Though Portugal seems out of the woods with a projected growth rate of 2.5 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, consumer and business habits might jeopardize the economy in the future. “My fear is more on the change of habits,” Diogo Teixeira, CEO of Optimize Investment Partners, told CNBC. “We’ve seen in […]
Read moreCheck out which companies are making headlines before the bell: H&R Block — The tax preparation firm lost 62 cents per share for its latest quarter. That matched forecasts, with revenue above consensus. H&R Block typically reports losses in quarters outside of its seasonal tax business. Bank of America – The bank now has Berkshire […]
Read moreAT&T said on Wednesday that it is expanding its 5G trials to include three new U.S. cities by the end of the year as part of its push to develop a next-generation network. The trials will test a faster broadband service where the last leg of the connection is delivered via a radio signal to […]
Read moreAmazon and Microsoft announced a new partnership that will allow better integration between the tech titans’ two digital assistants. Amazon’s voice-powered digital assistant Alexa will now be able to activate Microsoft’s own assistant Cortana, and vice versa. The partnership means Amazon customers can use Alexa to access Cortana’s exclusive features such as accessing work calendars, […]
Read moreYoung, well-educated American males are the most comfortable with the idea of traveling by a pilotless plane, according to a new UBS survey of 5,000 people. The study is an expansion on the UBS note released earlier this month that suggested the aviation industry could save $35 billion a year by ditching on-board human control. […]
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The rally in bonds is causing problems for the financial sector, and Todd Gordon of TradingAnalysis.com said that regional banks will actually be the hardest hit. On Monday, Gordon discussed the beginning of a divergence between the gold market and TLT, the ETF that tracks long-term bonds. However, TLT is still up 7 percent this […]
Read moreMortgage interest rates are at the lowest level since last November, but not quite at the lows of last year. That is part of why mortgage volume is weakening. The other factor is a shrinking number of sales as potential buyers struggle to find and afford their dream homes. Total mortgage application volume decreased 2.3 […]
Read moreThe Philippines lifted its one-month suspension on Uber Technologies ahead of schedule on Tuesday after the ride-hailing firm paid almost $10 million in a fine and financial aid to its drivers affected by the halted operations. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had halted Uber’s operations for a month from Aug. 14 for […]
Read moreUltra low official interest rates continue to “weigh heavily” on Germany’s smaller banks, two watchdogs said on Wednesday. Germany’s bank regulators, the Bundesbank and BaFin, surveyed about 1,500 small and medium-sized banks, accounting for 88 percent of institutions and 41 percent of total assets. The findings showed that banks expect pretax profit to fall by […]
Read moreCurrency, United States Finance
UK PM Theresa May arrives in Japan to soothe Brexit fears – Here's what you need to know
U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May touched down in Japan on Wednesday, with aspirations to soothe Brexit concerns and drum up trade from the world’s third-largest economy. Japan, which is prioritizing talks with the European Union over a landmark free trade deal, has been direct with Britain in voicing its concern about the danger Brexit poses […]
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