Month: July 2020

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday issued an emergency airworthiness directive for 2,000 U.S.-registered Boeing 737 NG and Classic aircraft that have been in storage, warning they could have corrosion that could lead to a dual-engine failure. The FAA issued the directive after inspectors found compromised air check valves when bringing aircraft out of storage. If corrosion is found, the valve must be replaced prior to the aircraft’s return to service, the FAA said. …read more […]

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(Bloomberg) — Centrica Plc is selling its North American energy business in a $3.6 billion deal as Britain’s largest household energy supplier seeks to focus on its home market. Its stock rose by a record.The sale of Direct Energy to NRG Energy Inc. is a decisive move by new Chief Executive Officer Chris O’Shea as he seeks to convince investors he can turn the company around after it was demoted from the FTSE-100 U.K. benchmark stock index after 33 years. O’Shea is building on a restructuring announced last month to create a more simple business.Read more about the Centrica’s restructuring …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Schlumberger Ltd. posted its weakest sales in 14 years and is cutting one-fifth of its workforce while warning that new waves of Covid-19 could derail the nascent recovery in global energy demand.The second-quarter rout was so bad for Schlumberger that it’s spending $1 billion on job severance in a move that will shrink staffing to an 11-year low. Various restructuring and impairment charges cost it another $2.7 billion, the company said Friday in a statement.“This has probably been the most challenging quarter in past decades,” Chief Executive Officer Olivier Le Peuch said in the statement. “Subsequent waves of …read more […]

Clearfield (NASDAQ:CLFD) has had a great run on the share market with its stock up by a significant 12% over the last… …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. has reached a deal that would see Malaysia drop all criminal charges against the bank in exchange for $3.9 billion of reparations for its role in raising money for the troubled sovereign wealth fund 1MDB.The deal includes a cash settlement of $2.5 billion paid to Malaysia, the ministry of finance said on Friday. At least another $1.4 billion will come from seized 1MDB assets being returned with the help of the U.S. Department of Justice and Goldman Sachs, it said in a statement.The deal amount along with monies Malaysia has received from the Justice …read more […]

Top news and what to watch in the markets on Friday, July 24, 2020. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — China’s biggest oil and gas companies finalized deals worth $56 billion to sell their pipeline networks to a new national carrier at premiums to their book value, a long-awaited step that’s being seen as a boost for investors.PetroChina Co. will get 1.2 times book value for assets including pipelines, storage and import terminals while Sinopec will get 1.4 times in the deals. The premium valuations are likely to put to rest investor concerns over whether the state-mandated deal would compensate the companies properly for their extensive networks and reward shareholders.The agreements also create a 500 billion yuan ($71 …read more […]

Swiss drugmaker Lonza sees no delays for its project to make Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate and has “strong support” from U.S. President Donald Trump to get the necessary manufacturing equipment, its chairman said. Chairman Albert Baehny had earlier raised concerns that hiring qualified staff and finding gear like bioreactors on short notice could snarl aggressive goals to begin commercial manufacturing of vaccine ingredients for Moderna. Lonza is readying production of smaller batches this month for Moderna’s mRNA vaccine trials in 30,000 people. …read more […]

The drug Breztri Aerosphere is being approved as a maintenance treatment for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the third leading cause of death globally, AstraZeneca said. Known as “smoker’s lung”, COPD is a progressively worsening and potentially deadly condition that affects more than 380 million people worldwide, primarily caused by smoking, but also by occupational hazards such as air pollution or chemical fumes. The approval for AstraZeneca comes at a time when the British drugmaker is seeking to catch up with the runaway success of rival Glaxosmithkline’s Trelegy Ellipta drug. …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — Oil held losses near $41 a barrel in New York as signs of weakness in the American labor market cast doubt on the strength of its demand recovery, while U.S.-China relations deteriorated further.The first increase in jobless claims since March comes as lawmakers negotiate another virus relief package, with infections and deaths surging across many states. Meanwhile, Beijing ordered the U.S. to close its consulate in the city of Chengdu after the American government forced China to leave its mission in Houston. Oil was still poised to eke out a second weekly gain, buoyed earlier in the week …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — China’s traders, company insiders and foreign investors are all fleeing the country’s stock market.Sentiment is quickly souring amid the biggest threat to Beijing’s diplomatic ties with Washington in years. Overseas traders sold more than $2.3 billion worth of Chinese stocks through exchange links with Hong Kong on Friday, one of the largest amounts on record. Some of China’s tech shareholders are getting out as soon as they can.The CSI 300 Index fell as much as 5%, while the ChiNext Index fell 6.6%. Losses accelerated in the afternoon after the Chinese foreign ministry said it ordered the U.S. to …read more […]

Trump administration officials have escalated their public condemnations of China in the last several weeks, with speeches by FBI Director Chris Wray, Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. On Friday, as expected, China’s Foreign Ministry ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in the western city of Chengdu. “Alongside the eviction of the Houston Chinese Consulate, the risk of the U.S.-China conflict escalating into a “Cold War” is worrying,” said Hayaki Narita of Mizuho Bank. …read more […]

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Intel shares fell 9%. The setbacks will have little effect in the next few quarters, but will cause a years-long domino effect, delaying chips meant to counter the rise of rivals Advanced Micro Devices Inc and Nvidia Corp until late 2021 or even 2023. Intel’s 7nm delays extend the lead in the smaller, faster chip technology held by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd, which is now expected to remain at least one generation of technology ahead for years to come. …read more […]