. ETF providers cry foul over SEC's fee experiment
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May 8 (Reuters) - Evoqua Water Technologies Corp:
* EVOQUA WATER TECHNOLOGIES REPORTS SECOND QUARTER 2018 RESULTS
* Q2 EARNINGS PER SHARE $0.10 * Q2 REVENUE $333.7 MILLION VERSUS I/B/E/S VIEW $321.3 MILLION
* Q2 EARNINGS PER SHARE VIEW $0.16 — THOMSON REUTERS I/B/E/S Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
|
BRIEF-Evoqua Water Technologies Reports Q2 Earnings Per Share Of $0.10
|
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CALGARY, Alberta, May 30, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vogogo Inc. (“ Vogogo ” or the “ Company ”) (CSE:VGO) today announces that it has filed its financial statements for the first quarter of 2018, for the period ended March 31, 2018. The Company reported a loss of $152,778 for the quarter, compared to a loss of $748,713 for same quarter in the prior year, and had cash and cash equivalents as at quarter end of $12,883,732.
As previously announced Vogogo completed the acquisition of Crypto 205 Inc. and commenced cryptocurrency mining activities after the end of the first quarter, effective April 3, 2018. The results for Crypto 205 Inc. subsequent to the acquisition by Vogogo will form part of the Company’s consolidated second quarter results.
The financial statements for the quarter ended March 31, 2018 and the corresponding management’s discussion and analysis may be obtained on Vogogo’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com .
For information or interview please contact:
John Kennedy FitzGerald
Chief Executive Officer and President
403-648-9292
Source: Vogogo Inc.
|
Vogogo Releases Financial Results for Final Quarter Prior to Acquisition of Operating Business
|
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Bitcoin has largely escaped government oversight, but regulators are examining whether other widely traded cryptocurrencies should be regulated as securities, according to people familiar with the matter.
The inquiry includes a focus on ether, representing a significant threat to virtual currencies, which so far haven’t been drawn into a regulatory crackdown on potential fraud in the market for the assets. Until now, regulators hadn’t questioned whether rules designed for stocks should apply to virtual currencies such as ether,...
|
World’s Second Most Valuable Cryptocurrency Under Regulatory Scrutiny - WSJ
|
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May 8, 2018 / 8:01 PM / in 7 minutes Democrats say Republicans' $15 billion spending cut request 'hypocritical' Richard Cowan 3 The Trump administration on Tuesday began trying to convince U.S. lawmakers to support $15 billion in spending cuts, which Democrats called a hypocritical bid to reclaim an image of fiscal conservatism following Republicans’ deficit-ballooning tax cuts of 2017. FILE PHOTO: Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) speaks during a news conference after and the U.S. Congress failed to reach a deal on funding for federal agencies on Capitol Hill January 20, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
’s package, known as a rescissions request to kill existing budget commitments, rekindled partisan fiscal conflict in Congress on the heels of relative calm with the March 23 enactment of a government-wide funding bill.
White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney was dispatched to a weekly Republican meeting to urge approval of the spending cuts. House of Representatives conservatives applauded Trump’s measure.
“We will get the rescissions package passed,” House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy told reporters after a closed-door meeting with his fellow rank-and-file Republicans.
Separately, Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell told reporters that “if the House is able to pass the rescission package, we will look at it.”
The national debt, an accumulation of past annual deficits, now exceeds $21 trillion and is projected to hit $29 trillion by the end of the decade, expanded by deep Republican tax cuts last December and a massive spending bill by both parties earlier this year.
Representative Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 House Democrat, said that with this new budget spat, the Trump administration and congressional Republicans had displayed “another example of their hypocritical attitude toward deficits.”
“After ballooning deficits to over a trillion dollars a year for the next decade ... Republicans cannot be taken seriously when they claim we need to cut $15 billion from key programs in the name of fiscal responsibility,” he said.
With the federal deficit at $804 billion this year, up from $665 billion last year, and on track to hit $1 trillion in 2020, the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog group in Washington, said the rescission proposal “isn’t going to fix the debt but it’s a start.”
Maya MacGuineas, president of the nonpartisan group, said, “Congress should seriously consider the president’s proposed rescission package, or at least a subset of it.”
Asked about Trump’s proposed rescissions of $7 billion from the Children’s Health Insurance Program, Mulvaney told reporters that some of “that money could not be spent even if the rescission package fails.”
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer countered that unused funds being targeted for rescissions could be put back into the program with Congress’ approval.
A 45-day clock starts ticking for Congress to act once the rescissions are formally submitted. Reporting by Richard Cowan and Susan Cornwell; editing by Kevin Drawbaugh and Grant McCool
|
Democrats say Republicans' $15 billion spending cut request 'hypocritical'
|
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April 30 (Reuters) - Gardner Denver Holdings Inc:
* GARDNER DENVER HOLDINGS INC SAYS SELLING STOCKHOLDERS ARE OFFERING 22.09 MILLION SHARES OF COMMON STOCK OF GARDNER DENVER HOLDINGS, INC - SEC FILING
* GARDNER DENVER HOLDINGS INC SAYS WILL NOT RECEIVE ANY PROCEEDS FROM SALE OF CO'S COMMON STOCK BY SELLING STOCKHOLDERS Source : bit.ly/2rarh7i Further company coverage: ([email protected])
|
BRIEF-Gardner Denver Holdings Says Selling Stockholders Are Offering 22.09 Million Shares Of Common Stock Of Co
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US and European governments have been played by Facebook, says NYU's Scott Galloway 1 Hour Ago Scott Galloway, NYU Stern School of Business professor, discusses Facebook Mark Zuckerberg's testimony in front of the European Parliament over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal and election interference.
|
US and European governments have been played by Facebook, says NYU's Scott Galloway
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May 16, 2018 / 10:35 PM / Updated 16 minutes ago George Soros' bet on Tesla could see other investors follow suit Kate Duguid , Trevor Hunnicutt 5 Min Read
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If Tesla Inc ( TSLA.O ) Chief Executive Elon Musk needs to raise even more money, there may be a way. FILE PHOTO: Soros Fund Management Chairman George Soros speaks during a panel discussion at the Nicolas Berggruen Conference in Berlin, October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Thomas Peter/File Photo
On Tuesday billionaire investor George Soros disclosed a $35 million stake in Tesla convertible senior notes during the first three months of the year.
Convertible notes give investors the right to trade their debt for equity at a conversion rate and are more appealing to the risk-averse, allowing them to benefit from Tesla’s stock price rising while guarding against the risk that it might not.
Tesla’s stock price hit a high of $386 last year but has since slipped to close at $286.48 on Wednesday.
While Musk has said the electric car maker would not have to raise more cash this year, Wall Street disagrees, with analysts saying the company would need to borrow if it continues to fail to meet its own production targets for building new, lower-cost Model 3 electric sedans.
Investors who evaluated Tesla’s junk-bond offering last year now say a convertible offering appears a more likely option than returning to the high-yield market.
“It’s a wonderful trade,” said Ross Gerber, chief executive of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth and Investment Management, who earlier this year bought Tesla convertible bonds due in 2022 and said he is interested in buying more notes.
Tesla investors fretted in late March about the company’s ability to produce the Model 3. A crash involving Tesla’s autopilot technology and its falling bond price also took a toll.
“The company is burning cash at such a rate that a capital raise is nearly inevitable at some time in the next three quarters,” Henry Peabody, co-portfolio manager for Eaton Vance Multisector Income Fund, who said Tesla would likely use a convertible bond to raise funds.
Tesla could not be reached for comment.
“Given how volatile the stock is, there are a lot of convertible players out there that would clearly like this type of paper,” said a portfolio manager at a firm among Tesla’s top-10 bondholders. The investor, who declined to be named because they were not authorized to speak for the company, said they could be interested in such bonds. RISK AND REWARD
If Tesla’s stock price stays around current levels, convertible investors, such as Soros, can reclaim the notes’ face value when they come due, a profitable trade if Soros bought them at a discount when the bonds were under pressure.
Soros Fund Management LLC took a $35 million stake in the Tesla convertible bonds due in March 2019 88160RAB7=, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Soros’ spokesman did not respond to questions.
In the case of the Soros’ Tesla notes that rate was initially set at a conversion price of $359.87, higher than the $286.48 per share the stock trades at today.
If Tesla’s stock rallies past its conversion rate, Soros could swap his Tesla notes into more than 97,000 shares of Tesla common stock, according to the bond’s prospectus and Soros’ filing. That could make for an even more lucrative trade.
Either way, convertible noteholders pocket interest totaling 0.25 percent per year in the meantime.
Hedge funds also like convertible bonds because they can use them to amplify or mitigate the risk of a short, or bet against, a company’s stock.
By contrast, with a junk bond, an investor’s best-case scenario is full repayment. Stockholders enjoy fewer protections if the company’s finances deteriorate.
Some wary investors said a convertible is a better option for Tesla than a junk bond, but not by much.
After raising $1.8 billion in its first junk bond issuance in August 2017, the 12.6 percent price decline of that bond 88160RAE1=RRPS since it was issued means markets will demand a higher premium on future debt.
Thomas Graff, head of fixed income at Brown Advisory Inc, said a convertible would probably succeed although he would probably not participate.
“A convertible would make a lot more sense given where they are,” said Graff. Reporting by Kate Duguid and Trevor Hunnicutt; Additional reporting by Alexandria Sage in San Francisco; editing by Clive McKeef
|
George Soros' bet on Tesla could see other investors follow suit
|
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ANKARA (Reuters) - Iran said on Monday it respected the votes cast by people in Lebanon’s parliamentary election, where unofficial results showed Iran-backed Hezbollah and its political allies won just over half the seats, state TV reported.
“Lebanon is an independent country ... Iran respects (the) vote of Lebanese people ... We are ready to work with ... the government elected by the majority,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi was Quote: d as saying by state TV.
Writing by Parisa Hafezi, Editing by William Maclean
Our
|
Iran says respects Lebanese people's vote, ready to cooperate: state TV
|
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(Repeats from MAY 10, no changes to text)
* Chart: tmsnrt.rs/2rxY4mS
By John Kemp
LONDON, May 10 (Reuters) - The United States and Saudi Arabia seem to have an understanding to keep the oil market well supplied and avoid a significant price rise after the U.S. re-imposition of sanctions on Iran.
But exactly what this involves is not clear to the market, and may not even be clear to the two governments themselves, sowing uncertainty in the weeks ahead.
“We have had various conversations with various parties about different parties that would be willing to increase oil supply to offset [the impact of sanctions]” U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters on May 8.
“My expectation is not that oil prices go higher. To a certain extent some of this was already in the market, on oil prices,” Mnuchin added.
He declined to name the countries or companies involved but since Saudi Arabia holds most of the world’s spare production capacity it is likely to have been included.
In retrospect, the U.S. president’s April 20 tweet blaming OPEC for high oil prices can be seen as part of the negotiating.
The basic bargain appears to be that the United States will impose tough sanctions that curb Iran’s oil exports and in return Saudi Arabia will avoid a damaging and politically controversial spike in prices.
Saudi Arabia appeared to confirm the existence of an understanding by committing to maintain “the stability of oil markets” and more specifically to “mitigate the impact of any potential supply shortages”.
The kingdom committed to “work with major producers within and outside OPEC as well as major consumers” to limit the impact from possible supply disruptions.
The comments were made in an unusual statement issued by the kingdom’s ministry of energy and carried by the official news agency shortly after the sanctions were announced.
They were subsequently confirmed by the energy minister in a statement on Twitter and in briefings with news organisations.
MONITORING MODE While the existence of an understanding seems fairly well confirmed, its content remains a mystery.
Neither Saudi Arabia nor the United States have indicated a specific price level that would trigger a production increase, and the kingdom has declined to give a specific commitment to replace any fall in Iranian oil exports now or in the future.
Instead, Saudi sources have briefed the media to say the kingdom would not act alone to increase production and intends to consult with other OPEC and non-OPEC members.
OPEC sources have indicated the organisation has up to 180 days, until the end of the sanctions phase-in period, before needing to decide whether to increase output elsewhere to compensate for Iran.
The safest thing for OPEC may be to leave output unchanged in the near term and monitor the situation (“OPEC in no hurry to decide if extra oil needed to offset Iran”, Reuters, May 10).
In the past, Saudi Arabia has usually been slow to raise production in response to rising prices, preferring the extra revenue to using spare capacity to put a lid on prices.
But in a market like oil, traders will respond to the prospect of supply curbs in future by driving up the price now.
So if Saudi Arabia and its allies stall, the market will reach its own judgement about the impact on the supply-demand balance.
(MIS)UNDERSTANDING? The United States and Saudi Arabia may have reached a detailed agreement on how to handle the prospective reduction of Iranian oil exports and its impact on oil prices.
But it is also possible that they have reached nothing more than a vague high-level political consensus or “gentleman’s agreement” and plan to improvise. If so, that leaves plenty of room for misunderstandings and uncertainty.
The recent rise in crude oil prices will very likely push average U.S. gasoline prices above the psychologically important threshold of $3 per gallon next week, for the first time since 2014 ( tmsnrt.rs/2rxY4mS ).
And if prices continue to escalate, they could become a political issue in the United States ahead of congressional elections in November.
Neither the Trump administration nor Saudi Arabia will want to be blamed for driving oil prices significantly higher.
The U.S. president has already said that oil prices are “artificially very high” and this “will not be accepted”, while Saudi Arabia has been trying to push prices higher, and resisting calls for it to ease production curbs.
Saudi officials have said that the market can absorb higher prices, though they do not want them to rise too much. But there is a lot of uncertainty about how much is “too much”.
In the end, Saudi Arabia and the United States may have differing views about what would constitute an unacceptable spike in prices in response to sanctions.
Whatever they may want, benchmark Brent futures prices have risen by almost $4 per barrel or 5 percent over the last week, and more than $6 or 9 percent higher over the last month, and are still trending higher.
Related columns:
- Sanctions spell the end of OPEC output deal, Reuters, May 9
- Saudi Arabia wants higher prices to kick oil addiction, Reuters, May 3
- Rising oil prices put demand destruction back on the agenda, Reuters, May 2
- Mission accomplished for OPEC as oil moves from slump to boom, Reuters, April 24
- OPEC pact likely to evolve rather than terminate, Reuters, Feb. 24 (Editing by Alexander Smith)
|
RPT-COLUMN-Oil price rise poses challenge for sanctions policy: Kemp
|
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SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia’s trade minister will use a visit to China this week to reinforce ties with his country’s largest trading partner, he said on Wednesday, following a recent souring in relations.
FILE PHOTO: Australia's Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo listens during a joint press conference held on the sideline of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible For Trade (APEC MRT 23) meeting in Hanoi, Vietnam May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Hoang Dinh Nam/Pool Steven Ciobo’s arrival in Shanghai on Thursday marks the first trip by an Australian minister in eight months, part of Canberra’s effort to protect access to a market for everything from iron ore to baby formula, analysts said.
“I am not going to paper over the fact that in the past several months the focus has been on the differences,” Ciobo told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) in a radio interview.
“I will be ensuring our relationship with China is afforded the priority it deserves.”
Ciobo will hold talks with Chinese officials during his three-day visit.
Relations between Australia and China have been tested just two years into a free trade pact after Australian concerns about Chinese influence spurred legislation banning foreign political donations.
China responded with a formal protest and reportedly withheld visas for Australian government officials, jeopardizing a biennial trade fair, sparking fears the row could escalate and further threaten ties.
Officials of both sides are working to reschedule the trade show, though a source familiar with the discussions said that may not happen.
Ciobo, the last Australian minister to visit China in September 2017, said he would also attend Asia’s largest food and beverage exhibition, SIAL China.
China bought A$93 billion ($69.57 billion) of Australian goods and services last year, underpinning corporate heavyweights such as miners Rio Tinto ( RIO.L ) ( RIO.AX ) and BHP Billiton ( BHP.AX ).
Smaller firms, such as food and beverage maker Bellamy’s Australia ( BAL.AX ), have also profited from its rising demand.
Trade ties are just one aspect of a delicate balancing act for Australia, whose security ties with the United States have limited the closeness of relations with China, analysts said.
China’s construction of islands and military facilities in the South China Sea, through which some $3 trillion in trade passes annually, has fed concern it seeks to curb free movement and extend its strategic reach.
Relations began to sour in November when Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, citing “disturbing reports about Chinese influence”, proposed to register lobbyists working for foreign countries. Legislation is set to go to parliament in weeks.
Australian businesses trading with China warn against anti-China sentiment, and analysts say the government appears to be tempering its tone.
“People could lose jobs if Chinese tourists stop coming,” said Nick Bisley, an expert on international relations at Melbourne’s La Trobe University.
“Farmers could go broke if China stops buying agricultural goods, and the government is aware of this. This is why they haven’t continued with the language we saw in 2017.”
($1=1.3367 Australian dollars)
Reporting by Colin Packham; Editing by Darren Schuettler and Clarence Fernandes
|
Australia's trade minister says China ties a priority after recent 'differences'
|
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SAN DIEGO, May 2, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: ARNA) today announced that the Company will release its first quarter 2018 financial results and provide a corporate update on Tuesday, May 8, 2018, after the close of the U.S. financial markets. The Company will host a conference call and live webcast with the investment community the same day at 4:30 p.m. EDT.
Conference Call & Webcast Information
When: May 8, 2018, 4:30 p.m. EDT
Dial-in: (877) 643-7155 (United States) or (914) 495-8552 (International)
Conference ID: 7698222
Please join the conference call at least 10 minutes early to register. You can access the live webcast under the investor relations section of Arena's website at: www.arenapharm.com . A replay of the conference call will be archived under the investor relations section of Arena's website for 30 days after the call.
About Arena Pharmaceuticals
Arena Pharmaceuticals is focused on developing novel, small molecule drugs with optimized receptor pharmacology and pharmacokinetics designed to deliver broad clinical utility across several therapeutic areas. Arena's proprietary pipeline includes potentially first- or best-in-class programs. The most advanced investigational clinical programs are ralinepag (APD811), which will be commencing a Phase 3 program for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), and etrasimod (APD334), which will be commencing a Phase 3 program for ulcerative colitis (UC) and which has potential utility for a broad range of immune and inflammatory conditions. Arena is also evaluating APD371 in Phase 2 for the treatment of pain associated with Crohn's disease. In addition, Arena has collaborations with the following pharmaceutical companies: Everest Medicines Limited (ralinepag and etrasimod in Greater China and select Asian countries), Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH (undisclosed target - preclinical), Outpost Medicine, LLC (undisclosed target – preclinical), Axovant Sciences GmbH (nelotanserin - Phase 2), and Eisai Co., Ltd. and Eisai Inc. (BELVIQ ® - marketed product).
Certain statements in this press release are that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Such include statements about Arena's focus, and the potential of its programs and collaborations. For such statements, Arena claims the protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual events or results may differ materially from Arena's expectations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the include those disclosed in Arena's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These represent Arena's judgment as of the time of this release. Arena disclaims any intent or obligation to update these , other than as may be required under applicable law.
Corporate Contact:
Kevin R. Lind
Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Executive Vice President and
Chief Financial Officer
[email protected]
858.210.3636
Media Contact:
Matt Middleman, M.D.
LifeSci Public Relations
[email protected]
646.627.8384
View original content with multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/arena-pharmaceuticals-to-release-first-quarter-2018-financial-results-and-provide-corporate-update-on-tuesday-may-8-300640699.html
SOURCE Arena Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
|
Arena Pharmaceuticals to Release First Quarter 2018 Financial Results and Provide Corporate Update on Tuesday, May 8
|
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A mutual-fund manager earned nearly $5 million over eight years from a lucrative side gig. He was trustee of his business partner’s private charitable foundation.
Another charitable foundation, set up by a carpet merchant, has millions of dollars in loans outstanding to the man’s carpet company.
A third paid out more to companies owned by... To Read the Full Story Subscribe Sign In
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Private Charitable Foundations Give Lavish Rewards to Insiders
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[] |
May 18 (Reuters) - Carlyle Group LP:
* THE CARLYLE GROUP ENTERS INTO EXCLUSIVE NEGOTIATIONS TO ACQUIRE HGH INFRARED SYSTEMS
* EQUITY FOR THE TRANSACTION WILL BE PROVIDED BY CARLYLE EUROPE TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS III
* CARLYLE GROUP - ENTERED INTO EXCLUSIVE DISCUSSIONS WITH HGH INFRARED SYSTEMS TO ACQUIRE A MAJORITY STAKE IN HGH , ALONGSIDE MANAGEMENT Source text: bit.ly/2Ld8hxl Further company coverage:
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BRIEF-Carlyle Group Enters Into Exclusive Negotiations To Acquire HGH Infrared Systems
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May 8, 2018 / 8:01 AM / Updated 20 minutes ago Armenian ruling party to vote for PM nominee: lawmaker Reuters Staff 1 Min Read
YEREVAN (Reuters) - Armenia’s governing Republican Party will provide the additional votes needed to elect a prime minister during a parliamentary vote on Tuesday, a Republican Party lawmaker told Reuters.
Opposition politician Nikol Pashinyan is the only nominee in the vote in parliament.
“By the end of the parliamentary session Armenia will have a prime minister. The Republican Party’s votes will go towards making up for any votes missing from the 53 needed for the election of a prime minister,” member of parliament Samvel Farmanyan said.
Pashinyan, a former journalist, has led weeks of anti-government demonstrations, prompting the prime minister to resign. Reporting by Hasmik Mkrtchyan; Writing by Polina Ivanova; Editing by Christian Lowe
|
Armenian ruling party to vote for PM nominee: lawmaker
|
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Italy's bond market wins respite but outlook uncertain 01:44
Italy’s government bond yields tumbled on Thursday on the nomination of a new Italian prime minister, the market winning a respite from the political risks that have dealt sentiment a heavy blow over the past week. But as David Pollard reports, there are still more questions than answers over the country's future administration.
Italy’s government bond yields tumbled on Thursday on the nomination of a new Italian prime minister, the market winning a respite from the political risks that have dealt sentiment a heavy blow over the past week. But as David Pollard reports, there are still more questions than answers over the country's future administration. //reut.rs/2IJr7ib
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Italy's bond market wins respite but outlook uncertain
|
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FORT MEADE, Md. (Reuters) - The Pentagon’s cyber warfare unit received an elevated status and a new commander on Friday, signaling the growing importance of digital combat as the United States grapples with sophisticated hacking by Russia, China and other actors.
FILE PHOTO: Lieutenant General Paul Nakasone, nominee to lead the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, is sworn in before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein Army Gen. Paul Nakasone took over leadership of U.S. Cyber Command at a ceremony at this base 30 miles north of Washington that featured both traditional military pomp and signs of the new age of warfare.
Cyber Command was elevated on Friday to an independent “unified command,” a bureaucratic change that for the first time puts it on a par with nine other U.S. warfighting commands.
The change is “an acknowledgement that this new warfighting domain has come of age,” Deputy Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan said.
Shanahan spoke in a massive room that is the hub of a new $500 million Integrated Cyber Center on the heavily fortified Fort Meade campus. When it becomes operational in August, U.S. and allied personnel at the center will monitor and coordinate responses to cyber threats.
“We are ready to unleash our cyber mission forces,” said Marine Lt. Gen. Vincent Stewart, Cyber Command’s deputy director.
Nakasone also took over Friday as director of the National Security Agency, which conducts electronic surveillance and protects U.S. national security agencies’ computer networks against hacking.
Under a “dual-hatted” arrangement, the NSA director also oversees Cyber Command.
Nakasone succeeds Navy Adm. Michael Rogers, who came to the NSA in 2014, when it was still reeling from massive breaches of highly classified data made public by former contractor Edward Snowden.
At his confirmation hearing in March, Nakasone appeared to favor a more robust response to cyber attacks such as those by Russia, which U.S. intelligence agencies say meddled in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, a finding that Moscow has denied.
“Our adversaries have not seen our response in sufficient detail to change their behavior,” Nakasone told lawmakers. “They don’t think much will happen,” he said.
Cyber Command includes military units trained to both defend against cyber attacks and to initiate them.
But while Cyber Command has conducted operations against groups like Islamic State, U.S. presidents have been loathe to get in a cyber war with major nations like Russia or China. The reason, officials have said, is that the United States, with its reliance on computer and communications networks, is more vulnerable than its adversaries.
Editing by G Crosse
|
Pentagon's Cyber Command gets upgraded status, new leader
|
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HONG KONG (Reuters) - Former Australia coach Pim Verbeek has backed incumbent Bert van Marwijk to make a major impact with the Socceroos at the World Cup finals in Russia despite his fellow Dutchman only taking on the role in late January.
Australia Socceroos head coach Bert van Marwijk speaks during a news conference in Sydney, Australia May 7, 2018. REUTERS/Edgar Su The much-travelled Van Marwijk was brought in as a temporary replacement for Ange Postecoglou, who stepped down in November despite securing the country’s qualification for a fourth straight finals.
With Van Marwijk confirmed less than five months before the World Cup kicks off, time has been of the essence but Verbeek believes his compatriot’s know-how and Australia’s experience with Dutch coaches means the combination should bear fruit.
“I think it’s a very good fit because, first of all, Dutch coaches have done well in Australia,” Verbeek told Reuters.
“The mentality is good. It’s a good combination,” added the 62-year-old, who took the Socceroos to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.
“Bert is very experienced, he’s been to the World Cup with Holland and he knows what to do and I think it’s a big challenge for him because in the end his preparation is three weeks before the World Cup starts.
“He has a plan and he knows what to do and he has good staff around him so I think they can do a job.”
Van Marwijk, who guided Saudi Arabia to this year’s finals before stepping down over a contract dispute, will be the third Dutch coach to take the Australians to a World Cup, following in the footsteps of Guus Hiddink and Verbeek.
Hiddink qualified the Socceroos for the Round of 16 in 2006, where they were narrowly defeated by eventual champions Italy, while Verbeek’s team just missed out on a place in the knockout phase four years later.
Van Marwijk’s side will start their 2018 campaign against France on June 16, before meeting Denmark and Peru in Group C of this year’s finals.
The 66-year-old is a coach Verbeek knows well with Van Marwijk succeeding him as coach at Fortuna Sittard in 1998.
From there, he went on to win the UEFA Cup with Feyenoord in 2002 before taking the Dutch to the World Cup final in 2010, and Verbeek believes a strong showing with Australia will be the perfect way for Van Marwijk to round out an impressive career.
“They have a tough group but he knew that before he signed,” Verbeek said. “For Bert, this is probably his last job, so he was willing to go to the World Cup and he’ll like the mentality of the Australian players, that fighting mentality they have.
“This would be a fantastic finish to his career and for Australia I think it’s good to have such an experienced coach.”
Reporting by Michael Church; Editing by John O'Brien
|
Van Marwijk 'good fit' for Socceroos, claims Verbeek
|
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