Wall Street ended the day up sharply, with theS&P 500 closing at a record high of 2,121 points, a 1.08% rise. The Dow Jones rose 1.06% to 18,252.2 points, while the Nasdaq gained 1.39% to 5,050.80. Solid employment data, plus hopes that a weaker dollar will boost sales for US multinationals, helped drive up stocks.
- Avon shares see-saw amid bid hoax
- OECD warns tech firms over tax avoidance
- Honda recalls 4.8 million cars over air bag defect
- TalkTalk concerned over UK phone market
Antivirus and security software maker Symantec Corp reported a 6.6% fall in quarterly revenues, hurt by a strong dollar and lower demand for its consumer security products. Net income fell to $176m (£111.5m) in the fourth quarter, from $217m a year ago. Revenues fell to $1.52bn from $1.63bn.
After days of obstruction from lawmakers in President Barack Obama's own Democratic party, the Senate has passed a bill allowing him to finalise a landmark Pacific trade pact. The 65-to-33 vote marked a victory for the White House and free-trade Republicans who had united in an effort to press ahead with Obama's biggest domestic legislative priority in the remaining 20 months of his presidency.
Shake Shack shares rose more than 3% to $70.42 after the fast-growing hamburger chain reported a surprise adjusted quarterly profit. The company's shares debuted on the stock market in January at a listing price of $21.
This was no ordinary share ramping stunt, says Jordan Thomas, a former lawyer at the Securities and Exchange Commission, the regulator where information about bids and other financial information must be disclosed. "It's not some bogus blog post that's gone through 15 different countries and servers. Any time you put out false information in the marketplace, you leave a trail that can be followed by law enforcement. This trail goes right through the SEC."
Wall Street's rise at the start of trading is gathering momentum after data showed that weekly US jobless claims fell to a 15-year low. TheDow Jones index is up more than 1% at 18,248.47 points, while the S&P 500 is also up 1% at 2,119.42 points. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 1.25% to 5,044.16 points.
The purported $8bn bid for US cosmetics firm Avon is losing credibility by the minute. The regulatory filing by an outfit calling itself PTG Capital (not the more-famous TPG Capital) contains a string of typo errors. And not only are US news agencies reporting that PTG seems not to exist, Forbes says the law firm listed on the documents is bogus. Avon shares surged on the initial reports of an offer, before drifting back to earth. Has someone just made a lot of money?
The mystery over a rumoured $8bn bid for cosmetics company Avon deepens. News agencies in the US are reporting trouble identifying the predator, named in a regulatory filing as PTG Capital. There is a well known private equity firm called TPG Capital, and the filing lifted information from its website. Spelling error, or hoax?
Shares in US cosmetics firm Avon soared as much as 20% on reports that a firm called PTG Capital Partners was preparing a takeover bid. However, Avon reportedly said it knew nothing of a bid, and the shares slid back.
Canadian planemaker Bombardier, the firm behind Learjet and the C-Series aircraft, has announced a fourth wave of job cuts in 18 months. It is shedding 1,750 jobs as it reduces its production rate of two types of business jets, its Global 5000 and Global 6000 aircrafts. "Current economic conditions and geopolitical issues in some market regions, such as Latin America, China and Russia, have impacted order intake levels industry-wide," Bombardier said.
After a steep fall in early trading, theFTSE 100 ended the day 0.34% higher at 6,973 points. 3i Group was the biggest riser, up 3% after posting strong earnings growth. ITV fell 1% after it forecast a sharper than expected drop in ad revenue. Outside the top flight, Merlin Entertainments rose 1.17% after the owner of tourist attractions like Madame Tussauds and the London Eye reported a rise in first-quarter revenue.
Economist Bronwyn Curtis is on the BBC talking about the Organisation for Economic Co-operation's proposal to get tough on global tax evasion. It wont be easy to get international agreement, she says, but there's no doubt the rules need updating. "The problem is that most of today's rules are double-taxation treaties set up in the 1920s," she says.
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi says the ECB will continue its economic stimulus program until inflation picks up and companies and consumers gain confidence. He says the programme, involving €1.1 trillion in bond purchases, "will stay in place as long as needed for its objective to be fully achieved". He was speaking at the International Monetary Fund. Earlier this week, the 19 countries that use the euro currency reported the fastest economic growth in nearly two years.
"The devolution of key powers, like transport and planning, should give authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships the tools to develop ambitious plans for growth.
"It is right the powers are earned, not granted arbitrarily - encouraging city regions to prove their capability to deliver in order to gain greater powers will help keep bureaucracy and cost to a minimum.
“But devolution is only a means to an end. Putting the right local structures in place is important, but supporting job creation and investment must remain the primary goal.”
Reuters reports that the International Monetary Fund's chief economist Olivier Blanchard is retiring. Mr Blanchard has helped steer the Fund since 2008 and guided it through the global economic recession. He was behind many of the IMF's policy shifts in recent years in response to lessons from the crisis.
Chancellor George Osborne has recruited former Goldman Sachs economist Jim O'Neill to help drive his plan to devolve more power to UK cities. Mr O'Neill, famous for coining the phrase BRICS to describe the world's leading emerging nations, is becoming a junior minister in the government.
Lloyds Banking Group could be returned to full private ownership in the next 12 months, chairman Norman Blackwell has said at the firm's annual meeting. The government, which rescued Lloyds during the financial crisis, has already cut its stake to under 20%. Asked if the government could complete its exit in the next year, Blackwell said "it's possible and would be very desirable". But it would depend on market conditions, he added.
US producer prices resumed their downward trend in April as the cost of energy fell and a strong dollar kept underlying inflation pressures benign. The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell 0.4% last month, falling for the third time this year. The PPI increased 0.2% in March. The news is likely to support economists' views that the Federal Reserve will only raise interest rates later in the year at the earliest.
Wall Street opened higher after weekly US jobless claims fell to a 15-year low, indicating a strengthening labour market. TheDow Jones index rose 82.32 points, or 0.46% to 18,142.81, while the S&P 500 gained 10.71 points, or 0.51%, to 2,109.19. The tech-heavy Nasdaq added 35.25 points, or 0.71%, to 5,016.94.
A potential strike by top Spanish footballers has been suspended after a petition filed by the league authorities against the players' union was upheld by the High Court. The strike, which now cannot take place this season, would have cost an estimated €50m per match in lost revenues. The dispute is over TV rights and revenues allocated to smaller clubs. The suspension means key title-deciding games can take place over the next couple of weeks.
All in all,Merlin Entertainments' results "provide broad reassurance", says Keith Bowman, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers. "The Lego movie continued to aid its US Legoland Parks, whilst favourable European weather and the ongoing rollout of new attractions such as its 'Oblivion' drop-coaster in Gardaland, Italy, have also played their part," he says.
Delta Air Lines expects to see some "choppiness" in its monthly revenue per available seat mile, the firm's chief financial officer Paul Jacobson has said. The Atlanta-based airline expects unit revenue to be "a little worse" in May than in April, when it dropped 3.5 percent from the year before, Jacobson said. However, June should be "substantially better", as the carrier sees stronger US domestic demand in the summer, he added.
House prices rose in April at the fastest rate since August last year, the the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has said. Its data suggested the third consecutive monthly fall in supply, with new instructions dropping at their fastest rate since May 2009. For the first time since August 2014, respondents' reported an increase in prices in every area of the UK, RICS added.
So what was behind Manchester United's loss? Well there were charges related to getting rid of players. There was also a hefty amortisation charge of £25m, which Richard Hunter, head of equities at Hargreaves Lansdown, said was likely to do with the reduced value of players. The quarter was also weaker because there were fewer Premier League games, compared to the previous year. He said there were "no great shocks" in the results, but at present it was difficult to say how the market would react to the news.
The euro is back above $1.14 against the dollar, for the first time since February which was around the time the European Central Banklaunched its QE stimulus programme. That prompted a fall which saw the euro head towards parity against the dollar. Traders say that today the market is still reacting to Wednesday's poor retail sales figures from the US.
BBC World News
Spanish footballers will find out today whether they can legally go on strike as part of a dispute over TV rights. If the strike goes ahead, it's estimated it will cost €500m per match day in lost revenues. The players' union is unhappy with a new law which forces collective bargaining for TV rights. Previously clubs have negotiated their own rights which, according to football finance expert John Glen, raised €140m last season for Real Madrid and Barcelona. Athletico Madrid, who won the league, got paid just €32m.
Theme park firm Merlin Entertainments, which owns Legoland and Madame Tussauds, says it has made a "satisfactory" start to the year. For the 18 weeks to 2 May 2015, constant currency revenue growth was 6.5%,the firm said.
The number of UK properties being repossessed fell in the first quarter, according to the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). "The proportion of mortgages resulting in repossession in the first quarter was 0.03%, down from 0.04% in the fourth quarter of 2014 and 0.06% in the first quarter of last year," it said.
Japanese technology firmSharp says it has secured a $1.7bn (£1.08bn) bailout from banks, its second major rescue in three years, after its smartphone display business came under intense pricing pressure from Asian rivals. Mizuho Bank and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ will inject a combined 200 billion yen in a debt-for-equity swap.
Pub operator and brewer Marston'shas reported half-year losses of £27.5m, compared with losses of £59.2m the year before. Ralph Findlay, the firm's chief executive", said: "Two years ago, we set out our plan to reposition our pub estate, focusing on high-quality pubs with opportunity for further growth. As we approach the end of the transition period, these results demonstrate our plan is working."