General Mills profit beats estimates due to cost cuts
(Reuters) – General Mills Inc affirmed its full-year forecast and reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, and the maker of Cheerios cereal and Betty Crocker cake mixes said it would increase sales through new products.
PepsiCo earnings may be pressured by currency fluctuations
(Reuters) – PepsiCo Inc earnings could come under pressure in the fourth quarter due to currency fluctuations, investors said, as the company’s biggest foreign markets – Russia, Mexico and Canada – have all taken hits to their currencies in recent mont…
Buy American? Not so for retail stock fund investors
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A record run in U.S. stocks does not appear to have won over one large investor pool: Mom-and-pop retail investors.
Fed likely to signal rate hike on track despite global woes
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A sturdy U.S. recovery is expected to trump global economic worries as the Federal Reserve concludes its last policy meeting of 2014 on Wednesday, with officials likely to signal they are still on track to raise interest rates ne…
U.S. current account deficit widens in third quarter
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – The U.S. current account deficit unexpectedly rose in the third quarter as an increase in exports was offset by a rewidening of the secondary income shortfall.
Russia turmoil spurs flight to safety
LONDON (Reuters) – Fears of a full-blown crisis in Russia and oil’s continued slide pushed investors to seek safety on Wednesday, buying core bonds and selling stocks while the ruble failed to halt its prolonged tumble.
U.S. mortgage applications fall in latest week: MBA
NEW YORK, Reuters – Applications for U.S. home mortgages fell last week and interest rates declined to their lowest level since May 2013, an industry group said on Wednesday.
Philips expands in medical devices with $1.2 billion Volcano deal
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Philips has agreed to acquire U.S.-based medical device maker Volcano Corp for $1.2 billion including debt, its largest healthcare acquisition in seven years and a bid to cash in on an aging population’s need for more complex trea…
Smoothie maker Jamba counts on Taiwan’s thirst for fruit juice
TAIPEI (Reuters) – Roadside kiosks have sprung up across semi-tropical Taiwan to satisfy residents’ obsession for freshly squeezed juice, and smoothie maker Jamba Inc wants in.
Ruble crisis could shake Putin’s grip on power
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia failed to halt the collapse of the ruble on Tuesday, leaving President Vladimir Putin facing a full-blown currency crisis that could weaken his iron grip on power.
