Author: Journalist

The return of President-elect Donald Trump to office raises the likelihood of a renewed wave of import tariffs, particularly targeting mainland China but potentially extending more broadly. In a recent posting, Fitch Ratings highlights that businesses should be proactive in dusting off their tariff mitigation playbooks, leveraging both short-term financial strategies and long-term sourcing adjustments to manage the potential costs. One of the first lines of defence against tariffs is lobbying for exemptions or the outright removal of duties. According to Fitch Ratings, this can include exemption requests, waivers, or direct advocacy to influence trade policies. Pre-emptive lobbying efforts —…

(Bloomberg) — Stocks hit all-time highs as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the economy is in remarkably good shape. The euro pared gains as the French government fell after a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Most Read from Bloomberg A rally in big tech drove the S&P 500 toward its 56th closing record in 2024. The Nasdaq 100 climbed over 1%. Nvidia Corp. led a gauge of the “Magnificent Seven” megacaps higher as the group extended this year’s surge to almost 65%. Salesforce Inc. and Marvell Technology Inc. soared as their results boosted hopes both companies will keep benefiting from…

If you buy and hold a stock for many years, you’d hope to be making a profit. But more than that, you probably want to see it rise more than the market average. But First Western Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:MYFW) has fallen short of that second goal, with a share price rise of 31% over five years, which is below the market return. Some buyers are laughing, though, with an increase of 26% in the last year. So let’s assess the underlying fundamentals over the last 5 years and see if they’ve moved in lock-step with shareholder returns. Check out our…

As Bitcoin blew past $100,000, MicroStrategy’s (MSTR, Financial) stock fell by 4.5%. The company, MicroStrategy, is a crude Bitcoin investor holding in excess of 402,000 BTC, which is equivalent to about $40 billion. Despite Bitcoin reaching a record high, traders opted to sell off cryptocurrency-related stocks like MicroStrategy and Coinbase (COIN, Financial), Which also dropped to 3%. MicroStrategy Stock Sinks 4.5% as Bitcoin Hits $100K Milestone MicroStrategy’s journey from its main business of developing enterprise software towards an increasingly fervent Bitcoin gambit has proven useful. Its shares have inflated almost fivefold this year, bringing its market value to approximately $90…

Net Earnings: $7.3 billion for fiscal 2024. Earnings Per Share (EPS): $7.40, up 10% year-over-year. Revenue: $25.6 billion, up 10% year-over-year. Pre-Provision Pretax Earnings: $11.3 billion, up 11%. Return on Equity (ROE): 13.7%, up 30 basis points from the prior year. CET1 Ratio: 13.3%. Dividend Increase: 8% or $0.07 increase in quarterly dividend. Adjusted Net Income: $1.9 billion for Q4, up 24%. Provisions for Credit Losses: $419 million in Q4. Net Interest Income (NII): Up 17% excluding trading. Non-Interest Income: $3 billion, up 13% from the prior year. Operating Leverage: 180 basis points. Share Repurchase: 5 million shares bought back.…

Asana’s (NYSE:ASAN) shares has just recently jumped by 38%, riding a wave of optimism after crushing Wall Street’s Q3 expectations. The project management software firm reported $184 million in revenuea 10% year-over-year boostand a narrower-than-expected loss of just $0.02 per share. The real showstopper? Asana’s new AI Studio. This no-code tool for workflow automation is already making waves, with customers seeing big productivity wins. Toss in an impressive 89% gross profit margin, it’s clear investors are taking notice. Wall Street’s response? A mix of excitement and tempered expectations. JMP Securities leads the cheer squad with a $25 price target and…

(Bloomberg) — US equity futures fluctuated as investors paused a record-breaking rally. Bitcoin topped $100,000 after President-elect Donald Trump picked a crypto proponent to be the next head of the Securities & Exchange Commission. Most Read from Bloomberg French assets rebounded slightly as investors debated the implications of the ousting of Michel Barnier’s government. The CAC 40 stock index climbed 0.3% in Paris, tracking Europe’s regional Stoxx 600 gauge. French bonds rose, trimming the extra yield investors demand to hold the debt over safer German peers. The euro was up 0.2%. S&P 500 contracts were steady after the 56th record…

00:00 Speaker A Yes, right now, we’re seeing oil a little changed, a little above $67 a barrel. This has been something, uh, that is the slide in oil prices has been a big help for consumers. There’s an OPEC meeting this weekend. What should we be watching? 00:19 Speaker B Yeah, and OPEC could definitely increase its output by another 411,000 barrels per day. This would be the fourth month in a row that they do this. Look, Wall Street is basically saying that we may have already seen the highs of oil this year. Um, JP Morgan expects…

Earlier this year, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission adopted rules requiring public companies to disclose climate-related risks so investors can make informed decisions about them; meanwhile, more than a dozen states have gone in the opposite direction, arguing that public pension funds should only consider financial returns and passing legislation that seeks to prevent funds from boycotting fossil fuel investments or from making decisions based on ESG—environmental, social, and governance—factors.‌ A new study co-authored by Yale School of Management Professor Edward Watts—which was cited in the footnotes of the new SEC rules—offers something for both sides of the argument.…