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Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Trump tax cut doubts hit stocks, lifts yen vs. dollar

LONDON (Reuters) - Growing doubts U.S. President Donald Trump will be able to deliver on a promise of tax cuts that has powered stocks markets to record highs pushed shares lower on Wednesday and drove investors to seek safety in government debt, gold and the yen.

Sears warns of 'going concern' doubts

(Reuters) - Sears Holdings Corp , once the largest U.S. retailer, warned on Tuesday about its ability to continue as a going concern after years of losses and declining sales.

Behind the scenes, bank lobbyists temper expectations for Dodd-Frank overhaul

(Reuters) - Bank lobbyists who opened the Trump era with great expectations for sweeping regulatory reform are privately striking an increasingly dismal tone as hopes for a quick and thorough rewrite of Dodd-Frank legislation dim.

Fannie, Freddie revamp plan unlikely this year, dividends in focus

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An overhaul of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is highly unlikely to make it into this year's legislative calendar, Congressional staffers say, possibly shifting the new administration's immediate focus to allowing the mortgage financing institutions' to rebuild depleted capital.

Markets fret as Trump agenda shows signs of cracks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The steepest pullback in stocks since the U.S. presidential election reveals investor angst about President Donald Trump's ability to push through major reforms, leaving stocks vulnerable to a long-anticipated correction.

Uber board backs CEO Kalanick, still looking for chief operating officer

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Uber Technologies Inc plans to keep co-founder Travis Kalanick as chief executive following a series of damaging events at the ride services company, a member of its board said on Tuesday in a rare call with reporters.

UK lawmakers demand more answers from VW over diesel scandal

LONDON (Reuters) - British lawmakers have written to Volkswagen seeking more answers from the German carmaker over the diesel emissions scandal, after criticizing the firm for failing to adequately respond to their queries so far.

Akzo Nobel rejects improved bid from U.S. rival PPG

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Dutch paints and coatings maker Akzo Nobel rejected an improved 22.4 billion euro ($24.1 billion) takeover proposal from PPG Industries on Wednesday, but faced investor pressure to start talks with its U.S. rival

Protectionism may raise, not cut, trade deficits: ECB

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Protectionist trade policies may increase, rather than reduce, a country's trade deficit, the European Central Bank said in a study on Wednesday, just days after finance chiefs of the world's top 20 economies dropped their pledge for open trade.

Chinese supermarkets pull Brazil meat from shelves as food safety fears grow

BEIJING (Reuters) - Some of China's largest food suppliers have pulled Brazilian beef and poultry from their shelves in the first concrete sign that a deepening scandal over Brazil's meat processing industry is hitting business in its top export market.