General Electric beats low earnings expectations as cash flow stabilizes

General Electric reported second-quarter earnings on Wednesday that were slightly better than Wall Street expected.

GE shares rose 1.6% in premarket trading from its previous close of $10.52 a share.

Expectations vs. results:

• EPS: 17 cents a share vs. 12 cents a share according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.
• Revenue: $28.83 billion vs. $28.68 billion according to analysts surveyed by Refinitiv.

Investors will be also looking to the company's metric of industrial free cash flow — money left over after a company pays for operating expenses and capital spending. Especially in the case of GE, industrial free cash flow is used as a gauge of efficiency. Earlier this year GE forecast that 2019 industrial free cash flow would be between flat and negative $2 billion, while J.P. Morgan analyst Stephen Tusa said GE gave"an implied guidance" that second-quarter free cash flow would be between a negative $1 billion to negative $2 billion.

CEO Larry Culp tempered investor expectations for this year in previous comments, as he seeks to turn GE around. The company's struggling power business"is in a serious turnaround mode," Culp said in March, and GE expects the market for gas-powered turbines will remain stagnant through 2020.

Despite Culp's warnings, GE shares are up nearly 45% this year — on pace for its best year since 1999.

Euro area GDP growth slows to 0.2% while unemployment falls to lowest in nearly 11 years

Eurostat on Wednesday reported that GDP grew by 0.2% in the second quarter, meeting expectations and slower than the 0.4% growth in the first quarter. Compared to a year ago, GDP grew by 1.1%. Unemployment fell to 7.5% in June from 7.6%, which is the lowest since July 2008. Eurostat also reported that annual inflation is expected to be 1.1% in July 2019, down from 1.3% in June, according to a flash estimate.

Littelfuse Guides Q3 Below View; Boosts Qtly Dividend 12% – Quick Facts

While reporting financial results for the second quarter, Littelfuse, Inc. (LFUS), a manufacturer of technologies in circuit protection, power control and sensing, on Wednesday initiated adjusted earnings and net sales guidance for the third quarter and raised quarterly dividend.

For the third quarter, the company projects adjusted earnings per share in the range of $1.50 to $1.64 and net sales in the range of $362 million to $374 million.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expect the company to report earnings of $2.06 per share on sales of $409.86 million for the quarter. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

Additionally, the company’s Board of Directors approved a 12% increase in the quarterly cash dividend from $0.43 to $0.48, payable on September 5, 2019 to shareholders of record as of August 22, 2019.

Brexit: Irish minister Creed says backstop cannot be time-limited

DUBLIN (Reuters) – Irish Minister for Agriculture Michael Creed on Wednesday repeated his government’s position that no time limit can be set on the “backstop” in Britain’s Withdrawal Agreement with the European Union.

“It cannot be time limited. It was negotiated in good faith on the basis of red lines insisted upon by the UK government, informed by DUP concerns,” Creed told national broadcaster RTE.

China c.bank raises small banks' relending quota by 50 bln yuan

BEIJING, July 31 (Reuters) – China’s central bank said on Wednesday it will increase its relending quota for small and medium-sized banks by 50 billion yuan ($7.27 billion) to boost credit for small and private firms.

The total relending quota under the scheme will be increased to 369.5 billion yuan, the People’s Bank of China said in a statement on its website.

The government has been providing more support for small firms as economic growth cools to near 30-year lows. ($1 = 6.8815 Chinese yuan renminbi) (Reporting by China Monitoring Desk and Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Marianne Williamson Gives Morbid Answer To Kid Reporter’s Pet Question

Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson told it like it is when a child reporter asked following Tuesday’s debate if she had a pet.

“I had a cat. And the cat died,” the author and activist responded to the young questioner, trailed by television cameras.

Video of the exchange is now going viral on Twitter:

The clip cut off before Williamson revealed any further details of the death.

But the self-styled candidate’s response set Twitter alight:

• Sanders Threw His Hands Up During The Debate And A Brilliant Meme Was Born
• Anderson Cooper Hits Trump With Biblical Part Of His Inauguration Speech
• Late-Night TV Hosts Highlight Strangest And Funniest Parts Of Democratic Debate

Democrats take the stage for the second night of debate in Detroit. Here’s how to watch and what you should know

Ten Democratic candidates took the stage Tuesday in Detroit to battle for primary voters’ hearts and minds in the second debate of the 2020 presidential race. Ten more will be out there Wednesday, with the frontrunners trying to hold their places, while those trailing in the polls will do what they can to make a lasting impression and boost their campaigns. 

The first night in Detroit largely pitted Democratic moderates like former Rep. John Delaney and Montana Gov. Steve Bullock against progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, particularly on the question government-run health care. 

Those same dynamics will likely be at play on the second night as well. But with former Vice President Joe Biden on stage – whom voters consider the most capable of defeating President Donald Trump next November, according to the polls – you can also expect the candidates to make their case for why they are the best-equipped to unseat the incumbent. 

Analysis: The Democratic debate exposed an ideological rift