Month: October 2020

(Bloomberg) — Oil edged higher as data showed Chinese crude imports rose last month.Futures in New York rose around 1.3% toward $40 a barrel. Chinese crude imports climbed 2.1% in September from August, the General Administration of Customs said Tuesday, in a positive sign for global demand. Buying was resilient against expectations for a slowdown and volumes are likely to stay high through to the end of the year, Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. said in a note.The data underscore China’s role in the oil market’s recovery as a renewed coronavirus spread impinges on the rebound in consumption …read more […]

The European Union is set to win the right to impose tariffs on about $4 billion in U.S. goods in retaliation for subsidies granted to planemaker Boeing under a World Trade Organization (WTO) ruling due on Tuesday. The decision threatens to stoke transatlantic trade tensions with just three weeks until the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 3, although it could also help at last to settle a 16-year legal battle. Both the United States and the EU have signalled interest in settling the dispute over subsidies each provided to their respective planemakers, Boeing and Airbus, while accusing the …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc was left off the list of banks arranging China’s sovereign dollar debt sale for the first time since the nation returned with big annual deals in 2017.Planned for this week, the $6 billion sale will be arranged by 13 banks, including four Chinese lenders and foreign banks such as Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Standard Chartered Plc, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named discussing a private information. The Ministry of Finance didn’t immediately respond to a fax seeking comment.The reason for HSBC’s omission was unclear, but …read more […]

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Shares in Sorrento rose 2.7% in Monday’s extended market session after the company entered into an exclusive license agreement with Personalized Stem Cells (PSC) to buy the global rights to its adipose derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) to treat patients suffering from COVID-19 acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS).Sorrento (SRNE) said that the MSC program has been cleared for a Phase 1 clinical trial by the US Food and Drug Administration to the pipeline of COVID-19 focused rescue therapies. As part of the agreement, the company will conduct the Phase 1 trial, which is targeted to enroll about 20 hospitalized COVID-19 …read more […]

Shares of Cloudflare soared 23% on Monday following the cloud computing company’s launch of its new cloud-based platform Cloudflare One. The network-as-a-service platform promises to secure and connect companies and remote working teams anywhere and on any device.Cloudflare (NET) said in a blog posted on its website that Cloudflare One “replaces a patchwork of appliances and WAN technologies with a single network that provides cloud-based security, performance, and control through one user interface.”The company also said that it has integrated the Cloudflare One platform with all major providers of identity management and device-security solutions. Microsoft Active Directory, Google Workspace, Okta …read more […]

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) has halted its late-stage Covid-19 vaccine trial after a study participant fell ill, news provider STAT has reported. The details of the ‘unexplained illness’ have not been provided.“We must respect this participant’s privacy. We’re also learning more about this participant’s illness, and it’s important to have all the facts before we share additional information,” JNJ told STAT in a statement.A document sent to researchers running the 60,000-patient clinical trial, and obtained by STAT, revealed that a “pausing rule” had been met, and as a result the online enrollment system was closed and an independent safety committee …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — U.S. futures slipped and Asian stocks were mixed Tuesday as investors weighed a potential setback on progress toward a coronavirus vaccine against an overnight surge in technology shares. The dollar and Treasuries advanced.S&P 500 contracts retreated after a report that Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine study has been paused due to an unexplained illness in a participant. Stocks remained higher in Australia, fluctuated in Japan and dipped in South Korea and China. Earlier, the S&P 500 closed higher for a fourth day and technology leaders including Amazon.com Inc., Apple Inc. and Twitter Inc. helped the Nasdaq 100 to …read more […]

October is the month of tricks or treats, and Roku (ROKU) investors are hoping for more of the latter. Roku shares are up 17% this month, and according to the Street’s biggest fan, there’s more upside on the way. Needham analyst Laura Martin raised her price target from $190 to a Street high of $255, suggesting room for a 15% uptick from current levels. Needless to say, the 5-star analyst’s rating stays a Buy. (To watch Martin’s track record, click here)With Q3 earnings around the corner, Martin argues several data points suggest upside for ROKU’s 3Q20 results.Recent eMarketer data suggests, …read more […]

(Bloomberg) — The Australian government is seeking clarification from Beijing on reports that China has suspended purchases of Australian coal amid heightened diplomatic tensions between the two countries.Chinese power stations and steel mills have been verbally told to immediately stop using Australian coal, people familiar with the order said Monday, asking not to be identified as the matter is private. Ports have also been told not to offload Australian coal, one of the people said. It isn’t clear when the latest import ban might end or how it might affect long-term contracts that are already in place.“We are making approaches …read more […]

The latest 13F reporting period has come and gone, and Insider Monkey is again at the forefront when it comes to making use of this gold mine of data. We at Insider Monkey have plowed through 823 13F filings that hedge funds and well-known value investors are required to file by the SEC. The 13F […] …read more […]

Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) has been breathing down rivals Intel and Nvidia’s neck for a while, and it looks as if the traditionally smaller chipmaker is not about to back off any time soon.AMD is reportedly in advanced talks for a $30 billion takeover of semiconductor peer Xilinx (XLNX). Apparently, barring any kinks in the process, an agreement could be sealed even as early as this week.Xilinx makes field programmable gate array (FPGA) chips, which it pioneered back in the 1980s. With over $3 billion in annual sales, the company leads the flexible chips’ market.These are used in several segments …read more […]