Reuters - Daily Investor Update

Click to View in Browser

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Wall St. posts record highs on oil surge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street closed at record highs on Thursday as rising oil prices lifted energy stocks and investors bet on a strong U.S. corporate earnings season.

Walmart hikes minimum wage, announces layoffs on same day

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Walmart will raise entry-level wages for U.S. hourly employees to $11 an hour in February as it benefits from last month's major overhaul of the U.S. tax code and competes for low wage workers in a tight labor market.

Brent crude settles below $70 per barrel as global inventories tighten

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Oil prices retreated from big gains on Thursday, but still managed to settle at three-year highs after the global Brent benchmark hit $70 a barrel on signs of tightening supply in the United States.

Berkshire energy unit names CEO to replace potential Buffett successor

(Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway Inc's energy unit on Thursday named William Fehrman as its new chief executive to replace Gregory Abel, who was promoted a day earlier to oversee more Berkshire units, and potentially succeed Warren Buffett.

Peter Thiel submits bid for Gawker, faces challenges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Venture capitalist Peter Thiel has made an offer for Gawker, hoping to overcome legal hurdles and rival bidders for the online news site the billionaire helped shutter by funding litigation against it, people familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

More layoffs at Indiana factory Trump made deal to keep open

INDIANAPOLIS (Reuters) - More than 200 workers clocked in for their final shifts on Thursday at Carrier Corp. in Indianapolis in the latest round of layoffs at a plant President Donald Trump toured in December 2016 to trumpet a deal to save jobs and prevent its closure.

Ford urges 2,900 pickup owners to stop driving after new Takata death

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co said on Thursday it had confirmed a second death in an older pickup truck caused by a defective airbag inflator of Takata Corp and urged 2,900 owners in North America to stop driving immediately until they can get replacement parts.

Luxury group Kering to spin off Puma to its own shareholders

FRANKFURT/LONDON (Reuters) - Gucci-owner Kering plans to spin off German sports brand Puma to the French conglomerate's shareholders to focus squarely on its luxury brands.

Wal-Mart's Sam's Club to shut some stores after review

(Reuters) - Sam's Club, a unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc , said it had closed a series of stores following a review, the membership-only store chain said in a tweet on Thursday.

Exclusive: Lufthansa CEO calls for significant Alitalia cuts - letter

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Lufthansa sees a need for significant restructuring at Italy's Alitalia before the German group would be prepared to buy the airline, Lufthansa's chief executive said in a letter seen by Reuters, tempering expectations for a quick deal.