General News

Moody's Affirms IBM's (NYSE: IBM) A3 Ratings; Outlook Changed To Negative

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. first-quarter estimated earnings growth is looking stronger at nearly the halfway mark of the reporting period, with corporate results giving a boost to stocks this week after recent weakness.

S&P 500 year-over-year earnings growth for the first quarter of 2024 is now seen at 5.6%, according to LSEG data on Friday. That is up from 4.3% the day before.

The latest estimate is... (continue reading...)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's Google on Friday asked a federal court in Virginia to reject a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the advertising and search giant of anticompetitive practices in the online advertising marketplace.

The Justice Department, which filed the advertising lawsuit in January 2023, accused the company of abusing its dominance of the digital advertising business and argued that it should be forced to sell its ad manager suite.

(Reuters) - Donald Trump's allies are reported to be drafting proposals to erode the Federal Reserve's independence if the presumptive Republican presidential nominee regains the White House, with installing loyalists at the central bank as a key element.

The Fed both manages monetary policy - most notably through setting benchmark interest rates that influence the direction of the overall economy - and is a top U.S. bank regulator. The Trump allies... (continue reading...)

TAIPEI (Reuters) -Two earthquakes, the largest a 6.1 magnitude, struck Taiwan's eastern county of Hualien on Saturday, the island's weather administration said, with no immediate reports of damage.

The quakes, within half an hour of each other in the early hours of the morning, shook buildings in the capital, Taipei.

The first quake had a depth of 24.9 km (15.5 miles) and hit just off Hualien's coast, while the second with a magnitude of 5.8... (continue reading...)