[unable to retrieve full-text content]Bausch Health Companies EPS beats by $0.10, beats on revenue Seeking AlphaView full coverage on Google News
from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2pEJcFy
via IFTTT
November 04, 2019 at 07:04PM
Senin, 04 November 2019
Aramco Reports $68 Billion Profit Ahead Of IPO - OilPrice.com
Aramco reported a net profit of $68 billion for the first nine months of the year at the same time as it announced an intention to float on the local stock exchange, Tadawul.
According to the company’s statement regarding its intention to float, which also included data on its nine-month performance, its free cash flow position was also solid, at $59 billion, with capex calculated at $23 billion.
The net result of Aramco for the first half of the year was $46.9 billion, which means the company netted $21.1 billion during the third quarter of the year.
Looking forward, Aramco seems to have ambitious spending plans regardless of where oil prices are headed. It said it planned to spend $35-40 billion next year and $40-45 billion in 2021. The one allowance for a downward price trend was the statement that it would cut its capex in case oil prices fell.
In dividends—an area that prospective investors are keeping a close eye on—Aramco declared an ordinary payout of $13.4 billion for the third quarter. In addition to this, it will later declare an interim dividend of $9.5 billion, payable to the Saudi government as sole shareholder. Next, year, Aramco plans to pay out $75 billion in dividends.
Related: Breaking Open A Black Hole: The World's Most Dangerous Experiment
Dividends and their longevity are what is expected to draw investors to the Aramco IPO, scheduled for December. However, reports about coercion of Saudi investors and the arranging banks’ difficulties in coming up with a specific valuation of the company have continued to haunt the IPO of the century.
However, the attractiveness is certainly there. Aramco reported average daily production of 11.6 million barrels of oil and condensates for 2018. Proved oil and condensate reserves stood at 226.8 billion barrels at end-2018, making Aramco the largest oil company in the world in terms of reserves, as well as profits.
By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com
More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/36wv2XR
via IFTTT
November 04, 2019 at 11:30PM
Transit disruptions, job action continue in Metro Vancouver - CityNews Vancouver
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Bus delays could be coming, as there were no talks over the weekend and no new negotiations are scheduled for Monday in Metro Vancouver’s transit disruption.
More sailings at the SeaBus terminal in North Vancouver have been cancelled today as a result of the continued job action by maintenance workers, bus and SeaBus operators.
As of 8 a.m., the 4:10 p.m., 6:20, and 7:30 sailings from North Vancouver have been cancelled for this afternoon, as well as the 4:25 p.m., 6:35 and 7:45 from Vancouver.
Good morning, everyone! We anticipate possible disruptions to bus and SeaBus service today. Please sign-up for Transit Alerts at https://t.co/8mM2JFOsQC or follow @TransLink on Twitter. ^CK
-SkyTrain (incl. Canada Line)
-bus
-SeaBus
-West Coast Express
-HandyDART— TransLink BC (@TransLink) November 4, 2019
Working conditions, pay, and benefits are the main sticking points, with the union claiming Coast Mountain Bus Company (CMBC) is failing to address issues, while CMBC argues its current offer is fair and includes wage increases of about 10 per cent over the next four years.
Unifor, which represents the workers, says most of the bus systems should be functioning Monday but cancelled SeaBus sailings will mean less frequent departures. Over the last few days, SeaBus sailings have been half-hourly at most.
A total of 16 sailings between Vancouver and North Vancouver were cut on Sunday.
No new negotiations in the transit strike. Union warns disruptions will increase by the end of the week as maintenance refuses to work overtime. SeaBus sailings are again expected to be at a reduced frequency today. Listen for the latest on @NEWS1130 pic.twitter.com/2xvk9hv2yg
— Mike Lloyd (@llikemoyd) November 4, 2019
The union says some routes may see bus cancellations by the end of the week, as maintenance backlogs pile up.
Talks broke off on Thursday, with job action launching on Friday morning. The first wave has operators refusing to wear uniforms and maintenance workers refusing overtime.
There are no new talks planned for Monday.
With files from Marcella Bernardo and Lisa Steacy
from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/36vVQr6
via IFTTT
November 04, 2019 at 09:21PM
Landlocked oil problem would not be solved by Wexit: expert - Global News
International trade experts say it’s a pipe dream to think the landlocked oil-producing western provinces would have an easier time getting their product to international markets if they were to split from Canada.
“Wexit” — an apparent play on the word “Brexit” used to describe the United Kingdom’s planned departure from the European Union — was trending on social media after the Liberals secured a minority government in last week’s federal election, but were shut out of Alberta and Saskatchewan.
READ MORE: Hundreds gather for Wexit rally in Edmonton as group’s leader pens letter to Jason Kenney
Peter Downing, a founder of the western separatist movement that wants a referendum on separation, has said an independent country in the middle of the Prairies could leverage the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to gain coastal pipeline access.
“We have more freedom as an independent country to get our resources to the coast than as part of Canada,” he said the day after the election.
“We’ll have the best of both worlds: We’ll keep our money and we’ll have access to the coast.”
The UN convention, adopted in 1982, does say that “landlocked states shall enjoy freedom of transit through the territory of transit states by all means of transport.”
However, it goes on to say that terms “shall be agreed between the landlocked states and transit states concerned through bilateral, subregional or regional agreements,” and that transit states have the right to ensure their “legitimate interests” aren’t infringed upon.
“It’s not an unqualified right. They can’t just say, ‘OK, we need to get through here,”’ said Silvia Maciunas, a fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation in Waterloo, Ont.
“They have to talk to the other state, which would be Canada.”
The “means of transport” in the convention refers to railways, waterways, roads and even porters and pack animals, but the treaty specifies that landlocked and transit states would have to agree to add pipelines to the list.
Landlocked countries such as Ethiopia and Switzerland have long had agreements to use ports in other countries.
Bolivia, on the other hand, lost its ocean access in a war with Chile in the 1800s and has been fighting to regain it ever since. The International Court of Justice in The Hague ruled last year that Chile has no obligation to engage in talks with Bolivia.
“Had the court ruled in the favour of Bolivia, Chile would have theoretically been obligated to enter into ‘good faith’ negotiations, whatever the heck that means,” said Carlo Dade, director of the Trade and Investment Centre at the Canada West Foundation.
“You can imagine how that would play out up here if Alberta, Saskatchewan leave … We’ve seen enough out of B.C. to know how that would play out,” said Dade.
The British Columbia government has resisted, primarily through court actions, the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion that would triple the amount of crude shipped between Alberta and the Lower Mainland.
Add to that there is no real enforcement mechanism through the international court, Dade said.
“The only thing the ICJ gives you is the ability to go from saying, ‘Please give us access’ to ‘Pretty please give us access.”’
© 2019 The Canadian Press
from Business - Latest - Google News https://ift.tt/2r2dUJ4
via IFTTT
November 03, 2019 at 10:59PM
Apple commits $2.5 billion to address California’s housing crisis and homelessness issues - TechCrunch
Apple announced this morning a significant $2.5 billion commitment towards easing the California housing availability and affordability crisis. The investment includes a $1 billion commitment to an affordable housing investment fund, $1 billion towards a first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance fund, and $300 million in Apple-owned land which will be made available for affordable housing.
Another $200 million will go to support new, lower-income housing in the Bay Area including by way of a $150 million Bay Area housing fund, with partners like Housing Trust Silicon Valley. This will consist of long-term forgivable loans and grants. Another $50 million will be directed towards vulnerable populations, specifically to address homelessness in the Silicon Valley area.
Apple says it will also look into similar efforts across both Northern and Southern California that are designed to prevent homelessness.
The company says the full commitment in the state — which is being done in parntership with Governor Gavin Newsom, the state of California, and community-based organizations — will take approximately two years to be fully utilized, and will depend on the availability of projects. The capital returned to Apple will also be reinvested in future projects over the next five years.
The investment comes at a time when the housing crunch in Calfornia has forced people from their homes, Apple explained in its announcement.
“Community members like teachers, firefighters, first responders and service workers are increasingly having to make the difficult choice to leave behind the community they have long called home. Nearly 30,000 people left San Francisco between April and June of this year1 and homeownership in the Bay Area is at a seven-year low,” Apple said.
The housing crisis didn’t develop overnight, nor is the tech industry’s growth the only reason there’s now an issue.
Like most complexities, the crisis arose from a combination of factors including also the area’s local laws, zoning regulations, protests against building vertically, NIMBY-ism, rental control’s impact on the market, the restricted housing supply and much more. But tech has played a big role here, having led to a disparity between the wealthy tech workers and everyone else as well as contributing to rapid population growth that’s outpaced the growth in the housing supply.
Today, many area residents can’t afford to live in the cities where they work, commuting an hour or more from more affordable neighborhoods.
“Before the world knew the name Silicon Valley, and long before we carried technology in our pockets, Apple called this region home, and we feel a profound civic responsibility to ensure it remains a vibrant place where people can live, have a family and contribute to the community,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, in a statement. “Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride. When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution.”
Apple isn’t the first tech giant to make a contribution in an attempt to address the housing crisis. Facebook last month announced $1 billion to tackle affordable housing in California and elsewhere. Google earlier this year also announced a $1 billion investment aimed at easing the Bay Area housing crisis. Elsewhere, Microsoft committed $500 million for an affordable housing fund in the Seattle area.
The fact that the tech giants have to step in to address the problems — which do, in fact, impact their own businesses as they need to be able to hire more than the just high-paid engineers — is concerning. While some would applaud the sizable investments as proof of tech’s ability to be a good neighbor to their local communities, others would say we should just be taxing these companies more so the money is available to solve the problems upfront — instead of it going into loans that actually earn these companies more. Nor should they be invested into million- or billion-dollar programs that give these tech companies an incredible amount of influence in local politics.
But it could also be that crisis has gotten so out of control, it can no longer be solved at the local level.
“This unparalleled financial commitment to affordable housing, and the innovative strategies at the heart of this initiative, are proof that Apple is serious about solving this issue. I hope other companies follow their lead,” said Newsom. “The sky-high cost of housing — both for homeowners and renters — is the defining quality-of-life concern for millions of families across this state, one that can only be fixed by building more housing. This partnership with Apple will allow the state of California to do just that.”
https://techcrunch.com/2019/11/04/apple-commits-2-5-billion-to-address-californias-housing-crisis-and-homelessness-issues/
2019-11-04 15:06:37Z
52780426782033
McDonald's stock falls after CEO is fired for misconduct with employee - CNBC
Steve Easterbrook, president and chief executive officer of McDonald's Corp., walks the grounds after a morning session during the Allen & Co. Media and Technology conference in Sun Valley, Idaho, U.S., on Wednesday, July 12, 2017.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Shares of McDonald's fell Monday, after the fast-food giant announced it has fired CEO Steve Easterbrook for having a relationship with an employee.
The stock, which has a market value of $149 billion, was trading down more than 2% Monday. It had slid as much as 3.1% in the premarket. Shares of the Dow component are now down more than 11% since the Dow's July 15th record close, putting it among the biggest laggards in the index. It ranks third from the bottom, ahead of Cisco Systems and Travelers.
After taking the helm of McDonald's in 2015, Easterbrook led a turnaround of the company, leading the value of its stock to nearly double. His successor Chris Kempczinski, in his prior role as head of McDonald's U.S. business, worked closely with Easterbrook in efforts to turn around U.S. restaurants.
"Given Kempczinski's role as President of McDonald's USA, he was the obvious eventual successor to Easterbrook, but the timing is clearly much sooner than anticipated," Bernstein analyst Sara Senatore wrote in a note.
Kempczinski told The Wall Street Journal on Sunday is not planning any "radical, strategic shift."
Under Easterbrook, McDonald's increasingly turned its attention to technology. U.S. locations have been receiving tech-focused upgrades, like self-order kiosks and digital menu boards. It is trying to hit $4 billion in delivery sales by the end of 2019. The company also acquired two companies this year that are trying to use artificial intelligence in drive-thrus.
But pricey store renovations, delivery commission fees and value deals led to a fraying relationship between McDonald's management and its U.S. franchisees, who formed an independent group a year ago to address their concerns. As a result of concessions made by McDonald's, relations have improved in recent months.
"This balance of relations with franchisees and shareholders, that can sometimes have differing objectives, will be paramount as Mr. Kempczinski begins his new role," Cowen analyst Andrew Charles wrote in a note.
While Kempczinski does not have any international experience at the global fast-food chain, he was president of Kraft International before coming to McDonald's.
"We are definitely surprised by the news and view Mr. Easterbrook's departure as a loss but also believe the company's strategy is on very solid footing and the McDonald's system is much more than just one man," BTIG analyst Peter Saleh wrote in a note.
Joe Erlinger, who will take over as president of McDonald's USA, is currently president of its international operated markets, which includes countries like Australia and the United Kingdom. Before taking over that role in January, he was president of high growth markets.
Piper Jaffray analyst Nicole Miller Regan downgraded McDonald's stock following the announcement.
"Our experience leads us to take a more cautionary view noting the potential lack of momentum and time involved in formalizing a new team," she said.
McDonald's last month had its first quarterly earnings miss in two years after promotions struggled to lure U.S. customers away from the competition.
Easterbrook's firing follows two other recent executive departures. McDonald's global Chief Marketing Officer Silvia Lagnado and Chief Communications Officer Robert Gibbs left last month.
—CNBC's Gina Francolla contributed to this report.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/04/mcdonalds-stock-falls-after-firing-ceo-and-announcing-successor.html
2019-11-04 13:55:37Z
52780426349059
Apple Pledges $2.5 Billion To Combat California's Housing Crisis - NPR
Apple CEO Tim Cook and California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled the tech company's plan to help ease the housing crisis, with Apple pledging $2.5 billion for mortgages, development and other initiatives. Photo courtesy of Apple hide caption
Apple is pledging $2.5 billion to confront California's housing crisis, in a bid to help the state ease a situation that's been blamed for marginalizing people in service and support jobs and creating a spike in homelessness.
"The sky-high cost of housing — both for homeowners and renters — is the defining quality-of-life concern for millions of families across this state, one that can only be fixed by building more housing," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement from Apple. "This partnership with Apple will allow the state of California to do just that."
The announcement comes as California grapples with how to keep pace with growing demand — by one estimate, as NPR recently noted, the state must build more than 3 million homes by 2025.
Apple's plan includes $1 billion to create a mortgage assistance fund for first-time homebuyers, and another $1 billion that will be an open line of credit to support building "very low- to moderate-income housing," the company said.
People who want to own or rent a home in California increasingly face tight supply in high-demand areas. While the crisis has a wide reach, the struggle to find new housing at an affordable price is even more daunting for the millions of people who haven't benefited from the tech boom that has made some into billionaires.
The result is that in a state famous for nurturing innovative ideas in garages, a number of people have been living in their vehicles because of the high cost of rent — including some lower-paid tech workers. Communities from Los Angeles to the Bay Area have been criticized for banning or restricting people's ability to live in automobiles and RVs.
"Apple is committed to being a good neighbor and helping to write the next chapter of the region that has been a great home of innovation and creativity for generations," said Lisa Jackson, Apple's vice president of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives.
Some 45% of California residents rent their homes, according to the latest figures from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. It adds that among renters, the average hourly wage is $22.79 — but to afford fair market rent for a two-bedroom home, a renter must earn $34.69 an hour.
Apple's housing offer follows large commitments from other tech giants. Both Facebook and Google have pledged $1 billion in recent months. In January, Microsoft made a $500 million investment to ease similar pressures near its headquarters in the Seattle area.
Jackson says Apple crafted its approach to match the broad reach of the housing crisis, from helping first-time homebuyers to backing philanthropies that support people who are at the greatest risk of experiencing homelessness.
California's poverty rate has fallen in each of the past five years, according to the latest American Community Survey report from the U.S. Census Bureau. But the state's income inequality rate is also one of the worst in the U.S., that same report found. And of all the states that had higher than average income inequality rates in 2018, California was the only one where the income gap grew even wider last year.
"Affordable housing means stability and dignity, opportunity and pride," Apple CEO Tim Cook said. "When these things fall out of reach for too many, we know the course we are on is unsustainable, and Apple is committed to being part of the solution."
Here's the company's breakdown of the $2.5 billion in aid:
- $1 billion affordable housing investment fund
- $1 billion first-time homebuyer mortgage assistance fund
- $300 million worth of land Apple owns in San Jose, which will be available for affordable housing
- $150 million Bay Area housing fund, consisting of long-term forgivable loans and grants
- $50 million to support vulnerable people: Apple is donating $50 million to support Destination: Home's efforts to address homelessness in Silicon Valley, and will look for similar philanthropies in the north and south of the state
https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/776014095/apple-pledges-2-5-billion-to-combat-californias-housing-crisis
2019-11-04 14:03:00Z
52780426782033
Langganan:
Postingan (Atom)