MOVES- Blackstone GSO hires ex-Goldman banker for distressed business

NEW YORK, June 26 (LPC) – Blackstone’s credit platform GSO Capital Partners has appointed Dan Oneglia as senior managing director and co-head of its distressed investing business, the firm said in a press release on Wednesday.

Oneglia joins from Goldman Sachs where he most recently was a portfolio manager in the bank’s Americas special situations group.

He will lead GSO Capital Partners’ distressed unit alongside fellow co-head David Posnick.

Blackstone did not respond to request for comment by press time. (Reporting by Aaron Weinman; Editing By Jon Methven)

Woman dead after being struck by truck in downtown Toronto

Toronto police say a pedestrian has died after she was struck by a flatbed truck in downtown Toronto Wednesday morning.

Emergency services responded to a call in the area of Victoria Street and Queen Street East, just west of Yonge Street shortly after 9 a.m.

Police said the woman died on scene.

The intersection is closed as police investigate.

20,000 contraband cigarettes seized at a home in Burnsville, N.B.: RCMP

A 62-year-old man was arrested Tuesday after the Tracadie RCMP seized a quantity of illegal cigarettes at a residence in Burnsville, N.B.

Police seized nearly 20,000 contraband cigarettes at a home on Route 135.

The man was later released, and according to authorities he will be served a summons to appear in court at a later date.

The investigation is ongoing.

Actuant Corp. Q3 adjusted earnings Beat Estimates

Actuant Corp. (ATU) announced earnings for its third quarter that climbed from the same period last year.

The company’s earnings came in at $32.42 million, or $0.52 per share. This compares with $29.01 million, or $0.48 per share, in last year’s third quarter.

Excluding items, Actuant Corp. reported adjusted earnings of $27.58 million or $0.45 per share for the period.

Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.40 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items.

The company’s revenue for the quarter fell 6.9% to $295.27 million from $317.10 million last year.

Actuant Corp. earnings at a glance:

-Earnings (Q3): $27.58 Mln. vs. $23.87 Mln. last year.
-EPS (Q3): $0.45 vs. $0.39 last year.
-Analysts Estimate: $0.40
-Revenue (Q3): $295.27 Mln vs. $317.10 Mln last year.

-Guidance:
Next quarter EPS guidance: $0.25 to $0.31
Next quarter revenue guidance: $265 to $275 Mln
Full year EPS guidance: $1.15 to $1.21
Full year revenue guidance: $1.125 to $1.135 Bln

E.L.F. Beauty price target lifted after it adds social media followers

D.A. Davidson raised its price target for E.L.F. Beauty Inc. ELF, -0.36% to $16 from $14 after its proprietary data showed the company increased its social media following by 12% in the last six months. It reiterated its buy stock rating. "Our six-month update of our mass beauty social media ranking shows positive results for E.L.F.," analysts led by Linda Bolton Weiser wrote, adding that sales growth could spur an increase in sales guidance for fiscal year 2020. On the other hand, many of Coty Inc.’s COTY, -0.15% big brands, including CoverGirl and Rimmel saw their social media rankings fall. E.L.F. stock is up 59.6% for the year to date, though the stock has tumbled 18.7% over the past year. The S&P 500 index SPX, +0.23% has gained 7.2% over the last 12 months.

Trump attacks Mueller after he agrees to testify to Congress

President Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked Robert Mueller hours after word came that the former special counsel had agreed to testify before Congress in open session on July 17.

Interested in Donald Trump?

Trump once again labeled Mueller’s investigation a “witch hunt” and a “hoax” and accused him of illegally handling the derogatory text messages exchanged between former FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, saying Mueller had “terminated” the messages, calling that “illegal.”

“That’s a crime,” Trump said in an interview with Fox Business Network anchor Maria Bartiromo.

Trump has argued the point before in attacking Mueller, including in a tweet dating back to December 2018.

Mueller was “obviously not a Trump fan,” the president said.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Woman taken to hospital for smoke inhalation after Saint John house fire

A house fire in Saint John, N.B., on Tuesday sent one woman to hospital.

Saint John Fire says the blaze began on the back deck of the home on Duke Street West.

The fire than climbed the back of the house to the roof of the building.

Global News has learned that the woman who was sent to hospital has since been released.

With files from Silas Brown

European Economics Preview: Germany GfK Consumer Sentiment Data Due

Consumer confidence from Germany is due on Wednesday, headlining a light day for the European economic news.

At 2.00 am ET, Germany’s GfK consumer confidence survey results are due. The forward-looking consumer confidence index is seen falling slightly to 10.0 in July from 10.1 in June.

In the meantime, Norway labor force survey data is due. The jobless rate is seen unchanged at 3.5 percent in April.

At 2.45 am ET, France’s statistical office Insee publishes consumer confidence survey data. The index is expected to rise marginally to 100 in June from 99 in May.

At 4.00 am ET, unemployment data is due from Poland. The jobless rate is expected to fall to 5.4 percent in May from 5.6 percent in April.

At 5.00 am ET, Statistics Iceland releases consumer price inflation data for June.

At 5.15 am ET, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney, policymakers Jon Cunliffe, Silvana Tenreyro and Michael Saunders are set to answer questions at the Treasury Select Committee.