Aurelia Butler

(Reuters) -Block shares surged 16% in extended trade on Thursday after the payments firm raised its annual forecast for adjusted profit, joining rivals in brushing off worries of an uncertain economy weighing on consumer spending. Market-beating results from the Jack Dorsey-led digital payments giant capped a broadly strong quarter for a sector tied closely with consumer strength and purchasing power. Block now expects adjusted core earnings of $1.66 billion to $1.68 billion for the full year, compared with its earlier forecast of $1.50 billion. It also expects to be profitable on an operating income basis in 2024. The company also expects to reduce the size of its overall workforce by the end of next year, finance chief Amrita Ahuja said in a call with analysts, adding Block is embarking on a broader cost savings program.”We have identified a number of areas where we expect to find savings such as real estate, process improvements using automation and discretionary spend,” Ahuja said. With consumer spending in the U.S. continuing to tread largely positive waters, analysts expect sales during the all-important holiday shopping season to climb, boosted by retailers offering deep discounts on most products to lure buyers. Earlier this week, peer PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) Holdings also raised its forecast for full-year adjusted profit above Wall Street estimates. Gross profit of Block’s Cash App climbed 27% in the quarter compared with a year earlier, while its Square business reported a 15% rise. Block posted total net revenue of $5.62 billion for the three months ended Sept. 30, compared with expectations of $5.44 billion, according to LSEG data.Alongside the results, Block also initiated a $1 billion share repurchase program and said the move will offset a portion of dilution from share-based compensation. Block’s adjusted profit per share of 55 cents beat expectations of 47 cents. More

(Reuters) -A divided Indiana Supreme Court on Thursday publicly reprimanded Republican Attorney General Todd Rokita for statements he made about a doctor in the state who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.The court found that Rokita violated professional conduct rules for lawyers when he described Dr. Caitlin Bernard in a July 2022 Fox News interview as an “abortion activist acting as a doctor” who had failed to report past child abuse cases.Rokita admitted his comments violated rules barring lawyers from making public statements with a substantial likelihood of “materially prejudicing” a case, the state’s high court said.Two of the panel’s five justices dissented on the proper punishment, calling a public reprimand “too lenient” due to Rokita’s position as attorney general and “the scope and breadth of the admitted misconduct.”Rokita claimed vindication in a statement, saying he was not found to have violated state law or anyone’s privacy and was not fined. He blamed the disciplinary case on “liberal activists” who “hate the fact that I stand up for liberty.” Bernard’s case became a flashpoint in the debate over abortion access after the U.S. Supreme Court last year overturned Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that guaranteed federal abortion rights.Rokita accused Bernard in a November 2022 medical licensing board complaint of violating her patient’s privacy rights and failing to immediately report child abuse to Indiana authorities.The board in May reprimanded Bernard for speaking publicly about her patient’s condition in violation of privacy laws and fined her $3,000.A lawyer for Bernard, Kathleen DeLaney, said in statement on Thursday that Rokita should apologize after he “admitted to violating two attorney ethics rules by attacking Dr. Bernard on national television.”Bernard has said the Ohio child was referred to her three days after Roe was overturned.Ohio and other states quickly enforced strict limits on abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling, sometimes without exceptions involving rape. The Indiana Supreme Court in June upheld a law banning nearly all abortions in the state. More

(Reuters) -Paramount Global’s investments in its fast-growing but unprofitable streaming unit have peaked a year ahead of the target, the media company said on Thursday, sending its shares 10% higher in extended trading. The company also beat estimates for third-quarter earnings as the integration of streaming service Paramount+ with Showtime helped its subscription numbers and advertising revenue, while potentially keeping its spending on content in check. “We now expect DTC losses in 2023 will be lower than in 2022 – meaning streaming investment peaked ahead of plan,” CEO Bob Bakish said.The upbeat quarterly results and company comments come a day after streaming device maker Roku (NASDAQ:ROKU) signaled a rebound in the advertising market, lifting its shares and also those of Warner Bros Discovery (NASDAQ:WBD) and Paramount in regular trading on Thursday. Warner Bros rose another 3.5%, while Fox Corp added 2% in extended trading. However, Huber Research Partners analyst Craig Huber said production shutdowns, caused by the Hollywood strikes, could have been a factor helping Paramount forecast lower losses from streaming. Paramount+ added 2.7 million subscribers in the third quarter, beating analysts’ estimates of 2.02 million additions, according to Visible Alpha estimates.Despite expenses at the streaming division jumping 23% to $1.93 billion, the company managed to narrow its adjusted operating loss to $238 million from $343 million a year earlier, partly due to benefits from price hikes.Quarterly revenue from the filmed entertainment business rose 14% to $891 million, thanks to releases including “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”.However, the division reported an adjusted operating loss of $49 million, citing the timing of theatrical releases, as well as costs associated with strike-related production shutdowns. Revenue at its TV media division fell 8% to $4.57 billion, driven by a 14% drop in advertising revenue due to softness in the global advertising market and lower political advertising, Paramount said. The decline also reflected a drop in licensing revenue from third parties. The Hollywood strikes shut down production, resulting in less content available for licensing.The company said it expected fourth-quarter advertising revenue to be impacted by a “sizeable decline” in political ads.Revenue was $7.13 billion for the quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with analysts’ estimate of $7.10 billion, according to LSEG data. The company’s adjusted earnings per share were also above estimates. More

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(Reuters) – A look at the day ahead in Asian markets from Jamie McGeever, financial markets columnist.A powerful rally in U.S. and global stocks on Thursday, sparked by another slump in bond yields as investors cheer what they increasingly believe is the end of the global rate-hiking cycle, paves the way for a strong end to the week in Asia on Friday.There is a strong current of optimism surging through global markets that rate hikes from the Federal Reserve, Bank of England, European Central Bank and others are over.If the Fed delivered a ‘dovish’ pause on Wednesday, the BoE delivered a ‘hawkish’ pause on Thursday. But the over-arching reaction across markets was the same – huge rallies in bonds, stocks and risk assets.Investors are now looking to when the easing cycles start and how far they go. Around 70 to 75 basis points of Fed easing next year is priced into the U.S. curve, and almost 50 bps of expected rate cuts is reflected in the UK curve.Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other policymakers around the world may insist that policy needs to remain restrictive and that rate cuts are simply not on the agenda, but markets have the bit between their teeth – the pivot is in place.Bond yields slumped again on Thursday – the U.S. 10-year yield is down around 40 basis points from its peak above 5% only a few days ago – the dollar fell. That’s music to emerging market ears.Asian stocks jumped 1.7% for their best day since July. Given the strength of the rally on Wall Street and around the world later in the day, few would bet against another strong rise on Friday.The S&P 500 chalked up its best day in six months, also boosted by strong corporate earnings and guidance – Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) reported forecast-beating quarterly sales and profit, although shares fell slightly in after hours trade.The three main Wall Street indexes are well on course to register their best week of the year, all eyeing weekly gains of around 5%.Japan’s Nikkei followed Wednesday’s 2.4% leap with a 1.1% spike on Thursday. Although the yen rebounded a bit Thursday, it is still below 150 per dollar near last year’s 33-year low and is languishing at its lowest level in over half a century on a real effective exchange rate basis.Chinese markets, however, remain the outliers. Official and unofficial figures this week showed manufacturing sector activity unexpectedly shrank in October, dampening the optimism that had built up after the strong third quarter GDP data.If the Caixin non-manufacturing purchasing managers report on Friday signals contraction in services – September’s 50.2 showed slender growth – Chinese stocks could buck the global trend and close lower on the day and the week.Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Friday:- China, India services PMI (October)- Australia manufacturing, services PMIs (October)- Fed’s Barr, Barkin, Kashkari speak (By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Josie Kao) More

Monster, like industry leaders Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) and PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP), has seen demand hold up largely for its beverages, despite a string of price increases. The company has also seen costs of freight and aluminum cans come down from the pandemic highs, helping boost margins that had remained under pressure for a long time. Margins for the quarter ended Sept. 30 were up 53% from 51.3%, thanks to price hikes and easing costs of freight and aluminum cans. The company’s adjusted earnings of 41 cents per share beat market expectations by one cent.Net sales in the Monster Energy drinks segment, that also includes brands such as Reign Storm, rose 13.7%.However, net sales rose to $1.86 billion for the third quarter from $1.62 billion a year earlier, but slightly missed estimates of $1.87 billion, according to LSEG data. More