Ford To Challenge Truck Roof Collapse Verdict

Ford Motor Company (F) said on Tuesday that it will argue for a new trial in the Georgia truck rollover lawsuit that resulted in a $1.7 billion jury verdict. The case involves the roof strength of older-model Super Duty pickups. Some twenty years back, Ford settled several similar lawsuits alleging that people were killed or seriously injured in heavy-duty truck rollovers in which the roof collapsed.

Before the $1.7 billion jury verdict, Ford was involved in at least 58 times in lawsuits involving rollovers and allegations of roof crush on heavy-duty trucks made during that 17-year period, according to complaints identified and reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.

The Georgia lawsuit emerged from a 2014 rollover crash killing an elderly couple driving a Ford F-250 pickup. The plaintiffs’ lawyers say the victims were crushed inside the truck when the roof collapsed. Ford had then argued that the trucks aren’t defective and that the roof structure is safe. Review of these complaints shows that 38 people died due to the accidents cited in the lawsuits, and several were seriously injured.

BlackBerry Q3 Earnings Summary

Below are the earnings highlights for BlackBerry (BB):

Earnings: -$4 million in Q3 vs. $74 million in the same period last year.
EPS: -$0.01 in Q3 vs. $0.13 in the same period last year.
Excluding items, BlackBerry reported adjusted earnings of -$30 million or -$0.05 per share for the period.

Analysts projected -$0.07 per share
Revenue: $169 million in Q3 vs. $184 million in the same period last year.

Aurubis FY22 Profit Climbs, Lifts Dividend; Warns On FY23 Operating EBT

German copper producer Aurubis AG (AIAGY.PK,AIAGF.PK) reported Wednesday that its fiscal 2022 consolidated net income attributable to shareholders grew to 714.67 million euros from last year’s 612.80 million euros.

Earnings per share were 16.37 euros, higher than 14.03 euros a year ago.

IFRS consolidated earnings before taxes or EBT grew to 935.26 million euros from prior year’s 825.30 million euros.

The multimetal producer generated 532 million euros of operating earnings before taxes overall, 40 percent above the previous year’s 381 million euros.

Operating ROCE (return on capital employed) increased to 19 percent from previous year’s 16.6 percent.

Revenues for the year grew to 18.52 billion euros from 16.30 billion euros a year ago.

Aurubis said it closed fiscal year with the best result in the company’s history. Higher metal and sulfuric acid prices and strong demand for copper products more than make up for significantly increased energy costs.

Further, the Supervisory and Executive Boards will propose a further increase in the dividend per share to 1.80 euros from last year’s 1.60 euros, the highest dividend since the company’s IPO, at the Annual General Meeting on February 16, 2023.

Looking ahead for fiscal 2023, despite inflation and energy price rises, the company said operating EBT is expected to reach a similar level to the previous year, expecting between 400 million euros and 500 million euros. The company anticipates an operating ROCE of between 11 and 15 percent.

Bunzl Plc Now Sees 2022 Adj. Operating Margin To Be Slightly Ahead Of Prior Guidance

Bunzl plc (BZLFY.PK,BNZL.L) said Group revenue in 2022 is expected to increase year-on-year by approximately 17% at actual exchange rates and by approximately 10% at constant exchange rates. Group adjusted operating margin is expected to be slightly ahead of prior guidance, in-line with that achieved in 2021 and above historic levels, the Group said.

Looking ahead, at constant exchange rates, the Group expects revenue in 2023 to be slightly higher than in 2022. The Group expects Group adjusted operating profit in 2023 to be resilient, with operating margin slightly higher than historical levels. Adjusted earnings per share is expected to be moderately lower year-on-year.

Bunzl plc stated that its negotiations with largest customer by revenue are ongoing.

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AstraZeneca : Imfinzi Combination Approved In EU For Advanced Biliary Tract Cancer Treatment

British drug major AstraZeneca Plc.’s (AZN.L,AZN) Imfinzi (durvalumab) has been approved in the European Union for the 1st-line treatment of adult patients with unresectable or metastatic biliary tract cancer in combination with chemotherapy (gemcitabine plus cisplatin).

The approval by the European Commission was based on the primary results from the TOPAZ-1 Phase III trial. The results showed Imfinzi combination reduced risk of the death by 24% compared to chemotherapy alone.

The approval follows the recommendation by The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency in November 2022.

Imfinzi plus chemotherapy is approved in the US and other countries for the treatment of adults with locally advanced or metastatic Biliary tract cancer. Regulatory applications are also currently under review in Japan and several other countries based on the TOPAZ-1 results.

Biliary tract cancer is a group of rare and aggressive gastrointestinal (GI) cancers that form in the cells of the bile ducts (cholangiocarcinoma), gallbladder or ampulla of Vater (where the bile duct and pancreatic duct connect to the small intestine).

For More Such Health News, visit rttnews.com

Oil Prices Climb As API Reports Crude Drawdown

Oil prices rose about 1 percent on Wednesday after industry data showed a larger than expected draw in U.S. crude stocks.

Benchmark Brent crude futures jumped 0.9 percent to $80.73 a barrel while WTI crude futures were up 0.9 percent at $76.89.

The American Petroleum Institute on Tuesday reported a decrease of 3.1 million barrels of crude oil in U.S. inventories for the week ending Dec. 16 while analysts had expected a drop of 1.7 million barrels for the week.

Gasoline inventories rose by about 4.5 million barrels, while distillate stocks rose by 828,000 barrels.

Oil prices also found some support from a weaker dollar and optimism around China reopening, despite rising COVID cases in the country following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions.

China’s crude oil imports from Russia rose 17 percent in November from a year earlier, as Chinese refiners rushed to secure more cargoes ahead of a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations on Dec. 5 to limit Moscow’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine.

The increase made Russia the top oil supplier for China ahead of Saudi Arabia.