Aurelia Butler

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  • 113 Shares99 Views

    in Economy

    Mettler-Toledo forecast dull third-quarter profit on weak China demand

    Lifesciences firms including lab equipment maker Mettler-Toledo have seen sluggish demand for their instruments used in drug development as cash-strapped biotech clients try to navigate a funding crunch amid high interest rates.Slowing growth in China has further crimped demand for Mettler. In its first-quarter earnings, the company had flagged that it continued to see softness in China.”As expected, market conditions in China remained weak,” said CEO Patrick Kaltenbach.The firm expects third-quarter adjusted profit to be in the range of $9.90 to $10.05 per share, below estimates of $10.36 per share.Its quarterly sales fell 4% to $946.8 million, above analysts’ average estimate of $929.1 million.The Columbus, Ohio-based firm reported adjusted profit for the quarter of $9.65 per share, versus analysts’ expectations of $9.03 per share.Even though the company raised its 2024 adjusted profit to be in the range of $40.20 to $40.50 per share, from its previous range of $39.90 to $40.40 apiece, its midpoint came 5 cents below estimates.Analysts, on average, expect a profit of $40.40 per share, for the year, according to LSEG data.Peer Waters Corp (NYSE:WAT) lowered its annual profit forecast last week, as it anticipates reduced demand for its products and services used in drug development and research. More

  • 88 Shares129 Views

    in Economy

    FirstFT: Tech sell-off hits US stock market

    Standard DigitalWeekend Print + Standard Digitalwasnow $85 per monthBilled Quarterly at $199. Complete digital access plus the FT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday.What’s included Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts10 monthly gift articles to shareGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionEverything in PrintWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisPlusEverything in Premium DigitalEverything in Standard DigitalGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresFirstFT newsletterVideos & PodcastsFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit app10 gift articles per monthExclusive FT analysisPremium newslettersFT Digital Edition10 additional gift articles per monthMake and share highlightsFT WorkspaceMarkets data widgetSubscription ManagerWorkflow integrationsOccasional readers go freeVolume discountFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Standard DigitalFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Premium Digital More

  • 138 Shares169 Views

    in Economy

    Snap forecasts weak revenue as big rivals threaten growth, shares slide

    (Reuters) -Snap forecast current-quarter results below expectations on Thursday as the Snapchat owner grapples with stiff competition from larger rivals for advertising dollars in an uncertain economy, sending its shares down 18% after-market.Its biggest competitors – Facebook and Instagram parent Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and Bytedance’s TikTok – far outrank it in terms of scale and established advertiser relationships.”Light Q3 guidance doesn’t help soothe their (investor) concerns. Snap faces tough competition from its much larger rival Meta, which investors rewarded for its strong ad business performance yesterday,” said eMarketer principal analyst Jasmine Enberg.Meta forecast strong revenue for the third quarter and beat June-quarter sales estimates.Considered a more experimental advertising platform, Snap’s revenue growth has come under pressure over the past few quarters as high interest rates prompt enterprise clients in certain sectors to tighten their marketing budgets.”Brand-oriented advertising revenue declined 1% year-over-year, driven by particularly weak demand from certain consumer discretionary verticals including retail, technology, and entertainment,” Snap said in its letter to shareholders.Its stock has been volatile over the past year, and was down about 24% as of Thursday’s close after having fallen roughly 64% from a record high in October 2021.Snap has been investing heavily in its augmented reality platform, providing advertisers with branded AI-generated filters and lenses to attract audiences.The image-messaging platform’s second-quarter revenue of $1.24 billion missed analysts’ estimates of $1.25 billion, according to LSEG data. Image pinboard platform Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) also projected a muted third quarter on Wednesday, dashing investor hopes of a swift rebound in growth.Still, analysts have said Snap is set to benefit from a potential ban on TikTok in the United States as advertisers turn to Snapchat to grab the attention of younger users.Snap forecast a third-quarter revenue range with a midpoint of $1.355 billion, marginally below Wall Street estimates of $1.36 billion. It expects adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization between $70 million and $100 million in the third quarter, below expectations of $110.8 million.Daily active users (DAU) of Snapchat grew to 432 million at the end of June, beating estimates of 431.2 million. The Santa Monica, California-based company expects its DAU to reach 441 million in the third quarter. More

  • 125 Shares189 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Michael Saylor Shows Optimism as Bitcoin Price Dips to $64,000

    At the end of its July meeting, the Fed left benchmark interest rates unchanged and provided little indication that a much-anticipated rate decrease in September was guaranteed.Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted that, while no decisions have been made regarding a September decrease, the “broad sense is that we’re moving closer” to an interest rate cut.In his tweet, Saylor simply stated, “We love the coin,” maintaining his bullish attitude despite the recent market dip.Under Saylor’s leadership, MicroStrategy has amassed a huge quantity of Bitcoin, making it one of the largest corporate holders of the cryptocurrency. As of June 20, MicroStrategy has 226,331 BTC purchased for around $8.33 billion at an average price of $36,798.The crypto community continues to closely watch Bitcoin’s price movements as events play out in the short term.Within this time frame, long liquidations on the crypto market amounted to $208.01 million, accounting for the majority of positions wagering on price direction. A total of $22.95 million in short positions were also liquidated, according to CoinGlass data.The majority of the liquidations were attributed to Ethereum, accounting for $54.64 million of long positions, followed by $51.64 million for Bitcoin.Bitcoin has fallen below $65,000, declining 3.36% over the last 24 hours to trade at around $64,093.This article was originally published on U.Today More

  • 88 Shares159 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Here’s How Much Bitcoin BlackRock Currently Holds

    This signifies a major win for BlackRock and comes a couple of weeks after U.Today reported that the CEO, Larry Fink, now considers himself a “major Bitcoin believer.” This represents a pivotal shift from his earlier stance on the digital asset. However, Fink claims to have realized that Bitcoin is authentic regardless of some apparent misuse of the world’s leading cryptocurrency.In the meantime, as for its holdings in USD Cash, BlackRock holds a significant 325,375.08 in its portfolio. Based on data, BlackRock witnessed a bullish run in July, as evidenced by the $525.5 million worth of Bitcoin ETF inflows on July 23. Based on analysis, it registered as one of the peak performances for the asset manager.Last month, the company’s spot Ethereum ETF debuted for trading along with eight other companies.Market observers remain keen on seeing how the asset will perform and if its success will mirror that of the Bitcoin ETF. Analysts are betting on BlackRock to invest funds in Ethereum just as it did with Bitcoin. However, they acknowledge that the growth trajectory may be slower.This article was originally published on U.Today More

  • 100 Shares109 Views

    in Cryptocurrency

    Polkadot unveils detailed 2024 grants and funding guide

    The guide includes venture capital, ecosystem-wide grants, specialized development grants, community-driven funding initiatives, project-specific grants, and bounties. It also outlines opportunities ranging from small grants to multi-million dollar funds, focusing on areas such as DeFi, gaming, and infrastructure.Specifically, Scytale and Harbour Industrial Capital stood out by providing capital and expertise to speed up Polkadot-based projects. Scytale, which has invested in projects such as Astar and Centrifuge, recently unveiled a dedicated Polkadot Ecosystem Fund.For its part, Harbour focuses on DeFi, NFTs, and metaverse projects, participating through Parachain auctions.Specific projects also have targeted grants. Moonbeam launched a $10 million Moonbeam Innovation Fund to boost development in gaming and real-world assets. And the Acala Grants Program supported a few pre-seed and seed-stage startups integrating with the Acala network, while Aleph Zero offered funding across multiple tracks to support developer innovations.Elsewhere, the Web3 Foundation Grants Program provided funding for software development and research efforts related to Polkadot and Kusama, with the opportunity to win up to 993,286.08 DOT in prizes. “This effort is uniquely funded through Polkadot’s onchain Treasury, which is managed by the network’s token holders through an onchain governance system, OpenGov. Holding over 20 million DOT, the Treasury is dedicated to supporting projects that benefit the Polkadot ecosystem, representing a new paradigm in the decentralized financial agency,” the report further details.Community-driven funding initiatives like Polimec, a decentralized funding protocol, enable stakeholders to participate in funding rounds. Moreover, Polkaport East plans to establish a central hub for Polkadot in Hong Kong, attracting new teams and institutional investors.Polkadot has also introduced bounties to incentivize contributions. The Polkadot DeFi Infrastructure & Tooling Bounty allocated $4 million for developing tools and infrastructure to overcome barriers to Polkadot adoption. Moreover, the Polkadot Games Bounty provides grants to game developers based on milestone achievements.Earlier this year, Polkadot streamlined its governance model to enable simultaneous voting on multiple issues, all directly managed by the community. Staying true to its blockchain reputation, Polkadot, along with its “canary” network Kusama, has taken cues from earlier platforms like Ethereum.  More

  • 138 Shares99 Views

    in Economy

    Apollo profits take a hit from derivatives to guard rate risk

    Standard DigitalWeekend Print + Standard Digitalwasnow $85 per monthBilled Quarterly at $199. Complete digital access plus the FT newspaper delivered Monday-Saturday.What’s included Global news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts10 monthly gift articles to shareGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit appFirstFT: the day’s biggest stories20+ curated newslettersFollow topics & set alerts with myFTFT Videos & Podcasts20 monthly gift articles to shareLex: FT’s flagship investment column15+ Premium newsletters by leading expertsFT Digital Edition: our digitised print editionEverything in PrintWeekday Print EditionFT WeekendFT Digital EditionGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresExclusive FT analysisPlusEverything in Premium DigitalEverything in Standard DigitalGlobal news & analysisExpert opinionSpecial featuresFirstFT newsletterVideos & PodcastsFT App on Android & iOSFT Edit app10 gift articles per monthExclusive FT analysisPremium newslettersFT Digital Edition10 additional gift articles per monthMake and share highlightsFT WorkspaceMarkets data widgetSubscription ManagerWorkflow integrationsOccasional readers go freeVolume discountFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Standard DigitalFT Weekend Print deliveryPlusEverything in Premium Digital More