Jeremy Clarkson heads online with Amazon Prime
The controversial ex-host of BBC’s Top gear Jeremy Clarkson has signed a deal for a new version of the show with Amazon Prime’s Instant Video.
Co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond will follow Clarkson to the online video site, after ruling out working on BBC’s new series of Top Gear hosted by DJ Chris Evans.
The deal is quite the coup for Amazon and will propel them into the realms of mainstream TV, beating off online competitor Netflix and several big broadcasting channels to win the rights. No financial details have been released, although an Amazon insider has confirmed that they have made a “significant investment.”
The show was confirmed by Jeremy Clarkson this morning, in a tweet saying “I am excited to announce that Hammon, May and I have made a deal with Amazon Video.”
Clarkson was fired from the BBC show after a high-profile ‘fracas’ over catering arrangements on set in Yorkshire, where Clarkson reportedly hit one of the producers. Since then, there has been considerable speculation as to where he would head next. Clarkson has previously spoken of his regret at leaving the BBC, but said today that he feels as if he has “climbed out of a bi-plane and into a spaceship.”
Amazon won the global rights to the new series, meaning it will appear on Prime video in the U.S., U.K., Austria and Germany. Amazon can also license rights to the show to broadcasters or streaming services in other territories around the world where Prime video isn’t available
RBS surprises with rise in net profit for last quarter
RBS (LON:RBS) have reported a £153 million half-yearly loss this morning, but a surprising net profit rise for the three months to the end of June.
The £153 million loss for the six months to the end of June compares with a £1.43 billion profit a year ago.
Restructuring costs tripled, and the bank set aside £1.3bn for lawsuits and customer compensation. This comes after the bank were fined £390 million for failing to prevent market manipulation by traders involved in the Libor scandal. Another £459m was earmarked mainly for litigation costs in the second quarter.
Finance Minister George Osborne has said that the government planned to sell at least three-quarters of its 78 percent stake in the bank, and begin the process as soon as possible. The sale is likely to begin in September.
“The bank is in much better shape than it was even 12 months ago and it’s given the government the confidence to say this is a bank we can start selling off. The timing itself is up to the government,” Chief Executive Ross McEwan told reporters.
Shares in RBS hit their highest price in a month and were up 3.5 percent at 356.60 pence per share.
AstraZeneca perform better than expected in Q2
AstraZeneca plc (LON:AZN) announced their quarterly earnings this morning, with revenue falling by a better-than-expected 7 percent in the second quarter.
Second-quarter net income fell 12 percent to $697 million as competition from generic drug companies reduced sales. Stomach-acid treatment Nexium lost patent exclusivity in the U.S. and cholesterol treatment Crestor faced competition from generic drugs.
CEO Pascal Soriot, who recently fended off a $118 billion takeover attempt by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) says the company made “good progress” in the period. AstraZeneca has recently received regulatory approvals for new lung cancer drug Iressa in the U.S. and breast cancer treatment Faslodex in China.
Quarterly sales totalled $6.3 billion, while core earnings per share fell 8 percent to $1.21.
AstraZeneca are currently trading up 2.36%, at 4290 pence per share.
Ferrari files for NYSE IPO
Ferrari has filed for an initial public offering, with plans to list around 10% of its shares on the New York Stock Exchange.
The exact share number and price has not yet been disclosed by the company, who is 90% owned by Fiat Chrysler Automotives; who have one of the highest debts in the industry. The company plans to use the funds from the flotation to help finance its plan to boost sales by 60 percent by 2018. The other 10% is owned by Piero Ferarri, the son of Ferrari’s founder.
The company will be floated in New York, and may seek a secondary listing in Milan.
Share price of Ferrari will depend strongly on the performance of their Formula 1 team, Scuderia Ferrari. They also receive a high income from sponsorship, commercial and brand, which covers merchandising, licensing and royalty income.
Share performance may be further affected by the company’s loyalty voting program, which seeks to reward shareholders who are willing to hold their shares for at least three years with special voting shares.
Shell planning for “prolonged downturn”
Royal Dutch Shell (LON:RDSA) reported its second quarter earnings this morning, announcing profits of $3.4bn in the three months to June 30th – a 35 percent decrease on last year.
The company have said that they are planning for a “prolonged downturn”, and aim to make cuts, including 6,500 jobs over the year, in order to “mitigate the impact” on profits amid a drop in oil prices. Shell have already reduced 2015 capital expenditure to $30 billion, down by 20 percent.
CEO Ben van Beurden said that the company was successfully “reducing our capital spending and operating costs, and delivering a competitive performance in today’s oil market downturn.”
“We have to be resilient in a world where oil prices remain low for some time, whilst keeping an eye on recovery. We’re taking a prudent approach, pulling on powerful financial levers to manage through this downturn, always making sure we have the capacity to pay attractive dividends for shareholders,” he said in a statement.
Earlier this year, Shell launched a £47 billion cash-and-share bid for BG Group, the Reading-based multinational oil company. Van Beurden believes that the merger would enhance Shell’s “free cash flow, create an international oil company leader in LNG (liquefied natural gas) and deep water innovation, and be a springboard to change Shell into a simpler and more profitable company”; however, low oil prices have affected the entire industry over the last few months.
Twitter announces quarterly results – two more execs leave
Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) beat analysts expectations when it released its quarterly results yesterday. The company posted revenues of $502.4m for the last quarter, compared with $312.2m one year earlier and a net loss of $137m.
However, as the company announced their quarterly results, two more high-profile executive announced their departure. Todd Jackson, former director of product management, disclosed that he is leaving for Dropbox and Christian Oestline, former vice president of product management will be joining YouTube. This comes just after CEO Dick Costolo quit, leaving uncertainty over his replacement. These vacancies, as well as stagnating growth, have affected share price over recent weeks.
Twitter’s sales are up 61 percent, but user growth figures were disappointing, up 2.6 percent to 316 million – a deceleration from last quarter. Average monthly users were up 15% year-over-year, to 316 million, but up only 8 million from 308m the quarter before – a rise of just 2.6%
“Our Q2 results show good progress in monetization, but we are not satisfied with our growth in audience,” said interim CEO Jack Dorsey in a company statement.
Twitter is currently trading down 13.43%.
Chinese shares climb 3% after Monday’s drop
Chinese shares have recovered some of Monday’s fall, with the Shanghai Composite Index breaking a three-day slide to close up 3.5 percent today and the CSI300 index climbing 3.1 percent.
Beijing have introduced further measures to control the volatile stock markets, which fell more than 8 percent on Monday.
China’s securities regulator announced probes into share “dumping” and pledged to buy stocks to calm the market, while the central bank hinted at more policy easing.
“The possibility for A shares to rebound in the following month is quite big given liquidity is rich in the market now and short-selling ability has been largely curbed,” said Zhang Qi, an analyst at Haitong Securities in Shanghai told Reuters.
Elios Motors’ three wheeler completes successful crowdfunding campaign
If you thought three wheel cars were a thing of the past, think again; yesterday, Elio Motors reached their $25 million crowdfunding goal on StartEngine for their modern, eco-friendly trike.
Unlike most platforms, crowdfunding on StartEngine isn’t all-or-nothing and the contract between Elio and their investors isn’t binding. It utilises new “Regulation A+” rules under the American 2012 JumpStart Our Business Start-up (JOBS) Act, which paves the way for private companies to raise up to $50 million from non-accredited investors. Regulation A+’s Tier 2 allows companies a period to “Test The Waters” during which they can communicate with potential investors. There is no obligation by either party to take part in a transaction.
The vehicle has already had plenty of interest, with more than 43,000 people reserving a place in line to purchase a vehicle – and its no wonder. The three-wheel vehicles will be made in America with 90% American content, will use around 84mpg and have excellent safety features, including an inforced roll-cage frame, Anti-Lock Braking System, and 50% larger crush zones than similar vehicles. The colours are nattily named, with choices such as Marshmallow, Red Hot, Rocket Silver, Sour Apple, Licorice – and to top it all off, Elio will be pricing the cars at just $6,800.
The company website makes its benefits very clear:
In a statement, Elio Motors CEO Paul Elio said that the $25 million is, “just the beginning as we race toward our 2016 goal of mass production. He continued, “overall, we are extremely pleased with the initial support of our crowdfunding initiative and will continue to take additional expressions of interest while working with the SEC on next steps.”
The company website makes its benefits very clear:
“For students the vehicle would offer a safe and reliable means to move around campus. It would allow families with minivans and SUV’s to add an economical commuter vehicle to the driveway. For pure enthusiasts, it would deliver on flat out fun – with a potential for customizing as unlimited as imagination itself. Paul Elio envisioned a vehicle that’s truly for everybody, and its inflation-defying $6,800, sticker price ensures that nobody
will be left out.”
It’s hard not to be impressed by this new vehicle, and it’s easy to see why so many people were willing to express an interest. However, the car is currently still in production; it will be interesting to see how the markets react when – or is – it goes on sale.
Volkswagen lowers sales forecast after weak demand in China
Volkswagen (OTCMKTS:VLKAY) lowered its sales forecast, which expected sales to be flat on last years 10.1 million cars, after weaker demand in China.
This comes after China recorded a 3.4% monthly year-on-year drop in new-car sales in June, its first decline in more than two years. China’s Automakers Association also cut its 2015 forecast for vehicle sales growth to a meager 3 percent last week, as a volatile stock market affected sales to consumers concerned about the slowing economy.
Fluctuations in China’s market will strongly affect VW, where the group’s largest division delivers more than 40 percent of its vehicles.
However, a higher-margin western European market and cost cuts helped VW raise group operating profit to 3.49 billion euros, which does not include earnings from Chinese joint ventures.
“The difficult market environment and fierce competition” is posing challenges, Finance chief Hans Dieter Poetsch said.
VW are currently trading down 2.43% at 40.97 pence per share.
GlaxoSmithKline up 3% after second quarter report
Shares in GlaxoSmithKline (LON:GSK) jumped more than 3 percent this morning after the company reported second-quarter earnings per share (EPS) that were slightly higher than forecast by analysts.
Sales also rose 6 percent to 5.9 billion pounds in the last quarter. They currently have a market capitalization of around £65 billion.
The drugmaker recently sold its marketed cancer drugs to Novartis, and bought the Swiss group’s vaccines. However, the company experienced a slide in sales of the lung drug Advair after an introduction of a generic drug in the US.
Looking long-term, the company currently has several new drugs in the research stage and around 40 new drugs and vaccines in Phase II or Phase III clinical development. They have also just become the first drug company to be given approval from European Medicines Agency for a malaria vaccine.
Chief Executive Andrew Witty is under pressure to deliver recovery after poor profit performance over the past few years.
GlaxoSmithKline plc. (GSK) is a healthcare company that researches and develops pharmaceuticals, vaccines and consumer healthcare products. They are currently trading up 3.16% at 1371 pence per share.