NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. drugmaker Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) plans to reduce its global headcount by around 2 percent through voluntary retirements and layoffs this year and early next year, as it looks to streamline its corporate structure and eliminate some managerial roles and responsibilities.Pfizer has around 90,000 employees worldwide.Pfizer spokeswoman Sally Beatty said the job cuts were “a...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices continued to trade slightly lower on the day after the release of the FOMC meeting minutes from September, which pointed to more rate hikes. The meeting minutes revealed that the third rate hike of the year was unanimous and that there was a general agreement that further rate hikes will be needed in the future.Gold prices slightly edged down following the news but kept...Read More
The S&P 500 could outperform, if recent history is any indicatorThe S&P 500 Index (SPX) last week suffered its worst five-day stretch since March, giving up more than 4% to continue its stretch of selling off after Fed rate hikes. What's more, last week we saw the most 52-week lows since February 2016. However, this could be a bullish signal for the stock market, if recent history is any indicator...Read More
(Kitco News) - Gold prices aremoderately lower in early-afternoon U.S. trading Wednesday, on a normalcorrective pullback from recent solid gains that saw prices hit a 10-week highearlier this week. A big rebound in the U.S. stock market on Tuesday is alsodenting any safe-haven demand for gold and silver markets today. A rally in theU.S. dollar index today also worked against the precious metals ma...Read More
WASHINGTON, (Reuters) - Every Federal Reserve policymaker backed raising interest rates last month in a meeting where they also generally agreed borrowing costs were set to rise further, according to minutes from the meeting released on Wednesday.The hike was the third of this year and the display of unanimity at the Sept. 25-26 meeting could bolster expectations the central bank’s rate-sett...Read More
Oppenheimer expects one penny stock to more than doublePenny stock AzurRx BioPharma Inc (NASDAQ:AZRX) is higher today, after analysts predicted the stock will more than double. Specifically, Oppenheimer initiated coverage of AZRX with an "outperform" rating and a $6 price target -- a premium of 140% to yesterday's close, and in record-high territory. Similarly, the shares of generic drugmaker Akor...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Wednesday he believed there was no room for changing the Italian draft budget for 2019, which the European Union worries would breach the bloc’s fiscal rules and increase Italy’s debt.“We have prepared (the budget) very carefully. Therefore I think there is no room for change,” Conte told reporters on arrivi...Read More
(Reuters) - A U.S. Treasury Department official has been criminally charged with leaking confidential documents relating to former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort, the Russian embassy and others, to a reporter from digital media company BuzzFeed, Manhattan federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.Natalie May Edwards was arrested on Tuesday and charged with unlawfully disclosing suspicious act...Read More
AXP is just above breakeven year-to-dateAmerican Express Company (NYSE:AXP) is trading slightly lower this afternoon, after Oppenheimer lowered its price target on the Dow name to $111 from $113. This bear note is not completely unheard of for AXP, as 10 out of 19 covering firms sport tepid "hold" ratings. What's more, it comes just before the lending company is scheduled to report third-quarter e...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow said on Wednesday that U.S. President Trump was not demanding a policy change at the Federal Reserve after Trump heaped more criticism on the Fed on Tuesday, calling rising U.S. interest rates his “biggest threat.”In what has emerged as a pattern recently, the administration official sought the day after Trump’s com...Read More
(Reuters) - Several public funds with holdings in Facebook Inc on Wednesday backed a proposal to remove Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg as chairman.The proposal, originally bought to the table by hedge fund Trillium Asset Management, is now backed by state treasurers from Illinois, Rhode Island and Pennsylvania. New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer also joined the shareholder proposal....Read More
Hedge funds that doubled down on bearish gold wagers are facing a gut check.The metal is in the middle of a surprise advance, posting the fastest rally since the Brexit vote as a surge in haven demand combines with seasonal buying. The sudden snap of its unlucky streak - bullion has declined every month since April - blindsided fast-money investors, but that could be good for gold bugs.Here's the...Read More
Is it time to prepare for the next financial crisis?Something strange is going on in the financial system.And according to The Wall Street Journal, it's causing some investors- including the biggest banks in the world- to move massive amounts of money out of the banking system.What exactly is going on?Former hedge fund manager, Dr. Steve Sjuggerud, one of the most widely-followed financial analys...Read More
Options traders are expecting a bigger-than-normal post-earnings move from NUENucor Corporation (NYSE:NUE) reports earnings before the open tomorrow, Oct. 18, and the stock has been selling off ahead of the event. NUE shares were last seen down 0.6% at $58.62, setting them up for the lowest close of 2018. The equity fell through long-term support at the 320-day moving average earlier this month, a...Read More
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The United States demanded rapid results on Wednesday from its trade talks with the European Union and complained that the bloc was stalling progress.“Our purpose in the meeting was to stress the need for speed and of getting to near-term deliverables, including both tariff relief and standards,” U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told a briefing in Brussels.&ldqu...Read More
(Kitco News) - The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) economic report of higher risks and slower global economic growth, highlights gold’s relevance in investors’ portfolios, said the World Gold Council (WGC).“The IMF signaled in its 2018 Global Financial Stability Report, an increase in commonly used metrics of risk highlight the relevance of including gold in a portfolio...Read More
(Kitco News) - Kitco aficionados, it is now time to have your say in where you think gold prices are heading in the short-term. Create your own user feedback survey Will gold prices go higher, lower or remain unchanged next week? Kitco readers will have until 9 a.m. EDT, Friday to cast their vote. The results will be tabulated and released after noon (12 PM EDT) along with the results from our...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy sits atop of the World Economic Forum’s annual global competitiveness survey for the first time since the 2007-2009 financial crisis, benefiting from a new ranking methodology this year, the Swiss body said on Tuesday.In its closely-watched annual Global Competitiveness Report, the WEF said the U.S. is the country closest to the “frontier of comp...Read More
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he will ask every cabinet secretary for proposals to cut their budgets 5 percent.As a candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Trump pledged to slash government spending and regulation, and many fellow Republicans going into November congressional elections have picked up the theme in their own campaign promises.Reporting by Steve...Read More
(Kitco News) - Miners have to just wait out the cannabis frenzy until thebubble pops for investor capital to flow back into the metals space, thisaccording to mining executives and fund managers.Marijuana stocks are approaching pre-2001 Nasdaq levels ofovervaluation, and it's not a matter of "if," as much as it is amatter of "when" the cannabis space collapses on the same scale...Read More