Troubled Toshiba announces buyout offer led by Japan businesses

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “its former strength.”

Toshiba has announced a 2 trillion yen, or $14 billion, tender offer in a move that would take it private.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The announcement comes as the scandal-tarnished Japanese electronics and energy giant seeks to turn itself around. The tender offer led by a buyout fund of major Japanese banks and companies called Japan Industrial Partners starts Tuesday and is priced at about $32, a share. Chairperson Akihiro Watanabe asked shareholders to back the proposal, saying it is the only option for Toshiba to return to its former strength.

Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco reports $30B in Q2 profits, down nearly 40% from last year

( ) -q-22- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “overhaul its economy.”

Saudi state-run oil giant Aramco made $30 billion in profit in the second quarter, a nearly 40% decline from the same period the previous year.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The company reported a profit of over $160 billion in 2022, the largest ever recorded by a publicly traded firm.

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VERBATIM: Aramco attributed the decline to lower crude oil prices. The company says total sales were about $106 billion, down from $150 billion in the second quarter of 2022. Aramco is one of the biggest companies in the world, and Saudi Arabia is looking to oil revenues to fund ambitious plans to overhaul its economy.

Trucking giant Yellow Corp. declares bankruptcy after years of financial struggles

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “dating back decades.”

Trucking company Yellow Corporation has declared bankruptcy after years of financial struggles and growing debt.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Experts say former Yellow customers and shippers will face higher prices as they take their business to competitors, including FedEx or ABF Freight. Yellow historically offered the cheapest price points in the industry.

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VERBATIM: The declaration marks a significant shift for the U.S. transportation industry and shippers nationwide. The Chapter 11 bankruptcy arrives just three years after Yellow received $700 million in pandemic-era loans from the federal government. But the company was in financial trouble long before that. Industry analysts have pointed to poor management and strategic decisions dating back decades.

US hiring slows in July

( ) -q-19- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “the higher costs.”

U.S. employers added 187,000 jobs last month as the labor market slowed.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Hiring has remained solid, raising hopes that the United States can avoid a long-expected recession.

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VERBATIM: Despite the hiring slodown, the economu continued to show strength in the face of higher interest rates. The unemployment rate dipped to 3.5%. The Fed wants to see hiring cool off. Strong demand for workers pushes up wages and can force companies to raise prices to make up for the higher costs.

Apple’s earnings top analysts’ forecasts, but year-over-year sales drop for third straight quarter

( ) -q-19- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “nearly seven years.”

Apple eked out slightly higher profit even though sales dipped during its latest quarter.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Apple indicated revenue is likely to fall again in the current July-to-September quarter, contributing to 2% decline the company’s shares in extended trading. If the stock behaves similarly in Friday’s regular trading session, Apple’s market value will fall below $3 trillion.

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VERBATIM: The period included the iPhone maker becoming the first publicly held U.S. company to be valued at $3 trillion. Results cover April through June and mark the third consecutive quarter that Apple has posted a year-over-year decline in revenue. That’s the company’s longest stretch of falling sales in nearly seven years.

Amazon reports better-than-expected revenue and profits for 2Q, sending its stock higher

( ) -q-25- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “for the slowdown.”

Amazon has posted better-than-expected revenue and profits for the second quarter.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The e-commerce giant earned $6.7 billion, or 65 cents per share, for the three-month period ending June 30. Its revenue came out to $134.4 billion, up 11% from the same period last year. The Seattle-based company’s profitable cloud unit AWS’s growth continued to slow. Executives have blamed companies cutting back on costs for the slowdown.

Panama Canal foresees its income falling after shipping limited due to a drought

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “under normal operation.”

The managers of the Panama Canal say they expect income from the waterway to drop.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Rain is needed to feed the watershed system of rivers and brooks that fill lakes, whose waters in turn fill the locks.

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VERBATIM: The forecast was made after authorities were forced to limit the number of ships passing through to 32 due to a lack of rainfall. The canal’s administrator says income in 2024 could drop by as much as $200 million because of the drought. The canal implemented a measure recently, capping the number of ships passing through its locks daily to a maximum of 32, compared to 36 to 38 under normal operation.

Weekly applications for US jobless aid tick up from 5-month low

( ) -q-23- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “market and economy.”

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose slightly last week but remained at a historically low level.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: The Labor Department says applications for jobless aid rose 6,000 to 227,000 for the week ending July 29. The four-week moving average of claims, a less volatile measure, fell 5,500 to 228,250. Te latest report comes just a day before the July jobs report will be released, which will provide a broader and more detailed look at the labor market and economy.

Bank of England raises its key interest rate to a new 15-year high to fight inflation

( ) -q-20- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “as aggressively again.”

The Bank of England has raised its main interest rate to a fresh 15-year high as it tries to bring down persistently high inflation.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. With inflation four times the bank’s 2% target, the bank is expected to raise interest rates again over the coming months.

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VERBATIM: The quarter-percentage point increase to 5.25% was the central bank’s 14th hike in a row. There had been fears that the bank would repeat its outsized half-point increase from June. But figures last month showing that inflation fell more than anticipated to 7.9%, easing the pressure to act as aggressively again.

DoorDash hits record for orders, revenue in second quarter

( ) -q-17- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “line with forecasts.”

DoorDash set records for total orders and revenue in the second quarter as its grocery and convenience deliveries accelerated and it improved driver efficiency.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. DoorDash Chief Financial Officer Ravi Inukonda said the company is continuing to see growth in users and those customers are ordering more frequently. DoorDash shares rose 5% in after-market trading.

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VERBATIM: The San Francisco-based delivery company said its total orders rose 25% to 532 million for the April-to-June period. That was ahead of Wall Street’s forecast. Revenue rose 33% to $2.1 billion, which was in line with forecasts.

Banking executive Jeffrey Schmid named president of Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “on August 21st.”

Jeffrey Schmid, a former banking executive, has been appointed the next president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting.

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VERBATIM: As president of one of the 12 regional Fed banks, Schmid will participate in the eight meetings the Fed holds each year to determine the path of short-term interest rates. Schmid is joining at a fraught time, as Fed officials are considering whether to lift their key interest rate for a 12th time in the past year and a half at their next meeting in September. Schmidt’s appointment takes effect on August 21st.

BNSF train engineers offered paid sick time and better schedules in new deal

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “strike last fall.”

Roughly 7,500 BNSF train engineers may get up to eight days of paid sick time and more predictable schedules if they approve a deal with the railroad.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. More than 77% of all rail workers have now been promised sick time.

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VERBATIM: BNSF and the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union said engineers will be better able to predict when they will be off. They’ll also be able to take sick time without being penalized under the railroad’s strict attendance policy. The major freight railroads have made great strides on the sick time issue since workers’ quality of life concerns pushed the industry to the brink of a strike last fall.

Starbucks reports record revenue as China booms, but sales still fall short of expectations

( ) -q-21- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “Wall Street’s forecasts.”

Starbucks reported record revenue in its fiscal third quarter as sales in China roared back to life.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Starbucks’ global same-store sales increase of 10% was also lower than Wall Street’s forecast of 11%.

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VERBATIM: Same-store sales — or sales at stores open at least a year — jumped 46% in China, reversing last year’s declines due to COVID infections. The Seattle-based coffee giant said its revenue rose 12% to $9.2 billion in the 13 weeks ending July second. But that fell short of Wall Street’s forecasts.

Land reclamation projects in the Philippines are drawing attention from the U.S.

( ) -q-24- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “government-approved reclamations.”

The United States has expressed concerns over major land reclamation projects in Manila Bay, where its heavily secured embassy sits on one edge.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The reclamations have been made mostly by real estate companies seeking to build islands on which to anchor upscale hotels, casinos, restaurants and entertainment enclaves in a bay long notorious for pollution.

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VERBATIM: The concern is partly due to the involvement of a Chinese company that’s been blacklisted by Washington for helping build islands in the disputed South China Sea. An American Embassy spokesperson says the U.S. is also worried about the potential environmental impact of the reclamations, which it discussed with Philippine government officials. Environmental groups have staged protests against the government-approved reclamations.

BP profits are cut in half to $2.6 billion as oil and natural gas prices fall

( ) -q-26- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “U-S based ExxonMobil.”

Energy giant BP says it earned nearly $2.6 billion in the second quarter.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. Energy costs have driven inflation worldwide, stirring outcry as households and businesses faced skyrocketing electricity and heating bills while energy companies’ profits skyrocketed.

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VERBATIM: That’s almost half what it posted in the first three months of the year as oil and natural gas prices that surged after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have fallen. BP says underlying replacement cost profit was down nearly 70% from the April-to-June period a year ago. It’s the latest oil and gas major to see profits fall from record highs last year, following British rival Shell, France’s TotalEnergies and U.S.-based ExxonMobil.

Toyota’s profits rise 78% on strong sales as the parts crunch eases

( ) -q-17- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) “other key markets.”

Toyota’s profit for the first fiscal quarter jumped to 1.3 trillion yen, or nine-billion dollars, hitting a quarterly record for Japan’s top automaker.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. The difficulty obtaining computer chips that crimped auto production in recent years has eased, although Toyota says it’s unclear when that will get totally fixed.

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VERBATIM: The company says sales grew as the parts shortages related to the coronavirus pandemic eased. Toyota’s April-June net profit rose 78% from the previous year. Quarterly sales edged up 24%, as vehicle sales improved in Japan, North America and other key markets.

US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns

( ) -q-28- UNDATED (Correspondent Jeremy House) ”

The United States is imposing travel restrictions on citizens of Hungary.

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TAG: Correspondent Jeremy House reporting. A senior U.S. government official said the change followed failed efforts to work with Hungary’s government to resolve the security concerns.

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VERBATIM: The U.S. Embassy and a government official say the restrictions come over concerns that the identities of nearly 1 million foreigners granted Hungarian passports over nine years were not sufficiently verified. The restrictions apply to the U.S. Visa Waiver Program, which allows passport holders from 40 countries to enter the United States for business or tourism without a visa for up to 90 days. The changes are the only such restrictions among the 40 participating states in the Visa Waiver Program.

Heat, Fire Still Gripping Much Of West

Parts of the U.S. are continuing to sizzle as July creeps toward setting a record for the hottest month ever recorded. Phoenix led the way Sunday, hitting its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees. Thunderstorms forecast in Phoenix for both Monday and Tuesday could offer some relief. Meanwhile, erratic winds are blamed for spreading a massive wildfire still burning out of control in California’s Mojave National Preserve. Firefighters to the south reported progress against another major blaze that prompted evacuations.

Struggling China Signals More Support For Private Business

China’s government is taking unusual measures in an effort to bolster the country’s struggling economy. Economic confidence has taken a pounding for a number of reasons. President Xi Jinping’s most striking pledge may be the promise of renewed support for private businesses that generate most jobs and wealth. Over the past decade, they’ve felt under attack as the ruling Communist Party built up state-owned industries, tightened control over business and pressured them to pay for its technology and industrial ambitions. Entrepreneurs and investors are waiting to see what tax, spending or other steps the ruling party might take, and if it will rein in state companies that dominate the economy.

EU Economy Sees Growth In Second Quarter.

Europe’s economy is growing again — but not by much. Growth came in at 0.3% in the April-to-June quarter, following zero expansion in the three months immediately before. Stronger performance in Spain and France helped. But Germany, the largest of the 20 economies that use the euro, is holding things back with zero growth. High inflation is still sapping consumer spending power despite rebounding travel. Another factor is the series of interest rate hikes from the European Central Bank, which are making it harder to borrow to spend or invest.

Citigroup Acknowledges Likely Benefit From Slavery In 1800’s

Citigroup says some of the companies that came together to form the financial giant likely benefitted from slavery in the 1800’s.  Citigroup’s acknowledgement on Thursday came at a time when numerous institutions are re-examining their historic roots and the roles they played in slavery in the U.S. In research conducted last year, Citi found that none of its predecessor companies directly purchased, sold, or held slaves. But the research did find that some of predecessor entities likely “indirectly profited” from the institution of slavery. Citi traces its founding back to 1812 and creation of the City Bank of New York.

Intensifying heat wave descends on eastern U.S.

After weeks of baking the South and Southwest, the intensifying heat wave has descended on the eastern United States. Some 180 million Americans – about half the U-S population – are under heat watches and warnings. The National Weather Service says temperatures and heat index values will be well above 100 degrees until at least Saturday. Officials in New York City, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and other big cities urged people to avoid working or playing outside and to drink plenty of fluids.

Putin Pledges Grain Shipments To Africa Will Continue

Russian President Vladimir Putin has reaffirmed his pledge that Russia will maintain steady supplies of grain and other agricultural products to Africa. Speaking at a two-day Russia Africa summit Putin sought to court leaders by hailing the continent’s role in global affairs. He also offered to expand political and business ties with the continent. Putin declared Thursday that Russia intends to ship up to 50,000 tons of grain aid to Burkina Faso, Zimbabwe, Mali, Somalia, Eritrea and Central African Republic. He also vowed to take a close look at a peace proposal African leaders support for an end to the war with Ukraine.

Interest rates are likely heading higher once again

Interest rates are likely heading higher once again. The Federal Reserve did not raise its benchmark interest rate at its previous meeting. But many investors expect Fed officials will increase the rate by a quarter percentage point when they meet on Wednesday. Wall Street is hoping that the central bank will then hold rates steady for the rest of 2023. In a bid to fight inflation, the Fed has aggressively raised rates from near zero over the past two years. GC, Wash.