The daily business briefing: April 25, 2019
Facebook stock jumps despite looming $5 billion fine, Deutsche Bank starts turning over Trump loan documents, and more
- 1. Facebook shares surge despite looming $5 billion fine
- 2. Deutsche Bank reportedly turning over Trump's loan documents
- 3. Microsoft shares rise after report shows cloud computing gains
- 4. Boeing estimates $1 billion in costs from 737 MAX grounding
- 5. Stock futures dip ahead of more corporate reports
1. Facebook shares surge despite looming $5 billion fine
Facebook shares jumped by nearly 5 percent in after-hours trading Wednesday after the social media giant reported quarterly revenue that beat expectations, and daily active user growth that equaled estimates. The stock's surge came despite a warning that the company would take up to a $5 billion hit from a Federal Trade Commission investigation fine over reports that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed the private information of 87 million Facebook users. "We had a good quarter and our business and community continue to grow," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. "We are focused on building out our privacy-focused vision for the future of social networking, and working collaboratively to address important issues around the internet."
2. Deutsche Bank reportedly turning over Trump's loan documents
Deutsche Bank has reportedly begun complying with subpoenas from New York Attorney General Letitia James for records tied to funding for several Trump Organization projects, sources told CNN. The documents reportedly are related to loans made to President Trump and his company, including ones for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C.; the Trump National Doral Miami; the Trump International Hotel and Tower in Chicago; and an unsuccessful effort to buy the NFL's Buffalo Bills. James issued the subpoenas after Trump's former attorney Michael Cohen, who testified in a public congressional hearing, said Trump inflated his assets to secure loans from Deutsche Bank. A spokesperson for the bank declined to comment.
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3. Microsoft shares rise after report shows cloud computing gains
Microsoft's stock gained 2 percent in extended trading Wednesday after the software giant reported quarterly earnings that beat Wall Street's expectations. Microsoft's earnings reached $1.14 per share, excluding certain items, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.00, according to Refinitiv. Revenue came in at $30.6 billion, compared to analysts' average estimate of $29.84. Sales rose by 14 percent as the company's push into the public cloud computing continued to pay off with more large businesses shifting their servers and data storage to Microsoft's Asure platform. Microsoft shares have risen by 34 percent in the last year to trade near a record level. The stock, at $127, is $3 short of giving Microsoft a market value of $1 trillion.
4. Boeing estimates $1 billion in costs from 737 MAX grounding
Boeing estimated Wednesday that it would face $1 billion in costs associated to the grounding of its 737 MAX jets in the wake of two deadly crashes that killed a total of 346 people. The costs, which could even rise higher, would include added production expenses associated with fixing flight control software suspected of contributing to the crashes, as well as pilot training and compensation for relatives of passengers killed in the crashes. Boeing said it is working on a new full-year guidance because the previous one didn't include the 737 MAX costs. Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg repeated assurances that the aircraft maker is making progress flight-control software, a key step toward persuading regulators to let the planes return to service.
5. Stock futures dip ahead of more corporate reports
U.S. stock index futures struggled for footing early Thursday ahead of another round of corporate earnings reports. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell by about 0.5 percent after 3M, a Dow component, reported earnings that fell far short of expectations, lowered its full-year outlook, and announced it would cut 2,000 jobs worldwide. Comcast also reported before the bell. It's stock was flat in pre-market trading after it reported earnings that beat estimates by analysts surveyed by Refinitiv, but its revenue fell just short of expectations. Amazon, Ford, Starbucks, and T-Mobile are among the companies reporting after the market closes. The three main U.S. stock indexes closed slightly lower Wednesday after mixed corporate results, a day after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite closed at record highs.
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Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
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