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US STOCKS-Futures climb on vaccine hopes, upbeat retail sales data - Yahoo Finance

US STOCKS-Futures climb on vaccine hopes, upbeat retail sales data - Yahoo Finance

US STOCKS-Futures climb on vaccine hopes, upbeat retail sales data - Yahoo Finance
Oct 16, 2020 8 mins, 33 secs

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click or type LIVE/ in a news window).

stock index futures rose on Friday as Pfizer said it could apply for emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate as early as November and as data showed stronger-than-expected retail sales growth last month.

Then last year, as Wells Fargo & Co.’s top investor, he publicly advised the board not to hire a leader from Wall Street -- and it did.What ensued shows what can happen when a company rejects the legendary investor’s advice.

Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., already trimming its Wells Fargo stake to comply with a 10% regulatory limit, began cutting further last year just as Charlie Scharf became the bank’s chief executive officer, eventually unloading most of it.

In a few more weeks, Wells Fargo shareholders will learn whether Buffett got out entirely.Already, the sales mark a striking retreat: Buffett spent three decades praising Wells Fargo, making it the conglomerate’s largest stock investment at times, and in turn becoming the bank’s top shareholder.

He stuck with it through the 2008 financial crisis and showcased it at his company’s festive annual meeting, even having family members delivered in one of the bank’s iconic stage coaches.The drama is now building as Scharf prepares to lay out his vision for turning around the scandal-ridden lender, which has seen its stock slump 57% this year.

If Buffett keeps Wells Fargo in his portfolio, it would put his imprimatur on the new strategy -- potentially helping Scharf sell his plan to other investors.But if Buffett were to exit entirely, “it’s a big negative for Wells,” said Paul Lountzis, who oversees investments including stakes in both companies as president of Lountzis Asset Management.

Scharf agreed to join San Francsico-based Wells Fargo on the condition he could run it from his preferred home of New York.Not VisitingBuffett and his longtime business partner Charlie Munger stayed relatively mum on Scharf’s appointment.Then, three weeks into Scharf’s tenure, a Berkshire regulatory filing showed it had quietly cut its stake to less than 9% some time in the prior quarter.

In February, Munger called the arrangement letting Scharf work from New York “outrageous.” When an interviewer asked Buffett that month why he was selling Wells Fargo, he said he had to pare the stake below 10% for regulatory reasons -- then acknowledged without explanation that he had gone further.During Wells Fargo’s six-month search for a leader, Scharf was seen as one of few highly qualified outsiders capable of taking on the embattled bank.

To be sure, Scharf was in the job only a few months when the coronavirus pandemic erupted, upending most travel.In Scharf’s first year atop Wells Fargo, investors have been reminded repeatedly its woes are far from over.

This year, Wells Fargo slashed its dividend 80% and reported its first quarterly loss in more than a decade.

He promised to provide more details when the company posts annual earnings in January.“I would expect that we’d be giving you not just an expense outlook, but an update on how we’re thinking about the different businesses,” he said.

But as this year began the stake in Wells Fargo was in another league -- worth more than those other three combined.At the end of 2019, Berkshire’s 323 million shares of Wells Fargo had a market value of $17.4 billion.

Smith School of Business, said in an interview.

Buffett and the bank’s CEO, Brian Moynihan, often praise one another publicly.(Adds company comments in sixth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Department of Justice officials said at a news conference that Brockman, 79, hid capital gains income over 20 years through a web of offshore entities in Bermuda and Nevis and secret bank accounts in Bermuda and Switzerland.

But no such liabilities have materialized.At one point, Trump updated a disclosure to reflect money owed to Michael Cohen, his former personal attorney, who paid adult film actress Stormy Daniels to prevent her from going public with allegations of an affair with Trump.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

shares sank as much as 16% in Friday trading after the electric-truck startup’s chief executive officer said he sees a path for his company even if it can’t come to terms with General Motors Co.

on a proposed strategic partnership.Talks between the two companies are ongoing, but if a tentative technology-sharing and manufacturing deal announced last month falls apart, Nikola will revert to a “base plan” without GM’s help, CEO Mark Russell said in an interview late Thursday.“We have the ability and we have a base plan of doing it ourselves.

“We’ve proven that over the years that we are a partnership company when those things are available to us.”The Phoenix-based company’s relationship with its would-be partner has been the subject of intense scrutiny since Nikola and its founder and former Chairman Trevor Milton were accused of deception.

Both the company and Milton have denied those claims.Read More: Nikola’s History of Discrepancies Has Been in Plain Sight GM is eyeing an 11% stake in Nikola as part of a cash-free deal in exchange for providing access to fuel-cell technology and for manufacturing the startup’s electric pickup.

And we’ve been clear all along that we wouldn’t build a Badger without an OEM partner,” he said.When asked if GM’s revamped Detroit-Hamtramck plant will build the Nikola Badger alongside a planned electric Hummer pickup, GM’s Executive Vice President of Global Manufacturing Gerald Johnson said the two sides are still negotiating.“We have not finalized a deal,” Johnson said Friday.

“We’re working on the details.”The Detroit-based automaker could push to raise its planned stake in Nikola or seek warrants to guarantee or increase its equity if the company raises more money, people familiar with the matter said recently.Shares of Nikola pared its earlier drop to trade down 14% to $20.07 as of 1:50 p.m.

The stock has fallen more than 70% from a high of $79.73 in early June shortly after the company gained a public listing through a reverse merger.Nikola also has held talks with major oil company BP Plc about setting up a network of hydrogen-fueling stations across North America, Bloomberg reported last month.

Two of the startup’s heavy-truck prototypes use fuel cells from Bosch and the company has said its larger German partner will continue to supply cells for vehicles produced in Europe.Nikola also is working on a battery-electric semi truck to be built next year in Ulm, Germany, in a joint venture with CNH Industrial NV’s Iveco unit.

It ultimately plans to manufacture a fuel-cell-powered big rig at its own plant in Coolidge, Arizona, which is under construction.(Updates with comments from GM executive from eighth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

The company has raised its dividend payment every year since 2008, and has reliably paid out ever quarter.

Even corona couldn’t derail that; PM kept up its $1.17 quarterly payment through 2020, and its most recent dividend, paid out earlier this month, saw an increase to $1.20 per common share.

Butterfield’s services include personal and business loans, savings accounts and credit cards, mortgages, insurance, and wealth management.Butterfield saw revenues and earnings slide in the first half of this year, in line with the general pattern of banking services globally – the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on business, and bankers felt the hit.

Along with beating earnings forecasts, Butterfield has been paying out a strong dividend this year.

By the second quarter, the dividend payment was up to 44 cents per common share, making the yield a robust 7%.

We continue to believe its dividend is safe for now given its low-risk loan portfolio, robust capital levels, and our forecast for a sub-100% dividend payout even under our stressed outlook.”These comments support the analyst’s Outperform (i.e. Buy) rating, and his $29 price target suggests a 15% upside for the coming year.

(See NTB stock analysis on TipRanks)Enviva (EVA)Last on our list is an energy company, Enviva.

Earnings remained positive, however, and the EPS outlook for Q3 predicts a surge back to 45 cents – in line with the strong earnings seen in the second half of 2019.Enviva has shown a consistent commitment to paying out its dividend, and in last quarter – the August payment – the company raised the payment from 68 cents per common share to 77 cents.

(See EVA stock analysis at TipRanks)To find good ideas for dividend stocks trading at attractive valuations, visit TipRanks’ Best Stocks to Buy, a newly launched tool that unites all of TipRanks’ equity insights.Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the featured analysts.

Lenders who signed a letter committing to fund the loan include Apollo Global Management, Diameter Capital Partners and Silver Point Capital, according to court documents.Hertz’s stock soared as much as 178% Friday morning in New York to trade at $2.86.As much as $1 billion of the debt can be used for vehicle acquisition in the U.S.

Despite the Chapter 11 filing, which would normally wipe out shareholders, Hertz’s stock price remained so high that the company tried unsuccessfully to sell shares to fund the case.Bloomberg earlier reported the car rental company was negotiating with creditors on a potential loan package to get it through the reorganization process.

To view the docket on Bloomberg Law, click here.(Updates with share prices in first, third paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.

Hertz Global (NYSE: HTZ) shares are trading higher on Friday after the company announced it secured commitments of $1.65 billion in debtor-in-possession financing.Hertz Global Holdings Inc operates an automotive vehicle rental service through the Hertz, Dollar, Thrifty, and Firefly brands.

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