FBI Director James Comey told lawmakers Sunday the agency hasn’t changed its opinion that Hillary Clinton should not face criminal charges after a review of new emails. The FBI found them as part of its separate investigation into a sexting incident by Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
After the big surprise of Brexit, anything seems possible. However, the presidential election in the United States is hardly comparable to the British referendum. The United Kingdom’s electorate consists of a large dominant block of white voters (94%), while in the US, there is much more diversity amongst voters with 30% ethnic minorities.
U.S. consumer confidence fell back more than expected in October, dampening optimism over the health the U.S. economy, industry data showed on Tuesday. The index had been on a big run-up for the past 5 months.
In a report, the Conference Board, a market research group, said its index of consumer confidence fell to 98.6 this month from a reading of 103.5 in September, whose figure was revised from a previously reported 104.1. Analysts had expected the index to drop to 101.0 in September.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits remained at its 43-year low last week, official figures showed on Thursday. According to the US Department of Labor, initial jobless claims held at a seasonally adjusted 246,000 in the week ended October 8, while market analysts anticipated a slight increase to 252,000 during the reported period.
The preceding week’s figure was revised down to 246,000 from the originally reported reading of 249,000. It was the 84th consecutive week of initial claims remaining below the 300,000 level, the longest streak since 1973.
Argentina opened books on a dual-tranche euro-denominated bond, maturing in January 2022 and January 2027 The 10-year issue is being marketed around 5.625% and the 5-year at a yield of 4.5% area.
The issue is managed by BBVA, BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse. Sovereign debt is rated B3 (stable) by Moody’s and B- (stable) by Standard and Poor’s.
Google has already been named as a potential bidder for Twitter, Bloomberg reported, citing "a person familiar with the arrangement," that Alphabet subsidiary Google is working with financial advisers Lazard to explore a bid for the social media company. Nonetheless, its spokeswoman Gina Scigliano refused to comment on the situation. A Lazard representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Facebook announced on Monday it is launching Marketplace, its version of the local rummage sale. With its 1.71 billion users, it’s trying to capitalize on the e-commerce potential of its massive user base. According to company, more than 450 million people already visit Facebook groups that have items to buy and sell each month.
The new marketplace allows users to find things to buy from users nearby, list items quickly, and through Facebook messenger, users can communicate to negotiate deals and arrange a meet up.
US drug giant AstraZeneca said on Monday that it has signed a deal with Allergan through its global biologics research and development unit MedImmune, where the latter will pay up to $1.52B for rights to MEDI2070, an antibody for Crohn’s disease.
Allergan pays $250mln up front, but it might also make payments worth up to $1.27bln over a period of up to 15 years, tied to potential sales of the antibody, MEDI2070, a treatment that is currently undergoing clinical trials for moderate to severe Crohn’s disease.
