The Economy
Britain, Canada Team Up To Support Global Coal Phaseout
Britain and Canada have teamed up ahead of the United Nations climate talks on Thursday to urge other nations to join them in a global alliance to phase out coal. This Powering Past Coal alliance also includes the Marshall Islands. Mexico, France, Finland, New Zealand, Italy and an African country are expected to sign up on Thursday.
House Members Urge Trump Administration To Leave Auto Trade Rules Unchanged
More than 70 members of the U.S. House of Representatives urged the Trump administration on Wednesday not to raise current production requirements on vehicle content for autos produced in the region under the North American Free Trade Agreement.
The members feel that upping the proportion of NAFTA content in a car to 85% from 62.5% to achieve tariff-free status would eliminate the competitive advantages provided to the U.S. auto industry under the current NAFTA rules – or lead to rejection by Canada and Mexico and the end of the agreement.
The Markets
Wall Street Slumps Further As Oil Price Continues Decline
The U.S. stock market dropped further on Wednesday as oil prices declined for the fourth consecutive day, pulling down the energy sector. Additionally, metal prices also fell due to concerns over a potential slowdown in China, the world’s biggest commodities consumer.
Justice Department Approaches State Attorneys To Block AT&T-Time Warner Deal
The U.S. Justice Department has reached out to a group of 18 state attorneys general to try to win their support for a bid to block AT&T Inc (NYSE:$T)’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Inc (NYSE:$TWX). The deal has been under antitrust review for over a year over concerns that it could harm competition.
Carlyle Group To Raise Up To $1 Billion For New Energy Fund
Private equity firm Carlyle Group (NASDAQ:$CG) plans to raise up to $1 billion to start a new fund to create a New York-listed special purpose acquisition company that invests in oil and gas outside the United States. The fund, expected to be launched next year, will be called Regalwood Global Energy Ltd.
Square Begins Bitcoin Pilot Program
Payments company Square Inc (NYSE:$SQ) has begun testing of a new feature on its Cash app that allows select customers to buy and sell bitcoin. The price of bitcoin was up by 8% on Wednesday.
Top Active Stocks
Target Corp (NYSE:$TGT) shares fell by almost 10% as the company missed Wall Street’s fourth-quarter profit expectations for the upcoming holiday season. However, the company did beat its third-quarter earnings expectations, reporting an EPS of 91 cents and total sales revenue of $16.67 billion, compared with analyst predictions of 86 cents and $16.61 billion respectively.
China-based social media platform YY Inc (NASDAQ:$YY) surged by 24.5% on Wednesday as the company reported strong third-quarter results, including a 46.7% growth in adjusted net income and 36.6% growth in monthly active user count.
Boeing (NYSE:$BA) shares rose slightly on Wednesday as the company announced that it has secured a $27 billion deal to sell 225 more of its 737 Max 8 planes to Flydubai, a Dubai-based low-cost airline.
Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd (NASDAQ:$TEVA), which saw its credit rating downgraded by Fitch last week, went up by 7.2% on Wednesday. On the same day, the company announced the launch of a prescription copay assistance program in the U.S. for its generic equivalent to Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) tablets.
SemiLEDs Corp (NASDAQ:$LEDS) released its Q4 and fiscal year results on Wednesday, reporting a 22% revenue growth compared with the previous quarter. Its stock went up by approximately 130% and closed at a 52-week high of $6.39.
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