Varian: COVID-19 Outbreak To Negatively Impact Operating Results – Quick Facts

Varian (VAR) said, due to COVID-19 outbreak, the company expects revenues to be negatively impacted and, expects second-quarter revenues to be in the range of $800 million to $825 million. For fiscal 2020, the company preliminarily estimates 7 to 9 percent revenue growth. The company will provide further updates to guidance during the second quarter earnings call.

Dow Wilson, CEO, said: “Our long-term fundamentals remain strong and we are continuing with planned investments to drive long-term growth and profitability for our shareholders.”

U.S. Wholesale Inventories Drop More Than Expected In January

Wholesale inventories in the U.S. dropped more than anticipated in the month of January, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The Commerce Department said wholesale inventories fell by 0.4 percent in January after slipping by a revised 0.3 percent in December.

Economists had expected wholesale inventories to edge down by 0.2 percent, matching the dip originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected decrease in wholesale inventories came as inventories of durable and non-durable goods slid by 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the report said wholesale sales surged up by 1.6 percent in January after dipping by 0.2 percent in December.

Sales of durable and non-durable goods both showed significant increases, jumping by 1.6 percent and 1.5 percent, respectively.

With sale spiking and inventories falling, the inventories/sales ratio for merchant wholesalers dropped to 1.33 in January from 1.36 in December.

Thor Industries Reports Profit In Q2 – Quick Facts

Thor Industries, Inc. (THO) reported second-quarter net income attributable to Thor of $0.52 per share compared to a loss per share of $0.10, prior-year. The company noted that the results for the second quarter of fiscal 2020 included the impact of two non-cash impairment charges totaling $0.15 per share. On average, ten analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $0.70, for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items. Consolidated gross profit margin was 12.8%, compared to 11.0%, a year ago.

Second-quarter net sales were $2.0 billion, up 55.2% from a year ago. This increase included the addition of $637.1 million in net sales from the European RV segment and an increase of $102.3 million in net sales in the North American Towable RV segment, partially offset by a decrease of $27.8 million in net sales in the North American Motorized RV segment. Analysts expected revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter.

“EHG also reported strong revenues and, as anticipated, returned to quarterly profitability in line with historical trends,” said Bob Martin, CEO.

Former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara Calls Trump ‘Greatest Hoax,’ Lists What’s Wrong With Him

Preet Bharara, former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, called  Donald Trump the “greatest hoax ever perpetrated on America” on Sunday. Then he tweeted a list of what he believes is wrong with the president.

It was a lot.

George Conway, the conservative attorney and husband to White House counsel Kellyanne Conway, issued a warning to Bharara:

Trump fired Bharara in 2017 after he didn’t return the president’s phone call. 

“There has to be some kind of arm’s-length relationship” between the president and law enforcement, Bharara said in an interview later. He also reported the call, which he believed breached protocol, to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, but was fired just 22 hours later.

Since then, Bharara has been an outspoken critic of Trump, but has never vented quite so brashly on Twitter, until now:

Singer-songwriter Bill Madden praised Bharara’s thread:

Others on Twitter lauded Bharara as well. A few even offered additional reasons Bharara hadn’t mentioned:

Biden Holds Double-Digit Lead in National Poll: Campaign Update

Joe Biden has widened his lead over Bernie Sanders to double digits heading into the next batch of Democratic nominating contests Tuesday, a CNN national poll found.

Democratic voters prefer Biden by a 16 percentage-point margin — 52% to 36% for Sanders — the poll of Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents found.

Biden, who has re-emerged as the front-runner following a stronger-than-anticipated Super Tuesday performance, also saw a spike in his favorability rating, which rose nine points from December to 48%. Sanders, meanwhile, registered his highest unfavorability rating in CNN polling dating back to 2015: 52% hold an unfavorable view of him, up from 44% in December.

Biden registered a nearly 20-point edge among white voters and 10-point one among non-whites. But Sanders has retained strength among Latino voters, the poll found.

The poll of 540 Democrats or Democratic-leaning independents, conducted by SSRS on March 4-7, has a margin of error of plus-or-minus five percentage points.

Coming Up

Six states hold nominating contests Tuesday: primaries in Michigan, Missouri, Washington state, Mississippi and Idaho, and a caucus in North Dakota.

Democratic candidates debate again on March 15 in Phoenix.

(Disclaimer: Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, also sought the Democratic presidential nomination. He endorsed Joe Biden on March 4.)

U.S. Manufacturing Index Indicates Slight Expansion In February

A report released by the Institute for Supply Management on Monday showed U.S. manufacturing activity saw a slight expansion in the month of February.

The ISM said its purchasing managers index edged down to 50.1 in February from 50.9 in January, although a reading above 50 still indicates growth in the manufacturing sector. Economists had expected the index to dip to 50.5.

“Global supply chains are impacting most, if not all, of the manufacturing industry sectors,” said Timothy R. Fiore, Chair of the ISM Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “Overall, sentiment this month is marginally positive regarding near-term growth.”

The modest decrease by the headline index came as the new orders index fell to 49.8 in February from 52.0 in January, indicating a slight decrease in new orders.

The production index also slid to 50.3 in February from 54.3 in January, while the employment index inched up to 46.9 from 46.6 but still indicates a drop in manufacturing jobs.

The report also said the prices index tumbled to 45.9 in February from 53.3 in January, pointing to a decrease in prices.

On Wednesday, the ISM is scheduled to release a separate report on activity in the service sector in the month of February. The non-manufacturing index is expected to slip to 54.9 in February from 55.5 in January.