TARGET LOWERS EARNINGS OUTLOOK
Target again lowered its earnings outlook for the year, still
reeling from data breach of its customers' credit and debit card
information and slower traffic at its stores. Target also posted a
62% decline in 2Q earnings. Shares fell 1% premarket.
WALGREEN SHAKEUP FOLLOWED BAD PROJECTION
A billion-dollar forecasting error in Walgreen's
Medicare-related business has cost the jobs of two top executives
and alarmed big investors.
STAPLES PUSHES TURNAROUND BID AS SALES FALL AGAIN
Staples' fiscal 2Q profit fell to $82 million, or 13c a share,
while it pushed ahead in its plans to close underperforming stores
and spark sales growth online. Sales fell 1.8% to $5.22 billion.
The top line beat analysts' view. Shares up 2% early.
LOWE'S TRIMS GUIDANCE EVEN AS RESULTS TOP EXPECTATIONS
Lowe's reported a fiscal 2Q profit of $1.04 billion, or $1.04 a
share, as net sales improved 5.7% to $16.6 billion. Still, the
retailer scaled back its sales guidance for the year and share were
down 3% in premarket trading.
GLENCORE SWINGS TO PROFIT
Glencore, which swung to a net profit of $1.72 billion during
the first half of the year, said it would launch a $1 billion share
buyback, signaling the mine-to-market group's commitment to
returning cash to shareholders.
RUSSIA TENSIONS MAY HURT NORWAY OIL FUND EARNINGS
Norway's oil fund, the world's biggest sovereign wealth fund,
reported a 3.3% profit on its investments in the second quarter but
its investment in European equities could prove challenging due to
Ukraine-Russia tensions.
MISSING CHAIRMAN COMPLICATES IPO
China International Capital Corp. is said to have dropped CCB
International (Holdings) from the list of underwriters on its
planned IPO after a company the bank floated early this year
recently said its chairman had gone missing.
AMAZON TO OPEN IN SHANGHAI'S FREE-TRADE ZONE
Amazon said it plans to set up operations in Shanghai's new
free-trade zone, a major move that will allow it to sell more
merchandise from abroad in China and help boost competition against
rivals like Alibaba.
COCA-COLA AMATIL FACES CHALLENGES IN INDONESIA
When Coca-Cola Amatil sold its first soda in Indonesia, it
reckoned that rising incomes in Southeast Asia's most populous
nation would help build a thirst for soft drinks. Now, the
Australian company's profits there are rapidly losing their
fizz.
EUROPE'S BREWERS HURT BY RUSSIA
Some of Europe's biggest brewers are being walloped by lower
consumer spending in Russia, amid its standoff with the West over
Ukraine and in the wake of Moscow's recent drive to restrict beer
marketing.
BALFOUR BEATTY REJECTS CARILLION'S LATEST MERGER OFFER
Balfour Beatty rejected Carillion's latest takeover offer and
said it won't seek an extension to the so-called "put-up or
shut-up" deadline.
LG CHEM IN DEAL TO SUPPLY BATTERIES TO AUDI
South Korean battery maker LG Chem has reached a deal to supply
hundreds of millions of dollars of batteries for plug-in hybrid
vehicles to Audi, a unit of German auto maker Volkswagen.
CHINA FINES 12 JAPANESE AUTO-PART MAKERS
China levied $202 million in fines against 12 Japanese auto-part
makers for alleged price manipulation in the latest effort to wield
its power against multinational companies.
CHINA'S GEELY STRUGGLES WITH DOMESTIC CAR SALES
Geely said its first half net profit fell 20% largely due to
Chinese customers' preference for foreign car brands over domestic
car brands. The Chinese automaker offset some of that decline by
selling more Volvo cars in China.