Target raised its fourth-quarter sales forecast Thursday after more consumers turned to its stores and website for holiday shopping — particularly on days known for deep discounts.The big-box retailer now expects comparable sales in the fiscal fourth quarter to grow by about 1.5%. That’s better than its most recent outlook that the metric would be approximately flat. Comparable sales includes sales on Target’s website and stores open at least 13 months. Yet the Minneapolis-based discounter did not lift its profit outlook — an indication that deals motivated shoppers. Target anticipates fourth-quarter earnings per share will range from $1.85 to $2.45 and…
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Brian Moynihan, chief executive officer of Bank of America Corp., during a Bloomberg Television interview in Versailles, France, on Monday, May 13, 2024. Cyril Marcilhacy | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesBank of America is scheduled to report fourth-quarter earnings before the opening bell Thursday.Here’s what Wall Street expects:Earnings: 77 cents a share, according to LSEGRevenue: $25.19 billion, according to LSEGNet Interest Income: $14.33 billion on an FTE basis, per StreetAccountTrading Revenue: Fixed income of $2.41 billion, Equities of $1.68 billion, per StreetAccountHow will shifting expectations on interest rates impact Bank of America?Like rivals, the firm is expected to benefit from a boost in…
The logo of UnitedHealth appears on the side of one of its office buildings in Santa Ana, California, on April 13, 2020.Mike Blake | ReutersUnitedHealth Group reported a fourth-quarter profit on Thursday that beat analysts’ estimates due to strength in its health services unit, but missed estimates for quarterly sales.The earnings report comes a month after Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit was killed, igniting a conversation over frustrations related to navigating the U.S. health insurance system.UnitedHealth reported a full-year medical cost ratio — the percentage of premiums spent on medical care — of 85.5%, compared with the…
Citi turned negative on Southwest shares amid concerns over valuation and earnings quality. Analyst Stephen Trent downgraded the airline to sell from neutral and cut his price target by $2 to $29.50. Trent’s new price target suggests shares can fall 10.1% from Wednesday’s close. Trent said Southwest’s earnings quality and free cash flow conversion have deteriorated compared with before the pandemic, despite other carriers seeing improvements in this areas. On top of that, he lamented Southwest’s growth in price-to-earnings premiums over the same time frame. “Over time, we see Southwest’s valuation correcting to more normalized levels, as the network carriers’…
British oil and gasoline company BP (British Petroleum) signage is being pictured in Warsaw, Poland, on July 29, 2024.Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesBritish oil major BP on Thursday said it is planning to cut thousands of jobs as part of a major cost-cutting drive.”Today, we have today told staff across bp that the proposed changes that have been announced to date are expected to impact around 4700 bp roles – these account for much of the anticipated reduction this year,” BP said in a statement.”We are also reducing our contractor numbers by 3000,” the company said.The measures, which were designed…
US President Joe Biden, left, and Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, speak on the ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, in the Cross Hall of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025. Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire deal, bringing at least a temporary halt to the war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people in the last 15 months and touched off broader turmoil across the Middle East.Aaron Schwartz | Sipa | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesThe Biden administration on Thursday announced an executive order on cybersecurity that imposes new…
It was a tense conversation between two authoritarian leaders accustomed to getting their way.President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia was offering explanations for the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crash that had killed 38 people days earlier. Perhaps it was a flock of birds, Mr. Putin said, or an exploding gas canister. Maybe a Ukrainian drone.But President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan was not buying it, according to two people familiar with that late December phone call. It had become clear within hours of the crash that the plane had been shot down by Russian air defenses in what appeared to be a…
Most Medicare patients who hit the new $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket spending for prescription drugs could see massive savings, despite changes in premiums, according to a report released Thursday by AARP. The findings suggest the cap could be a huge benefit to older adults in Medicare who struggle to afford high-cost drugs for cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other serious conditions. Those seniors and other U.S. patients pay two to three times more for prescription drugs than people in other developed nations.The limit went into effect at the beginning of this year. It is one of the most consequential provisions in President…
Negotiators announced on Wednesday that they had reached a cease-fire deal for the war in the Gaza Strip, 15 months after a devastating Hamas-led attack on Israeli soil set off a relentless military campaign with few parallels in recent history.In the attack that set it all in motion, the Oct. 7, 2023, raid on southern Israel led by Hamas fighters, some 1,200 people, most of them civilians, were killed, stunning Israelis. In the months that followed, an estimated 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them also civilians, were killed and entire towns leveled.On Wednesday, Gazans were allowing themselves to hope…
With Ubisoft’s latest Assassin’s Creed game facing delays and independent board members reviewing strategic options, analysts are speculating on whether the gaming giant may finally put itself up for sale. The beleaguered French publisher last week postponed the launch of its upcoming “Assassin’s Creed Shadows” game by another month and appointed advisors to review its strategic options , in a sign company management may be quietly hoping for a full or partial sale of the business. Ubisoft hasn’t told shareholders what it’s planning in terms of a strategic deal. In its recent investor update , the firm said it would…
